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Additional Financial Burden

Two -wheeler sales have been heading southwards for a couple of reasons, the first one being the cost of fuel and the second the cost of the mandatory five-year insurance for new bikes. This has added another Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 to the cost of the entrylevel 100/110-cc motorcycles and scooters. Needless to say, this is a considerable increase when someone is scraping the bottom of the barrel to buy his or her basic mode of transport.

Retro motorcycles are the flavour of the month. After the Royal Enfield 650 twins, Classic Legends have now launched the Jawa 300-cc motorcycle. The big difference between the two is that the Royal Enfield 650 is a modern retro design while Classic Legends have replicated the 1960s’ Jawa. It is a gamble they have taken and only time will tell whether they succeed with its styling. The second problem for Jawa is that Royal Enfield have set a new benchmark with the 650 twins in terms of performance, all-round rideability, and build quality. To better this, Jawa have their work cut out; they will have to produce a phenomenal motorcycle. In this issue you may read the first-ride impression of the Jawa bikes.

The police want to enforce the helmet rule for two-wheeler riders from 1 January 2019 and people and politicians have already started raising objections to it.

I would like to wish all our readers a happy New Year and please wear a helmet while riding. Please don’t drink and ride. Obey all traffic rules, because you don’t only put your own life at risk, but also those of other road-users by not doing so. Think of the loved ones waiting for you at home.

Wish you all a happy New Year once again and safe riding.

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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Double Delight

LAST MONTH I RODE THE ROYAL ENFIELD 650 TWINS IN THE US AND WE WERE REALLY impressed by the two motorcycles. At that time I speculated that the Conti GT would be priced around the Rs 3 lakh mark and the Interceptor around Rs 2.75 lakh. However, Siddhartha Lal blew us all into the Arabian Sea in Goa at the launch with the announcement of the prices: Rs 2.50 lakh for the Interceptor and Rs 2.65 lakh for the Continental GT. In fact, Siddhartha reminded me about a discussion we had had at their technical centre in the UK last year about how manufacturers tend to double the price of a motorcycle when they add a cylinder to the engine, say, from a single to a twin-cylinder. The single-cylinder 535 Conti GT was priced at Rs 2,10,000 and now Royal Enfield have not doubled the price, but just charged the cost of adding another cylinder. With this pricing Royal Enfield are sure to shake up the motorcycle market and, in the process, have also shown how manufacturers have been taking the customer for a ride.

Mahindra’s Classic Legends have brought the Czech brand, Jawa, back to life by launching the Jawa 300-cc, the “Jawa forty two”, and concept Perak with Bobber styling.

Last month Hero MotoCorp showed four versions of the X Pulse at the biggest motorcycle show in the world, EICMA (the Milan Motorcycle Show). The four variants looked very impressive. After parting ways with Honda, Hero have gone from strength to strength. Taking on the best global players head-on is no mean feat. Hats off to Pawanji for achieving monthly sales of 7,50,000 motorcycles. A great job, sir!

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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Worth the Wait
IT HAS BEEN NEARLY ONE YEAR SINCE ROYAL ENFIELD UNVEILED THE INTERCEPTOR 650 AND the Continental GT 650 at the Milan Motor Show and, finally, last month I got an opportunity to ride both the bikes in Santa Cruz, California. I was wondering why I had travelled half way round the world to ride motorcycles manufactured in Chennai, India. I got my answer after the ride; because these were among the best roads I had ridden on and probably the best in the world.

The reason for the delay was that Royal Enfield did not want to take a chance with these bikes, being intent on ironing out all possible issues before the actual launch of the two twins. I was really impressed by these two motorcycles that Royal Enfield have come up with. The second surprise for me was the riding capability of Siddhartha Lal. A number of CEOs and MDs say that they can ride a motorcycle, but Siddhartha can genuinely ride well. We were riding hard and he kept up with us. His passion for riding also shows in the products he has launched. This time Royal Enfield have really nailed it.

The cost of fuel is on a northward trend on a daily basis and, needless to say, this hurts the ordinary man, especially the lower middle class who rely mainly on two-wheelers. The government knows that one needs to buy fuel for one’s daily commuting; it is a necessity and not a luxury. This rising fuel cost will also have an adverse impact on the sale of new motorcycles and scooters. They claim that it costs more to build new roads than the road tax paid by the citizenry, which, by the way, is among the highest in the world. Furthermore, if the road happens to be half
decent, one has to pay toll for that “luxury”.

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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Preventable Loss of Life

Deadly pot holes too k their to ll on yet anot her family on the recent Rakshabandhan Day. Having celebrated the festival with their cousins, this family of four were returning home on their two-wheeler at night when they hit a pothole, lost control, and fell off the bike. The children were run over by a truck and died on the spot while the parents suffered serious injury.

No doubt bad road conditions in the country are to blame for many of the accidents, but, at the same time, why were four people travelling on a two-wheeler which is meant for two persons only? It is high time the police enforced the law and prohibited more than two persons on a twowheeler, including small children.

Having seen a family of four riding on a two-wheeler, Ratan Tata decided to give Indians an affordable car: the Nano. However, lack of enforcement of traffic rules made sure that the Nano did not become a success. Had the traffic rules been enforced effectively, not permitting more than two persons on a two-wheeler, the Nano would have been a great success and a number of lives could have been saved.

Similarly, there should be a stipulation as to the size of the seat of a scooter or motorcycle. At the first ride of a commuter motorcycle, the representative of the concerned company said that they had extended the size of the seat to accommodate more than two persons. That is a wrong signal being sent to the people, indirectly encouraging them to carry more than one pillion rider.

The ISI-certified helmet issue continues to baffle most of us. Some people with vested interests
do not want competition from international brands and, in the process, are depriving the citizens of the country of the right to protect themselves. Incidentally, we have a Rs 350 Rocker helmet bearing the ISI mark. It feels as if it is made of cardboard. I would like to know the ISI safety standard in respect of that helmet!

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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Safety at Stake

Moto rcycle riders, especially those who care about their safety, are up in arms against the new helmet rule promulgated by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways which makes the storage and sale of non-ISI helmets illegal. Yes, we do need to put a stop to roadside sale of helmets but not the high-end ones such as Arai, AGV, and other reputed brands. As a matter of fact, I have seen roadside helmets being sold with ISI marks on them. How then does one tell the genuine ISI mark from a fake one?

Speaking personally, I will never wear an Indian-made helmet on a racetrack. I recall a Bell helmet advertisement in the 1970s when they had launched a helmet priced at £350 (Rs 31,500). Compared to that, the rest of the helmets then available in the market were priced between £100 and £150 (Rs 9,000-12,500). “Isn’t your head worth the extra money?” the advert asked.

The Indian helmet manufacturers’ lobby may want this rule but let us be honest to ourselves: are the local manufacturers capable of making helmets that will meet international standards? The answer is a big NO. You cannot stop the sale of good-quality helmets that surpass the ISI standards.

Next month I am going to ride the most awaited 650 twins from Royal Enfield in California, USA . If Royal Enfield get the bike right, it will mean a major success for them. The 650-cc twin is just about the right combination motorcycle for Indian conditions; it won’t be very heavy and bulky and, at the same time, it will have enough performance with good manoeuvrability. My very first motorcycle was the Triumph Bonneville 650-cc twin, producing 47 PS , and it was just perfect for India. I do hope Royal Enfield get this one right.

Aspi Bhathena
Editor