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Activity Aplenty

The year gone by was extremely hectic and this year seems to be going to be even more so. January was kick-started by the Indian Motorcycle of the Year (IMOTY) awards ceremony. Then there was the Bharat Mobility Show in Delhi and the first ride of the new Ultraviolette motorcycle.

The IMOTY ceremony was an august gathering comprising the who’s who of the automobile industry. The 2025 award was presented by Dr Raghupati Singhania, Chairman and Managing Director of JK Tyre. The winner of the IMOTY 2025 was the Aprilia RS 457.

The Bharat Mobility Show was quite a let-down, except Hero MotoCorp’s launch of three motorcycles and a scooter that had already been unveiled at the Milan Motorcycle Show (EICMA). BMW Motorrad launched the S 1000 RR and the 1300 GS Adventure. Suzuki launched the electric Access, Honda the electric Activa, and TVS a CNG variant of the Jupiter, besides showcasing Norton motorcycles. The Yamaha stand had the RD 350 and the RX100 on display in the historic section with a couple of adventure bikes. There were quite a few small electric two-wheeler manufacturers who displayed electric scooters. Incidentally, the new Expo facility is good and it would have proved even better had it been a little compact and not so widespread.

A new rule promulgated by the Regional Transport Authority makes it mandatory for all motorcycles registered before 2019 to be fitted with security number-plates. To get these number-plates, one is required to apply to the local Regional Transport Officer who will then direct the applicant to a motorcycle dealer authorised to carry out the fitting of the official number-plates.

The Indian motor sport community lost another stalwart, Darius Bhathena, who started his career racing bikes at Lohegaon in Pune. He was a man with a golden heart. May his soul rest in peace.


Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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Demise of Visionaries

The year 2024 ended on a sombre note with the demise of Dr Manmohan Singh, one of the best prime ministers we have had. It is thanks to him that we are in a position to buy the best motorcycles in the world here in India today.

As the Union finance minister, it was Dr Manmohan Singh who liberalized the Indian economy in 1992 and invited global manufacturers to come to India and invest here to set up their businesses. At the same time, he made sure that the Indian manufacturers could compete with their international counterparts. He was a thorough gentleman and a kind-hearted human being. May his soul rest in eternal peace.

The second bad news was the passing away of Osamu Suzuki san, the former CEO of Suzuki Motorcycle Company. Suzuki, the well-known Japanese marque, has given pleasure to millions of motorcycle riders across the world and in India as well. The company first came to India in collaboration with TVS and the first motorcycle launched together by them was the Suzuki AX100. There is a special connect for me with the Suzuki brand. I learned to ride a motorcycle when I was 10 years old on an 80-cc Suzuki. Rest in peace, Osamu Suzuki san.

The year gone by was extremely hectic with a number of new launches, both ICE engine bikes and electric ones. The New Year promises to be the same or even more hectic, starting with the Bharat Mobility Show kicking off things. Then we have two new products from Hero MotoCorp. And this is just the beginning.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our readers and manufacturers for their support and wish everyone a happy New Year. Ride safely and stay safe in 2025.


Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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Two-wheeled Evolution

A sea change has taken place between how motorcycling used to be perceived 25 years ago and how it is seen today. Back then, motorcycles were seen as a cheap mode of transport to travel from point A to point B. Now things have changed to such an extent that bikes are seen as a lifestyle with riders showing off their fancy riding gear alongside their superbikes.

The manufacturers are also doing their bit by organising motorcycle festivals. The first manufacturer to hold a motorcycle festival was Royal Enfield with “Rider Mania”. Now it is “Motoverse”. Then came the India Bike Week (IBW), which was started in 2013 by 70 EMG. At that time, only Harley-Davidson used to support the event and they are present even today but other manufacturers like Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, and KTM are also there at this event.

Not to be left out, TVS started their own festival when the dynamic Vimal Sumbly took over as the head of premium biking. Now the manufacturers have begun using these festivals to launch new premium products.

What I noticed during my stay in Goa was that there are a few riders who bring motorcycling into disrepute by riding fast and dangerously within the city. Enjoy your bike outside on highways, but do not make a nuisance of yourselves and give biking a bad name. All they seem to be doing is cause eyebrows to be raised, not to speak of the possibility of hurting themselves.

Then you have those “mobile phone riders”. They barely possess the necessary riding skill but always have their mobile phones stuck between the shoulder and the ear. Needless to say, this not only imperils their own life, but is verily a hazard to other road-users. The police should come down heavily on such riders and confiscate their mobile phones.


Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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A Far Cry from the Star of Yore

Finally, I got an opportunity to ride the BSA Gold Star and, at first glance, it was a bit of a let-down considering what the Gold Star stood for in its heyday. At that time, it was a premium brand from BSA motorcycles. The original Gold Star was one of the best looking motorcycles of that era with a completely aluminium engine with big fins for the cylinder block and cylinder-head and a nice chrome swept-back exhaust bend pipe. This bike has none of that; in fact, the exhaust system is swept out instead of back and the engine, clutch cover, dummy timing, and pushrod tunnel are painted instead of being buffed aluminium.

The engine is based on the Rotax engine that was used in the BMW F650 Funduro. The engineers at Classic Legends have worked on it extensively to mellow it down from the original bike’s performance in order to make it more tractable, for it to be able to run a high gear at low speed. In doing so, the engine has lost the punch that one would get from a big capacity single-cylinder engine. This was done to compete with the twin-cylinder Royal Enfield and pander to the Indian customer who likes to plod along in third and fourth gears in the city. In the process, the bike has lost the fun factor of a big single-cylinder. The chassis, suspension, and brakes are well sorted, though.

The TVS engineers have further improved the RR 310. They have used all their learnings from their racing programme to further improve the performance of the RR 310. Now they have taken it to another level.


Aspi Bhathena
Editor