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The other day a politician made a remark in the newspapers to the effect that helmets should not be made compulsory in Pune because the average speed of the vehicles plying on city roads tends to be less than 40 kilometres per hour. Just the opposite happened in front of me the other day. I had stopped at a traffic signal. A three-wheeler transporter was in front of me and an elderly couple on a scooter ahead of the three-wheeler. As the signal turned green, we all started moving and the speed must not have been even 10 km/h. The three-wheeler just touched the elderly couple’s scooter and they both fell down. The lady was sitting side-saddle and as the scooter tipped over to the right, she fell backwards, her head hitting the road and was unconscious. I saw this happen in front of my eyes but I was utterly helpless.

There are some lessons to be learnt from this incident. Yes, the sari is our women’s national dress but sitting side-saddle clad in it is dangerous. In Europe and other developed countries it is against the law. Had the lady been wearing a helmet, she would have escaped injury to her head and consequent hospitalisation. It does not matter at what speed you ride, you can always get hurt; so please wear a helmet and don’t listen to the people who say that you don’t need to wear one.

This month we have tested the V15 from Bajaj and it is clear that this bike has been aimed at the 125-cc commuters but in doing so Bajaj have missed out on the potential of the 150 engine. They have under-geared the bike to such an extent that it loses out on fuel efficiency. Yes, they have made this bike for the top-gear kings who don’t like to change gears. I am sure if the gearing were slightly taller, the V would have returned much better efficiency figures.

Last month another young life was taken in a road accident; this time it was a fellow journalist, Nitin Rose. May his soul rest in peace.

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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This month we have a number of interesting stories from the all-new Honda Navi to a comparison between the TVS Victor and Honda Livo, plus an in-depth road test of the TVS Apache 200 and, finally, an exclusive first ride of the Yamaha MT-09. Today anyone who can ride a motorcycle half decently and read up a little bit on the Internet becomes an expert. Pell-mell recourse to the Internet can cause much damage. In order to test and evaluate a two-wheeler one needs to have a certain degree of riding skill, knowledge and the experience of having ridden a variety of motorcycles — from a commuter all the way up to a litre-plus supersport/sports tourer and adventure sport. If one has not ridden a variety of motorcycles, how is one going to pass judgement or evaluate a bike? How does one benchmark it? If you have no previous experience, anything you ride will impress you simply because you don’t know any better.

TVS have finally made a motorcycle with a four-valve engine. The one thing I noticed is that even though the 180 Apache and the 200 have the same stroke, the 200 engine is much taller since it has a longer connecting rod compared to that in the 180 which was short. A short con-rod gives rise to frictional losses and due to this the 180 felt as if it were being held back between 3,000 and 5,000 revolutions per minute. It is good to see that the 200 Apache FI come with Pirelli tyres as standard fitment. The engine feels extremely refined and vibration-free thanks to the counter-balancer shaft.

To conclude on a sad note, Indian roads and chaotic traffic have claimed another fellow biker, Veenu Paliwal. May her soul rest in peace.
Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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THE RIGHT LINE

After the Auto Expo in early February I attended two biking events: the California Superbike School (CSS) and the country’s biggest biking festival, India Bike Week (IBW). Indian motorcycle enthusiasts have to thank the father and son duo of T T Varadarajan and Siddharth for bringing the CSS to Chennai, India. I would like to thank T T Varadarajan and Siddharth for their hospitality and for letting me do a few laps. I really enjoyed myself on Vardu’s Honda CBR 600RR as it was the first time that I rode a quick motorcycle on the Chennai track since my last race on the Yamaha TZ250 in 1999.

It was nice to see superbike riders bring their bikes to the racetrack and learn how to ride them in a safe and controlled environment. What also felt good was that people were spending money on good quality riding gear. The CSS is well-organised and teaches riders how to control the motorcycle using just the throttle on day one, and thereafter with gears and brakes. Siddharth and Vicky Jaising are now closer to being qualified CSS instructors.

The fourth edition of the IBW was held on the 19th and 20th of February. There were a few negatives, the first being the dates — it was a little too late and this made it much warmer. Secondly, the new venue was narrow and long, which made it crowded. Furthermore, parking and traffic were major issues since the new venue was on the main road as compared to the one at Vagator which was not on the main road and where being close to the sea helped in keeping the temperature down.

The event has grown over the years and more and more manufacturers are taking part. Some people were not happy and criticised the event. If, however, you ask the same people to do something constructive, they would say they do not have the time but would still be the first to criticise. Every motorcycle rider does not want to tear down a racetrack, some people like to just cruise along and enjoy their ride. I look forward to next year’s IBW which, I hope, will be even bigger and better.

Aspi Bhathena
Editor

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THE RIGHT LINE

This month we bring you an in-depth report on the 13th Auto Expo. The Auto Expo has grown over the years with manufacturers’ participation going up and new brands coming to India every year. During the BMW press conference, BMW Group India President Philipp von Sahr announced that BMW Motorrad, the motorcycle wing of BMW, was finally set to enter the Indian market by the end of the year. With BMW entering India, all the major motorcycle manufacturers are now present in the country.

Not only has Auto Expo grown in size, even the quality of the two-wheelers displayed has improved drastically. The quality of concepts displayed by international manufacturers was always good; now even local manufacturers have upped their game. The concepts from Hero MotoCorp and TVS were good. The show-stoppers for me were the two cousins: BMW G 310 R and TVS Akula 310 Racespec. The quality of the BMW 310 is very good and the riding position is nice and relaxed. The NAVI from Honda is something that I have been wanting to build for a long time but Honda beat me to it.

One day before the Auto Expo Royal Enfield unveiled their all-new motorcycle, the Himalayan. There is not a single fastener or a pin being carried forward from their previous models. Siddhartha Lal and his team have gone all out and not left a stone unturned in the making of the Himalayan. This is the first time Royal Enfield have made an overhead camshaft engine and long-travel monoshock rear suspension. The front forks are also long-travel and even with long-travel suspension they have managed to keep the saddle height low. The build quality is very good. The boys at Royal Enfield have done a fantastic job.

Aspi Bhathena
Editor