The Milan Motorcycle Show, EICMA has started off with a bang, and the Triumph stall has been one of its leading lights. With Triumph’s arrival on Indian shores imminent, we’ve been paying special attention to their actions of late. We have already covered the announcement of the Tiger 800 XC SE, and there’s more where that came from. Triumph have also used EICMA as a platform to springboard a couple of other models for their 2014 catalogue, namely the Thunderbird Commander and Thunderbird LT (Light Touring).

The Commander is built along the lines of a big, bad roadster. Boasting of a 1699cc parallel twin engine producing 94 PS at 5400 RPM and 151 Nm of torque at 2550 RPM, 17 inch tyres, striking twin headlamps, and lots of chrome, the Commander is as conspicuous as they come, and bound to catch the eye with its dominant presence.

The LT on the other hand is, as the name suggests, more of a tourer, and through its design, a throwback to the classic low-riders of the years gone by. Everything from the massive wind-shield to the big tank badges, the white-wall tyres, and the retro style rear indicators are all straight out of the old-school book of styling, but don’t let the classic looks fool you, this bike is chock full of modern technology. The LT too comes equipped with the same 1699 cc engine, which produces 92 PS @5400 RPM and 150 Nm of Torque at 3550 rpm, with an ABS system as standard fitting.

Triumph is targeting the summer of 2014 as the projected time frame for these bikes being made available for sale, as for whether or not we will see them in India, there’s no official word yet, and even though they will most likely make their way over here, we wouldn’t hold our breaths over this happening any time soon.

Story: Harket Suchde

 

Mahindra have teased India’s automotive sector for a while now with the will they, won’t they game when it comes to the launch of the 300cc Mojo. However, they’ve finally confirmed the launch of the Mojo, and it will be during the 2014 Delhi auto Expo.

The expo, slated to be held in February will see the who’s who of the Indian and international automobile sphere in presence, and is a great platform for just such a launch. The timing of the launch is significant, as it comes off the back of a particularly successful year for Mahindra, who chalked up an astounding 155% growth in sales, leaving their previous year’s figures far behind. As of October 2013, Mahindra had sold 29,696 units in total, with 28,604 of them being sold in India.

The leader of the Mahindra pack, and the bike that has had a huge say in its drastic growth figures is undoubtedly the Centuro, and Mahindra appear to be making an attempt at striking while the iron is hot and will be hoping that the current, popular status of the Centuro is transferred to the Mojo as well. It is being reported that the single cylinder 300cc bike will be priced at an amazing Rs.1.5 lakh only, which will throw the cat among the pigeons when it comes to the 200cc and above segment. Expect the bike to take on the likes of the upcoming Honda CBR 300R, the KTM Duke 200 and even the CBR 250R when it finally does enter the fray.

Story: Harket Suchde

The upcoming Tokyo Motor Show will flag off on the 20th of November, and judging by the concepts that are already confirmed as part of the line up there, this, the 43rd edition of the show is all set to be an absolutely cracker for the automobile enthusiast!

Amid all the hoopla, one of the most eagerly anticipated unveils will definitely be the new Suzuki concept, and with good reason too. This concept, christened ‘Recursion’ will be driven by a 588cc turbocharged engine. This is intriguing, because even though turbo-charging bike engines has been attempted in the past, the effect has been far from ideal, and the few such bikes that have actually gone into mass production have quickly fallen by the wayside. Suzuki claim however, that they’ve cracked the code, and got this new turbocharged engine performing at optimal levels.

The Recursion gets its power from a water-cooled two cylinder 588cc mill with intercooler turbo, and it reportedly produces 100 PS at 8000 rpm, and a 100 Nm of torque at 4500 rpm. This bike is expected to marry the power of a superbike with the economy of a turbocharged engine, and usher in a new era of 2-wheeler engine technology if it does actually live up to the billing. More information wil lbe forthcoming after its unveil next month, so watch this space.

Story: Harket Suchde

Images Courtesy: Suzuki

The scooter market in India is big, vibrant and quite diversified. It isn’t just one generic scooter market, but sector with many nuances, and designs specific to certain demographics based largely on age and sex. There’s also a unisex, one size-fits all, mid engine family scooter segment, and after the success of the highly focused Ray and Ray-Z, Yamaha want a piece of this pie too.

Yamaha’s MD, Asano Masaki was reported as saying just that. He mentioned that company intended to capitalise on the success of the Ray, and use it as a platform to catapult it’s new family scooter into the fray. While being as yet unconfirmed, it is being widely speculated that this new scooter could announce itself at the upcoming Delhi Auto Expo in 2014, and is expected to go head-to-head against established segment leaders such as the Honda Activa, Mahindra Duro, Suzuki Access and TVS Wego among others.

Whether or not this new model can propel Yamaha into the big leagues of India’s scooter market only the future will tell. One thing is for sure though, Yamaha will come out all guns blazing in an effort to spread their influence in the scooter market – a market in which their presence is still at a fairly nascent stage.

Story: Harket Suchde

 

TVS Racing Team rider wins at Raid de Himalaya

R Nataraj, a member of the TVS racing team came out trumps in the Xtreme MotoQuads open class Category ‘C’ for two-wheelers below 250cc at the Raid De Himalaya. Astride his TVS Apache RTR 180, Nataraj battled through the extreme conditions brought about by this high altitude race, this included facing temperatures below the -15°C mark. Much credit for his performance can also be attributed to his hard working service team, who made sure his bike was in peak form throughout the race. His efforts landed him a third placed finish in the overall standings for two wheelers below the 450cc mark as well.

The Raid De Himalaya entered its 15th successive year in existence this year. The competition was stiffer than ever before as the rally saw an unprecedented 153 vehicles participating, including both cars and bikes. The rally covered a mind blowing distance of 1800 kilometres in 6 days, in some of the most arduous terrains, and the highest accessible roads in the country.

Story: Harket Suchde

https://bikeindia.in/15142/

Suzuki bikes have been sold in the US for the last 50 years now, and to mark the occasion, the company have launched a special edition of the Hayabusa there. The venue for the launch was the 2013 American International Motorcycle Expo, and this is their second special edition release in the recent past, joining in with the rest of their 2014 line up.

The Hayabusa’s looks have always been one of its biggest draws, and the 50^th anniversary edition has highlighted them further with this gorgeous red and black two-tone paint job, and red accents for the wheels too. A few licks of contrasting paint around the curves of the bike round up the makeover, and ensure that this bike stands out from the others of its brethren at the very first glance.

The special edition ‘Haya’ is powered by the same 1340cc, inline 4-cylinder engine that is found in the production version, and produces an output of 199PS and 154 Nm of torque. The top speed has been electronically capped at 299 km/h for safety, and the bike will also boast powerful Brembo brakes with ABS technology included. The price of the bike however is yet to be announced.

Story: Harket Suchde