John Abraham Gifts Akshay Kumar a customised Harley Davidson CVO

Actors Akshay Kumar, and John Abraham have always been great buddies. But John, has now taken it to a whole new level. The motorbike enthusiast, who has worked with Akshay in various blockbusters, has gifted the latter a customised Harley Davidson CVO which reportedly costed around INR 30 lakhs.

John stated that Akshay has always been a great friend to him and has lot of love and respect for him, and both love motorbikes, so he is really happy to gift him the Harley.

This gesture, however, has a reason. John had got his own motorcycle transported to London from Mumbai for the shoot of Desi Boyz movie last year. Akshay really admired his bike and often used it. Later, when they teamed up together for Sajid Khan’s Housefull 2, John told Akshay that he would gift him a similar bike to celebrate their joint success if their film becomes a hit. The film did indeed become a huge hit and, sticking true to his word, John ordered a customised Harley Davidson CVO bike.

The CVO Harley will be delivered to Akshay in black, his favourite colour, with a specific license number plate for his bike.

Audi and Ducati’s first ofering is certainly more radical than we thought

After German car maker Audi took over Ducati, we did expect something worth raising eye-brows from the clan. But much to our surprise (and unlike our guesses of a ‘diesel L-twin’), the news is that the company has built an electric pushbike. The electric pedal bike, or “pedelec’ has been designed keeping stunting in mind, with a dedicated mode (called ‘Wheelie’ mode, in which the power to rear wheel is moderated when front wheel is in air). Weighing about 7 kgs more than a conventional pushbike, the bike has a carbon fibre frame and 26” carbon fibre-reinforced plastic wheels. Powered by a Li-ion battery, the range of the pushbike is 50-70 km, with a top speed of 80 km/h. The most interesting feature of the bike is an on-board computer which wire-lessly communicates with the rider’s smart-phone, along with keeping a record of the number of stunts rider has performed, along with comparing them to others on Facebook.

This interesting piece of machine will be revealed at Worthersee Volkswagen Group enthusiast expo later this year.

Bajaj launches new Discover 125 ST

Bajaj Auto has just launched the Discover 125 ST in India. The ST monicker here stands for ‘Sports Tourer’ which Bajaj says is a first for the Discover platform. The 125 ST is powered by a 125-cc, twin-spark, air-cooled, 4-valve engine producing 13 PS of peak power and 10.8Nm of peak torque. The big change here is the inclusion of a monoshock suspension, designed to endow the Discover with sportier handling than its peers which traditionally employs archaic twin shock absorbers at the rear.

Like most of its siblings, the ST will also employ Bajaj’s patented ExhausTEC, and also incorporate a 200 petal disc brake setup upfront for better braking prowess. With a kerb weight of 124.5 kgs, the ST is good enough to reach a top speed of around 105 kmph thanks to a new five-speed gearbox and all the aforementioned innovations. Fuel tank capacity stands at a conservative 10 litres.

The new Discovers will go on sale next month, and pricing will be released at the time of its sale. Currently, the price of the Discover range starts from Rs 50,000 (on-road, Pune).

Italian marque reveals first bike after being rescued last year

After being rescued by Eagle Bikes, owned by Sandro Capotosti and Ruggeromassimo Jannuzzelli, Moto Morini have revealed a new bike, called the Rebello 1200, on their 75th anniversary.

This new bike shares its 1,200-cc, 133 PS V-twin with its elder cousin, the Corsaro. It also shares the tubular steel frame with the Corsaro. However, the styling is reminiscent of the old café racers. The suspension set-up includes fully adjustable Marzocchi front forks and Öhlins adjustable rear shock. Braking at both the ends has been taken care of by Brembo. The Rebello will come with an innovative electrically moveable saddle that takes the it from monoposto to biposto with a simple flick of switch, while maintaining the bike’s rear-cowling look.

In keeping with its siblings’ pricing strategy, expect the Rebello 1200 to be priced around the Rs. 10 lakh (approximately € 14k) mark in European markets when it goes on sale later this year.

 

First mass market offering from the company is now on sale

Suzuki Motorcycles India have launched the Hayate commuter motorcycle unveiled by them at the Auto Expo 2012. It has a youthful design, similar to Honda Twister and is powered by a 112cc four- stroke engine. Power and torque figures haven’t been disclosed as of now. The bike has drum brakes and alloy wheels as standard and is available in 5 colour schemes.

The Hayate will compete against the Honda Twister, TVS Jive, Yamaha YBR 110 and the upcoming Hero Passion X Pro and Honda’s Dream Yuga. It is available in two variants, with the kick start one priced at Rs 40,162 and the Kick+electric at Rs 42,162 (ex-showrrom Pune). The bike has been currently launched in the west zone but the other regional launches will occur in a matter of time. Stay tuned for more information and the detailed review of the bike.

Brammo announces pricing and availability of Empulse range of electric motorcycles; ties up with Icon Motorsports

Brammo, the Oregon-based electric vehicle specialists, have announced the pricing and availability of their premium Empulse and Empulse R electric motorcycles. The two models, priced at $16,995 and $18,995 respectively (in the USA) will go on sale later this year and be capable of reaching a top speed of 160kmph and a peak range of over 150 kilometres. The company claims that the 9.3 kilowatt battery driving the bike can be recharged in 3.5 hours from any standard household while the riding experience will be pretty similar to conventional motorcycles because of the six-speed gearbox and regenerative braking (similar to engine braking) like a normal motorcycle.

In other news, the company also announced that Icon Motorsports, the American helmet and riding apparel manufacturer, will be their main sponsors for the 2012 race season. Team Icon Brammo is set to compete in the four regular season races, in addition to the TTXGP World Final at the legendary Daytona International Speedway.

For more details on the Empulse and Empulse R, hit up their company website at www.brammo.com

 

Pulsar crosses 50 lakh sales mark

The country’s second largest two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto today said its Pulsar model motorcycles have crossed 50 lakh units sales mark since its launch over 10 years ago.

“The (Pulsar) brand has crossed the landmark 5 million sales mark, while celebrating a decade of existence. Pulsar is the only brand in the performance segment which has crossed the 5 million mark in India,” Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) said in a statement.
The company had first introduced the Pulsar motorcycles in November 2001 in two engine capacities — 180 cc and 150 cc, which now has expanded to a portfolio starting from 135 cc light-sports model to 220 cc ‘street-fighter’ product and enjoys a market share of 44 per cent in the performance segment, BAL claimed.
“Not many brands in the Indian automobile space have crossed the 5 million mark. This holds true even for mass motorcycles. The Pulsar range has received many accolades over the years,” BAL President (Motorcycle Business) K Srinivas said.
The company had unveiled the Pulsar 200 NS early this year and it is hopeful of the model doing good in the market, he added.

On- and off-roader bike has a 798-cc parallel twin engine

BMW Motorrad, the two-wheeler division of German car manufacturers BMW, recently launched the BMW F650 GS in the country. This 798-cc parallel twin on- and off-roader promises 72 PS of peak power and 75 Nm of maximum torque and weighs about 200 kg. It comes with a 19-inch front wheel and a 17-inch rear one, with disc brakes at both ends. The engine has been mated with a six-speed transmission and the bike has a telescopic suspension at the front and an adjustable mono-shock at the rear. ABS is an optional feature, which can also be switched off.

The BMW F650GS has been priced at Rs 9.99 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi). With the competitors in this segment being priced lower than this, the price of this Beemer sure sounds rather steep, but then it is most likely to attract a different set of customers too.

Mahindra Two Wheelers registers 7% growth, riding high on the success of Duro DZ scooter

Mahindra Two Wheelers Ltd (MTWL), a part of the US $14.4 billion Mahindra Group, continued to build its presence in the two wheeler segment. The company’s scooter sales in April 2012 stood at 10191 units, a growth of 7% over last year. The newly introduced Mahindra Duro DZ continued to receive great customer response across the country.

“We are really encouraged by the enthusiastic customer response that the new Mahindra Duro DZ continues to receive across the nation. Our future growth momentum will be driven by a range of similarly exciting, new product launches over the next few months.” said Mr. Viren Popli, Senior V.P. Strategy and Market Development, Mahindra Two Wheelers.

The cumulative sales for the company have crossed a landmark figure of three lakh units, with both the Rodeo and Duro scooter brands having a franchise of more than one lakh consumers across the country. Mahindra 2 Wheelers’ powerful 125 cc scooters cater to a range of consumer segments. The Mahindra Rodeo with its very innovative, contemporary features is popular amongst young couples, while the Mahindra Duro DZ is positioned as a solid family scooter. The Flyte is the Indian woman’s two-wheeler of choice.

Honda CB Shine gets new clothes

HMSI is strengthening its market position in the 125cc motorcycle segment by unveiled the refreshed look of its popular CB Shine. The CB Shine now comes in 2 new colours – Force Silver Metallic and Monsoon Grey Metallic. CB Shine however will continue to be available in its existing colours – Black, Geny Grey Metallic and Rebel Red Metallic and now comes with new graphics on the fuel tank. In its refreshed avatar, the new CB Shine will soon be available in 3 variants: Spoke wheels with drum brakes (with tuff-up tube), Alloy wheels with drum brakes (with tubeless tyres) and Alloy wheels with Disc brakes (with tubeless tyres). The new look is bound to bring in the breed of bikers who are out for a sporty looking bike which gives good mileage and not to forget the all important front disc brake option.