Salman Khan becomes Suzuki brand ambassador

Suzuki Motorcycle India Private Limited (SMIPL) today announced Salman Khan as its first ever brand ambassador in India. The ‘Dabangg’ star with a massive fan-following will spearhead Suzuki’s above-the-line and below-the-line initiatives, and will be seen endorsing the new Hayate motorcycle soon.

Suzuki two-wheelers will be looking at associating with Salman Khan across the gamut of his projects, campaigns and initiatives. With the recent aggressive product launches that provides customers a choice in each segment, Suzuki two-wheelers has embarked on a journey of ramping up its presence and relationships across the country and market segments. For Suzuki two-wheelers, the iconic status of Salman Khan and his national, cross-market, cross-segment appeal combined well with the Company’s recently adopted brand theme of Apna Way of Life.

Mr. Atul Gupta, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, SMIPL, said, “We are delighted to have Mr Salman Khan associating with one of the world’s most iconic two-wheeler brands. We believe that Suzuki and Salman together will make an emotional connect with all sections of customers that Suzuki’s range of two-wheelers reaches out to. The association with Salman was driven by the imperative of quickly building a strong connection between the Suzuki two-wheeler brand and the different segments that our expanding range of products is addressing.”

Vespa is poised to make their second foray into the Indian scooter market, come April 26^th. We have ridden their first offering, the LX 125, and are working on our ride report, to be featured in the May 2012 issue of BI. In the meantime, feast your eyes on these pictures.

 

 

 

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Full details about Lisbeth Salander’s motorcycle in TGWTDT finally emerge

It is a truth generally acknowledged that whenever Europe or Asia comes up with an excellent film, Hollywood will usually follow suit with a high-budget remake and completely ruin the original’s reputation. Not such with David Fincher, the director of several cult movies like Seven, Zodiac and Fight Club. Fincher’s attention to detail and obsession to every minute aspect of his prop pieces is legendary and his latest remake of Stieg Larsson’s acclaimed masterpiece, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is an apt example. Now, thanks to our friends over at BikeExif, we have some details on how the cafe-racer (ridden by Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander) that played a pivotal part in the movie was developed.

The bikes here are three late 1960s Honda CB 350s, coml,etely stripped to the bone and rebuilt to the director’s specifications by noted customiser, Justin Kell of Glory Motor Works in LA. All three CBs were restored, stripped, cleaned, re-painting, powder-coated, polished and cadmium plated for the shots. Since the shots called for good lighting, HID headlamps were fitted in the bike. Things like clutches, brakes, wiring harness and spokes were replaced and the engine was given everything new to the bits, even new valve job, pistons and rings. The carburetters were rebuilt and fuel tanks were stripped and relined. Flat track style seats were installed, covered in vintage glove leather.

All this labor showed good results in the movie, we know. After all it ain’t easy to make an old lady look the same age as a young damsel. Watch the final result here and you will agree.

Ducati launches special edition Monster in collaboration with fashion giant, Diesel

If the German car-maker Audi goes ahead with its plans of buying Ducati, who knows, there may be a TDI engine powered Duke in the future. For now, check out this special edition Monster launched by the Italian marquee recently.

Diesel is an Italian clothing brand most famous for their denims. Diesel has been associated with Ducati since last year as their MotoGP team sponsor. Taking the partnership forward, Ducati has launched the special edition of their Monster 1100EVO naked street-bike called the ‘Monster Diesel’.

It has military green body panels in matte finish and yellow brake callipers on the front disc rotors while the footpegs, seat, wheels, exhaust and even the trellis chassis are all painted in black. Also, the exhaust heat shield and the seat have ribbed design. Diesel on their part have launched a special collection of riding gear and accessories under the ‘Capsule collection’. The Monster Diesel was unveiled at the Diesel store in New York city, USA recently but will arrive in Ducati showrooms only by July this year.

Triumph launches special-edition Bonneville

To celebrate 110 years of making motorcycles, Triumph has just unveiled the 110th Anniversary Special Bonneville, which will be limited to 1,000 units priced at Rs.590,000 approx. (in the UK). Each anniversary model will come with a special numbered plaque on the handlebar clamp, as well as a numbered certificate.

This Anniversary Special bike was inspired by the 1902 No.1 model, and sports a unique anniversary crest, conceptualized by the early Triumph tank badges and a retro-inspired Brooklands green and aluminum silver paint scheme.

The 10th Anniversary Special Edition Bonnevilles are expected to reach showrooms in April in the UK.

Willie G. Davidson Senior Vice President and Chief Styling Officer, is retiring from Harley-Davidson after 49 years of working at his namesake company as head of styling

April 30, 2012 will be his last day at the office where legendary work in the world of motorcycling and motorcycle design came alive. He will continue being a part of the company as an ambassador at motorcycle rallies and events, and through special design projects as Chief Styling Officer.

Over the course of his career, Willie G., now 78yrs, revitalized the design team at Harley-Davidson which gave the company unrivaled leadership in custom, cruiser and touring motorcycles. Today, the styling department is led by 19-year company veteran Ray Drea, Vice President and Director of Styling, who has worked with Willie G. in the development of numerous milestone vehicles.

Grandson of one of the company’s founders, William A. Davidson, and son of William H. Davidson, its second president, Willie G. had joined the company as its first head of styling in 1963. With a lot of responsibility on his shoulders for the look of all Harley-Davidson motorcycles, landmark motorcycles started emerging from Willie G’s styling studio. The list includes the Super Glide, Low Rider, Heritage Softail Classic, Fat Boy, V-Rod and Street Glide.

Willie G. has long served as ambassador of Harley-Davidson at rallies around the world – meeting riders, talking to customers, lending his famous signature to jackets and other apparel. We hope he continues to do the same for years to come.

As we predicted Honda officially launched the 2012 CBR 250R in India today

Yes, the bike now is offered in the ‘Pearl Heron Blue’ sporty tri-color option in addition to the two existing dual-tone colour options – Candy Ruby Red and Asteroid Black Metallic. No, unfortunately, there is no spike in power or performance, as Honda still delivers 25.3PS power and 22.9 Nm torque. Sigh.

The ‘new’ CBR 250R Standard is priced at Rs. 1.44 lakh and Rs. 1.69 lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi) for the C-ABS version. You have to shell out another grand for the new tri-colour option. The 2012 bikes will be available at all Honda dealerships starting early March, 2012.

In a quick comeback to all the recent developments in the country’s 200 cc to 250 cc motorcycle segment, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) has reloaded the CBR 250R

and is geared up to launch the 2012 version sooner than you think. How does first week of March ’12 sound?

Currently, the 249.6 cc bike can churn out 25.3PS peak power @ 8500rpm and 22.9Nm maximum torque @ 7000rpm, and with ABS weighs 167kgs. The competition has beefed up in the meanwhile as the new KTM 200 Duke can produce 25 PS and weighs just 136 kg, while the new Pulsar 200NS at 145kg produces 23.52PS, giving them an edge in the power to weight department.

If you noticed, we used the word ‘currently’, by which we mean (and hope), that Honda will be looking at working on the ECU so that the CBR 250R whips out slightly more power and at the same remains frugal. Moreover the HRC red-blue-white livery along with other new shade will continue to draw eye-balls. Wonderful stuff!

On the price front, the smashing KTM 200 Duke and Pulsar 200NS price tags will make sure that the 2012 does not cost the moon. The 2011 version of the Honda is priced at Rs 1.59 lakh for the non-ABS version and Rs 1.87 lakh for the ABS equipped CBR 250R, on road Pune. However, we can expect a slight bump in price by a couple of grand.

We are loving it as the 250-cc game intensifies. And while Honda is at it, wouldn’t we love to see a street-fighter inspired 250 from the Japanese auto giant?

Bajaj have a crackling winner on its hands, says Saeed Akhtar, after his stint aboard the Pulsar 200NS at the company’s Chakan racetrack

 

Shift+Delete. Forget everything that you know about Pulsars. Throw all your preconceived notions about how the infusion of KTM chromosomes into the Pulsar DNA ought to turn out, out of the window. Because, and we are glad to report this, the Pulsar 200NS is a completely different breed of beast from its predecessors, and interestingly enough, even from the bike it shares its platform with, the KTM 125 and 200 Duke.

Visually, the 200NS is an arresting machine. The new tank shrouds, exposed twin-spar frame, brutish front end and relatively spartan rear end has moved the visual mass forward, endowing the bike with a proper mean streetfighter look. It also helps that the engine, gearbox (in glorious brushed gold finish), radiator, and underslung exhaust all combine to create the impression of a much fuller and grown-up bike than it really is. Fat tubeless tyres and petal discs moored to ten-spoke alloys at both ends round up the big-bike impression.

With 23.52PS of power on tap at 9500rpm and 18.3Nm of turning force at 8000rpm, the triple spark plugged, four valves SOHC, 200NS is a hoot to ride around the Bajaj test track in Chakan, near Pune. Bajaj’s ExhausTEC technology has lent a discernible edge to its low-down power and it could pull cleanly and progressively from as low as 2000rpm, all the way to the 10,000 rpm redline in 6^th gear. Oh yes, there is a sixth gear now. Barrelling down the main straight we saw an indicated 141kmph on the speedo before hitting the anchors. That’s proper fast! Bajaj claims a 0-60kmph timing of 3.61 seconds and sprint to 100 from naught in just 9.83 seconds – which we will confirm once we strap our timing gear onto it – and it certainly felt like the bike was capable of achieving it. Like in the current Pulsars, this one also has a counterbalancer, but here it makes the bike a lot smoother, which, combined with its rev-happy nature and slick transmission, makes it an exhilarating machine. Vibes are practically non-existent, even at the top of its rev range when the orange shift light is blinking madly, begging you to upshift.

Handling is another area where the Pulsar 200NS has dramatically improved. Gone are the archaic twin shock-absorbers at the rear, now replaced by a monoshock with piggyback gas canister which endows the bike with excellent stability and poise in and out of corners. A longer wheelbase and bigger 100/80 and 130/70 tubeless tyres shod on 17 inch rims are the other factors for this newfound prowess. However, as with the Pulsar 220, we still wish the rider’s footpegs were mounted a bit higher, preventing it from grounding and enabling riders to exploit its cornering abilities to the fullest on trackdays. Should not be much of a bother for normal street use though. 280mm and 230mm diameter petal discs at both front and rear does the stopping duties and they look smashing but we will reserve judgment over how efficient they really are until the full road-test next month. 

Ten years ago, the Pulsar brand came out of nowhere and transformed a nondescript ‘scooter-maker’ into the torchbearer for affordable performance biking in the country. Today, with the launch of the Pulsar 200NS, they are attempting to re-revolutionise the segment and the first impression is they they have succeeded resoundingly. Agreed, the competition is much hotter and bigger now, but we still feel that the 200NS will hold its own against everything it is pitted against. The crucial element, like always, will, however, be the pricing but that has always been Bajaj’s ace card, so there. Expect the 200NS to retail for around INR 90,000 to 95,000 (ex-showroom, Pune) when it goes on sale at the end of next month. A stylish, power-packed, feature-filled, fun-to-ride streetfighter for less than a lakh? Take a bow, Bajaj!

 

Watch the walkaround video here.

 

Read the full ride report in the March 2012 issue of BIKE India, on stands soon.

Yamaha R15 v2.0 Limited Edition colours goes on sale

Visitors to the Yamaha stall at the Auto Expo last month will remember the two Yamaha R15 v2.0s in striking limited edition colours very vividly. Both the two versions, WGP 50th Anniversary Edition and Fiery Red Special Edition have recently gone on sale now, at a slightly higher price point than the standard version. While the R15 WGP edition is priced at INR 1,11,000, the Fiery Red edition is priced at INR 1,10,000, both ex-showroom, New Delhi. As befitting the LE monicker, these two editions will be produced in limited numbers, just about a couple of thousand units. So, in case you are planning to get your hands on one these, we suggest you hurry to the nearest Yamaha showroom ASAP.