New Bike Launches in India

Jamming the brakes on all rumours doing the rounds about Yamaha joining hands with Mahindra 2-Wheelers

, the Japanese company released an official statement  which says, “Yamaha Motor denied media reports of its business partnership with Mahindra 2Wheelers and announced that it is committed to the Indian market and plans to make investments in capacity expansion as well as new product development.

Adding to the whole issue, India Yamaha Motor CEO & MD, Mr. Hiroyuki Suzuki said, “We are not looking for business partnership with any company. Our Mid-term plan is on track and we will be making sizeable investments for new product development, sales & service network strengthening and capacity expansion over the next few years.”

Guess that’s the end to a spicy buzz conjured by the rumour mills.

TVS Motor Company to expand its operations in Eastern India

The Commerce and Industry Minister, Government of West Bengal, Mr. Partha Chaterjee, today handed over to TVS Motor Company and Mahabharat Motors Manufacturing Company, the in-principle permission granted by the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation Limited for the demerger of the two wheeler business of Mahabharat Motors Manufacturing Company, into a separate company through the court process of demerger. After the demerger, TVS Motor Company will invest in this new venture subject to approval that may be required by law and Government Regulations.

TVS Motor Company, which had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Mahabharat Motors Manufacturing Company, West Bengal in 2008, will thereby take a larger role in the demerged company and facilitate stronger presence in the eastern region of the Indian market. It may be recalled that as per the MOU, which was signed in 2008, TVS Motor Company was to provide technical support for the manufacturing facility. In addition, TVS Motor Company was to train personnel as per the quality procedures and standards followed at its other assembly plants. The manufacturing facility was created in accordance with the MOU and commercial production commenced in September 2010.

TVS Motor Company will retain the existing staff and workers of Mahabharat Motors Manufacturing Company and it expects to manufacture initially around 1000 motorcycles per month. TVS Motor Company will also use this facility as a hub to service West Bengal and North East markets. TVS Motor Company currently has three world class manufacturing facilities within India in Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh to manufacture two and three wheelers.

Piaggio plans to redefine the scooter market in India with the new Vespa range

A few months back, Bike India broke the news of Italian two-wheeler conglomerate Piaggio relaunching the Vespa brand in India. And now, reports of sightings around the Piaggio plant in Pune suggests that the first scooter from the iconic Vespa stable to be launched in India will be the LX 125.

From its markedly retro design to the styling of its headlamps and horns, the LX 125 scooter bears all the characteristic Vespa design cues. Unlike most Indian scooters, but in keeping with the international Vespa tradition, there is no spare wheel at the back, just a minimalistic chrome grab rail instead. According to our sources, alloy wheels (both five and three spoked) and disc brakes are available, although it is not clear whether if they will be a part of standard equipment.

In its second Indian outing, Piaggio plans to peg the Vespa brand as a lifestyle brand that will be targeted solely at the fashion-conscious urban customer. Bring it on, we say.

This October will witness the green streak of the latest ZZR 1400

In the world of superbikes everyone from Japan to Italy is trying to make a motorcycle that would push the limits of speeds. Yet, many years ago superbikes started getting so quick that the manufacturers started limiting their top speed electronically. Since then, the battle for top speed is pretty much a moot point. Acceleration, engine size etc. have not been able to become the holy grail of superbike worship either. 

And continuing in this spirit, Kawasaki will be launching the latest big-daddy-of-everything-lime-green , the ZZR 1400 (or ZX-14 or ZX-14R) on October 10th of 2011. Kawasaki has maintained almost CIA like security and has not revealed any new info on the bike. It did however, release a lot of teaser videos for us to enjoy. Check them out on www.bikeindia.in.