New Bike Launches in India

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.

 

Mahindra’s 2 Wheeler has decided to relaunch its bread and butter winner, the Stallio in November. The production of the motorcycle had been stopped in Feburary to sort out issues with the bike and it will be launched again after the festive season.

Mahindra also has announced that will be raising the prices of all their vehicles by 2% soon. While that have not announced the reason for this increase, we feel that the reason might lie in the natural inflation of money or rising advertising costs.

The new redesigned 2011 Yamaha R15 2.0 will be available at Rs. 1.07Lacs (ex-showroom Delhi).

This was announced today at the bike’s launch in New Delhi today. Adhish Alwani was at Le Meridien covering the event.

 

 

The 2011 Yamaha R15 features:

• New engine fairing
• New 5 spoke alloy wheels
• New look exhaust
• New rear fender and tyre hugger
• Split seat
• All new tail lamp cluster
• New graphics
• New ECU mapping
• Bigger 220mm rear disc
• Rear tyre 130mm and front 90mm
• Weight increased by 5kgs
• Aluminium swingarm (First in 150cc bike category)
• No changes in power and torque figures
• Colours: Racing Blue, Midnight Black & Sunset Red
• 4% less aerodynamic drag

The Austrians have launched a bike that many Indians want, in Kuala Lampur

It’s a relief to see the bike in flesh after just having spy shots available for what seems like an eternity. The real pain is playing spot the difference between the 200cc and 125cc versions of the Duke.

Pricing is an aspect which would certainly bring a smile to the faces of Indian enthusiasts. With the affordable-performance range now starting at the low end with Pulsar 220 and ending with CBR 250 or Ninja 250, the Duke is expected to come up close to the Rs 1.1L mark, creating another sub price range. This, we feel is quite reasonable for a bike painted in orange, with supermoto capabilities made by a Dakar rally legend manufacturer.

The Duke 200 looks like it means business and has a purposefully design. The bike’s styling is in fact so provocative, the Malaysian Prime Minister who unveiled the bike couldn’t help but swing his leg over it, never mind the inhibitive clothing or the fact that he isn’t 16 years old.

The bike will be launched in India by the end of 2011 and we can’t wait to grab the handlebars of this one, so stay tuned for a Bike India ride report.