New Bike Launches in India

Regular readers might remember the buzz about a bigger Pulsar being on the cards; that news has now been confirmed by no less than Rajiv Bajaj, who announced that his R&D department is working on a 375cc Pulsar, expected to be launched in 2013.

The bigger Pulsar will not be as radical a redesign as the 200NS is, but will debut as an elder sibling of the 200NS. It will be equipped with a fuel-injected 375cc, single cylinder, triple-spark liquid-cooled engine, with power and torque expected to be around 32PS and 25Nm respectively. This new Pulsar will be sharing its engine with the KTM 375 bike which is currently in the works, and both are expected to be launched at around the same time in 2013.

With an expected price of INR 1.5-1.75 lacs, the big Pulsar could be a threat to the Kawasaki/Honda/Hyosung 250s, and might well become the king of affordable performance biking in India.

An Indonesian blog has leaked what is claimed to be a drawing of a forthcoming naked bike based on the latest Kawasaki Ninja 300

The drawing identifies the bike as a 250cc model, but just as the 250cc and 300cc Ninjas are visually identical, the sketch, if real, is likely to be an exact representation of a 300cc naked bike that the market expects to get. The drawing uses the name ER250C, which suggests it could be part of the same family as the parallel twin ER6 and possibly be called the ER3. The styling though has cues from the Z800 and Z1000, so a Z300 nomenclature might be more suitable as it would align the bike with Kawasaki’s sporty nakeds, just as the Ninja 300 is aligned with the ZX-6R and ZX-10R. The bike could also be named J300, as Kawasaki recently applied for a trademark on that name.

The engine, suspension, frame and wheels appear identical to the Ninja 250/300, but the styling is far more edgy and different than was expected. Kawasaki appears to have gone beyond just replacing the front fairing, and has included a new tank, seat unit and exhaust. There is a chance that this is not an official drawing, but the same blog has also revealed documents pertaining to the ER250C submitted by Kawasaki to the Indonesian transport authority. It is believed that Kawasaki might use its manufacturing facilities in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines to build the bike.

This could be big news, as there are very few naked quarter-liter bikes in the market, aside from the not-for-North-America Suzuki GW250. The Ninja 250 has been one of the most popular 250 in India too, so the new naked 300, if a reality, could be sweet news for Indian bike enthusiasts!

 

Source and pic courtesy: TMCBlog.com

TVS motors have launched their new 125cc offering, the Phoenix, in Chennai today.

Targeted towards the commuter segment, the Phoenix has been equipped with some features which are firsts on TVS bikes. Like a fully digital speedometer, digital fuel gauge, low battery reminder, trip meter, hazard lamps etc… to name a few. The Phoenix churns out 11 PS of peak power at 8000 rpm while company officials claim a fuel economy of over 67 kmpl under standard riding conditions.

Speaking at the Launch Mr.Venu Srinivasan, Chairman TVS stated,”We hope to increase our market share in the commuter segment with the launch of the 125cc Phoenix and with the festival season coming up are targeting around fifteen thousand motorcycles per month. This launch also completes our motorcycle product portfolio.”

Yamaha Motors India have officially launched the Ray in the Indian market.

Since its spy images which were making a round on the net, this scooter offering from Yamaha has been generating quite an enthusiastic response. Yamaha has targeted the Ray towards women and have roped in Deepika Padokone as their brand ambassador. The Ray packs a 113 cc engine, delivering 7.1 PS of peak power and 8.1 Nm of torque. Yamaha have priced the ray at Rs 46,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi). Stay tuned for the complete road test of the Yamaha Ray in our forthcoming issues.

 

In a market like India, where two-wheelers enjoy a major share, shrunken sales figures of motorcycles in this year comes as a surprise to many.

The data furnished by SIAM shows that such a dip has been recorded for the first time since 2009. Sales fall of 8.5 percent has been recorded, at 7,66,123 units for the month under review. The reason for this dip in sales, SIAM states, is due to high inflationary rate in the economy, especially fuel price hike, and bad spell of monsoon, which has affected the buyer sentiments in both urban and rural areas. All major two-wheeler manufacturers have suffered this fall in sales. The percentage dip in the sales of some manufacturers is- TVS Motors (the highest, 21% dip) BajajAuto (with a dip of 10% in sales). Hero Motocorp weren’t left unaffected either and their sales fell for the first time in many years, as the demand for their entry-level commuters went down. However, the company expects their sales to grow again as the festive season approaches.

 

According to a recent news report in one of the nation’s leading dailies, Hero MotoCorp will be phasing out their Impulse and Ignitor motorcycles and Maestro scooter soon as they have been launched with technology assistance from erstwhile partner Honda Motor Co of Japan.

Pawan Munjal, MD of Hero MotoCorp, said the company wants an independent robust R&D set-up, for which it has stitched up a new technology agreement with a European design and technology provider — its third such partner since its split from Honda last year. He said going forward, Hero MotoCorp wants to develop products with its new partners so that it can replace those developed with Honda.

Hero, that is setting up an integrated R&D centre near Jaipur with an investment of Rs 400 crore, has been getting aggressive in firming up alliances to guarantee new technology flow after the departure of Honda. Munjal did not disclose the name of the new European partner. In February, the company announced a partnership with US superbike company Erik Buell Racing (EBR), and in March signed a research deal with Austrian engine manufacturer AVL.

BMW Motorrad has been busy perfecting an electric scooter for a long time now.

The company has now unveiled a new “near-production” electric scooter: the BMW C evolution. The scooter boasts of a range of 100 km on one full charge. The C evolution scooter can reach a 70 percent charge after approximately thirty minutes spent plugged in. BMW claims that the C evolution has outstanding performance for an e-scooter, with a low center of gravity and the instant high-torque nature of the electric motor both combining to make the vehicle more than a match for the current crop of maxi scooters sporting a capacity in excess of 600 cc. The C evolution’s motor churns out 11 kW continuous output and 35 kW peak output and achieves its 100 km range from a 8 kWh battery. The generator function of the alternator creates drag torque, resulting in the familiar engine brake that takes effect when reducing the accelerator on a normal fuel two-wheeler. The C evolution further performs energy recuperation when braking by converting kinetic energy into electrical energy in order to charge the battery.

There’s no news yet as to when we can expect the C evolution electric scooter to hit the market, nor the price it will command once it appears and even if it will come to India. However, BMW is currently undertaking trials of the C evolution in London, presumably with a view to beginning a wider manufacturing process relatively soon.

Japanese automotive heavyweights Honda have planned to form a joint venture with local players in Bangladesh.

As you might be aware, Honda used to sell their motorcycles in Bangladesh through Hero MotoCorp, but since their split in 2011 Honda are planning to re-enter market on their own. A JV with local businesses is the best bet for the Japanese heavyweight in order to set-up a low cost assembly facility, with an annual sales target of 10,000 to 20,000 units. With launches like the Dream Yuga, Shine and Twister along with the evergreen Activa and Dio – and more new models being planned for semi-urban and rural markets – the Japanese marque are also looking to increase dealership network in India. Now, with Honda entering the Bangladesh market independently shortly, it can be said that their motto “Power of dreams” is surely driving them in their pursuit to become No.1 in the Indian sub-continent.

The next-gen Ninja series is ready to be officially unveiled in the USA

Of late, there has been an overkill of Kawasaki Ninja news. Love it or hate it, but you surely can’t ignore it. Here’s another interesting news bit on the international marque. This time round, Kawasaki Motorcycle Corp. USA are set to go big at the ‘Big Apple’ come September 13th. The famed Japanese two-wheeler maker is gearing up for the global debut of its 2013 Ninja line-up, which includes the beastly ZX-10R, ZR-6R and the baby Ninja 250R. The company will stream out a live feed of the line-up reveal at New York’s famed Times square. Aptly themed as the ‘Ninja Times Square Takeover’, the city that never sleeps is going to be painted green from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm.

 

Kawasaki have planned out a two-block display of their motorcycles, as well as their celebration carnival which stretches along Broadway from West 45th to West 47th Street. For all you die-hard Kawasaki fans, the highlight of the celebration will be great music, give-aways, along with special celebrity guests and the legendary Kawasaki motorcycles like the ZX-1 on display.

Looks like the US of A is gonna have a heck of a ‘green day’!

After being pushed down to the fourth position in the Indian two-wheeler market, TVS Motor are not willing to take things lying down.

The Hosur-based company is readying a slew of new two-wheeler models, including the Phoenix executive-commuter which was spied being tested near the company’s factory in Tamil Nadu. The bike strongly resembles the 125-cc concept, Radeon, which was shown during the 2012 Auto Expo. Slated for an October launch, it carries similar design cues as seen on the TVS Star City, with an all-black engine, exhaust and six-spoke alloy wheels. Going by the spy pictures, the new executive-commuter has nothing in common with the TVS Flame, except the 124.8-cc, single-spark, air-cooled motor capable of producing about 10.5 PS and 10 Nm. The good looking petal disc brakes in front hint at it being positioned towards the premium side of the 125-cc segment at an estimated price of Rs 50,000.

YouTube user, Anil R Nair, has uploaded a sneak preview of what seems to be the TV promos for the new Phoenix. Being surreptitiously shot with what seems to be a cellphone camera, the video quality is a bit blurry and shaky, but it gives us a fair idea of how the new bike will be squared against the competition. Expecially noteworthy is the snazzy instrument console in orange with a huge speedo, service indicator, fuel gauge and tripmeter among other paraphernalia. We can’t wait to see what other surprises this TVS have in store for us.

Watch the leaked promo here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WCvWQp1g9I

 

 

 

Image courtesy: www.motorbeam.com