Latest Bike News

Audi buys Ducati

April 18, 2012 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Audi to pay $1.12 billion for Ducati, including debt

Audi has agreed to buy Ducati from owners Investindustrial for about 860 million euros ($1.12 billion) including debt, sources familiar with the companies told news-agencies on Tuesday. The iconic Bolognese manufacturer’s total liabilities are less than 200 million euros according to Investindustrial, and the deal would value Ducati at about seven times last year’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, minus debt. Both the companies involved in the deal has declined to release specific details about the deal until the annual VW shareholders’ meeting scheduled for Thursday, 19th April.

Volkswagen Chairman Ferdinand Piech, who turned 75 on Tuesday, has long coveted the brand, publicly expressing interest in buying Ducati four years ago before eventually losing out to Investindustrial. The purchase will now make Ducati the 11th brand in VW’s portfolio, alongside such revered supercar marques as Lamborghini and Bugatti and heavy-duty truck manufacturers Scania AB and MAN SE.

Road & Track Assault

April 17, 2012 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Ducati Panigale to make international racing début

The 1199 Panigale superbike, unveiled by Ducati recently, will be seen scorching racetracks around the world and will also do the legendary mountain course of the Isle of Man TT.

The Panigale will be ridden in the Superstock category of the World Superbike Championship (WSBK) this year to develop the bike’s racing capabilities for a Superbike category assault next year. The project will be a privateer effort, handled by the Effenbert-Liberty Racing outfit, who are going to field two 1199 Panigale S bikes, ridden by Brett McCormick and Federico Sandi.

In the Isle of Man TT, the bike will be ridden by the British rider, Steve Mercer, for the JMF Millsport Ducati team. Mercer will be racing the Panigale in three categories of the event: the Superbike, Senior TT and Superstock races. Apart from the TT, Mercer will also ride the bike in other domestic events in the UK for Millsport this year.

Road & Track Assault

April 17, 2012 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Ducati Panigale to make international racing début

The 1199 Panigale superbike, unveiled by Ducati recently, will be seen scorching racetracks around the world and will also do the legendary mountain course of the Isle of Man TT.

Bajaj Pulsar 200NS Ready For Launch Now

April 16, 2012 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Component revision affects earlier schedule

We rode the Pulsar 200NS on Bajaj Auto’s test track in February this year to come back with the impression that this was the best Pulsar made so far. We had also said that it would be launched in April after the KTM 200 Duke. However, the bike had not appeared in the showrooms yet. The reason?

Bajaj are betting big on the Pulsar 200NS and they want it to be just perfect. The automotive media, though generally impressed by the bike, had a thing or two to suggest after the pre-launch ride, to which the company was receptive. A limited number of bikes were also given out to commuters while the company was busy testing the bike in real world conditions. Based on this feedback, the company is making minor changes to fine-tune their offering.

From what we hear, Bajaj are working on a few components inside the engine to improve refinement. The headlight will get a more powerful bulb and some of the body components are undergoing quality revision.

Now the bike is expected to be launched some time this month. Well, as they say, a stitch in time saves nine.

APEX Racing Academy

April 12, 2012 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Learn your ABC and R’s of racetrack riding

Before you go racing on a racetrack, you need to know how to ride on a racetrack and for those who didn’t grow up doing it, instinct alone isn’t enough. The skill has to be developed by learning and what is a better place to learn something than a school.

The Bangalore based APEX Racing Academy is one such school that offers this special course. The academy has a team of experienced racers who teach the students how to ride on the track along with theoretical lessons on the techniques. The academy will be hosting their next session on April 21 and 22 at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore. Participants can opt for the academy’s specially prepared bikes or can even ride their own. Fees for the two day course are Rs 5,000. Those who don’t want the course but won’t mind some company while they ride on the track can do so by paying Rs 2,900. For more details, contact +91 9845031273 (Anil Kumar S) or email your query to ping@apexracing.in.

APEX Racing Academy

April 12, 2012 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Learn your ABC and R’s of racetrack riding

Hyosung Joins the Fray

April 11, 2012 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Garware Motors officially confirms GT250R for India

Following months of speculations amongst Indian bikers, Garware Motors have finally announced that they are going to launch the Hyosung GT 250R in India. The Korean two-wheeler major is no stranger to the 250cc segment in India, having first sold the Comet ( in collaboration with the now-defunct Kinetic Motors) a long time before other manufacturers had even started thinking about the segment. However, limited availability and high costs of spares created a lukewarm reception for what was an otherwise excellent motorcycle.

This time round, the company will leave no stones unturned to make the 250 a success and will also offer tempting finance schemes to woo buyers. The biggest challenge for the Korean bike-makers will be to price the GT250R competitively in view of the massive import duties and taxes it attracts. Most of the 200-cc to 250-cc bikes are priced well under Rs 2 lakh, except the Ninja 250R, which costs close to Rs 3 lakh.

The company already sells three of their unique models, ST7 Royale, GT 650R and GT 650N across the country with 16 dealership which also includes presence in tier II and tier III cities. As with the bigger GT 650R, there is a distinct possibility that Hyosung will also introduce a naked version of the GT 250R soon.

Watch out for a full road test in our forthcoming issue of Bike India.

Basic Specifications Hyosung GT 250R:

Engine Type: Air / Oil cooled DOHC 8-valve 75° V-twin

Displacement: 249cc

Max Power: 26.27 bhp (19.6kW) / @10,000RPM

Max Torque: 21.04Nm / @6,750RPM

Vespa LX 125 Photo Feature

April 10, 2012 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

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.

Racing Forward

April 9, 2012 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Mahindra Racing signs sponsorship agreement with Dainese and AGV

Mahindra Racing riders Danny Webb and Marcel Schrötter took to the track for the opening round of the new Moto3 World Championship in Qatar this weekend (6-8 April) sporting Dainese leathers and AGV helmets after the team struck a sponsorship deal with the Italian company, a leading manufacturer of protective clothing and gear for motorcyclists. The pair’s Mahindra Racing team will also be clothed by Dainese for the 2012 season.

With motorcycling firmly established as the foundation of the company, Dainese has gone on to use its expertise in safety technology and fabrics to develop a range of clothing for other sports and team-wear that will benefit the Mahindra Racing team throughout the varied and intense conditions of its 17-race season.

“We are very pleased that Mahindra Racing’s riders and personnel will benefit from an association with two of the best-established, most-iconic and technologically-advanced names in rider safety,” explained Mahindra Racing CEO Mufaddal Choonia. “Dainese/AGV has chosen to support the team because they are excited about what we have set out to achieve in the sport and we are looking forward to a long and fruitful partnership with them.”