Latest Bike News

BMW Motorrad clocks the 2 million mark

May 26, 2011 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Chris Pfeiffer celebrates with burnout action

BMW Motorrad celebrated the production of its two millionth unit at the Berlin Spandau plant since its inception in 1969. The company has expanded its markets across 130 countries over the four decades. The Bavarian manufacturer celebrated the event with a special edition R1200GS, unveiled by the popular stunt rider Chris Pfeiffer and a stunt show on his BMW F 800 R. An enthusiastic Chris ended the event with a burnout spelling out ‘20000000’. BMW, with a daily production of up to 510 units, has gotten the Spandau plant very busy. The humble beginnings in 1969 recorded an annual production of 12,000. With fresh new models like the S1000 RR and the luxury tourer K1600 GT the figure has risen to 97,076 units in 2010.

Words: Aniruddha Mulgund

Katrina rides Classic 500

May 23, 2011 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Bullets have got a way with celebrities.

Looks like days of fancy sportscars, yachts and airplanes are long gone for directors have shifted their focus to bikes now. To add to that, there is no Tom Cruise riding a Ducati, but our very own Bollywood lassies riding the big bulls, Katrina Kaif being the latest one to do so for her upcoming movie, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. We had reported American about TV host Jay Leno riding the cult bike earlier and this time it’s Kaif riding a Royal Enfield Classic 500 in her upcoming movie.

Even Gul Panag was seen riding a Thunderbird Twinspark in a recently released movie, and even owns one. Looks like, the bike manufacture is attracting celebrities across the globe. So strap the helmet, put the shades on and ride your Bullet… who knows, the paparazzi might mistake you as a celeb too.

Words: Gasha Aeri

Hero Honda to be renamed Hero Moto

May 18, 2011 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Hero group applies for a name change

As their first step after the spilt from their 20-year old venture with Honda Japan, Hero group has applied for a name change from Hero Honda to Hero Moto. As per further information, the brands under this group will however remain unchanged. The name change process is likely to take about two months’ time.

Words: Gasha Aeri

Yamaha kicks-off football fever in India

May 17, 2011 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Organizes the ASEAN Cup U-13 Football for the first-time in the country

India Yamaha Motor has now set its eyes on the game of football as it exclusively organizes the Yamaha ASEAN CUP, U-13 Football 2011 for the first time in India. The tournament is being held from May 15 – 28, 2011 and will witness participation from 120 players & 8 teams from Pune, Nagpur, Kerala, Kolkata and Assam.

The Tournament winner will be representing India at the third Yamaha ASEAN Cup U-13 Football Finals to be held in Thailand from July 15, 2011 to July 17, 2011. The participants will comprise of 6 teams from 5 Asian countries namely- India, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam & Malaysia. The preliminary round of the tournament will include the intra-state matches amongst the eight teams from across India. The winning teams from preliminary round will then compete at inter-state level for the final round, both to be played in Kolkata.

The Flip Carnival

May 17, 2011 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Pune witnessed a unique stunt show recently, the Kingdom of Stunts

Words: Gasha Aeri
Photography: Bhuvan Chowdhary, Gasha Aeri

“For many, what we do falls outside the sphere of physics, but we never said that everything is for everyone,” they say. Who are they? They are a special species people like to call ‘stunters’. They don’t ride the bike astride it, neither do they ride with both the wheels on terra firma. What they do is enough to scare the living daylights out of many.

Pune had just recovered from the thrill of meeting freestyle biking guru, Chris Pfeiffer, when there came another treat for the bike enthusiasts of the city – a freestyle stunt show called the ‘Kingdom of Stunts’. What’s more, the show was a fine amalgamation of some of the finest FMX riders from Australia and the USA, BMX riders from Canada and street stunters from India.

On view were 360-degree flips on a motocross bike, a back flip on a mountain bike, a high-flying stunt called the ‘Superman’, even taking both hands off the handlebar while both the bike and rider were at least 50 metres up in the air (the Rock Solid), or swinging a leg over to the other side in the middle of a flight (the Can Can) – you name it and the riders had it for you. An excellent firework show added to the thrill and adrenaline rush the stunt show offered.
What can be said about Indian biking scenario in the time to come, “World, hold on, here we come!”

They don’t follow the physics of bike riding, but what they do is enough to scare the living daylights out of many

Yamaha FZ dons new skin

May 12, 2011 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

The FZ series now offered in new colour scheme

India Yamaha Motor has introduced new colour schemes for FZ, FZ-S and Fazer. The bike will now adorn more vibrant colors along with new logos and graphics. The launch will be complemented by media campaign featuring Yamaha India brand ambassador- John Abraham.

Yamaha has introduced four new colors for FZ-S – Golden Streak, Competition White, Black Cyber Green and Yellow Streak. Fazer will also be seen in four new colors – Competition White, Black Cyber Green, Midnight Black and Lava Red while FZ will be available in two new colors – Midnight Black and Lava Red. All the models of the FZ family will now have a kick start option and will be available at a price of Rs 67,000 to Rs. 74,000 (ex-showroom Delhi).

Words: Sarmad Kadiri

Baby KTM on the prowl

May 9, 2011 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Spotted – Bajaj KTM 200 in Bengaluru

Not long after Bajaj made it clear that they would be bringing in a 200cc KTM motorcycle to Indian shores, there’s been a spate of sightings of the test mule, mostly around the Bajaj facility at Chakan near Pune. Now, Bike India reader Niranjan Skoda has sent us these images of the bike being tested in Bengaluru. In contrast to most spy pictures, Niranjan was actually lucky enough to get some very detailed pictures of the stationary bike.

KTM created the 125cc for European markets because of the licensing laws there, which stipulate that all beginners’ bikes should be restricted to below 125 cc and/or 17 PS of peak power. Since this is not the case in India, it made no sense for KTM to manufacture such a ‘small’ bike in a country where cubic capacity is (sadly) one of the most important criteria in buying a new motorcycle. The maximum power output of the 200cc mill is expected to be somewhere in the 20-25 PS region. So, given the bike’s lean kerb weight of 130 kg, it should do a top speed of about 145 km/h. Feast your eyes on the pictures till then.

Words: Saeed Akhtar

Photos: Niranjan Skoda

Adrenaline fest

May 6, 2011 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Pune to host a Freestyle motocross event.

The popularity of motorcycle stunting is increasing rapidly. And now it is about to get even bigger, higher and flashier. A Pune based sports management firm Entourage Sports & Entertainment has organised a Freestyle Motocross (FMX) show named ‘Kingdom Of Stunts’ at the Indian Law College (ILS) ground on May 14 and 15. International Freestyle Motocross and BMX stunters from the US, Australia, Canada and Chile will be performing daredevil stunts during the two day event. Even Indian street stunters will get a platform to display their talent in front of international stunt-stars like Clinton Moore, Jorel Bermudez and Lance Rusell. The stunts will be accompanied by dance, music, laser shows, fire performers and fireworks to get your adrenaline soaring even higher. Tickets of the event are available at the organisor’s office on Prabhat Road Pune, Mocha, Big Wheels Motoring Cafe Kamshet, all ABS fitness outlets, City pride multiplexes, Kolors, ABC farms Koregaon Park and the venue itself. Tickets start from Rs 500 and go all the way upto Rs 5000 to get you closer to the action.

Words: Piyush Sonsale

Hero Electric Goes West

May 5, 2011 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Electrovaya and Hero Electric showcase electric scooters for the North American market

Hero Electric recently augmented their collaboration with Electrovaya Inc., the Canada-based manufacturer of Lithium Ion SuperPolymer batteries. As part of this collaboration, Hero Electric showcased its electric scooters, powered by Electrovaya batteries, at the recently-concluded International Spring Motorcycle Show in Toronto. Hero Electric has also developed two electric scooters unique to the North American market, the Zion and Optima Plus. The Hero Group subsidiary plans to start selling electric scooters fitted with Electrovaya’s Li-ion batteries in the Canadian market in the third quarter of 2011. According to Sohinder Gill, CEO of Hero Electric, the scooters will initially be marketed in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and the distribution network will thereafter be expanded to most of the critical markets in Canada.

“Hero Electric is an established company with a solid brand reputation in an industry that will see its share within the transportation market grow as the price of oil continues to rise,” said Dr. Sankar Das Gupta, CEO of Electrovaya Inc. “Our Lithium Ion Super Polymer battery technology is an ideal fit for the two-wheeler electric vehicle model because of its scalability, efficiency and green NMP-free production process.”

Words: Saeed Akhtar

More slots on the MotoGP grid?

May 4, 2011 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Plans in progress for next year

With MotoGP engines rules changing next year, many new outfits are considering the prospect of competing in the 2012 season. Some are skeptical about the 1000cc format, calling it “The end of protoype racing” while others see a reduction in running costs and a better connect to the production 1000’s. The International Road Racing Teams Association (IRTA) has received 16 new team applications for next year in accordance to the Federation Internationale De Motorcyclisme (FIM) directions. 14 out of those with a total of 21 riders have been selected for further consideration by the IRTA and Dorna (the commercial rights holder of MotoGP). The final list of teams will be declared after the Catalan Grand Prix in June. The British bike maker Norton has submitted an application to run a two rider team with a 1000cc V4 racer. Norton is in talks with the Spanish Inmotec outfit for the V4 while the technical support may come from the Autrian KTM factory. The Swiss chassis expert Suter, backed by the team Marc VDS Racing is also planning to enter MotoGP with a BMW 1000 engine embracing their chassis. The Italian Aprilia factory and Kawasaki from Japan may also consider re-entering the sport.

Words: Piyush Sonsale