Latest Bike News

White Honda CBR 1000RR 2012 “spotted”

August 22, 2011 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

2011 Honda CBR 1000RR White Honda, seems to have a new marketing strategy. While most manufacturers let their bikes be “accidentally” clicked by “random” people while testing and generally roaming around, Honda has decided to do away with the blanket of secrecy. The new Honda 2012 has been found to be on display at a showroom in Hong Kong.

The bike doesn’t appear to have been given a major overhaul but rather just some nip and tucks. The big brother CBR gets new alloys, fairings and forks. The front designed has been enhanced and is sharper now. For the rider, the cool new display might come as a refreshing change.

Given the rising prices of superbikes, Honda might have an advantage by being able to under cut the competition with its price saving methods used to make the new CBR 1000RR. Of course, we can only confirm this once the bike is launched internationally. And yes, as always, we will let you know what the bike is all about once we get our hands on it. Meanwhile you can enjoy the video on www.bikeindia.in.

Yamaha R15 2.0 coming this September

August 17, 2011 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Yamaha R15 Yamaha’s performance bike YZF R15 is ready for launch this September in a all-new look.

According to a scanned invite on Facebook fan page of the YZF R15, the bike will be launched in New Delhi this September. That’s great news for all waiting for the bike with bated breath. We had reported about the revamped bike in January this year and will be getting you all the dope about the 2.0 version straight from the launch.

Watch this space.

Polaris to launch ATV range on August 24th

August 16, 2011 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Polaris ATV Polaris, the international “fun machines” maker, launched ATVs from its Sportsman, Ranger and Ranger RZR series along with Outlaw, a 50cc off-roader for kids that even the parents would love to ride.

The Sportsman range is what the Indian audience will be able to identify with as a regular ATV while the Ranger and Ranger RZR series look more like rugged golf carts with doors. The Minnesota based manufacturer is also quite serious on doing business here which is reflected by its 900cc engines. Previously, even the high performance 1000cc bikes which are well known in India and have a wide sales base here, have been skeptic and have taken a great deal of time to test the waters in the new market. Polaris, it seems, has taken the “go anywhere” spirit of the ATV culture to heart which we believe makes sense in this case because they are also bringing their luxury range of cruisers through their brand Victory motorcycles, to India in 2012. Bold move, we hope it works out well. We wish them best of luck.

Hero’s big moment

August 10, 2011 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Hero Impulse Hero MotoCorp, recently separated from its long term siamese twin, Honda, presented its new identity In London. Displaying good knowledge of the Indian people’s love for show and dance, the event was packed with celebrities from around the globe.

Big names, now synonymous with brands, like Shah Rukh Khan, Boris Becker, David Coulthard, Akon, Anusha Sharma and Irfan Pathan graced the event.

For biking fans, Hero MotoCorp launched a dual purpose bike named Hero Impulse which could be using Unicorn engine and monoshock package. Also launched was Maestro, the new gearless scooter, aimed at masculine needs. It could be based on Pleasure or Activa engine.

Both the models will be launched in India soon.

Speaking at the event, BM Munjal, chairman of the Hero Group said “So far all our good products have been credited to Honda. Now we will show the world our strength.” Hero MotoCorp also expects to achieve good sales figures to the tune of 10million units in the next five years which will partly be supported by exports to Latin America, South East Asia and Africa. Hero MotoCorp is also looking to support its new products with original research. “In five years we will have a world class R&D center. No baggage to deal with”. “The new brand identity has born out of our desire to break the shackles and realise our potential which were restricted by the nature of our JV with Honda” said the CEO.

We wish all the best to Hero MotoCorp.

Is a Chennai MotoGP possible?

August 4, 2011 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

The Madras Motor Sports Club track in Irungattukottai is being redesigned to make it a viable option to host a MotoGP race in the future, confirmed Amit Arora, the general manager of MMSC operations.

The track would be upgraded from its current Grade-4 status to a Grade-2 status which will make it the country’s second most advanced track once the F1 track at Noida opens up.

MMSC is already in talks with MotoGP promoters, Dorna and racing circuit designers Apex, from UK. The sports club is getting vital information to design a racetrack suited for MotoGP and Formula 2 races.

Racers have been asking for several improvements to be made to the 21 year old circuit for a long time and it seems they will now be getting more than they hoped for in a time as short as 3 years. MMSC will also be making efforts to make sure there is minimum interference with the day-to-day activities of the circuit during this time.

“The plan is to create a multi-use venue for motorsport, alongside an entertainment area. It will have shopping malls, hotels and restaurants. There will be new paddock buildings and garages. The length of the main straight will be increased and corners will be worked to improve speed.” Arora added.

Meanwhile, the construction of the Greater Noida Formula 1 racetrack is progressing at a reasonable pace and the track should be able to host its first Grand Prix at the end of this year. A second, smaller racetrack for Go-Kart racing is also being constructed alongside. With Indians Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok getting their hands on a F1 steering this year, looks like motor racing in India has finally come to life 🙂

Is a Chennai MotoGP possible?

August 4, 2011 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

The Madras Motor Sports Club track in Irungattukottai is being redesigned to make it a viable option to host a MotoGP race in the future, confirmed Amit Arora, the general manager of MMSC operations.

The track would be upgraded from its current Grade-4 status to a Grade-2 status which will make it the country’s second most advanced track once the F1 track at Noida opens up.

Harley-Davidson drops the bomb on India

August 4, 2011 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Harley Davidson Fat Boy Special silver Harley Davidson, the bad boy motorcycle manufacturer from hamburger land has launched its popular Fat Boy Special model here in India, taking to total number of available models to 15.

The bike is priced just below the 20Lac mark (ex. showroom Delhi) where it will compete with Yamaha V-Max and Ducati Diavel. The new bike sits lower than other HD in the market and is overall, a treat to ogle at.

The bookings for the bike will open this month and it can be ordered from any Harley Davidson showroom in India. To help make the purchase easier for customers, HD has also signed deals with HDFC and ICICI banks. The bike will be imported as a CBU while plans are drawn up to assemble more Harleys in the country itself.

With Victory motorcycles soon entering the small market of Indian luxury cruiser bikes, we can hope to see competition do what it does best, lower prices.

Pirelli to serve tyres for WSBK till 2015

August 3, 2011 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Pirelli to continue with WSBK Pirelli has been renewed as the Official Tyre Supplier to the FIM Superbike World Championship after a new contract was signed between Pirelli and Infront Motor Sports extending Pirelli’s domain till 2015.

Pirelli has been supplying racing tyres to WSBK since 2004 and through 2008 – 2010 has served up more than 2Lac tyres for these races.

Pirelli has also supplied tyres to Formula1 this season and will continue to do so till 2013. These tyres had come under a lot of international debate because of their high wear till the issue was cleared up by FIA who stated that they had asked the tyre manufacturer to make a tyre that will hit the cliff early. This move is to make Formula1 race strategy more interesting.

Tyre manufacturers often use the experience derived from racing to make better road tyres. Hope Pirelli continues down the same road.

Pirelli to serve tyres for WSBK till 2015

August 3, 2011 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Pirelli has been supplying racing tyres to WSBK since 2004 and through 2008 – 2010 has served up more than 2Lac tyres for these races.

Tyre manufacturers often use the experience derived from racing to make better road tyres. Hope Pirelli continues down the same road.

Yamaha to exit WSB championship at the end of 2011 season

August 2, 2011 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Yamaha Motor Europe has decided to withdraw their official Yamaha World Superbike Team at the end of the current season from the FIM Superbike World Championship.

It seems that the decision has been made taking into account the changing market conditions in Europe. Yamaha says it wants to focus more on direct “consumer” activities. Currently Yamaha’s R1 and R6 models are not being preferred by riders due to their higher purchase price.

Yamaha also said they would be putting in all efforts till the end of the current season and will try and win the championship. Riders Marco Melandri and Eugene Laverty are currently respectively 3rd and 4th in the overall 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship standings for riders with 4 rounds to go. Both the riders will now need to look for new teams to race with.

Yamaha will continue the availability of road racing kit parts, known as YEC Racing kit parts, for its R1 and R6 production models for private teams entering at all racing levels.

Last season Ducati had announced their exit from WSB and now a private team, Althea is racing Ducati bikes with a lot of support and equipment from the factory itself. Looks like Yamaha still be out there next season unofficially supporting the private teams running Yamaha motorcycles, but we’ll have to wait and watch for that.

The reason the exit might be financial as Yamaha don’t have a title sponsor for this year, but they have not mentioned it.