The Street Triple is the mass-market middleweight of Triumph’s range. With more than 50,000 standard and R models sold in five years, it’s Hinckley’s most popular bike. [Read more…] about Triumph Street Triple R : Three-pot Muscle Tested
Bike Reviews in India
Kawasaki Ninja 1000 : More Responsive, Better Equipped
We savour the revamped Kawasaki Z1000SX (Ninja 1000 in India) in the Alpine foothills of southern Austria.
Like many successful formats, the Z1000SX’s seems obvious with hindsight. Of course, not all the riders abandoning sports bikes would defect to adventure bikes. Plenty were bound to prefer a sharp looking, sporty, 240 km/h fully-faired four with a more upright riding position, some all-round ability and a sensible price.
A bike, in other words, like the SX — although even Kawasaki didn’t expect the relatively simple Z1000-With-A-Fairing to be one of their top-selling models in many markets for the last three years (their absolute best-seller in the UK), as well as one of the most popular sports-tourers of any make.
That’s what has happened, though, and even before that third year is out they’ve revamped the SX to make it sharper, more responsive and better equipped. This makes plenty of sense as I throw the updated green bike down a spectacularly twisty road in the Alpine foothills of southern Austria.
Its 142-PS motor is hurling the bike forward at an entertainingly rapid rate with a fruity howl from the re-tuned airbox. The screen is keeping the wind and most of the fat late-summer bugs off my chest. The tweaked and firmed-up suspension is giving a reasonably comfortable yet impressively taut and well-controlled ride — even under severe provocation from the powerful new Tokico monobloc front callipers. And the sleek new panniers are keeping my waterproofs and other junk neatly out of mind.
In short, the revamped Z1000SX is proving a blast to ride. And equally importantly, it’s giving every indication of being well up to the job if I had to strap on a bit more luggage and ride it 1,000 kilometres home rather than back to the relatively nearby launch hotel.
That’s hardly surprising because the original SX was a good place to start and this update is fairly thorough. The 1,043cc, 16-valve engine gets new cams with shorter duration and revised air intake trumpets of the same length. (Different length intakes are so last year…) Kawasaki claim an extra 4 PS, with that 142 PS maximum arriving at 10,000 RPM and say the motor has more low-rev and mid-range performance.
Ducati 899 Panigale: Road legal, track ready
Splashing over the Imola start-line to begin another lap with my head tucked as low as possible behind the screen of the 899 Panigale, it’s a big thrill to be astride a powerful Italian superbike on one of that country’s most famous and atmospheric circuits. [Read more…] about Ducati 899 Panigale: Road legal, track ready
Retro Reload: Royal Enfield Continental GT
Royal Enfield have officially added a café racer to the line-up, finally! Does the Continental GT have what it takes to reawaken the speed demons within? We’re the first in India to ride it and find out! [Read more…] about Retro Reload: Royal Enfield Continental GT
Honda Activa i vs Yamaha Ray-Z vs TVS Wego
We compare the new Honda Activa i with its competitors in the 110-cc scooter segment
The Honda Activa i is an Activa with a plastic body. What’s the point? You may ask, since the Activa’s built-to-last feel comes from its metal body. It does indeed, but it also contributes to the higher pricing of the Activa vis-a-vis its plastic-body alternatives in the 110-cc scooter segment. There are buyers who actually prefer the plastic body due to light weight and cheaper body panels.
Of course, Honda have the 110-cc Dio and Aviator scooters with plastic bodies. However, the Dio’s sporty design holds a lesser appeal for mature buyers looking for a utilitarian scooter, while the Aviator is a big scooter with muscular curves and costs more than the Activa. That’s where the Activa i comes in.
The Honda Activa i is leaner, lighter and faster than the Activa and also the least expensive scooter in Honda’s scooter line-up. But the TVS Wego and the recently launched Yamaha Ray Z aren’t going to make its life easy. Therefore, we compared the three scooters to put things in perspective.
The Activa i has a neutral styling with hints of the Aviator’s design and comes in four colours. The Wego has a wider palette of six colours and its design is angular at the front, but gets meatier at the rear. It looks fresh in spite of being the oldest one here while the Ray Z looks sharp and sporty. The Ray Z, unlike its sibling (the Ray), is aimed at male riders and has three dual tone colour schemes and sporty decals with carbon finish on a few surfaces. There is a small plastic screen over its head and it has an all-black theme for the wheels, engine and exhaust. It looks more aggressive than the other two scooters and also has a slightly better finish overall.
In terms of features, the Wego is the strongest. It has a robust all-metal body, telescopic front forks, five twin-spoke alloy wheels, a 220-mm optional disc brake on the front wheel and LEDs in the tail-light cluster. Furthermore, TVS have smartly placed the fuel filler cap on its tail, so the rider can fill the scooter up without having to dismount. It has the broadest seat with a very soft cushioning and a foldable side-step for the pillion rider on its left side. We also found that the Wego can be kick-started without putting it on the centre-stand unlike the other two.
The Wego is followed by the Activa i, which has combi-brakes (front and rear brake are applied simultaneously via the rear brake lever) and tubeless tyres. It also has the best under-seat storage capacity and a brake locking mechanism for the rear brake lever.
The Ray Z’s feature list includes telescopic front forks, carburettor with throttle position sensor for better air-fuel mixture, best looking information panel and a couple of pockets below the handlebar to store small items.
