New Bike Road Test in India

Warning: The muscular and mighty M1800R has attacked. We hear its making heads turn and eye balls pop. Observe caution on the road
Story Gauri Lokare
Photography Sanjay Raikar

For some, the Suzuki M1800R or the Intruder is just a big heavy cruiser boasting of colossal torque figures. One look at this massive beast and you can’t help but be awed. But for someone like me who uses a rather puny (not in India though) Royal Enfield 350cc motorcycle for daily commuting, the monstrous cruiser with the biggest capacity Suzuki engine seemed like a scaled down version of God.

The night before the day I was supposed to ride this monster, I was behaving like a silly teenager getting ready for her first date. I felt butterflies in my tummy the whole night and anxiety just wouldn’t let me be. My colleagues at Bike India too were quite apprehensive about their decision to let me swing a leg over the beast. As was evident looking at their faces, they hoped they didn’t have to regret the big decision. I wouldn’t have been surprised if an ambulance or a fire brigade was called on standby while I went for the ride. The few hours that I managed to spend in bed that night felt like an agonizing, endless nightmare. I was all geared up and raring to go much before the sun had risen.

As we reached the shoot location, I turned the key, switched on the ignition and the display lit up for the self-check. Just before I was about to press the starter switch, I whispered to the bike, “be good to me”. A gentle dab of the right thumb and the 125PS engine roared to life with a deep pulse. It may sound like exaggeration, but to me, it sounded like the birth of the Universe itself.

I literally had to sit down, take a moment and let the sight of this torquey behemoth sink in. The design works towards emphasizing the big 1800 odd cc V-twin engine rather than overshadowing it. Suzuki has taken the word ‘big’ quite seriously for the Intruder. The bike is fitted with one of the fattest rear tyre (240mm wide) available on a production bike. The fuel tank with a capacity of 19.5 liters is wide enough to hold a violin and merges seamlessly into a comfortable saddle. The tail cover, shaped like a rare diamond, easily stands apart. The frowning hooded headlight expresses a ‘don’t mess with me’ attitude. The chrome side stand which looks rather delicate is strong enough to hold the 8 feet long beast weighing a mammoth 319kg. The dual exhaust takes a seductive U-turn near the engine to point towards the 240 section rear tyre. Ending as a pair of bedazzling slashed mufflers, the chromed exhaust pipes exhibit raw oomph. This cruiser expresses aesthetic coherence brilliantly. Needless to say, the Intruder is all about road presence and attracts attention wherever you ride it. Bystanders and other commuters are dazed by the sheer sight of this monster cruising on the road.

The M1800R looks every bit a bespoke cruiser machine, but make no mistake, it draws heavily from the flagship Suzuki sportster, the GSX-R. Suzuki has always honed its technology on racetracks and they have made good use of the advancements made on the GSX-R in this cruiser. The borrowed technology bits include the dual throttle valve system, radially mounted disc brakes and dual spark plug ignition. The perky performance of the Intruder reflects the debt.

The wide handlebar is a good reach away. Get the bike rolling, take your feet up and the far stretched footpegs make the seating position feel rather awkward. It may sound as if I’m exaggerating, but the riding posture actually made me feel like an orangutan clinging from a zoo cage. I at 5 feet 8 inches and yet struggled with this rather awkward position. I can only imagine the plight of riders shorter than me. This design seems strange as compared to true blue cruisers, including the Indian ones, which are equipped with conventional laid back handlebars.

SHINE ‘EM: The frowning hooded headlight expresses a ‘dont mess with me attitude’ and makes generous use of chrome	THE CONSOLE: The speedometer firmly rests on the fuel tank while the tachometer lies in the conventional position	THE POWERPLANT: The large 1783cc V-twin fits in perfectly with the rest of the body elements with no visible see through gaps. The asymmetric layout of the header pipes gel with the bike’s curvaceous styling and recieves a similar plush chrome treatment as the engine

The Intruder, boasting impressive figures in terms of power (125PS) and torque (160Nm), is equipped with brakes to match. Ripped from GSX-R1000 Superbike, the Intruder sports two radially mounted 310mm discs with four piston front brake calipers which work exceptionally well. Instead of using the more conventional chain/belt drive system, the Bavarian-inspired, shaft drive mechanism is used on the Intruder. Suzuki adopted its first shaft drive system way back in the year 1979 with the GS1000GT. With advancements in technology, however, the state of the art unit on the Intruder not only imparts a long lasting drive but also contributes towards a cleaner rear end design.

The sheer mass of the bike coupled with the prodigious power, would make one wonder about its handling and balance. Gettingthe 315kg bike off the side stand for the first time, proved to be physically demanding. Although by using the right technique, it was hardly a task. The initial few minutes of riding were very difficult as I tired to maintain a steady pace and find the right balance. As I got used to this machine, the giant horse broke in. The bike lurched forward each time I twisted the throttle. This was most noticeable while the shorter ratios were selected. Thankfully, there were no unnerving wheelspins like the other ‘big’ bikes. Yes, this is a cruiser and one doesn’t expect it to wheelspin. But it has enough torque to shred the rear tyre within a few hundred kilometers of riding – precisely the reason why Suzuki has fitted a torque limiter to restrict low end torque. Gear shifting was jerky early on as the shaft drive needed precise timing of the clutch release and throttle input to have a smooth shift. Failure to do so resulted in a loud clanking sound emanating from the ‘box. As my day progressed with the cruiser, shifting of gears smoothened out. I learnt to master the right technique of gear shifting eradicating the clunks between shifts. The fourth and fifth gear felt far less abrupt. Once at ease with the bike, I was cruising way above the 120km/h mark – the fastest I had ever gone before this. The headlight housing is designed to deflect the wind blast from the head and torso that occurs at high speeds, but its function proved to be very limited at speeds above 100km/h.

The more I rode the Intruder the more I began to understand it. This is precisely when fears and reservations left my mind and I truly connected with the Intruder. Feet up turns which were like a nightmare earlier, got easier. After a while, the ride became so smooth, I felt as confident on the Intruder as I feel on my Royal Enfield Thunderbird.

One point of irritation is the speedometer. While the somewhat trapezoidal digital tachometer firmly rests where you have the instrumentation cluster on regulation bikes, the speedometer is mounted on the fuel tank. This means that the rider has to dip his/her head every time he/she wants to check the speed. The huge wheelbase and the enormous bulk of the rear tyre means you need more rider input while changing directions. This can get a little demanding in case you have a pillion rider with you. The exclusion of a pillion back rest from the design needs the pillion to lean onto the rider. While parking the bike, its best to park it with its nose facing the road or else you’ll need at least a dozen people to pull the bike back when you are ready to go.

So, now the question which haunts me is, do we have the roads for such monstrous cruisers in India? In the city, hell no! The Intruder with its torquey 1783cc of V-twin power craves for long wide highways where one can open the throttle and justify the very purpose of its existence. Our ridiculous traffic situation seems like a huge concern regarding the practicality of the bike. In a country where you have to find roads amidst potholes, handling the cruiser does become tricky. Because of the ultra low profile (40 section) rear tyre, you can feel every grain on the road surface being transmitted to your back side. The Intruder which is priced at Rs 13.63 lakh in India was developed keeping in mind the butter smooth open highways of the US and Europe. So if, touring is in your mind and you are looking for those perfect set of wheels to leave behind city roads and embark upon lost highways, the Suzuki M1800R would be a great choice.

As the sun began to set, it was time to wrap up the shoot which brought the curtains down on the most wonderful ride. I am not sure if I ever would be able to own the M1800R. I might not be that lucky. But I was lucky enough to have earned the experience to ride it for a day. The memory will last a lifetime. As I got the mighty Intruder back to its parking slot and alighted, I realized that this wasn’t just a road test for the M1800R. In a way it was a test for me too – as a rider, tourer and an automobile journalist. I just hope I managed to cruise as effortlessly as the big tourer. After having ridden the bike, overwhelming feelings began to erupt. I wanted to sing, dance, shout and cry at the same time. Not in that order but all at the same time.

 

The smallest Honda motorcycle yet is all set to create the maximum winds of change for the Japanese giant in India reckons
Bunny Punia Photography: Sanjay Raikar

Honda Motorcycle and Scooters India (HMSI) has often played its game differently in the Indian two-wheeler market. For instance, back in 2000, it made its debut in the world’s second largest two-wheeler market with the launch of a 100cc gearless scooter. This move, in a market that was running strongly with geared scooters like the Bajaj Chetak and the LML variants, raised quite a few eyebrows about their plans. However, much to the disappointment of the competition, the Activa went onto become the largest selling scooter in its class. HMSI also took a top-down approach to the motorcycling segment in India. Instead of launching commuter bikes first, in 2005, it rolled out the 150cc Unicorn and a couple of years later, the 125cc Shine. Having established a solid foothold in almost every segment it sells a two-wheeler today, it was time for the Japanese giant to go for a share of the money minting commuter segment, that of the 100-110cc bikes. With a dozen odd offerings (models/variants) from the competition already, it was wise to come up with something different. Plus the fact that recently, the company has often been using words like ‘fun’ and ‘enjoyment’ meant that the new offering would have to play a lot of roles, that of satisfying various demands of a typical commuter as well as the youth perfectly. HMSI also wished to target the college going youth, who often overlooked the commuter bikes while making their purchasing decisions mainly due to their sober and sometimes, low rent looks. With an aim to meet the above mentioned requirements, the CB Twister was born.

The prefix CB has been taken up from Honda’s world trend series symbolizing naked, like the CB1000R, while the word Twister depicts swirling winds with great strength. Like most small capacity Honda bikes, wherein design cues are often taken up from bigger capacity machines, the Indian CB too has enough curves and sharp angles, reminding you Honda’s much bigger bikes. In fact, see the bike from the rear three quarters and the huge tank along with the floating side cowl gives it a big bike look. The sharp small screenless cowl looks sexy for a small bike and houses the headlamp. However, there are no pilot lamps integrated here probably to keep costs low. The floating side cowl, when seen from the front angle, flaunts its insides pretty well again imparting a big bike feel to the Twister. In fact, there is no dearth of a sharp angular treatment to the side and rear cowls. The bike also comes with a CB1000R inspired rear grab rail as well as a meaty short exhaust. The only downside is the huge gap between the engine and the body, but this is expected as the bike houses a small 109cc motor and not a multi cylinder 1000cc one. Complementing the exciting looks are the various shades of colours on offer. The candy palm green seen here, for instance, looks smashing and it goes without saying that the Twister turns out to be the best looking small motorcycle in the country by a huge margin.

The Twister might look very compact but a swing a leg over and it feels incredibly spacious. Even for me, at 6 feet and weighing over a quintal, this little Honda felt mighty comfortable. In fact, it is one of the very few small bikes that didn’t make me look like, well, a circus bear on a toy bike! The footpeg-handlebar-seat geometry is very comfortable and even while riding the bike around Pune city for over 100km nonstop, I didn’t feel very uncomfortable at the end of the day. The instrumentation cluster looks neat though there are visible cost cutting measures around. The console does without a trip meter, for instance, and there is an absence of a pass light switch too. However, all the little shortcomings take a backseat once you thumb the electric starter. I am not really a small bike person, but the CB surprised me from the word go. The exhaust note felt throaty and grunty and the bike felt very eager and enthusiastic to lung forward, especially in the first two gears. In fact while slotted in fourth, the engine picked up well from speeds as low as 25km/h and this makes the CB a joy to ride in congested traffic. If you look closely at the engine, the long inlet manifold is clearly visible. This results in an increase of the gas velocity for better low and midrange punch and this is one of the main strengths of the bike. Even with a pillion, the capability of the bike to ponder through traffic in the third and fourth cogs is unbeatable. The 109cc engine puts out 9bhp of power along with 9Nm of torque. Weighing just 108 kilos, the CB has the best power-to- weight ratio in the commuter class. The engine remains punchy and vibe-free and surprisingly this little 110cc machine feels more refined at 70km/h than the elder 125cc Shine at similar speeds. The CB is also targeted majorly towards the youth and if you thought commuter bikes are slow and lazy, think again. A 6.99 second 0-60km/h timings knocks off the competition completely and the bike furthers goes on to register a true whack of 93 km/h. Honda has often been praised for their fuel efficient engines and this one is no different. Ride the bike carefully and it will end up drinking a litre of fuel every 70km in the city and 78km on the highway.

Notice the long intake manifold? It lends the bike terrific low and midrange – just what you need for daily commutes	Sharp design of the console goes well with the overall look of the bike. However, a trip meter is sorely missed	The front end looks cool with the sharp lamp and flowing side panels. However, we would have appreciated a full DC set up for the headlamp

Even though the CB comes with non-adjustable shock absorbers (cost cutting again?) at the rear, I never really had a reason to complain. The ride is slightly on the stiffer side but this helps while riding over bad roads. It also comes in handy while with a pillion as the rear hardly ever bottoms out. The diamond type twin pipe chassis feels very stiff and the bike takes on serious pushing around corners and flowing curves positively. In fact the 70mm front and 80mm rear tyres, both tubeless, hold on pretty well and due to the bike’s overall handling prowess even with a relatively small engine, an experienced rider can be fast around a set of twisties. The light weight of the bike along with a short wheelbase of 1262mm further makes it a delight to flick through traffic. The 240mm dia front disc is optional but is highly recommended.

The bike has quite a few firsts for its segment. The mass forward proportion, as Honda calls it, tubeless tyres, a short muffler, et al. The maintenance free battery and the low maintenance viscous air filter help a lot in the long run. I would have also appreciated a full DC set up for the headlamp which would have provided full brightness irrespective of the engine rpm.

The bike is aimed at people who are on the lookout for style and performance without sacrificing on the basic needs of fuel economy and comfort, all in a limited budget. Right then, even with a few visible cost cutting measures, the CB range starts from Rs 47,753 all the way upto Rs 54,357 (on-road, Pune) which doesn’t really make it as cheap as the competition at all. However, times have changed and most Indian buyers are ready to shell a few thousand rupees for added looks, performance and economy. This is where the CB will excel, finding its targeted buyer quite easily. If I was a 20 something guy, looking for an affordable new set of stylish wheels that I wouldn’t mind riding to work or college or a date, the CB Twister, in all probability, would be it. ‘Nuf said!

TVS introduces the Jive, a clutchless motorcycle. Easy commuting? Finds out Adhish Alawani
Photography: Sanjay Raikar

The two-wheeler market in India is extremely large. There are millions of motorcycles already on the road and lakhs more are sold every month. The number of motorcycle enthusiasts is increasing day by day and the number of consumers for performance machines is on the rise. However, the number of commuter machines contributes the maximum to motorcycle sales in India. This means that there is cutthroat competition between the various manufacturers who sell their products in this segment. While some are banking on the fantastic fuel efficiency and reliability offered over the past many years, others are busy introducing various fancy gizmos in order to grab attention. In this state of close competition, TVS has decided to pitch in their new commuter machine, the Jive to take on the fight as fiercely as possible.

What is so special about the Jive then? It looks like any other plain Jane commuter. In fact, it reminds me of the company’s very own Star. The proportions of the Jive are typically commuter-ish – flat seat, upright posture, high handlebar, moderately sized tank that fits perfectly between the thighs and minimal necessary body panels. The headlamp with a bikini fairing gives a sporty touch and so do the alloy wheels. The broad tailpiece looks quite boxy and is probably the only thing on the Jive that feels dated as compared to the other styling bits. The twin-pod instrumentation console houses the speedometer and the odometer on one side while the fuel gauge, tell-tale lights and most importantly the gear indicator are on the other side. The switchgear is well laid out with the starter button on the right hand side and all the other switches (headlamp, upper/dipper, horn, passing light, indicator switch and choke) on the left hand side.Well, that is all about the looks and styling of the Jive – a factor that a consumer will think of last when he goes out to buy a machine in the commuter segment. So what is it that makes the Jive stand out from the other models available in the market? TVS has introduced the Jive with an 110cc engine. There is nothing novel in that, right? Of course not, but what is exciting and quite interesting about the Jive is the transmission mated with the engine. The clutchless rotary gearbox is seen for the first time on an Indian motorcycle (Hero Honda had introduced the Street, a step-though, with a similar technology). Basically with this T-matic (that is what the engineers at TVS call their new transmission) you can shift gears without an actual lever operated clutch. The company has incorporated an automatic clutch in the Jive that takes care of the gearshifts. Plus the rotary box indicates that after the fourth gear, one more tap on the gear lever and you come back to neutral. For safety reasons, this happens only when the bike is stationary. This is all about the novel automatic clutch geared motorcycle on paper, but on a more practical note, how does it ride on the road? Does it serve its purpose? Is it a sensible machine for the city? All these questions were making me anxious until I got onto one of the Jives that TVS offered us. A couple of kilometers on the motorcycle and the answers to all my questions and doubts were taking shape pretty quickly.

The bikini fairing around the headlamp of the TVS Jive lends the commuter bike a touch of sportiness	The wide, boxy tail of the Jive is probably the only thing that works against the modern and sporty feel of the bike. The clear glass indicators and the chic tail light are a welcome feature though

The TVS Jive is a commuter and it does its job in a fairly perfect manner. There is no clutch lever in your left hand so it feels a bit weird to start. Getting used to it takes just a few minutes though. As you ignite the motorcycle and press the shifter lever with your toe, the clutch acts automatically and puts the bike in the first gear. As you release the gear lever, the clutch is released automatically and you feel a slight jerk that indicates you are set to roll. However, you won’t move ahead unless you give the throttle. This happens because there are basically two clutches acting, one is the centrifugal and the other is the normal one. The centrifugal clutch takes care that the bike doesn’t move unless the gas is given. This reduces the hassle of shifting back to neutral or depressing the clutch while waiting at a signal in gear. The bike will start rolling as soon as you give the throttle input, just like any gearless scooter. Once in motion, up shifting through the gears is an easy operation. All you have to do is roll the throttle and shift a gear up. With no clutch, gear shifting becomes damn easy since the throttle-clutch co-ordination is not required. This reduces a lot of stress while riding in city traffic where frequent shifting of gears is necessary. In short, the Jive is a mix of a motorcycle and a gearless scooter – ideal for city commuting.

The 110cc motor pumps out a maximum power of 8.5PS at 7500rpm and a peak torque of 8.3Nm at 5500rpm, both of which are perfect for a commuter motorcycle. The bike sprints from standstill to 60km/h in 8.16 seconds – quite impressive for a 110cc commuter  – and runs out of breath at 94.7km/h (speedometer indicated 102km/h). The Jive’s suspension and chassis are good enough for city riding. Zipping through the traffic is no big deal thanks to the good flickability of the bike.

Hassle free gear shifts, a quick engine and good handling – does that mean there are no downsides to the Jive? No. There are some minor issues with the bike. To start with, let’s have a look at the tyres. The TVS tyres on the Jive lend poor grip. Not that one needs the grip of slicks for city commuting, but the bike fails to instill confidence especially when there is a bit of gravel or wet patch on the road. Plus, while the T-matic is an amazing transmission, there is a slight problem with it when it comes to downshifting gears. While slowing down, one has to let the engine revs fall considerably before shifting to a lower gear. If this is not done, the downshift locks up the wheel momentarily and gives an unwelcome jerk to the rider. Apart from these trifling issues, the Jive is a fantastic commuter bike when ridden sensibly in the traffic. The fuel efficiency of the gearless motorcycle is sufficiently high at 62kmpl (overall). And at Rs 41,000 (ex-showroom), the Jive is quite competitively priced and will surely give its rivals a run for their money.

Who says you need a clutch lever to pop a wheelie on a commuter bike?