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Just got better

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Phenomenally fast, better looking, easier to ride – but that’s simply not enough…

By Michael Neeves

Suzuki’s new GSX-R1000 K9 is a big improvement over the old K7/K8 model, but it’s not the giant leap forward we expected. It’s much more a case of evolution than revolution for the new Gixer, despite it having its most radical overhaul since it was introduced in 2001.

As well as looking similar to the old K7/K8, retaining the two-exhaust design, it’s pretty close in character too. It has the same ‘sit-in’ riding position and the same torrent of power when you twist the throttle. After a day riding it around the twisty Almeria circuit in southern Spain it’s clear it has new- found agility and friendliness the old bike lacked.

Compared to some of its competition, the GSX-R is not as razor-sharp in and out of the corners and it’s still missing that intoxicating mix of grunt and light weight that made the old K5/K6 the sensation it was at the time. With things like extra soundproofing and the ever-bigger catalysts Suzuki have to run nowadays to get through Euro 3 laws, it seems the glory days of the waif-like K5 are gone forever.

Another sign that it’s now 2009 and not 2005, is the price. The new bike is the most expensive GSX-R1000 ever, costing £9800 (Rs. 7 lakh approx) when it hits showrooms at the end of March. Gixxers have always been at the most affordable end of the 1000cc market, but it’s now nearly the dearest, just after the new R1.

Thankfully the new GSX-R1000 motor isn’t as angry as before, thanks to a mass overhaul (see following pages) to smooth out the rough edges. Although power and torque remain the same, a claimed 185bhp isn’t to be sniffed at. It’s still an obscene amount, but it’s easier to use than before.

Power is smoother all the way through the rev range and there’s grunt oozing from every engine bolt, despite having a shorter stroke engine than before. All this gives you the confidence to twist the throttle further. But don’t worry, the GSX-R1000 hasn’t gone all soft. The K9 still retains that spine-tingling, evil bark when you blip the throttle and it wants to wheelie at every opportunity coming out of corners. The K9 isn’t as flabby as the old K7, either. That went a bit ‘90s GSX-R1100’, compared to the lightweight K5 model that went before. With its 5kg reduction in overall weight combined with the smoother power delivery, the K9 is now much easier to muscle around a track.

Last year we did our 1000s group test here at Almeria. The K8 GSX-R1000 finished up
two seconds behind the slightly more powerful ZX-10R and the significantly less powerful FireBlade, the overall winner of our test. It was only a fraction behind the R1, though. The Suzuki’s bulk and lack of agility (you could even feel the weight getting it off the sidestand) compared to the competition was the main reason it lagged behind. This is a technically demanding track dominated by constant throttle, high radius corners and flip-flop chicanes, so you need a bike which is light on its feet. What I do remember is that it flew down the long sixth-gear back straight like a guided missile, as it would with a true 169bhp at the rear wheel.

I’m sure the K9 would make a dent in those two seconds if we were to run the test again. It still has the power and speed and it’s even easier to get that throttle open now, but it still lacks the agility of the Blade and ZX-10R. And of course now it has the grunty new R1 to think about, too.

Except for the straight, the whole of Almeria can be taken in second gear, so you have to ride the big Suzuki like some hyper-speed twist-and-go moped for most of the lap.

For corner after corner, you dive in towards the apex and the K9’s slipper clutch eliminates most of the engine braking, so you get a nice smooth, balanced corner entry as you dial in more and more lean.

Getting settled into a turn, which seems to last forever, at full lean and holding a steady throttle is easy, thanks to the fuel injection’s smooth and predictable response.

As the corner opens up, gently feed on the power, stand the bike up, feel for grip through the rear tyre and squirt it. With the taps open the K9 rockets to the next corner, front wheel skimming the tarmac and bum forced back into the seat hump, leaving you hanging on by your fingernails. This is every inch a mad, bad, howling GSX-R1000, make no mistake.

Despite its shorter stroke engine, it’s still packed with enough grunt to let you take corners a gear taller than you need, and it’ll still fly out the other side pretty sharpish.

The only thing that stops us from really uncorking the full fury of the K9 at Almeria is the standard road-going Bridgestone BT-016 rubber. The engine wants to play, but it’s a lot to ask of an all-purpose sports tyre to be ragged senseless all day, with only a break for lunch. They do a great job of hanging on, they warm up fast, grip well and are predictable, but you really have to be careful with your right wrist with all that oomph to play with.

On stickier Michelin Power One rubber I rode the K9 on the following day at Cartagena, it turns sharper and you can explore more of the chassis and engine. The two big things to happen to the chassis are the new longer swingarm and the Showa Big Piston forks (see following pages), which replace the old
Kayaba units. Let’s start with the Blade-esque short engine/long swingarm combo.

Asked for by Suzuki’s racers around the world the new longer ‘banana’ style swingarm improves rear tyre grip and predictability. Given the power on tap and the relative low grip of the road tyres in track conditions, you’ve got to say the idea has worked, because it’s only when the rear tyre gets very worn that it starts to slide. When it does it’s with warning and gradual.

I say slide, move a bit is probably more accurate, compared to what Sylvan Guintoli was doing when he was out on track with us. Suzuki’s new BSB signing and ex-MotoGP god was laying the most obscene, thick black lines around the track, and in places you’d never think you’d be on the throttle, let alone at full powersliding fury! He’s going to be a star this year.

Just like the FireBlade, which runs a similar long swingarm, you have to watch it when pulling a wheelie, something that’s de rigueur for GSX-R1000 owners. The front wheel comes up gradually as normal, then when it’s at about chest height it suddenly goes ‘whoosh’, and tries to loop. If you’re ready for it fine, if you’re not you might wake up with a crowd around you.

So, job done there with the swingarm, then but the new forks take more getting used to. They offer a lot of resistance when you ease off or brake, and they only really seem to work at their best when you’re really pushing hard.

For the first few riding sessions at Almeria I didn’t like them, they felt too stiff and made the bike feel heavy and slow steering. They also made my wrists sore by the end of the day. But after a while you realise that the harder you push the better they feel and the more you can judge what the front tyre is doing.

First impressions of the K9’s handling weren’t good when I first climbed on, it felt clumsy, slow-steering and slightly unstable on the rear going into corners. A lot of this was down to set-up.

Once I’d got up to speed and used to pushing the front end harder to make the forks work and give me feel, it was better. I also added some more preload (on John Reynold’s advice) to the rear shock to speed up the steering. By the end of the day I finally started to have some serious fun. On sticky tyres the K9 is even better.

Brakes are an improvement but they still have the same GSX-R trait of feeling a bit mushy at the lever and liable to fade on hard use.

There’s no denying the K9 is a superb motorcycle. Suzuki have been fanatical about weight saving and balance and all these tweaks to make it lighter and grippier will no doubt pay dividends for the race teams who use the road bike as the basis of their Superbike or Superstock racers. Die hard GSX-R fans will still go all gooey over its evil exhaust note, searing top-end rush and slider-shredding cornering ability.

But there’s something missing and I can’t put my finger on it. I wasn’t left giggling, or open-mouthed after each riding session, like I should have been. It’s exciting, there’s no doubt about that, it’s still a wild 180mph superbike, after all.

But maybe with all the changes I was expecting a lightweight, snarling GSX-R1000 K5 MkII? Maybe it feels and looks too much like the old K7/K8 despite all its changes? Maybe it’s still too bulky? Maybe it’s just that Honda and Yamaha have moved the game on so much with the Fireblade and R1.

This is the best-ever time to buy a superbike. They might be edging towards £10k (Rs. 7-lakh approx), but they’re at such a high level, have so much power and are so packed full of technology it’s insane. The trick nowadays isn’t to find more power, it’s to harness the incredible bhp on offer.

The Suzuki ticks all these boxes, it’s better than the old K7/K8. But for me, it’s not different enough to really get me salivating.

Expert views

John Reynolds,

Ex-BSB champ and Suzuki test rider

“It’s a totally different chassis on the K9 from the K7. We’ve got a setting now where the bike works really well on the race track, and with a couple of turns of preload off the rear shock and a bit off the front end you’ve got a bike that’s wonderful for the road as well.

“Suzuki have taken all the feedback from the riders in WSB and all the people who’ve been riding the K7 and K8 and worked out what’s needed is more grip on the back end. The way the geometry of the chassis is now, it’s really focused towards racing bikes more than anything else.”

 

Sylvain Guintoli,

Crescent Suzuki BSB Team racer

“It was an interesting experience riding the K9 today because I’ve never tried a road bike before. I was really surprised. I always thought road bikes on the track would be heavy and soft, but the K9 is good fun and fast.

“We tried the K9 in Calafat a few weeks ago, but it didn’t have all the evolution parts on at that point.

“Now we will ride the K9 full-spec superbike in a test this week, so we can find out exactly what it’s like.

“ I’m looking forward to BSB, because we’ve done this test in Calafat and its gone really well and the team are really nice guys to be around and really good fun.”

David Taylor,

Suzuki GB Sales and Marketing Director

“With the K9, we’re trying to maintain Suzuki’s position of producing the top-selling bike over 125cc.

“The racing side of Suzuki has brought the bike to a pinnacle with the front fork design and mass that’s been taken out of the bike.

“We’re critically interested in how this year turns out with all the new stuff that’s going on in WSB and BSB, and all the Japanese manufacturers face an interesting challenge this year. I think we’ve timed it right with what we’ve got.”

 

Under the skin of the GSX-R1000

1. Engine
More compact and lighter than before, this is Suzuki’s first major-league engine redesign in the GSX-R1000’s history. The K9 has a shorter engine, by 59mm front-to-back, which lets the bike run a 33mm longer swingarm to help rear tyre grip. The overall length of the GSX-R1000 is still 2045mm.

The new motor has a bigger bore and a shorter stroke to give more power at high rpm, but it still has the longest stroke of all the Japanese 1000s. A long stroke equals grunt. This more ‘over-square’ engine layout will give race teams more scope for tuning and raising revs safely. The redline is set at 13,750rpm.

There’s more power up top, but Suzuki claims more low and midrange torque, too, thanks to new camshafts, a reshaped combustion chamber and a hike in compression ratio from 12.5:1 to 12.8:1.

A new two-piece crankcase design and a lightweight crank accounts for most of the engine’s 670g weight loss. The crank has a more efficient lubrication system. Titanium inlet valves are up from 30mm to 31mm and exhaust valves up from 24 to 25mm. Double valve springs replace single ones for better control at high revs. By stacking the primary and secondary gears and moving the clutch and crankshaft forward Suzuki has been able to make the engine shorter. The rear sprocket is down one tooth from 43 to 42.

The throttle bodies are now 10mm shorter, with 12-hole fuel injectors providing a finer spray for improved combustion. Inlet trumpets are now different heights to improve midrange and high rpm efficiency.

There’s still a slipper clutch, but it’s now cable instead of hydraulically operated.

The swoopy exhausts have titanium headers and servo-controlled butterfly valves to maximize power through the rev range. The system is 400g lighter than before.

2. Chassis
The new K9 weighs 5kg less than the old bike. The twin-spar aluminium frame is now shorter (from 645.8mm to 615mm) and comes in five welded-together sections. There’s also a cool ‘banana’ swingarm in cast aluminium, which lets the exhausts tuck in closer to the bike and is 500g lighter than before. The wheelbase is 1405mm – 10mm shorter than the K7/K8. Footrests are three-way adjustable, as is the gearlever. The new, removable cast aluminium subframe is lighter, too.

3. Suspension
Showa replaces Kayaba for the new K9. New 43mm Showa Big Piston Forks (BPF) are now fitted to the GSX-R1000 for the first time. They have just one 39.6mm internal piston per fork leg controlling rebound and compression damping instead of two. They run a lower pressure than conventional forks, so there’s less change of oil cavitation. Springs are at the bottom of the forks and are submerged in oil. This simpler set-up is 720g lighter than conventional forks. Both compression and rebound damping screw adjusters are on the top of each fork leg and preload is at the bottom.

The new Kayaba rear shock (500g lighter) is fully adjustable, including high and low speed compression damping, and works through a new suspension linkage (200g lighter). The speed-sensitive steering damper is 45g lighter.

4. Brakes and wheels
New forged aluminium Tokico one-piece radial calipers are more rigid and 250g each lighter than the old two-speed items. These are bolted to new-style carriers. Different sized pistons are used on the leading and trailing ends of the calipers for even pad wear. The radial-pump master cylinder diameter is down from 19 to 17mm for better feel through the lever. Cast aluminium wheels are 420g lighter.

5. Bodywork
The new fairing has a narrower lower section for better aerodynamics and a wider top to improve wind protection. SRAD (Suzuki Ram-Air Direct) intakes, which cut into the new headlight, have new internal louvres and are moved closer to the centre of the bike to take advantage of the higher air pressure there. A new slimline tail section has clear lens indicators and comes with a clip-in single seat unit. The new fuel tank retains its capacity of 17.5 litres.

6. Instruments
New clocks feature a gear position and power mode indicator, a bar graph showing how bright the clocks are and a lap timer, triggered by a button on the right bar.

On the road

Michael Neeves rode the K9 from the launch in Almeria to Cartagena, the venue for our upcoming 1000s group test. The route took in twisty mountain roads and motorway.

“If you’re coming from a K7/K8 GSX-R1000, the riding position will be immediately familiar. The seat is comfortable, you sit low and the bars are relatively high, so it’s OK to do distance on.

“There’s still good grunt at low revs, though you can’t be completely lazy. Purr along in high gear at normal speeds and you need to stir the gearbox to overtake cars.

“The Big Piston Forks still feel stiff through the twisties, but on normal roads they suck up the bumps beautifully giving very good ride quality.

“The K9 is more fun on the road than on track. You can clutch up big power wheelies at a ton. There’s an excess of power to play with, making the K9 the dog’s on the road!”

 

Evolution of the gsx-r1000

K1/K2: 988cc (73 x 59mm)•168kg (dry)

K3/K4: 988cc (73 x 59mm)•168kg (dry)

K5/K6: 998.6cc (73.4 x 59mm)•166kg (dry)

K7/8: 999cc (73.4 x 59mm)•172kg (dry)

K9: 999cc (74.5 x 57.3mm)•203kg (wet)

 

Intruder Alert

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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.

 

Two-wheeler-mecca

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The two-wheeler industry from India and around the world comes together in Delhi for the 10th Auto Expo to flaunt their latest offerings. We take you through the major action at one of Asia’s largest automotive exhibitions
Words: Adhish Alawani and Bunny Punia
Photography: Sanjay Raikar and Varun Kulkarni

HARLEY DAVIDSON
Harley-Davidson setup a feast for motorcycle enthusiasts visiting the Auto Expo. Not only did the American marque surprise everyone by bringing in as many as 12 different models from the basic five families of the entire Harley-Davidson range, but they also stunned prospective buyers with a price range affordable for a wide variety of consumers.

The Harley-Davidson brand comes with a rich heritage and the company plans to charm the Indian customer with the same legacy. As a result, we see various models from each of the five families namely Sportster, Dyna, Softail, V-Rod and Touring making their entry into the Indian market. The basic XL 883L Sportster happens to be the cheapest of the lot with a price tag of Rs 6.95 lakh (ex-showroom). The prices climb up gradually all the way to Rs 21.95 lakh (ex-showroom) for the Street Glide. Apart from these basic five families, the firm has also introduced the Custom Vehicle Operation motorcycle or simply the CVO in the form of the Ultra Classic Electra Glide. To talk a bit about the CVOs, these are machines custom designed by a team working closely with Harley- Davidson and the team is responsible for creating a certain number of CVOs every year. The Ultra Classic Electra Glide will be the most expensive offering from Harley-Davidson and will be priced at Rs 34.95 lakh (ex-showroom).

The variety of machines offered by Harley makes sure that the consumer gets a huge range of options. Not only that, with the price range starting from as low as Rs 6.95 lakh, it is going to be easier for a larger number of people to purchase their dream machines. What’s more, the company’s dealerships will also sell Harley-Davidson merchandise for hardcore fans. Time to cruise, Hogs?

Finance options
Harley-Davidson has tied up with ICICI to provide brilliant finance options for their motorcycles. With a minimum down payment of as much as 15 percent of the vehicle cost and a tenure for a period of five years, you can get the XL 883L Sportster for a down payment of close to Rs 1.2 lakh with an EMI of around Rs 13,000. The fantastic finance option laid down by ICICI is further going to boost sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles and make it much easier to own these machines than most of the imported bikes available in the country.

YAMAHA
Yamaha has been on a roll since the last Auto Expo where they showcased the YZF-R15 and the FZ16 for the first time. The two bikes went onto become a massive success and raised expectations from the Japanese manufacturer for this year’s Expo. Though the company did not showcase anything as aggressive as either of the two products that have changed the fate of Yamaha in India, they surely had some welcome surprises for motorcycle aficionados.

Yamaha already retails the YZF-R1 in India and has now upgraded to the 2010 model of their flagship bike that features the revolutionary crossplane crankshaft. Derived from MotoGP technologies, this R1 has already won the WSBK title along with many awards from various motorcycle magazines around the world. A limited edition R15 was also launched by the company which features nothing new except a fresh paint scheme. Yamaha showcased a couple of concept bikes in the commuter segment as well. The SZ Concept is expected to feature a 125cc engine while the YBR might sport a 100cc motor. Both concepts seemed to be very close to the production versions and it won’t surprise us if we see one of them rolling out in the market in the near future. The R15 and the FZ16 have helped Yamaha revive their status in India and we expect these new commuter segment bikes to further help the company achieve higher sales figures.

Apart from these bikes, the exhibits at the Yamaha booth included the R15 loaded with the Daytona Race kit and the FZ series bikes with all the optional accessories available. The company had set up a section of CBUs that showcased the recently launched V-Max. The other two very interesting exhibits in the CBU section were the T-Max and the Diversion F. The T-Max, a super scooter powered by a 499cc motor, pumps out 43.5PS while the Diversion F features a 600cc engine that delivers 75.5PS of peak power. The Diversion F will make for a very good option on Indian roads, but will attract a complete homologation (since it is less than 800cc) if it has to make it to the Indian market. The final two imported bikes on display from Yamaha were the FZ1 and the Fazer 1000, both of which are powered by a 998cc engine.

The most exciting exhibit at the Yamaha booth had to be Valentino Rossi’s YZR-M1 that he has been racing in MotoGP. The joy of Yamaha fans knew no bounds when Rossi himself appeared on stage at the company’s booth and shook hands with a few among the thousands of people gathered to catch a glimpse of their racing god. BIKE India’s Deputy Editor, Bunny Punia later got an opportunity to interact with the legend. Jump to page 105 for Rossi’s interview with BI.

 

HONDA
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India had as many as six launches scheduled for the Auto Expo including a variety of two-wheelers ranging from scooters and commuter motorcycles to enthusiasts’ machines. The launches included some facelifted versions of their existing models as well as some all-new machines for India.

To start with, Honda’s main attraction at the Auto Expo was the VFR1200F. The fun bike that has already been launched abroad made its appearance in India for the first time (refer to BIKE India’s January 2010 issue for Bunny Punia’s first ride of the VFR1200F) and definitely attracted a lot of attention with its radical design. The VFR1200F incorporates a lot of amazing technologies including the world’s first dual-clutch transmission on a motorcycle. This novel transmission allows the rider to ride the bike like an automatic motorcycle or manually shift gears with a button for a bit of sporty riding. Other fantastic innovations on the bike include the Layered Fairing Technology and the application of the UNICAM single overhead camshaft cylinder. HMSI claims that the VFR1200F might soon make it to the Indian market. The firm’s other CBU exhibits included the 2010 upgraded version of the CBR Fireblade that features an improved crankshaft inertia mass and a little bit of restyling along with new paint schemes.

The CB Twister’s unveiling at the Auto Expo marked the first public appearance of the new 110cc sporty commuter globally. Taking design cues from the hugely popular CB1000R, the Twister definitely makes for radical styling on a commuter. So far, HMSI did not have an offering in the basic commuter bike segment. With the Twister, the company forays into the highest selling class of bikes in the Indian market. Priced attractively between Rs 41,000 and Rs 48,000 (approximately, ex-showroom Delhi), the Twister is expected to score high on the sales front for Honda. HMSI also showcased the facelifted version of their Dio scooter which is hugely popular amongst the youth. New graphics and paint schemes plus a slightly raised ground clearance mark the new features on the Dio. It is quite surprising that Honda did not include the new 110cc motor in the Dio that is powering the new Activa and the Aviator. The Honda Stunner (carb version) gets a facelift as well with new paint schemes, graphics, an engine cowl and the inclusion of a tachometer in the instrumentation console. The concept versions of Unicorn and the CB Twister were also showcased by HMSI at the Auto Expo. In white and maroon colours, both concept vehicles sported additional body panels as compared to the production versions. Apart from these newbies, HMSI also showcased their entire existing lineup of products. Rider training simulators and the bike designing sections added a touch of interaction with the visitors.

U3X
The Honda U3X, a personal mobility device, put up one of the most exciting shows at the Auto Expo. Drawing technologies from the ASIMO, the U3X is a device that can move you in every direction – forward, backward, sideways and diagonal and can gather speeds of upto 6km/h while doing so. That makes it a fantastic mobility option in official and institutional premises. All you need to do is sit on it and incline towards the direction in which you intend to go and you are magically set into motion. Now who will not want that in order to roam around huge factory premises, offices or even educational institutes with absolutely no effort?!

SUZUKI
Suzuki Motorcycles had a rather quiet appearance at the Auto Expo this year with no new launches. In fact, the company did not even setup a separate section for their bikes and instead simply put up the motorcycles amongst the Maruti Suzuki cars. The imported motorcycles on display included the Hayabusa and the Intruder which have already been launched in India. What made for an interesting display though, were the GSX-R600 and the SV650F. Sources close to company claim that there is a 600cc segment motorcycle that the company is probably homologating for the Indian market and our guess is that it is the SV650F. Not only is the bike a lot more practical for city use as well as touring, but it is also cheaper than the Gixxer 600 (it might get a sub Rs 8 lakh ex-showroom tag) and leaves the sport biking avenue open for the GSX-R1000. Sources also hint that Suzuki is working on getting a 250cc motorcycle to the Indian market to start off their own performance bike lineup. We hear that there are three bikes scheduled for 2010 and though there is not even the slightest of hint of the third bike, we hope to see the Gixxer 1000 or the monstrous B-King. Fingers crossed!

TVS
TVS has emerged strongly in the two-wheeler market in India and is being considered as one of the powerful brands in the country. The reason for this is simple. TVS has been consistently delivering products that are not just strong players among the competition, but also have something really new and innovative to offer. Innovation and quality products took centre stage at the TVS exhibit. The company had a wide range of products on display that included everything from scooters and motorcycles to green concepts and ATV concepts as well as some racing machines.

The Scooty Streak Hybrid did not pull a lot of visitors with its visual prowess, but it definitely packs in the green technology of the future. This Scooty sports a parallel hybrid technology in which the scooter can be ridden either with the help of an internal combustion petrol engine or a battery powered motor or both at the same time. Though the project is still under development, the prototype that we rode was definitely impressive. TVS had put up a concept scooter called the Qube 2.0 which is later on expected to boast of the same technology as the Scooty Streak Hybrid. The other concept shown by TVS was in the form of a four-wheeled monstrous machine that was defined by its radical design and aggressive stance.

An important launch from TVS came in the form of the introduction of ABS on the Apache RTR. Developed in collaboration with the German company, Continental AG, the ABS comes equipped with a Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit that senses and regulates the braking as per the wheel speed of the bike. The rest of the machines showcased by TVS included the recently introduced Wego, the clutchless Jive, the racing RTR 160, the motocross machine RTR 250 FX and the rest of the company’s current lineup in India.

BAJAJ-KAWASAKI-KTM
Bajaj disappointed visitors at the Auto Expo to a great extent with a rather drab display of the existing range of motorcycles from their stable, a few Kawasaki Ninja 250Rs and a couple of KTMs. With absolutely no new launches, Bajaj had nothing exciting to offer. In fact, inside sources tell us that the display was a last minute one and the company had no initial plans of putting up a stall the Auto Expo.

Bajaj had shown the Kawasaki Ninja 250R two years ago at the Auto Expo and the bike has now finally made it to the market a few months ago. Not only has the Ninja impressed us to a great extent, but has already started winning accolades from various magazines in the country including the Bike of the Year honour from BIKE India (refer to page 38 for the award’s special feature). KTM bikes have been over due now and there is no concrete information yet about their launch in India. First shown and talked about in the 2008 Auto Expo, the KTMs had left a mighty impression on everyone. Ever since then, enthusiasts have been waiting to lay their hands on these Austrian beauties. We hope to see the KTMs hit the market at least in the first quarter of 2010.

MAHINDRA
Mahindra got into the two-wheeler business recently and this year’s Auto Expo was the first one for them with respect to scooters and motorcycles. Since the company’s entry in the two-wheeler market, Mahindra has introduced the Rodeo and the Duro. Though both scooters share the same engines, they differ in styling and most importantly in the basic chassis. Mahindra’s two-wheeler portfolio has one more scooter in the form of the Flyte in addition to the Rodeo and the Duro.

While all these three scooters were on display at the Mahindra stall, what grabbed the most attention were the two concept machines showcased by the new player. The radically designed concept scooter definitely talks of modern design theories that Mahindra will be looking forward to implement in their future offerings. However, much more attention was grabbed by the motorcycle on display by Mahindra. Dressed in red and black race fairings, the bike looked like an exact adaptation of a MotoGP machine. Powered by a two-stroke 125cc engine, this concept boasts 54PS of peak power and a top speed of 245km/h. Though quite an over ambitious concept, we hear that Mahindra is definitely developing a performance oriented machine which, unlike the scooters, won’t get the engine from SYM. We are waiting for the promising bike, Mahindra!

HERO HONDA
The Hero Honda stall at the Auto Expo was reminiscent of their last year’s booth. Exactly like last time, the two-wheeler giant had on display almost their complete range of motorcycles. Without a doubt, Hero Honda is the largest selling motorcycle brand in the country and accounts for a huge range of bikes ranging from the small capacity commuter machines to the high performance sporty bikes. The company’s latest and most premium product, the Karizma ZMR, took centre stage at the Hero Honda booth. Mounted on a revolving ring, the ZMR with its sports tourer styling, attracted visitors. However, no new introductions from Hero Honda disappointed the crowd.

There was a weird and completely unique exhibit at the Hero Honda booth though. A motorcycle made from all the scrap that you might find in the junkyard behind a garage grabbed a lot of attention. The bike was made completely from rusted old scrapped spare parts including nuts, bolts, springs, gears, bearings, gauges, levers, rods, etc. It also included spare parts of bicycles like the pedal, chain sprocket, bell, etc. The junk bike was definitely a piece of art, but we fail to understand the motive behind such an exhibit.

 

VIBGYOR
Vibgyor, a Kolkata based motorcycle firm, was present at the Auto Expo with three bikes on display – the Gallop, the Hunter and the Shark. While the 100cc Gallop is already selling in the north-eastern Indian market, the company took this opportunity to introduce their other two new motorcycles.

The Shark, powered by a 150cc motor that pumps out 13.6PS of peak power, is the most powerful bike on offer from Vibgyor and also makes for their premium product. Though the engine seems to be promising, the design and styling of the bike is quite disappointing. Taking styling cues from various Indian motorcycles, the Shark looks more like an amalgamation of different features from various bikes. Even the fit and finish and the quality of materials used are not up to the mark. The second product launched by the Kolkata based manufacturer was the Hunter which comes with a 125cc engine. The company claims that their bike’s positive factor is its pricing. The Gallop is priced as low as Rs 28,999 (ex-showroom, Kolkata) while the Shark retails at Rs 49,990 (ex-showroom, Kolkata).

Vibgyor has a few other products in the pipeline as well including a 100cc scooter called the Persona and a 200cc unnamed motorcycle. The company is looking at expanding its dealerships across North India as of now and will further spread across the nation.

ROYAL ENFIELD
Royal Enfield is upping its game with the introduction of newer technologies in their motorcycles. The Classic 500 stands as a testimony for this. With the incorporation of the Unit Construction Engine or simply the UCE and fuel injection, Royal Enfield is trying to catch up with modern day motorcycles while still maintaining its own persona. This very approach adopted by Royal Enfield was evident at the company’s stall during the Auto Expo with the unveiling of the Café Racer Concept. Apart from carrying a retro aggression in the form of racing number plates at the sides, a classic paint scheme, a bum-stop saddle and chopped fenders, the Café Racer Concept boasts of modern day features like a gas charged suspension, disc brakes, raised footpegs, a megaphone exhaust and even the UCE 500 engine albeit in a higher state of tune. Though the launch of the Café Racer is yet to be decided, company officials say that the bike will hit the international market sometime in 2012, later followed by an Indian debut.

The recently launched Classic 500 now gets two new paint schemes – military green and a combination of chrome and maroon. The bike looks stunning in military green which is sadly available only for the American market. The rest of the models from the Royal Enfield portfolio completed the company’s exhibit.

DEMAK
Demak Motors is a Malaysian based manufacturer of electric vehicles, petrol powered scooters, mopeds and motorycycles. Present for the first time at the Auto Expo, the firm is looking at a tieup with a local company to start selling its range of two-wheelers, barring the electric scooters, later this year. Part of the DNC Asiatic Holdings Sdn. Bhd Group, Demak already manufactures and markets over 20 products in various countries.

In India, the company showcased four products – two scooters and two motorcycles. The dirt bike, named the DMX-R, is powered by a 150cc four-stroke engine and has already won a few awards in local endurance races in Malaysia. The cruiser, christened the Cougar, seems to be a very interesting option for India. It comes with a twin cylinder 250cc four-stroke motor and should be great on open Indian roads.

In the scooters, Demak showcased the modern retro 50cc Rino and the cute 125cc Duta. Both these machines looked chic and sported decent quality panels. However, it remains to be seen how Demak’s product fare in real world conditions in the country.

E-BIKES

e-bikes lineup

Ultra Motors
Apart from their complete range of e-bikes, Ultra had a very interesting low rider concept called the Ultra Byke. It even had fake steel exhausts and the battery casings were designed like a V-twin engine.

Hero Electric
Hero launched three new e-bikes at the Expo and also showcased a concept scooter called the Super. They had other future e-project scooters including the cute Photon and the Sunny.

ENV
The very popular intelligent energy ENV, the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell motorcycle was displayed at the Expo.

Tara International
The Kolkata based electric vehicle manufacturer had their entire range of e-bikes on display.

Emmel Vheelers
Emmel showcased a variety of e-bikes including the Vee-Way personal transporter and the Vee500, a high performance e-motorcycle with a top speed of upto 55km/h.

BSA Motors

BSA had their full lineup of e-scooters including the new generation Edge and Roamer Able, a scooter for the physically challenged. Also on display was a concept e-bike powered by a 500 Watt motor.

Lohia auto
Lohia Auto was present at the Expo with both its offerings, the Fame as well as the Oma Star. The latter was part of the special subscription prize at the BIKE India stall.

Yo bikes
The Gujarat based manufacturer showcased its most powerful offering, the EXL with a front disc option as well as a cargo scooter version of the Yo Speed, aimed at food joints.

PEDAL POWER
For those not old enough to get a legal driving license or the people looking for an exquisite and premium range of cycles, here is some dope on the various models on display at the Expo

Ralson is now divulging into the field of lifestyle cycles with the introduction of Raleigh’s range of high performing cycles.

Tube Investments that manufactures Hercules and BSA cycles was present at the Expo. Also on display was the Cannondale range of premium cycles.

If not the real motorcycle, you can have the Ducati Monster 900 carbon cycle. Yours for Rs 1,80,000!

The epitome of luxury on four-wheels was also present in various two-wheeled avatars. The Kid’s bike and the sport trekking series were on display.

One of the more famous premium cycle brands in India, FireFox had most of their products on display along with riding gear as well.

MAPMYINDIA
MapMyIndia, one of the pioneers in navigation devices in India showcased their entire range of GPS devices. What was new was the introduction of the TrailBlazer, a first of its kind GPS device for motorcycles in India. Priced at Rs 18,990, it comes preloaded with maps for 620 cities and all important highways. Most importantly, it is waterproof and has an in-built FM transmitter.

CONTINENTAL
Continental AG, Germany have developed an ABS (anti-lock braking) system exclusively for the TVS Apache RTR 180. The device works on the front as well as the rear disc brake. Continetal has used the same technology they apply on other bikes overseas, though certain parameters were changed keeping in mind the RTR’s weight distribution. The system also has a lift off valve wherein it releases the front brake for a fraction of a second if it senses the rear wheel lifting off. Further, the ABS system can be switched off manually. Expect this feature to come as an option on the RTR soon.

DSK DESIGN SCHOOL
Hall number six had an interesting little stall put up by the students and faculty members of Pune based DSK International School of Design. They showcased their concept motorcycle called the SUM or Sports Utility Motorcycle. With the Yamaha FZ acting as the base bike, these guys managed to sculpt a very jazzy looking design with interesting bits like a new smaller digital console, LED tail lamps, an underseat exhaust, etc. The SUM is the brainchild of Fabien Rougemont, drawing trainer and prototype manager at DSK and the bike should be ready for a test session next month. Lending a helping hand to Fabien were Makarand Potdar and Sachin Panchal, both final year students and Mukesh Panchal, a clay modeller. For more info on the school, log onto www.dskisd.com

BI STALL WITH GUL
Gul Panag needs no introduction. The famous Bollywood celebrity is well-known among the biking fraternity for her passion and love of motorcycles. In fact, Gul was on the jury panel for the recently held BIKE India (and CAR India) awards and played an important role in the overall analysis for the Motorcycle of the Year award. She was in Delhi to witness the Auto Expo and needless to say, visited the BIKE India stall as well. Gul spent time with the entire team and interacted with avid readers as well. Our stall itself was the best among all the automotive magazines and for good reason. For starters, we had the sexy Audi TT on display and for genuine biking enthusiasts, we had not one but three gorgeous beauties – the world’s fastest production bike, the Suzuki Hayabusa plus one of the most advanced litre-class bikes, the new Yamaha YZF-R1 and last but not the least, the sexy Italian Ducati Streetfighter S! Aaron helmets sponsored two helmets a day for daily winners of our subscription whereas Lohia Auto sponsored the Oma Star to the lucky winner (Rakesh Rajpurohit) of the mega draw.

THERE IS MORE TO THE AUTO EXPO THAN JUST NEW LAUNCHES AND CONCEPT MACHINES
The Auto Expo isn’t just about two-wheels or four for that matter. It goes without saying that both two wheels and two legs are an attraction for the young at heart and almost every two- wheeler manufacturer had glowing beauties parked, err, standing with their products or at the counter desk. Here is a little compilation from BIKE India as a tribute and salute to these damsels. All of them took the physical, and in Delhi’s case, the mental agony of standing, posing, smiling or simply trying to answer the never ending questions by the crowd. Cheers to these unsung heroines.

 

Jiving-with-the-scooters

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Adhish Alawani finds out if the new clutchless Jive is ready to take on the highly practical scooters in the Indian market
Photography: Sanjay Raikar

Last month, when I was road testing the Jive (the new clutchless commuter from TVS), I was mighty impressed with the concept and practicality of this machine. Not only does it stand as testimony of a good piece of engineering, but also goes ahead of every other motorcycle in the current market by setting higher standards for modern commuters. The low capacity bikes and scooters have ruled the Indian market. And I personally believe that the Jive is going to create an altogether new segment of practical and easy machines at extremely affordable price tags.

While I was thinking about its novel transmission and ease of use in the traffic, it struck me that this bike is going to take the fight to the automatic scooters which are by far the best option for daily commutes in the chaotic, stop and go Indian traffic. Discussion on this topic with Aspi led me into a comparison test of the Jive against a scooter. We picked the most popular scooter available in the market today, the Honda Activa and decided to pitch it against the Jive to gauge both on various factors like ease of use, utility, cost, efficiency, suspension and last but not the least, styling. Let me take you through my findings on each aspect as I compared the commuters and rated each one of them on a scale of ten points.

Ease of use:
We all know that the Activa with its variomatic gearbox is the easiest thing to ride in traffic. With a twist of your right wrist, you set the scooter in motion and don’t have to worry about gear changes. The clutchless transmission on the Jive is not as convenient as the Activa where there is nothing that you need to do apart from throttle operation. However, the Jive is not as cumbersome to ride as any other motorcycle either as there is no clutch lever and all you have to do is roll back the accelerator and shift it to the next gear. In short, you can use the Jive as a manual or as an automatic bike. While coming to a halt at a traffic signal, you can simply come and stop in whichever gear you are running in and start off in that same gear. The centrifugal clutch keeps slipping until you attain the appropriate engine rpm and prevents the bike from stalling in higher gears at lower speeds. However, while doing so, you are going to end up burning the plates and get moving so slowly that even a kid on a bicycle will overtake you before you attain considerable speeds. Thus, though the centrifugal clutch can manage to keep your bike running in a higher gear at low speeds, it becomes inevitable to shift down the gears before taking off from a standstill. The manual shifts on the Jive come to your help on steep uphill climbs where you can go down to the first gear and keep rolling even with two people on board, which is not possible in case of the variomatic scooter.
Scores: Activa- 9/10 Jive- 7/10

 

Utility:
Utility is extremely important when considering a commuter and it comes in the form of carrying luggage and a passenger. The Activa, with a footboard and underseat space, can house a lot of stuff and carry a couple of loaded shopping bags. The Jive is probably the only motorcycle available in the country that comes with underseat space. However, as the company demonstrates, this space can only be used for an umbrella and a bottle of water or at the most, a wallet. The Activa’s wider and shorter seat means that it is also a better companion carrier than the Jive. So who wins the competition here? The Activa without a doubt makes a clean sweep when it comes to utility.
Scores: Activa- 9/10 Jive- 6/10

Cost:
The Honda Activa and the TVS Jive are priced competitively against each other. With both the machines costing close to Rs 46,000 (OTR, Pune), there is hardly a contest among them considering the tags. However, while discussing cost, it is not just the initial price that should be taken into consideration. The cost of ownership, i.e., maintenance, spares and service should also be given a thought. And in that case too, I believe that the earlier products from both companies have proved to be extremely reliable and cheap to maintain over the period of years they have spent in the market. I don’t think that we can zero in on either one of them while considering the cost factor.
Scores: Activa- 9/10 Jive- 9/10

Efficiency:
Commuter motorcycles are mostly bought by consumers because of the high fuel efficiency figures returned by these machines. TVS pounces back on Honda in this regard. With an amazing fuel efficiency of 62kmpl, the Jive beats the Activa, which settles at 53.5 kmpl, by a huge margin. Also the 6 litre fuel tank on the Activa means a lot less range as compared to Jive which comes with a more than double capacity 15 litre fuel tank.
Scores: Activa- 5/10 Jive- 9/10

Styling:
Styling doesn’t play a major deciding factor when it comes to commuters. They are designed for utility and practicality more than style and fashion. Nonetheless, I believe that the Activa, with its new broad rear styling and typical scooter design is not as popular amongst the consumers as much as a motorcycle. At the same time, I would also like to mention that the younger generation would prefer the scooter over the typical commuter motorcycle looks of the Jive. Thus, the styling factor ultimately boils down to personal opinions. Hence, no scores here.

Suspension and ride:
The telescopic forks upfront and the hydraulic suspension with coil springs on the TVS Jive ensure a comfortable and soft ride. Not only that, the bike’s sleek design and upright, tall seating gives good flickability to the Jive in congested traffic. As against that, the trailing link front suspension of the Activa is not the best on bumpy roads. Even the bigger wheels on the Jive call for a better ride quality than the small ones on the scooter. However, the Activa shod by the MRF tyres provides a far superior grip than the Jive that comes with the TVS tyres.
Scores: Activa- 7/10 Jive- 8/10

Verdict:
Tallying up the points, I was expecting to come up with a clear winner which is not the case here as both, the Activa and the Jive have scored equally. I believe that it is probably going to go down to consumer preference in the end. Someone might want luggage space while another may desire better fuel efficiency. Or maybe, someone like me might just want some fun from my commuter (refer to the opening page of the story)!
Total Scores: Activa- 39 Jive- 39

 

 


An-indian-at-a-sushi-party

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Does the lightweight Pulsar have the right mix of spices to tingle the commuter’s taste buds? Or will they still prefer the Japanese offerings?
Words: Sarmad Kadiri   Photography: Sanjay Raikar

By now most BIKE India readers would have a fair knowledge about Bajaj’s latest artillery to hit the Indian circuit. Our first issue of this decade featured a detailed report on the Pulsar 135 Light Sport, which promises to deliver class defying performance and fuel efficiency with snazzy styling. And all that, at a very, very competitive price. But the proof of the pudding is the eating. We decided to bring the new challenger from Bajaj’s stable face-to-face with the best bikes from a segment above and below it. Incidentally, both the flag bearers are from the Honda lineup – the Unicorn 150cc and its younger sibling, the CBF Stunner 125 (non fuel injected). In other words, Bajaj’s puny performer intends to gatecrash the Japanese giant’s party. So, let’s find out if it succeeds.

HONDA CBF STUNNER
The trendy 125cc city commuter gets a snazzy facelift and looks more ‘stunning’ than ever before

BAJAJ PULSAR 135 LS
This new kid on the block is tagged as LS (Light Sport) which could well have been ‘Lethally Styled

HONDA UNICORN
The most well-sorted 150cc in India that has set the benchmark for refinement across segments

THE LOOK

The Pulsar 135 LS has evolved from the XCD Sprint concept first showcased during the 2008 Auto Expo. The naked streetbike inspired headlamps nestled between the razor sharp panels and the floating fairing sitting above reflect the concept’s design cues. The side scoops on the curvy tank, the clip-on handlebar and step seats accentuate the sporty theme of the bike. The dual coloured front mudguard with ridges appears aggressive. At a glance, it looks distinct from its siblings and yet snazzy enough to hold your attention.

Shifting our focus to a segment below, the CBF Stunner 125 has just gone through a quick facelift and now comes with new colour schemes and body graphics. The addition of an engine cowl, sharper rear view mirrors and a black paint job for the engine, exhaust cover and handlebar make it look even more ‘stunning’ than before. The 2010 Stunner gets the much awaited tachometer in a new look console. Giving it competition is the Pulsar 135 LS’s neat instrument console which holds the digital speedometer, odometer, fuel gauge and trip meter as well as the analogue tachometer.

Okay, I’m midway through talking about the appearance of the bikes, but I haven’t even mentioned a thing about the Unicorn. This is simply because there is nothing new to talk about the bike’s design. Honda has been giving minor cosmetic tweaks to their reliable 150cc bike, but the Unicorn desperately needs to visit an A-list stylist real soon. It remains the most understated bike in this shootout and probably in its segment as well. The all-black Unicorn badged with the chrome Honda wing looks neat but dated. Honda did display a concept Unicorn during the Auto Expo 2010, but it didn’t manage to make eyeballs pop and looked more like an oversized CB Twister 110. Hmmm… That’s about it for the Unicorn in this department leaving the fight between the Pulsar 135 LS and the CBF Stunner 125.

The rear panels of the LS keep the Pulsar style DNA intact and the icing on the cake is the superbike type rear without a mudguard. But here’s the anti-climax, the full tyre shroud looks plasticy and rather odd. The designers should have incorporated sleeker shrouds similar to the ones used on the bigger Pulsars. Apart from looking ugly, it will be a pain to clean dirt from under it. The Stunner has a nice looking tiny hugger at the rear that guards the 17-inch tubeless tyres. The same tyres also perform their duty on the Pulsar 135 LS. The radical theme of the LS is also reflected in the sliced exhaust chamber. Personally, a slightly meatier exhaust would have enhanced its looks further. Bajaj has tagged the Pulsar 135 as LS, meaning Light Sport, but a complete metal chain cover is neither light nor does it look sporty. The Stunner, on the other hand, has a plastic half chain cover which does its duty well and looks great too. The LS and the Stunner sport step seats which look great. A minor flaw that our Editor, Aspi pointed out to the Bajaj boffins is that the side stand of the Pulsar 135 LS is located way too close to the gear lever. Even a light impact to the left side of the bike could disrupt the gearshift. Both the Hondas have their side stand perfectly located. The LS manages to balance the sporty theme well without going over the top, which means mass appeal. But the Stunner will still be a hit with the younger lot.

THE RIDE
I have a lot to talk about the Unicorn in this section and only good things. It is the only bike equipped with a monoshock and yes, it does make a difference. I feel this 150 has the best ride quality across segments and this is no easy task to achieve. If you enjoy taking your friend or girlfriend (ahem) along for rides on the highway or even through the unruly city lanes, the Unicorn with its superb suspension and 150cc engine is a joy to ride. Shifting to a segment below, the Pulsar 135 LS has conventional shock absorbers with a combination of hydraulic, gas and coil springs. This combination works well when riding alone, but is strictly okay with a pillion rider especially if he weighs even marginally close to our photographer, Sanjay. Though the LS’s suspension is not as soft as the Unicorn, it is subtle and athletic even with two heavyweights onboard. The LS has a new swingarm and a long wheelbase of 1325mm which is even longer than its big brother, the Pulsar 150 although the steep steering angle assures reasonable handling agility. It is roughly based on the XCD’s square section chassis and handling is not the strongest point of the LS.

Its seating position is inclined more towards a sports bike stance with the clip-on handlebars and the low seating position making it fun to zip through traffic but the bike feels comparatively unsettling while taking on long curves. The Stunner with its 1271mm wheelbase and well sorted suspension scores over the LS in this section. It feels more composed and the new MRF rubber boosts confidence as I experienced while negotiating the corners of ghat sections. But the overall winner in the handing and ride quality department has to be Honda’s old legend, the Unicorn. The monoshock combined with the longest wheelbase among the three (1340mm) and the trusted MRF zappers make it nimble, agile and supremely comfortable.

THE HEART
Astride 2010’s new look Stunner for the first time, I kept praying in my heart, “God please, please make this ride like the Stunner Fi. Please, please!” But it didn’t. Let me break this up for those who haven’t used both the Stunner versions. The 125cc has a great Honda engine which is smooth and peppy, but the carburetted version is extremely under geared (for reasons best known to the company) which causes the bike to vibrate way too much as it reaches the 60-70km/h mark. Surprisingly, the fuel injected variant of the Stunner is free of this shortcoming thanks to the taller overall gearing. The Stunner Fi feels extremely refined even at high speeds. Unfortunately, the Stunner that qualified for this particular test was the carburetted version. While riding it in the top gear, my mind kept yelling “Shift the gear! Shift the gear!” but my left foot responded, “There are none here! There are none here!” It manages to touch the 100km/h mark which isn’t bad for a 125cc bike. But the Stunner gets outshined by the light Pulsar as it has minimal vibrations even at high speeds. The LS, as the name suggests, is quite light at just 122kg which is a good 7kg lower than the smaller Stunner, let alone the 146kg weight of the Unicorn. This is a great trend which is also the topic of discussion at automobile research and development departments across the globe. But India has a long way to go as international bikes with 600cc mills weigh just around 170kg! The light weight of the Pulsar coupled with its indigenously developed four-valve powertrain can match up to the performance of 150cc bikes. The four-valve technology helps it breathe better and so improves the fuel efficiency and the performance of the machine. Talking about four-valve technology, here’s some trivia for the petrol heads: the first Indian bike to use this technology (though developed overseas) was the now forgotten, Kinetic GF 125 which was launched about a decade ago. Time to return from the flashback to real time. The LS goes from 0-60km/h in just 5.18 seconds and has a genuine top whack of 112km/h! Several 150cc owners will be reading these figures over and over again. In reality, it’s not just about speed. The Unicorn is still content with its old two-valve technology, and it reflects in the bike’s performance figures. The younger Pulsar manages to outrun it by a whisker in the top speed stakes as well as the 0-60km/h sprint. However, the Unicorn leads when it comes to class leading refinement, smooth power delivery and unparalleled durability. Apart from reaching the top speed, what is really important is coming to a halt in urgency. The older and more experienced Honda scores over the other two in the braking department. The Stunner has good low down power and can even pull from low rpms in a higher gear which makes it a good city commuter. It also is the most fuel efficient among the three bikes here with an average of 66kmpl. The LS is not far behind delivering an amazing 63.75kmpl out of the spirited 135cc mill and the bigger Unicorn manages to stretch a liter for 58.92kmpl.

The Pulsar 135 LS shakes up the competition by delivering class defying efficiency and performance, thanks to its light weight. But I have to give it to the Unicorn for its refinement, smooth power delivery and reliability.

THE MOOLAH
In our country, the big question that follows fuel efficiency is the price. And this is the interesting part in this shootout. Honda retails the Unicorn at Rs 64,082, on the road in Pune and the Stunner at Rs 60,580, but the 2010 model will be dearer by another Rs 2,500 thus bringing its sticker price closer to the Unicorn at around Rs 63,000. (Drum roll) Presenting the party spoiler for the Japanese giant, the all-new Pulsar 135 LS comes with a smashing price tag of Rs 56,500 only. (Silence). It can save you Rs 6,500 of your (or your dad’s) hard earned money. Yes, you can spend it on your girlfriend we mentioned above or donate it to a charity.

THE VERDICT
If you take the price into consideration, the Honda CBF Stunner is overpriced and if price isn’t a problem, then why not buy a superbike? The Stunner is a great looker and can also make your friend’s fiance go weak in the knees. It also has a strong sales and service backup and not to forget Honda’s quality assurance. A great buy for the yuppie generation.

The other bigger, older and perhaps wiser Honda, the Unicorn amazes me every time I ride it because of its overall performance, solid build quality and unmatched refinement. It has proven to be an extremely reliable commuter bike over the years. But there is a problem with this bike. It looks dated and Honda is not doing anything about it. For those who want to take a plain Jane, soft spoken, non-fussy, docile and low maintenance companion home, look no further.

THE WINNER
For those who don’t fancy the plain Jane, Bajaj has the answer for you. The Pulsar is a really good 135cc bike that balances the commuter aspect by giving you over 63km per liter of petrol and at the same time, it will make you overtake the city crawlers by its raw power. The price positioning and value for money aspect gives it an edge over its rivals. It is light weight, looks naughty and wears a bikini fairing. Settled then, don’t take the Pulsar 135 LS home. Take it for a ride, a really long one.

Rebel-domination

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Boasting of true American character, Confederate Motorcycle Company redefines the laws of motorcycle building by creating rebellious bikes
Words: Ravi Chandnani
Photography: Confederate

I believe that conventionality has a new challenger in the form of Confederate Motorcycle Company that specializes in building some of the wildest motorcycles in the world. Their one-off creations are scintillatingly awesome and mature enough to give healthy competition to some of the biggest names in the custom bike industry. H. Matthew Chambers, the alpha male who dominates the Confederate jungle, is the mortal who can be held responsible for initiating the company with a vision that was sculpted out of rebellion and carved by individuality. Chambers started off as a lawyer and worked his way up the ladder but after winning a major case, he opted out in order to follow that little rebellion inside him and build motorcycles that were adorned by the true American industrial design character and his love for hot-rods.

He established Confederate Motor Company in 1991, and since then there has not been a single product that has wandered off CMC’s core values. Products like the Hellcat Combat and the Wraith rocketed CMC to new heights in the galaxy. In 2005, the Hellcat Combat made its debut and to the world’s surprise, it took the company global. After that, came the Wraith which needless to say, was the ultimate custom bike that truly portrayed American rebelliousness with elements that shouted industrial designing. The firm’s latest machine, the P120 Fighter is as solid and rugged as American designing can get. Machines built by CMC are more like rock stars with a love me or hate me attitude.

F131 HELLCAT COMBAT

If you think custom bikes are motorcycles that only boast of poser appeal, then I would recommend you reconsider. The F131 Hellcat Combat is an amazing CMC creation that will perish all the images of chrome laden custom bikes with raked out fronts and fascinating paint jobs from your bloody brain. The design of this beastly machine screams American industrial design which forms the base of CMC’s core values. The F131 is loaded with components that surpass the regular benchmark and create a new niche in terms of quality and exploitation of technology. Use of aircraft grade aluminium and carbonfibre along with exclusive and expensive metals make the Hellcat one expensive ride. However, you get a whole lot more bang for every penny you pay starting with the design itself. The marvellous silhouette of the bike presents a perspective that visualizes future custom bikes. High quality Marzocchi racing front forks clamped to the solid triple trees hold the highly durable 18-inch carbonfibre wheel that is shod with 130/60 Metzeler rubber. The sleek and minimalist front with three tiny lamps and a single speedo/tacho unit with a touch enabled switch gear give a futuristic character to the Hellcat. The uniqueness of the bike lies in the frame which is constructed using thick carbon steel tubes enabling the chassis to hold oil inside these tubes. But the biggest feature on the F131 is the handcrafted radial twin engine. It boasts of mammoth proportions of torque which happens to be 203Nm and 151PS of power. All of this is transferred to the huge 9.4-inch wide rear tyre via a five-speed transmission designed by CMC. Massive braking power comes in the form of six piston, monoblock front callipers with semi-floating 300mm rotors and a two piston CNC machined rear calliper with 240mm rotor. The F131 is a pure example of traditional American custom bike designing meeting contemporary technology and materials to create a futuristic machine.

B120 WRAITH

Have you ever wondered how tanks are built? If not, then I would suggest you read on. Comparing a bike to a tank might seem way to much, however, one look at the Wraith and your queries are answered. This is a machine from Confederate that challenges conventionality. Many creative minds would put up an argument on whether this is a bike or some sort of army experiment. However, in my book, this is definitely a motorcycle and that too an intriguing piece of art and technology. Built using some of the most expensive and exclusive materials, this has to be one of the wildest and the most gorgeous bikes ever built. The B120 features a carbonfibre monocoque frame that makes it more agile and lends excellent torsion and bend rigidity. The frame also eliminates the need for body work as it has the capability of storing fuel and oil in carbon tubes. However, the most eye-catching feature of the Wraith has to be the Girder style front forks. Such suspension units were initially seen on examples such as the Brough Superior, the Vincent and a few others. They had units made out of steel, however, the Wraith features a unit built entirely out of carbonfibre. With CMC everything is exclusive and the Wraith is no exception. Breathing fire whilst sitting in the monocoque frame is a 2.0-litre V-twin motor hand built by Jims/CMC to develop a whopping 176Nm of turning force and 126PS of power. All of which is directed to the rear wheels via a five-speed tranny developed by CMC. The Wraith weighs around 176.9kg (dry) which might be on the heavier side, however, the ride is awesomely comfortable thanks to the well calibrated Penske suspension unit at the rear and high end Girder forks up front. The overall ride quality of the B120 is quite sporty as its dimensions are pretty similar to a sports bike. These examples are built in very few numbers with an ultra high price tag, hence it’s best just to dream about the Wraith.

 

P120 FIGHTER

After creating the wild and furious Wraith, many were curious about what the company would introduce next. High-end technology and expensive materials were all utilized in the making of the Wraith and many thought that the next CMC creation would follow similar cues. However, Chambers came up with a unique idea. To an extent, he excused the use of carbonfibre and diverted his attention on utilizing a metal that has been used by CMC since the Hellcat – aircraft grade aluminium. Hence his latest creation, the P120 is a hell of a lot different than the other two bikes. To begin with, the P120 features a frame that is built entirely out of aircraft grade aluminium which eliminates the heavy factor from the equation thus creating an agile frame. At first, the massive backbone tube might appear to be hollow at the beginning. However, a closer inspection reveals that the hollow part is actually an oil reservoir which feeds oil to the engine via copper hoses. The backbone also doubles up as an 18-litre fuel tank with a tiny little seat attached at the rear of the tube. But what steals the spotlight is the radial twin monster nestled in the monocoque frame. This 2.0-litre beast develops some staggering figures for a bike made completely out of aluminium. Turning force is rated at 183Nm at the rear wheel with a maximum power output of 162PS. These figures are transmitted to the massive 8-inch wide carbonfibre wheel fitted with 9.4-inch wide Pirelli via a five-speed close ratio tranny from CMC. The cherry on the cake has to be the Girder front forks, again fabricated using aluminium which makes the front extremely agile just like the frame. The P120 might appear to be a rhinoceros, however, it weighs just over two quintals with dimensions close to a sports bike, thus making the handling butter smooth. The P120 is a classic example of rebelliousness and true individualism that is based on the CMC philosophy.

 

Legal-thrills

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A combined total of 20,000ccs and 2000bhp. Did this send shivers down your spine and goosebumps across your body? We felt the same while riding with the PRS (Performance Racing Store) Boyz Club

Words Adhish Alawani and Bunny Punia
Photography Sanjay Raikar

The empty and wide back roads of Kharghar on the outskirts of India’s dream city, Mumbai was to play host to a dozen two-wheeled fanatics aboard a perfect combination of exotic, naked and powerful superbikes. The brutal summer sun was already casting a mirage on the road ahead while we waited patiently for the men and the machines to arrive. A few canines lazing under the only tree in the vicinity seemed unruffled by my constant whistling in order to play with them. And then, suddenly they showed signs of restlessness. Their ears stood up and with a faint growl, all of them charged towards a particular direction. Seconds later, we heard the glorious sound of forty-four cylinders firing at their peak, their exhaust notes reverberating through the yet to be occupied newly built societies. A grin appeared on our faces as we saw the line-up of twelve superbikes, all ridden by members of PRS (Performance Racing Store) Boyz Club, heading towards us for this special eight page feature. Before some of you readers start calling up your contacts in the DRI (Department of Revenue Intelligence), let me spoil your party by adding that each of these bikes is a legal machine with clean papers and authenticated
registration. Right then, lets get down to the motorcycles, their details and modifications along with the lucky mortals who own them.

HONDA

2009 HONDA CB1000R

Yezdi K Irani
Age: 46
Occupation: Businessman, Hotelier		 When it comes to biking, age is no bar. We often say that motorcycling keeps you young and Yezdi, even at 46 years of age, is the perfect example of the above two lines. He still loves his two wheels more than two legs and a testimony to this fact comes in the form of the long list of modifications done to his CB1000R – from Michelin tyres to Akrapovic’s full titanium exhaust system, this naked street fighter is loaded to the brim. All these modifications show up within the first few hundred meters and Yezdi for sure likes utilizing the new found power to the brim. The bike sounds gorgeous, accelerates like an unleashed greyhound and brakes even better thanks to all those new aftermarket rotors and pads. Almost all the nuts and bolts have been tastefully given a blue treatment and look closely at the side grooves on both the tyres. Beautiful!

2010 HONDA CBR1000RR

Atul Rathod
Age: 33
Occupation: Petroleum engineer 		When you own a motorcycle this good, you really don’t need to invest in add-on jobs. Atul, owner of this red CBR, thinks the same way. We have always loved CBRs although the latest iteration’s looks are somewhat subjective. A couple of spins down the long, empty, cordoned off road and then around the roundabouts makes it clear why motorcycle enthusiasts around the world have been hooked onto this bike. This Honda has one of the best power- to-weight ratios ever, evident in the way it pulls once the tachometer needle is close to the 10,000rpm mark. The second thing that was noticeable was the compact nature of the bike that does not make the rider feel uncomfortable – a trait Honda is known for.

1993 HONDA CBR 1000F

brothers in arms

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Saeed Akhtar pits the new Pulsar 150 against its peers to determine which one gives the biggest bang for your buck
Photography by Sanjay Raikar

THE TEST
The 150cc segment is one of the most hotly contested categories in the Indian motorcycle market. It caters to both the youth looking for performance on a budget as well as the middle-aged executive looking for a reasonably fast mode of commuting to work. For long, Bajaj has ruled the roost in this segment with the rest of the manufacturers playing catch up. For this shootout, we have shortlisted these five bikes that not only fall in the same price bracket but are also targeted squarely at each other. Recently, Yamaha stirred up things in this segment by introducing bikes that were so far ahead of the curve (in terms of price as well as technology) that we decided to give them a miss from this comparison as their target customer is pretty different from these five rivals. Let the game begin. . . . . .

HONDA CB UNICORN
Price Rs. 67,008(OTR,Pune)
Top speed 111.3km/h
Power 13.5PS
Maintenance free battery, viscous air filter and BS-III norms compliant now		 HERO HONDA HUNK
Price Rs. 65,893 (OTR,Pune)
Top speed 107.12km/h
Power 14.4PS
Honda antecedents, but the Hunk is Hero Honda’s take on what a 150 should be		 TVS APACHE RTR160
Price Rs. 67,521 (OTR,Pune)
Top speed 118.69km/h
Power 15.4PS
TVS’ Racing DNA has infused this bike with enviable performance figures  		SUZUKI GS150R
Price Rs. 67,955(OTR,Pune)
Top speed 108.1km/h
Power 14PS
Loaded with gadgets and gives that big bike feel like no other motorcycle here		 BAJAJ PULSAR 150
Price Rs.67,500(OTR,Pune)
Top speed 115km/h
Power 15.06PS
Bajaj’s crowd puller gets clip-on ’bars and a wee bit more power. Is it enough?

BAJAJ PULSAR 150
Hallowed be thy name


The Pulsar still remains the brawler it was, being outclassed in the performance stakes by only the Apache RTR, a lighter bike that also happens to possess 10ccs more

Enlightened philosophers everywhere tell us that it is even tougher staying at the top than getting there. The fact that the Bajaj Pulsar did exactly this since its launch nine years ago is testimony enough to its timeless appeal and clout. Now in its fifth iteration, India’s most popular performance bike is getting a bit long in the tooth but is still the most popular of the lot here. Recently, Bajaj seems to have stopped going for radical redesigns and opted for a few nips and tucks along with some cosmetic upgrades. The latest Pulsar continues this tradition with clip-on handlebars that are borrowed from its siblings. These lend the bike a slightly sportier riding position than before with the rider leant over to the front a wee bit more. The rest of the bikes here except the RTR make do with regular handlebars. The new bigger carburetor aids the engine in churning out a wee bit more power but the torque figure has taken an adverse hit. The Pulsar has got the lightest throttle feel here. The seat is a trifle hard for long commutes and the pillion seat is a bit on the thinner side.

Clip-on handlebars now a standard on all Pulsars, from 135cc to 220cc The mechanical bits are now done up in black, lending a touch of class to the new Pulsar

Performance wise, the Pulsar remains the same rev happy hooligan that made it such a hit originally. The whining sound from the air intake just makes you want to twist the throttle a bit more. However, the Pulsar lacks some midrange grunt and you have to keep shifting gears to keep it in the power band. If you are comfortable with that, the bike rewards you with oodles of fun and its handling complements spirited riding very well. The suspension dives a bit under braking but it is more than adequate for the kind of fast riding a typical customer would ever put it through. The bike is also pretty vibey at high rpms although it is quite bearable at low rpms. The gearshift quality has been improved by several notches over its earlier versions, however compared to its Honda peers, the Bajaj still has some way to go. In this test, the Pulsar beat its previous top speed record of 114km/h by approximately two more km/h while also being faster in the sprint to 60km/h. The Pulsar still remains the brawler it was, being outclassed in the performance stakes by only the Apache RTR, a lighter bike that also happened to possess 10ccs more.

The generous side of Bunny – lending his phone to an old stranger who had a son far away One of the few ways to differentiate the Pulsar 150 from its siblings


The Pulsar loves being ridden hard and rewards you for it

SECOND OPINION

 BUNNY PUNIA
DEPUTY EDITOR
One more Pulsar 150 upgrade? Yet more power? While you might have to use a magnifying glass to find the changes, the moment you ride the bike, the increase in performance and refinement is noticeable. Clip-ons manage to lend a sportier riding posture as well. However, the hard seat and the bike’s tendency to dive under heavy braking isn’t to my liking.

 

HERO HONDA HUNK
The Emperor’s new clothes

The Hunk is the third bike into which Hero Honda plonked the Unicorn mill. The first bike, Achiever, did not exactly set the sales charts on fire, but it sure paved the way for the CBZ Xtreme which followed shortly. Maybe it had something to do with the iconic CBZ tag but the Xtreme, in spite of some lackluster styling, was a success for Hero Honda. Or maybe it was the performance and handling. Despite featuring a very conventional suspension arrangement, the bike was so well set-up that it tackled corners like a proper sportsbike and not a commuter.

The Hunk is one of the only two bikes here with a completely analogue instrument console Red accents on the Hunk lend a touch of flair to the bike

The Hunk is practically the CBZ Xtreme in a more stylish and muscular costume. The bulging tank scoops shout for attention from every angle. The front as well as the rear suspension is done up in a dull gold colour, however whether one likes it or not, is entirely a matter of personal taste. The rear also features Hero Honda’s first gas-charged shock absorbers, which the company calls GRS. Our test bike came in the new paint scheme – a splash of red graphics and bull logos that accentuated the muscular profile of the Hunk. We still feel that the bike could have done better with a nice name. And why did they have to spell out ‘Hunk’ in chrome? The bike’s build quality is trademark HH – robust and solid. The paintjob on the Hunk was the best on the test. One little grouse with the Hunk is the placement of the side stand. The slightly rear set pegs come in the way when you try to access the side stand lever with your left foot.

Gas-charged shock absorbers – a first for Hero Honda Ludicrous amount of muscle here. Love the red accents though

Coming to the performance, the Hunk immediately impressed with its brimming midrange torque which meant we could power our way out of tight spots with minimal effort. However, the bike’s short gearing, while helping in acceleration, takes its toll on the top speed, topping out at a mere 107.16km/h. It gets up to the 80km/h mark pretty fast but then the engine starts running out of breath and tapers out. The Hunk’s handling is on par with its peers with the ergonomic riding posture aiding considerably. The suspension is set a tad on the hard side which may be a deterrent for commuters looking for a plush ride. It does come with that Hero Honda cachet which means that the bike will prove to be reliable and enjoy a good resale value even years down the line.

The BIKE India slow race formation

SECOND OPINION

 SARMAD KADIRI
Senior Correspondent
Although the Hunk and the Unicorn share the same engine, they feel like completely different sets of wheels. The Hunk looks muscular and sporty, has the very reliable and proven Honda engine and comes with the best after sales service network in the country. Despite all these features, it has its downside as it may look a bit over the top to some. That is probably the reason it has not managed to soar on the sales charts. Yet the Hunk remains a great overall package and will continue to sell for years to come

HONDA CB UNICORN
Don’t judge a book by its cover


The chromed wing logo on its tank is the Unicorn’s only redeeming style factor but it would be really nice to see some serious changes. And soon

The most understated bike here, the Unicorn has managed to stay near the top of the sales charts solely on the sheer power of its mechanical bits. It may not be a beauty pageant winner by any stretch but the Unicorn oozes solid engineering brilliance and top notch build quality. Honda has chosen not to tinker much with the bike’s looks, giving it some very minor cosmetic upgrades over the last few years and almost nothing else. This time around, the Unicorn gets a viscous air filter, a maintenance free battery and a CB sticker on its rear side panels. The Unicorn is also BS-III norms compliant. These changes to the engine have not resulted in any noticeable alterations in the bike’s performance though. The chromed wing logo on its tank is the Unicorn’s only redeeming style factor but it would be really nice to see some serious changes. And soon.

The Unicorn loses out on gadgets like a digital instrument console Refinement and reliability are the engine’s hallmarks

It is the only bike here to sport a monoshock suspension and we must say it is a superlatively engineered piece of technology. As Aspi said, the first time he took the Unicorn out onto the not too well surfaced Chennai racetrack, it was as if the bumps had practically disappeared. The Unicorn outclasses all the other bikes here when it comes to ride and handling. Along with the GS150R, the Unicorn has got the most relaxed riding position of this bunch. It is also the most composed with a pillion on board. It might have a narrower seat than the GS but the Unicorn pampers its rider and pillion equally well. Refinement is another strong point with the Unicorn. There is negligible vibration even when the bike is revved all the way to the redline and the butter smooth gearbox complements it beautifully. Performance wise, the Unicorn is no slouch but it is no sprinting cheetah either. The Honda manages to complete the 0-60km/h run in 6.10sec and tops out at 111.3km/h.

Beautifully calibrated monoshock is key to the Unicorn’s ride quality The CB Unicorn still doesn’t have a pilot lamp. How shocking is that?

The Unicorn and the Hunk are the only two bikes here to feature completely analogue instrumentation and that makes them incongruous in this crowd which is rapidly going digital. Older Unicorns had some niggles with build quality but the new lot of bikes feature much improved build quality and paintjobs. At Rs 67,000 (OTR, Pune), the Unicorn is the second cheapest bike in this shootout and that makes it an irresistible buy.


It is the best handler of the lot and by a fair margin

SECOND OPINION

 BUNNY PUNIA
DEPUTY EDITOR
Is it Honda’s remarkable technology or the inability of the competition to catch up? Either way, the Unicorn, err the CB Unicorn, even after being in the market for almost five years, still manages to be in a different world all together when it comes to engine refinement, ride and of course handling. Ergonomics are also up there with the best. However, it badly needs a major Botox treatment now.

SUZUKI GS150R
Loaded to the brim


The GS150r is the only bike in this bunch to feature a six-speed transmission, a positive throttle response and a gear indicator on the instrument console

The GS is Suzuki’s first 150cc offering in their second outing here. When the bike’s pictures were first revealed, the Suzuki was criticized for bearing too close a resemblance to the Pulsar. But when you set eyes on the GS for the first time or its spec sheet for that matter, all of that changes. This is a much larger bike, far more muscular and beefier than your average 150cc bike. Take the fuel tank for instance. It rises from the seat in a manner similar to bigger superbikes and there are also the trademark Gixxer stripes on it just to drive the point home. There is a splash of chrome on the side panel covering the air filter/battery that adds some style quotient to its side profile. There are two air vents beneath the bikini fairing that serve no purpose whatsoever but definitely look good. The rear end has its own attraction with snazzy LED taillights and integrated blinkers, making it one of the best in the country. The alloy wheels feature a swirl pattern that differentiates them from the rest with their straight spokes.

The GS’ expansive console features a gear position indicator and a shifter LED light Integrated turn signals and LEDs turn heads everywhere

Did we mention the spec sheet? Ah yes, the kind folks at Suzuki have loaded the GS to the brim with a host of gizmos. It is the only bike in this bunch to feature a six-speed transmission, a positive throttle response (it features dual throttle cables) and a gear indicator on the instrument console. The instrument console incorporates an analogue tachometer (with extra large fonts) while everything else is digital. There is also a LED warning light on the bottom left corner of the console that works in conjunction with the ECU to tell you how exactly you are burning up your hard earned fuel depending on the mode you choose to ride in. There is also a ‘God mode’ which tells the ECU that you are in full control of your riding and switches the warning light off forever.

The sixth gear is meant for cruising duties mostly Swirl type spokes differentiate the GS’ alloys from the competition

The GS features the widest seat of the bunch. Although it appears too sportily contoured, the superior padding and relaxed riding position make the GS one of the most comfortable bikes in this shootout. Performance figures are impressive with a 0-60km/h timing of 5.46sec and a top speed of 108.1km/h. Incidentally the bike attains its top speed in the fifth gear instead of the sixth cog which is basically meant for relaxed cruising.


This Suzuki is the biggest bike of the lot

SECOND OPINION

 SARMAD KADIRI
Senior Correspondent
The Suzuki is definitely one of my favourites in this segment and size. The ride can appear to be too soft for some but it is perfect for in-city commuting and probably that’s where it’ll spend most of its life. Moreover, the GS150R is the only bike in this shootout that sports a six-speed gearbox that makes it a breeze to ride on highways too. I know it’s not the fastest but it is supremely comfortable and dependable. I just hope Suzuki does something about the service network.

TVS APACHE RTR 160
Catch me if you can

If performance and only performance is what you seek, look no further, here’s your Holy Grail

The TVS Apache RTR took the term ‘affordable performance’ and made mincemeat of it when it was first unleashed on the unsuspecting public in mid-2007. Adding an extra 10ccs to the already potent Apache mill did wonders for the motorcycle. In this shootout, this is the bike that comes closest to the ‘no-holds barred performance’ tag. The riding position is uncompromising; it throws you over the clip-on ‘bars and pulls your legs quite a good distance backwards so that Mother aerodynamics doesn’t complain. The racing stripes on the panels and the tacho face endow the bike with just the right amount of sportiness. There is even a 0-60km/h timer and a top speed recorder on the LCD display. The short wheelbase makes the bike as flickable and agile as a cat on amphetamines. However, some bigger riders might find the Apache a bit cramped.

A 0-60km/h timer and top speed recorder underlines just how hardcore this bike is Split grab rails and LED lamps – this baby is loaded

If performance and only performance is what you seek, look no further, here’s your Holy Grail. The bike does the quarter mile sprint in just 19.82sec and goes on all the way to a top speed of 118.7km/h. This top speed figure makes the Apache the fastest of the lot by some margin. Because of its short wheelbase, the RTR may initially feel just that bit nervous while entering corners, but once you get used to it, it proves itself a very capable corner carver. The biggest grouse we had with the RTR was the lack of refinement from the engine and transmission.

The five contenders lock horns in a churchyard. Talk about irony Apache has the highest revving (upto 11,000rpm) engine here

There were vibes emanating from the ‘bars as well as the footpegs, spoiling much of the fun provided by the screamer engine. This vibey nature also took its toll on the visibility from the rear view mirrors, rendering them virtually useless at high speeds. All of us loved the throaty exhaust note though. The RTR is the only bike here to sport split grab rails for the pillion and also to feature an open chain, thus underlining its sporty leanings. At Rs 67, 521(OTR, Pune), the Apache RTR is a bargain for a bike that offers oodles of fun and excitement every time you wheel it out for a swift sprint. Just don’t relegate it to the confines of the city.

The short wheelbase of the Apache endows it with the nimblest handling of the lot

SECOND OPINION

 BUNNY PUNIA
Deputy Editor
If you are one of those who regularly indulge in traffic light MotoGPs, the RTR should be your choice. If you like heading out to the nearest set of twisties on a Sunday morning, look no further. But (make it BUT), there are a few downfalls. Ergonomics for one. Second, the vibrations will irritate you no end on a long ride. However, the racing stripes and petal disc cannot be ignored, can they?

VERDICT

All the bikes featured here are competent in their own right and it is a tough call to zero in on one particular winner. At one end of the spectrum you have the TVS Apache RTR, a no-compromise performance bike for the enthusiast. If you are looking for outright performance, look no further. It is the fastest, the quickest and the most powerful of the lot here. It may be a bit too sporty for daily city rides, but take it out of the confines once and let the bike do its own talking. The Hero Honda Hunk inherits the UnicornÕs peerless mill but in a more stylish, flashy set of clothes. It is the perfect bike for the Hero Honda fan who desires a modicum of style in a solid and efficient package.

The Pulsar 150 is the oldest bike in here and although it is as competent as ever, it needs a serious upgrade soon. That leaves us with the Unicorn and the GS150R. The Unicorn, despite being dated and bland, manages to stay near the top solely because it scores points in the most crucial parameters – reliability, refinement, handling and ride quality. It manages to give a tough fight to the GS for the top spot and we have no hesitation in saying that with a proper upgrade, it just might clinch the crown. But for now, it is the Suzuki GS150R that claims the title of the best 150cc power commuter. It offers the right mix of efficiency, style, performance and comes loaded with gizmos that enhance the ownership experience – just what most of the 150cc buyers look out for.

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