Bike Chronicles of India

Oct 27, 2007

15 I’d rather ride a 250-400 cc slowly through a pothole, than “Day Dream” of riding the R1 on the Golden Quadrilateral..!!

Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki might bring in their big bikes in India soon.. good times ahead "for my kids".. amen

Yamaha India has made public its plans to bring in its MT01 and R1 by this year-end. Not to be undone, both Honda and Suzuki have also announced that they are also looking at the feasibility of getting their big bikes for India.

Great..!! Isn’t it..??
A testimony to “India Shining”, Right..??

Superbikes..?? Hmmm.. for whom..??

I have to get married, buy a house, have kids, save for their education, buy a car and save for my retirement..!! From where the hell can I afford the 10 lakh needed for the R1..??

These 600-1000 cc beasts will most certainly be brought in as CBU’s (Completely Built Units) or in simple parlance, as direct imports. Which means that, anyone willing to sign his/her checkbook for these exotic beasts will probably end up with around a million (10 Lakh) Rupees lighter bank balance.

Among the 1 billion plus Indians, there should definitely be at least a few hundred prospective Richie Rich types who are grinning from ear to ear in anticipation..

So in order to afford that kind of money you either got to have a rich dad or a rich kid yourself. And unfortunately I don’t seem to fit in either of the categories. Moreover I have to get married, buy a house, have kids, save for their education, buy a car and save for my retirement..!! From where the hell can I afford the 10 lakh needed for the R1..??

But maybe, just maybe.. I could give the Maruti Alto a miss and plump in for a 2-3 lakh 250-400 cc “twin” if somebody promises me one in the next 2-3 years.

Superbikes..?? Hmmm.. Why??

Why..?? It will boost the image of these Japanese brands in India. And hopefully push the sales of their tiddler 100-150 cc bikes.

These speed demons need smooth roads like (as once quoted by Mr. Laloo P. Yadav) the cheeks of Hema Malini (at her prime mind you..!!)

Well, there is absolutely no dispute that the Japanese are the “Mai Baap” in the motorcycle business worldwide. And like most kids, I too have grown up by hanging posters of Japanese Super bikes on my bedroom wall. Even if the Japs decide not to bring in these speed monsters, I can still safely say that most kids would still religiously continue to hang these posters on their bedroom wall (I have grown out of it).

Honda Hornet 250

Honda Hornet 250

Better still, if I could get a 250 cc Honda Hornet/2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250R in my garage before I hit 35 (right not I am pushing 30), it would fulfill my childhood dreams quite well. Thank you..!!

2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250R

Superbikes..?? Hmmm.. Where??

Moreover, the road conditions along with the traffic-infested roads of most Indian cities aren’t suited for 1000 cc bikes. These speed demons need smooth roads like (as once quoted by Mr. Laloo P. Yadav) the cheeks of Hema Malini (at her prime mind you..!!) and not ones filled with potholes, cows, dogs and as Mr. John Abraham could tell you better, the friendly neighborhood bicyclist.

Riding a 1000 cc bike is no child’s play. A 1000 cc bike cannot be someone’s first bike. Even for a 100 cc rider, graduating to something like the Karizma or the Pulsar 220 isn’t exactly easy. In some western countries, one has to qualify to ride a higher cc bike and he/she needs to have prior experience of riding less powerful bikes. But where are such laws in India..??

Shouldn’t a 250 – 400 cc bike come first..??

Maybe I should make enough moolah so that I might be able to borrow my son’s/daughter’s 1000 cc bike for an occasional ride in my grand old days..!!

Logically thinking, that should be the normal progression. The best that we have got right now is the 223 cc Hero Honda Karizma and the Bajaj Pulsar 220. Agreed that these models still don’t do big numbers like the 100-150 cc bikes, but at least there is a healthy demand for these bikes now.

Considering I already ride a Pulsar 220, I think a 250-400 cc twin would be perfect for me in another two years..!!

A blogger calling himself Rearset says, “I'd rather ride an R1 slowly through a pothole than not ride one at all...”

I would like to say, “I’d rather ride a 250-400 cc slowly through a pothole, than “Day Dream” of riding the R1 on the Golden Quadrilateral..!!”

On second thoughts maybe I should make enough moolah so that I might be able to borrow my son’s/daughter’s 1000 cc bike for an occasional ride in my grand old days..!!

2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250R..!! Bring this one to India please.

Will the "Yamaha Fazer 250" and "Honda CBX 250 Twister" be ever launched in India..??

Yamaha India will bring in its Superbikes..!! Are you happy now..??

Disclaimer:

This is to remind that the Views or Opinions in the blog are entirely mine unless explicitly stated. The Views and Opinions published in this blog should in no way be related to any other person or organization associated -- directly or indirectly -- with me.

Oct 26, 2007

3 Road Trip to the "Highest Motorable Road in the World" on a Pulsar 200 DTSi [Part III: Concluding Part]

3 intrepid college friends, 3 bikes, 1 Road Trip.. to the "Highest Motorable Road of the World" and back..

The Pulsar 200 DTSi rider narrates the story..

Nilutpal with his Pulsar 200, at Khardung La

Day 5: 13.09.07
Pang to Leh

I’ll deliberate on my bike’s (Pulsar 200) performance on the trip now

Day 5 saw us making headway from Pang “early” morning at 09.15 hrs. There was a sheet of ice all over our bikes and I touched the engine. It was ice-cold..

Starting the Pulsar 200 at High altitudes: I was beginning to think that I would have to jumpstart my bike again. I flicked on the thumb start only to hear the engine whine. Kenny suggested I try with the choke on, which I had completely forgotten about. I offered Kenny the bike to try it himself after my failure at starting the bike. One go at the self-start by Kenny and the engine cranked to life!! After a bit of idling and letting the engines warm up a bit, it was normal again and the bike started at first go at the self-start. I had no starting issues whatsoever after this and made it good through the rest of the journey to Leh. The only thing I felt on the ride was the lack of punch at high altitudes, when we approached Tanglang La, the world’s second highest pass. But it wasn’t abnormal at all, considering the fact that the other bikes were behaving similarly.

I had made it through some extremely bad patches and I, frankly, had felt that my front forks would give away anytime. Plus I was really heavily laden, with 15 litres of petrol on the saddlebags, a 15 kg backpack and sleeping bags tied on the rear seat, which made balancing the bike a tad more difficult on the twisty roads.

After a brief stop at Rumtse for lunch, we made it non-stop to Leh at around 15.30 hrs through ripping roads in the valley.

My tripmeter read 1089 km as I propped my bike on the stand at the hotel.

That was followed by 4 days on the road in and around Leh on my bike and the return trip thereafter, but I’ll skip that cause it’ll be a very long write up then. Instead, I’ll deliberate on my bike’s performance on the trip now.

Suffice to say that I made a trip to the fabled Pangong Lake and took a long detour over a dead track and scaled the world’s highest motorable road – Khardung La, at an altitude of 18380 ft above MSL, on my steed - my Pulsar 200.

Mileage of the Pulsar 200 DTSi recorded during the trip: 45.92 kmpl..!!

Suspension of the Bike: As I have already mentioned, my forks are still doing well, although they have softened up a bit. And frankly, I like it better this way. The rear gas-assisted shocks have also received similar treatment and held on well after the very very tough ride through dirt tracks and rocks. My trips on the highway have become a bit smoother owing to the suspension softening somewhat.

Engine of the Bike: As for the engine, nothing’s changed except for the exhaust note. I cant really pin-point cause the tone from the silencer isn’t different, but there seems to be one more coming from the torque expansion chamber below the engine. Not that I don’t like the note now, just that it wasn’t there before I started off on the journey. I got it checked on my 4th service and the service guys found nothing amiss. Well, I guess that’s that. As long as nothing’s wrong , I’m ok with it.

LED Tail Lamps: There were no issues with the LED tail lamps and they are still brilliantly bright. I am stating this cause I have come across comments where people say that the lamps go kaput after a few days on the road. I think if my lamps have survived all the bounces and dumps on this ride, they will stay with me for a while.

Effect of Change of Engine Oil:The engine feels smoother than ever before now…probably because there was a lot of high-rpm revving involved through out the trip. The Motul 300V FL has worked really well for my bike. The NVH levels aren’t any different at low rpms in and around the city. But on the highway, where I cross 6000 rpm, the vibrations are noticeably lower and I didn’t feel any harshness in the engine compared to the earlier engine oil. After my 4th service, the service station guys replaced the oil with Castrol and immediately I could feel the rise in vibrations as I ripped on NH-8 towards Gurgaon. I think I’ll stick to Motul fully synthetic oil for a while now.

Chain of the Bike: The chain was the only thing that had me worried over the journey. The mud, dust and the snow was wreaking havoc on the chain and I had to see to it that it didn’t become excessively dry. A few packs of 2T oil and grease did the job throughout the ride and nothing untoward happened with the transmission. The chain does dry up a bit on dusty roads, but I think it’ll survive on regular feeds of grease!!

The Tubeless Tyres: The tubeless tyres really inspired confidence as I was sure that even in the event of a nail getting embedded in either of the tyres, I would be able to limp on. In fact I had a tubeless tyre repair kit under the rear seat and we had carried a portable foot pump to boot. While Himanshu’s Pulsar 150 had a puncture on the return, my bike didn’t let me down with a puncture of any sort. While on the rescue mission with Himanshu and his rear tyre on my bike, I offered him a ride, to which he commented that I enjoyed more torque and pulling power compared to his 150 dtsi. He also felt my bike was more balanced, which were what I had commented on my first review of my bike.

Issues Faced: There were a couple of time when my bike’s central stand scraped rocks during a particularly botched up ride thorough a terrain that consisted of nothing but rocks and sand. There were also a number of times when the front tyre raked up some pebbles and threw it at the engine and the starter motor. At one inspection, I did find a rock embedded in the gap between the motor shaft and the bendix starter drive. But luckily, it was too big to go in and I took it out without any hassles.

I also found the flexible blinkers so very useful. At one very sandy stretch, I bogged down while maneuvering a turn and I just couldn’t hold up the bike due to the sheer weight of all my stuff on the bike. My bike gently tilted to one side while I struggled to hold it up. After a futile fight, I gave up and laid down my bike gently on one side and called the rest of the guys to help me get my steel horse up. The blinker had completely bent upon the weight of the bike but didn’t break. And once the bike was up, I turned them on and it was working just fine!

Towards the end of the trip, the front fairing had developed excessive play during jerks and I logged it onto the service sheet at the time of the 4th service. A loose M3 bolt was the cause and a replacement of the same has solved the issue now.

Apart from the chain that needed periodic look-ups and the fuel tank readings, I frankly didn’t attend to my bike at all during the trip. In fact, I was so confident later on, I ripped across a particularly rocky stretch before Koksar on the way back- doing some 50-60 kmph on a road that was under construction (with some help from the softened suspension, of course)!

Fuel Consumption..!!: Now for the fuel consumption: I’ll give all the figure at the tank fills on all the way. The method remained the same – tank fill to tank fill upto a certain mark on my fuel tank. I had started with a full tank from Gurgaon and the first fill-up was at Chandigarh, where I managed to fill in 4.39 liters. The second tank fill was at Manali, where my tank guzzled in 9.37 liters. Manali was also where I filled up both of my jerry cans with Xtra premium petrol. The 3rd tank fill was on the last petrol pump en route to Leh , at Tandi. This time, my bike took in 3.83 litres The next tank fill was after the ride to Khardung La and this time it was 9.14 litres. The 5th tank fill was before leaving Leh and the tank took in 6.37 litres. From then on, the next tank fill was at Manali, 2 days later and 10.51 litres on the dispenser. The 7th was at Chandigarh, with 11.55 litres and finally at Gurgaon after making a complete circle from AIIMS and back to Sushant lok – 7.3 litres.

The total fuel consumption stood out at: 62.46 litres.
And the total tripmeter reading was 2868.4 km, which turns out to be 45.92 kmpl..!!

Now don’t ask me how I managed this figure. All I know is I was quite surprised at this figure myself. I double-checked my logbook and fuel station receipts and yup, these are the figures, all right.

That’s about it. A very candid review of my bike on this trip. Infact, we are all planning a trip again sometime next year. Nothing beats a bike trip on roads that we had traveled on, period. If you want to beat the mundane office, there’s nothing like taking a trip like this. Sheer heaven.

If you are interested to know more in more pics and details on the return trip, visit my blog "Outside The Wall".

Till the next time again, adios amigos.

Happy and safe biking!

Road Trip to the "Highest Motorable Road in the World" on a Pulsar 200 DTSi [Part I]

Road Trip to the "Highest Motorable Road in the World" on a Pulsar 200 DTSi [Part II]

Bajaj Pulsar DTSi 200 Owner's Review [First 1800 Kms, by Nilutpal]

Disclaimer:

Oct 24, 2007

2 Road Trip to the "Highest Motorable Road in the World" on a Pulsar 200 DTSi [Part II]

3 intrepid college friends, 3 bikes, 1 Road Trip.. to the "Highest Motorable Road of the World" and back..

The Pulsar 200 DTSi rider narrates the story.. [Part II]

From Left.. Himanshu, Nilu & Kenny

Day 4: 12.09.07
Darcha to Pang..

We were fairly anxious as to how the bikes would be behaving in the freezing temperatures, and fairly enough, my bike didn’t start at the first go.

Actually, none of the bikes did, but the other bikes had kick-starts while the p200 had none..

Day 4 was our trip from Darcha to Pang and we got up fairly early in the morning at Darcha and readied ourselves as well as the bikes for the next leg of the trip. After loading everything onto the bikes, it was time for us to start them. We were fairly anxious as to how the bikes would be behaving in the freezing temperatures, and fairly enough, my bike didn’t start at the first go. Actually, none of the bikes did, but the other bikes had kick-starts while the p200 had none.

The battery low warning beacon came up on the LCD screen of my bike after the first go at the thumb start. So I decided that I would have to try alternate means. I didn’t want to keep trying the self-starter lest I drain the battery. Fortunately there was a slight incline on the road.

I shifted to the 2nd gear and let the bike down on the incline. After gathering some momentum, I decided to jumpstart the bike. I released the clutch and the bike sputtered for a moment and the engine came to life bang on. The engine sounded really muted in the cold morning and after letting the engine oil circulate for a half a minute or so, I gently opened the throttle of my bike. I let the engine run on around 3000 rpm for a while and then eased the throttle off.After that I had to adjust the idling rpm a little because the current setting wasn’t enough to sustain engine start at such low temperatures. Fairly enough, the other bikes’ idling had also to be fiddled with. That was the first jump-start experience on my bike! Later on, I’d come to know that I forgot to use the choke and had I used it, I wouldn’t have had to resort to jump-starts!

We started off quickly after that and crossed Baralachla at an altitude of 16500 ft. The rarified atmosphere was beginning to have its effect on the bike’s performance. The engine exhaust note had totally changed and there was a very noticeable drop in pickup and pulling power. I was hardly making it to the 3rd gear when I had to downshift to gain some more power on the steep incline. Others were none the better, with people complaining of lack of torque as well.

I wasn’t able to shift upwards of 2nd gear and my fat rear tyre wasn’t doing much good on the slippery rock and ice sheets..

We made it to Sarchu without any problems as such and halted for lunch. My tripmeter showed 839 km. I checked my chain again, relieved to notice that the slack wasn’t getting any worse. Post lunch at Sarchu, we passed through Lachulung La at an altitude of 16616 ft and form there we could see snow fall on the peaks above. After a while, we encountered light snowfall and I wasn’t having any problems with road traction whatever. But then it started to snow heavily as we climbed higher. It was then that we decided to halt for a while lest we lose traction and end up with something bad happening to us. At a wider section of the road., we covered our bikes with tarpaulin and took out the camping tent to wait until the snow had subsided. . It may be noted that it was cold enough to kill the engine at idling, even with the increase in idling speed at Darcha in the morning.

Nilu's Pulsar 200 DTSi

After a halt of about 45 minutes, we resumed our ride to Pang, which was just 18km from where we had stopped. But those 18 kilometers was a ride that took us 2 hours to cover!! The road was extremely treacherous and the fresh snow had just made it worse. I wasn’t able to shift upwards of 2nd gear and my fat rear tyre wasn’t doing much good on the slippery rock and ice sheets. And the fact that we had to keep the rev above 2000 rpm wasn’t helping either. Fortunately, we made it to Pang without any trouble with our bikes or any mishaps.

End of Part II.
Concluding and last part coming soon..

Road Trip to the "Highest Motorable Road in the World" on a Pulsar 200 DTSi [Part I]

Bajaj Pulsar DTSi 200 Owner's Review [First 1800 Kms, by Nilutpal]

Disclaimer:

Oct 23, 2007

10 Road Trip to the "Highest Motorable Road in the World" on a Pulsar 200 DTSi [Part I]

3 intrepid college friends, 3 bikes, 1 Road Trip.. to the "Highest Motorable Road of the World" and back..

The Pulsar 200 DTSi rider narrates the story..

Life was peachy until a couple of my college mates and I had sprung this idea of a bike trip to Leh sometime in mid-August. Though unsure at the beginning, after a while it was like now or never. Moreover, here was the chance to test the PULSAR 200 DTSI through one of the most torturous terrains in India. The guys were Kenny, on his Bullet Electra, Himanshu on his pulsar 150 DTSi (alloys) and I (Nilutpal), on the just new PULSAR 200 DTSI.

"On Top of the World"
From left.. Kenny, Nilu, Himanshu at "Khardung La- The Highest Motorable Road in the World"

I did come back safe and sound from the trip with flying colours indeed. And before people speculate, let me tell you at the onset:

So now, let me describe more of the journey!

Nilu's Intro:

# Full Name: Nilutpal Hazarika
# Assamese by ethnicity
# Indian by Birth
# Mechanical Engineer by Profession
# Guitarist and a Biker by Passion

Day 1: 09.09.07
Delhi to Anandpur Sahib

Our day started with the preps for the bikes including fitment of the saddlebags, packing off our sleeping bags and backpacks onto the bikes with bungee cords. Us ex-KRECians/NITKians (Karnataka Regional Engg. College/ now named as National Institute of Technology Karnataka) have a generic problem-saving all work for the 11th hour! And this was no exception. After a hectic Saturday with hiring all the camping gear, getting hold of plastic jerry cans for petrol and the works, it was time for the usual weekend beer. It was well into the wee-hours of the morning that we finished with cleaning the jerry cans and rinsing with petrol and packing all the necessary stuffs into our backpacks.

The Road Trip Starts

I was afraid that I might total the front forks after having hit some very very nasty potholes that leapt out of nowhere

Morning came with the hassles of fitting the saddlebags onto the bikes. It wasn’t before 9 AM that we got done with it, and then off we went to the local mechanic to get our engine oils changed with Motul FL 300V fully synth engine oils. Good thing that we all had got our bikes serviced the week earlier. I had my third free service exactly a week before .10:15AM and we flagged off from Kenny’s place at Gurgaon. Breakfast was at Murthal, lunch at Chandigarh. The ride was uneventful barring the extreme heat, humidity, dust and the extremely bad patches before approaching Anandpur Sahib.

I was afraid that I might total the front forks after having hit some very very nasty potholes that leapt out of nowhere. But much to my relief nothing unfortunate happened to my front as well as rear suspension. We halted for the night at the holy city of Anandpur Sahib.

Tripmeter reading: 306 Km

Day 2: 10.09.07
Anandpur Sahib to Manali

The roads were simply amazing and we paced our bikes to whatever we could confidently execute on the mountain roads.

It is an awesome sight to be the last in the line and seeing the bikes ahead of you making the same turn one by one

Day 2 was the day when we had the feeling of fresh air on our faces in the twisty Himachal roads. We left Anandpur Sahib at 07:15 hours and made it to Bilaspur at 9:30 hours, where we had our breakfast. The roads were simply amazing and we paced our bikes to whatever we could confidently execute on the mountain roads. Now we know how Rossi must feel on those turns!! It is an awesome sight to be the last in the line and seeing the bikes ahead of you making the same turn one by one. The whole road was full of twists and turns and that was when I appreciated the fat 120 tyre in the rear of my bike most. We made it to Kullu for lunch and reaching Manali was a breeze from then on.

Beautiful Mountain Roads to Manali

We filled up our tanks at Manali and proceeded to a local mechanic to get our bikes checked. The mechanic suggested nothing more than lubricating the chain. So I just got the chain oiled and asked to check on the chain tension, which wasn’t required after a brief inspection. After proper lubrication, we checked into a hotel and had a good rest for the day ahead.

Problems with my bike so far: none

Tripmeter reading: 606 Km

Day 3: 11.09.07
Manali to Darcha

We started off on the 3rd day of our journey on 11.09.07 from Manali at 07:45 hours amidst slight rain. We couldn’t wait for the rain to stop lest we lost transit time.

Rohtang Pass

The immediate 50 kms was the steep climb to Rohtang pass at 13050 feet, where we stopped for some pics for pass no 1. We faced some really horrid slush and mud after Rohtang, where we had to be extremely careful with our bikes; we didn’t want to fall into the foot deep slush, or worse-slip off the road and end some 1000 feet below!! We made it through on only our 1st and 2nd cogs and before we knew it, we were through with the worst. We made a stopover at Koksar where I inspected my exposed chain. Whatever lubrication had been done the day before was all made waste by the mud. I knew I had to lubricate the chain again to avoid any problems whatsoever.

We stopped at Keylong for lunch and moved on towards Darcha for the night. I could feel the chain developing some slack, and the dusty roads, mud, passing streams weren’t helping either. I suspected the indefinite upshifts and downshifts on the gears to be the prime reason for chain slack. However, we made it through the way without any hassles and pitched at one cozy Lama Dhaba at Darcha for the night.

Tripmeter reading: 759 Km

End of Part I.
Concluding parts coming soon..

Bajaj Pulsar DTSi 200 Owner's Review [First 1800 Kms, by Nilutpal]

Disclaimer:

Oct 18, 2007

15 150 cc Hero Honda Hunk preview; Tech Specs and Wallpapers [Pics/Photos/Images]

Preview of the 150 cc Hero Honda Hunk along with Pics/Photos and Technical Specifications

Hero Honda launched its new 150 cc motorcycle called “Hunk” yesterday. From the pics posted below, the “Hunk” appears to be a decent looking motorcycle. Actually compared to the “Styling Disaster” called the CBZ Xtreme, any decent looking motorcycle is going to look handsome.

From the engine specs it can be seen that both the “Hunk” and the “CBZ Xtreme” has similar power and torque figures. The Hunk even retains the RED colored Spark Plug cover from the CBZ Xtreme..!! The “Hunk” thankfully loses the funny “Goitre” shaped turn indicators of the CBZ Xtreme (Hallelujah..!!) and has gone for the more simple and conventional shaped ones. The bulbous tank gets large plastic tank extensions which kind of reminds of the ones first seen on the Yamaha Gladiator and the yet to be launched TVS Flame. The plastic extensions also feature raised stickers which proudly display the name “HUNK” on it.

But seriously Hero Honda, please show some discretion in choosing names for your future bikes.

If you find your guys don’t really have an imagination, we’ll be more than happy to do it for you

The battery and the Air Filter cover have a two tone finish of black and silver and looks quite nice compared to the unimaginative ones found on the CBZ Xtreme. The tail extensions kind of remind you of the TVS Apache. Towards the tail light, the tail extension gets a dual black treatment.

The “Hunk” follows the latest “all black” fad kick started by the Pulsar 180 DTSi. To break the monotony of the black engine covers and the alloy wheels, the “Hunk” gets silver/gray finished footrest sub frames and rear suspension springs. Even the front forks and the Gas Filled rear shock canisters get a copper/gray finish.

The rear wheel mud flap looks similar to the ones found on the Bajaj Pulsars. From the photos, the rear mud flap doesn’t quite seem to gel with the rest of the bike and seems to be jutting out a wee bit more than it should have.

Cost Cutting:

Cost cutting is evident on the “Hunk”. It misses the Split Rear Grab Rails and LED rear tail light (the Hunk gets normal bulb one) which were earlier found on the CBZ Xtreme. The Hunk also doesn’t get a Digital Speedometer display like its “desi” competitors. Another sore omission is the alloy triple clamp. The hunk features a steel plate instead of an alloy triple clamp.

Pricing:

The Hunk has been priced at Rs. 55,000 (ex showroom New Delhi) for the kick start model and at around Rs. 57,000 (ex showroom New Delhi) for the self start model.

Verdict:

Compared to the CBZ Xtreme, this time the "Hunk" seems to have been designed by a professional designer. The consumers who had earlier shunned the CBZ Xtreme because of its "Xtreme" looks might now be interested in the "Hunk". But I still can’t stop laughing at the choice of the name "HUNK", not just because it sounds pretentious (which actually it does) but probably because of the following..

I don’t think "desi" bikers are too bothered with names their bikes or cars.

One good example if the car from Skoda named as the “LAURA” in India which is doing quite well.

(All future “Hunk” owners please forgive me, but I had to let this out..!!)

That being said, I don’t think "desi" bikers are too bothered with names their bikes or cars. One good example if the car from Skoda named as the "LAURA" in India. Guys conversant in Hindi definitely know what that word means in colloquial Hindi (the ones who don’t are requested to find it out). But that has never come in the way of the popularity of the "LAURA" in India.

But seriously Hero Honda, please show some discretion in choosing names for your future bikes. If you find your guys don’t really have an imagination, we’ll be more than happy to do it for you.

Nevertheless ,the "Hunk" gets the "Thumbs Up" from me in terms of styling. Since the CBZ Xtreme was a good bike, the "Hunk" (which essentially has the same engine) looks quite promising.

150 cc Hero Honda Hunk, Technical Specification:

Engine