We need more kinds of motorcycles in India.. is it about time..??
Indians have unadventurous taste in motorcycles. That’s what was stated by Yamaha India officials in late 2007.
At that time, I was of the opinion (in fact offended) that how Yamaha could pass such a comment about Indian bikers? That too when Yamaha did not have a single exciting model in their (pre 2008) line up for India.
But just after a few months, when Yamaha displayed the racy R15 and the beefy FZ16 at the 2008 New Delhi Auto Expo, I had to eat humble pie. I now appreciate what Mr. T. Ishikawa, the then MD of Yamaha India had in mind for Indian bikers.
..not even a single dual purpose motorcycle for a country of one billion plus..!!
Till then, the middle class enthusiast Indian biker had to be either satisfied with their staple diet of Bajaj Pulsars (150/180/200/220) or maybe the TVS Apache, Hero Honda CBZ Xtreme/Hunk/Karizma. Honestly speaking there was not much of a difference in these models both in terms of looks and technology.
But today even I’ll say that, we Indians do have unadventurous taste in motorcycling. To support this statement, I’ll write about a few categories of motorcycles which are popular worldwide but have zilch presence in India.
1.Dual Purpose/Sport motorcycles:
What is a Dual Purpose/Sport motorcycle?
Kawasaki KLX 250S - Dual Purpose
These motorcycles are designed to be ridden on moderately bad roads and also on good paved roads with ease. For these reason these dual purpose motorcycles are fitted with dual purpose tyres, which can be ridden on good and moderately rough terrain as well. The ground clearance and the suspension travel of these dual purpose bikes are greater than city bikes to cope up with bad terrain.
Most of our Indian roads are less than perfect and these dual purpose bikes actually make more sense than our normal city bikes. But then, there is not even a single dual purpose motorcycle for a country of one billion plus..!! Amazing..!!
2. Supermoto Motorcycles:
What is a Supermoto Motorcycle?
Kawasaki KLX 250SF - Supermoto
A Supermoto Motorcycle is a cousin of Dual Purpose/Sport motorcycle. Supermoto bikes have same kind of ample ground clearance and suspension travel like dual purpose bikes. The main difference between a dual purpose and a Supermoto motorcycle is in the kind of tyres and wheel sizes.
Unlike a dual sport motorcycle, which comes with dual purpose tyres, a Supermoto bike comes fitted with Fatter and Slicker Road Tyres. Also both the rear and front wheel size of Supermoto bikes are mostly of 17 inch diameter (like other street bikes), whereas dual purpose bikes come with a smaller rear wheel and a larger front (usually 21 inch dia.) wheel. The Supermoto motorcycle therefore more at home on paved roads than on bad roads.
Indians have a fascination with fat tyres. Supermoto bikes should therefore have a better chance of being accepted by our desi bikers than dual purpose motorcycles.
These bikes sure do look like fun. But then would Indians be adventurous enough to accept Supermoto motorcycles?
For those who do not like bikes styled like off-road motorcycles:
Not all dual purpose motorcycles need to look like derivations of pure motocross/off road motorcycles. For example, the BMW 650 X Country has the looks of a street naked motorcycle and still retains the characteristics of a dual purpose motorcycle.
Off late manufacturers have started making factory produced Supermoto motorcycles which do not look like derivatives of dual purpose motorcycles fitted with 17 inch road tyres. Examples of such new age Supermoto motorcycles are the Aprilia Dorsuduro, KTM 990 SM, Ducati Hypermotard. They come equipped with alloy wheels, are heavier and have powerful engines compared to traditional "Dual Purpose motorcycle derived" Supermoto bikes.
Now are you game enough to experiment with Dual Purpose / Supermoto motorcycles..??
Related Posts
- Yamaha India MD, Mr. T. Ishikawa is moving back to Japan
- Indians have Unadventurous taste.. [14'th Oct, 2007]
- What "desi" bikers Want (& Need) [4'th Dec, 2007]
- Fat Rear Tyres: Need Vs. Want
- LSD: Lame Speculations & Dhokha/Disappointment
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.
So what's new?
Hero Honda reported a 16 per cent increase in sales at over 3.82-lakh units in February 2010.
The country's second largest two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto today reported 78.03 per cent jump in motorcycle sales at 234,623 units in February.
With significant contributions across all segments, TVS Motor Company has posted 31% growth registering total two wheeler sales of 140,544 units in the month of February 2010 against 107,301 units in the same month of the previous financial year. Cumulative growth for the period April 2009 to February 2010 stood at 1,375,176 units against 1,207,754 units in the comparable period of the previous year, a growth of 14%.The company's three wheeler sales also posted sizeable growth over February 2009, generating highest ever sales.
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter reported a 22 per cent growth in sales at over 1.22-lakh units.
Two-wheeler maker India Yamaha Motor today reported 48.02 per cent increase in total sales in February at 25,766 units.
