9 New 150 cc Hero Honda Achiever "Soft" launched

Hero Honda tries to breathe some life back into the old 150 cc Achiever..

How many Hero Honda Achiever's have you seen so far? To answer that myself, I'll have to admit "hardly any". Although the bike has a decent engine for a 150 cc commuter, the reason behind its absence from our roads is not too difficult to fathom. Just ask yourself the question, "Why do I buy the Hero Honda Achiever? What is its U.S.P?"

Honestly, when the Achiever was launched in 2005, it had no U.S.P that could attract customers towards it. The Achiever looked very much similar to the unsuccessful 135 cc, Hero Honda Ambition. Its ad tag "Some Fly Higher" was equally fuzzy.

Hero Honda did try to refresh the Achiever in 2007 by putting black colored alloy wheels as standard and some "new stickers". But even then the Achiever remained an elusive model on the roads. By now with hardly any new Achiever's to be seen on our roads, I had started to think that the Achiever has been eventually discontinued.

But with recent developments like Bajaj Auto successfully creating a niche with its Discover 150 as a 150 cc Commuter, and the recent efforts of Yamaha with its 150 cc SZ and SZ-X, there might be some opportunity for Hero Honda as well.

Looks like Hero Honda, with its new Achiever is trying once again to win the hearts of commuters who are looking for some 150 cc power. The Hero Honda Achiever mini site has been very recently updated with details of the new Achiever.

So what's new on the Achiever this time?

15 Mahindra Mojo: Part -3: What kind of motorcycle is the Mahindra Mojo?

At nearly 2 lakhs, the Mahindra Mojo might be a "Premium" motorcycle in India.. but what kind of motorcycle is it (to ride)?

Mahindra Mojo, the inspiration:

A small dance routine just before the Mojo was unveiled on to the stage, probably explains the inspiration behind the Mojo. Just as the electronic screens on the stage started to beam images of colorful flowers, some exotic dancers appeared on stage dressed in attires that definitely reminded of the 70’s. The motif at the launch was clearly Flower Power / Free Love / Hippie Culture of the 70’s.

Mojo being brought on stage amidst flowers..!!

As the colorful jig ended, a black Mojo was brought on to the stage quickly followed by Mr. Anand Mahindra himself.

Mr. Mahindra made a speech about how he christened the bike, Mojo. According to him, the name was inspired from a song from the Blues group, Muddy Waters.

1970’s = Flower Power = Hippie Culture = Blues = Mojo..!!

Ok, Now I get it. Actually the Mojo will not look out of place with a Hippie riding it.

But the problem that I see here is that, unlike Mr. Mahindra, for most of my generation (and ones born after me), the only connection with "Flower Power" and the "Hippie culture of the late 60's & 70's is from the song "Dum Maro Dum" from the Bollywood movie Hare Rama Hare Krishna.

And I don’t really see any hippies around me. Maybe, I should go on that forever postponed vacation to Goa..!!



Anyway, what kind of motorcycle is the Mahindra Mojo?

22 Bring this one to India: Honda CBR 150R [Photos/Tech Specs]

More photos of the new Honda CBR 150R, plus the official technical specifications..

I am sure that Indian bikers would not mind paying Rs. 10K-15K more than the Yamaha R15 for this "Thai Beauty"..

Unlike the two other full faired bikes (made and) sold in India (the Yamaha R15 and the Karizma ZMR), the new Honda CBR 150R looks like to have been designed with a clean sheet of paper.

The lines, proportions and details on the new CBR 150R is just perfect. The rear end looks healthy and proportionate. The rear tyre is "130" section, which is 3 sizes over the rear tyre of the Yamaha R15 and the same size as that of the Ninja 250R. In fact the front tyre of the new CBR 150R is of the same size as the rear tyre of the R15..!!

The front fairing on the new CBR 150R doesn't look like a forced job. The new CBR 150R in fact does full justice to its "CBR" lineage. I am very sure that Indian bikers would not mind paying Rs. 10K-15K more than the Yamaha R15 for this "Thai Beauty" just based on the looks.

Yamaha India officials must be really concerned with the possibility of an India launch for the new CBR 150R. I say, bring it on Honda. Match the price of the Yamaha R15 and it should have no problem selling more than the 10,000 units per annum (sales target for Thailand) in India.


CBR 150R Official Tech Specs

34 New Honda CBR 150R, India bound?

Honda to upgrade its CBR 150R as the New CBR 150R in Thailand.. will it make into India?

Update [Sep 2011]: Honda (HMSI) India has launched a 250 cc CBR250R which shares similar styling with the CBR150R.

But there are rumors about the CBR150R making it to India probably by 2012

Photo of the New CBR 150R for Thailand has appeared.. So is this the speculated New Honda bike for India? More importantly will there be a 250 cc variant of the same bike for India or will it be the same 150 cc for India too?

Just a couple of days back I had posted about a speculated Honda 250 cc that is being prepared for an India launch very soon. According to the latest development, it is being learnt that a couple of automotive journos from India are being invited by Honda to Thailand.

15 Limited Edition Metallic Orange Color Pulsar 180/220 [Photos]

New Metallic Orange color (that changes shades in the sunlight) for the Pulsar 180/220..

Bajaj Auto has without doubt been the most conservative with the color options for its bikes. When other manufacturer's demand premium of around 2-3K's just for some color options, Bajaj has just provided 4 staple colors (Black, Blue, Red & Silver) for its Pulsar range for the last 4-5 years.

Bajaj has now decided to provide a new Dual Tone "Metallic Orange" color option for it's Pulsar 180 and Pulsar 220 range of models.

The "Metallic Orange" is a Limited Edition color(apart from the earlier 4 colors). The engine and the technical specifications remain the same. There will be a additional Rs. 500 charged over the ex-showroom prices of these models for the "Metallic Orange" color. Which is according to me is quite resonable.

The "Metallic Orange" color changes its shade from "a fresh yellowish orange in the sunlight to a deep, reddish orange in the shade". [Info Link: Click here..] That sounds cool.. would be worthwhile to check out this new color in the flesh.