35 Best Looking Motorcycles of India: My Top 10

My own Top 10 best looking motorcycles from India..

A properly styled bike in most cases guarantees that the sales numbers will keep on ticking. As they say it "Well begun is half done" Personally to me, styling is what makes a bike more emotional and closer to the heart. In fact to me, styling of your bike defines what kind of person you are.

Although styling is a matter of personal taste.. and in most cases lies in the eyes of the beholder. But one can't argue against the fact that a bike has to look good from "every possible angle" to be called as one of the best styled bikes.

Also a bike need not be always "sporty" to be called good looking. Beauty can definitely be found in simplicity as well.

Note: Bikes like the Ninja 250R has not been included since it is an import assembled in India. Bikes like the Honda CBR250R and KTM 200 Duke have not been launched in India yet, therefore they do not find a place in the (2010) list below.

Bikes like the TVS Apache RTR and Hero Honda Hunk do not make it to the list because in terms of styling they have just followed the leader, i.e. the Bajaj Pulsar and do not bring anything novel in terms of styling.

Posted below are my Top 10 Best Styled Bikes of India.. till date.

10. Hero Honda Splendor

Styling of the Splendor has remained exactly the same (except the addition of alloy wheels and graphics changes) since 1994. This has actually helped the Splendor retain its simple/classic commuter looks. I like the styling of the Splendor. Kind of reminds me of the simpler days of my childhood.

11 India might get the KTM 200 Duke..!! Not the 125 Duke

Yeah.. baby yeah..!! Europe will get the KTM 125 Duke, but India might get a bigger KTM 200 Duke..!!

Just a casual search on the internet will land you on many sites and blogs which have already declared with authority that the KTM 125 Duke will be launched in India. Its actually sad that even a couple of the mainstream media actually have joined the party in spreading this piece of unconfirmed news.

I say unconfirmed, because there was never any official statement from either Bajaj or KTM about the engine size of the KTM bike meant for India. Just like its difficult to stop dominoes from falling after the first one, similarly after one site/blog makes a breaking "unconfirmed" news it’s almost impossible to stem the flow.

I myself never made the same "125 Duke for India" proclaimation on my blog because I knew that Europe was getting the 125 cc/15 Ps bike because of the European licensing laws for beginners (and for someone with a car’s license, which allows them to ride a bike upto 125 cc with a max 15 Ps power).

Since this law is not applicable in India, so why restrict at 125 cc engine capacity for India? Especially when it’s almost known that there would be very few who would be ready to shell out 1 lakh plus Rupees for a 125 cc bike, no matter how it performs or looks.

While the rest of the crowd might swoon over the full faired Honda CBR250R..

I’ll prefer an Orange KTM 200 Duke in my parking lot. Thank you.

By the way Honda manufactures the 125 cc, CBR125R in Thailand and exports it to Europe, but at the same time it also sells an identical looking CBR150R but with a 150 cc engine in the Thailand market. I am actually surprised that no one has guessed that there could be something similar for India from KTM.


Official word of a 200 Duke for Asia and South American markets

10 Ad Campaigns: Yaari Ki Gaadi & O Suzuki Slingshot

2010 Splendor NXG Campaign, "Yaari Ki Gaadi": "Good TV Commercial, Irrelevant Positioning"

The Splendor NXG according to me has always had an identity crisis right from its very inception. Let’s try to analyze how Hero Honda has tried to position it in the mind of the customer in the last couple of years.

1. 2007: When it was launched the launch campaign was something called "The Splendorful Bike". Confused as to what it means? Don’t ask me.

2. 2009: This campaign this time it revolved around "Bharosa bhi, Style bhi". After all the Spendor NXG borrows its name from Splendor+, its 100 cc cousin which has the reputation of reliability. So therefore the "Bharosa"(i.e reliability) part comes in. Hero Honda has tried to give the Splendor NXG stylish looks compared to the Splendor+. [Watch the TVC here]

I have heard of Friendship Bands, but a Friendship Bike?

But there was/is one small problem for the Splendor NXG. The NXG comes across as just a copy of the Passion Pro, its other 100 cc cousin. Actually the current Passion Pro is any day a better looker than the NXG. So anyone who wants a Stylish looking Splendor will obviously go straight for the Passion Pro, why should he look at the Splendor NXG?

3. 2010: "Yaari Ki Gaadi"

7 Profits that Indian 2 Wheeler Makers made in 2010-11, Q2

Want to know how much profit our "desi" two wheeler makers make..??

Foreword: I am waiting to see how many blogs come up with similar stories after this post..

The sole existence of any business is to earn profits. There have been examples in the past of two wheeler makers which had to shut shop because they were not operating profitably. Memory of LML (Lohia Motors Limited) which had to shut down in 2006 due to financial bankruptcy is still fresh in my mind.

the big picture emerges only when one gives a glance at the "Profit" that these three companies make..

Currently the top 3 two wheeler makers of India by sales volume are Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto Ltd., and TVS Motor. One can analyze their monthly sales numbers as posted regularly on this blog. But what about the profits that these companies make?

Posted below is a graph indicating the Sales and Profits (in Crore Rupees) of the top 3 two wheeler makers, for the 2nd quarter (July-September) for the financial year 2010-11.

10 Bare/Naked Yamaha FZ

Photos of the Yamaha FZ minus its body panels..

Wanted to see how the Beefy Yamaha FZ looks like without its clothes? Taufik from Indonesia has posted photos of a stripped the FZ (branded as Byson there) on his blog.

Don’t miss the mid ship silencer and the actual metal tank of the FZ/Byson.