15 Petrol could reach Rs. 100/Litre in India. What the #&(@..!!

With petrol prices reaching unprecedented levels in India, What can the Govt. do? What can we do? What do I plan to do..

After getting a car, I have rarely used my motorcycle to commute or go shopping with my wife. Probably it’s good for the biker in me, since now I view motorcycling as a leisure/pleasure activity and not just merely for commuting. But with petrol prices hitting record highs, how long can we afford to take pleasure burning the precious resource?

In my early teen days (early 1990’s), I occasionally used to accompany my dad to the neighborhood petrol pump to tank up our Bajaj Scooter.

The 1990-91 was also the time of the Gulf war, when Saddam Hussain had invaded Kuwait. For the first time in human history, people watched the the war almost live on cable TV (courtesy CNN). But more significantly what followed the Gulf war was a sharp rise in Global petrol prices.

Back in those Gulf War days I faintly remember my dad shelling out around 22-25 odd rupees for a litre of petrol (along with the 2T Oil).

Flash forward 2011 and the petrol prices are now around the Rs. 60 per litre mark..!!

Nearly 200% increase in petrol prices in the last 20 years..!! And one thought that the Gulf war was bad enough..!!

The price rise has been most steep in the last couple of years. Given the current state of affairs, I suspect the price of petrol in India will touch the Rs. 100 per litre mark in 4-5 years time very easily.

Why is the price of petrol rising so rapidly in India?

11 Pulsar is now the Official Sponsor of Ghost Ryderz Stunt Team..!!

Ghost Ryderz becomes the first professional motorcycle Stunt Riding Team from India to be officially sponsored by a motorcycle brand..!!

"Pulsar, India’s No.1 Sports Bike is the official sponsor of Ghost Ryderz, India’s No. 1 Motorcycle Freestyle Stunt riding team".

That’s what the landing page of the Ghost Ryderz site says. Ghost Ryderz has indeed become India’s first professional motorcycle stunt team to be sponsored by a corporate entity. The team has recently revealed a new set of Pulsar 220S bikes which has been custom modified into genuine street fighters along with a customized paint theme as well.

Who are Ghost Ryderz?

They are a team of 5 talented young guys from Kerala who call themselves as "Damboy", "Smokey", "Phenom", "Nio" and "Dauntless". They first shot into national limelight in 2009 when they were picked up to tour with MTV for the 2009 Pulsar MTV Stuntmania auditions (to perform stunts in front of the crowd at various cities across India). They were once again chosen to tour with MTV for the second season of the MTV Pulsar Stuntmania "Rockathon" Auditions in 2010.

23 Honda CBF Stunner/PGM-Fi Review

Review of both the 125 cc Honda CBF Stunner (carbureted) and the Honda CBF Stunner PGM-Fi (fuel injected) models..

Positives:

+ Good looks
+ Comfortable & Sporty ergonomics
+ Good handling
+ Smooth engine (fuel injected variant)

Negatives

- Vibrations at high engine revs (carbureted variant)
- Pricy for a 125 cc
- The CB Unicorn Dazzler should have got this styling

The 125 cc CBF Stunner was the first motorcycle from HMSI (Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India Ltd.) which proved that Honda was taking motorycle designs for India seriously. Just look at the products prior to the CBF Stunner i.e. the 150 cc Unicorn and the 125 cc Shine. Both the Unicorn & Shine were/are conservative in design to the point of being boring.

Therefore it was kind of a pleasant shock to see Honda launch the 125 cc CBF Stunner in 2008, it was as if HMSI wanted to prove a point to its detractors. Even harsh Honda critics like myelf (till then) had to appreciate the attempt HMSI had made in designing the new bike.

2008: Back in 2008, it definitely seemed that the new 125 cc Honda bike had a very good chance of making a big dent in the 150 cc category (read as the Pulsar 150 territory). After all it looked like a mini Karizma (thanks to its fixed half fairing) and being a 125 cc, it was expected to return decent fuel efficiency as well. There was no reason for anyone not to look at the CBF Stunner.

2011: I had read somewhere that the conservative Shine still continues to be the largest selling motorcycle from HMSI's portfolio in India..!!

What went wrong with the high hopes from the Honda CBF Stunner? I take a test ride of both the Carbureted and the Fuel Injected (PGM-Fi) variants..

15 Bajaj Discover 100 DTS-Si: Review

Review of the Bajaj Discover 100 DTS-Si..

If one has kept a tab on the motorcycle industry of India for the last 2 years, or if one has noticed the kind of motorcycles that have appeared on our roads during the same period, it would be quite obvious that the Bajaj Discover has been a big success story.

When the Discover 100 was launched in July 2009, not many gave it much of a chance, stating that it’s probably another one of Rajiv Bajaj’s (MD Bajaj Auto) experiments. Some couldn’t digest the 135 cc Discover becoming a 100 cc. And later when a 150 cc avatar of the Discover was launched, naysayers again scoffed at the idea of a 150 cc Discover.

Positives:

+ Light weight
+ Smooth & Snatch free engine
+ Good handling
+ 5 Speed gearox, DC Lighting

Negatives

- Texture of the Plastic on speedometer
- Drum brakes

Only in hindsight can one comment on whether a strategy was right or wrong. After almost 2 years the ubiquitous sight of Discover models on our roads have proved that Mr. Bajaj has got the strategy with the Discover spot on. Not only did the success of the Discover mean the end of the sales slump that Bajaj had witnessed in 2008-2009 (which had started with the global recession), but in a very short span the Discover brand has become a formidable brand along with the world’s largest selling motorcycle brand, the Hero Honda Splendor..!!

The Discover 100 wasn’t/isn’t priced lower than the Splendor. In fact it is priced at par with the Splendor. Even then, the Discover 100 has been consistently selling like hot cakes. That only means one thing, that the Discover is selling on its merit and that it must be a good bike.

So how good and improved is the Discover 100 compared to the earlier 100 cc models (CT100, Caliber, Boxer, Platina) from Bajaj? I take a test ride to find out..

26 What is Antilock Braking System (ABS) in Simple English

Simple explanation of how ABS works on motorcycles. Also India is about to get ABS equipped motorcycles soon and why one should opt for it..

A personal (scary) experience:

It was back in 1999. I was riding my CBZ and was behind a bus. Suddenly the bus took a sharp left turn which took me by surprise as I was concentrating on the bus in front of me and wasn’t really focusing on the road. I was not prepared for the sharp left turn. As a result, I suddenly found myself off the road on a gravel surface. I was sure to crash in a couple of seconds, least I was successful in steering the motorcycle slowly towards the left turn..!!

Since there are only two wheels to balance, ride and brake, a motorcycle is always vulnerable to losing control..

But that was easier said that done. As I hit my rear brakes (didn’t engage the front brake as I was in a turn) to reduce my speed, I could sense the rear wheel losing grip on the grfavel surface. Instinctively I released the pressure on the rear brakes just enough to regain some grip on the loose surface. But then I again had to reduce my speed and make the left turn, so I had to put pressure on the rear brake moments later.

This whole scary episode must have lasted for 2-3 seconds at most but let me tell you it was terrifying. I had modulated my rear brakes by applying and releasing pressure and thereby remained in control of my bike and saved my skin and my pillion friend (oh sorry, I forgot to tell about him in the beginning) as well.

The above experience demonstrates the need for an ABS system for motorcycles as the process of applying and releasing pressure on the brakes is done automatically by the ABS during times of panic braking..!!


What is ABS?