13 What exactly is a "Sports" Bike?

Some food for thought on: What makes a "Sports" Bike?

In India, just as any dimensionally big bike with a fat rear tyre is generically (and erroneously) called as “Superbike”. In the same vein any bike which has a slightly tall suspension/saddle height and minimal body work is called as a "Dirt Bike". Another most misused term here is “Sports Bike”.

Just show any kid in kindergarten or any retired gentleman photo of any motorcycle adorning with a “full fairing” and ask him to recognize what kind of bike it is. I can guarantee that the answer would invariably be “Sports Bike”..!!

No, I am not trying to prove here that the Pulsar is a Sports Bike (read the earlier post on the “2011 Pulsar Hunto TVC"). But here is some food for thought..

Food for thought No. 1: Desi obsession with Full Fairing

21 2011 R15 Photo of the Production Model..!!

Finally..!! A proper photo of possibly the updated 2011 R15 for India..!!

After months of speculations and Spy photos, finally a new photo of what seems to be a "production ready" updated 2011 Yamaha R15 has surfaced..!! Specs and details of changes remain speculative as of now.

The revamped R15 now gets the proper Super Sports styling. Now... aren't you guys excited..??

Visible Changes:

The Pillion Seat has been raised and the Grab Rails have been axed in true Super Sports style..!!

Increased Wheelbase: The wheelbase of this new bike seems to have been increased compared to the original/older model. [Photo posted below]

This has possibly been done to retain the balance/handling of the bike due to the incorporation of a fatter tyre. The rear tyre/wheel now extends more towards the rear (compared to the older model) vis-a-vis the rear seat.

The increased wheelbase should also make the bike appear longer and bigger now..!!

3 TVS Tormax 150, "Liquid Cooled with Monoshock" launched in Indonesia. Apache RTR with Liquid Cooling & Monoshock next?

TVS has launched its first ever product to feature a "Monoshock" suspension and a "Liquid Cooled" engine.. in Indonesia..!!

Looks like a TVS Apache RTR with a Liquid Cooled engine and a Monoshock is not far away from reality..!! What you see below is a Step Thru model called "Tormax 150" which TVS Motor has recently launched in Indonesia. The Tormax 150 features a 3 valve, single cylinder, liquid cooled engine plus it also gets a Monoshock rear suspension..!!

0 Motorcycle Scene in Guwahati, Assam [2011]

Last month I was on a vacation to my home state of Assam. Posted below is the motorcycle scene in Assam as seen and understood by me over the years..

Foreword: The following is my observation of the changing motorcycle scene of Guwahati and also a few towns of Upper Assam like Jorhat & Dibrugarh.

Hero Honda Splendor/Passion models are passé/history in Assam..!!

For most Indians that I have met, the North Eastern part of India is shrouded with mystery.

The most common stereotype for my home state of Assam is that; "It is on mountains", "The weather is chilly", "The people there wear clothes like the extras which danced behind Kareena in the song “Yeh Ishq hai” from the movie “Jab we met”..!!

The North East is surrounded by hills ok, but Assam is actually a “valley” which is surrounded by hills (the neighboring states). So essentially Assam is not hilly but on Plains. It has got a good Summer + Monsoon (May-July) and a normal Winter (December to Feb).

The motorcycle scene in Assam (over the years)

Assamese people seem to have a penchant for dimensionally big bikes..

I have observed that compared to the rest of India the Assamese people have got a mind of their own. Models that have not been best sellers in most parts of India have sometimes found love and affection here. But one thing that has stood out is that there have been no particular models which continue to be best sellers for 10-25 straight years.

Posted below are the highlights of the Assamese taste in motorcycle as observed by me over the years:

2005-2006: I had not seen as many LML (Lohia Motors Limited) motorcycles (LML Adreno/Energy, LML Freedom, LML Beamer/Graptor) in any other part of India as I had seen here in Assam.

2007: I had noticed that the preference for the (quirky) CBZ Xtreme was visibly more than the Pulsar 150/180 UG III (Upgrade III) models [read about this here]

2008: The 125 cc Hero Honda Super Splendor which hasn’t been the best seller in most parts of India was slowly becoming a very popular model here in Assam.


So how is the current motorcycle scene in Assam in 2011?

5 Not Every KTM Bike is an Off Roader

Introduction to the world of KTM motorcycles..

The other day I was chatting with a biker friend of mine about our next purchase. I told him that I am quite interested in the KTM 200 Duke. To which he spontaneously replied, "Oh Ok, but that is an Off Roader!".

I have come across this perception about the KTM brand even across many guys in xBhp.Com. For them too "KTM = Off Roaders".

First of all let me clarify that the KTM 125/200 Duke is NOT an off roader.

In my words the baby Duke can be called is a two wheeled "Urban Soft Roader"

The strong image of KTM with off road motorcycles is not without reason. KTM is definitely one of the most famous brand when it comes to off road bikes.

KTM currently has around 180 plus world titles in various off road competitions and also 10 consecutive "Dakar Rally" (one of the toughest rallies in the world) titles to its name.

Secondly, NOT every KTM motorcycle is an Off Roader. Posted below is the chart which shows the various kind of bikes that KTM manufacturers.