12 Edgar Heinrich: The Designer of the Pulsar 200NS

A brief intro of the man who designed the Next Gen Pulsar..

Automotive design can accomplish a lot of things, it can turn a model into a cult and can even give it immortality.

In the world of motorcycle design there are a couple of names which stand out. For example, Gerald Kiska, whose famed design house has been designing (from 1992) those striking machines dripping with orange paint that come out the KTM factory in Austria (also the 200 Duke which rolls out of Chakan, Pune, India). Another respected name in the world of motorcycle designers is Edgar Heinrich.



When the Pulsar 200NS was unveiled on 30’th Jan 2012, one of the comment that I came across in one of the biking forums was that the new Pulsar has the design lines of a BMW motorcycle. Well that comment wasn’t too far off as the new Pulsar 200NS has been designed by a certain Edgar Heinrich, whose body of work includes motorcycles like the BMW S1000RR & BMW R1200GS..!!

11 2012 TVS Apache RTR 160 - First Ever Photos

Spy photos of the 2012 TVS Apache RTR 160..

After spy pics of the 2012 Apache RTR 180 ABS found its way to the internet, photos of the new Apache RTR 160 too has surfaced. This time the photos are clearer and photos of the product leaflet have been clicked as well..!! The leaflet and the photos reveals that the upgrade on the new Apache RTR 160 is just cosmetic with the engine specs remaining identical.

PR Nightmare: With the spy photos of the Apache RTR 180 and 160 becoming viral, right now TVS has a PR nightmare to handle. Fans are hurling brickbats regarding the new Apache RTR's on the wall on the Apache RTR Fanpage. I found the styling of the original Apache RTR (till the Hyperedge version) a compact and tight package with nice proportions. But with its oversized tank scoops, the new bike looks a bit awkward to me.

Sorry TVS but this just doesn't seem like "Racing DNA".

8 2012 TVS Apache RTR 180 ABS - First Ever Pics

Spy pics of the 2012 TVS Apache RTR 180 ABS..

Just today morning TVS had put a teaser photo of what seemed like a new motorcycle from their Apache series, on its Apache RTR - Facebook Fanpage. This made some "blogs" claim that this was a "200 + cc, full faired, fuel injected, 23-25 Ps model.. etc." (as usual). But now a few spy pics has surfaced on Facebook which clearly shows that this is probably a refreshed Apache RTR 180 ABS model.

Posted below are more photos of the 2012 TVS Apache RTR 180 ABS:

2 2012 TVS Apache RTR (180..??) Teaser..!!

Official teaser pics of the new 2012 TVS Apache..!!

Way back in Nov 2011, Autocar India had reported (click here for the link) that TVS was about to launch an upgraded Apache RTR 180 sometime early this year. Looks like TVS is all set to launch the upgraded 2012 Apache. Going by what AutocarIndia had reported, it will probably be an upgraded Apache RTR 180 with some visual changes.

But let's wait and see what's the new model would ultimately be like.. any guesses?

Source: TVS Apache Facebook Fanpage

8 2012 Honda CB Shine (sneaks in) Price/Colors/Specifications

Honda has updated its CB Shine model for 2012..

When displayed at the 2012 Auto Expo in Jan, I was hard pressed to find the difference between the then in production CB Shine and the one that Honda had displayed at the Expo.

Might sound funny but the simple and sober styling of the CB Shine is starting to appeal to me..

Apart from minor graphics change (which one really has to look minutely to make out the difference) physically there is nothing on the bike which suggests that this a upgraded/refreshed product. In terms of features the alloy wheel variants of the 2012 CB Shine does get "Tubeless Tyres" which is a welcome addition. The engine specifications still remain indentical as the older model.

It might sound funny but the simple and sober styling is starting to appeal to me. After all not every motorcycle on the street has to look sporty. There are takers for simple/deluxe/executive styled models too (the photo of the guy posted above in the shirt-tie probably is suggesting exactly that).

Posted below are the new 2012 colors of the CB Shine along with the Delhi prices (as of Apr 2012) and specifications.