2 Has Triumph broken hearts of Motorcycle Enthusiasts in India

Enthusiasts seem disappointed with the Daytona 675R's price.. but one needs to look at the complete picture

Forget the knee jerk online reactions, Triumph Motorcycles has the potential to sell well in India..

Triumph Motorcycles Officially launched its product lineup in India on 28'th Nov and also announced the prices. Immediately post the launch, the online world started buzzing with reactions and comments. The general feedback so far (from internet forums and Facebook) is that most enthusiasts who were waiting seem disappointed with pricing. So has Triumph India got the pricing wrong?

Triumph India had revealed indicative pricing for the models in the 2012 Auto Expo. As seen in the table posted below, out of the 5 category of motorcycles, only in 2 (i.e. Roadsters and Super Sports) the pricing of has changed. The other prices of the other 3 categories have remained more or less same as the 2012 indicative price and in case of the Cruiser models the final price is actually lower..!!

2 Royal Enfield Continental GT launched at a Price of 2.05 Lakhs (On Road Delhi)

Royal Enfield officially launches its Cafe Racer model the Continental GT in India..

Today Royal Enfield officially launches the Continental GT in India. Priced at Rs. 2.05 Lakhs On Road Delhi, the pricing has hit the sweet spot.

The Continental GT would definitely get you more stares than a full faired bike..

Reason enough to buy?

I have not seen the C-GT in flesh till now. But a few of my friends who have seen it have been impressed. They were impressed by the quality of parts, the glossy paint quality and attention to details. This is one model which Royal Enfield seems to have paid a lot of attention.

Auto journalists who have ridden it say that this is the best handling Royal Enfield till date. Performance is decent till around 120 Kmph and post that vibrations start appearing. According to them the bike seems to max out at around a speedo indicated 140 kmph. The riding position is quite sporty.

6 KTM Enduro 125/200/390 (Dual Purpose models) next in line from India

KTM will finally get in India what it is known to do best.. "Dirt Bikes"

At around Rs. 78K, the Impulse can't be positioned as a lifestyle motorcycle..

..and the average Indian commuter can't seem to understand dual purpose motorcycles

KTM is the world leader in the world of what is generically called as "dirt bikes". Bikes like the Duke Series are Sporty Street models and the RC Series are Super Sports models from KTM but it is the off road models which is KTM's forte.

After co-developing and manufacturing the 125/200/390 Duke out of India, Bajaj will very soon start churning out the Super Sports models the RC 125/200/390 from Chakan, Pune. Now according to KTM CEO Stefan Pierer, KTM would launch Enduro/Dual Purpose models based on the same engine platforms next. Read here

2014 KTM Enduro 690R

KTM already makes hi-end Enduro models the EXC series which include models ranging from 125 cc to 500 cc and includes 2 stroke and 4 stroke models. These models are designed in keeping in participation of "Enduro" competition events. KTM also makes the 690 Enduro R model that is based on the 690 Duke. This particular model is more dual purpose than the EXC series, but nevertheless KTM calls it under "Enduro".

8 Yamaha R25 Concept in Tokyo Motor Show. My Take on its chances in India

Finally Yamaha shows the R25 (250 cc, twin cylinder) concept..

Internationally Kawasaki has ruled the sporty 250 cc class with its Ninja 250 over 2 decades now. Taking a cue out of Kawasaki’s book, Honda made the plunge a couple of years back with a VFR inspired 250 cc, calling it the CBR250R. To keep costs low Honda gave it a single cylinder and manufactured both from Thailand and India. Meanwhile Kawasaki upped the Twin cylinder Ninja from 250 to 300 cc (except in Indonesia), and Honda too is now following suit with the CBR 250R replacement with the 300R and thankfully with non VFR like styling this time.

Missing in the picture was Suzuki and Yamaha. Most have actually forgotten that Suzuki makes motorcycles too but the absence of Yamaha from this quarter litre segment was very much felt. Yamaha has finally revealed its quarter litre model in the ongoing Tokyo Motor Show. Calling it as the R25, it is a sporty concept that looks very much similar to the European R125. Although Yamaha insists that it is inspired from Yamaha’s MotoGP bike the M1.

Yamaha R25 Details:

1 Harley Davidson to price the Street 750 below 5 Lakhs in India, launch in Feb 2014

Harley Davidson to launch the "Made in India" Street 750 at a shocking price in India

Its nothing less than a historic moment when Harley Davidson has decided to manufacture in India. The recently displayed Street 750 and 500 will be manufactured in India and sold in India and also exported to other countries.

The Harley Davidson Street 750 is bad news especially for DSK-Hyosung..

Harley Davidson has today officially stated that the Street 750 will be priced at below Rs. 5 Lakhs..!! It means that Harley wasn't to make things tougher with brands like Kawasaki (Ninja 650 is priced at around 5 lakhs). But the real hit would be for Hyosung Aquila Pro (at Rs. 5 Lakh) and ST7.

DSK-Hyosung will now have a real hard time convincing the Indian customer as to why he should not go for a Harley Davidson instead.