Bike Chronicles of India

Apr 10, 2010

2 New Discover to be launched April (end) 2010

New Bajaj Discover to be launched by April 2010 end (and no, this is not a speculation)..

"We have a new Discover scheduled for launch in the end of this month". That’s what Bajaj auto’s MD Mr. Rajeev Bajaj has stated in a recent interview to CNBC (MoneyControl.Com).

The Discover brand has been around for about half a decade and has been a strong brand for Bajaj. I always had the opinion that the Discover was an honest commuter (like the Hero Honda Splendor) with no sporty pretentions. That’s probably the reason for its recent success in the form of the 100 cc Discover DTS-Si.

Bajaj Discover DTS-Si (100 cc)

Stating further on the new Discover, Mr. Bajaj further said:

The current Discover we have is a 100 cc, very fuel efficient motorcycle. We think there are some commuters there who appreciate that but would like little more power, little more torque either because they need to move quickly in city traffics such as Delhi or in the more suburban areas the people that sit on the motorcycle are bigger or they carrying some load with it. So they would appreciate something that’s bigger and more torque. We do not have anything like that.

I do not see anything like that in the market place not necessarily in terms of the product aspect but in terms of a brand. So from very strong brand position of a discover if we present consumers with something that has of that values but offers a lot more in terms of torque and carrying capacity.

But what about the current 135 c.c Discover then? Maybe that’s the one (the new Discover) that is getting an upgrade along with better Torque by this month end.

Bajaj Discover 135 DTSi [Test Ride/Review] [March 2008]

The First TV Commercial of the Bajaj Discover DTSi, featuring Jackie Chan..!!

Disclaimer:

This is to remind that the Views or Opinions in the blog are entirely mine unless explicitly stated. The Views and Opinions published in this blog should in no way be related to any other person or organization associated -- directly or indirectly -- with me.

Apr 8, 2010

6 March 2010, 2 Wheeler Sales in India

March 2010 sales numbers of our 2 wheeler manufacturers..

March 2010 continues the happy growth story for most of the major 2 wheeler makers in India. Sales number of Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) is worth special mention here; it was just a couple of thousand less units than the number 3’rd TVS Motor. Also Yamaha has managed to sell marginally more 2 wheelers than Suzuki Motorcycles India in March 2010.

Posted below are the March 2010, two wheeler sales numbers.

[The March 2010 sales figures of Royal Enfield could not be collected..]

Hero Honda had sold 414,638 units of two-wheelers in March 2010 (Up by 17% over last year)

News Source: Click here

The country's largest two-wheeler maker, Hero Honda, today reported 17.35 per cent rise in sales at 414,638 units last month, the best-ever figure reported by the company for the month of March.

The company had sold 353,342 units during March last year, Hero Honda Motors Ltd (HHML) said in a statement.

HHML registered a cumulative sales of 4,600,130 units during 2009-10, against 3,722,000 units in the previous fiscal, up 23.59 per cent, it added.

Bajaj Auto had sold 244,828 units of two-wheelers in March 2010 (Up by 85% over last year)

News Source: Click here

NEW DELHI: The country's second largest two- wheeler maker Bajaj Auto today reported 85.12 percent jump in its motorcycle sales at 244,828 units in March. The company had sold 132,253 units in March last year, Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) said in a statement.

During the entire 2009-10 financial year, the company sold 2,506,749 units in the motorcycle segment, a jump of 31.39 percent over 1,907,853 units in the year-ago period, it added.

BAL attributed the growth to robust sales of Pulsar and Discover range of bikes.

In March, total two-wheeler sales jumped by 84.57 percent to 244,889 units compared to 132,683 units in the same period a year ago, the statement said.

TVS Motor has sold 146,736 units of two-wheelers in March 2010 (Up by 24% over last year)

News Source: Click here

Completing the year on the continuous growth path, TVS Motor Company has posted a growth of 24 % in March 2010. Significant contributions across all segments has resulted in total two wheeler sales of 146,736 units when compared to 118,000 units in the same month of the previous financial year. Cumulative growth for the period April 2009 to March 2010 stood at 15%, with 1,521,912 units against 1,325,754 units in the comparable period of the previous year.

Domestic sales grew 25 % registering sales of 126,669 units in March 2010 when compared to 101,660 units recorded in March 2009.

Propelling the spurt in sales was the scooter segment, which contributed 50% growth in its segment. Scooters witnessed sizeable growth recording 28,504 units in sales in March 2010 as against 19,054 units in March 2009. Motorcycle registered a growth of 7 % in March 2010 with sales of 64,120 units in March 2010 when compared to 59,796 units in the same month of the previous year.

Exports, maintained its upward course posting double digit growth of 23 % during the month of March 2010 registering sales of 20,067 units against 16,340 units in March 2009.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India has sold 144,288 units of two-wheelers in March 2010 (Up 76% over last year)

News Source: Click here

Two-wheeler manufacturer Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India on Thursday reported 76.25 per cent jump in its sales at 144,288 units in March.
The company’s total sales stood at 81,865 units in the same month last year, HMSI said in a statement.
Motorcycle sales jumped 63.25 per cent to 65,888 units in March, against 40,360 units in the corresponding period a year ago, it added.
The company reported a robust growth of 88.89 per cent in scooter sales at 78,400 units in the said month, compared with 41,505 units in the year-ago period

Yamaha India has sold 27,460 units of two-wheelers in March 2010 (Up by 44% over last year)

News Source: Click here

Two-wheeler maker India Yamaha Motor today reported a 27.30 per cent growth in its sales in March at 27,460 units, boosted by good performance in the premium bike segment.
The company had sold 21,571 units during the same month of last year, India Yamaha Motor said in a statement.
It also reported a jump of 44.38 per cent in its annual sales during the 2009-10 fiscal at 290,211 units as compared to 01,009 units during the previous fiscal.
During March, the two-wheeler maker sold 17,892 units in the domestic market as against 14,575 units in the same month of last fiscal, a rise of 22.76 per cent.
Exports during the month jumped by 36.76 per cent to 9,568 units compared to 6,996 units in March 2009, it said.

Suzuki Motorcycle India has sold 21,752 units of two-wheelers in March 2010 (Up by 76% over last year)

News Source: Click here

Two-wheeler maker Suzuki Motorcycle India reported a jump of 76.13 per cent in its sales in March at 21,752 units, on the back of good response to its new products.

The company had sold 12,350 units during March 2009, Suzuki Motorcycle India said in a statement.

Disclaimer:

February 2010, 2 Wheeler Sales in India

January 2010, 2 Wheeler sales in India

Disclaimer:

Apr 5, 2010

14 Indians have unadventurous taste. Part 1: Dual Purpose & Supermoto Motorcycles

We need more kinds of motorcycles in India.. is it about time..??

Indians have unadventurous taste in motorcycles. That’s what was stated by Yamaha India officials in late 2007.

At that time, I was of the opinion (in fact offended) that how Yamaha could pass such a comment about Indian bikers? That too when Yamaha did not have a single exciting model in their (pre 2008) line up for India.

But just after a few months, when Yamaha displayed the racy R15 and the beefy FZ16 at the 2008 New Delhi Auto Expo, I had to eat humble pie. I now appreciate what Mr. T. Ishikawa, the then MD of Yamaha India had in mind for Indian bikers.

..not even a single dual purpose motorcycle for a country of one billion plus..!!

Till then, the middle class enthusiast Indian biker had to be either satisfied with their staple diet of Bajaj Pulsars (150/180/200/220) or maybe the TVS Apache, Hero Honda CBZ Xtreme/Hunk/Karizma. Honestly speaking there was not much of a difference in these models both in terms of looks and technology.

But today even I’ll say that, we Indians do have unadventurous taste in motorcycling. To support this statement, I’ll write about a few categories of motorcycles which are popular worldwide but have zilch presence in India.

1.Dual Purpose/Sport motorcycles:

What is a Dual Purpose/Sport motorcycle?

Kawasaki KLX 250S - Dual Purpose

These motorcycles are designed to be ridden on moderately bad roads and also on good paved roads with ease. For these reason these dual purpose motorcycles are fitted with dual purpose tyres, which can be ridden on good and moderately rough terrain as well. The ground clearance and the suspension travel of these dual purpose bikes are greater than city bikes to cope up with bad terrain.

Most of our Indian roads are less than perfect and these dual purpose bikes actually make more sense than our normal city bikes. But then, there is not even a single dual purpose motorcycle for a country of one billion plus..!! Amazing..!!

2. Supermoto Motorcycles:

What is a Supermoto Motorcycle?

Kawasaki KLX 250SF - Supermoto

Kawasaki KLX 250SF - Supermoto

A Supermoto Motorcycle is a cousin of Dual Purpose/Sport motorcycle. Supermoto bikes have same kind of ample ground clearance and suspension travel like dual purpose bikes. The main difference between a dual purpose and a Supermoto motorcycle is in the kind of tyres and wheel sizes.

Unlike a dual sport motorcycle, which comes with dual purpose tyres, a Supermoto bike comes fitted with Fatter and Slicker Road Tyres. Also both the rear and front wheel size of Supermoto bikes are mostly of 17 inch diameter (like other street bikes), whereas dual purpose bikes come with a smaller rear wheel and a larger front (usually 21 inch dia.) wheel. The Supermoto motorcycle therefore more at home on paved roads than on bad roads.

Indians have a fascination with fat tyres. Supermoto bikes should therefore have a better chance of being accepted by our desi bikers than dual purpose motorcycles.

These bikes sure do look like fun. But then would Indians be adventurous enough to accept Supermoto motorcycles?

For those who do not like bikes styled like off-road motorcycles:

Not all dual purpose motorcycles need to look like derivations of pure motocross/off road motorcycles. For example, the BMW 650 X Country has the looks of a street naked motorcycle and still retains the characteristics of a dual purpose motorcycle.

Off late manufacturers have started making factory produced Supermoto motorcycles which do not look like derivatives of dual purpose motorcycles fitted with 17 inch road tyres. Examples of such new age Supermoto motorcycles are the Aprilia Dorsuduro, KTM 990 SM, Ducati Hypermotard. They come equipped with alloy wheels, are heavier and have powerful engines compared to traditional "Dual Purpose motorcycle derived" Supermoto bikes.

Now are you game enough to experiment with Dual Purpose / Supermoto motorcycles..??

Yamaha India MD, Mr. T. Ishikawa is moving back to Japan

Indians have Unadventurous taste.. [14'th Oct, 2007]

What "desi" bikers Want (& Need) [4'th Dec, 2007]

Fat Rear Tyres: Need Vs. Want

LSD: Lame Speculations & Dhokha/Disappointment

Disclaimer:

Apr 2, 2010

12 2010, 125 cc Honda Shine gets renamed as 'CB' Shine

Honda gives its 125 cc Shine the 'CB' treatment..!!

Honda has now brought all its motorcycle models in India under the 'CB' tag..!!

Just a couple of days back when the details of the 2010, 150 cc Honda Unicorn appeared on Honda India's website as the 'CB' Unicorn,I had jokingly stated that "What's next..?? 'CB' Shine..??" Well, I couldn't have been more prophetic.

The Honda 2 Wheeler India website has been recently updated with the details of the 2010 'CB' Shine..!!

The changes are largely cosmetic and limited to..

On the engine front everything still remains same though.

It is clear that the CB Shine is not a new model or a major upgrade. But by giving the 'CB' tag to the 125 cc Shine, Honda has now brought all its motorcycle models in India under the 'CB' tag.

Well how about a "CBR" 250 or maybe a "CBR" 300 next..??

Not "CB250R" or "CB300R".. but a CBR model.

Honda launches 2010 'CB' Unicorn.

Honda Plans 2 models for 2010. New Unicorn on cards..??

Auto Expo 2010 Coverage: Honda (HMSI)

2010 Honda CBF Stunner (125cc). Details, Price, Colors revealed (from Official Website)

Honda CB Twister 110 cc Review [Test Ride]

2010 Honda (HMSI) Corporate TV Commercial [Video]

Disclaimer:

Apr 1, 2010

4 Harley Davidson bookings to start on 20'th April, across 5 cities

Harley Davidson to start booking across 5 cities in India..

The Iconic Harley Davidson brand would soon take bookings (of its 12 models for India) starting from April 20'th. Deliveries are slated to start from June 2010.

5 dealers across 5 cities (one in each city) in India have been finally shortlisted to be worthy enough to sell the Harley Davidson models. The 5 cities are:

[1] Chandigarh
[2] New Delhi
[3] Mumbai
[4] Hyderabad
[5] Bengaluru (Sigh.. I have finally decided to let go of its ealier trendy and cool sounding 'Bangalore' name)

Well chosen cities I'd say, these 5 cities would have most of the rich boys.. err.. men who would want to get associated with the bad boy image that the Harley Davidson motorcycles come with.. and yes, would definitely have deep(er) pockets.

Harley Davidson India seems to have carefully chosen its intial 5 dealers in India. Each dealer has a full page on them on the Harley Davidson India website.

I get a feeling that the prospective owners of Harley models in India are going to be treated like royalty.

Like 50 Cents had said, "Get Rich or Die Tryin"