TVS to launch Radeon on August 23: The racing enthusiasts organization of India or as I like to call them, TVS, are going to launch a new commuter motorcycle to fill the slot emptied by TVS Phoenix. The new bike will feature a 110 cc engine which is found on Victor 110. It must be providing a mileage of more than 55 km/l, in the real-world situation. And since it is a commuter bike, the power and torque are somewhere enough “who cares” and “usable enough”. The company is also planning to launch a new scooter, either in the Jupiter range or in a separate range of its own. At this point, the scooter’s specs are just speculation.
Yamaha launched limited edition Moto GP R15 V3 and FZ 2.0 rear disc: Yamaha motors India originally launched the R15 V3 with 2 colour scheme, but as the manufacturer is known for launching new updates for its products during their life cycle, they also launched a limited edition Yamaha R15 V3 Moto GP edition. The new colour sports “Movistar” and ENEOS branding. Both brands support Yamaha at Moto GP. The new paint scheme includes a single blue colour palette, all over the bike and the above-mentioned brand logos, all over the bike. It is priced at Rs 1.3 lakh ex-showroom.
The company also launched a rear disc option for its beloved FZ 2.0 fi. The option is available for the Dark Knight and matte green colours. Although, Yamaha has realized that it's 2018 and rear disc brakes are not accessories but necessities but their FZ 2.0 is also nearing the end of its cycle and deserves a new update for it, as soon as possible. It is priced at Rs 87,250 Ex-Showroom.
Benelli to launch 300-600cc bike until 2019 and less than 300 cc bikes after that: With the recent management shift of the Benelli group India, the company is now going to focus heavily on making bikes, specifically made for India. It is going to pour its resources into R&D of mid capacity 300-600 cc bikes, which can woo Indian customers. The company is going to launch at least 12 new bikes until 2019 and after that, they are going to focus on a smaller segment which sits below 300 ccs. The company has already confirmed that Leoncino 502 will come to India; the bike is a neo-retro cafe race/scrambler.
Indian Motorcycle launched Chieftain Elite and Bajaj launched the Pulsar NS 160 (with rear disc): Indian Motorcycles India launched the “Chieftain Elite” at Rs 38 lakh (ex-showroom). The bike is a hardcore mile munching machine with creature comforts. The special thing about the Chieftain elite is that the bike will be hand painted and only 350 of such units will be made. The Elite Variant costs more than Rs 6 lakh than the standard version, so there’s that to keep in mind.
Next up is Bajaj, the other company along with Yamaha that realized that giving rear discs on a motorcycle is something of a standard practice and should be done whenever you decide to launch a new bike. The manufacturer launched their NS 160 with a rear disc at a showroom price of Rs 82,630.
Ducati and Harley are looking to tie up with Indian manufacturers. The Italians and the Americans, are looking to collaborate with Indian manufacturers, to advance their operations in India. Harley-Davidson recently announced that they will be partnering up with motorcycle manufacturers from Asia to make small capacity, region-specific bikes.
On the other hand, Ducati’s situation is more or less a speculation at this point because no one exactly knows what’s happening internally in the company. One thing is sure that foreign manufacturers are lining up to India for motorcycle production.
That was all the gossip which happened around the world of motorcycles this week. Remember to tune in next week, where we will bring you another weekly round up to save you from click-bait.
By: Yetnesh Dubey