Suzuki Slingshot

Another idiotic product from Suzuki India after killing off the unappealing Heat. Quirky alloys with an even quirkier console treatment. And the absence of a disk brake is confounding.

Suzuki GSXR 1000 & Bandit 1250S

Suzuki launched the 2010 Gixxer ...


... & the 2010 Bandit ...


in India today. At 14 & 9.5 lakhs respectively, the retail on them isn't exactly cheap, but then these are the absolute top of the line models from Suzuki.

Honda CB Unicorn Dazzler

Honda finally updates the Unicorn's looks & launches it as the CB Unicorn Dazzler.

A looker this bike is ... especially the Black. I like.

Discover 150

Bajaj launches yet another variant.

Ducati Multistrada

.... at the office parking lot!

The Pulsars

With Bajaj's flagship biking brand in the midst of some rapid morphing in terms of features, upgrades & models, I thought I'd take a snapshot for keepsakes. Sort of like what they do in case of databases before a release. So here goes ....

First up is the lightest entrant in the lineup, ...


... the 135 LS. Said to possess 15bhp on a dry weight of 120 kilos, it's got a power-to-weight ratio better than some 150s currently in the market. No wonder it's been a hot seller since the launch.

Then, the original, ....


.... the 150. Now sporting clip-ons in UG IV guise.

The 180 soldiers on ....


.... with a miniscule price difference from the 150. The all black styling which this model spawned has now spread all over the Indian biking scene. So much so, that the 135 LS was launched with the 'conventional' silver engine to differentiate it from the clutter.

The 200 is dead.

The 220 ...


.... now comes sans fuel injection but with an 'F' attached to the monicker, at an unbelievable ~80k on road price. Launched in August 2009, being billed as the 'Fastest Indian' with a whacky ad to back it up, I haven't seen too many of these on the road.

And the newest member of the pack ...


... the 220 'S' for StreetFighter. Evrything from the 220 'F' bar the projectors. Looks killer.

So it's a whole family of models now. Who'd have thunk it when they launched it?

Honda CB Twister

Honda India is learning it's lessons fast. After the sporty 125 CBF Stunner, here's the 110cc avatar .... the Twister. Looks good, but the engine appears too puny compared to the sporty bodywork.

Launched today at 42k ex-showroom Delhi, this has the potential to take the fight to Hero Honda's perennial best sellers - Splendor; Passion & their myriad derivatives.

Pulsar 135 LS

Bajaj had shown this ....

... as the XCD 135 Sprint at Auto Expo 08.

But today, they've come out with this ....


.... the same thing bar the tank, as the Pulsar 135 LS. And it does look striking.

There's a long list of nifty features including clipons, disc brake,split seats, digital meters, floating number plate holder, tank scoops, LED taillight & best of all, a 4 valve engine. Which is all very good, & I think they have a winner on their hands here .... I know I would have bought it in a flash if it had released 5 months earlier when I was in the market for a bike.

But it does make one wonder where BAL is taking it's most successful biking brand.

TVS Wego & Jive

TVS launches the Wego & Jive - a good looking scoot & India's 1st clutchless conventional looking bike. Both are powered by the same engine .... which is why they were launched together, I guess.

Kawasaki Ninja 250R

Launched today by Bajaj at a whopping 2.69 lakhs ex showroom Delhi. You could get 2 Nanos for that price.

Karizma ZMR

The Karizma's 1st major revamp was unveiled today.

Pretty solid makeover by Hero Honda's standards. I especially liked the new digital console. Pity it doesn't come with mono-x or double headers.

Yamaha V-Max

Johnny boy launches Yamaha's latest import in India .... the monster 200 bhp V-Max ..... starting at a cool 20 lakhs ex-showroom Delhi. Wow!

Namaste Harley Davidson!

After years of on again, off again speculation (it's been going on for 4-5 years now), HD has finally announced a launch date for the India market .... it's gonna be on the 27th, 3 days from now.

The company's official India website is also online and this ....

.... is what it shows.

Too cool, this piece of news. Let's see what they launch. And let's hope the GoI reduces the killer >100% duty on CBU bike imports soon enough.

Honda Activa 2009

Honda has refreshed it's monster selling twist-n-go for this year.

The update was long overdue and looks like the typical Jap design that grows on you with time.

Variant time

The Geneva Auto Show is on, & Tata unveils the 'for Europe' ....



.... Nano Europa. Looks mighty fine, it does.

And encouraged by the heady response to the FZ, Yamaha India launches (within 3 months of the original's release), the FZ's 1st variant ....


.... the FZ-S. S for stylish.

All pics - vicky.in

Honda CBR1000RR & CB1000R

.... were launched in India today.

The last 1 year has seen a lot of activity in the high capacity sports bike segment - what with the likes of Yamaha; Suzuki & Ducati having launched their biggest & best models here. So it would seem that the old saying - "when it rains, it pours" - is true.

The logical progression from here would be to start assembly of 500cc-600cc models & start localising 250cc-300c stuff here. India already makes some of the best bikes in the world in the 100cc-200cc range. This would be the next step.

Yamaha R15 is IBOTY

I expected it would win.

Yamaha should now go ahead & launch .....


.... the R125. It's even more of a looker .... just look at those alloys! And this would really shake up the market in favor of the big Y from Japan.

Bajaj XCD 135 Sprint

A year back Bajaj promised this as the next XCD avatar ......
..... and it looked so appealing that I waited for it.

Today they've finally come out with this .....
What a letdown!

In other news, Toyota has finally broken GM's 77 year leadership run.

Hayabusa!!!

4 years after it's starring role in Dhoom created the legend & endeared it to Indian youth, Suzuki India released the Hayabusa here to take it's designated place among the Indian biking pantheon.

Nothing like a good dose of hyperbole, is there? It's a hyper bike after all!


Oh, & they also launched the 1800cc(!!) Intruder alongside. I know, I don't care much for cruisers.

Suzuki GS 150 R

Suzuki launched it's long awaited 150cc contender today.

Looks are in the same vein as the Pulsar & Unicorn with nothing standing out in the profile. However, the speedo is 'dual mode' with Power & Economy settings while the taillight features twin stacked LED clusters.

It's pretty OK, nothing radical, and one can't expect much more from Suzuki India - the way they've been going so far.