Rs 70.00
Volume 5 Issue 003
October 2009
EXCLUSIVE! FIRST RIDE MAHINDRA DURO & RODEO SCOOTERS
MUSCLE POWER
V-ROD vs V-MAX vs ROCKET III
INTERVIEW
ONE ON ONE WITH HARLEY’S INDIAN HEAD
TO THE ALPS
KTM 990 SMT
MODDED YAMAHAS
R15 & FZ16 GET PERFORMANCE EXHAUSTS
CL
EX PUBLISHING
CMYK
Z ! I N R UTIO
! E V
I S U
A M
L O A V E K
C I T
ike b he t s ke a m H H
Loose cannon
One of the worlds’s maddest bikes goes on sale in India
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Yamaha rolls in the big daddy of motorcycles, the VMax. Do we already see other SBKs shivering? If you don’t know why the tachometer gets pride of place on this bike’s console, then boy, this is so not the bike for you
this is the view most mortals will have of the mighty VMax. We can’t say about the gods though
Y
o pansies, get outta my way, I stop for none. Scorched rubber marks will soon be a common feature on Indian roads. Keep your children and your belongings indoors for the world’s meanest streetbike is here. Put your children to sleep, hush up the missus, fasten your windows securely and go to sleep with a prayer and battleaxe by your side. The streets of India are no longer safe because the world’s baddest, scariest bike is now going to prowl our streets at a sticker price of Rs 20 lakh - that’s ex-showroom mind you! A legend in its own lifetime, the VMax has garnered respect worldwide ever since its inception and now is available across selected Yamaha dealerships in India. Powered by a World War III ready V4 engine displacing close to 1700 ccs, the VMax churns out 167Nm which does a good job of ripping out the 200 section rear tyre to shreds even before its first service is due. Even at standstill, the bike commands respect and submission in a way no sportsbike can ever dream of emulating. This is the bike that Mephistopheles would ride were he to ditch his archaic inverted bowl for something a bit more modern. A complete road test of this bad ass bike awaits our readers in the next issue.
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FIRST RIDE HERO HONDA ZMR
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THE KING RETURNS! A heavy dose of cosmetic as well as engine updates mark the birth of the new Karizma ZMR. Bunny Punia gives it the stick to see if the bike has been worth the wait Photography Sanjay Raikar
T
he previous night had been very interesting with a live band and an open bar taking care of a select few journalists who had been flown in for an exclusive first ride of the new Karizma. No matter how much I pestered the Hero Honda guys to divulge some dope on the new bike, it was futile. It was half past six in the morning the next day when I was about to finish my second cup of hot tea in order to awaken my half sleepy brain that I happened to hear a rather familiar exhaust note. Minutes later, the first look of one of the most awaited upgrade in the Indian two-wheeler industry more than livened up the lazy bum in me. A full body kit, exciting graphics and tweaks here and there - the wait for the new Karizma, or the ZMR as the company puts it, seemed worth it. The sharply designed front headlamp looks great and seems to have been inspired by the Suzuki GSX-R and the Triumph Sprint. The slot for the pilot lamps is swept back giving a sporty
look. The black visor is probably the biggest on any Indian bike and the fairing mounted rear view mirrors not only look good, but as I found out on the ride, serve their purpose well. The same airintakes on either side of the lamp and the “oilcooled” stickers hinted at a more powerful engine. Side on, the indicators are integrated into the panels like the current bike and the fairing ends near the brake lever like commonly seen aftermarket jobs. The difference here, however, is the quality – the plastics seem durable with an up market fit and finish. The side panels are the same with a slight bulging rear and the new split grab rail along with the striking LED tail lamp assembly give the rear a pleasing look. The spoilsport here is the skinny rear tyre. This will be the first modification most owners will end up doing, I reckon. With a rather muscular and big fairing, fitting a wider, say 120mm rear tyre would have added more muscle to the overall look in my opinion. You can’t help but notice
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INTERVIEW ANOOP PRAKASH
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Ready to HOG Thanks to the amazing Indian mangoes, the American heavyweight is finally here! To get some juice, Sarmad Kadiri rides along with Anoop Prakash Harley-Davidson India MD Strange as it may sound, most Indian cruiser aficionados’ affinity for mangoes has increased to unimaginable heights. Back in ‘07, the Indian government gave the go ahead for Harley-Davidson to enter the country in exchange for Indian mangoes. However, it took two years of R&D for H-D to make an official announcement about their debut here. With India’s 3,500,000 kilometers of great (and some not so great) highways and a brand built for open roads, this was just a matter of time. We caught up with the Managing Director of Harley-Davidson’s Indian subsidiary, Anoop Prakash and asked him to throw some light (prakash!) on the way forward. So, let’s get this straight. We give mangoes and get Harleys in return? When you think about it, it is a trade deal between two national icons. Indian riders get to enjoy Harleys and American foodies get to enjoy Indian mangoes. It’s a brilliant opportunity for both sides. Hmmm...that sounds good but why did you make us wait for so long? (Laughs) We are sorry to make you wait, that is the best I can say. Actually when the barrier (which stated that no bike of 800cc and above will be allowed to be imported in India) was lifted in 2007, it was only then that H-D could start investing in the strategy. We wanted to do things right, have a long term strategy and come here with some gusto. And now you see it being fulfilled.
Was it difficult to meet the Indian norms? How do you like our tax and duty structure? We applaud the Indian government for having the foresight to choose an international standard like the EURO 3. This way manufactures have to meet one standard in their drive cycle and they can sell their products internationally and customers can also benefit because they don’t have to pay an additional cost for R&D. We already meet the requirements, as we are selling bikes in Europe. As far as the tax structure goes, that’s going to be difficult. I politely disagree with the government’s take on it because they can’t argue that it is a protectionist rule since there are no domestic 800cc manufacturer and above segment. So, what’s happening is that Indian enthusiasts are being deprived of access to heavyweight motorcycling. We hope that we can help continue to fight that battle and if we can’t work it out with the government, we have to do it through our pricing strategy.
Actor Dino Morea and a bunch of lucky owners went cruising on the first lot of Harleys in New Delhi
We wonder how do the front number plates and the saree guards look on a Harley. We have 12 Harleys registered in Delhi and they do have fairly robust license plates (laughs) for the RTO. This is okay because in some cases it fits nicely on the front forks. As far as the saree guard is concerned, what we found during the homogenization was that the heavyweight motorcycles seem to have been forgiven that feature mainly because it’s not particularly safe for a
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FIRST RIDE DURO & RODEO
Tale of two
Mahindra adds two new scooters to its portfolio. Ajay 56
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scooters
Joyson brings you an exclusive first impression October 2009
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BIKE ADVENTURE ALPS on A KTM
THE DUKE OF ALPS Two countries, twenty-three mountain passes, the mighty Alps and one great motorcycle. Bunny Punia pens down memories from a seven day trip astride the KTM 990 SMT
Preface Having toured India extensively, I often wondered how it would be to explore other countries especially the European nations on two wheels. I had heard a lot about the jaw dropping views, the majestic Alps, the butter smooth curvy roads and of course, the beautiful ladies of the West. What follows on these pages is a result of months of planning with immense help from the guys at KTM. Read on as I travel for an entire week across the Austrian and Italian Alps on a motorcycle that couldn’t have been a better companion – the new KTM 990 SMT.
Solden: 5th night
Corvara: 3rd night
Livigno: 4th night
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Mattighofen - KTM Factory
Zell Am See : 1st & 6th night
Arabba: 2nd night
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SHOOTOUT MUSCLE BIKES
DISSECTION
Take 979kg of plastics and alloys, 5223cc of capacity, 402.96bhp of power and 442Nm of torque and you
From left: V-Rod, Vmax and Rocket III prepare to do battle at Bruntingthorpe
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OF POWER
have three very serious motorcycles. Going extremely fast couldn’t be easier, could it? By Trevor Franklin
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First Ride Modded FZ-S
FZ gets a boost BIKE India Editor and his brother team up to design an exhaust system to juice up the FZ Story: Adhish Alawani Photography: Sanjay Raikar
The disc brake at the rear is the same unit from the P220 and aids braking to a good extent
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The exhaust system is not very loud and gives a great performance in the higher revs
T
he Yamaha FZ 16/FZ-S is one amazing street fighter. It has a low end grunt which every enthusiast loves in the urban scenario. Flicking the bike around the city chaos and getting the torque from the engine with a slight wring of the right wrist makes it the perfect urban tool. But then, the bike lacks a bit in the higher revs. A biker is not going to be riding in the city all the time. He will sneak out on weekends and do some highway runs. It goes without saying that he will also head towards the mountain roads where the FZ will do uphill climbs around the bends of the ghat sections. This is where the bike suffers a bit. It is strong enough till 5000 revs but after that it becomes a bit tough for the bike to match the expectations of an aficionado. To solve this very issue and make the biker
With the least amount of hesitation, the bike revs more in each gear giving a better top speed in every gear. this finally reflects in the top speed of the bike happy anywhere and everywhere he travels, BIKE India Editor Aspi Bhathena and his brother Sheri Bhathena sat down to design a free flow exhaust system. After tackling quite a few things, a completely new exhaust system was made which included the bend pipe as well as the end canister. The front bend pipe has been given a proper tuned length. The end can, unlike a regular free flow exhaust, has a specific degree and a newly calculated diameter and volume. This
has resulted in a uniquely customized system that, as we expected, performs much better than the stock one. It definitely impressed me once I rode the bike up and down the Dehu Road stretch. Pinning the throttle, the rev counter showed the needle going all the way past the redline and that too pretty freely. The engine didn’t feel stressed at any time throughout the rev range. In fact once past 5000rpm, unlike the stock FZ, the bike with the custom exhaust revs more happily. With the least amount of hesitation, the bike revs more in each gear giving a better top speed in every gear and this finally reflects in the top speed of the bike. To gauge the difference in the performance of the new exhaust and the stock one, we carried the stock exhaust along as well. Testing the same FZ with two different exhaust systems back-to-back left us with baffling results. The data recorded by our testing equipment showed that the stock bike managed 0-60km/h in 6.5 seconds where as the one with the free flow exhaust crossed the same mark in merely 5.2 seconds. (The figures of the stock bike are different from the one we tested earlier since this was a used bike and tested in a different environment than the one that we rode during our road test). Even the top speed of the FZ has gone up considerably from 110km/h (true) to 114.7 km/ h (true). While delivering the performance, the sound level has also been kept as low as possible for the free flow exhaust. Though it is louder than the stock one, it is not at all annoying for the rider, the pillion or the people around them on the road and in the neighbourhood. Apart from the performance gain achieved on the FZ, another modification has been done to the bike giving it a better braking ability. The rear disc break unit from the Pulsar 220 has been installed on the bike to improve the overall braking at higher speeds.
Prakash Kunthe lent his bike to Sheri Bhathena and Aspi Bhathena to carry out the exhaust operation on the FZ-S
For further details and to buy one of these for your very own FZ, contact: Prakash Kunthe +91 9822442911 Sheri Bhathena +91 9850057477 Pramod +91 9422080811
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