contributors Sarmad Kadiri SHOOTOUT PULSAR 135 vs RIVALS
HONDA CBF STUNNER The trendy 125cc city commuter gets a snazzy facelift and looks more ‘stunning’ than ever before
BAJAJ PULSAR 135 LS This new kid on the block is tagged as LS (Light Sport) which could well have been ‘Lethally Styled’
HONDA UNICORN The most well-sorted 150cc in India that has set the benchmark for refinement across segments
To Bike India Issue 055 February 2010 This month, the team at BIKE India has been extremely busy with the Auto Expo and the Bike of the Year awards. The Auto Expo was a bit of a letdown as far as two-wheelers were concerned. After all the launches in the end of November and December, there were no new two-wheelers unveiled by any of the major manufacturers except the Calcutta based two-wheeler maker, Vibgyor that showed three new motorcycles. Harley-Davidson too had a big display with twelve different models. TVS also showcased an Indian made hybrid scooter. The real highlight of the show was the appearance of the nine time world motorcycle racing champion, Valentino Rossi. Yamaha flew in Rossi for two days and that sent all his fans into a state of frenzy. In fact, there was a small skirmish between the security personnel and some over enthusiastic photographers. One of the biggest problems at the
Expo were the photographers who did not give a damn about anybody else and it was more or less impossible to cover the press conferences. I have been to a lot of shows all over the world, but have not seen this sort of behaviour anywhere else. I think we Indians need to get a hold of ourselves and behave in a more civilized manner and not make a fool of ourselves in front of the world. The NDTV Profit and CAR India and BIKE India awards ceremony was well attended by the auto
Yamaha flew in Rossi for two days and that sent all his fans into a state of frenzy industry and was also graced by some of the industry bigwigs. This year, the Automobile Man of the Year award was presented to Mr. Pawan Munjal and the Two-wheeler Manufacturer of the Year was Hero Honda for their fantastic performance in difficult times. The prestigious Two-wheeler of the Year honour was bestowed upon the Kawasaki Ninja 250R.
An Indian at a sushi party Does the lightweight Pulsar have the right mix of spices to tingle the commuter’s taste buds? Or will they still prefer the Japanese offerings? Words: Sarmad Kadiri Photography: Sanjay Raikar
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Our in-house foodie, Sarmad is the man responsible for online operations including handling the websites as well as social networking groups for BIKE India. His first major road test comes in the form of the Pulsar 135 comparison which he not only handled perfectly, but also delivered with his typical, witty one- liners to make it a very interesting read. Our news section wouldn’t be complete without his regular inputs.
Adhish Alawani AUTO EXPO 2010
SOFTAIL: Powerful and torquey cruiser with a rigid look
: T ROD NIGH most y’s Harle offering rful powe
HARLEY-DAVIDSON SETUP A FEAST FOR MOTORCYCLE enthusiasts visiting the Auto Expo. Not only did the American marque surprise everyone by bringing in as many as 12 different models from the basic five families of the entire Harley-Davidson range, but they also stunned prospective buyers with a price range affordable for a wide variety of consumers. The Harley-Davidson brand comes with a rich heritage and the company plans to charm the Indian customer with the same legacy. As a result, we see various models from each of the five families namely Sportster, Dyna, Softail, V-Rod and Touring making their entry into the Indian market. The basic XL 883L Sportster happens to be the cheapest of the lot with a price tag of Rs 6.95 lakh (ex-showroom). The prices climb up gradually all the way to Rs 21.95 lakh (ex-showroom) for the Street Glide. Apart from these basic five families, the firm has also introduced the Custom Vehicle Operation motorcycle or simply the CVO in the form of the Ultra Classic Electra Glide. To talk a bit about the CVOs, these are machines custom designed by a team working closely with Harley- Davidson and the team is responsible for creating a certain number of CVOs every year. The Ultra Classic Electra Glide will be the most expensive offering from Harley-Davidson and will be priced at Rs 34.95 lakh (ex-showroom). The variety of machines offered by Harley makes sure that the consumer gets a huge range of options. Not only that, with the price range starting from as low as Rs 6.95 lakh, it is going to be easier for a larger number of people to purchase their dream machines. What’s more, the company’s dealerships will also sell Harley-Davidson merchandise for hardcore fans. Time to cruise, Hogs?
ELECTRA GLIDE CUSTOM: The best Harley you can have
with subtle cruiser r DYNA: The Harley characte authentic
XR12 00X: Who said can’ t mak Harley e spor ty mac hine s?
FINANCE OPTIONS Harley-Davidson has tied up with ICICI to provide brilliant finance options for their motorcycles. With a minimum down payment of as much as 15 percent of the vehicle cost and a tenure for a period of five years, you can get the XL 883L Sportster for a down payment of close to Rs 1.2 lakh with an EMI of around Rs 13,000. The fantastic finance option laid down by ICICI is further going to boost sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles and make it much easier to own these machines than most of the imported bikes available in the country.
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The Auto Expo is always a big deal for the Indian market as well as our readers. Doing most of the honours of penning down the interesting stuff from two wheels to two legs was Adhish. If there was a bike to be mentioned, he has it done it and how. An avid MotoGP follower and stunt freak, he also gave great company to Bunny on the adventurous Pune-Delhi ride on Superbikes namely, the Hayabusa and the CB1000R.
VARUN KULKARNI AUTO EXPO 2010
A lineup of single machines outside horsepower the Maidan
and its food n for stalls i is know n food Delh the doze e henc
The students’ road safety march for safe driving and riding
The Auto Expo isn’t just about twowheels or four for that matter. It goes without saying that both two wheels and two legs are an attraction for the young at heart and almost every twowheeler manufacturer had glowing beauties parked, err, standing with their products or at the counter desk. Here is a little compilation from BIKE India as a tribute and salute to these damsels. All of them took the physical, and in Delhi’s case, the mental agony of standing, posing, smiling or simply trying to answer the never ending questions by the crowd. Cheers to these unsung heroines.
We electric bike? a few Santosh, The world’s smallest and its maker, featured this the magazine issues back in
Hond a safe had their riding as wellown little as stun open air spac t sessi e for ons
Notice something
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upside down?
THERE IS MORE TO THE AUTO EXPO THAN JUST NEW LAUNCHES AND CONCEPT MACHINES
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Highly talented albeit a little eccentric, Varun Kulkarni was bombarded with so much work this month that he (almost) stopped picking on the girl in the BI headquarters. Nonetheless, all were impressed with Varun’s creativity in designing our Auto Expo feature, although he did spend too much time on the images on page 83. To prove his dedication, this guy even stopped playing FB games and tagged along to chillingly cold Delhi with the editorial team.