Triumph Motors to set up bike assembly plant in Karnataka

UK-based premium bike-maker Triumph Motorcycles has zeroed in on the southern State of Karnataka for its local assembly plant, which may start well within a year. It had previously held talks with States such as Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra for the same.

Its third such facility globally after the UK and Thailand, the Indian plant will help Triumph price its models more competitively in the world's second-largest two wheeler market. This strategy follows another niche player, Harley-Davidson's, which started similar operations at a facility in Haryana last year.

Triumph signed a memorandum of understanding with the Karnataka Government about a month back, an official close to the development told Business Line. One of the pre-requisites for the location had been proximity to a port for both importing completely knocked-down (CKD) kits and later exporting bikes, if required.

“About 40 acres of land has been identified by the company at Narasapur (Kolar district) on the Bangalore-Chennai highway. This is about 50 km from Honda's upcoming motorcycle plant,” the official said.

The brand, which launched itself in India at the Auto Expo in January, is looking to assemble the Bonneville, Street Triple, Speed Triple and Daytona 675 models locally. Later, it may consider full manufacturing as well.

“We are gearing up to commence our Indian operations at the earliest. Of the seven motorcycles that will be entering the market, we will be assembling four of our bike models in India. We will be looking at setting up the CKD assembly facility in a propitious location,” the company said in a reply to emailed queries.

Starting from July, up to four dealerships will be appointed in 2012, with a target of around 12 outlets within the next three years. Triumph's local headquarters will likely be in Delhi, sources said.

“While the plant would take around a year to come up, the bike models would be launched earlier to build excitement around the brand. Though initially imported as fully-built units, the pricing will be kept on the lower side keeping in mind the reduced costs after local assembly starts,” a source said.

Premium bike-makers present in India include Ducati and BMW Motorrad, apart from high-end models from Suzuki, Yamaha and Honda and Korean player Hyosung. Starting from around Rs 5 lakh and going up to around Rs 45 lakh, most of these models are imported into the country.
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Yamaha planning to launch 250cc motorcycle in India

Yamaha Motors India has determined the potential of 250cc sports bike in the Indian market and has planned to manufacture a 250cc sports bike locally. When a vehicle is manufactured locally, it attracts zero import duty, thereby allowing the firm to price the product reasonably. When a motorcycle is assembled, it will attract a 30% duty, which will of course be collected from the customers by increasing the price tag. Kawasaki Ninja 250R is one such bike in India which is assembled here, which when compared to the price of locally manufactured CBR250R is very high.

We earlier mentioned in our article of upcoming motorcycle launches in 2012 that Yamaha may launch its 250cc motorcycle in India. According to news reported by Business Standard, the company is now planning to manufacture its 250cc motorcycle in India which is schedule to launch in this year.
HMSI has been clocking an average of 3,000 units of CBR250R every month, which is local made. When the Yamaha’s adversary, Honda, has gained the success in the 250cc sports bike category, the firm obviously should not shy away from launching a product in the same segment.

The firm has collected feedback from customers who already possess a 250cc sports bike in India. They feel that there is still a lot of scope for improvement in their 250cc bike which could make it a perfect sports bike. Yamaha is studying the market condition and requirement by the book.
Yamaha already sells Fazer 250 in several foreign countries. The question is, whether they will launch the Fazer 250 or design a new bike especially to cater the Indian market.

Roy Kurian, national business head, India Yamaha Motor, said, “The market for 250cc is growing and we are studying that. There are a couple of models in that segment and people are upgrading to 250cc bikes. We will do 100 per cent localization of that bike”.

It doesn’t make any sense in speculating the R25 without any official news from the firm. We’ll keep you updated on this, so keep visiting bikoholic.com
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New Suzuki Inazuma 250 to debut in India by second half 2012.

 The Japanese motor expert Suzuki is planning for an entry in the premium sports bike market of India by debuting its New Suzuki Inazuma 250cc by second half  2012. Suzuki with its Indian partner Maruti has a good market in Indian car markets, but hasn't created an impact in the two wheel category. Being a tough competitor for its fellow Japanese rivals Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha in foreign soils, Suzuki has decided deliver the same same in India too.

Suzuki was expected to bring in the GW250 to India, but the latest reports suggest that the auto major will introduce the Inazuma 250cc bike in India which looks ninety percent similar to the GW250. Well, there has not been much of details about the Inazuma 250cc floating in the net but the hint that it is similar to the GW250 has helped us in guess works.

The Suzuki Inazuma 250 is naked which gives us a good picture of its power house, the engine. Like the GW250, Suzuki Inazuma 250 will have a DOHC 250cc parallel twin engine. The peak power and torque capacities of the vehicles aren't known yet. As of now,  GW250's maximum power of 26 Bhp and 24 Nm of torque is expected to be delivered by the Inazuma 250.

Suzuki  brings its Inazuma 250 as a direct competitor to Honda CBR 250 ,Kawasaki Ninja and the recently launched Hyosung Comet GT 250R.
Though being a late contender in the sports commuter category in India, Suzuki will have an EDGE over its two existing rivals Honda and Kawasaki. If Suzuki manages to fix a price that falls below Honda CBR 250R and Kawasaki Ninja 250R, combat would become all the more interesting. Suzuki will bring the Inazuma 250 as the premium sports bike in India and entry level sports bike in foreign markets.

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Garware Hyosung to launch the GT250R COMET and GV650 Cruiser in May 2012.

With the Indian biking segment getting more and more fierce , the two wheeler market is opening up to performance oriented machines .The reason this segment is gaining momentum is because it has been received well among both motorcycle enthusiasts .Recently we had the launch of KTM Duke 200 in this month to spice up the 250cc battle and now its the Garware-Hyosung joint venture.

Recently we had notified you guys about the future plans from Hysoung for the Indian market and now here it is.  Hyosung is going to launch the GT250R  COMET and  GV650 Cruiser in May 2012 . This is really a good news for Bike enthusiasts who now have more option to choose from in the 200-250cc segment .
Previously there were speculations that Hyosung might launch the GV250 Cruiser as well but now they have restricted themselves to two launches as of now .

In the past  Hyosung who had launched the Comet 250 many years ago in India, through Kinetic Engineering Limited, which imported a limited number of these motorcycles for the Indian market and now they are again making a re-entry with a joint venture with Garware Motors .

Now , as far as the GT250R COMET is concerned it will be assembled in the company's Wai assembling plant located near Pune .The super-bike has been modified for the Indian roads in order to get the ARAI certification. Noise reduction, saree guard inclusion and other changes have been made to get the certification done.The bike looks very much similar to the GT650R just that the specifications change, so the exteriors remain the same but its totally a different body inside

The Hyosung GT250R is powered by 249 cc V-twin, DOHC fuel injected engine which is capable of producing 28bhp of power at 10,000Rpm and 22.68Nm of torque at 8000Rpm. With an overall weight of 171kgs, Hyosung GT250R can reach a top speed of s175 kmph.

Now the most important aspect , the pricing of the bike . It is speculated to be around INR 2- 2.4 lakhs . It is priced in between the Honda CBR250R and Kawasaki Nina 250R .

Now lets move on to the other launch by Hyosung , the GV 650 Cruiser .

The 2012 Garware Hyosung GV650 cruiser will be powered by a 650cc, V-twin engine and a five speed gearbox. The DOHC, 8 valve, liquid cooled engine generates peak power of  70 Bhp and 60 Nm of maximum torque. The GV650 cruiser is expected to be at aprice of INR 5 lakhs.

Suspension : Upside-down telescopic forks (front), twin shocks (rear)
Brakes : 300 mm disc (front), 270 mm (rear)
Weight : 230 kgs

The GV 650 has a good chance in this cruiser segment which is dominated by Royal Enfield in the lower range and Harley Davison in the upper range since we will have a 2 to 6 lakhs cruiser bike in India .

Garware Hyosung, which has not yet made a big impact in the Indian bike market, has a meaty chance to do is with the GT 250R  COMET and GV650 Cruiser .
After the successful launch of these two motorcycles Hyosung is also planning to launch the naked version of GT250R  COMET and GV 250 Cruiser .

To know more about the GV650 and V250 Cruisers click HERE  and
To know more about the Technical Specifications of the COMET GT250R click HERE 

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Buddh International Circuit to open for general public on 22nd April, 2012

Always had a dream to drive on a Formula One race track ??
To quench your thirst for speed , to push your vehicle to its limits then this is the right time to do so !!!
Buddh International Circuit is set to host the first of six Open Track Days on April 22, which will let the general public take a joyride in their cars and bikes at the circuit .

The Buddh International Circuit is an Indian motor racing circuit in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India, near Delhi. The circuit is best known as the venue for the annual Formula One Indian Grand Prix, which was first hosted in 2011.

The circuit is roughly 5.14 kilometres and is be designed by F1 circuit designer Hermann Tilke. The track is spread in an area of 875 acres. The initial seating capacity is  around 150,000.The sprawling circuit is a part of Jaypee Green Sports city and will also be used for hosting one or more rounds of Moto GP championships in the year 2012.

There will be six track days every year , first of which takes place on 22nd April ,  there will be three sessions for cars and one will be kept aside solely for bike-riders. But its not that you get your vehicle and zip around the circuit , you need to get yourself registered first since they have restricted the total number of people per session to 30 . So in all 120 Race Enthusiast get a chance to drive on the BIC per day .

Most importantly about the cost of the session  , it has been pegged around INR 8,500 per session for Car drivers , we would also like to mention that there are some introductory offers as well . If u want to spin around the track for three session then BIC is offering a discounted price of  INR 20,000 .

As far as the Bike riders are concerned ,  the charges have been pegged at INR 6,000 for a session .The Open Track Day will be between 7am and 6pm and every session is going to last for about 3 hours . Buddh International Circuit is well connected via all means of transport , so reaching there is not an issue at all .

So what are you guys waiting for ???
The registration for the first track day is open and the forms are now available on the below given link .
Jaypee Sports website.

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2012 KTM duke 200 Powerparts and Power Wear Accessories .

KTM, the famous Austrian bike maker, along with Bajaj recently launched their street bike, Duke 200, in India. Indian KTM representatives felt that there is demand for the bike in some of the tier II and tier III cities and are planning to establish the dealership in such cities very soon.

Young bike enthusiasts expect a complete biking experience from the company. Apart from the machines, KTM is also famous for its wide range of merchandise and apparels in countries where KTM bikes are already sold. In order to expand the business and generate brand awareness in India, Bajaj Auto Limited, the country’s second-largest two-wheeler maker, is all set to power its newly-launched Duke 200 – a naked style street fighter motorcycle from its Austrian partner KTM’s stable – with the launch of KTM's Power Parts and Power Wear accessories and merchandise .

The Duke 200 has a range of accessories, right from the likes of the visual mods like stickers and headlight masks to the more serious stuff like petal disc brakes and the Akrapovic free flow exhaust but in India KTM dealers only have visual mods rather than the performance oriented stuffs .

Regarding the price of the KTM Duke 200 powerparts ,the visual mods like sticker sets will cost you around INR 1,000 , that according to us is on a higher side . If the visual mods are priced so high , then imagine the cost of performance oriented parts like Akrapovic exhaust and petal disc brakes .

We must say KTM have found a great way to advertise their brand .
What better way to get free advertisement than selling company branded merchandise. The merchandise should be available in your nearest KTM Store .

The 200 cc plus premium motorcycle market has been heating in the country with several global makers aiming the space with new launches , all the machines are good performers but the key to tighten your grip in the Indian Market is the competitive pricing of the bikes .
The battle is on and its going to get fierce as 250cc segment is going to heat up further with the release of Hyosung GT250R in the month of May .

KTM Duke 200 Powerparts and Power Wear Accessories .

                           

                         
image courtesy

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KTM to bring ' STREET BIKES '

Europe’s second largest motorcycle manufacturer KTM has launched KTM 200 Duke in India, through its association with Bajaj, and has outlined plans to bring in more models including a ‘Street bike’.

“The response to the introduction of the bike known for its rustic features and yet refinement, has been very encouraging. There is also demand for these bikes in tier II and III cities, where we plan to grow the dealerships from 32 now,” representatives of KTM said. Currently, KTM, Yamaha and Honda are offering bikes in this category.But looking at the response , KTM is soon going to get these competitors down !!

“The KTM brand has a wide range of accessories and parts that go well with bike lovers. As a part of expanding the business in India, we are set to bring in these merchandise, including jackets, gloves and helmets,” Mr Prakhar said.

Mr Amit Pawar, Zonal Manager of Bajaj Auto Ltd, said: "The aspirations of young bike lovers is changing and their expectations too. They now want all the features of naked bike in a regular street bike. This means, we will have to offer them what they want with new models.”

Naked bike is a motorcycle with rugged looks where most of the engine and other parts are visible. In the case of a street bike, most of the parts are covered and well protected.

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Hero MotoCorp in Talks on Possible Ducati Acquisition.

Just a couple of weeks ago, we had informed you that Iconic Italian motorcycle maker Ducati is up for sale , possibly considering Volkswagen and BMW as potential suitors. Then a week ago, up pops Hero MotoCorp in a deal with Erik Buell Racing, showing they have intentions beyond the small displacement motorcycles they're currently known for. Now, in what has to be one of the more surprising developments in all of this, word is out that Hero MotoCorp is talking to bankers about a possible acquisition of Ducati. Wow! I guess they really are trying to expand into another market.

"We’ve been seen as a utility-bike maker, fuel-efficient bikes, and somebody who’s at the lower level of the market, who’s more small-town and rural-market focused," said Munjal. "So our ambition is to become one of the biggest global two- wheeler players and to do that, you cannot only be in one small segment"

This may be very preliminary and no one is going to be talking about it outside the boardrooms where the discussions are taking place, but what is becoming clear is many more buyers may be getting into this game than everyone initially thought.

Ducati currently sells a range of motorcycles in India including the Ducati Monster, the Ducati Hypermotard, the Ducati 848, the Ducati 1098 and the Ducati Diavel. Ducati sells over 40,000 motorcycles across the globe and has been in existence for over  86 years. Bologna headquartered Ducati has had a series of owners in the past. Meanwhile, here is official word regarding this development from Andrea Bonomi, Invest industrial’s chairman,

Ducati is now a perfect company but the further growth it requires needs the support of a world-class industrial partner. This year, we will work towards that partner. A handful of industrial groups in Asia, Europe and the US were interested in Ducati

 Let's see, a company manufacturing motorcycles in Italy, with its largest market in the USA and owned by a company in India. Would it be any different if they were owned by a company in Germany? Does any of this even matter any more? Hero MotoCorp certainly wouldn't be the first name to pop up when you think of a Ducati sale, but it does make you wonder who else may be interested in the Italian manufacturer.
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Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500 to be launched in the first half of 2012 !

Royal Enfield, which is known for its masculinity, is said  to be working on the release of 500cc Thunderbird . Royal Enfield’s solitary launch for 2012 will be the Thunderbird 500, a motorcycle that wowed show goers at the Indian Auto Expo by literally being the showstopper at the Royal Enfield pavilion.

The Thunderbird 500 has been perhaps one of the most anticipated offering from the Royal Enfield stable considering that the Thunderbird 350 has been doing yeoman service for the last ten years. The Thunderbird has built for itself a reputation of being a comfortable touring motorcycle and is often the first choice amongst the Royal Enfield models for touring enthusiasts. The Thunderbird has earned itself the reputation of a capable highway tourer and established itself firmly in the cruiser market. The Thunderbird broke away from the mould of Royal Enfield’s traditional motorcycles and redefined a new lineup. In that direction, the new Thunderbird has come as fresh motorcycle.



Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500cc Price in India:

Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500cc is expected to be priced around Rs 1.6 – 1.9 lakh.

Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500cc is expected to be released  in the first half of 2012. Though there are no official confirmations from the company, it is believed that the price and launch date will be the same as mentioned.

With bullet lovers increasing gradually for its style and engine, the new Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500cc is expected to get a warm welcome among the bike lovers.  The bike is said to be featured with Classic’s 500cc UCE engine with EFI.The fuel injected, twin spark 500cc unit construction engine produces a peak power of 27.2 Bhp and delivers a prodigious peak torque of 41.3 Nm. The engine is mated to a five speed gearbox and uses maintenance free hydraulic tappets.


Fast Facts About Thunderbird 500 :

- It now comes loaded with a 500cc Unit Construction Engine (UCE).


- Night time visibility has been the biggest challenge faced by most motorcyclists while cruising on the high hence the new headlight with a 55w projector lamp for its low beam and a 55W halogen bulb for the high  beam addresses that issue. The lighting is at its brightest with the high beam on, working in combination with the projector lamp giving ample spread and penetration on the road.


- The ergonomics are now oriented to the cruiser character of the motorcycle. The seat has been completely redesigned to suit the new foot pegs position. The handle bar too has received changes for better reach and ergonomics.


- Stopping power has been aided with the addition of a disc brake at the rear. The braking system is supplied by Bybre, a fully owned subsidiary of Brembo.

For latest news and previews about Royal Enfield Click Here

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Garware Hyosung 250cc to debut in India by first half 2012

Garware-Hyosung will launch its 250cc motorcycle in India, probably the Hyosung GT250R in, by 2012. Garware motors in collaboration with JV Partners SV Motors will bring in the the Hyosung GT250R to India along with the Garware-Hyosung GT650R. Hyosung GT250R will be assembled in the company's Wai assembling plant located near Pune

The super-bike has been modified for the Indian roads in order to get the ARAI certification. Noise reduction, saree guard inclusion and other changes have been made to get the certification done.

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YOSHIMURA EXHAUST SYSTEM FOR YAMAHA R15 and FZ16.

Yoshimura Japan Co Ltd exhibited their exhaust systems on the Yamaha R15 and the Yamaha FZ16.

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Triumph makes its Indian debut

UK's iconic motorcycle company Triumph launched seven of its models at the 2012 Auto Expo in New Delhi.

One of the most iconic motorcycle marquees in the world, Triumph Motorcycles from UK announced its entry into the Indian two-wheeler space at the 11th Auto Expo held in New Delhi. One of the first British motorcycle companies to enter the Indian market in recent times, Triumph introduced seven models from four of its families consisting of streetbikes, super-sports, adventure and power-cruisers.

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