Honda Dream Yuga launched at a price of INR 44,642.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India has jumped to spot number two by overtaking TVS in January and February and now Bajaj Auto in the recent monthly sales chart .Their next target being Hero Motocorp which is way ahead of all these companies in sales .Honda has long seen the commuter segment being the backyard of Hero Motocorp , that's why this time instead of launching any high displacement bikes Honda has decided to launch their 110cc Dream Yuga at a price of INR 44,642.

Honda's Dream Yuga is a motorcycle which will enhance the joy of riding with style.In the heart of Dream Yuga is a 110cc engine which generates 9 BHP Power at 7,500 rpm. Dream Yuga has one of the longest seats in category to ensure superior riding comfort in long rides.

With viscous air filter, MF battery and Tubeless tyres (optional Tuff-up Tube), Dream Yuga is the Most Maintenance Free bike in mass motorcycle category.

Attractive and Unique graphics enhances the bike’s style. Dream Yuga offers best in class mileage of 72Km/Liter. It’s tough frame, strong grab rail and stylish alloy wheels provide higher reliability & value for money to the customer.

The Dream Yuga will compete against the likes of Hero Passion and the recently launched Suzuki Hayate which are around the same price tag .
The heat is only growing in the two-wheeler industry and Honda is increasing it further.

The Dream Yuga 110 is available in three variants, with the base version selling for INR 44,642(ex-showroom Delhi), the mid version for INR 46,134(ex-showroom Delhi) and the top end variant selling for INR 48,125 (ex-showroom Delhi)

That’s good news to the customers who will now get more value for money products at a lower price.

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Japan's Yamaha Motor Co to set up a Third Plant in Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu is emerging as a hot spot for investors with various automobile companies such as Nissan, BMW, Hyundai, Ford, Daimler already operating there . TVS and Royal Enfield also have major plants set up in Tamil Nadu . Now there has been a report in  Business Standard that Japanese two-wheeler giant Yamaha is understood to have finalised a location in Tamil Nadu to set up its third facility in India to expand its operations.

Yamaha  has shortlisted Tamil Nadu out of three states, including Karnataka and Maharashtra, and will sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by May this year.

Yamaha is now trying to ramp up its operations in India in order to compete with its peers like Honda and Suzuki but also the top two-wheeler makers like Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj .
We recently saw Honda marching past Bajaj in terms of monthly sales , Yamaha also needs to ramp up its production to compete with them .

The company plans to invest Rs 800 crore in the next two years on capacity enhancement,the new plant is said to be fully functional till 2014 after which company sales in India  might increase upto 10 lakh unit against the 3.3 lakh unit in 2011 .

Yamaha Motor currently has two manufacturing units at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh and Faridabad in Haryana and produces motorcycles for both domestic and export markets. In the current year, the company hopes to clock sales of 4.5 lakh units and 6.5 lakh units next year in India.

After launching successful series of Yamaha bikes in Indian bike market, Yamaha is going to make its entry in scooter market of India with the all new Yamaha Ray .
The Yamaha Ray concept scooter, which will be the first scooter offering from the Japanese brand for the Indian market, could be launched before the Indian festive season of Diwali 2012.

To know more about Yamaha Ray Scooter click HERE

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Hero Motocorp Partners up with Erik Buell Racing

Hero MotoCorp, the world's largest two-wheeler maker, will buy a minority stake in US motorcycle firm Erik Buell Racing (EBR) for an undisclosed amount.

"We have a flexible free-flowing pact with EBR, which would be developed into a equity partnership," Hero MotoCorp MD and CEO Pawan Munjal said. The move is aimed at securing uninterrupted technological support from the US racing motorcycle maker once associated with iconic brand Harley-Davidson.

After Hero parted ways with Japanese major Honda, its partner for 27 years, last year, industry watchers had identified lack of cutting-edge technology as the biggest challenge for the Indian firm to hold on to its leadership position in the market. Hero had last week announced a technology tie-up with EBR, its first partnership after splitting with Honda.

By buying a stake, Hero can have a higher say in the US marquee firm and use the partnership to get a foothold in overseas markets. As we turn global, which is our long cherished aim, EBR is a strategic fit that will help us gain traction in overseas markets," Munjal said.

He refused to give the financial details of the deal . The overseas investment ,likely to happen early next fiscal, will be a step forward for the cash-rich company in its effort to get out of the shadow of Honda, which has become one of its toughest rivals in the domestic market after the March split.


Hero sells over six million twowheelers every year in India where it holds 56% market share. Under the joint-venture agreement with Honda, Munjals-owned Hero was restrained from exporting vehicles.

"We would look forward to have both technological alliance and partnership with Hero Moto-Corp in the future," EBR chief promoter Erik Buell said, adding, "A marriage would lead to huge synergies in the long-term." EBR has an annual capacity of 15,000 units. Hero has not ruled out more such partnerships.

"We are open to all options as we move into being a diversified automotive company," Munjal had said last week. While Hero was restrained from tapping foreign markets, other Indian two-wheeler makers, such as Bajaj Auto, have made successful forays overseas. Bajaj, which started as a minority shareholder in Austria's KTM, is now its biggest overseas investor with 40% stake.

After the collapse of the Honda JV, Hero has started setting up sales and distribution channels cross Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia for its motorcycles and scooters.

The Munjal-family that owns 52% stake in the company plans to increase its exposure to overseas market which it wasn't allowed until 2010 by Honda that operates 28 motorcycle production bases in 21 countries (as of April 2011) globally.

Hero is largely India based entity with over 98% of its sales limited to the domestic market. The ownership in the American company is expected to enable Hero to develop fresh technology and churn out new products faster as it compete with its erstwhile ally Honda amongst others.
via

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DUCATI UP FOR SALE; INTERESTED SUITORS INCLUDE MAHINDRA, BMW AND VOLKSWAGEN!

Iconic Italian motorcycle maker Ducati is up for sale and its current owners are asking 1 billion pounds or USD 1.6 billion dollars for the motorcycle company, which is regarded as the Ferrari of the two wheeled world for its high performance and cutting edge motorcycle range. Interestingly, Mercedes Benz’s name does not appear anywhere in the suitor list for Ducati, even though the German automaker has a co-operative agreement with Ducati. The sale could happen over the next one year as Ducati needs cash to fund future growth and this is the reason being given by its current owners, Investindustrial Holdings.

At the current expected price of 1.6 Billion USD, Investindustrial Holdings will make thrice as much money that it originally invested in the Italian motorcycle brand.

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Royal Enfield might launch Bullet 1000cc and 750cc.

One of the best bike producing brands in India, Royal Enfield is ready to launch its heavy powered 1000cc and 750cc motorcycles in India by this year. Currently they only produce two motorcycles of 350cc and 500cc with different variants. Bullet 350cc and 500cc has been the favorites of several bikes in India as well as abroad due to its heavy and strong look as well as great power and handling abilities. These currently available bullet models cost around Rs.1Lakh to 1.5 lakhs but the upcoming powerful bikes are gonna be priced well around Rs.5 to 7 lakhs. If you need more power, its obvious that you will have to spend more money as well.

Royal Enfield has said that they will be launching bikes by second half 2012. As of now they are designing the motorcycle, so that it suits well with a heavy cc engine. These bikes are going to be manufactured in India only. One of the main reasons for bullet going into higher capacity bikes is that several other companies have launched powerful bikes and many people do buy them. And thus they planned to come into the game by launching higher capacity bikes and compete with brands like BMW, Suzuki, Harley Davidson, etc. And people would go for Royal Enfiled bikes as they know it from the beginning and being manufactured in India, it would be easy to get parts and get it serviced as well. Even price of parts would be lesser than other brands available in India.

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Why Do I Ride..??

Soul Searching the reason for "Riding" the Motorcycle..

• Being one with nature
• Like the feel of wind in my hair
• Gives a sense of freedom

These are some of the esoteric cliches that I often hear when someone is quizzed "Why do you ride..??" To me, the above reasons actually sound more like..

• Being one with nature..
  "Get Wet when it rains, Sweat when it's Hot & Freeze when it's Cold."
• Like the feel of wind in my hair..
  "You are not wearing a Helmet."
• Gives a sense of freedom..
  "From depending on Public Transport to get you places."

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Suzuki GSR750 Preview

GSR 750 was launched by the SUZUKI during mid of 2011 for the global market. Suzuki is mostly known for marvellous technologies used in GSX-R and Hayabusa. Few of technologies from GSX are now incorporated in new GSR 750 for better street performance. Let us have a brief journey through some changes those have included on new GSR.

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Polaris highlights at Delhi Auto Expo 2012

Polaris one of the leading manufacturer in the powersports industry sure made their presence felt at the Auto Expo 2012. From showcasing their off road marvels in well planned stalls to actually having an off road setup to show what their machines are capable of and even to the simple basics of enthusiastic stall personnel, they knew what they were doing and they did it well.

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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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Honda CBR250R bags the Indian Motorcycle Of The Year 2012 Award

The Honda’s light weight, stable chassis, and strong brakes mean the CBR250R can tackle out of town
sorties with vigour, while in city traffic its manoeuvrability and single-cylinder economy make it a commuter king.
The Honda CBR250R raises the bar in many aspects with regards to affordable performance motorcycling for the masses complimented by the right safety features. It’s the sort of bike that performance nuts in India had been waiting for, and was amongst the favourites of the jury

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