Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2019 i BIKE India

THE GOVERNMENT AND THE TWO-WHEELER industry are clearly not on the same page so far as the fuel policy is concerned. Two-wheeler manufacturers have invested thousands of crores in setting up world-class manufacturing systems and today manufacture products comparable with the best in the world both in numbers and quality. Exports are also sizeable and rising. Significantly, they have generated a huge amount of employment not only in manufacturing but also in service and maintenance. With Bharat VI, they will be producing the best that fossil fuels can currently deliver in terms of emission. Can all this be put in jeopardy? On the other hand, India has some of the most polluted cities in the world and the government is under great pressure to improve the quality of air in…

Title: Jawa – The Forever Bike! Author: Adil Jal Darukhanawala Publisher: Adil Jal Darukhanawala ISBN: 978-93-5346-252-9 Price: Rs 4,500 JAWA HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE ever-presents on Indian roads since the two-wheeler industry first started taking baby steps. A company of Czech lineage that has occupied a near-reverent corner in the temple of the Indian biking enthusiast and the prime altar of the Jawa and Yezdi owners’ pantheon who worship at its wheels to this day. This book is a painstakingly researched and adoringly crafted testimonial to this seminal brand. Adil Jal Darukhanawala is one of the foremost names in the Indian automotive space and he has lavished this, his latest opus, with all of his storytelling subtlety, drawing on the absolute treasure trove of experience of chronicling India’s automotive…

TRAVELLING TO THE USA TO RIDE THE LATEST product from the biggest bikemaker in these parts, Harley-Davidson, typically means getting ready to go out on wide open roads with a big, burly, chromed-out V-twin with a bad attitude, and an even badder exhaust note. It’s the modern iteration of the Wild, Wild West and there’s a new sheriff in town. But this new bike is a Harley like no other you’ve seen before. There are no floorboards, no ape hangers, no clutch, no gear lever, and no iconic, thumping V-twin either. Nope, this is a brand-new chapter in Bar and Shield history. This isn’t an old Western, this is epic sci-fi adventure set in the far future. This is the LiveWire. An all-new, all-electric behemoth that’s going on sale across…

IT’S FINALLY HERE. TEN YEARS AFTER THE ORIGINAL SHOOK UP THE SUPERBIKE scene and sent other manufacturers back to the drawing board, the 2019 BMW S 1000 RR is finally here. Four years in the making and all new from the ground up, the idea behind this motorcycle was to make it lighter, faster, and easier to ride than the outgoing bike. Did BMW Motorrad succeed in this quest to build a better motorcycle? We head to the Buddh International Circuit a day after the new S 1000 RR’s Indian launch to find out. Let’s get the obvious out of the way first; that distinctive asymmetrical face is sadly now a thing of the past. It has been replaced by a sharp new visage with a pair of small matching…

EVER SINCE THAT TUESDAY IN May 1907, the world witnesses each year the most prestigious and possibly the most dangerous motorcycle road race on earth. The event is held on a stretch of land between England and Ireland, a fearsome affair which we all know as the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy (TT). The TT is now a full-blown spectacle with the race amassing a cult following and making it the most well-known road race in the world. This year the lead-up to the TT had everyone predominantly talking about one thing really: will there be a new lap record that sees the 136-mph (218.87 km/h) barrier broken? This is in part due to Peter Hickman breaking the record on his way to victory last year at 135.45 mph (217.98…

Catalunya is one of the tough races on the calendar. The track itself is demanding on the tyres and riders. But it is indeed a place of many a showdown and never fails to throw in exciting Grand Prix racing. This year strictly kept to tradition and gave us nail-biting action across all classes. MotoGP At the race start, it was Andrea Dovizioso of the Mission Winnow Ducati factory team that led, followed by Maverick Viñales of the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team and Repsol Honda’s world champion, Marc Marquez, in third. Danilo Petrucci on the other factory Ducati and Valentino Rossi on the other Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP kept on the tail of the front three. But there was a surprise that came in the form of a rampaging…

WHEN ASKED WHO WAS MOST LIKELY TO BE successful over the weekend, the 2009 world champion, Ben Spies, said he expected Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) to be the fastest. The legend was right because just as the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli dried out, Rea clinched pole position with a time of 1’34.596. Joining him on the front row were Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) and Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). Surprisingly, the dominant Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) was unable to find his rhythm and qualified in fifth place. Race One The race was delayed by 20 minutes due to inclement weather and officials had to red-flag the race after just a couple of laps. Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was in the lead,…

Indian Soldiers Complete Motorcycle Expedition REMEMBERING THE BRAVERY AND COURAGE of martyrs who laid down their lives during the Kargil War, members of 13 JAK-RIF rode Triumph motorcycles to complete a challenging 1,850-km expedition. The Indian Army soldiers started from Mana Pass in Uttarakhand to Drass War Memorial in Kargil, J&K. This is the 20th anniversary of the Kargil War, a historic event not just for the recapture of peaks by the Indian Army, but also one of the few instances of high-altitude tactical warfare in history. The 13 JAK-RIF is the unit Param Vir Chakra awardee Captain Vikram Batra was a part of. A 14-member team on nine motorcycles, consisting of Triumph Bonnevilles and Triumph Tigers, took about a month to complete this epic ride. The journey started in…

THE YAMAHA MT-15 IS definitely at the stylish end of the 150-to 200-cc naked bike segment and, being a new design in our market, it’s sure to attract attention. But street cred isn’t everything; we want to know if Yamaha India’s entry-level street naked will provide sufficient thrills to throttle-happy young riders who want a bike that not only looks good, but also performs at a level that lives up to the streetfighter tag. I did have a great time riding the MT-15 at the Buddh International Circuit during its launch a few months ago (story in the April 2019 issue of Bike India); however, today is about discovering how the motorcycle performs in the real world: does it have the moxie to match those bold looks? Setting off on…

IN ITS SQUEAKY-CLEAN AVATAR THE XPULSE RADIATES AN AIR OF A THRIFTY explorer’s favourite weapon of fun. Look at the stance offered by the 21-inch front and 18-inch rear wheel combination. With its ready-to-take-on-anything attitude, the styling is best described as “retro classic meets off-road practicality”. A retro, round, full-LED headlamp sits atop the long, spindly, gaiter-clad fork. While illumination is just about average, it does contribute to the Xpulse’s personality. The fuel-tank holds 13 litres; that is two more than the Impulse. At about three-quarters of the tank’s length, the seat begins and extends all the way to the tail section. The side and sub-frame panels have a simple design that is more practical than pleasing to the eye. Hero have also done a commendable job by equipping the…

RAJIV BAJAJ MD, Bajaj Auto Rajiv Bajaj is an important man in Bajaj and has been heading the company since 2005. He has grown in the company, starting from 1990 when he was in the research and development branch. After five years he went into engineering and was there until 2000. Finally, he moved to the marketing and sales department and proved that he was an important asset for Bajaj, after which in 2005 he became the managing director. Rajiv has confirmed the launch of Bajaj’s range of electric bikes in alliance with KTM for 2019. On the topic of EVs, he wasn’t too happy about the deadline of electrification of all two-wheelers by 2023 and voiced his concerns regarding the same. Rumours suggest that there is also a new…

STOCK 165 NOVICE Race One In the first race Abhimanyu Gautam (Sparks Racing) finished in first place, followed by Venkatesan I (Team Motomania Racing) in second place. Lokesh V (Team Speedup Racing) finished in third place. The fastest lap-time of the race was 2:09.266, set by Lokesh. Race Two Abhimanyu Gautam went on to win the second race too. He was followed by Venkatesan in second place and Mohan Babu (Team Rockers Racing) in third. The fastest lap-time of the race was 2:09.227 by Manoj Y (Privateer) who finished the race in fourth place. PRO STOCK 165 Race One The qualifying round of the Pro Stock 165 category saw K Jagan (TVS Racing) take pole position. He was followed by Sarath Kumar and Rajiv Sethu from the Idemitsu Honda Ten10…

MotoGP FABIO QUARTARARO OF the Petronas Yamaha SRT team started on pole with another Yamaha of Maverick Viñales of Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP in second and the Suzuki of Alex Rins in third. Thus, a very young front row. Champion Marc Marquez of Repsol Honda Team took up his place on the second row in fourth place. Dovizioso on the factory Ducati had a terrible qualifying and started in a far 11th on the grid. The Suzukis of Alex Rins and Joan Mir got off to an amazing start and were followed by a fight among Quartararo, Viñales, and Marquez. Then Alex Rins the race leader crashed out, leaving teammate Mir to hold the Suzuki flag in front. Mir, however, started to drop pace due to that soft-compound tyre he…

THE BOXER ENGINE, WITH THOSE CYLINDER-HEADS PROTRUDING OUT INTO the airstream, has been a key element of the BMW Motorrad identity for over 90 years and the BMW Vision DC Roadster was conceived to give us a glimpse of what an electrically powered BMW motorcycle may look like. The result is a futuristic roadster with a low, minimalistic front end and a short, high tail section, but the most revolutionary element is a vertically fitted, longitudinally oriented battery pack that protrudes to the sides to mimic the legendary boxer. Both ends of the battery are fitted with ventilators and cooling ribs and, just like the boxer engines of old, these are placed in the airstream to keep the battery cool. The actual electric motor is much smaller and is positioned…

AMW CFMoto Launch Four Bikes in India CFMoto have tied up with Bengaluru-based AMW (Asia MotorWorks) motorcycles and will bring four new motorcycles, ranging between 300 cc and 650 cc, to India. The motorcycle range includes the 300NK, 650NK, 650MT, and 650GT. According to the company, the bikes have been designed in Austria and are manufactured in China. These will be brought to India as completely knocked down (CKD) kits and the entry-level offering is the CFMoto 300NK. The entry-level 300NK is priced at Rs 2.29 lakh. The naked 650NK is priced at Rs 4 lakh, 650MT tourer at Rs 5 lakh, and 650GT sport tourer at Rs 5.50 lakh, all prices ex-showroom. Reports state that AMW are setting up a production facility near Bengaluru where the bikes will be…

A NUMBER OF YOUNGSTERS WHO COME OF AGE YEARN FOR THEIR first motorcycle and, more often than not, tend to set their sights on a faired monster. The idea of being clad in leathers on a racetrack to scrap their knees on tarmac does hold some appeal to those young and energetic minds. However, the ol’ “buzz kill” kicks in, them parents, who care little for such immature drama and more about the well-being, safety, and health of their offspring. Therefore, a compromise is made in the form of a small-capacity motorcycle on which one can learn the trade while being comparatively safe. A well wise decision. It was in this department that the Yamaha R15 ruled, beating the KTM RC 200, which may have been a little too much…

PLANNING A TWO-WHEELED TRIP ACROSS THE COUNTRY, THE continent or even around the world? You are going to need the right tool for the job. Overlanding on a motorcycle can be the experience of a lifetime and our growing ADV market is proof that this culture has finally made its way to India. The two motorcycles you see here sit right at the top of the adventure touring food chain and come fully-equipped to conquer the unexplored. They are kitted out with an exhaustive array of bells and whistles to keep their riders comfortable, safe, and happy over long hours in the saddle, and are built tough enough to take on the world. One is the long-established king of the segment, with roots going back to the 1980s; the other…

This thought sits perfectly on us as the team at Bike India decide to rustle up something special and magical for our 14th anniversary special issue. Picture this: A meet-up on a tiny island between England and Ireland. A legendary place which for over 100 years has been a sacred land for motorcyclists — a land of heroes — driven by the independent spirit of the island. There is no perfectly shaped part of the motorcycle and never will be, but when you come as close as these instruments take you, remarkable things happen, and you go flying across the countryside under a power that would be called magic if it were not so completely rational in every way.— Robert M Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An…

THE TIME HAD COME ONCE AGAIN FOR US MEDIA PROFESSIONALS TO SLIP on them racing suits, boots, helmets, and gloves and fight it out on the racetrack. The most exciting time for all of us and we were well prepared. Or were we? Once again, we were flown into Chennai a night prior to our practice and qualification day. The mind raced through all that needed to be done and once again the nerves were here and there. A quick dinner with the usual banter and then we all hit the bed for some shut-eye. After a long night struggling with calming the thoughts, my eyes finally shut and a nice deep slumber set in. About five minutes later, just as a dream was beginning to start its glorious story,…

HONDA RACING INDIA TOOK A BIG STEP ahead in the Indian motorcycle racing scene by introducing the Moto3-inspired NSF250R. Eight young riders were identified and hand-picked from Honda’s talent hunt to race these fast motorcycles. For the second round of this year’s national championship, these riders and their steeds were let loose on the MMRT to battle it out for the first time ever. NSF250R:Race One Mohammad Mikail (Chennai) hammered in a scorching lap-time of 1:48.889 and placed himself on pole position, ahead of Kritik Vasant Habib (Gadag) and Varoon S (Chennai). The race took off to a brilliant start and the whole group swarmed into the first corner. With youngster Geoffrey (Chennai) out of the picture, the top four began to build a steady lead. Just after half-race distance,…

THERE WAS JUST ONE thing on the mind of every soul during the build-up to the race at the Sachsenring: will anyone stop Marc Marquez in his bid for a 10th victory in Germany? Would Andrea Dovizioso make a comeback in a hope to keep the race for the championship alive? Would the youngster, Alex Rins, Fabio Quartararo, and Maverick Viñales, all so promising, rope in the Honda maestro? Or how about a charge by The Doctor, number 46, as in the good old days? There were other questions, too. What madness will we see this time around during the Moto3 race, as quite often those single-cylinder machines are cornering four abreast? Or how will the other Marquez, Alex, fare in Moto2 after his crash in the previous round? Will…

THE TENSION WAS PALPABLE. THE OUTCOME OF the WSBK USA weekend would be crucial in aiding the championship campaign for either Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) or Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). So, performing well in the Tissot Superpole session was very important. Rea took pole position ahead of Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Bautista. All three were separated by less than half a second. Race One Rea got off to a good start and planted himself ahead of the Ducati pair for a few laps. The pace was fast and lap records were broken; first by Davies and then by Bautista as he became the first rider to set a 1 minute, 22-second lap on a race-trim motorcycle. The top three were in a class…