Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2020 i BIKE India

DON’T NORMALLY GET NERVOUS BEFORE TESTING A NEW BIKE, but this is something very different. This is Ducati’s all-new and frighteningly exotic €100,000 (Rs 85 lakh) Superleggera. Let’s start with some jaw-dropping facts (while keeping in mind that this is a homologated road bike, not an out-and-out race machine). Dry weight is 159 kilograms, a huge 16 kg weight saving over the standard V4 Panigale, a class-leading bike in its own right. Peak power is 224 hp in standard road trim, or 234 hp with the supplied race exhaust, which is only around 10hp short of the factory’s World Superbike V4-R. The Superleggera is actually lighter than the WSBK bike and its huge bi-plane wings create more downforce than even Ducati’s current GP20 MotoGP machine. Yet, it has headlights and…

PLATITUDES ARE OFTEN MEANINGLESS. GREAT TO look at on paper, underwhelming when witnessed in person. Take, for example, the Statue of Unity — the largest statue in the world. It’s big all right, no doubt about that, but five minutes into my first (and only) visit there and the novelty wore off and I was bored — completely and utterly bored. Then there’s the Yamuna Expressway, one of India’s longest six-lane highways, not so fun in the summer heat when you are restricted to 100 km/h and have to watch out for idiots coming down the wrong side of the highway with a nonchalance that is both infuriating and astounding. I could go on and on... Which brings us neatly to the Triumph Rocket 3 R, the bike with the…

NOT TO TRAIL BEHIND THE COMPETITION, BAJAJ have been eyeing the fast-growing touring motorcycle segments for a while now. So, when the company invested in the Dominar 400, they were pretty open about the fact that it was the first in the range and that more Dominars would eventually follow. The 400 managed a satisfactory response, as a major chunk of the adventure seekers got attracted towards bikes like the Royal Enfield Himalayan and the more traditional Classic 350s. But a substantial number, especially first-time buyers, tend to get overwhelmed by the size and performance of these bikes. No wonder smaller, single-cylinder 250s have become such a rage in our country. And right on cue, the more accessible Dominar 250 makes an entry, which borrows the powertrain from KTM 250…

SANGEETHA JAIRAM ISN’T YOUR SELFIE-OBSESSED Biking Barbie but a passionate biker who’s been riding motorcycles and exploring the most exotic locations across the world. She got her adventure streak while growing up in the hills of Kodagu (formerly Coorg) and the motorcycle bug from her motorcyclist father, who, by the way, rode his BMW R25 all the way from Munich to India in the 1960s. Following in his footsteps, she learned to ride on the classic bike while she was still in her teens. Buzzing with positive energy, this motorcycle enthusiast takes us through a journey any adventure junkie would envy... ‘I believe travel brings out the best in people. When we are stuck in our routine daily lives, we have a tendency to get bored. And I do believe…

DURING HIS 20 SEASONS IN THE 500-cc and MotoGP classes Valentino Rossi has won seven world titles and a record 89 races. He spent four years with Honda, taking 13 victories in two seasons with the NSR500 and another 20 in the next two seasons with the RC211V, plus three titles. He has enjoyed by far the most success in his 14 years with the YZR-M1: 56 race wins and four world titles. The NSR, RC211V, and YZR-M1 perfectly track the development curve of grand prix motorcycles over the past two decades, as engineers increased their knowledge of power delivery, chassis behaviour, and electronic rider controls. Honda NSR500 (2000-2001) VALENTINO ROSSI LAST RACED an NSR500 in November 2001, but he still rates the 500-cc V4 as the best motorcycle he…

WITH THE FIRST RACE AT JEREZ completed in tough conditions, the riders readied themselves up for the Andalucía GP at the same venue. However, three riders would be returning to the grid: Alex Rins on the Team Suzuki Ecstar bike, Cal Crutchlow on the LCR Honda Castrol, and Marc Marquez on his Repsol Honda. Here we go. MotoGP On race day, word came from Repsol Honda that Marc Marquez had decided to sit out the Andalusian GP. A good decision for the current world champion who underwent a surgery on his broken arm a few days ago. This gave the rest of the top contenders a chance to open up a further lead on the Spanish rider who would now score zero points from two races. Like clockwork, the two…

Special Editions to Commemorate 40 Years of BMW GS Anniversary editions of the mid-size GS models inbound BMW MOTORRAD’S EXTREMELY POPULAR RANGE of GS-badged adventure bikes have been around for four decades now and have proved their mettle over the years. BMW’s GS range of bikes have been the motorcycles of choice across generations of two-wheeled globe-trotters, and are responsible for spawning the adventure bike craze of today. They are currently the German brand’s best-selling models worldwide, with over 1.2 million GS-badged bikes sold to date. The very first bike in this long-running series was the R 80 G/S back in 1980. This motorcycle is credited with keeping BMW’s motorcycle division afloat in the face of the Japanese onslaught of fast, light, and reliable motorcycles that had rendered most European…

A SPECIAL motorcycle close to your heart will always be the one you learn riding on. I share my story with the Bajaj KB100 which I was lucky my father kept in such good condition after almost 30 years. I finally got my hands on the bike in the year 2012 and spent a day learning how to ride by myself after which I was hooked on riding. The Bajaj KB100 is a simple machine to look at but has the ability to surprise and it made me learn a lot about two-stroke machines. Learning on the Bajaj KB100 was a unique experience because it had an older four-speed, all-down gear-shift pattern which was different from the conventional gear-shift pattern being used when I started learning to ride. I would…

THE OPPORTUNITY TO RIDE AN early Bimota had been a rare thrill and the HB2 had very much lived up to expectations. The machine created around Honda’s four-cylinder CB900F engine by design maestro Massimo Tamburini had been sleek, fast, and packed with advanced features, as is to be expected of the small Italian firm that had already established a mighty reputation when this bike was built in 1982. Even so, on riding the Bimota decades later, I didn’t fully appreciate just how great it was until I got home and began looking through a pile of old motorcycle magazines. It wasn’t the one article I managed to find about the HB2 itself that was so revealing, even though that story was filled with almost unqualified praise; phrases such as “perfect…

THE BONNEVILLE. A MOTORCYCLING icon. Signature classic styling echoes the past with simply the sound from its parallel-twin offering a quick throwback to the glory days of motorcycling freedom. Through country roads and city streets, over highways and mountain passes, the Triumph Bonneville has been there and done that, in several capable hands across the world. The “Bonnie”, as it’s affectionately known by enthusiasts and owners alike, except by those who’ve named their bikes and hold them closer to their hearts — and hasn’t inspired the old rhyme used in the title — has seen production in three separate lives: first by the now-defunct Triumph Motorcycles in Meriden, West Midlands, England, between 1959 and 1983. A second stint followed by the same group from 1985 to 1988. Then came the…

WE USUALLY GET A FRESH SET OF TYRES TO test and report on, but in an unusual move, TVS Tyres sent us not just fresh rubber but also a new Yamaha FZ-S for our long-term test. The bike has been with us since December last year and here I am writing my six-month test report. As of now, the bike has clocked 4,740 kilometres on varying terrain, including well-paved highways and pothole-ridden city roads. Doing duty at the front is a tubeless 100/80-17 TVS ATT 230F tyre while the rear one is a 140/60 R17 Protorq Sport SR. Here is how they have fared over the aforementioned period. As mentioned in our last review, the tyres have been doing a great job and they perfectly complement this motorcycle with the…

‘The only way to get into MotoGP is to enjoy every lap’ ‘Everything feels a lot different on a MotoGP bike’ How has your time with Red Bull and KTM been? I am having an amazing time. I have an amazing group of people working together. I have had good and bad memories with them and together we have grown as a team and myself as a rider. I have a good relationship with KTM and Red Bull and till the end of the year, I hope we will enjoy some good battles and good races and the best is yet to come. What advice would you give to the kids starting out in racing today? When I go to train, it is mostly in karting. I see many young…

FINALLY, MOTOGP RETURNS. THE WAIT HAS been arduous, but the racing is finally back. How would the newbies and surprises of last year fare in this tumultuous season? Would we see Marquez continue where he left off? Would the young Frenchman have his day finally? What about the Dovi Ducati or Ducati Miller? A Doctor, maybe, or his superfast Spanish teammate? How would little brother Marquez fare? Espargaro is to be watched? Rins. Have we forgotten him? Questions like these needed answers and were they answered! MotoGP At the start, it was Maverick Viñales on the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP bike that took the lead. He was closely followed by the reigning world champion, Marc Marquez, on the Repsol Honda Team machine. Marc soon took the lead and did show…

THE MOTUL FIM SUPERBIKE World Championship restarted at Circuito de Jerez–Angel Nieto with safety measures against the spread of the coronavirus in place. Ex-MotoGP rider and the maddest racer on the grid, Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati), carved a spot for himself at the front of the pack for race one by claiming pole position with a time of 1’38.736; ahead of fellow countrymen, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). Rea was only 0.034 seconds behind Redding. Interestingly, it was the first time any nationality claimed the front row of the grid at Jerez. It almost came undone for Redding when he lost his pole position to a charging Rea and then got demoted once more by an equally enthusiastic Toprak Razgatlioglu…

URING THE lockdown the Bike India editorial team decided to do a series on the first motorcycle each one of us had owned. The first motorcycle I ever owned was a Triumph Bonneville T120 in 1976. However, the bike on which I learned how to ride in 1970, at the age of 10, was an 80-cc Suzuki that my brother, Percy, had bought from an Army officer in the National Defence Academy. Since my father was the Regional Transport Officer in Pune, he laid down a condition that I would ride the motorcycle within the compound and not on public roads. Just to let the readers know the cost of petrol when I started riding a motorcycle, it was Rs 7.20 for five litres! It was in the year 1976…

I BELIEVE EACH OF us has had at least one moment in our lives when we looked at something with a sincere yearning; a desire that would take over us in the days that followed. One of my first moments like that was when I set my eyes on the Yamaha YZF-R15 Version 2.0. Of course, bigger and powerful motorcycles adorned my bedroom wall but my heart went out to the R15 and it has stayed there since. As a college student with a driving licence, “My Own R15” was the title of most of the dreams I had while I slept and I woke up to all of them facing the same disappointment of getting ready in time to catch the bus. When my father shot down the idea…

The 250-cc segment is growing rapidly and is the ideal segment for young riders looking to upgrade from smaller machinery, while mantaining a fine balance between performance, economy, flexibility and affordability. Several manufacturers have recently launched quarter-litre motorcycles, hoping for a piece of the action, but with their 248.8-cc liquid-cooled single doing duty in four models across three brands, Bajaj have all corners covered. With everything from a comfortable sports tourer in the form of the Dominar 250, to a stripped down cafe racer-inspired machine with retro styling touches in the form of the Husqvarna Vitpilen 250, Bajaj’s family of quarter-litre motorcycles seem to have something for everyone. Let’s take a closer look. KTM 250 Duke WE WERE INTRODUCED TO KTM’S REVVY quarter-litre single with the launch of the 250…

I rolled her out into the sunlight for the first time and was immediately awed by what TVS’ in-house design team have created. That wide fairing is carefully shaped and looks purposeful when viewed from the front, with those bright BI-LED headlights under eyebrow-esque position lights, and the pair of faux air intakes on either side of a white racing stripe that continues on to the tank and tail section. THIS IS AN EXCERPT FROM MY REVIEW OF THE FIRST Apache RR310 two years ago and, as you can see, I was quite smitten by the TVS flagship at first sight. Thankfully, the new-for-2020 RR310 carries forward the winning design and this fresh Titanium Black colourway does a fine job of highlighting every well-thought-out fold, curve and crease on this…

The Bonneville Salt Flats is a 30,000-acre expanse of hard, white salt crust on the western edge of the Great Salt Lake basin in Tooele County, Utah. The salt flats are about 19 kilometres long and eight km wide and have a total area coverage of just over 74 square km. Near the centre of the salt, the crust is almost 1.5 metres thick in places, with the depth tapering off to less than 25 millimetres as you get to the edges. Named after Benjamin Bonneville, a US Army officer who explored the region in the 1830s, it is most noted for being the site of some memorable land-speed records at the Bonneville Speedway. “Bonneville” is also a historic landmark because of its contribution to racing. The first instance of…

FRESH RUBBER IS ALWAYS WELCOME AND these puppies from Maxxis arrived just in time. From the new Extramaxx range, we received the M6233 and the M6234 tyres. The former is a 110/70-17 while the latter is a 140/70-17 — just the right sizes for an R3. Of course, both hoops are tubeless and are constructed using the strongest aramid fibre, which, Maxxis claim, are also used to make bulletproof vests. It better be because I am hoping for bulletproof reliability from them and certainly no punctures. Maxxis further explain that the tyres’ construction will make them twice as robust as a regular tyre. The company says that it has used two types of compounds in the Extramaxx’s construction. The centre compound is expected to offer optimal rolling resistance while also…

THE IOM TT ROAD RACES HAVE the distinction of being the hardest and deadliest race meeting in the world. The track consists of 37 ¾ miles (60.75 km) of public road that’s used by everyday traffic for 50 weeks of the year, then for two weeks in summer is converted into a racetrack. There is no run-off and no gravel-traps as riders race between lampposts, walls, houses, trees, and other road furniture at speeds of over 200 mph (321.86 km/h). The outright lap record now stands at an average speed of 135.452 mph (217.983 km/h), set by a BMW-mounted Peter Hickman in 2018. Just think about that for a moment: top speeds of 321 km/h, average speeds of 135 mph 217 km/h … around a demanding, dangerous 60.75-km road course.…