Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2021 i BIKE India

HERE I AM. ON THE ROAD AGAIN. AS Harley-Davidson turn the page on a new chapter of their life in India, under the watchful eye of Ravi Avalur and Hero MotoCorp, their range has been trimmed, yet enhanced. No more local manufacturing and every model now comes in as an import. The Harley-Davidson motorcycle range in India, at the time of writing, consists of a baker’s dozen of models, starting with the Iron 883 in the new “Cruiser” line — that now amalgamates the former Sportster, Dyna, and Softail lines — and rounds off with the “Touring” line, specifically with this Darth Vader on two wheels we have here: the Road Glide Special. Prices of the India range begin at a listed Rs 10.11 lakh and go up to a…

THIS IS DEFINITIVE AMERICAN HEAVY metal. Thundering down the highway, Kid Rock’s American Badass blasting on the Boom! Box audio, it’s a whole situation-based mood, don’t @ me. I confess, I spent good time the previous night making a playlist with everything from Kid Rock and ZZ Top to Lamb of God and Cannibal Corpse. It’s all there! The Road Glide, then. A 2021 successor to the 1980s’ Tour Glide, the Road Glide is a big, heavy, luxurious example of American grand touring and it’s the pinnacle of the range in India; sitting only below the CVO 117s, Trikes, and crate Screamin’ Eagle 131s internationally. This is the FLTRXS Road Glide Special and, yes, this one has six letters in its model code and you need to know it to…

TVS MOTOR COMPANY HAVE BEEN ON A ROLL IN RECENT TIMES WITH THREE launches that have impressed us highly. A couple of months ago, it was the latest edition of their Apache RR 310 and the new “Built to Order” platform. This was followed by a new commuter segment motorcycle, the Raider. Now the company has launched an all-new Jupiter 125 which is a more powerful version of the high-selling eponymous 110-cc commuter scooter. Draped in secrecy, which meant that TVS had a surprise or two up their sleeve with this new family commuter scooter. Was it a surprise? Well, yes, and a pleasant one, too. Let’s start with the scooter’s design which sticks to the meaty lines of the Jupiter brand. TVS themselves market it as “masculine”, “sturdy”, and…

Race One For the first-ever race of the Royal Enfield GT Cup, Anfal Akdhar (Thrissur) qualified on pole position, ahead of Anish Shetty (Hubli) and Allwin Xavier (Thrissur). When the lights went off, that was the order in which the front row entered the first corner. Soon enough, the lead changed hands and it was Xavier who led the race with Shetty and Jayanth Prathipati (Hyderabad) in tow. Although Xavier and Shetty opened up a gap, Prathipati managed to bring it down significantly towards the end of the race. With less than two laps to go, Shetty pulled out of Xavier’s slipstream and powered into the lead and he crossed the finish-line in first place with a thin lead over second-placed Xavier while Prathipati had to settle for third place.…

MotoGP A dream qualifying for Ducati as three Italian machines ridden by Francesco Bagnaia and Jack Miller on the Ducati Lenovo Team bikes and Luca Marini on the Sky VR46 Avintia bike made up the front row. Championship leader Fabio Quartararo of Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP would start in 15th position on the grid. The stage was set for Bagnaia to keep his championship hopes alive. At the lights, the young Italian set off at a blistering pace, taking the lead, and headed for the chequered flag. Once again, Bagnaia was followed closely by a legend and none other than the Repsol Honda Team motorcycle of Marc Márquez. However, the Frenchman, Fabio Quartararo, would have his say with a blistering start of his own. The Yamaha rider quickly started making…

AEROSPACE HAS ALWAYS PLAYED a predominant role in the development of motorcycles. For decades, technology and lightweight materials have been adopted from the industry. This has not only helped reduce vehicle weight, but also make major strides in technological advancements. Take the Supermarine for example — this new, custom motorcycle is built on a chassis that adapts “7075 aluminium”, a material that is broadly used in spacecraft and various defence applications, predominantly for its rigidity and high-strength properties. The bike’s flowing body lines are inspired by the leaping Mobula Rays, while its aerospace-grade frame has been drawn from the coral reefs. Of course, when we speak of weight reduction and exclusivity, carbon-fibre is an element that always pops up. In the Supermarine’s case, one gets to choose between two variants…

“KING OF THE ROAD”. A common phrase, but one that must be earned. The Road King has been a name etched in the history of the Harley-Davidson brand and is one of the more significant models in their line-up. Initially starting as a hard-tail model, the FLHR — “F” signifying the big twin engine, “L” for wide front tyre and forks, “H” for highway touring frame, and the last letter, “R”, for the model, Road King — it evolved with time and got better brakes, improved lighting, rear suspension, and a host of more convenience features. It’s a classic in many senses of the word. Yes, the Road King Classic is a separate model, but with the sort of accessories on offer, a lot is possible with this one. The…

rear half of the motorcycle. The main part of the trellis frame is barely visible under the bodywork but the bolt-on subframe can be seen in all its glory, supporting a new seat and reworked tail end. Overall, the RC 200’s design has evolved into a mature space that suggests more race-bred pedigree than “hooligan from the streets”. The rider seat is the most comfortable one I have ever experienced in the RC range and it is only the first of a few improvements in ergonomics. Taking into consideration customers’ complaints about the RC range’s aggressive seating position, KTM have provided up to 14.5 millimetres of adjustability for the clip-on handlebars. Leaving it nice and high for the city or dropping it down low to channel your inner Brad Binder…

THE RAYZR AND THE FASCINO MODELS RECEIVED A major change last year with the transition to the BS6 era. The first main upgrade in both scooters was the new 125-cc engine. Alongside this, the RayZR sported a chunkier and more futuristic design language than before, while the Fascino’s design was updated with a curvier and classic design with both scooters offering a variety of new colour options. I was quite impressed by both the scooters, especially because of the fact that they are the lightest 125-cc scooters in the segment with a kerb weight of just 99 kilograms and did a superb job of being a daily commuter in the city. This year the scooters received another upgrade and have been branded with a “Hybrid” tag. Read on to find…

NO OTHER MOTORCYCLE racer has had to reinvent themselves as often as Valentino Rossi. During the quarter century of his GP career, he adapted from 125-cc two-strokes to 250-cc two-strokes to 500-cc two-strokes, from rotary-valve induction to reed-valve induction, from 990-cc four-strokes to 800-cc four-strokes to 1,000-cc four-strokes, from Dunlop tyres to Michelin to Bridgestone and back to Michelin, from no rider-control electronics to ultra-high-technology electronics and back to lower-tech electronics. All motorcycle racers have their own riding technique, which they must rework each time they change machine, by understanding what that bike needs to achieve its maximum and by adjusting how they ride to suit those demands. In 1996, Vale raced a rotary-valve 125-cc two-stroke that weighed 70 kilograms and was good for 140 mph (225 km/h). In the…

THE MONSTER HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST iconic motorcycles in the Ducati line-up: a naked streetfighter with a character of its own, easily distinguishable from its competitors, and one of the highest-selling Ducati models with over 350,000 units sold worldwide. The lineage of this motorcycle dates back to 1993: the introduction of the first-generation Monster 900. Since then, there have been various iterations, all of them sharing one main characteristic — the iconic trellis frame that gives the bikes their menacing stance. For 2021, Ducati have completely refreshed many aspects of the new Monster. The bike is now sleeker, lighter, and more compact than ever before. Naked streetfighters have always been my preferred genre of motorcycles and, over the last few years, new tech, lighter parts, and constant innovation…

THE WORD “GLIDE” INSTANTLY conjures up a picture of the FXDWG Dyna Wide Glide in my mind, a motorcycle I longed for just as much as the Fat Boy; my go-to Harley-Davidson motorcycle and the answer to the question many ask often, ‘What would you have?’ The Street Glide is the one with the bat-wing fairing and it looks imposing and not-to-be-messed-with. It packs the 114-cubic-inch big V-twin and, in “Special” guise, it brings slightly more power and torque than its Softail Cruiser siblings. It has lower, easy-reach bars and it looked the most comfortable of the three; which is why it was the most sought after. Initially, anyway. Like the Road King, the FLHXS Street Glide packs the big twin engine, fat fork and rubber, and the highway touring…

WHAT I DO KNOW AT THIS MOMENT IS THAT I WAS THE first person outside Ducati to ride this motorcycle and that, as you can see, the bike I rode is not fully finished. It is a test mule for the Pikes Peak’s development team who, thankfully, allowed me a few sessions on track to get a flavour of what is in store for 2022. The Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak promises to be the most powerful and sporty Multistrada ever. Although Ducati would not reveal any power figures, its Panigale-derived Granturismo V4, now with conventional spring-operated valves and 36,000-mile (57,935-kilometre) valve-service intervals, is certain to have more grunt than the older Pikes Peak’s Testastretta DVT L-twin. I would expect peak power to be a fraction higher than the current Multistrada…

ROYAL ENFIELD LAUNCHED THEIR TWO 650-cc twins in 2018 to a standing ovation. The two motorcycles took the world by surprise with their back-to-basics persona that worked supremely well and for an affordable price. The two models in question were the Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT 650. The Continental GT 650 was the café racer of the two. Considering its name, it was only natural that an actual retro race bike would be modelled on it. However, an official racing series was a far thought. Now, three years later, we have just that with the Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup. This is a one-make championship wherein riders from all over the country will compete for the first Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup. The motorcycle they will ride is one…