What will the competitors do?

 So this is Honda's belated gift for the common Indian biker. Not bad. :) Good for the Red Riding Dude.

Must be remembered that it is slated for a April 2011 launch (based on reports in the media). So we've got effectively 5 months before it launches.

Current offerings on the same lines are:

Yamaha R15 with a tag of Rs.1.2 lacs approx on-road
Kawasaki Ninja 250 priced at around Rs.3 lacs on-road

Yes there is a huge gap. So Honda CBR will supposedly fill this with on-road price of around Rs.2 lacs.

My gut feeling is that some motorcycle manufacturers are not going to take this lightly. Expect Yamaha to announce a 250cc launch at about the same price as that for the Honda CBR 250. Expect Hyosung to bring in its 250cc. Won't speculate on the price.

But the gap isn't necessarily between Rs.1.2 lacs and Rs.2 lacs as is anticipated. The real gap is between 70k and 1.2lacs.

Expect Bajaj and TVS to launch 250cc versions of Pulsar and Apache respectively priced competitively around the Rs.1 lac mark. And that will set the country racing. Fingers very much crossed.

New Gladiator from Yamaha

Did I surprise you? Probably :)

 

Alright, Yamaha has discontinued Gladiator. So, is it good or bad? Depends on how Yamaha views the situation.

 

Here's a perspective. 

 

Gladiator has been around for quite some time. Few years, to say the least. Biking fraternity knows Gladiator. Why? May be coz of marketing, may be coz of blogs, may be coz of the fact that it comes from Yamaha. There could many more reasons.

Looking at it from purely a business point of view, the brand Gladiator seems to be present in prospects' minds, even if not favorably. In today's world, marketing is unarguably the biggest challenge and perhaps the biggest cost. I am asking, can Yamaha leverage this brand 'awareness' equity?

Of course! Few reasons to my claim and a couple of solutions.

The brand name GLADIATOR is very good. People can have views on the 'degree' of goodness but they can't deny that it can be a good motorcycle brand name.

 

Coming from Yamaha, the name GLADIATOR has the potential to carry forward all the attributes attached to the brand Yamaha in India. You agree?

So, the name's taken care of. The awareness of the name is also taken care of. Now what?

Try imagining a 300cc kind of cruiser with the name Gladiator.

 

Try imagining a naked 250cc (or even a 150cc with a good big tank :)) with the name Gladiator and coming from Yamaha.

To my mind, the second offering might fit better. Importantly what it could do is save Yamaha the hard part of marketing coz the name is already there in people's minds. It will also match the actual product with the already established name and therefore, find it easy to get people to accept the bike.

The thing is if a Hero Honda Hunk (I don't deny it's a decent bike) could sell here, a 250cc naked Gladiator would rock. Besides, aren't Gladiators often imagined naked, if we go by the Hollywood movies :)!

Bajaj's new superbike - CHETAK

:) I know the title is tempting enough to go through this post.

As I see, Bajaj thrives on springing surprises. And surprises which almost get the entire biking fraternity sit up, notice and acknowledge the efforts. So, here's another strategic surprise that Bajaj can throw for the enthusiastic Indian bikers:

Launch a superbike called CHETAK!

I sense that the time has come for a bike to carry the age-old name. Yes, it was fuddy-duddy scooter once upon a time. But think about the word, its connotations, the myths and the history, the way it sounds when it is spoken. Quite rich, quite emphatic, very Indian but very apt for something grand! A superbike is just the right machine for the name.

If still not convinced, rattle it out with the likes of Fazer, Ninja, Hayabusa, Chetak, Ducati, etc. Repeat these names in your mind twice or thrice and you'll get the drift of what I wanna convey.

Indeed, the Bajaj's understanding and legal arrangements with its partners like KTM and Kawasaki need to be factored in. If there's space for Bajaj, then this is the thing to do. Imagine CHETAK 1OOO! Or, CHETAK 500! :) Doesn't take a lot of time to sink in, does it?

Bajaj Kawasaki Ninja 250R

Received some information about the Ninja 250R that Bajaj plans to launch soon. I've been informed that it might be priced about INR1.25+ lac. Not bad, I would say. Some competition to Yamaha R15 for sure, though each belongs to a different segment. Check the specs below:

Specifications
Engine type: Liquid-cooled, 4-stroke Parallel Twin
Displacement: 249 cm³
Bore x stroke: 62.0 x 41.2 mm
Compression ratio: 11.6:1
Valve/Induction system: DOHC, 8 valves
Maximum power: 22.2 kW {30 PS} / 10,500 rpm
Maximum torque: 21.0 N·m {2.14 kgf·m} / 8,500 rpm
Fuel system: Fuel injection: ø28 mm x 2 (Keihin) Dual throttle valves
Ignition: Digital
Starting: Electric
Lubrication: Forced lubrication, wet sump
Transmission: 6-speed, return
Final Drive: Sealed chain
Clutch: Wet multi-disc, manual
Frame type: Tube diamond, steel
Rake/Trail: 26° / 83 mm
Suspension, front: 37 mm telescopic fork
Suspension, rear: Bottom-Link Uni-Trak with gas-charged shock and 5-way adjustable preload
Wheel travel, front: 120 mm
Wheel travel, rear: 130 mm
Tyre, front: 110/70-17 M/C (54S)
Tyre, rear: 130/70-17 M/C (62S)
Brakes, front: Single 290 mm petal disc
Caliper: Single balanced actuation dual-piston
Brakes, rear: Single 220 mm petal disc, Caliper: Dual-piston
Steering angle, left / right 35° / 35°
Dimensions: (L x W x H) 2,080 mm x 710 mm x 1,115 mm
Wheelbase: 1,400 mm
Ground Clearance: 135 mm
Seat height: 780 mm
Fuel capacity: 17.5 litres
Dry weight: 152 kg
Automatic Headlights On: (AHO) n/a
Complies to EU emission limits: -

The bike might be available in these colours:



Some highlighted features:

Heavier bikes in India

On rare occasions, out of curiosity I flip the pages of The Economic Times. And when I did today, I read Heavyweight bikes queuing up as Indian Roads get wider. The headline was big and bold. Perhaps it isn't a conincidence that just yesterday I was wondering that time can't be better for bigger bikes to launch in India.

So, the news is that government has allowed the import of bigger bikes with engine specifications of 800-cc and above. And these motor-bikes might carry tags of no less than Rs 9 lakh.

As with every thing, there are two sides to this coin. That these bikes are being allowed in the Indian market implies that there's been a latent demand for heavier bikes in India. However, the size of the market is hard to predict. It's possible that there isn't such a big market after all for bikes with capacity greater than 800-cc. That takes us another important point - there could be a good market for bikes with engine capacity between 200cc and 500cc. And there's no bike other than the Bullet in this segment.

Market observers have always believed there isn't a market for such bikes and that the dismal sales of Bullet is an evidence. However, I must remind all the enthusiasts that Bullet, in spite of whatever cult-status it has, is a sub-standard product. And therefore, perhaps this segment never could grow. And even if we accept that there was little growth in this segment in the past, right now the time is just ripe for this segment to grow.

So, where do we (bike-makers) go from here. Get into the 800-cc plus market? Nope. Get into the 200-cc to 500-cc market. I predicted that the scooter would grow if better and heavier scooters (cruiser scooters) are launched. Launch of Eterno and Kinetic Blaze and their reasonable success proves me right.

Assuming that 200-cc to 500-cc market really holds potential, which Indian company can take advantage? Who has the headstart? I think it is invariably Bajaj. They've experimented with their Pulsar range and have been successful. After a not so successful debut of Eliminator they got it right with Avenger. And Avenger can now be fitted with higher capacity engines. In fact, it's surprising that while Bajaj has made Pulsar 220, they didn't do much in the cruiser segment where Avenger has really made a mark. It's about time for Bajaj for another great move; don't let this opportunity go.

Bombay, Bikes and Class Distinctions

Often when I ride on Bombay's choked highways and ringroads and linkroads, I wonder how car-drivers tolerate driving in such conditions. How could they endure moving at snail's pace and still be so patient? Being on a bike, I find it much easier to manouver through the crowded streets and traffic-jams and it takes almost half the time as it takes in a car. So why don't these car-drivers/passengers start using bikes?

The reasons are manifold, one reason leading to another. Historically, Indians have been a rather rigid class conscious bunch. Car has always been seen as a symbol of high status. To the extent that hatchbacks imply a lower class than the sedans. Therefore, you might also observe that people with hatchbacks aspire to graduate to sedans to show that they've arrived in life. This class consciousness could prove ominous for India and it's growing cramped cities, especially Bombay.

Now, if such is the perception towards smaller cars/hatchbacks, how do we expect people to adopt bikes? Bikes are further considered to be a sign lower class.

In the hierarchy, it's like this:

Higher class - Sedans
Higher-middle class - Hatchbacks/small cars
Middle class/Lower middle class - Small cars/bikes

And then we say we have traffic problems, pollution, environmental issues and other problems. Once these meaningless class distinctions are rendered useless, we might see people adopting bikes/smaller cars which are much more fuel-efficient than the sedans/big cars. This in turn would also ease the traffic situation on roads. Not just that, even pollution would reduce to a considered extent. There won't be driving-related stress too if the commuting time reduces... Also, if acceptability of bikes would be greater among higher classes, bike-manufacturers would make bigger and better bikes; bikers like us would have a lot to look forward to. Ample benefits.

However, all said and done, India is still a country which hasn't matured (mentally) as a automobile market and my ideas would sound nothing more but utopian.