Like it or not the motorcycle world is changing. Riders in Europe are getting older, so sportsbikes are no longer the be all and end all, and the global financial crisis has played havoc with manufacturers and users alike. Affordable biking is back on the agenda, and China and India have the solution... China have already dipped a toe in British waters with the WK650 bikes, and they're winning friends. Is India about to do the same with this Hero, or bikes like the Pulsar CS/SS400 (using that KTM-designed 390 engine)..? Remember, we laughed at the Japs...
We laughed at their cars but there were a hell of a lot us that wanted their bikes....... ....remember those bl**dy quick Yams that a few people suddenly appeared with, like the YDS2s?? No leaky leaky oil, but the welding was pretty unsightly........
Somebody left a Monster in the garage overnight with a KTM and this is what resulted when they bred! Pretty frame (very Monsteresque) but seriously fugly engine, and those bar end mirrors look useless. The frame and tank, but with a proper L-twin lump, that could be interesting. Can't see it really appealling to the Indian mass market - no sari-guard for a start, and the wife and kids would have trouble balancing on that pillion perch!
Two things. Firstly you're probably right, it doesn't look like a home market bike, so maybe this is their big export plunge. Secondly though, their home market is changing too, and there are a lot of people with aspirations higher than a 150cc putt-putt. Judging by the rather hideous colour scheme of the bike in the vid, I'd say that was very much a home market model.
I read somewhere that the ktm 390 retailed in india for about 2000 quid. As it is more than twice that here, are manufacturers simply taking the piss?
Well, it's made in India for one thing, so that would tend to make it cheaper. And where they might hope to sell a hundred or so in Blighty, they'll sell 20,000 in India (you get the idea) which also tends to alter the cost. But then I remember seeing at one point years ago that Triumph were selling bikes in the US cheaper than they sold them here, despite the export costs and logistics. So maybe we are getting ripped off.
Now is the autumn of our discontent... I wonder if the thing actually works? Like having a moving bike would have been nice. 80 bhp = 150 mph. Really? Out of an unfaired parallel twin? I suppose it might, but it seems optimistic.
I'm definitely ready but not too sure if the Indians are, this is my mate Preet with his beloved RE he thinks it's the tits and can't understand why his alloys make me want to vomit!
Sportsbikes made sense in the 90's, but they're too focussed now, touring bikes are too heavy, and adventure bikes are ghey. Now the latest craze is super-nakeds, but they'll go too far and become irrelevant for the average Joe soon enough (if they ain't already). But now times are changing, licensing laws have changed, the cost of living has changed, the motorcycle market has changed. Now there is a stronger call for mid-range bikes, and the Japs and Europeans aren't answering that call fast enough.
What you sort of want is a sports bike that isn't that focused, à la 900ss (the 90s version). Reasonably comfortable, full fairing, drop bars (but not too savage), a decent motor (don't need the ultimate in bhp) and great chassis and handling. All that for a reasonably affordable price. Problem with naked bikes is when you want to do long miles on motorways (which is sometimes necessary).
Triumph TT600 anyone?!!!, or to be reasonable, any 600 from early 2000s' before the trend got to extreme for 'smalller/lighter'.... in pursuit of top speed/acceleration
I'm still in favour of the low-end stomp that a V-Twin gives you. I'm just too idle to want to wring a bike's neck all the time, especially when I am on a long trip.
Dead right. No, the TT600 was notoriously rev hungry. An early CBR600 maybe. Forget multi-cylinder engines, they cost too much to produce. Twins are in, cheaper to produce and they give good power characteristics. The emerging manufacturers are not going to face Japan head-on, any more than Triumph would. You can expect to see families of engines based on the same bottom end, just like the good old days of the Empire, because it makes sound economic sense to produce bikes in that way. We're not talking about taking on the S1000RR here, were talking about cheap, usable, mid-range bikes. Japan forgot about those bikes, concentrating on chasing older, more affluent peoples' money, and that's why biking has got to where it is today, devoid of new blood cos they've been ignored for so long. Look back to the 70's and 80's, and the vast numbers of bikes on the road, and you'll see they were all 250s, 400s, 500s - sturdy everyday bikes, not multi-cylinder race bikes with lights. Those bikes intimidate new riders, and they cost too much. They won't get us out of trouble.
Yes indeed Yamaha TRX850. Much underrated, with improved suspension and brakes they are brilliant, I have 2 of them.
