KTM LUXURY BIKES

KTM Sportmotorcycles has a deeply rooted motorsport tradition, building race-ready motorcycles for competitive and recreational riding. More than 130 world championship titles, victories at Dakar and countless national championships are proof of the company’s great technical expertise. Recently, the company has entered into the streetbike category with a variety of sporting and adventure-touring road-going machines.Austrian engineer Hans Trunkenpolz opens a metal-working shop in Mattighofen, Austria. The name of the business is Kraftfahrzeuge Trunkenpolz Mattighofen. The company’s first motorcycle is developed – the R100.
Sharper and lighter than anything that calls itself competition: 120 Nm torque, 155 HP at 10,000 rpm and withs less than 200 kilos fully tanked.

Nonetheless, thanks to innovative solutions and meticulous detail work, we've achieved unsurpassed rideability - on the street and on the racetrack, in every situation - of life or riding
The 990 Super Duke R has to be the hottest bike available manufactured in series. In this case, the KTM engineers did their utmost to develop a “machine” that would exploit to the fullest every last inch of leeway in road traffic certification: Fully adjustable 48 WP forks, ultralight mono-seat tail section, chromium molybdenum tubular trellis frame weighing a mere 9 kg as well as an additional steering damper for extreme circuit times. Out of the rut and into the race.

TVS launches Apache RTR 160 FI, will launch four new bikes this fiscal

TVS Motor has launched a fuel-injected variant of its Apache motorcycle. Fitted with a 1600cc fuel-injected engine, the new Apache RTR 160 FI is priced at Rs 64,990 ex-showroom Delhi. ‘The fuel injection technology deployed in the RTR FI gives the motorcycle crisper throttle response and enhances its fuel efficiency,’ said HS Goindi, marketing head at TVS Motor Company.

The Chennai-based TVS Motor also has big plans for launching new bikes – the company intends to launch no less than four new bikes in the current fiscal. Some of TVS’ new bikes and scooters will be launched during the festive period in October this year, while the other will come in early next year.

TVS expects a 15-20% growth in sales during the current financial year – the company expects to sell around 15 lakh units in this period. In addition to the fuel-injected Apache RTR 160, TVS also intends to launch Apache variants with bigger engines (to take on bikes like the Bajaj Pulsar 180 and Pulsar 200), a new 125cc motorcycle and more powerful scooter variants.

Given the rising prices of petrol, TVS is also said to be working on CNG / LPG-powered bikes, though details on these are not available at the moment. The company is targeting a 40% increase in exports this year, with overseas sales increasing in the ASEAN region. TVS exports two-wheelers from its plant in Indonesia

Bajaj Auto posts q1 net profit of Rs 1.75 billion

Despite a slowdown in two-wheeler sales, Bajaj Auto Ltd. has posted a net profit of Rs 1.75 billion (US$41 million) in the first quarter of this fiscal.

Following a restructuring which split the manufacturing and financial services businesses into separate firms, Bajaj Auto relisted in May this year. The company’s net sales for the quarter amounted to Rs 23.11 billion.

Bajaj sold 620,095 motorcycles, scooters and three-wheelers in the first quarter of this fiscal, an increase of 8.5 percent over the same period last year. The company, which expects two-wheeler sales to be flat during 2008-09, plans to launch four new 125cc bikes, weaning consumers away from lower-capacity, lower-margin 100cc motorcycles.

Bajaj Auto Limited (BAL) has decided to produce its first four-wheeler light commercial vehicle – the PV1500 – at its manufacturing facility at Waluj, near Aurangabad. This LCV, which is expected to hit the market by mid-2009, will be designed and developed in-house, by BAL’s own technical and R&D team.

At one time, Bajaj used to produce various components for its two-wheelers at its Waluj factory. The sheds where these components used to be made are now not in use, since components are sourced from outside. The company may use these sheds to set up assembly lines for the PV1500.

With a payload capacity of one tonne, the PV1500 will go up against the Tata Ace. To source components for their first four-wheeler LCV, Bajaj is also likely to set up a vendor park at the Waluj, where suppliers will be encouraged to set up operations

Special Report- Honda and Bajaj Luxurybikes

Eying a big potential for luxury bikes in India, where tastes are changing from mass-market machines to high-end bikes, Honda and Bajaj are looking at launching new sportsbikes in the country in the next couple of months.

There had been a sudden surge in the number of International Sportsbikes brands entering the Indian market, over the past two years. Initially the trend was set by Kinetic with the launch of the 250cc, v-twin-powered Hyosung Comet in India back in 2005. Then it was Yamaha, which launched the Yamaha R1 in India and the MT-01 cruiser in 2007. Soon later followed by the Italian motorcycle giant Ducati, who launched an array of superbikes costing up to almost 50 lakhs, and finally Suzuki joined the superbike bandwagon in late-2008, with its Hayabusa superbike and the Intruder cruiser.
Keeping with that trend, Honda and Bajaj don’t want to be left behind. Honda now intends to provide some competition to the Yamaha R1and the Suzuki Hayabusa by launching the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade in India, in the first quarter of this year, and following will be a naked version of the bike (pictured below).

Honda also plans to launch the Honda CB1000R in India alongside it. Both bikes are expected to be priced at around Rs 9.5-10.5 lakhs, making them slightly cheaper alternatives to the R1 and the Hayabusa.

Top Honda Luxury bikes launched at Kyalami

Honda SA has launched its 2005 sports flagships on to the South African market with a flat-out track session at Kyalami racetrack near Johannesburg.

There an unruly mob of bike journos was able to give the new bikes big handfuls of throttle without worrying about such things as taxis, speed limits and traffic cops.

Before that, however, Honda SA motorcycle division head Basil Forssman presented the new CBR600RR and CBR1000RR Fireblade to the media.

He explained that pure sports machines ("superbikes" in PR-speak) make up about 10 percent of the two-wheeled market.


Honda now has 24 percent of that elite segment, thanks mostly to earlier versions of these two models; the 2004 CBR600RR was in fact last year's top 600-class sports bike.

Then it was time to put the bikes to the ultimate test on South Africa's premier racing circuit, an incredibly difficult track where nearly all the corners are blind. I spent the first session on the bigger machine re-learning where all the corners go, then settled down to some smooth laps on the 600.

Despite the phenomenal poise and competence of Honda's finest, I must admit that the high point of the day was being passed (no, let's be honest – demolished) by honoured guest Jim Redman, who won six World GP titles for Honda in the 1960s and is still racing at 73.

After all, how many street riders can boast of sharing a track with a living legend

YAMAHA LAUNCHES LUXURY BIKES

Yamaha Motor India Pvt. Ltd. (YMI) has rolled out two of its flagship models, the Super Sports YZF - R1 and the Torque Sports MT01 priced at Rs. 10.5 lakh each (ex-showroom) in the Indian market. With the ride of these two legendary machines into the country, the Japanese bike major is all set to provide Indian riders a chance to experience true ‘Art of Engineering’, which lies at the heart of Yamaha’s creations. Yamaha’s latest offerings combine technological superiority with artistic brilliance, to bring to life motorcycles that not only excite but astound.

YMI is the first two wheeler company to introduce this genre of super sports and torque sports performance bike in India. YZF - R1 and MT01 have gained immense popularity globally and have been instrumental in successfully demonstrating the technology superiority of Yamaha worldwide. The introduction of these machines, illustrates company’s aim of enriching Indian bikers riding experience and elevating the current biking paradigm.

“The rising number of big bikes enthusiasts coupled with increasing income levels makes India one of the most important markets for Yamaha”, says Tomotaka Ishikawa, CEO & MD, Yamaha Motor India. He adds, “With YZF - R1 and MT01, we aim to enrich Indian biker’s riding experience by adding a lifestyle quotient that would establish Yamaha’s credential as a technology superior and cool brand. The company is committed to provide international quality and lifestyle attributes of Yamaha brand to Indian consumers.

Signifying the launch of YZF - R1 and MT01 models as the first step towards the establishment of Global Yamaha image in India, Mr. Ishikawa further added that “the company is all geared to the challenge, to rebuild Yamaha brand in India and with the launch of YZF - R1 and MT01, Yamaha unleashes its strategic intent to offer superior product in India in times to comes, which would appeal to the Indian motorcycling trends.

The company is looking at refining the motorcycling culture in India by bringing in technologically advanced and visually appealing machines. Yamaha believes that building motorcycles is both a technological and an artistic endeavor. It pursues a level of performance that transcends mere specifications. The goal is to produce technologically superior motorcycles that should have a deep and intangible emotional appeal. Creating such machines is the essence of Yamaha-ism. It is what defines the company and this is what we call the “Art of Engineering"

LUXURY BIKES

We have wondered how Yamaha is still on top in sports bikes. The clear fact behind this success is the technology they use in their bikes. The best bikes launched by Yamaha Motor company are FJR1300AS, the 1000cc big naked models FZ1 and FZ1 Fazer, YFZ-R1 and YFZ-R6. The FJR1300AS features the new YCC-S that enables gear changes without clutch operation, while the YZF-R6 adopts with YCC-T, the first electronic controlled throttle on a production motorcycle. Yamaha also introduced its GENICH engineering concept that makes use of state of art electronic control technologies in motorcycle development. The YCC-S and YCC-T feature on the FJR1300AS and YZF-R6 are examples of this concept at work in motorcycle design.
Yamaha’s one of the rash version is yfz 600. It was launched in the year 1999 and was rated as top sports bike in the year of release. It has a 600 CC, liquid-cooled, 16-valve four cylinder engine and is known as thunder cat in the bike market. It is one of the best super sports motorbike in category of 600-650 CC. It has 6 speed transmission system, mono shock, 14 liter tank, allien look and by default it comes with a combination of blue-white with custom black or silver. It is also customized in drag racing and many racing events.