Looks wise, Duke 390 is very similar to Duke 125 and Duke 200. The 390 uses the same trellis frame that is used by other two models in the range, and the frame is well known for its stability. The change of course is felt when you ride the bike, you will be beyond doubt that it is all together a different powerhouse experience. The engine is relatively bigger as compared to that of older Duke, but is shorter stroked. The other features by which we can distinguish this bike from the other Dukes is the absence of a rear tire hugger and a newer paint scheme with some geometrical abstract designs.

The engine is said to churn out 44 BHP @ 9500 rpm and 35 Nm @ 7250 rpm. That may not a big number by superbike standards, but for a bike which weights 150 Kgs (with full tank of fuel), the power is good enough for the bike to pull from 0 to 100 in less than 6 seconds, putting it in the category of 650s.

Let’s look into technical aspects of this bike. The engine has been designed modernly with forged pistons and Nikasil coating. The place that houses the cylinder and the rocker arms are made up of high pressure cast aluminum and are DLC (Diamond like Carbon) coated with aluminum, as a result the weight is reduced coupled with DLC’s function i.e. to reduce wear and tear due to friction. Many readers might be aware of the best quality oil circuit of 1190 RC8 ! Yes, Duke 390 is blessed with the same channel with two pumps : one builds up the pressure while the other one evacuates.

KTM has designed the sitting position as per comforts, in the process giving it a sporty look. The gathered sitting position with rear set foot pegs delivers a comfortable riding experience. With KTM’s deep ergonomic study applied, the company is confident that this kind of seat will accommodate all types of people and their different riding positions, irrespective of the height of the rider.

The engineers of this Duke 390 have made a factastic job in pouring in the technology they have. The bike is equipped with the latest technology that is available, for e.g. the handlebars have been shaped by a process called “hydroforming”, which makes it look like an aluminum bar, but it is actually a stainless steel tube that’s been filled with water and then pumped up to high pressure. Thus, it undergoes expansion to its required dimensions, and as also bent to the required shape.

There was one request that had come from Bajaj Auto, that the bike be fitted with illuminated switchgear resembling the one that the Duke 200 has. These switchgears make heads turn at nights. Duke 390 is expected to launch next month in India and the brochures have already reached the KTM Stores across India. The anticipated price tag is little above Rs. 2 Lac, but if KTM decides to position the product as a premium offering with high price tag, they may not sell as much they expect to. Let us know who all are planning to own it using the comment form below.

The company is playing safe in introducing the revised version of the brand’s most popular bike, the one first introduced in the year 1922 which was the ‘ twinkle in the eye’ of bikers of that time. Indian Chief was the opening player of the 112 year old brand and proved to be the best in giving company the fame that it is enjoying today.

The company is ready with their first model of Indian Chief coming out right from the oven of the company placed at Spirit Lake, Iowa production plant. The bike will be available at an estimated MSRP starting at $18,999. Dealership for these bikes will be opened across the country to accommodate bike demands and service needs.

When Polaris bought Indian motorcycle two years ago, the idea was to adopt their ‘ready to use’ powers in engineering, manufacturing and operational in powersports to be used to build a remarkable bike.

On August 3 of this year, on the occasion of 73rd annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, the new Indian Chief will be unveiled. Though the launch time is not announced yet, it is likely to be announced this summer. This will be a dream launch for Indian motorcycle, as the rally being world’s largest one, was also launched by an Indian motorcycle club during 1936. Jackpine Gypsies was the club that started the rally. The company is very confident about the bike and feels that with competitive price tag, more people will be able to use the international quality bike.

The scooter that is being tested for fuel efficiency (we are assuming it looking at the fuel bottle). The test vehicle is equipped with things such as front mudguard, the headlight, grab rail, the rear tailpiece , vertically stacked exhaust, shutter lock and the rear mounted fuel filler cap, inspired from Honda Activa. We cannot say more about other features of the scooter as TVS may have disguised it calculatedly. Disguising its products as something else is TVS’s old job; the company is an old hand at it.

TVS testing its new scooter indicates that the scooter will be launched soon. As we said earlier, there are many good companies that are bidding high with their products in the 125cc category. Some major players in this segment are Suzuki, Piaggio and Yamaha, who are fighting the battle with their high power engines. Other companies which are making plans to enter the 125cc category are Hero and Honda.

Search tags:

Mahindra has put in all the efforts to make Pantero a success. The bike is designed keeping in mind the needs of youngsters. It has everything in terms of performance, reliability and functionality. Pantero is powered by intelligent 110cc, MCi-5 (Micro Chip ignited – 5 curve) engine which claims a fuel efficiency of 79.4 kmpl.

Mahindra Pantero is a stylish bike with features like LED pilot and tail lamps, and a fully digital dashboard. The new Pantero is available in 4 variants i.e. Pantero (Kick Start/ Spoke Wheels/ Analogue Console) – Rs. 39,650, Pantero (Kick Start/ Cast Alloy Wheels/ Analogue Console) – Rs. 40,550, Pantero (Self Start/ Cast Alloy Wheels/ Analogue Console) – Rs. 42,250, Pantero (Self Start/ Cast Alloy Wheels/ Digital Console) – Rs. 43,150. You can choose your bike from four colors i.e. Fiery Red, Sterling Silver, Blazing Black and Cool Black.

Pantero is designed and developed at Mahindra Two Wheelers’ future ready, state-of-the-art R&D Centre at Pune. The target customers for these bikes are first time buyers and youngsters. This bike by Mahindra provides a mileage of 79.5 kmpl (as per ARAI). Pantero comes with a warranty of 2 years, and an extended optional warranty of 3 years. With all these features, we feel Mahindra will finally make a place for itself in commuter biking segment.

Search tags:

FREERIDE E is the first electric bike that the company is producing, and the vehicle will be available in Europe next year. E-SPEED is the second electric vehicle by KTM, though it is the first urban mobility scooter by the company (FREERIDE E is an off road bike). This electric scooter was first showcased in Europe; there it was displayed to the domestic market at the Bike-Austria exhibition in Tulin, Austria.

Speaking about technical aspects of E-SPEED, Harald Plöckinger, KTM Executive Board Member for Production and Business Development said, “that the vehicle is fitted by an electric motor that brings out 15ps and 36Nm torque which are brought to the wheels through a belt drive. The scooter when fully charged can achieve a top speed of 84km/h and a range of 64km”.

KTM is all set to get its two vehicles FREERIDE E and E-SPEED on roads by 2014 and 2015 respectively. These ecofriendly vehicles will be a success, at least that’s what KTM believes. Now it is for readers to decide whether an electric scooter with KTM genes will succeed or not? Let us know through your valuable comments.

Search tags:

Most of Royal Enfield’s rivals focus on producing classy, costly, stylish, faster bikes, while Royal Enfield is planning to keep smaller displacement motors which is designed to allow more interaction with the terrain and offers purer biking. It is known fact that RE bikes are not only praised and loved in India, but in the European and international markets as well.

Royal Enfield’s new production set up at Orangdam is expected to produce 1.7lakh units by year end, which will take up the production by 55%. But, seeing Royal Enfield’s fan following, the company is planning to hike up the production by at least 5,00,000 units to fulfill the demand for these bikes, and the second phase already in action to produce 2,50,000 units in 2014. Now with such strong production capacity, the company is sure that the waiting time for these bikes will be reduced by 2 months. Earlier, the bike enjoyed waiting period of as much as 8 months, but now you may get your favorite RE within 6 months.

Search tags:

The actor personally owns lots of bikes. His collection includes mean machines like Yamaha RD-350, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R,Suzuki Hayabusa, Yamaha R1, FZ1000 and VMax. Those who know John say that he loves his bikes as he loves his girlfriend. The actor does not trust anyone on taking care of bikes, so he does the job personally.
The actor’s obsession for bikes can be seen in his movies as well. In one of his movies, ‘Dhoom’, we saw him ride the fastest bike of that time, Suzuki Hayabusa. His obsession for bikes is evident in his ring tone also, which when rings feels as if R1 is ready to take off. Yes, his ringtone is the exhaust note of his Yamaha R1. John is also the brand ambassador for Yamaha Motor India.

John is known for gifting his friends with two wheelers, that too the beasty ones. He gifted Akshay, who was his co- star, a Harley Davidson when their flick Housefull2 was loved by the audience. Now with success of shootout at Wadala, John is overwhelmed where he plays a gangster, and his role as well as the movie was well received by the audience, and to celebrate the success, John thought of gifting Sanjay Gupta, his close friend as well as the director of the movie, a beasty bike. This turned out to be Yamaha’s VMax, which is powered by 1,679cc which produces 200PS of power and 167Nm torque.

Search tags:

It was a proud moment for the company and to celebrate this occasion, TVS released a new teaser which showed a new apache RTR. Now we can say that a new updated Apache is on the way.

However, the new apache is not shown in the teaser. The teasers boasted heavy taglines like “The beast seeks a new skin” and “The day of the dark knight”. With pictures like a RTR standing in dark, side panels of existing apache chopped off and Apache with new grab rails, we can speculate that the new beast is going to be meaner than the existing one.

TVS Apache comes in three models i.e. Apache RTR 180 cc with anti-lock braking system, Apache RTR 180 cc and 160 cc. and to mark success the bike will show off a new one million badge. We really think that TVS should launch a bigger bike to stay competing in the performance segment. What are your thoughts on this? Let us know using the comment form below.

Search tags:

The picture is not clear, but the bike being fitted with a 300 badging is sure. The market for 300cc bikes is growing massively and with Honda producing this bike, it is going to be a good option for bikers. Now it is countdown time for Indian bikers as Honda may soon introduce this new 300cc bike to Indian market in the next few months.

Search tags:

LML claimed that since the invention was not genuine and just a rearrangement of technology, there should not be any patent for it. But, since the IPAB Chennai bench considers this as an inventive improvement finally dismissed LML’s appeal, but sources suggest that LML is likely to challenge the verdict by filing a writ petition at the Madras High Court.

Winning this legal battle was very important for Bajaj and advocate Mihir Kumar Chakrabarti, who proved to be Bajaj’s guardian angel.

Search tags: