Yamaha R15; what’s next?
Written by: Yogesh June 16th, 2008Yamaha R15 has been launched and is expected to be the new benchmark for performance motorcycles in India. Now the ball is in Bajaj Auto, Hero Honda and TVS Motors’ court, and it remains to be seen how these biggies of Indian automobile world respond, to counter the threat posed by Yamaha R15.
After all it’s not just the coveted title of the most powerful motorcycle in India on the line, but the brand image, exposure and desirability which comes with producing these niche motorcycles, which only a few can afford, but majority of the bikers dreams about.
We examine the leaders of Indian motorcycle industry and try to gauge what their likely response would be:
Bajaj Auto: Bajaj Auto has kept the flame of innovation burning for past few years and until recently held the title of producing the most powerful production motorcycle in India (Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi). They certainly have the talent, pocket and willingness to recapture the title of most powerful production motorcycle in India.
Having launched the Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi exactly a year back, we feel time is right for them to release the updated version of 220. A four valve 220 with a few more engine tweaks and a bit of weight loss might just be enough to exceed/match the R15. After all if they can add 3 extra horses in the four valve XCD Sprint (XCD 9.53ps vs. XCD sprint 12.5ps), why not the 220?
Hero Honda: With Honda’s world renowned technology and the fact its flagship product (Karizma) is getting a bit too old; a new updated version and/or a new flagship product is on the cards, which would likely have more than just cosmetic upgrades.
Karizma Fi, CBR 250 or even the CBR 150 to take on the R15, our guess is as good as yours as we wait for India’s largest motorcycle manufacturer to reveal its cards.
TVS Motors: TVS Motors is the only home grown Indian motorcycle manufacturer which actively participates in the motor sports arena and puts the feedback and knowledge gained on the track to their every day motorcycle. While they are expected to launch the Apache RTR 160 Fi in the coming days, it is the performance race kit version which we are eagerly waiting for.
Showcased at the AutoExpo 2008, the performance race kit for Apache RTR 160 (carbureted version) adds another 3.3 horses to an already potent package and is still expected to cost 15-20k less than the R15. Whether or not that would be enough to take on the might of the R15, but it would surely be fun to see bikes with similar capacity but totally different technology going head to head!
Whether its Bajaj Auto, Hero Honda, TVS Motors or any other motorcycle manufacturer, who manages to dethrone the R15, it is surely going to be an exciting time for us bikers.
Indiaon2wheels.com rocks…great info…
http://nanduchitnis.blogspot.com/
Thank you sir.
Hey my take is that the R15 has come too late and offers too little xcept the looks n some techonology, over existing Desi bikes….as you said elsewhere lets see when Honda releases the 250 cc bike and what Bajaj has to offer….
I have P-220 cc …I don’t see much value addition. Now having done some riding on Harleys and Hondas here in the USA (am still here), I feel these Japs are taking us for granted as in they see sales in loww cc bikes only…which may be a mistake..maybe not…either way the Indian consumer /touring enthusiast as in Bn and xbhp or whatever, they got nothing coming their way at reasonable costs.
One point…was speaking to a HD sales guy at Bellevue..he said low cc bikes like Sportster are flying off the shelf whereas the 1400 cc and abve bikes sales are very sluggish given that gas has shot to $ 5/- per gallon. Seattle Times reported very high volume of sales of Vespa scooters (much like our say Honda Activa types) …and SUV sales are crashing….
plzzz tell me when wil be the new model of karizma wil launch………?????
Please do tell me iam planning to buy Yamaha RZF R15 but shall i wait for New Honda 150 CC & 250 CC launch as Yamaha 150 cc demon is lakh in Cost which is very unappropriate for a 150 cc bike what you say will honda & suzuki 150cc segment will be cheaper than yamaha?
plz tell me which showroom near from kalyan
becose i want purches r15 bike
the R15 is a strange thing. Yamaha has banked on a 1 lakh 150cc when they could have easily introduced the 250cc Fraser for the same price or a little more - the bike is made in Brazil.
I think Yamaha is totally disconnected from reality here and will have to pack up and go home if they do not wake up
hi! can you tell when hero honda cbr 150 will be launched/?
Does anyone know where i can get a ECU chip for the Honda R15.
plz send me a mail with all details of new karizma fi cbr> with price list and some photos of it
hi when wii cbr 150 is going to launch plz sand me details about that one its mileage and cost
hi sir
can u send me details about honda cbr150,when it is going to launch and its mileage and cost further details etc
hi sir can u send me details of honda cbr150 whn it is going to b launch and its cost
leave all this folks…go and get urself the R15….therz nt gna be any bike like this in India for the next three years…..And if you doubt bou this ask the people using the R15….and ride it for urself and see….
Check out this link also
http://www.mouthshut.com/product-reviews/Yamaha_R15-925076709.html
can u tel me about the upcoming bikes in jan 2009 and their costs.
can u tel me about the upcoming bikes in jan 2009 and their costs.