My next bike

Of late i have been idling, trying to kill time. So i have decided to blog religiously(atleast once a week).

My bike, a Pulsar150, is getting a bit old. So i have started looking for a bigger beast. The India Auto Expo 2008 threw in a lot of surprises, atleast i was surprised to see the no. of bikes launched. Its not just about the numbers but also the quality of the bikes that were being launched. I am listing a few bikes that took my attention, and one of these would be my next bike.

Yamaha R15

The latest from the Yamaha stable for the Indian market. It is inspired from the Yamaha Vixion and the Yamaha R1. It is has the same specs as the Yamaha Vixion with the farings similar to a R1. It looks impressive, so is the specs. Check this out :

149.7 C.C, 4 Stroke
Liquid Cooled
Single Cylinder
4 Valves

6 speed gearbox
Power: 11.10 kw (14.88 HP or 15.09 PS) / 8,500 rpm
Torque: 13.10 nm (1.34 Kgf.m)/ 7,500 rpm
Compression Ratio: 10.4 : 1

The power is still the 'X' factor. The speculation is that it is going to belt down a 20-22 BHP out of the 150cc engine. But the official figures keep it at a modest 16 BHP. At 120 Kg, this is going to be a bike that is going to easy to handle in heavy traffic. Mileage, hmmm..... , it should be somewhere between 30-35 kmpl, similar to a Karizma. Also i am expecting the pricing to be a bit competitive with the other bikes in this segment at around 85,000 to 100,000 Rs.

I was also interested in the following bikes:

1. Bajaj launching the Kawasaki Ninja 250R, but the probable price is Rs200,000(phew... was too expensive). But its a great bike.

2. One another bike that i am eyeing on for a long time is the Hyosung comet. It has now been taken out of production, and only the 650cc variant is available. Sadly this did not hit Indian markets though. Probably this would have been due to the Hyosung designed Kinetic's GF series flopped big time in India.