Honda's grand pricing plan may not have worked out, but the 650 is still a motorcycle to watch for

First, the good news. At long last, the wait for the Honda CBR650F is over. The 649cc, in-line-four Honda CBR650F will officially launch in India in about ten days from today. Now, the bad news: it will be priced way higher than expected. That said, we still can’t help but feel excited at the prospect of seeing another four-cylinder sports-tourer around.

The motorcycle’s inline-four produces 86bhp and 63Nm, and is mated to a six-speeder. The sports-tourer has a steel twin-spar frame and aluminium swingarm, and is equipped with a 41mm fork up front and a preload adjustable monoshock suspension at the rear. ABS will be standard. The 650F will only be available in the red-white-blue Honda racing livery, for now.

Honda showcased the motorcycle at the 2014 Auto Expo, and its appeal was enhanced by its expected pricing, which was supposed to be around Rs 5.5 lakh. This would’ve helped Honda undercut the Benelli 600GT, and made the 650F the most affordable four-cylinder powered, faired motorcycle in the country. The pricing would have also meant that the twin-cylinder Kawasaki Ninja 650 and the four-pot Benelli 600GT would have had to contend with a rapidly gaining Honda in their rear-view mirrors.

But Honda’s plan for an aggressively priced motorcycle took a nose-dive after the company reportedly failed to meet the originally planned level of localisation for the 650F. So, while the CBR650F will be assembled in India, localisation is expected to be only around 5 percent. The result? The price is expected to get yanked to around Rs 8 lakh.

While the price hike has dampened our enthusiasm a bit, Honda can possibly take consolation from the fact that the current prices of litre-class bikes is nearly double the cost of the CBR650F. And, a capable Honda 650cc should find takers who won’t really mind the revised pricing.

Courtesy : Top Gear.

Scramblers are all the jazz these days, with every manufacturer trying to slice a piece of this time-travelling pie. The latest manufacturer to enter the retro-themed scrambler motorcycles market is the Iconic Japanese motorcycle maker, Yamaha.

This all new scrambler style Yamaha, christened the XSR700, builds on Yamaha’s Faster Sons philosophy and pays homage to design icons of the manufacturer’s past such as the XS650 whilst showcasing tomorrow’s technical features. Underneath the XS650 inspired design this retro street bike comes with the latest chassis technology. The light, slim steel and easy customizable backbone-type frame under the retro body utilises the 689cc engine as a stressed member. The motorcycle is available in two colour options: Forest Green and Garage Metal.

Adding to the aesthetic of the XSR700 are a slew of retro-fitted additions such as two-texture leather seat and easily customizable sub-frame, aluminium tank, vintage style headlight, taillight, an all digital instrument cluster, mesh cover, short muffler and front fender stay & radiator cover carved out of aluminium.

The 689cc inline 2-cylinder engine, capable of delivering 74.8 PS of power and 68Nm of torque, features Yamaha’s special ‘crossplane philosophy’, claiming to develop linear torque for outstanding acceleration.

Courtesy : Motoroids

Called Central Triumph, this exclusive showroom will sell all 13 models from the bike maker.

Triumph Motorcycles India has announced the commencement of operations in Indore, Madhya Pradesh with the launch of a showroom. Located on Ring Road, this is the 11th Triumph showroom here in India.

The new showroom is equipped with a state-of-the-art service centre and will retail all of Triumph’s 13 motorcycles, including the Bonneville and Bonneville T100, the Speed Triple, the Rocket III, the Street Triple, the Thruxton, the Tiger XRx, Tiger XCx, Tiger Explorer XC, the Thunderbird Storm and the Thunderbird LT, and the Daytona 675 and 675R.

At the inauguration, Vimal Sumbly, MD, Triumph Motorcycles India said, “I think Indore in particular is extremely crucial to our plan for Central India. With our state-of-the art dealership, our aim is to give the brand lovers an overall experience of the product they deserve from a globally renowned brand like Triumph Motorcycles.”

Ragini Sanghi, dealer principal, Central Triumph added, “The philosophy with which we operate is in tandem with the ethos of Triumph Motorcycles and customer satisfaction is of utmost importance to us. We feel it is a perfect alliance and we will ensure that highest standards of sales and service are followed.”

Currently, Triumph has its dealerships in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kochi and Kolkata.

Courtesy : Autocar

Next generation Triumph Street Triple with a new 800cc displacement motor and four variants is being developed with an estimated launch by late 2016

Competition gets the best out of you and that seems to be the case with Triumph. With Yamaha and MV Agusta stepping up the ante in the middleweight segment which is its bread and better market. According to MCN, Triumph Motorcycles is working on the next generation Street Triple range. The 2016 Triumph Street Triple will feature a higher displacement motor that is rumoured to push around 125PS of power. The Triumph Street Triple 800 will get cosmetic updates along with new instrument cluster (TFT screen) and electronic aids.

The information was leaked after the British bikemaker recently conducted a survey with the owners of existing model range. The Triumph Street Triple will be offered in four variants to address the needs of varying consumers. The base Triumph Street Triple will have a power output of 110PS which is a hike of 5PS (the Indian spec model produces 80PS though). The base spec model will be equipped with electronic throttle bodies and traction control. European pricing will be around Rs 7.8 lakh. The Triumph Street 800R will get additional 5PS along with adjustable Showa sourced suspension, three riding modes and will carry a sticker price of Rs 8.8 lakh.

Courtesy : Zigwheels