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

Tata Motors has organised a free monsoon check-up from July 28 - August 2 across any of its dealerships in the country

Keeping cars in perfect shape especially during monsoon is something Tata clearly understands extremely well. And to ensure just that for all its customers, Tata has organised s free monsoon check-up from July 28 to August 2. 

Customers can get their cars serviced at any of the 585 dealerships across the country. Aside from the free check-up, they can also get their cars serviced and avail a discount of 20 per cent on genuine parts and service charges. In fact, the Sanand-based car maker has also tied-up with 25 suppliers to avail a discount of 10 per cent on lubricants. Since tyres connect a car to the road, it is extremely important to have them in good shape. Tata will also offer special benefits for those who intend to purchase tyres and batteries. 

Speaking about the camp, Mayank Pareek, president, Passenger Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors said, “We believe that after-market services are imperative to enhance customer experience. This service camp is specially targeted to help our customers overcome issues that are resultant of the monsoons. Sales and service from Tata Motors is evolving and adopting a customer centric approach, creating new benchmarks and identity for the company.”

Tata isn’t the only car maker to organise such a monsoon camp. Fiat too has a similar monsoon camp organised for all its customers. 

Courtesy : Zigwheels

The S-Cross will be available with two engine options and five trim levels; will be sold via Nexa showrooms.

The Maruti Suzuki S-Cross will be launched on August 5, and will become the first model to be retailed exclusively through the brand’s premium Nexa showrooms.

The S-Cross gets two engine options — the DDiS 320 has a 1.6-litre diesel that makes 118bhp and 32.6kgm of torque, and the DDiS 200 comes with a 1.3-litre oil-burner that makes 89bhp and 20.39kgm of torque. The S-Cross DDiS 320 has a claimed fuel-economy figure of 22.70kpl, while the DDiS 200 claims 23.65kpl.

The S-Cross will be offered in five trims - Sigma, Sigma (O), Delta, Zeta and Alpha. While the DDiS 200 is available in all of those trim levels, the DDiS 320 only comes in the top Cheap UK Replica Women and Mens Watches,Fake Rolex Breitling ... three trims. Equipment level on the car is good, with the top trims getting kit like dual front airbags, ABS, projector headlamps, rear parking sensors, reversing camera, climate control and touchscreen infotainment system.

The Maruti S-Cross will rival the likes of the Renault Duster, Ford EcoSport and the new Hyundai Creta.

Courtesy : Autocar

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