In line with its goal to set up 200 outlets of its ‘Best Deal’ pre-owned two-wheeler business, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) today inaugurated its 150th outlet at Aadhi Honda, Coimbatore, in Tamil Nadu.

HMSI, which pioneered the concept of certified pre-owned outlets in the Indian two-wheeler industry, has seen the initiative tap into the huge potential that the pre-owned two-wheeler market offers in the country. From November 2017 onwards, when the two-wheeler industry faced challenges like demonetisation and later the transition from BS-III to BS-IV emission norms, which led to single-digit growth, there was a significant boost in demand for pre-owned two-wheelers.

In 2016-17, sales of Honda’s Best Deal business rose 23 percent, which is three times that of the new two-wheeler industry growth of seven percent. To accelerate growth in this business division, HMSI went about rapidly expanding the Best Deal network which grew by 44 percent to 147 outlets in the last fiscal.

Speaking at the inauguration of the 150th Best Deal outlet in Coimbatore, Yadvinder Singh Guleria, senior vice-president - Sales & Marketing, HMSI, said, “Our experience shows that the pre-owned industry is evolving at a very fast pace and the replacement cycle for two-wheeler has come down to 4-5 years. Honda sees good future potential in the pre-owned two-wheeler business and has advanced its expansion horizon to 200 Best Deal Outlets by the end of this fiscal itself.”

Organised platform in a highly fragmented market

HMSI’s Best Deal, which is the first retail setup by a two-wheeler manufacturer in India in the highly fragmented and unorganised pre-owned market, now covers 117 cities across 21 states of India. The business offers an organised platform to the earlier untapped category of those two-wheeler customers who want to exchange their existing vehicle of any make for a brand new Honda two-wheeler, and those who want to buy a refurbished and certified pre-owned Honda two-wheeler and seek the best deal in the used two-wheeler market.

For two-wheeler owners, the biggest advantage over the unorganised platform is the peace of mind as every purchase comes with two free services, six-month warranty and genuine aftersales support. The seller also receives the best price for his/her two-wheeler. Also, the Honda Best Deal outlet verifies the owner's documents and assures a hassle-free and timely ownership transfer to the new customer.

Courtesy : Autocar

Italian superbike-maker, MV Agusta, has finally taken the wraps off their first ever 'factory custom' creation – the RVS#1. The company began to build the hype last month when they released a small teaser showing a silhouette of the motorcycle. Now that the bike has broken cover, we can assert that it certainly looks stunning.

The RVS in the name stands for Reparto Veicoli Speciali, Italian for Special Vehicle Operations. The objective of this division is to make limited-edition bikes based on models from MV Agusta's line-up, and that's why their first ever handiwork gets the RVS#1 moniker. But the design studio's motorcycles aren't going to be your typical limited-edition fare. The premise here is one bike, one customer, essentially making this #1 a hand-built one-off.

The RVS#1 started life as a Brutale Dragster 800 RR, but then the designers and engineers at MV Agusta's Castiglioni Research Centre (CRC) have gone bonkers with it. There's liberal use of titanium in the form of plates on the fuel tank and the steering head. Custom-designed parts by CRC such as rearsets, engine protectors, handlebars and dashboard support are all part of the bike's unique look. The seat unit is custom stitched in a honeycomb pattern and also features an embroidered design of a red-eyed skull for a bit of personality.

At the front, the RVS#1 gets exceptionally dramatic-looking brake rotors, courtesy of Braking Sunstar's Batfly disc brakes. At both ends are custom wire-spoke wheels from Kineo, shod with Pirelli MT60 RS tyres. Mounted on the right side are a pair of LED lights on a carbon-fibre support, but the headlamp is a far more interesting element. Consisting of an array of LEDs, it features an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) due to which the headlight can automatically illuminate in the direction the bike is turning, based on lean angle and speed.

Powering the RVS#1 is MV's familiar 798cc, three-cylinder motor, which makes 140hp of peak power and 87Nm of torque in its road-legal configuration. However, bundled along with the bike is a titanium SC Project exhaust that's designed for track use only; it bumps up the power figure to 150hp. This exhaust also drops the weight of the bike by 8kg. No matter which way you look at it – 140hp/168kg (dry) in its road-legal trim and 150hp/160kg (dry) in its track-only trim – the RVS#1 is all about high performance.

Since each motorcycle is built so specific to customer requirements, the best way to get your hands on an RVS creation is to contact MV Agusta and let them know you have the interest, and oodles of cash, so that they can commission a two-wheeled work of art for you.

Courtesy : Autocar 

V10 Plus drop-top R8 to be the last variant of the second-gen R8; V10 develops 610hp and 560Nm of torque.

Audi has revealed the R8 Spyder V10 Plus as the final addition to its R8 supercar range. Set to go on sale internationally in the coming months, the Plus has around 70hp and 20Nm more than the standard R8 Spyder V10, giving it a total of 610hp and 560Nm of torque.

It's also 25kg lighter, thanks to the use of carbon fibre-reinforced plastics on its interior and exterior. This means the Plus weighs 1,587kg, which is 167kg more than the Lamborghini Huracán Spyder and 83kg less than the Porsche 911 Turbo.

The Plus's increased power and decreased weight equate a 0.3sec improvement to 0-100kph time and a 10kph increase in top speed over the regular V10 Spyder, at 3.3sec and 332kph.

The Plus is marked out by carbon fibre trim across the exterior in place of the standard car's gloss black trim. Its trapezoidal exhausts are also split into four separate pipes, in place of two larger, undivided pipes. The Plus also gets standard bucket seats and ceramic brakes.

Audi confirmed that no further variants on the R8 will be added to the range after the R8 Spyder V10 Plus, quelling speculation of a lightweight variant akin to the Huracán Performante.

The second-gen R8 is currently available in India only as the R8 V10 Plus Coupe though the automaker could expand the line-up to include the drop-top models at a later stage.

Courtesy: Autocar

In the past few years, a whole bunch of motorcycle manufacturers have flocked to the Indian market, vying to grab some share of its 18-million-units-a-year-and-growing sales pie. That global biggies like BMW, Harley-Davidson, Ducati, the Japs and Triumph have set up shop here is not surprising; what is, though, is the interest shown by smaller, niche players like Moto Guzzi and UM. Well, this list is about to get a wee bit longer this year with the entrance of yet another player – Cleveland CycleWerks, an American motorcycle manufacturer based in Cleveland, Ohio.

You might be racking your memory at this point of time trying to remember the last time you heard of Cleveland CycleWerks (CCW). Don't beat yourself up if you cannot; it is unlikely you have been acquainted with this brand. In a world where brands like Indian and Harley-Davidson have been making bikes for more than a hundred years, CCW is just a fertilised egg, not even a newborn. Set up in 2009 by three Americans – Scott Colosimo, Jarrod Streng, and Curtis Ray, CCW debuted its first motorcycle, a hardtail bobber called 'tha Heist' in February 2010, and have added four other bikes to their line-up between then and now.

Most of the components of CCW's motorcycles are sourced from China, with the bikes sold in some 25 countries. CCW offers small displacement motorcycles, ranging from 125cc to 450cc. All of its motorcycles are powered by single-cylinder engines that are based on older Honda motors. CCW's principal founder Colosimo wanted to build cool motorcycles that were affordable, accessible and simple, and that is what he has done with CCW's line-up.

CCW will enter the Indian market through a joint-venture with Laish-Madison MotorWerks (LMMW), a company based in Hyderabad, Telangana. LMMW plans to assemble (or manufacture?) CCW bikes in India, probably out of a plant in Telangana itself; our sources tell us that work on setting up this plant has already begun.

CCW will offer three of its five models in India in its first year: Ace, a retro-classic commuter; Misfit, a café-racer; and FXr, a dirt bike. The first bike to be launched in India will be the Ace, and we are told that it has already completed component testing at ARAI and will finish final testing by July 2017. It plans on launching the two remaining bikes from its global line-up – the Heist, a hardtail bobber and the Hooligun, a dual-sport Enduro-style bike – perhaps in its second year.
CCW will officially launch its first bike, as well as its India operations in September 2017.

Below is a close look at the CCW's model line-up:

1. Heist

2. Ace
The Ace is a retro-classic commuter powered by the same 230cc engine as the Heist, sitting in a traditional single-cradle frame. The Ace's engine is in the same tune as the Heist's, putting out 14.8hp at 7,000rpm and 15.8Nm at 5,500rpm. The Ace is available in two variants – Standard and Deluxe. The Standard is a pretty basic motorcycle, while the Deluxe gets a few upgrades such as aluminium wheels, inverted forks, wider bars, dual surface tyres, rear disc brake and a flat seat. The Ace Standard has a wheelbase of 1,280mm, while the Deluxe gets 1,325mm. Both have a seat height of 785mm and weigh 136kg wet.

3. Misfit
The Misfit is a café-racer-style premium commuter. Powered by a 223cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled engine with an overhead camshaft and a power and torque output of 16.3hp at 7,500rpm and 18Nm at 5,500rpm, the Misfit is meant to be the sportiest bike of the range. It gets inverted front forks, a 315mm, four-piston disc brake up front and a 220mm, two-piston disc brake at the back. The bike has a wheelbase of 1,400mm and seat height of 775mm, along with a wet weight of 144kg.

4. FXx and FXr
The FXx and FXr are crosses between a mountain and a dirt bike, according to CCW. Powered by 124cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled engines that produce 8.3hp at 8,500rpm and 8.5Nm at 7,500rpm, these bikes look the part. The FXr is a street-legal version of the FXx, and comes with headlights, taillights and indicators. Both bikes get inverted forks up front and a monoshock round the back, along with front and rear disc brakes, and a wheelbase, ground clearance and seat height of 1,810mm, 360mm and 860mm, respectively.

5. Hooligun
The Hooligun is a dual-sport, Endure-style motorcycle, the largest-capacity bike in the CCW line-up. It is powered by a 449cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine with an output of 43.5hp at 7,000rpm and 42.5Nm at 6,500rpm. The engine sits in an aluminium twin-spar mainframe with an aluminium sub-frame. The suspension setup consists of inverted forks up front and a monoshock at the back, while braking is handled by 240mm discs front and back. The 120kg bike has a wheelbase of 1,500mm, ground clearance of 330mm and seat height of 960mm. It is available in two variants – R and X – with the former sporting on/off tyres for road riding and the latter knobbies for more serious off-roading.

Courtesy: Autocar 

Volkswagen has unveiled the new sixth-generation Polo at a media reception held at its Wolfsburg headquarters in Germany. The all-new hatchback is an outwardly larger, significantly roomier and more technically sophisticated model than today’s eight-year-old car.

Set to make its public debut at the upcoming Frankfurt motor show, the new Polo will be produced in five-door hatchback form only, with buyers offered the choice of up to six engines – the most powerful being a range-topping 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol unit good for 200hp powering the GTi model.

Based around the German carmaker’s MQB A0 platform – the old car was underpinned by VW’s PQ25 platform, the new Volkswagen has grown quite significantly. Measuring in at 4,053mm in length, 1,7511mm in width and 1,446mm in height, it is 81mm longer, 63mm wider and 7mm lower than its predecessor. The wheelbase too is now 94mm longer at 2,564mm.

Despite being immediately recognisable as a Volkswagen, VW designers have incorporated a number of new design elements on the new car, including a distinctive swage line graphic that provides additional structure to the bodywork in an area above the door handles.

The new Polo will be sold in six different trim lines. Included are the familiar Trendline, Comfortline and Highline trims, a special Beats edition with an upgraded sound system and an R-line trim featuring re-profiled bumpers, standard 16-inch alloy wheels and darkened exterior elements among other unique touches.

At the top of the line-up is the GTi. It receives a number of traditional cues, including uniquely-styled bumpers, a honeycomb grille insert, red highlights within the headlamps, 17-inch alloy wheels, a rear spoiler atop the tailgate, LED tail lamps and dual-chromed tailpipes.

The decision to dispense with the three-door bodystyle, which has traditionally accounted for over 30 per cent of worldwide sales, comes on the back of slowing sales and follows similar moves from rival automakers.  

The increase in external dimensions combines with the improved packaging offered by the new MQB A0 platform to provide the new Polo with a larger interior boasting a claimed 15mm increase in headroom up front and 30mm increase in headroom in the rear. Volkswagen also quotes a significant 71-litre improvement in luggage capacity at 351 litres.

The interior has been thoroughly redesigned, with a newly styled dashboard featuring a new steering wheel and more contemporary switchgear at the centre of the changes. Analogue instruments remain standard, though Volkswagen’s Active Info Display digital instruments along with a wide number of connectivity functions, including a wireless smartphone charging pad and keyless access are offered as options.

Volkswagen has confirmed that the 2017 model year Polo will be sold with the choice of four petrol engines and a sole diesel one in varying states of tune, although not all will be available at the time of launch. Each receives a standard stop/start function and brake energy recuperation for improved efficiency.

Gearboxes include either a standard five- or six-speed manual, with a seven-speed dual clutch unit available as an option in combination with the more powerful engines on offer. Despite developing the smaller version of the MQB platform to accept four-wheel drive, Volkswagen says the sixth-generation Polo models will be sold exclusively with front-wheel drive.

Among the petrol engines is a naturally-aspirated, 1.0-litre, three-cylinder multi-point injected unit offered in two states of tune – 65hp or 75hp. It is joined from the outset by a more sophisticated turbocharged 1.0-litre, three-cylinder direct-injection engine developing either 95hp or 115hp.

Further up is a new 1.5 TSI running Volkswagen’s newly developed turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder direct injection petrol engine with 150hp.

Topping the line-up is the new GTI. It eschews the turbocharged 1.8-litre, four-cylinder direct injection engine of its predecessor for a larger turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine which bumps up power by about 8hp to 200hp.

On the diesel front, Volkswagen will launch the new Polo with just one engine option – a 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel unit delivering either 81hp or 96hp.

Also available in selected markets will be a natural-gas-propelled 1.0 TGI model running a specially adapted version of Volkswagen’s turbocharged 1.0-litre four-cylinder direct injection petrol engine developing 90hp.

The all-new Polo will go on sale internationally by the end of the year with production expected to start shortly. For India, Volkswagen recently signed an MoU with Tata Motors to use the latter’s AMP platform to develop models for the country. So, while a Polo replacement could be on the cards, it is yet unknown if VW will bring in a reengineered version of the all-new international model shown here or launch an indigenously developed alternative.

Courtesy: Autocar