The motorcycles will feature alongside other automotive and technology concepts from the Japanese giant.

Honda is set to highlight its concept exhibits at the 44th Tokyo Motor Show, with the booth themed according to the company’s global brand slogan, ‘The power of dreams’.

The manufacturer will showcase a total of three motorcycles concepts in addition to its automotive and technology concepts.

The two-wheelers concepts lined up are:

Neowing: Honda’s first tilting tricycle called the Neowing pays homage to the company’s touring legend, the Goldwing. The trike will be a hybrid featuring a four-cylinder boxer engine mated to an electric motor. The power will be transferred to the rear wheel via a shaft.

Light Weight Super Sports Concept: This striking concept is contrasted to the curved, flowing design seen on Honda's current line of super sport machines. The super ports concept uses carbon fibre, USD forks and a tubular sub-frame. The single brake disc hints at the motorcycle being powered by a medium-capacity engine used in the CBR 300R.

EV-Cub Concept: A personal commuter concept heavily based on the evergreen Honda Super Cub was first featured at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show. It features a detachable battery and is capable of being recharged through a conventional wall socket, improving its practicality.

Courtesy : Autocar

On Saturday, a fine podium had kept rookie title hopes alive for the Sahara Force India Academy driver but two haywire races took away the chance.

On Saturday, a fine podium finish had kept rookie title hopes alive for the Sahara Force India Academy driver but two haywire races on Sunday took away the chance.

On Saturday, the gap was down to 4.5 points between Daruvala, who drives for Fortec Motorsport and rookie rival Max Defourny (Strakka Racing).

Sunday’s first race was a disaster for the mens replica watches uk Indian as he spun four times in treacherous conditions, with the last spin resulting in a DNF after having completed six laps after having started sixth on the grid.

His rival Defourny though finished ninth, stretching the lead to 16.5 points with one race to go where Daruvala was set to start P2.

A jump start in race three put paid to any hopes of a title showdown, and while the Indian hesitated off the line having realised his error, it didn’t prevent the stewards from handing him a drive-through penalty.

Furthermore, he got entangled with Dries Vanthoor on the opening lap, the contact sending the Indian flying off the track. Having served the drive-through, he emerged in last place (18th) and fought back to 11th but it wasn’t enough as Defourny finished fourth to seal rookie honours.

In the overall Renault 2.0 NEC standings, Louis Deletraz won with 378 points followed by Kevin Jorg with 305 points and Ukyo Sasahara on 296.

Defourny finished fourth and as the top rookie with 218 points while Daruvala rounded off the top five and the cheap replica watches second-best rookie with 194.5 points.

Courtesy :  Autocar

We ride the new Dark Custom trio of the Harley-Davidson Street 750, Iron 883 and the Forty Eight on the busy streets of Tokyo

We will concentrate our attention on the most important of the refreshed Dark Custom range – Harley-Davidson Street 750. The Street 750 is definitely the most important product in its Indian portfolio given the fact that it’s the first motorcycle to be manufactured outside USA. It showcased to global performance bikemakers that one can manufacture world class motorcycles in India and localization will help them in keeping cost under check. The Harley-Davidson Street 750 that we rode was the Japanese-spec model with Michelin tyres and modified tall gear ratios to meet the Japanese homologation rules. In terms of appearance, one cannot differentiate the new refreshed Street 750 from its predecessor unless until you have opted for the new blue shade that looks good in flesh. We would have preferred some physical changes to the new bike so as to differentiate both the machines but since it’s a facelift Harley boffins felt it wasn’t necessary. Anyways the overall design of the bike is good and seems to have clicked among the masses given the sales figure.

The biggest change in the new Harley-Davidson Street 750 is the revised rear disc brake. The rear brake on the older bike lacked bite and feedback which was a bit worrisome given the enthusiastic performance on tap. Gladly, Harley-Davidson engineers have addressed this issue and introduced a new Brembo system. And the difference can be felt right away, less force is required on the pedal and the braking is more progressive with good feedback. One thing that is disappointing is the lack of ABS. According to Harley officials ABS was given a miss to keep cost under check but it should have at least given as an optional extra given the fact that they have revised the whole system and it will be made mandatory from 2017.

Among the other highlights of the Harley-Davidson Street 750 is the enthusiasm with which it corners. The bike we rode was sporting Michelin Scorcher tyres. Despite the extremely wet conditions they provided excellent grip and I am sure the above tyres can further improve the handling dynamics of the Street 750 as they are considerably better than the stock MRF sourced tyres. Harley claims that they have tightened up the loose wires and cables running around the bike which was somewhat of an eye sore on the older model. But sadly we couldn’t really see any difference on the new Street 750 and lose wires are still visible. No changes have been carried out on the mechanical front, which is fine given the ample power and punch the motor has on offer. The overall updates made on the new Street 750 are limited but the upgradation of rear brake is a welcome move. The Harley-Davidson Street 750 is also among the best-rounded products from its portfolio and the new updates should further help in elevating its sales figure.

Prior to the Street 750 entering our market, the Harley-Davidson Iron 883 was its highest selling motorcycle. And despite the introduction of the Street 750, it continues to gather decent sales figure owing to the appeal of its air-cooled motor and great styling. Part of the update, the Iron 883 and the Forty Eight receive minor cosmetic touches and a revised rear suspension setup. Riding dynamics remain satisfactorily with good grunt on offer from the V-twin motor and decent handling as we pierced the Tokyo traffic on the Iron 883.

While the Harley-Davidson Forty Eight has oodles of torque for punchy acceleration but the fat section front tyre compromises handling somewhat. The most vital update on the Harley-Davidson Iron 883 and the Forty Eight is the new adjustable rear suspension. Honestly we couldn’t gauge the impact of the new suspension on the butter smooth roads of Tokyo and we will have to ride them on our tarmac to better understand them. Overall changes on the new Dark Custom range are limited but they are a step in the correct direction of improving the motorcycles and the updated range is already on sale in the Indian market. 

From hot hatchbacks to the supersport SUVs to family MPVs, there is something for everyone in October 2015. Here are five cars to look forward to.

With the festive season in full swing, every manufacturer is working double time to get their cars out in the market. From MPVs to hot Hatchbacks to supersport SUVs, there is something for everyone being launched in October. Here are five cars that you should look forward to if you are in the market for a brand new car.

Maruti Ertiga facelift

Maruti will soon launch the updated and the facelifted version of the Eriga in India. The new Ertiga will get a new front end design with a new grille and of course a new bumper that is similar to the one found on the Ciaz. The new Ertiga will also get an updated interior that features a similar waterfall design dashboard. Talking about features, the 2015 Maruti Ertiga gets start/stop button, rear parking camera, smartplay infotainment system, Bluetooth audio, parking sensors, 50:50 split third row seat, rear accessory socket and electrically foldable OVRM. On the powertrain front, expect the same set of engines to be carried forward on the facelifted model and the Ertiga will be available with both petrol and diesel powerplant.

Maruti Suzuki Baleno

The Maruti Suzuki Baleno hatchback will finally be available in India post its launch in late October. As one of the most awaited cars of the year, the new Baleno will go straight up against the Honda Jazz and the Hyundai i20 along with the likes of Volkswagen Polo. The new Baleno gets a large front grille and a set of stretched set of headlamps that looks similar to the Swift but yet updated. The Baleno also gets a set of LED tail lamps and a set of 16-inch wheels. The new Baleno will also get a new interior with a lot of parts that are shared with the likes of the Swift. The Baleno gets a large central knob for the climate control and a touchscreen infotainment system similar to the one found in the S-Cross and the Ciaz. Expect the Suzuki Baleno (YRA) to be priced between Rs 6.5-9 lakhs when it is launched in India. The Baleno will go up against the Honda Jazz, the Hyundai Elite i20 and the Volkswagen Polo.

Chevrolet Trailblazer 

Chevrolet will soon launch the brutish SUV, the Trailblazer in India in October. The new Chevrolet Trailblazer will essentially go up against the upcoming Ford Endeavour and the Toyota Fortuner. Powering the Trailblazer is 2.8-litre 4-cylimder duramax diesel engine that is known for its high torque output. With 200PS of power at 3600Rpm and 500Nm of torque at 2000Rpm, the Trailblazer has quite some punch to counter its 2068kg kerb weight. Although it is quite large in general, the Trailblazer does not really have the kind of street presence that the Toyota Fortuner has. That said, expect the Chevrolet Trailblazer to be priced between Rs 25-30 lakh.

Abarth Punto Evo

The Abarth Punto Evo will be India’s most powerful affordable hot hatch and will be priced in the region of Rs 10 lakhs in India when launched. The Abarth Punto Evo will feature Abarth badging instead of Fiat badging and will feature updated wheels and a few other exterior updates like red highlights in the grille, bumper and wheels. The Abarth Punto will also feature new 16-inch diamond cut wheels that look really sporty and a stainless steel exhaust tip. The Abarth Punto Evo will also feature a slightly sportier suspension setup and of course, disc brakes on all four wheels. The party piece of course for the Abarth Punto Evo will be its 1.4-litre T-Jet turbocharged petrol engine. The 4-cylinder engine will make 145PS of peak power making it the most powerful car in its segment. The Abarth will also do the 0-100kmph sprint in under 8 seconds putting it on par with much more powerful cars.

BMW X5M/X6M

The BMW X5M and X6M will be launched in India in October and will cost between Rs 1.5-2.0 Crore. Starting with the mechanical aspects, as expected, BMW has fitted the huge 4.4-litre twin turbo V8 engine in it that gives it 575PS of peak power mated to an all-wheel drive system and an eight speed gearbox into both the X5M and the X6M. Both cars also get adjustable suspension with many settings, a sports exhaust and huge M-spec brakes. Both the SUVs also ride much lower than their regular counterparts and run on huge 21-inch wheels. The X5M and the X6M also get lot more cooling options due to the larger engines. On the exterior front, the X5M and the X6M will also get sportier bumpers, wide wheel arches and a quad exhaust pipe setup. The X5M and the X6M will go up against the Mercedes-Benz ML63 and GL63 AMG.

Courtesy : Zigwheels