India and bikes.

What can I say... They just didn't seem to go together. The first 2 "performance" bikes we had were 50% more capacity than what the entire population wanted. So, a meek little 150 called the Fiero was launched to take on the likes of the only proper fun "sports" bike which was also launched, the HH CBZ... It had the potential, and was a hit too, but it had a lot missing. The Eliminator came by, but was way outta reach for many a biker, though it left a lot of the latter drooling in their wake, me included. Sure, the Bullets were there, but the 5-speed unit was still a long time away then.

Then came the most important motorcycle, or should I say motorcycles, India had ever seen. Bajaj launched their home grown Pulsar twins in 150 and 180cc guise. Their importance was not really the "thing" then, but it made other manufacturers shiver with the volumes that started happening with the launch of those two true-blue performance bikes. Sure, they looked sporty and had the power and the oomph as well. HH long had a block that went from 133 right upto 223cc. The Ambition is not of any concern here, but the top end of that block is, the Karizma. Yes, the Karizma was the fastest 4-stroke bike India had ever produced. (The Yamaha RD350 was, and is to date, the fastest Indian made bike. All hail!!) It had quality, performance, handling, refinement; but it wasn't frugal and didn't produce the power expected from a 200+ machine. I didn't like it then, and I still don't like it now.

Then Bajaj did what every major manufacturer in the world did on on a regular basis - upgrade! In came 2 new "DTS-i" versions of the Pulsar twins, with loads of new tech on offer, plus, the 180 now made 16bhp; enough to demolish the larger-engined Karizma in the top speed stakes. The 223cc 16.76bhp 150kg Karizma hit 125.6kph, while the 178.6cc 16.01bhp 139kg Pulsar 180 DTS-i hit 128.9kph! But Bajaj didn't stop there, they worked on a new model, something that would take the country by storm. Something that took a long, long time to actually bring from paper to tarmac.

The big break up of TVS with Suzuki only made things worse. Enter the Fiero F2. New package, same engine as the Fiero, and lo, behold and be cursed, the ol' 4-speed gearbox. A chromier FX didn't make things any better. A few years down the line, axe.

Kinetic had a good bike in the GF170 Laser, but lack of quality and practicality made sure they didn't stay on. But that was a good thing, for with their new forger alliance with Korean major Hyosung, the 250cc V-twin cruiser, the Aquila, hit our shores! It was brilliant. 27bhp, 24Nm, big, fat and effective brakes, good top whack and handling, but it still was a bulky cruiser... Limited edition it was, and it went, fast! Now came the trump. The Comet GT250. With a mill borrowed from the Aquila, tuned to produce 30bhp (@10500rpm), it was the first real sportsbike that we've had in a while, and the fact that it aped a certain Italian marque model was only a good thing!

Years go by, the Fiero FX is gone, the old Pulsars have gone and Bajaj has major upgrades again, while HH does another ol' sticker job on every one of their models. Not much happens, save for a few good Bullet launches, the Thunderbird and a new electric starter equipped 500. Auto Expo 2004 happens, Kawasaki showcase their ZZR250, Eliminator V250 and of course, their then new litre-bike the Ninja ZX-10R all over the country. I had the privilege to see, touch and straddle the orange ZX at a local auto show. Questions about price and mileage (the usual) were shadowed by someone's question from the crowd - "What is the power?" The reply was "180bhp". The response to the reply from someone in the crowd was "180bhp or 180cc?!" Nice. The answer "1000cc, 180bhp" was followed by gasps and gulps as disbelief swept the faces of everyone present there. Ah! Enlightenment...

It's 2006 and Bajaj has finally readied a production ready version of their Pulsar - a mean, more powerful and more technology and gadget packed bike than most people could only imagine here in India. Little was know till the middle of the year and by the end, a handful of prototypes were released for sale. Karizma owners to this day refuse to believe that a bike can better their "pride and joy", if only the ignorant morons opened their eyes to what was below their tank.
Spec sheets got tears flowing in the eyes of some - 220cc, 20bhp, fuel-injection, rear disc brake, digital console, ECU engine, tubeless tyres, stacked projector/parabolic headlamps, oil cooler, split seats, split grab rail, LED tail lamps, tank pad, self-cancelling indicators on flexible mounts... the list went on and on... Yes. It was easily the best bike on offer. The new Karizma "R" was just a dab of black paint, apart from an engine cowl and big R stickers, that only added more weight to the already underpowered and overweight bike.

Cutting to the chase. 2007! The year of expectation. We have 2 Apaches - a sculpted E150, and an excellent handling RTR160. We have 4 Pulsars - 150, 180, 200 DTS-i and a 220 DTS-Fi. The 180 will bid us adieu very soon. A 300cc single, and a twin cylinder 400 are expected in mid-2008 and end-2009 respectively. . But more importantly, the government has finally applied Euro III emission norms to bikes of 800cc and above, meaning the Yamaha R6 will not happen so soon, but a whole lot of others are on the way! My dream bike, the 185bhp 172kg YZF-R1 will be in showroom by the end of the year and will be followed by many of it's larger engined brethren, including the massive 1670cc MT-01. Can't wait... Saving up from right now will certainly help a few years down the line...