i am writing in the basis of indian context,not so called international branding!!!!!!
The
Yamaha RX100 is a 98cc
two-stroke single cylinder air cooled motorcycle. It was M/s Escorts Limited "Bread and Butter" model for close to 12 years between 1985 and 1996. The only changes in its 11 year production history were the
pin striping and an upgrade to a 12 volt electrical system.
--source wikipedia.
The Rajdoot 350 was a two-stroke motorcycle made in India by
Escorts group from 1983 to 1990. It was a licenced copy of the very popular
Yamaha RD350B, modified to suit Indian conditions. Many Indian motorcycle connoisseurs consider it to be the best two-stroke ever made in India. Even though the production of the air cooled Yamaha RD350 had ended in Japan in the mid 1970s due to stringent emissions norms, it was a technically advanced motorcycle in the Indian market in 1983. It had 7-port
two stroke parallel twin engine, Yamaha's patented
Torque Induction system using
reed valves, 6-speed
transmission, Auto lube system, mechanical tachometer,12V electrics and 0-60km/h in less than 4 seconds. In the interest of cost, the front disc brake of the RD350B was substituted with a 7"
Twin leading shoe drum brake from the Yamaha RD250.
source wikipedia.
what flashes in our minds when we say yamaha,,,,,,if r1,mt1 then there is no point of discussing anything,it like comparing bill gates to ramu kaka of our old hindi movies.......
if yamaha name flashes models like rxs,Rajdoot 350 or even new generation r 15(too good ,must say here),fz then there is a chance of talking here.
i personally trust Yamaha very much,as i was a gear head from the regaining,i used to drool over rx s,still get a huge amount of adrenaline rush by riding them,..
but the scenario changed in our Desi country from 90s where a motorcycle means A HUGE MACHINE,NOT IN TERMS OF PERFORMANCE THOUGH,ONLY ONE THING ECONOMY,,,,,,,,,,!!!!
I STILL REMEMBER THE LINES OF THE ADVERTS ....ek liter pe assi kilometer chalta hai, and so on.....
just remember those days,only flooded with economy commuters to which mechines PERFORMENCE MEANS ONLY AND ONLY FUEL ECONOMY!!add some scooters from lml and vespa licensed old copies made by OUR VERY OWN BAJAJ........the performance was dying in vein.....pathetic....
we ,so called performance addicts ,what we used to ride then,please remember once....
then
Hero Honda CBZ, launched in early 1999 by
Hero Honda Motors India Ltd, was the first sports oriented 4-stroke bike. Sporting an original Honda 156.8 cc engine, it made good 12.8PS of power which was sufficient enough to propel it to 110[120 on Speedo] km/h. The styling of the bike was a scaled version of the famous Honda CB series. Sufficient mid-range torque ensured a 0–60 km/h (0-37 mph) in just 5 seconds.
it was a drooling metrical ,well at least to me when i was growing up,a zippy engine /fairing/rear sets/ it was too good.......
but the toxicity of MILAGE KITNA HAI? sting so many of us ..even guys who now owns superbikes trust me on this,,,parents used to tell,RACING KAROGE KYA ITNA BADA ENGINE LEKE!!! KOI DHANG KI BIKE LO JISME KAAM NIPAT JAYE AUR PATROL BHI JYADA NA PIE,.PRICE DEKHE HO?PARTS KITNA MEHENGA HOGA?!!!MAA KA LAADLA BIGAD GAYA!!!
i must say hh broke the age old ice,which defiantly made rajiv bajaj to think at least.and Yamaha? call it a bad luck?call it a lack of will?or just bogus management they were silent and making some machines which were only deteriorating their rapo....
then in 2001
Bajaj Pulsar,,,,,, is a
motorcycle brand owned by
Bajaj Auto in
India. The two wheeler was developed by the product engineering division of Bajaj Auto in association with motorcycle designer Glynn Kerr
Tokyo R&D.
just think about the amount of enthusiasm was present at that time....
a naked street fighter ,not merely a japanese copy cat/not an engine which was made by another manufacture for another bike..its a complete born of a new era,a brand which changed the entire motorcycling experiance in india. just remember the promoes ,the ads,altogether india was suffering from a commuter fever,that stage came to an end suddenly with a massive dose from pulsars.
i can bet so many of now days of bikers were born at that time,.
just see the amount of upgrades from a so called indian scooter maker that not just only comprised of mere decals or visor change,,,even the term up gread term ug came because of bajajs endless trys to update the product,,,,classic/ug1/2/3/4,,bigger bore,smaller bore damn bajaj tried their best,i will say more then their capability,,,,,they brought competition which were practically abcent till then,where was our international players then.
I CAN SAY THIS BOLDLY BAJAJ PULSAR MATURED THE INDIAN BIKERS TO DARE/DARE FOR BIGGER ENGINES/MORE POWER/MORE TECHNOLOGY/demand more....
now close to 9 years after its launch its still popular/look at the sales figure and you will know.still the product is at per with other so called market leaders.
now yamaha with r 15 and fz having the part of the pie which bajaj pulsar had created for last 9 years,.no argue that products from yamie are very very impressive
but according to me bajaj pulsar is a true blue collar bike in india and my vote goes for pulsars,which dared to be different at the time of copycats,and changed the entire scenario,kudos bajaj/kudos MR.RAJIV BAJAJ period...