ken cool

What could have been...

Circa 1900s, in the "not-so-developed" western world, industrialization making its mark felt, motorcycling enthusiasts were already around making their musically noisy presence felt through performance machines by men led by passion that only a motorcyclist can understand. Initially there was a Swiss manufacturer in the 1900s, Dufaux, with a 250CC engine making a good 1.5Bhp and zooming down the track at breakneck speed of 35km/h. In 1916, Triumph brought out a monster of a 550CC making a huge 6Bhp hurtling down the road at a whirlwind speed of 70km/h.

Barely fifteen years later, other manufacturers like René Gillet, Gnome Rhône and other manufacturers were vying for top spot pushing close to 170km/h with two wheels a motor and a few nuts here and there! Most of these initial manufacturers are long gone since but they have contributed more to the world of motorcycling than most of us can for our own selves. Some of them remained and developed a sustained R&D and maintained a Metéoric rise in the domain.

Fast forward a good seventy years, in an independent country called India, a group of motorcycling enthusiasts, albeit small but extremely passionate and attached to their biking activities are witnessing sea changes in the biking scenario. Being garroted for decades by feckless local manufacturers who had scant regard towards performance and even less vision, we are finally being treated to a feast of the senses. Enthusiasts have always existed. But their choices have been a severely restricted to the ramshackle putting together of primitive motors with even more primitive hand-woven methods to feed the masses.

Today, our economy looking stouter than before, (global recession notwithstanding), armed with Cartesian reasoning, speaking in retrospect, we can say, what if there were someone like Tata in the domain of motorcycles 50 years ago. Had there been one person with a vision, a passion for the feeling that one gets when one rides a machine with two wheels, developed a bike, built over decades with solid R&D backing, we would be having a multi-cylinder high capacity running the streets vying for attention in the international markets today.

If Tata can create bring about choices with four wheels, Escorts or Enfield or Yezdi with visionary work could have brought out a series of several kinds of motorcycles over time suited to different kinds of enthusiast. As we all know, none of those "ifs" materialized; for lack of will, vision, risk-taking venture capitalists, promoting motorsports and this remains the sad story of industry in our country.

After liberalization, we have seen the automotive industry grow in the four wheels category and it has moved towards maturity. The two-wheeler industry has remained stagnant. Until now. We are eventually witnessing changes in this industry; a much needed breath of fresh air, eye candy combined with performance has come in.

There has been commendable work done by Bajaj. But I reckon that seeing where the industry is going, it is too late for any manufacturer to bring in home grown products. Be it RTR or Bajaj, I am not sure either have the financial clout or the necessary R&D data base to bring about performing multi-cylinder machines with fairing based on wind-tunnel tests that will truly excite the consumer and give the incoming competition a run for their money despite being priced way below.

I am not saying that an inline twin 400CC with 50Bhp at the right wrist and a makeshift fairing will not sell. I will buy it and so will thousands of others. But will it withstand the onslaught of a CBR 400 hypothetically speaking. Maybe Bajaj and RTR are working in that direction. Maybe they will bring about a machine where the engine is a stressed member with a twin spar frame. But I have my doubts whether the money going into the development of such a machine could be recovered.

Which is what brings us to the question of dependency of foreign and imported machines, which weigh heavily against us on various accounts; steep import duties, waiting due to unavailability of spares and accessories, strange warranty enforcements for aftermarket pipes and other products, and all this adds up to one big lacuna, the lack of technical know how and hence lack of technical manpower in a widespread network which will remain a perpetual factor till kingdom come. These are probably teething problems. But they have not gone away so far. In a year, the R1 service network has not increased. There is no reason to.

Coming back to my original question and dilemma and the source of my woes, what could have been… R&D and original good home grown products with good service network, is this a realizable dream. Is there still time, money and passionate will for Bajaj and RTR to do something on this front? My take on this front is this; it will take a lot of courage to go into such a venture. But in the long run, the person investing in R&D and good products will hear the cash registers ringing for a far longer time

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pudix

Nice, its always fun to read your articles

But I was about to strongly disagree with you when I read this:

But towards the end you mention this:

So, I cant disagree.

I believe that cheap motorcycles which give 100 kays to the litre have become a lifestyle in India, so much so that when the average Joe sees a faired motorcycle or something out of the ordinary(in India), he is forced to ask the mileage she returns. But this has come about due to the single minded pestlience of producing mal-nourished motorcycles, and can only be cured by a revolution, and this could take same time; 10 years, 20 years or maybe more, depends on who first gets the vision and has the acumen to implement it. But I would disagree with someone who said that the Indian manufacturers do not have the resources at hand to do this: as I said, it could take some time, but to deny the possibility would be to understate the significance of the Indian 2-wheeler industry in the global context.

Puneet1

yaar in 10-15 years we would be driving hydrogen or battery powered Pulsars n Apache's maybe even solar powered

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pudix

^
hehe, yeah I know man. But think of it: how many people would not be apprehensive about buying a 600 mill produced indigenously by, say HH? Already we have tags of lame post sales service and poor RnD associated with them. People would be far more comfortable splurging 3-4 times the money to get a Japanese motorcycle instead. Indian manufacturers are tried and tested in the lower capacity segment but to build up the same confidence in their customers in the higher segments(if at all they venture into it) they'll need sometime. And I am not talking of competition between HH and Bajaj, its a hypothetical open field which I speak of with all the big marques coming in and competing against us.

L.P.

@ken.Da... What you seem to say is true..and even I strongly agree to you and i wonder the same,However what the problem seems to be is likely to be the mindset of the custmer's and the people who are going in to purchase a bike..
Today if some one is planning to buy a Kawasakki NINJA 250cc,the first question he asks is..
"Bhai,isski average kitni hogi.." OR "What mileage would it give..??"..
Then comes to other things,CC, BHP,TopSpeed.. Then comes question like.. Looks,Accelartion,Manuvering etcetra..
KenDa.. until and unless the people's thinking change..It would be realy Difficult to say or comment anything..It might take 5years or may be a Decade..Or TWO...
and by that time u Might even take a Sanyaas From Biking.. ,may be even Me also..
^^ Juz Kidding..

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maxratul

the fundamental reason for this, IMHO, is that bikes are regarded here as a cheap commuters, for those who cannot afford cars. In the western world, it makes more sense to buy a car for commuting and bikes are regarded as a lifestyle statement... This is helped on by the appalling and ridiculous fuel prices we have in India.
That is why I have such high hopes from the Nano. Once people gets a viable, cheap alternative to, ahem, the splendours (NXG - R) and the CD-Delux (Sports) , all these 100cc 'mileage bikes' will start disappearing from the roads, along with most autos . Then the industry will be forced to reorient themselves and bring out some good machines.

augusta

absolutely agreed till the last word......but let HH read this...

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prabhubravo

I strongly disagree that it will take a 5 or a decade or two for the common to "drool" on the higher CC/bhp machines.

ya there ppl in the petrol bunks ask wats the milage. But when I say the max speed(ya its just 160km for the comet), the entire thinking changes. I this change I have noted 9/10 times. I was shocked when a mech in a village in TN was able to tell the bhp and a few more things of my comet. So the market is ready for high powered bikes and YES the first who makes a 400+CC bike will win the market.

EDIT:
I not saying that bikes will not be considered as cheap means of transport anymore. They will be considered so. Mileage will be a important criteria for the commuter segment. But NOW, there is a notable % of bikers looking for high powered bikes.

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Technocrat

Nice Article Ken

Btw you have umentioned RTR where I belive you wanted to say TVS

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