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Two-Wheelers that Defined how India Rides
India has one of the largest two wheeler population in the world and is the second largest two-wheeler market in the world. Number of two wheelers on road is nearing 10 per 100 persons in India. Thats nearly 120 million motor cycles. Thats as much as the population of Russia. So you can imagine the enormous size of the market.
In its peak India produced 16 million two wheelers per year (the year is 2007). 37 motor cycles per minute, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year without stop. Last year India sold 1.6 million motorcycles in premium segment alone(200CC and above). Thats more than entire motor cycles sales in Europe last year. Indian two-wheeler market is so enormous such that every major manufacturer is present in India and wants a piece of action.
India has a rich history of two-wheeler. So I have decided to put together a list of two wheelers that changed how we ride from time to time. Note that it will cover all two-wheelers including mopeds, scooters and bikes.
1) RE Bullet
2) Rajdoot Excel T 175
3) Yezdi Roadking
4) Bajaj Chetak
5) LML Select /NV
6) Kinetic Luna
7) HH CD100
8) Yamaha RX100
9) HH Splendor
10) TVS 50
11) Bajaj Pulsar
12) Honda Activa
13) Yamaha R15
14) RE Classic
15) Honda CBR250R
Please feel free to add more two-wheelers to the list along with the reason.
Disclaimer.
Most of the quotes and statics were taken from various sites, along with my own calculations and wordings.
In its peak India produced 16 million two wheelers per year (the year is 2007). 37 motor cycles per minute, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year without stop. Last year India sold 1.6 million motorcycles in premium segment alone(200CC and above). Thats more than entire motor cycles sales in Europe last year. Indian two-wheeler market is so enormous such that every major manufacturer is present in India and wants a piece of action.
India has a rich history of two-wheeler. So I have decided to put together a list of two wheelers that changed how we ride from time to time. Note that it will cover all two-wheelers including mopeds, scooters and bikes.
1) RE Bullet
It was in the year 1954 that the Indian government ordered for total number of 800 motorcycles to man the Pakistani borders. In came the Bullets which were initially launched in England as a 350cc bike and it was upgraded to 500cc a year or so later. One can say without much of a doubt that the 1955 Bullet was one of the initial hits of the Indian two-wheeler industry and till today it continues to be a darling of the motorcycle enthusiasts.
Enfield Bullet had a close competition with another sturdy bike named Rajdoot; as the bike was strong enough to handle the rough Indian roads. The company had roped in Indian He-man Dharmendra for the promotion of the bike. Rajdoot sold about 1.6 million black "soviet" styled motorbikes, in the Excel T and Deluxe models, until it was phased out in 2005
Enthusiasts bike. Track King. Rally Master. These are some of the name of given to Yezdi bikes. When RE and Rajdoot was marketed as sturdy bikes, Yezdi was the first to concentrate on speed. It won many rallies and races across India. Yezdi engine was so much powerful it was used even in power gliders!!!
"There was dowry and chetak. Dowry was bad and chetak good", says Rahul Bajaj, chairman, Bajaj Auto. Bajaj Chetak has been hugely responsible for adding momentum to the transport system of the country, till today it remains one of the most successful brands to have come out of the Bajaj stable. These sets of two wheels have become a part of the Indian milieu and are often considered a representative of the Indian middle class aspiration. Very few two-wheelers have been able to emulate the success, which Bajaj Chetak has achieved over the years
LML Motors enjoyed a reasonable success with the launch of LML Select which came with new age technology and improved performance. The scooter is a licensed copy of Vespa PX 150 introduced in 1986. Thinking back we don't even have a single 150cc scooter in India now but LML and Bajaj has one each in early 80s !
Kinetic Luna is a 50 cc moped that was introduced by Kinetic Engineering in India in 1972. India's first single seat moped. Kinetic Luna became such a hit that we called all mopeds as Luna.
8) Yamaha RX100
Yamaha RD350 or Rajdoot 350 was one of the true enthusiasts motor cycle. It became a dream for many Indian youngsters at that time but due to mileage and price it stayed as a dream. Then came the RX100. Even though RD350 and RX100 are not siblings or even related, many Indian saw it as a little brother of the powerful RD350. RX100 bought home the money which RD350 failed to bring.
Question: Which is the largest selling two-wheeler of all time? If you think splendor you are wrong. It was Honda super cub. But second largest selling two-wheeler of all time? You got it. Its HH Splendor. Sold nearly 12 millions units of all variants and adding a million units every year.
TVS introduced the India's first two-seater moped, the TVS 50cc. Until then moped were dominated by Kinetic Luna. Sensing the success of TVS 50 Luna introduced two-seater version in Luna. When Luna dominated north India TVS 50 dominated the south India.
Come on.. Do I have to say anything to justify Pulsar in this list? Ok ok I will say something. Think of the words "Bike with Character" and tell me what bike comes to mind? Right its the first gen Pulsar 150. Even though Honda CBZ showed India that there is market for 150 CC bikes. it was pulsar who capitalized on it. The design was so revolutionary such that many copy cats sprung all over the world. With nearly 5 million pulsars sold. Pulsar is one of the undisputed success story in recent times
Tell me honestly How many of you expected Honda Activa to make it on this list? Believe it or not, after Bajaj chetak the only scooter that men preferred to rode is Honda Activa. Introduced in the millennium. Honda Activa was instant success with urban population. Till then Kinetic Honda came with conservative designs. Activa was the first scooter to come with the millennium design. It was such a hit, honda has to triple production after its introduction.
The first true sports bike which showed the world that India is ready for lakh+ less than 350 CC sports bike. Till then sports bike mean only liter class bikes and it was Yamaha R15 that changed this perception and opened up sports bike era in India biking
Consider this scenario. The year was 2009 Royal Enfield has just introduced Thunderbird UCE. You walk into a Royal enfield showroom. What do you find? If you think the showroom is packed with people who wants to book a new RE with waiting periods of 6 to 8 months, you are wrong. The showroom will be normal and most bikes are available off the shelf or with one week waiting period. It was after the introduction of Classic range, Royal Enfield became a huge success overnight. Till then RE used to produce 30000 bikes in a month. But after introducing Classic the demand shoot up to nearly a lakh units per month. RE classic is Royal enfields own rags to riches story.
For nearly two decades if you want to but a quarter liter bike then you have only one choice. Ninja 250R. Then came CBR 250R which changes all that. It was the first 250CC which as affordable to the masses (even though it costs as much as a nano). Main reason for such affordability is because it was designed for Thai and Indian market, to counter R15. Even though the bike had more complaints when compared to Ninja 250R or GT250, it was the price that changed the game in favor of Honda.
Disclaimer.
Most of the quotes and statics were taken from various sites, along with my own calculations and wordings.
RD not only a legend in India its a worldwide legend which changed the biking perception and Yamaha's fortune it mainly failed because of the high price tag and high and complicated mechanism gave Indian mechanics a hard time those days and also Escorts didn't provide enough training to the mechanics about the technology... RX100's changed the myth of large displacement powerful bikes it showed a practical bike can be used as a track bike, dirt bike, tourer, daily commuter, family bike, reliable, maintenance free and what not ..... where is Suzuki Shogun, Fiero (which fought hard with the mighty two strokes in the rally, tracks and dirt scene and made some riders to follow it) and CBZ(first bike that got success for its looks and opened a new era of style)
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