@slayer - go easy on him mate

@ayush - I sense what you saying but the "equilibrium" of luxury living (and to be honest and in content of superbikes, i dont think a superbike is a luxury material for anyone of us here) and poor state of our countrymen doesn't go hand in hand. You can buy a superbike and still help the needy if you have the will and real zest to do that. Not checking in Taj or going out for family meal on weekends will change nothing out of you and others.

Regarding the high import duty, I am very much in favour of it. Unless we have proper infrastructure for that (and we are getting there, trust me) I dont see any owner, taking out the real fun out of his superbike (or even a normal bike) in India. 0-270 in few seconds on expressway is the only expression we get from "superbikes" when we think about them. A lot has to change and is changing.

I would still say that "superbiking" is still lot cheaper in India than abroad. the driving license tests, safety standards and procedure, insurance policies, maintenance, fuel is a nutter here. As a result, you end up paying the whole cost of your superbike/streetbike in 3-5 years of its ownership here. This doesn't happen in our country. not yet. and if i may express my optimism here, India gonna be a very important market for superbikes in coming years and we all will witness it, inspite of high import duties. Be thankful to god that you dont live in Pakistan or France. You will die riding a bike in Pakistan (either banging into another one, or being shot by policemen for wearing a riding jacket in summers, them assuming you wearing a suicide belt under it) and in France, where your spanking brand new R1 will have a 100 bhp restriction.

I also agree that the Import Duty is way too high currently for super bikes. But no one here has looked at the benefit of this higher cost.

If super bikes were sold at prices matching those abroad, then even more people would be buying them...and we would start hearing about more and more gruesome accidents regularly.

Whether you agree or not, most riders just do not have the maturity level that is required to ride those bikes. I have seen many "daddy's money" superbike owners who ride around like maniacs with no regards for safety and the people around them. These riders do not even wear helmets, let alone jackets, gloves and boots!

If superbikes were cheaper, we would have even more of these maniacs on our roads!!

that ways the best place to drive it is in saudi

where u have open great roads
cheap petrol
cheaper cost of bikes
super easy bike liscence process
two close race tracks available

no where else can u get soo much

only disaadvantage super hot summer and no babes!!!!!

I agree with Ayush in some of the cases.though i myself am a bike freak who is just crazy after speed and also is 'fida' with those foreign advanced machines,the sense of responsibility towards India should exist
If you were gonna get a 250 cc chinese bike for around 1 lakh then tell me how many people would care to buy a pulsar 220 or karizma ZMR?it would horribly affect the indian performance bike market which is still in the developing stages
the fact that india was liberalized only in 1991 was to see to it that indian industries were finally capable to compete with foreigners
but i do feel that tax should be reduced from the present 100% to around 50% so that it serves as a wake up call to all indian bike manufacturers that they have got to provide better stuff so that in future they won't lag behind
we cant just let our love for bikes to spoil the indian bike manufacturers as its not that they have
been providing us only shit!
so i feel we have got to give the bike market around 10 years and by then it will be surely ready to face any damn competition from any foreign guy!!reliance is an example of what a nurtured industry can grow to!but im totally unlike socialists who believe that the whole life should be spent doing things isolated from everyone

I read the whole thread before thinking of putting forth my views on this.

Being in India, we are torn between the two faces of our country. While one India(read metro ites) is consumed by things like the latest mobiles/cars/bikes and living it up in a bowling alley the other india gropes in the darkness, desperate for a morsel of food.
I have had a limited exposure to such destitution and heard unbelievable stories of how lower caste people in villages have no right to drink from the village well and have to make do with the water from the drain.
I am not saying that eating pizza or going to expensive restaurants is bad. But, are we losing touch with the other india, i dare say, the real india. While we have full right to go for our dreams (read bikes/cars swanky apartments) but are we actually doing something for the less privileged ? Just arguing that we are not supposed to starve just because others starve is a poor excuse. Being in a country which desperately needs its educated class to help uplift its less privileged class, we cannot turn our backs and blame the government for anything and everything. The tax/duty is there for a reason. Its we the people who have failed in utilizing it properly.
I try not to be cynical or even stereotype the rich kid. Apologies if i failed.

Now to the topic. Do we lessen the duties. I think there is a strong case for lowering the duties to some extent atleast. However, such decisions should only be taken after considering what kind of revenue loss/gain a government will get. If the price of an sbk goes down from 13 to 10 lakhs, will more people buy it. I think they will. A few years down the line, even i would :-)

@mik i completely agree with what you are saying!!the higher taxation is required(though not too high) to control the too rich guys from easily buying and even when they buy they have got to contribute
in any case whatever money these rich guys earn is many times the money they pay to the poor workers so no problem in contributing a bit more
even my dreams of getting a ninja 250 were ****** coz of such astronomical taxes but no problem a day will come when indian moto industries will produce things better than them
ex.car industry is now easily competing with the foreign guys so...