o stop askin mods for "inside info" will you... there is nothing to reveal.

Ah! My favourite subject.

Did you check out the birth of the WTO after the GATT? Have you seen the subsidies they run on their own markets and products? Have you seen how the West treats products from India and other third world countries to protect their own economies?

What open markets are you talking about? Check out our volumes of business and the taxes they levy on them! Other than precious stones, almost everything else is heavily taxed.

50Cr market is like 3000 motorcycles. Which is not much as you say. But this is sure to grow. And we all know that it is not just the sales of motorcycles that keeps an industry afloat but also the spares and accessories and repairs and service. So yes, people will be making moves. Other than the Big Kawas and the exotic Italians (barring the exception of Ducati) and the Triumphs, almost everybody has a presence in India today, albeit a tiny one, but they are here.

^^ I see mike usa surfacing again

Vashi ProBiking is now answering questions about the 650R.

hahaha... yea... won't be long before the punisherr gets punished.

darn those dynamic IP's.

The Kawasaki 650R is a parallel twin...
and will be priced a bit higher than the GT650R... how about it???
worth it?

4.9 lac for a V-twin GT650R is a pretty good deal.

been window shopping for a good exhaust for mine.

one of my many prospects...

YouTube - 2009 Hyosung GT650R + Yoshimura slip on.

OUCH! You wound me deeply!!

I'm a 40+ not-yet-balding gent who bought a bike after 15 years of driving cars, performing various duties, including ferrying his kids!!

But I ride a 250R on weekends and am having the time of my life!! Now waiting to buy something bigger!!

So while I take exception to your jibe at the 'elderly' , I get your point!

BTW, which sportsbike do you get for 10L??

exactly what i was coming to say !! sorry sunny.. just saying to validate my point. most guys buy their bike with their dads money, most guys, and others who are in business in any cc !! when such is the scenario and you get a salary of say 3lac pa for passing out from a average college how do you expect him to buy a ninja !! forget a SBK !! this is what i meant by not in touch with reality !! no offence but most guys who buy these bikes get the dough from their dad or like sunny work their ass off get a good salary which will allow him to buy and maintain a car.. cause honestly a SBK costs as much as a car to buy and maintain while not many indians can afford a car obviously the aspirational value of it is more. bikes are seen as a mode of transport while cars are a matter of prestige !! whether you take a honda twister or a cbr1000rr a 5star hotel will make you park it in their basement parking lot while its not the same for a audi or even a civic !! bikes will never be equal to cars in terms of prestige accept it. I'm for bikes mind you but its just a fact of life. in such a case why would anyone buy a bike unless he is a really crazy fan? just like sunny he will buy a car to make people know that he has status now and then get the bike.. people will notice a cbr1000rr in your garage only if you have a benz or a audi otherwise they will think its a road side modded bike lol just my opinion not meant to hurt anyone.

Why are you bringing in factors like prestige? You will notice that many of the superbikers in this community have cars cheaper than their motorcycles. While your point maybe valid for the general mass, there is a huge population in this community who would choose the prestige of the Laura to the addiction of a superbike.

The late 20's and the early 30's don't need their parents dough really. People have been making enough money to afford a 5-7L 650. Most of Bajaj's exports are to Africa, Sri Lanka and the south east. That does not give them substantial jump over the value of a rupee. Instead, a 5-7L superbike with good sales and service would bump the brand image and provide a lifestyle motorcycle. Yes, 1 Billion people of this country would choose a 100cc to a 150, every manufacturer know that and every one of them have to continue manufacturing them for the masses for a long time, but an effort to bring sensible big block motorcycles does not hinder any of their effort to sell the 100ccs. Not too many companies have realized the money in big blocked motorcycles(and by big block I mean the cheaper 650s and the more expensive 600s) in India, and we all hope they soon will.

ohh great...another thread for speculations and expectations. I think all of Hyosungs, Ninjas, CBRs and KTMs are hitting *actual* warm indian roads in coming summer so why excite now?
Lets save some fun for next year or we might have to face premature-ejaculation

see even you cant deny the truth lol i know its a typo but its true. including this community !! this community is what 25k people of a country of 1billion? and even in this mass of 25k many are dreaming about their next car than bike !! and i dont think all of the superbikers of india are in this community. a rich kid doesnt need to buy a audi cause his dad already owns one so he buys a CBR1000RR. lol why does everyone seem naive? a middle class father isnt gonna buy his son a 13L rupee bike !! lol even if a middle class boy earns 5lacs a year which would take i suppose avg 2yrs exp he is not gonna blow it on a bike. he will be married he will have commitments investments etc to take care of?!

and i was talking about bajaj's KTM exports !! they need to focus on profits not peoples wishes.. thats for the government to meet. it makes no sense to bring in bikes which cost 6L when you can buy a car or even 2 for the same price. bikes and cars should have a level playing field either in price or value other wise bikes will lose. anyway people out of this community or even the people who sell the CBR1000RR dont give a damn about the bike, how many unicorn owners do you think really know about these bikes? dont consider this community !! this community is a spec of group of people in this country !! honda sells not cause it sells CBRs but cause its RELIABLE !! if bajaj made more reliable bikes which they are getting to they dont need K650s ! again they sell a MILLION 100cc bikes nobody really cares about a 100 litre bikes or a 1000 250s !! whatever it is the 100cc will earn them more profits !! and profits is what matters. as the market matures and people move towards performance away from FE the manufacturers will move to. today the threshold is 220cc in 3 years it might become 400. its just a matter of time. when manufacturers can stop making fuel guzzling SUVs and go for small more fuel efficient hatchs i dont see why this wont work?

if a Ninja 250 is gonna cost 3L i dont think a 650 is gonna come cheap.. it maybe relatively cheap but for a ordinary person 5L is his 2yrs salary !! i dont see why people keep complaining? 27% (i think) of this country's population are below poverty line. a million people go without food a day and all you people could cry about is why we have to pay 105% duty on something that costs 7lacs and 100 people buy ! its funny actually.

this might be off-topic
but if say honda and yamahas are allowed to come in with their bikes with no duty nothing. the indian manufacturers would have to spend millions to first make bikes that go that fast and then millions more so they dont fall apart while going that fast. just say a litre class bike manufactured in india costs 4lacs and they go about selling it at whatever price they want and make big mollah who is gonna make the 100cc fuel efficient vegetable carrier for the local vegetable shop guy? or the 60cc bike which is used for inter village commutes all over india? when they make enough money selling bikes @ 3lacs. some might say i'm sounding bleak but even if they make 100cc bikes will it have all the features it has today and at this unbelievable price? just a thought.

Cars are more about practicality than prestige/status, actually. I am bachelor and can afford to live without a car (but two bikes!), but once family comes into the picture, my next purchase will be a car.

Then things like budget, personal preferences etc come into the picture. Almost everyone wants to express their individuality through the things they buy and this applies not only to cars but a lot of other things - bikes (even <150 cc bikes; people buying a P220 over a Splendor), cellphones, clothes... the list goes on.

You are just describing your preferences and your likes and your dislikes and your perspective of how cars are about prestige and your preference of choosing a car over a big bike and your god sent idea of why Kawasaki should NOT launch superbikes in India. Pretty hilarious. Most might say you're sounding bleak. That was no type'o. My point again, your poverty story, 1billion people blah blah blah, dude, I'm not telling anyone to stop 100cc motorcycles. Please, dont tell me a parable on college kids again, most of the superbikers DO NOT belong to this section of the population. Many of us here can afford a sensible 5-7L superbike. Bajaj can make a lot of money in Europe but the point is, there is money here. If Mercedes considered the 25% population below poverty line they never would have done business in India in the first place, FYI they are doing pretty good in India. There is money in every niche category of business.


Couldn't agree more.

Wow! A nice popcorn thread after a long time.

Oops! Be careful with what you say dear! These days there are quite a few 40+, balding men, (who may not be very gentle if they hear you speak thus), ferrying their children and they maybe in very robust health!

So just ease up on your 20 year old "youngistan" attitude. You want your lifestyle, make your money and do it!

I think I quite agree with what yellowspunk has to say actually.

I do not know too many around me even in xBhp who would go out and buy a 7L INR Bike outright. Your stating "many of us" is an overstatement I feel. I think there are less than one in twenty amongst bikers in xBhp. Does that qualify for "many"?

Mercedes is doing "pretty good in India" you say. I wonder what you mean by that! I mean give me numbers.

AHHH! I'm glad that wisdom and common-sense are not the perks of only the 'elderly'. !

@ BV - Thanks buddy, you nailed it there.

I own and drive cars because it makes sense to do so - especially on our lousy roads filled with insane drivers/riders. I bought my first car after tearfully bidding farewell to my faithful KB RTZ 100 which had carried me EVERYWHERE for 180K kms - just months before my son was born. I could barely afford the EMI of that little M800 back then but clenched my teeth and did so for the sake of my wife's and son's safety and comfort. I've owned and driven cars ever since for the safety, comfort and practicality that they offered - obviously trading upwards every time to bigger and better.

After being off a bike for so many years, I bought a Ninja for ME. My wife loves to sit pillion on short rides and so does my son - but the bike is primarily meant for ME. I do not commute - I ride. My Sunday mornings are are something I look forward to with anticipation all week - just waiting to get in the saddle for a ride.

Doing what you love has nothing to do with prestige, or income, or social or peer pressures - it's something that will happen irrespective of all these.

Having said all this, can we now get back to the topic and discuss the main purpose of this thread? Whew!

I feel that something like 600cc bikes make much more sense than the litre class bikes. 600cc strikes good balance of power and practicality. I wish Bajaj covers all squares.