I think the fundamental miss here is that NOBODY asked Bajaj to stop making smaller bikes. I hope they keep making 20cc, 50cc, 80cc, 82cc, 83cc bikes until the end of time.

What I am saying is that there IS a market for big bikes that has nothing to do with feeding the poor or sheltering the homeless or ferrying kids around. There is a growing section of the 23 - 35 age group that have disposable income and the age at which this group is getting married is moving up. Earlier it wasn't uncommon to be married by the age of 23-25 but now it is quite alright to be in your early 30s and still be single. From the age of 25 - 35 the earning potential is quite powerful and the lack of commitments means you have money to spend...as I do.

It is evident what the launch of the R1, MT01 and V-Max did for Yamaha's brand image and the subsequent success of their smaller bikes is a clear indicator of the way the market functions. They had a target market segment in mind and this strategy worked brilliantly for them. Now Bajaj isn't all that different because until the resurgence of Yamaha, the Pulsar was the iconic Indian performance machine and only of late has it's sheen faded significantly.

What Bajaj needs is to launch "mascot" bikes...poster boys and bikes for the aspirational professional who has spare change. 12 - 15L is a steep commitment for the most affluent when it comes to buying a "bike" but price it at 5-7L and suddenly those wallets start to emerge from deep within the trouser's back pocket.

Yes they are still expensive but within the realms of the aspirational buyer. It is also deeply condescending and irresponsible to state that most people buy these bikes with their parent's money. I am sure you've offended a lot of professionals on Xbhp for whom an EMI or 10-15K is perfectly acceptable...and that kind of money can buy you a superbike quite comfortably.

Let Bajaj export what they want and continue to sell their micro engined chakan sinew in the local market. What we pay for is innovation from the 70s and the quality of their products speaks for itself. Short of their board, nobody can tell them what to do.

As a brand they've moved to the back of MY mind while Honda, Yamaha and even Suzuki (despite not having a compelling budget offering) have moved to the front.

I am sure there are a lot of people who feel the same way...

Nobody said "outright". With financing 7L is quite achievable for most people who bought a Ninja 250. I am sure they'd rather put their money down for a Z750.



They are selling 400-500 units every month which is a lot more than the Honda Jazz is selling

If BUGATTI can launch its 16 and 22 crore car in INDIA, i think superbikes should be flooded into their respective showrooms by next year !

I am one of those going to be 40+ soon. Upgraded to car long back. Waited too long for a 600cc bike. Got inspired by your MT-01 write up. Ended up buying 2 year old legal MT-01 . I use it for weekend rides.. office commute whenever possible. My wife and 8y old daughter fight each other every time I take out the bike for a ride. Just love the bike. I still wouldn't mind buying 600cc one

yeah guys i agree with most of the things but what i want to knw is will IKM have its own site now that 650r is comin via ckd what about zx-10r/zx-14r ckd's or cbu's and when do they grace our roads

Vish - this is GREAT to hear. Where are you located? I might know the MT01 you ride today...PM me the details and maybe we can ride together sometime.

Glad you bit the V-Twin bone...there is nothing quite like the burble of a big bore v-twin!

Would you be in the market for a smaller 650/750cc bike for daily use and save the MT for the weekend? That is what I am looking for...and Bajaj doesn't seem to be interested despite having brands like "Ninja" under it's belt!

Almost tempted to tell Kawasaki and KTM to just launch on their own but it is a fool's dream!

Most of us dream about owning something special. And most of us will have enough money to splurge on a 600cc or a litre class monster ONLY when we are 30+. All the more reason not to have a dig at the "40+ balding gentlemen".

I am in Bangalore. Absolutely. thats is what I am looking for. Will PM you the details. Would love to ride together sometime.

well if bajaj get bike's one by one then they are history you got "strike when steel is hot not when it cold" oct-09-250r then march-11-650r then next bike 2013/14 too late for bajaj IKM and KTM should stick with bajaj for ckd bike's but launch bigger bike's-cbu's on their own before it's too late all this provided if kawasaki/ktm have brain's and some sense.

Hi, no offence meant but I beg to differ from what you've said above.

1) The launch of the R1, MT01 and V-Max really had little impact on Yamaha's brand image. It was the launch of the R15 and FZ-16 which really made all the difference. The big bikes' official, legal appearance on Indian shores hardly made a difference considering the target audience was the group which would earlier import them anyway. They are still way out of reach of the ordinary consumer and, at best, one occasionally gets to gawp at them in real life. It was the lack of affordable yet exciting bikes since the death/retirement of the RX's that hurt them. And the R15 and FZ finally filled that void.

2) Bajaj is COMPLETELY different from Yamaha. One is a purely Indian company which has (creditably) had to invest in R&D taking its bikes from the stone age in little more than a decade while the other has been an international engineering powerhouse and legend for several decades. There is simply no comparison between the two.

3) I'm sorry to say that, while all credit must go to them for how they have resurrected their brand in the last ten years, the Bajaj brand was never ahead of the other three in the first place. The Indian JVs (Hero Honda and TVS Suzuki) are not the same as the mother companies and even they have arguably had as strong brand value as Bajaj depending on which part of the country you're from. If you are from Chennai for example, TVS enjoys staunch support while Hero Honda's brand strength is still fairly unparalleled pan-India. The mother companies cannot fairly be compared to Bajaj as Japanese engineering is still light years ahead.

On the subject of an offering in the 600 - 700cc category being a smart business decision please do take a look at the balance sheet in the following link



You will realise how completely insignificant numbers such as a 50 crore market are in the scale of profits Bajaj is looking at. Bajaj's annual turnover is around Rs.12,000 crore!

Now I'm not saying there wouldn't be takers in that segment. In fact, Bajaj themselves have a very confusing strategy with offerings overlapping each other within the same segment (135cc Pulsar and 150cc Discover??) while there is certainly a huge gap between the Ninja 250 and the superbikes on offer in the Indian market. And it would certainly be great for the Indian biker to have an shot at the in-betweens.

But does it really make business sense given the scale of profits they operate in? I'm not so sure..

I also really wonder whether the pricing will be as speculated on so far in this thread.

Consider that Kawasaki's current offering at 3.2 lakhs is so far ahead of the market that it was, when introduced (and to an extent even now), considering exorbitant. Why, in that case, is it assumed at the pricing of a Ninja 650 will be anywhere near reasonable? Consider that HYOSUNG is offering their 650 GT at Rs.4.9 lakhs. Do you really think that a Ninja will be priced anywhere near a Korean competitor? The benchmarking is all wrong here. I certainly do wish it would be reasonable but I am certain it won't.

Just my 3.5 paise.

Cheers

Rahul

Am very sorry to have hurt the sentiments of the population here... As SunnySideUp said, I never meant to disgrace anyone. My point was nothing but just:
1. A 5L - 7L bike at a time when commitments are less is easier to purchase than when the commitments are higher! And 10+L for anyone is a huge sum of money.
2. Its not the person who buys a two wheeler for mileage/commute we are talking about, but someone wishing to buy a two-wheeler for pleasure.

I guess, its already pretty clear and requires no further explanations...

I'm very eagerly waiting for the bigger ninja and hope its in the 600cc category. The bigger ninja at the end of the day could very well be the ZX10R to compete with the R1/Busa/CBR1000RR etc.

If the 650R is here as expected and if it is priced right, then i'll put my 250R on the market. I'm in no hurry, so will take my time just as i did for the 250R to understand owner feedback. I just hope they offer test rides from the very beginning instead of sitting and planning an event like they did for the 250R months after it was on sale.

Since the 650R is more of a tourer than a supersports bike it should be a perfect option for most high speed tourers.

Now the wait begins...

very very sad news for us



very very sad news for us. i am a ninja 250r customer of bajaj auto.
if bajaj auto launch 650r it will be worst for me. i always prefer sports bike
hope bajaj auto will hear it. ninja zx-6r is much better than 650r ,
i think many xbhpians will understand my words.

bigger ninja.....bigger price, but welcome move for sure.