A Honda Accord is not a hatchback buddy..And no.. It can only dream to do a 0-100 kmph is under 4 secs.. For the record, Ferrari 360 Modena does it in 4.1 seconds..

I know, I know thats why I put those ......... . I would still say it is a little on the higher side, I am more interested in knowing the BLR on road price now.

So are you planning one?

5.5 OTR (off the rack) its all inclusive (delhi).. hope that lifts ur spirits..

@prasoon: 5.5L OTR??? or ex-showroom?

a honda accord can do that.

well... almost.

How many of those hatches do 0-100 in 3.8 seconds and top out at roughly 220 Kmph!?!

@Prasoon :- thanks for the update, at 5.5 Lakhs ex-showroom, in bangy it will cross the 6.25 lakh mark, I know I shoudnt say this but ... I can get a premium hatch at that price.

How I wish if the price was 5 Lakhs on road, looks like my CBR booking stays.

Bajaj atleast reduce the price of the smaller kwacker, get it down to atleast 2.5 Lakhs.

Agree with you.But the GT650R has sporty ergonomics,big bike look and on-road Mumbai price of 5.51lacs.

Price remains unchanged..
what i meant by orders have been placed is that each probike dealer has been allotted the number of bikes he/she will recieve in the first consignment and so on and so forth..

@NikhilB.. yes it was an india-spec..

@ Prasoon - Didnt really understand the orders have been placed bit. Also
is the price the same as what you mentioned earlier i.e. 5.5L OTR Delhi?

Just another 650R stalker, eh?

By the way, thanks for the info. Did you manage to ride the india-spec 650R?

at the above part!

The 'slimness' and straight handle bars will actually be a boon in traffic!

And will agree on the sound part, but its a Parallel twin, can't sound as sweet as a I4 or a triple!

Guys.. Back with some more on the 650R...

So I guess the news is officially out now... its true that the distributors have been informed of the launch and orders have been placed...

Also i got a chance to get up close and personal with the 650R day a few days ago.. dont ask where dont ask how... all i can say is that indian RTO guys (or some certification guys) were there as well..

It was good to see the mini-beast and trust me it looks much better in reality...

Here are my humble reviews on what i think of the bike.. i'm not an expert on bikes so you have all the right to disagree with me...

- The frame of the bike... its been built tight but that give you an impression of the bike being small...

- The seating is kept low and its a comfortable ride position so even if u are a 5feet 5inch guy... and weigh in the 60's ... you can still pretty much be as comfortable as on any other bike..

- the kerb weight is kept low and so its easy to manuever and pretty responsive.. thankfully (unlike the hyosung) no major vibrations at high rpm's

Now for the downsides...

- the same thing that might be an advantage to some turns out not so great for people like me.. i'm 6 feet tall and 75 kilos... the bike is kinda small for me... also the entire frame of the bike is as such "slim"..

- its been toned down for india and i wish there was more juice to it at low rpm's

- the front number plate holders just destroys the entire front look

- its not a split seat (single seat for ladiezz as ur pillion)

- They are still talkin about toning down the muffler as it sounds "too loud". the "they" are these RTO idiots. thankfully i doubt if thats going to happen. i hear bajaj is pretty adamant on it.

- I am NOT AT ALL happy with the sound anyways... just compare it with any bike from any major manufacturer (Honda, Yamaha, Ducati). Personally i love the way the honda 600 sounds... its an orgasm..

- the shockers could have been better.

- the parts are going to be BLOODY expensive..

- like most other superbikes... the heat from the radiator is considerable if u have to navigate through traffic at slow speeds.. so if u r planning to buy this... DO NOT take it for a spin in traffic on hot days.. u'll have a tandoori leg piece on return..!

Over all i would give it a 6.5/10 on the ride factor but a handsome 8.5/10 on value for money..

And yes lemme re-iterate this again.... I DO NOT WORK WITH BAJAJ.. or any other magazine/bike maufacturer/group blah blah blah... I was just at the right place with right people at the right time... got lucky i guess??

Cheers..!!

Keep the wheels turning and tires burning.

Way back when the 220 was due to be launched in early 2007 it was seen in places ranging from the highways of Rajasthan to the twisties of Ooty!

will bajaj test a bike in Bangalore instead of Pune, their place?

+1 Praful. It makes more sense to import a supersport like the ZX6R than the 650R.

This must have been a test mule. Maybe its being tested as per ARAI's requirements. But then the absence of any camouflage beats me and then its not even on a temp regn.

But this will definitely be miles ahead than the Hyosung GT650R in terms of refinement, handling, performance, blah, blah.