Suzuki Gixxer SF

The Suzuki Gixxer SF is the smallest displacement motorcycle that the xBhp Garage has ever seen and yet, it packs a punch that is deserving of the name ‘Gixxer’. 154.9cc, 14.6 bhp, and 14 Nm aren’t earth-shattering numbers but this entry-level Gixxer is built around the same ethos as the bigger, badder ones.

154.9 cc | 14.6 Bhp | 14 Nm | Recommended engine oil > Castrol POWER1 10W40

Firstly, the engine… It is silky smooth. Despite being a single, which are prone to vibrations, the Gixxer’s mill is smooth all throughout the rev-range… even at the very top of the rev-range. Now comes the weight… It is one of the lightest motorcycles in its class and that is why the performance it packs is considerable and it is a whole lot of fun to ride around town.

All of that is followed by perhaps the best feature of the Gixxer SF: handling. It is so natural that it can be easily certified as a great learning tool for the people who want to take it to the track someday. It is steady in a straight line even at triple digits and is intuitive to ride around bends.

We had our first brush with it when we got to ride a Race-Spec Gixxer SF in the Gixxer Cup and we had so much fun on it that we decided to get one for ourselves. All in all, the Gixxer SF is the embodiment of the weight that the name ‘Gixxer’ holds in the world of motorcycles in a compact form.

TVS Apache RR 310

Of all the motorcycles that the xBhp Garage has seen over the years, this one is a bona fide stunner. It all started with the Akula concept that TVS Motor Company displayed at the Auto Expo 2016. After that, it was a long wait. While we did get some snippets in the form of spy pics, we did not get to see the real thing till December 2017. The time taken was justified because the Akula was a beautiful motorcycle and TVS had a lot riding on it. The production motorcycle had to live up to the hype which, if we dare say, was a tall task.

312.2 cc | 33.5 Bhp* | 27.3 Nm* | Recommended engine oil > Castrol POWER1 CRUISE 15W50

Come December 2017, it all materialized and the TVS Apache RR310 was unveiled. One of the best Indian motorcycles in terms of looks? Yes. Had the performance to back it up? Yes. Had enough to be called the result of more than 3 decades of TVS’ racing experience? Absolutely.

The TVS Apache RR310’s reverse-inclined engine was a revelation that helped TVS in keeping a short wheelbase for agility and a long swingarm for stability. A technique that paid off very well. And despite all of its racing prowess that we had experienced on the racetrack, it proved to be just as good at touring. After unveiling it at the 15th anniversary of xBhp, we took two of them (one was our own) fed with Castrol POWER1 on a 4,000 km pan-India roadtrip called #tRacingTheRoots. Know more about it here.

P.s. We just added a 2020 TVS Apache RR310 to the xBhp fleet.

*Specs for the 2020 TVS Apache RR310

BMW S1000RR

In all its years touring and going around the world, riding the choicest of motorcycles driving a few of the best supercars in the world, there was one thing that we had not done before… racing! And xBhp added that feather in its cap with the debut of Team #xBhpRacing in the 2018 JK Tyre National Racing Championship. But for that, we needed a machine; a superbike. And we chose to go with the BMW S1000RR.

999 cc | 199 bhp* | 113 Nm | Recommended engine oil > Castrol POWER1 RACING 10W40

The BMW S1000RR literally blew away every other superbike when it first arrived on the scene. Massive power, state-of-the-art electronics and radical design, it was the superbike of people’s dreams. Who can forget that short-stubby exhaust, the fairing that resembled gills of a fish, and those asymmetric headlights? We first got to ride it in 2011 and that too in the Alps; a fitting place to ride a crazy superbike like that. Post that, we rode it again in India during an episode of Driver vs Rider.

We knew what the motorcycle was capable of and then, BMW kept improving it establishing it as one of the best superbikes available. And we believe that its capabilities and our experience with it were enough for us to get the litre-class rocket to grace the xBhp Garage with its presence. That is how a Castrol POWER1 powered S1000RR became the motorcycle aboard which Team #xBhpRacing made its debut in the 1,000cc class of the 2018 JK Tyre National Racing Championship.

*Our Race-Spec S1000RR made over 208 bhp

BMW G 310 GS

This is one motorcycle that took its own sweet time in reaching the Indian shores. Despite it being manufactured in India, we waited for the BMW G 310s in India while the whole world got a taste of the baby Beemers. When we could not contain our excitement anymore, we decided to do something about it.

313 cc | 33.5 Bhp | 28 Nm | Recommended engine oil > Castrol POWER1 CRUISE 15W50

We went to Australia, where the G 310 twins were already available, and took them out for a ride. First, it was the G 310 R, the smallest roadster in the BMW Motorrad family and then, the next time, around, the G 310 GS, the smallest ADV-tourer from Bavaria. Even after that, the twins only made it to India after we had another go at them in Australia, this time taking both of the bikes for a spin.

Since we were so excited to get our hands on these motorcycles (and we did but not in India), it was only natural that the xBhp Garage had to have one of them upon their launch in India. And so, we welcomed the G 310 GS in the xBhp Garage. And what does one do when they have a pint-sized ADV-tourer rearing to go in their garage? They take ’em out to play. We took our G 310 GS, powered by Castrol POWER1, to Spiti for a snow-laden adventure trip. We hoped it would excel in the conditions and excel it did!

Indian FTR 1200 S

When we first heard that Indian Motorcycle was coming out with a production model based on their flat track racer, we went bonkers. Indian Motorcycle had an illustrious history in American flat track scene (remember the Indian Motorcycle Wrecking Crew?) and they further cemented their status with the Scout FTR750. To think Indian Motorcycle would make a production model based on that very motorcycle? It was crazy. But the folks at Indian Motorcycle were crazier and they actually did it.

1,203 cc | 120+ bhp | 120 Nm

The Indian FTR 1200 was launched amidst much fanfare and we got an invite to test ride it in Los Angeles, US. And boy… what a ride it was. Indian Motorcycle had been known for beautiful cruisers but the FTR 1200 was nothing like it. A trellis frame, a completely overhauled and redesigned Scout engine, and bespoke Dunlop tyres… the Indian FTR 1200 completely blew us away with what it was capable of. It could eat corners for breakfast and the aggression with which it exerted the 120+ horses on the rider was unheard of when one talked about Indian Motorcycle.

The same fanfare followed the FTR 1200 to the Indian shores as well and at the launch night, the xBhp Garage became the home of India’s first FTR 1200. It has been quite a while since it happened and yet, every time the FTR 1200’s touchscreen infotainment screen comes alive with the twist of a key… it feels like we are riding it for the very first time!