Heavyweight bikes queuing up as Indian roads get wider

GET ready for Rs 9 lakh-plus motorcycles. With the government allowing the import of bigger bikes with engine specifications of 800-cc and above last week, the big bike segment is all set to hot up. Bike-makers Yamaha, Honda, and Suzuki have already lined up plans to give competition to Harley Davidson, which will soon import its super-bikes in the country. According to sources, Japanese auto major Suzuki’s motorcycle division is likely to import two of its sports bikes by year end. One of them is likely to be the 4-cylinder, liquid-cooled 16-valve GSX-R1000, which comes strapped with a 999-cc engine. The other Suzuki sports bike could be the 749-cc GSX-R750. When contacted, Suzuki Motorcycle & Scooter India marketing VP Atul Gupta refused to comment. Yamaha Motors, on the other hand, is expected to get in the completely-built units (CBUs) of 998-cc YZF-R1 and the 600-cc YZF-R6 by year-end. Japanese auto maker Honda Motorcycles & Scooters India is also expected to import 800-cc bikes. When contacted, Honda Motorcycles & Scooters India head sales NK Rattan said: ”We plan to get into the big bike segment. These would be bikes with engine capacity above 500-cc and would be completely-built units (CBUs).” However, industry sources believe luxury and super bike-maker BMW will still not be tempted to re-enter the Indian bike market. BMW entered India about 10 years back in a joint venture with the Hero Group. The plan was to locally assemble and sell high-end bikes. However, the venture failed to take off and the company made an early exit from the two-wheeler market. Even though BMW has entered the car business in India, it is not likely to bring its high-end bikes in the immediate future. On an average, any of these sports bikes, if imported, cost about Rs 9 lakh and upwards. When these motorcycle makers will import these bikes, they are likely to charge a higher price and these bikes could cost in Rs 10-11 lakh range. The government on Friday allowed imports of bikes with engine specifications of 800-cc and above, which includes Harley Davidson bikes. The bike-maker will be required to adhere to Euro-III emission norms.

Courtesy: EconomicTimes