TVS Unveils the All New 2012 Apache RTR Bikes: Pics and Prices

TVS Apache RTR bikes have finally got the much awaited refresh with the company unveiling the new 2012 Apache RTR 160cc and 180cc bike models, in case you have missed, we previously posted about the new RTR leaked pictures and teaser here. There will be three models of the new Apache RTR in India, Apache RTR 160cc priced at Rs. 67,505, Apache RTR 180cc priced at Rs. 72,090 and Apache RTR 180cc with ABS at Rs. 82,780. All these are ex-showroom prices of Apache RTR in New Delhi. Features of these bikes are given below.

RTR 2012 Engine Power and Top Speeds:

Bike Name	Apache RTR 160	Apache RTR 180	Apache RTR 180
Engine Power	15.2PS	17.03PS	17.03PS
ABS	No	No	Yes
Top Speed	118KMPH	124KMPH	124KMPH

The bike sports a sculpted digital console with new muscled styling and race inspired carbon fiber cues. The new nocturnal blue backlit display adds to the design element.

Leaner race designed new aggressively angled seat cowls along with a muscled engine cowl echoing an aerodynamic razored design, brings the new design full-circle, giving the RTR a racier feel.

Apache RTR 160 2012 colors: Red Black, Green Black, Yellow Black, Grey Black. RTR 180 will be available in white, yellow, grey and black. The ABS version of Apache RTR will only be available in white and black.

Apache RTR 2012 Refresh official Bike Pics:

What do you guys think about the new Apache RTR?

Piaggio launches Vespa at Ex Showroom price of 66,000

Piaggio’s much awaited scooter Vespa has finally hit the showrooms. The company has launched its scooter at a price of 66,000 ex-showroom in Mumbai.  Piaggio has priced Vespa at a premium of 40% compared to other brands like Activa and Access 125. The company wants to target life style conscious youngsters with the launch of Vespa. The company also aims to sell around 10,000-15,000 units initially.

Piaggio Vespa is actually marketed as Vespa LX125 in Europe. However, the company has just put Vespa brand name in India. Vespa is 125cc scooter which can generate maximum power of 10 bhp and maximum torque of 10.6 Nm. It gives very high fuel efficiency of 60Km/L in actual driving condition. Beside this it is most stylish scooter among the all scooters available in India. It is also to be noted that Vespa has made its mark in more than 200 Hollywood movies.

Ravi Chopra, Vehicles Chairman and Managing Director at Piaggio said “Right now there is no premium segment in the Indian scooter market but we believe there is a significant number of brand conscious young people who would like to make a statement. Vespa is creating a premium segment by targeting those customers,”

He also added that the company is aiming a network of 5o showrooms in 35 cities. The company will reach production capacity of 12,000 units a month by September and will increase its production capacity to 15,000-20,000 units a month thereafter. The company has installed capacity of 1,50,000 units a year which will be expanded to 3,00,000 units a year by 2013.   The company will also launch other two wheelers in upcoming months.

Piaggio Vespa India Price

By the pricing of Vespa, Piaggio has made clear that it is targeting only life style oriented youth. Though the scooter is advanced in terms of technology, style and fuel efficiency, it has been priced at very high premium compared to other scooters. The on-road price with accessories could be in range of Rs. 75,000-80,000. However, it will surely find its space in India given the characteristic of Vespa brand.

Honda Posts Record Profits in Q1, 2012

Honda Motor Corporation of Japan, the world’s largest two wheeler company, has posted record profit in Q1,  2012  on the back of strong demand in Asia and North America. The company’s net profit has jumped 61% in the 2012 Q1 compared to earlier quarter.  The company reported net profit of 71.59 billion yen (Rs. 4,600 crore approximately).  This is tremendous performance as last year the production was hurt by flood and earthquake.

Company’s performance is improved due to increase in demand in North America, Japan and Asia. The company’s India operation has performed very well in the first quarter of 2012. Both the car and two wheeler segment has shown tremendous growth. Globally Honda has sold 3.45 million two wheelers for the January to March 2012 quarter there by registered growth of 17.8% compared to year ago period in the last year. The company has sold 0.65 million units of two wheeler in the first quarter of 2012 in India.

Honda hopes to continue the outstanding performance throughout the year. The company is expected to gain market share in Asia, particular China region by new bike launches. It is also planning new plants in the upcoming months to boost sales.

Honda Vs Bajaj: Bajaj leads in the month of April 2012

In our article for Honda vs Bajaj: The war of second spot in Domestic two wheeler market, we mentioned that how Bajaj Auto and HMSI is in race of second spot in domestic two wheeler market.  For the month of March HMSI overtook Bajaj Auto by 2,429 units. However, in the month of April Bajaj Auto has comfortable lead of over 10,000 units (approx.) on HMSI.

We do not have exact figure excluding export as if now but the news has been confirmed by Bajaj Auto President K. Srinivsas. He said “We would like to place on record that for the month of April, we continue to be the second-largest two-wheeler manufacturer in India and have a significant lead over the third-largest manufacture.

Bajaj Auto has sold 3,42,324 units in the month of April 2012 compared to 3,22,235 units in the month of April 2011 thereby registering growth of 6.21%. The figure of 3,42,324 units is including export. The company has sold over 2,00,000 units of motorcycle in the domestic market  in the month of April 2012.  HMSI has sold 1,98,831 units (including export) of two wheeler in April 2012 compared to 1,36,622 units in April 2011 thereby registering growth of 45.53%. The company has sold in excess of 1,90,000 units of two wheeler in the domestic market.  HMSI major growth is coming from the increased sales of Activa. The company has sold 1,17,404 units of scooter in April 2012 with the growth of 56.31% over April 2011.

Bajaj Vs Honda in 2012

It seems that the Bajaj and Honda will have neck to neck to competition in the upcoming months as well. While Honda will focus on its upcoming launch of Dream Yuga in the month of May 2012, Bajaj Auto will focus on its newly launched Discover, Pulsar 200NS in May and all new motorcycle in the month of  and June. Both the company has new launches which will drive the sale. The positive for HMSI is scooter sales which is growing in excess of 50% and thereby helping to narrowing the gap to Bajaj Auto. Let’s see what will be the story for the month of May 2012.

Mahindra Racing’s Sarath Kumar Finishes 3rd at CIV-Italian Championship

Sarath Kumar of Mahindra Racing became the first Indian to secure a podium finish at an International motorsports event when he finished third at the CIV-Italian Championship in Monza.

• Sarath Kumar was originally placed 4th however, the 3rd place winner Andrea Mantovani was disqualified due to engine irregularities which allowed Sarath to take up the 3rd position finally.
• Sarath moved swiftly across and found a good pace to clock a fantastic time of 25:38:775
• This win enables Sarath to become the first Indian to score points in a competitive championship at Imola
• Mahindra’s second rider and winner of first two rounds Ricardo Morreti had a bad day and had to retire during the race due to bike related technical issues.

Current standings after the 3rd round 125GP:
a) Ricardo Morreti stands second with 50 points
b) Sarath Kumar moves up to 5th position with 22 points

Reacting on the occasion:

Sarath Kumar said, “A podium finish at the Italian Championship is a dream come true for me! I got off to a good start and was able to recover a lot of positions up to the 14th place. It was my first time in Monza, a circuit I am quickly getting accustomed to – it’s a really fast one! I want to thank all my technical staff, my manager and team Mahindra for their support.”

Ricardi Moretti said, “I was able to take the lead when at Variante Ascari the engine of my bike turned off. I was able to get back to the pits and after that to get back on track, but the problem emerged once again and I had to withdraw from the race. It was a very unlucky day on a track that we did not know, and that gave us many issues. I hope to change this DNF and do better in the rest of the championship because I want to be back to first place in the standings.”

Mufaddal Choonia, COO, Mahindra Racing said, “All of us at Mahindra Racing are absolutely delighted with Sarath’s achievement! We have had a good start to the season with our first two wins and are very pleased with the progress made by him. It’s unfortunate for Moretti, but we can make it up in the next round.”

Bajaj Launches New Discover 100 4G with 4 gears

We have posted this news that Bajaj has launched a new Discover, I was all confused about the whole story. What is it that the company has changed in the new Discover series that they have launched? The news is that Bajaj has launched a new variant of its entry level Discover 100 4G with 4 gears. Apparently the tag ‘4G’ seems pointing to the new 4 speed gearbox.
2012 Bajaj Discover

The existing bike has 5 gears and the new variant will sport 4 gears in turn shedding close to Rs 2000 from the existing price of the bike. This would also ensure Bajaj a better and more competitive entry point and would equip them to face the soon to be launched, Dream Yuga from Honda. Though we have not ridden the bike but it would be imperative to think that the new gearbox would be more focused to city driving ensuring there is abundant power at lower and mid revs to enable smooth operation in city traffics. It would be interesting to see if there is any mileage drop reported on the new 4 geared version.

There do not seem to be any other changes in the new model. Discover 100 would continue to be powered by a 94.38cc 4 stroke engine which pumps out 7.7PS of power and 7.85Nm of torque.
It is also not known whether the existing 5 gear model will continue to be sold along with the new 4 gear model. We feel it would be better if Bajaj discontinues the 5 gear model to reduce any kind of confusion to buyers and this seems very much possible. There doesn’t seem to be any official word from Bajaj on this development. The bike has already reached dealerships and there is no visual change on the product.

Yamaha Launches New 2012 Editions of Fazer and FZ-S

New Indian Bike 2012: Yamaha Fazer White

We shared this news of Yamaha updating their FZ series with mild updates and an introduction of a new orange color to the FZ-S, now the company is refreshing its big brother Fazer as we had predicted, however, there are no new colors introduced. Moreover, we had reported FZ’s updates on 25th April whereas the combined (FZ + Fazer) official information reached us a couple of days back only. Check out what the New Fazer 2012 has to offer after the jump.

New Yamaha Fazer 2012 version comes with the following changes:

• Changed Grab Rail: The new grab bar looks more useable and hopefully the grip would have improved. According to Yamaha, this grab rail will also act as some kind of a support to the pillion rider.
• Longer and Wider Pillion seat: This is one of the most important changes in the new 2012 FZ series and we hope it has ample amount of space for the pillion.
• Large & Wide rear fender: The rear fender has also been lengthened and widened, which do take away a few points on the look factor, but promises to prevent mud splashing through those huge rear tyres.
• New Chain Protector: Yamaha also provides new chain protector on their new Fazer. Basically the lower part which was naked has been covered by a stylish cover as well which is definitely a good step towards safety of people wearing loose clothing.

Price: 2012 Fazer will bear a price tag of Rs 76,380 ex showroom Delhi

Torque:
What is with this torque figure of new FZ series of bikes? On the official website, these new variants are claimed to be producing 13.6Nm of peak torque in place of the 14Nm of the earlier variants. Is this a step to increase mileage of these FZ series of bikes? It remains to be seen if this has any significant adverse effect on the performance of these bikes.

Colors: New 2012 Fazer would be available in 4 colors: Competition White, Black Cyber Green, Lava Red, Midnight Black

Yamaha would soon be launching a comprehensive campaign to promote these new 2012 bikes. We would be able to see John Abraham, company’s brand ambassador taking the center stage obviously along with the new bikes on the various promotional activities planned by the company on the web, TV, print etc.