The SoftTail range includes the FatBoy, the FatBoy Special and the Heritage SoftTail Classic. The FatBoy will now retail for INR 14.5 lakhs and this is a revision of INR 5 lakhs from the price tag of of INR 19.51 lakhs. The FatBoy Special will now sell for INR 15.60 lakhs and used to sell for INR 20 lakhs previously. The flagship SoftTail, the Heritage SoftTail Classic will sell for INR 16.25 lakhsnow instead of the price tag of INR 20.51 lakhs which came via the CKD route.

Harley Davidson currently assembles the Sportster range in the country and some models from the Dyna range of motorcycles. And now that SoftTail range gets assembled via the CKD route, the CKD assembled models reach a count of 9. Out of the 13 cruisers on sale, 9 will be now CKD assembled. Just 4 motorcycles will be brought via the CBU route now but if the numbers go up, we expect even those to get assembled via the CKD route as well.

But that is not all. The company is also said to be working on a made for India Harley Davidson motorcycle which will come with a 500cc engine and it will be a V-Twin motor. The company is said to be working on higher levels of localisation of the cruiser to keep its costs down. It would come at a price of around INR 4 lakhs and the company intends on expanding their customer base by a considerable number. The Indians are in for a superbiking treat this year with other companies also planning their bikes reaching the Indian shores.

Right after the announcement was made, the spyshots of KTM Duke 390 without the body panels at a warehouse has emerged. This could very well be a photograph from the Bajaj’s Chakan facility in India and the good folks at MotorBeam.com have shared the picture. What makes you believe that it is the Duke 390 is the Trellis frame which is one of the visual differentiation between the Duke 200 and Duke 390. .

The picture reveals that the bike will come with a larger radiator, an engine which is beefier than the Duke 200 and the bike will come with ABS fitted from the factory and that can be seen on the rear wheel of the bike. There’s also a small wire which can be seen over caliper and the steel braided line has a cover with which the ABS wire is stringed. The orange wheels and the newer body graphics further tell us that it is the elder sibling.

The KTM Duke 390 already has set the streets on fire globally with the power and torque figures for the pricing being bang on. It will give out 44 horses and peak torque of 35 NM @ 7250 RPM will be delivered by the 375 cc single cylinder motor. The bike is pretty much the streetfighter other bikes on the block shoud be scared of and even if it does not look bulky, it pretty agile and can beat the elephants on the street quite easily.

Source: Motorbeam

KTM 350 SX‑F has been the bike that has emerged as a leader at many races. It gives you the thrills of a 450cc bike while offering you the dynamics of a 250cc bike. The 2013 edition of the bike gets a reworked engine and a new chasis which has been constructed out of a central tubular frame and chrome molybdenum steel tubes. The bodywork gets redone as well and the ground clearnance stands at 376mm which is pretty much more than a SUV.

The front suspension has a travel of 300mm while the rear suspension gets a travel of 330mm. KTM 350 SX-F’s heart will be a 349.7cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled, spark-ignition, 4-stroke engine, which would churn out 54 horses and will come mated to a 5-speed claw shift gearbox. Fuel injector is shared with the RC8R and the bike will max out at 13,400 RPM. 300mm discs up front and 330mm discs at the rear will be halting the bike and the reason why it offers insane performance because it weighs a mere 104.8 kgs without the fuel.

KTM has not launched the bike but has instead unveiled it and it will reach some of the KTM showrooms in near future. It retails for £6645 in UK. The bike is quite the performer and it need not prove anything to anybody as it has proven almost everything that it needed to. KTM intends on bringing lower capacity Dukes to India as well as wants to launch more Dukes globally so we can pretty much expect a smaller capacity version of the KTM 350 SX-F getting launched as well in near future. The Dirt Biking segment is heating up slowly but KTM wants to make sure they are up for the challenge when the need arrives.

More Pictures from Mumbai KTM Orange Day

Stay tuned to Ride Talks for more updates.

Yamaha YZF-R1 first came in front of the world some decade and a half ago and it has never looked back since then. The bike has been the number 1 choice of the sports bike lovers with the Japanese bike finding a lot of takers in almost every corner of the world. But what has caught our attention all of a suddden is that Yamaha is seen testing the next gen YZF R1 on the test tracks. Yes you read it correct and today we have for you the spyshots of the next gen R1.

The bike had been well disguised by the blokes back at Yamaha to make it look like a R6 but if one looked at the spyshots and the bike with a slightly more detailed eye, one could make out that it was the R1. The 2014 edition of the bke is expected to get the same 998 cc 4 cylinder engine that powers the current R1 but the most interesting speculation has suggested that this motor would come in a different state of tune to belt out more horses and the exhaust pipe system will see a major overhaul as well.

2014 YZF R1 will ditch the current underseat tein exhausts for a shorter single silencer which would be present on the right side of the sportsbike. The shorter exhaust pipe has been placed right behind the engine so as to have the mass concentrated in the centre of the bike. The YZF R1 in its next generation will feature a host of changes in the cosmetic as well as the mechanical department so give it an edge over the contemporaries. The bike already comes with a legacy of sportsbiking and its next generation is expected to sty true to its charachter.

Source: R1-Forums

The CTX700N is the naked street-fighter version while the CTX700 gets a fairing and a windshield to give you that relief from the blast of wind every time you twist your wrist a bit more than the daily twist. Both the bikes get the highly popular 700cc parallel twin cylinder motor that powers the NCX700 and the engines will come mated to two transmission options. You can either go in for the 6-Speed manual transmission or the much touted Dual Clutch Transmission if you find shifting gears a bit of a headache.

Honda believes that the CTX range of motorcycles will make their way to the roads and gain a lot of popularity because of the ease of maneuverability they will offer and the seating comfort which will be up for grabs. The bikes will come with quite a low centre gravity with the seat height in the CTX700N being 28.3 inches. The bikes are believed to have lower vibrations than the competition and will offer that comfort level for cruising all day long on high speeds. ABS coupled with DCT is also on offer and will retail at a price of $1000 over the standard non ABS model.

The CTX700 gets a fairing and a windscreen and will have the same heart as its street-fighter sibling. It will also get the DCT and ABS package as an optional extra and it gets a nice feature list as well which include heated grips as my favourite feature and you get an optional taller windscreen and an option to carry your baggage arund as well. The CTX700N will retail for a price $6999 and the faired sibling, the CTX700 will sell for $7799. The bikes make for some real good cruisers and their foot forward stance just adds to their cruiser abilities.

Honda has just launched the 2013 Honda VTR250 sportsbike in Japan and it will be exclusive to Japan. It gets a 250cc V-Twin four stroke engine which would churn out 29 horses and a peak torque of 22 NM. The engine will be mated to a 5 speed gearbox and it gets telescopic forks in the front and a monoshock rear to take care of the ride quality and bumps. The engine will get fuel injection and will be liquid cooled as well.

The bike will come in two body variants- A naked one and a semi faired one. The naked one comes with the name VTR250 Naked and the VTR250F is the one which would come with a semi-fairing. The bike gets a Trellis Frame which would surely be the USP of the bike. If you live in Japan and would like to own it as soon as you can, all you have to shell out is 567,000 Japanese Yen($6062) for the naked VTR250 and 588,000 Japanese Yen($6287) is what it will cost in the semi-faired variant.

The bike will sit above the Honda CBR 250R as the Baby Ceeber in its C-ABS variant retails for 500,000 Japanese Yen($5,365) and the VTR250 is powerful than its sibling as well. The higher price can be attributed to the V-Twin engine but the bike does not get C-ABS even as an option. There are people who like the faired bikes but the naked bikes have a certain charisma of their own. And if you are confused between buying a faired and a naked bike, how bout you buy the semi-faired bike? Honda has products to suit everybody’s need.

More Pictures:

Stay tuned to Ride Talks for latest updates.

The company managed to put 8,500 KTM Duke 200 on the Indian roads in the calendar year 2012. Since the company has been very well received by the Indians, the company intends on making it the country which would get the bikes in the first wave of countries whenever a new bike gets launched. The company along with this announcement, also announced what it had in store for the Indians and armoury is pretty well setup to start the onslaught.

Heading the launches will be the Streetfighter version of the KTM Duke 390 which will have a power output of 45 horses and shall be launched in the country in mid 2013 according to the company. The next in the line will be a RC8 inspired and Moto 3 racing bike inspired sportsbike, albeit with a smaller displacement and shall be launched in the country in early 2014. Though the company has not mentioned it explicitly, but we expect the faired KTM Duke 390 to reach the Indian shores as well in early 2014.

The RC8 the 1190 cc supersports racing bike will hit the 70 showrooms the company has as a display model and the company does not intend on selling it as of now in India. The company has been following up the sales with Orange Days and Orange rides to bring together the owners of Dukes. The company has had quite a successful 2012 in India as well as across the globe and the only direction they intend on going to from here is pretty much north.

LED tail lights, Digital cock-pit, Nitrox suspension, Twin Spark Technology (DTS-i) were some of the features that this bike brought-in with itself. And the testimony for its huge success is reflected well enough by the fact that Bajaj Pulsar 200NS has emerged as the most awarded bike of the nation. It swept 10 highly reputed awards from some of the most renowned Automobile Magazines and Channels of India.

Road Test review of Pulsar 200 NS:

Mr. Sanjay Saraswat, the Vice-President of Motorcycle Business- Bajaj Auto Ltd., expressed his pleasure on the occasion as “The success of Pulsar 200NS is yet another acknowledgement of Baja Auto’s commitment to unparalleled design and development. We are extremely proud of the impact the Pulsar 200NS has had on customers and automobile aficionados across the country. We would like to assure our customers that we will not rest on the laurels bestowed on us and shall continue to strive to bring about better technology and designs, in sync with the demands of the market.”

Pulsar 200NS was unveiled in 2012, and the presence of this stunning piece of automobile art stole every on lookers heart since first day. The bike proudly adorns a perfect combination of style and strength and has proven to be an ideal successor to its predecessors. Pulsar 200NS promises desired comfort along with an adventurous feel and economic pricing. Some of the awards that Pulsar 200NS bagged are:

• CII Design Excellence Award
• Bike India – Bike of the Year
• Bike India – Bike of the Year (125-200 CC)
• Economics Times Zigwheels – Bike of the Year
• Economic Times Zigwheels Viewer’s Choice Bike of the Year
• Economic Times Zigwheels – Bike Enthusiast Motorcycle (180-250)
• BBC Topgear – Reader’s choice
• NDTV Car and Bike – Bike of the Year
• NDTV Car and Bike – Automotive Design of the Year
• NDTV Car and Bike – Bike of the Year (upto 250 CC)

Stay tuned to Ride Talks for latest updates.

Aprilia USA has just announced V4ALL, which comes as a strategic pricing tactic for boosting the sales of the Aprilia V4 siblings. V4ALL comes as a move to cater to a segment of bikes who could somehow manage to stretch their budget beyond $10,000 to buy a superbike but owning an Aprilia seemed a distant dream. Speaking on the occasion, Miguel Martinez, President and CEO of Piaggio Group Americas said, “Aprilia is the World Superbike champion. It is our V4ALL goal to provide more sportbike riders the opportunity to own and experience a world-championship derived motorcycle.”

The V4ALL reduces the prices of the bikes considerably so as to make these bikes a VFM and increase the sales numbers. Now the propspective customers can buy the 2012 Tuono V4 R for $12,999, a previous year RSV4 R APRC for $13,999 and the flagship RSV4 Factory APRC for $18,999. You may think that these prices come as a move to clear out inventory but when you see on the face of it, if you are buying these bikes, you love your bikes more than anything else and who would sell the love of their life in 5 years down the line.

The bikes come with the company’s much hyped Aprilia Performance Ride Control (APRC) system and the Aprilia World Superbike traction control system which is a carry over, as the name suggests, from the company’s bike competing in the World Superbike Championship. The benefit of the APRC system is that the rider gets traction control, wheelie control, launch control and quick shift which I believe are pretty handy features to have on your bike and even the competition does not have an answer to these gimmicks. I grew up thinking of owning an Aprilia one day and with the price cut, I seem to be inching closer to the realization of that dream.

Apart from this, we would also like to focus on what Erik Buell said about Hero Moto Corp. Erik said that he is happy to say that Hero MotoCorp is back to the race and became a title sponsor of the team Hero EBR 1190RS in the 2013 AMA pro racing American superbike series. The entry to race for the year 2013 will be shouldered by Geoff May’s on the bike no 99. Geoff’s racing crew will comprise of Mike Fitzgerald, Ryan Kelly, and Grant Singley. Mike Fitzgerald will be going to be the crew’s chief. Furthermore Hero group’s technician would be joining hands with the team to sharpen and expertise themselves for future racing sessions in India too.

After completing the AMA race session Hero team would be returning again for the gaudy rider Aaron Yates, he would be riding the mobike no 20 EBR1190 RS. Aaron’s core team would comprise of the champs of the AMA itself. The personalities are Evan Steel as a crew chief and joining hands would be of Phil Allison and Willie Vass. All the personalities have ample of biking experience from AMA racing. We would like to interest masses that Evan said Joining back to EBR and putting American motorcycle racing in front position to the world is his passion and dream come true. The statement was supported by rest of the two counter partners too. They also said that EBR is doing a great job that is in a true sense respectable. The reason they are supporting Aron Yates is their friendship and also the love for sports bike and racing.

Pawan Munjal, managing director & chief executive officer Hero MotoCorp Ltd said that “We are delighted with our participation in the AMA Superbike Championships. This is our second consecutive year at these races and we are excited with the progress that our teams have made. Our partnership with Erik at AMA pro racing is a natural extension of our technology alliance with EBR. Personally I am happy to see brand Hero make its mark with EBR 1190RS on this competitive platform.”

The core teams will also add Robbie Jensen for suspension work and Mike Kirkpatrick for transportation and logistics. Michael Tjon who has been at the track with EBR since the first outing will be focusing on power train development as the lead on this work in East Troy. Michael said “I do love racing and the track excitement but after the last two and a half years doing that it is to get off the road for a while so I can focus on the technical part that I love best”. He also added that “We ran all last year with stock engines and we need to push further this season”.

Both the Teams would be managed by Rick Kress who will be returning to his home state of Wiscons after a long time of years. The champ has his residence in Alabama. Rick said that “I have had a really rewarding career as a crew chief in AMA Superbike for many years but I have been wanting to step up to manage more, and this team is just the right fit for me”.

Jeremy Meyers Race Program Manager AMSOIL said that “We have been very happy with our sponsorship of Geoff May and are delighted to have Aaron Yates on board this year”. He further added that “EBR has been a great partner for us in racing and product development especially as the new EBR products get closer to volume production  Erik has aligned himself with super riders and sponsors like Hero MotoCorp and I believe our value with both Aaron and Geoff will be great this season”. At last Erik added that “We at EBR truly enjoy competing in the AMA Pro Racing American Superbike series and I want to take the time to thank all the other teams, sponsors and of course the fans that come to the track and follow on Television. We have a spectacularly competitive show that spectator’s love so tell your friends to come and see a race. They will walk away amazed at the incredible talent we have here in America”.

All in all the good news is this that India has marched forward to EBR sessions with the sponsorship of Hero MotoCorp. Hero MotoCorp is the largest motorcycle manufacturer and developer and had predictably sold at around six million motorbikes and scooters in the year 2012.