Leaving apart the superbikes category the most talked about and sort after category in our country is the Sports Bikes category. The affection of our fellow countrymen towards the faired bikes is not unknown for rest of the World, this is the reason why almost every single motorcycle manufacturer in India has something to offer in Sportbikes with fairing. The upcoming year will see more sportbikes launches in different classes ranging from 250cc to 650cc. Yamaha YZF-R25
- 249cc, DOHC, Parallel Twin Cylinder Engine
- 35.5 Bhp Of Power
- 22.1 Nm Of Torque
- 166 kg Kerb Weight
- 14.3 L Fuel Capacity
- Expected Price Rs 2.75 Lacs (When launched officially)
Yamaha had launched the much awaited quarter liter class sportbike with twin cylinder engine in Indonesia first. While we Indians were mourning and trying to figure out the reason behind why a small country like Indonesia got the opportunity to become manufacturing hub for "baby M1" here comes another bummer Yamaha launched YZF-R3 with increased displacement and power figures. This time Yamaha restricted the R3 to the developed countries and we being developing country once again neglected from our dream machines.
Yamaha eventually looked at Indian market and started giving training to their dealer networks for the upcoming R25, the launch is expected to be in mid of 2015. The YZF-R25 has newly developed 249cc parallel twin cylinder engine producing 35.5 Bhp of power at 12000 Rpm.
Hyosung GD250R
- 249cc, DOHC, Single Cylinder
- 26 Bhp Of Power
- 26 Nm Of Torque
- 155 kg Kerb Weight
- 11 L Fuel Capacity
- Expected Price Rs 2.0 Lacs (When launched officially)
Hyosung is establishing their brand image slowly among the Indian automobile sector, they are launching one after another product with the updation of their existing product line up. Recently, Hyosung has unveiled the single pot race machine- GD250R in the international market. The new bike is sharing the existing platform of Hyosung's naked bike- GD250N.
The GD250R is featured with single cylinder 250cc liquid cooled engine capable of producing 27.6 Bhp of Power. The bike is lightweight and nible contrary to its older twin cylinder sibling- GT250R.
Bajaj Pulsar 400SS/ 200SS
- 373.2cc (199.5cc), Liquid cooled, Single Cylinder
- 44 Bhp (23 Bhp) Of Power
- 35 Nm (18.3) Of Torque
- Expected Price Rs 1.8 (1.3)Lacs (When launched officially)
Bajaj has developed a much talked about faired bike for the first time. The bike is inspired by the electric machine "Energica Ego" as far as designing is concerned. Bajaj has already showcased the production ready model of the bike in Turkey recently, this shows the launch may happen anytime.
There are two versions of this new bike; 400SS and 200SS. Bajaj has shared the engine of Pulsar 200NS in 200SS whereas for 400SS Bajaj utilized the technical know-how of their global partner KTM's RC390 & Duke 390. The bikes would be feature rich as KTM products and there would also be ABS and FI optional.
HeroMotocorp HX250R
- 249cc, Liquid cooled, Single Cylinder
- 31 Bhp Of Power
- 26 Nm Of Torque
- 139 kg Kerb Weight
- 12.9 L Fuel Capacity
- Expected Price Rs 1.5 Lacs (When launched officially)
Hero is going big guns as far as launching new bikes is concerned, they had showcased the very impressive HX250R in Delhi Auto Expo. The same HX250R is also expected to be launched in upcoming year. The HX250R is featured with single cylinder 250cc Liquid cooled engine. The single pot will produce whopping 31 Bhp of Power and 26 Nm of Torque.
The design element of HX250R is done by their global partner Erik Buell Racing (EBR) and no doubt they have done a good job. The under seat exhaust is going to be the signature of the HX250R. The bike might get launched by the mid of the year and will be competitively priced by the Hero to take advantage of local manufacturing.
TVS-BMW 300cc
- 300cc, DOHC, Single Cylinder
- 30 Bhp Of Power
- 24 Nm Of Torque
- 140 kg Kerb Weight
- 12 L Fuel Capacity
- Expected Price Rs 2.0 Lacs (When launched officially) Note: The picture is not of the actual bike it is used for presentation purpose only.
TVS and BMW have gone into partnership only last year and this year we have seen their bike being tested in Europe. It has been confirmed by the TVS-BMW officials that they will launch the first product out of the spree of as many as three different products in 2015. The bike which was spotted in Europe though looked like HeroMotocorp's HX250R from behind but believing the reports from Europe and official confirmation from the company we expect that the first TVS-BMW bike would be a 300cc sports machine.
The bike will join the other competitors in the quarter liter segment and will surely increase the quality standards used so far in the Indian auto industry.
Honda CBR650F
- 649cc, Liquid cooled, inline-4 cylinder Engine
- 85 Bhp Of Power
- 63 Nm Of Torque
- 209 kg Kerb Weight
- 17 L Fuel Capacity
- Expected Price Rs 6.0 Lacs (When launched officially)
Honda is going to launch the game changer CBR650F in the upcoming year. The CBR650F would be more practical sportbike with docile and tamable power delivery. The CBR650F would be first inline-4 cylinder bike with fairing either manufactured in India or at least assembled in our country. Recently DSK had undergone a partnership deed with Chinese company with which they will bring an Italian brand "Benelli" in India, they also have inline-4 cylinder model but it is a naked roadster.
The CBR650F is equipped with 650cc inline-4 cylinder Liquid cooled engine churning out 87 Ps of Power. At a price tag of Rs 6.0 Lacs it would be the most practical and value for money sportbike available in the country.
By: Farhan Kashif