The Business Standard newspaper has quoted Yamaha’s Roy Kurian as saying that a 250cc motorcycle for India is definitely on the cards from Yamaha. He has even said that instead of importing the motorcycle either as a CBU or in CKD form, Yamaha will manufacture the whole motorcycle in India to keep its price competitive. Yamaha seems to be encouraged by the response that the Honda CBR250R has garnered over the last one year in the country. The CKD kit import, the Kawasaki Ninja 250R is priced in the stratosphere and therefore has few takers other than hard core Kawasaki fans. The CBR250R on the other hand comes for just about half the price of the Ninja 250R (though it has one cylinder less and is down by about 8PS on power) and has been selling in decent numbers and this seems to have encouraged Yamaha to go for the 250cc category. However, it could also be the launch of the sporty CBR150R by Honda, pitting it against the Yamaha R15 which may have given Yamaha something to think about. Kurian however has not set any time frame for the launch of the 250cc motorcycle. It seems this year will be the year of the scooter for Yamaha which is likely to launch a definitive version of the Ray scooter concept that it displayed at the Auto Expo 2012.
Yearly Archives: 2012
It was, quite literally, end of the road. The highway we were in had successfully gotten itself mired in deep legal wrangles, and halfway through, the contractors had erected a stone wall, which suited us perfectly. Not many can lay claim to have witnessed a standoff between Brahma Bull on steroids and Catwoman on acid. It was a mouthwatering prospect to have them inside one ring and an orgasmic proposition to shoot them in one frame. Pure, simple and white. Sex on wheels.
One was a proper redneck, been bent over years toiling away, developing a massive set of arms and calves. Not satisfied with what she is endowed with, she pumps up on anabolic steroids and works out like a devil possessed. But all that pill popping has it’s effects. She can move in only one direction, straight, but when she does, she goes like a rocket. And when I say rocket, I mean it. She seems destined to teach Newton’s first law of motion to kids and if handled without care, promises to break your neck in two. She is happiest on a straight line, and hates taking corners. Pure American muscle then, ooh yeah!
The other one was a fiery Italian with a slightly quirky sense of style and a pompous nose. She would do powerslides as easily as she would show off those lightning quick reflexes. She would hold her line, and inspire the driver to push her to the brink of her capabilities. And yet, when you shake your head in sheer disbelief at what she is capable of doing, she would pull out new tricks from her sleeve. She is happiest at being thrown around the corners, all of which she handles with élan and then when you step out and look at her, she would exhibit that strange mix of emotions, impassive and snooty. A thoroughbred Italian, then.
Making the dough
It all started when I met Vyshak, the owner of a popular auto service and spare parts station. Vyshak is one of us, an auto enthusiast to the core who is living out his dreams, that of staying and working with machines. A humble chap otherwise, his eyes gleam with immense pride when the conversation drifts around to his own automobiles. There is a 1986 Omni, a chocolate coloured beauty, whose engine has NEVER been opened and whose gearbox has only been overhauled once in the twenty four odd years and the four lakh odd kilometers that she has traversed. There is his 1988 RD 350, painted in a rather curious red body, black chassis combo, gleaming under the hot workshop lights. Then there is the restored Suzuki Shaolin, in a gleaming red colour. When you finish with all of this, there is his Yamaha R6, in the trademark white and blue, gawked at by clients and fawned upon by the loyal troop of technicians dotting his garage.
And amongst all this, stands his 2006 Chevrolet Optra 2.0 LT. Pearl white, beautiful, as pristine as a lamb, not a single scratch on her. There is only one decal, stating in bold red, “TURBO”, on her rear which should give an idea to the beholder of what a beast she can transform into. No jingbangs, no screaming LED stickers, no loud music system. Simple, evocative and powerful.
The Optra, which first started off as the Korean carmaker GM Daewoo’s Lacetti in 2002 has undergone a multiple number of iterations and rebadging, including being sold as Buick Excelles in China and the Suzuki Forenza in other parts of the world to become the Chevrolet Optra as we know it today in India. The sedan had been designed by the legendary Italian design firm Pininfarina (yes, the same guys who gave you Maserati Quattroporte and Ferrari 360 Spider, not to mention countless other breathtaking beauties!).
This one, however, was special. The ECU had been remapped to boost the torque and the power, and if the dynos were to be believed, the car was spewing out, at 3,500 rpm, an astonishing one hundred and seventy horsepower (up roughly forty from stock trim) and a jaw-bending four hundred Nm of torque between 1600 ~ 2000 rpm (up roughly ninety five from stock trim). No clowning matter, this, then, eh?
Garnishing, meat or veggies?
We needed to contrast this Thing (I know not whether there is any other character other than the chap from Fantastic Four whose name and persona can be thrust upon this beast so befittingly) with Twinkle Toes. We needed some sanity to offset the madness, some curve gobbling power to offset the straight line brutality. So we turned (where else) to the Italians. A good friend, Soumya had a Grande Punto, a 1.3 MultiJet version, (incidentally, the first Grande Punto to be delivered in Bangalore), onto which, he had slapped on a Diesel Express box, and which now churned out a healthy ninety six horsepower and two hundred and thirty five Nm of torque.
The Grande Punto is a third generation Fiat supermini to bear the name Punto. The Grande Punto was unveiled at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show. Designed by the legendary Giorgetto Giugiaro, (who, incidentally, also styled the Optra Station Wagon), the Grande Punto is based on the Fiat-GM Small platform, and in India, is available in a number of avatars, the 1.2 litre and the 1.4 litre petrol and the 1.3 litre MultiJet engine. The Punto has largely garnered very positive reviews about her superb handling and the frugal yet powerful 1.3 MultiJet engines. Because of her enormous weight, a full 1.2 tonnes, the Punto’s acceleration, especially the earlier ones, were on the sluggish side, but there were very few cars which could hold a candle to it in the ergonomics department.
Would you like some fries with that?
The potential standoff had all the trappings of a redneck pasta, smooth and hot, gut wrenchingly powerful and surprisingly creamy. Which one will be the car of choice then? Read on to find out!
The Optra, as expected, could pull away with such command on the straights, it would be a feat to outrun her even with a Mondeo. Yes, she is THAT fast. The turbo kicks in around the 1500 ~ 1600 mark, and between that and the 4500 rpm that it redlines at, the curve is sharp uphill, no breaks in between. I saw her doing a 210 flat out, with the curve showing the first signs of tapering off. When Vyshak floored the accelerator at a 140, in the fourth gear, my butt slid into the seat, the neck snapped back and I could feel my cheeks being pulled back. It was that oh-sh!t moment when the scenes become a blur, when cars doing upwards of 150 appear to be at standstill and when you can see nothing else other than the lane dividers and the road melting into the horizon. A proper take off machine, this was.
The Punto was surprisingly quick on the straights as well. It was nowhere near the gut wrenching, butt-sliding-off feeling that the Optra was capable of, but you could feel the perceptible difference that the tuning box had made. There was a healthy and smooth torque spread available at all gears, the lowdown torque was available by the truckloads, and the point and shoot capabilities of the car had improved by a considerable deal. She would comfortably cruise at a 160 all day long. Given the bulk of the car, it was no surprise that the 100 came up real fast and the power went flat out after the 165 mark. On the straights, there was no comparison. The Optra was a much faster car.
When it came to the curves, however, it was a completely different story. The Optra in a stock trim had a very soft suspension, owing to this being used primarily as a city sedan, and as such, is completely useless for high speed corner-carving. For a car capable of doing upwards of 220 kmph, the Optra was easily unsettled when a sharp curve was thrown at her above the 130 mark. It is a scary feeling, yes? The opposite suspensions bottomed out, the rear spinning like Abhimanyu himself had some role to play in it, you can literally feel the control on the car diminishing, and you know that if you brake and for some reason the ABS does not kick in, it could result in a spectacular powerslide which would result in you flying over that hedge and in all probability, landing butterside down. So, you do the sane thing and understeer, all the while gently touching the brakes to allow the ABS to do their work and steer you clear off the greenery and keep the rubber side down. Whew, that was a close one!
The Punto, on the other hand, was born to take the curves on. She took them on with such ferocity and a sure, planted feel that much before I could get out of one, I found that she was in line and ready for the next one, much ahead of my preparation. Not once, not even at a 150, did I find the Punto not towing the line that I had asked her to. She threw me around inside the car, sure, but she had a surefootedness about her which was extremely comforting. Even when I was taking curves while accelerating, I could feel the tyres groaning in protest, but never going off the intended route. Most of all, the ability to transmit all of what the car was going through when taking a corner back to the driver through the responsive steering had a very reassuring effect. We did not actually time the cars, or race them across the block, but had we done that, I am sure that the Punto would have actually held it’s own against the bigger, powerful Optra, because of the sheer delight that it takes in gobbling up the curved tarmac.
Our verdict on the speeds? On a highway, there is no question. The Optra would be the pick anyday, especially with long straight roads and when you have those minimal curves, you can always slow down and take them at a pace the car is comfortable with. Our recommendation is to change the shockers pronto, and get a stiffer set slapped on. It would make a world of difference to the handling.
Inside a city, especially overburdened cities like Bangalore, the Optra does not stand a chance, however. The Punto, because of it’s size and quick and agile engine and a shorter footprint, would be able to get in between the gaps far quicker and overtaking other cars and motorcycles would be an absolute breeze. The Optra, with it’s bulk and footprint, would be a labour to drive inside the city, and I have a hunch you would end up drumming your fingers out of frustration more often than not.
Farfalle, anyone?
Now to some of us, a pasta is a pasta is a pasta. But then there are some who love the excitement which fine dining provides. Making a dough into a butterfly shaped pasta involves some amount of work and making it look even more beautiful when cooked involves a certain amount of dedication. So then, who will the fine diner please?
The Optra interiors are plush and feel premium, both to touch and visually. The seats have good lumbar support and a decent thigh support. The pedals were easy to reach, and visibility over the long bonnet was very good. The large windows and well placed mirrors provide excellent overall visibility. The backseat looks pretty cramped, but it is only an illusion, helped on generally by the recessed honeycomb-like structure of the seats. The knees had a good amount of travel before touching the back of the front seats and there was a general feel of wellness when you sat inside because of the premium feel.
The Punto, on the other hand, has a relatively demure interior. Which is kind of surprising, given her Italian heritage and the flair which Italians have for style. The dashboard is bright and reading the information off it was quite easy. What was once fun and premium gadgets, Bluetooth and steering mounted volume controls and message reading capabilities have become commonplace now. When you are paying almost eight lakhs for the top-end trim, you may as well expect a hot hatch with premium feel. This is where we think the Punto in the present crop of hatches, loses a bit of the sheen. We recommend getting some quality interior work, (nice handcrafted seat-covers, perhaps some leather for the ceilings and a dash of hazelnut wood for the dashboard, or would that be asking too much) done for the Punto right out of the showroom to match the go that the car is capable of.
Ready in 2?
You must be joking, Sir. Modifying a car such as these take perseverance, patience, dedication, knowledge and deep pockets. Maintenance of these cars take even more time. The wear and tear is much faster and checkups need to be more and with lesser space in between each.
So, do we recommend either? YES! We recommend both, in fact. Both cars are found relatively cheap in the second hand market, and both have brilliant mills which are capable of being tinkered around with to a reasonable extent. You need to be careful to find a decent quality piece, tune it well and then run her around like nobody’s watching.
Just remember to give us some credit when you execute said idea. After all, where would the plant be if the seeds did not germinate?
Photography: Soumya Paul, Ayan Ray
That there is a new S class in the offing is now pretty well known. Mercedes-fans.de has posted pictures of the new S class with minimal camouflage undergoing testing. It is believed that it will debut soon in international markets while it may take a while to make the RHD version of the car which will then come to India. Apart from the S Class, Mercedes is also testing a newer version of its Viano van. No surprise then that later in the year, Force Motors will be bringing in the previous generation Viano as an MPV. The new Viano looks bigger than the present generation and its front is still very heavily disguised.
Pictures courtesy: www.mercedes-fans.de
The rumour mills are turning. Sometime ago Garware Motors had announced the intention of bringing the Hyosung Comet GT 250 to India sometime during this year. Some motoring websites have started saying that this time around the Comet will come fully dressed up (read that as fully faired) as against the last time when it came as a naked bike when Kinetic brought it into India. Since these are still rumours we would like to ask Garware to bring in both the versions the clothed and the naked that is, just as it did with the bigger GT650.
Tata Communications has bagged the prestigious contract of being the official connectivity provider to Formula1. In a multi year deal, Tata Communications will provide connectivity to all the twenty venues that will be hosting the Formula1 races. It also means that it will now be the job of Tata Communications to host the official F1 website and provide content on it. In the past Tata has been involved with Ferrari as Tata Consultancy Services and with Jordan F1 team as Tata Racing when it sponsored Narain Karthikeyan. It also supported Narain Karthikeyan’s efforts in some races at the HRT team last year and will be doing so again this year.
After having crashed out of the first race of World Superbikes while leading, Carlos Checa, the defending champion made sure that no such mistakes were repeated again. Riding the Althea Ducati which is a semi-works team of Ducati, Checa finished ahead of first race winner Max Biaggi who took the second place on his Aprilia while Tom Sykes of Britain riding the official Kawasaki racing bike took some consolation by clinching the third and final place on the podium. Marco Melandri who finished second in the first race, went to claim a disappointing sixth place behind BMW Motorrad teammate Leon Haslam. It was even more disappointing for Sylvain Guintoli who finished third in the first race, since he could not complete the second race which for him only lasted nine laps. While Tom Sykes has gone well, his teammate finished the first race in a distant 15th position and did not finish the second race at all.
Kenan Sofuoglu made an impressive return to World Supersport racing aboard the DeltaFin Lorenzini Kawasaki by claiming victory in the race in Australia. Second place also went to a Kawasaki rider but not from the same team. Veteran racer Fabien Foret on board the Intermoto Step Kawasaki clinched the second place while Australian Broc Parkes riding a Ten Kate Honda claimed the final position on the podium. This has been a good start for Kawasaki to the season with pole position also going to its rider.
Tom Sykes who started on pole position in the first race of 2012 WSBK led for one lap before he was overhauled by defending Champion Carlos Checa who after three laps in the front slid out of the race. Max Biaggi on his Aprilia who was just behind the Ducati riding Checa, utilized this opportunity to claim the win in the first of the two races. Marco Melandri made an impressive debut for BMW by taking the second position in the race and Effenbert Liberty Ducati’s Sylvain Guintoli took the final position on the podium. Tom Sykes and his Kawasaki had to be content with a disappointing fourth place in the race after having started so well. Hiroshi Aoyama making his WSBK debut finished in eighth position on board a Honda.
Seventeen year old Oscar McIntyre of Australia was killed in the 600cc Superstock race just which was held before the commencement of Superpole. The death of the young rider has shocked the WSBK paddock and led to the cancellation of Superpole. As a result, works Kawasaki Rider Tom Sykes who finished on the top of the timing sheets in FP2 starts from pole position for the race. This will be the third time that Sykes has taken pole position in WSBK.
Maybe in his native country, Spain Jorge Lorenzo has a fan following. But even there his fans are outnumbered in good measure by those of Daniel Pedrosa. In the rest of the world, it would be safe to say that Jorge Lorenzo does not have too many fans. People may admire him, his never say die attitude, but fans, no way. If one were to ask themselves about why Jorge Lorenzo does not have fans (and that is putting things very politely, since reality is that many people dislike him) not too many good reasons surface. Therefore one will have to use the “theory of wavelengths” as proposed by Sigmund Freud, but then most believe that the whole theory is bunkum because it is somehow based in the occult. But there must be something to this occult, otherwise how does one explain the dislike and contempt that one feels for a rider that one does not even know at a personal level?
While one cannot pin point the exact reasons why Lorenzo is not popular, there are perhaps clues that can be used to get to the bottom of it all. There is no doubt that when Lorenzo raced in the 250cc category, and rather successfully at that, he came across as a very brash and often times stupid person. This had something to do with his misdemeanours on and off the track. On track Lorenzo was a hard racer, so hard that he was ruthless. The only other racer who could match him on that count was Marco Simoncelli.
But the receiving end of Lorenzo’s brutal tactics usually was the habitual whiner Andrea Dovizioso. Lorenzo took wide lines into corners and in the process of returning to the racing line usually chopped the front end of the rider who was behind him. But then there are fans of this variety of racing as well. So while this trait put some off it did not affect many. But what put everyone off was what Lorenzo did after winning races.
It will be very relevant here to talk about Jorge Lorenzo and his relationship with Valentino Rossi. There is no doubt that Rossi is afraid of Lorenzo’s talent. That is the reason why he served Yamaha the ultimatum choose between me or him. Rossi never said that about any of his other teammates. Colin Edwards was his favourite since Rossi was sure that Edwards was no threat to him. Lorenzo’s relationship with Rossi is a little more difficult to characterize. While there is no doubt that Lorenzo is a fierce competitor who has appropriately been likened to a bulldog by Kenny Roberts Sr. and that he took his competitiveness to Rossi, one cannot discount the probability of Lorenzo being a Rossi fan. I can assure you that it is not as far fetched as it sounds.
Lorenzo is much younger than Rossi and at a very impressionable age it is easy to make heroes out of those whom one admires. This statement of mine can substantiated with adequate number of examples. Prior to the emergence of the Valentino Rossi on the MotoGP scene no one, and I mean no one, in Rossi’s immediate past brought celebrations to the racetrack post victory and continued them on the podium. The generation of people such as Eddie Lawson, Wayne Gardner, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, Mick Doohan and even Alex Criville never brought zaniness to the track or the podium post victory. Rossi changed all that. While he was a hard racer, he also came across a lovable, teddy bear like character thanks to his uninhibited and unencumbered sense of fun. While greats like Rainey, Schwantz and Doohan were respected, Valentino Rossi was loved. That is how he became so important to MotoGP.
People in Rossi’s own generation also maintain reserve. Casey Stoner post victory goes to his wife Adrianna, Pedrosa will go with his brow furrowed to Alberto Puig, presumably because if he were to smile, then Puig would make sure that Pedrosa would get a whipping and even Marco Simoncelli for all his other flamboyance had nothing in the way of celebrating with fans. But Lorenzo was the one who tried to emulate Rossi. After the race was over and he had won it, Lorenzo normally parked his bike next to a fence and played air guitar in the gravel trap. Then he would go on to the podium with a lollipop in his mouth.
He also started playing around with themes for his helmet and for his leathers.
Finally he even stopped using his regular number 48 and enlisted the support of fans to get a new number which turned out to be 99.
Despite his emulating Rossi, his fans who were minuscule in number did not grow into huge legions like Rossi fans. That is because Lorenzo simply did not have the natural flair that Rossi has. And his planting the Lorenzo land flags at circuits where he won races, drove people away from him in droves. In short, Lorenzo had succeeded in achieving the exact opposite of what he had set out to achieve.
But gradually in the last couple of years Lorenzo has been showing a different side to his personality. Sometimes it seems as if he is a genuinely nice person. When Rossi crashed a broke his leg, Lorenzo who managed to get on the podium in that very race somehow managed to get hold of yellow T shirt with the number 46 on it and dedicated his podium to the injured Rossi. While making sure that he is still ultra-competitive towards his former teammate, Lorenzo unlike Stoner, did not have nasty things to say when Rossi’s chips were down. He maintained that Rossi is an incredible talent and that it was only a matter of time before he would return to the top spot on the podium. Perhaps his most humane gesture came after the death of Marco Simoncelli last year. In the initial part of the season of 2011 there were two rivalries happening. One was the Casey Stoner-Valentino Rossi rivalry and the other was Jorge Lorenzo-Marco Simoncelli rivalry and both these were as much off track as they were on track. Lorenzo lost no opportunity to criticize Marco Simoncelli’s riding saying that he was far too dangerous in his manoeuvres and that he was danger to himself and other riders on the track. While saying this he had the magnanimity to accept that he once rode in a similar fashion and that he mended his ways keeping in view the safety of himself and other riders on the track.
But after Marco Simoncelli died at Sepang in a crash during the race and when Lorenzo’s estranged father found it suitable to comment that considering how Simoncelli was riding, it was inevitable that he had to die the way he did, Lorenzo made it known to the whole world that he did not subscribe to what his father was saying and that he was ashamed of his father who would say such insensitive things when a rider had just died. He could have very well said, I told you so, but did not. He actually expressed solidarity with the Simoncelli family and went to the funeral of the fallen rider. That was indeed a display of character that one rarely associated with Lorenzo, especially after he made a fuss about going to Motegi fearing radiation.
Last year was also the year when Casey Stoner, who never lost an opportunity to complain about an overtaking move that was put on him by Rossi at the Laguna Seca race in 2008, put an equally questionable overtaking move on Lorenzo. But Lorenzo maintained his equanimity and simply shrugged it of by saying ” Casey is normally a very tidy rider. It can happen to anyone sometimes and therefore there is no point in complaining about it”. I sincerely hope Mr. Stoner squirmed in his leathers, because he has proved beyond doubt that he is incapable of generosity even if it is for winning people over to your side. But that is highly unlikely.
At this point we will do well to remember that Jorge Lorenzo lost his number 1 plate to Casey Stoner last year but he was never bitter (at least outwardly) and has been very complimentary about the man.
Even at the beginning of this year when in preseason tests, Casey Stoner has gone faster than anyone and when Lorenzo was asked about this he said “Casey is fast on anything. He will go very fast even if you give him a cycle”. Anyone who understands competition will understand that these things are very difficult to say when you are talking about a competitor. Rossi’s good humour always evaporated when he was put on the back foot but Lorenzo in saying what he did showed a side to his persona which I certainly did not think existed.
So now to ask ourselves the question is this the real Lorenzo or has he been coached by some PR managers to say the right things and do the things that are considered right? I am sure that I can never answer that question for you or for myself. But I am equally sure that even the worst case scenario (which is that Lorenzo is only parrotting all the things that have been taught to him) Lorenzo has demonstrated that he is at least sensible and reasonable to understand that his image needed mending. Now that in itself is not such a bad thing. I am beginning to like Lorenzo, that much you must have gathered by now. I do not know if I will actually become his fan. But I like the fact that he rode around the Buddh International Circuit on an R15 and said that he wants to race in India. I like the fact that he rides a Yamaha, my favourite marque after Kawasaki. Now if he only stopped that habit of planting blag Lorenzo’s Land flags.
Who knows, he may actually have genuine fans outside of Spain and I could be one of them. I will tell myself that he is at least not a barbarian like Casey Stoner whose hobby is hunting animals with a bow and arrow. Stoner is a great rider but there is no taking away that hunting and that too with a bow and arrow is barbaric. Only white skinned, idiot journalists find that a symbol of simplicity and cuteness. Yeah this year, I am settling for Lorenzo. He’d better not let me down. Otherwise you know what fans can do when they get disillusioned. If you do not get what I am saying I strongly suggest you see the deranged fan that Robert De Niro plays in the movie “The Fan”.