The Kawasaki Z 1000 has shocked more people than it has won admirers at EICMA 2013. But BMW who are the original masters of shocking aesthetics did not want to be left behind. So they produced their own naked version of the very accomplished S 1000 RR. Hideous seems to be the unanimous verdict.
Les horrible is the verdict about the aesthetics of this motorcycle.
Well we brought you the story that Kawasaki has shown a new scooter called J 300 which is a maxi scooter and Kawasaki’s first in a couple of decades. This scooter is meant for sale in Europe and we were hoping that it would come to India as well. Even as we were celebrating Kawasaki’s re-entry into the scooter segment, comes the news that Kawasaki is only badge engineering J 300 and that is originally the Kymco Downtown 300 i scooter. We are posting pictures of both here. You make up your mind, for one thing is certain and we do not know if this is true.
This is the J 300
And this is supposedly the original Kymco
Yesterday we brought you the news that Triumph Motorcycles is going down the pecking order in order to get a critical mass of buyers in the Indian market. It is known to be working on a 250 cc Daytona racer style motorcycle for the Indian market. Economic Times has reported that it is not just the British brand that is doing this but also the iconic American brand Harley Davidson is set to follow suit along the same road. This will take a couple of years to come to fruition but somewhere you have to ask yourself, what of the indigenous manufacturers? TVS will have to bank heavily on BMW, Bajaj on KTM (and we are not sure if KTM is enough), and Hero – who will they bank on? But Hero isn’t exactly sitting around, that we know.
This is the Harley Davidson Street 500 and now Harley wants to duck beneath the 300 cc mark.
One of the most well known British motorcycle brands of yore is the Brough brand. It shot to fame because of the love that T.E. Lawrence or Lawrence of Arabia, who was a soldier and a writer, had for this brand. His favourite was the SS 100 and as fate would have it T E Lawrence lost his life due to an accident that he had with the Brough Superior SS 100. Now the Superior SS 100 has been brought back to life and its creators have tried to be true to the original concept.
The new but true to the original Brough Superior SS 100
Needless to say this has nothing to do with original Brough family who made and sold these motorcycles, but one has to note with a certain degree of satisfaction that the new owners are not making a hash of the brand that has been known for its ingenuity. Lets hope that this is a happy resurrection.
Triumph may have taken forever for entering the Indian motorcycle market but boy oh boy they are coming in with some good planning. While the CKD assembled Bonneville is tipped to kick of the show in India that is not going to be the last motorcycle that Triumph will offer.
This 250 cc will make into India in the year 2015.
The design drawing is an indication of what the Triumph will look like. Or it is quite possible that Triumph will go retro and introduce a Bonnevillesque 250 cc retro. Whatever it is we can’t wait.
Harley Davidson is serious about the global motorcycle market and its intent is clearly visible in the unveiling of its first new motorcycle platform in 13 years. Two motorcycles of 500 and 750 cc going with the name of Street have been unveiled at the EICMA 2013. They are being called the black custom range and are squarely aimed at markets such as India, Brazil and other developing countries. 
Both bikes look identical and most of the parts will be manufactured for keeping the prices down. You could have a Harley in your garage for a price that is less than 5 lakhs. Start saving up.
Doesn’t this remind you of the good old Yamahas of yore. Air cooled engine, only kick starter, spoked wheels, dollops of chrome. We are sure that Yamaha can undercut all the 250 cc and 300 cc bikes with this one on price. So please bring it on, we say.
If you are a Kawasaki fan, it is possible that Kawasaki will surprise you and maybe even disgust you. The disgust part could come from the most controversial design ever of the Z 1000 motorcycle which has taken the predator inspired theme of the previous model to an entirely new level with what it calls Sugomi design. Kawasaki believes that ugly can be beautiful and so has this futuristic looking Z 1000 on display at the EICMA 2013 in Milan.
The beast.
The Z 1000 has seen its power bumped up by 4 PS from 136 to 140 PS, 
Savour the beast
Apart from this angry looking motorcycle, Kawasaki also put on display for the first time in many, many years; a maxi scooter called the J 300 which is a single cylinder CVT driven vehicle. More than two decades ago Kawasaki did make scooters for the Japanese market and now it seems they want a pie of the ever expanding scooter market. So this is the first salvo, and it seems quite good looking.
The J 300 signifying Kawasaki’s new intent
One hopes that this scooter comes to India as well. It will sell in good numbers if priced correctly. Let us hope that Kawasaki does not disappoint us.
MV Agusta has put out a video teaser ahead of the official unveiling and as we had earlier mentioned the Turismo Veloce will be tourer. Expect it to be powered by the same unit that powers the MV Agusta Rivale 800.
True to its intended purpose, the Turismo Veloce 800 has panniers at the rear. The Turismo Veloce also gets full LED headlamps. The face is stunning to say the least. The half fairing has been sculpted so beautifully like only the Italians can. There’s also a full colour LCD display instead of the monochrome display we saw on the Rivale 800.
The Turismo Veloce 800 also gets SACHS adaptive suspension that should adapt in response to changes in terrain. The Ducati Multistrada has at the rear SACHS adaptive suspension, we wonder if the MV Agusta unit is any different.
It was inevitable, wasn’t it? After the RC390 leaked in all its orange glory, it was only a couple of hours until the RC200 and RC125 also leaked.
Essentially transferring the design lines of the RC390 down the range, KTM has made the RC200 and RC125 distinguishable primarily by the heavily stylized graphics and the slightly different rear seat frames. KTM was proud of its trellis frames and it has taken ‘wearing-the-badge’ a notch higher this time around leaving the frame barely covered.
Source: Asphalt & Rubber
