Will Yamaha & Hero Honda beat Bajaj?
Pulsar 220, the fastest bike in India, faces a
challenge from new models on speed & style. Bajaj's Pulsar 220
DTSi can achieve a speed of 144 km an hour, almost 20 km more than its
predecessor, and can accelerate from 0 to 60 km in four seconds.
Next month, Yamaha Motor will launch an upgraded model of Fazer that, sources
familiar with the developments said, would be able to do 150 km an hour. The
company's R15, currently on sale, can attain a top speed of 140 km/hour without
the performance-boosting kit, and sources said the new Fazer would easily cross
that.
Yamaha's
new bike will have a 220cc or 250cc engine and can be positioned as a sports
bike or a touring bike, thanks to its hybrid design, similar to the current
Fazer that was launched in July.
Hero
Honda, too, has put the launch of a new Karizma on the fast track. To be
launched in September or October, the new bike will be called Karizma ZMR and
is expected to achieve a top speed of 138 km/hour against 125 that the present
Karizma can hit. Though Karizma ZMR's top speed is less than the Pulsar, Hero
Honda is trying to make up for it through better styling. Sources, however,
added that Hero Honda may also surprise buyers on speed at the last moment.
This will help the bike belt out higher power even while increasing its overall
efficiency levels. The new Karizma ZMR will deliver 19.5 bhp against 17 bhp
generated by the current model. Engine capacity, however, will be the same.
Though
competitors are breathing down its neck on speed, Bajaj Auto sees two things
working to it advantage. The first is the first-mover advantage. The second --
and this is something experts said could be a winner -- is pricing. The Rs
70,000 price tag for a fast bike like Pulsar 220 is something competitors may
find difficult to beat. Example: At least three Yamaha models with lower speed
and power than the Pulsar 220 already cost more. And Hero Honda's existing
Karizma costs Rs 85,000, while the Yamaha's R15 costs Rs 97,000.
Analysts
said Bajaj could bank on the fact that speed thrills, but speed at a cheaper
price thrills even more. The demand for sports bikes (Rs 65,000-plus) in India
is around 15,000 units a month, but it's a market that's picking up speed fast.
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