Last week was peppered with a smattering of launches, reveals and a whole lot of bikes and tech coming our way. Here’s a brief look at the week that was. Let’s start with the launches.
Launches
Indian FTR 1200S
This week’s hottest launch came from Indian Motorcycles. The American cruiser manufacturer launched the FTR 1200, a flat tracker that packs quite a lot of features, including a full-colour TFT instrument console, full-LED lighting and fully-adjustable suspension setup. It also gets a new 1200cc motor with three rider modes, traction control, wheelie control and cornering ABS.
Honda CB1000R+
Honda’s new litre-class naked made its global debut last year and now it has been launched in India along with other big bikes from the 2019 range. The new bike gets a new retro cafe racer styling. The rest of the components are all modern, including the circular LED headlamp, digital instrument console, ride-by-wire, four rider modes, traction control and ABS.
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Yamaha Saluto 125 And Saluto RX UBS
Yamaha’s Saluto series now gets ‘Unified Braking System’, which is just a fancy word for combined braking system. With this feature, Yamaha’s 100cc and 125cc Saluto models now meet the upcoming safety norms for bikes, which is set to take effect from 1 April, 2019 onwards. Click here for more details. Yamaha is also working on a Bluetooth-equipped instrument console for its premium bikes and that is expected to debut in the upcoming FZ16.
2019 Kawasaki KLX 140G
Kawasaki has launched the updated version of its full-size dirt bike for beginners.
Spottings
2019 KTM RC 390
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While KTM launched the new 390 Duke launched last year, the RC 390 seems to be taking longer. Now, a test mule of the new fully faired sportbike has been spotted testing. From first glance, it looks larger than the old one. Know more details here. That’s not it. KTM is also working on a new 500cc powerplant that will be made by Bajaj at their Chakan facility.
Yamaha YTZ 125
Yamaha’s small-capacity dual-purpose motorcycle, the YTZ 125, was spotted testing in India recently. Currently, the bike is sold in limited markets like the Philippines and Africa. Will they launch it in India?
New BMW Boxer Engine
BMW is known the world over for its Boxer engined bikes and it’s an association they are not going to let go any time soon. Proof of this is their new prototype boxer motor which debuted on a custom motorcycle built by a Japanese bike builder.
Happenings
New Hero Karizma In The Works?
Hero MotoCorp is reportedly working on a new faired 200cc bike which is expected to share its chassis with the Xtreme 200R but use the upcoming XPulse 200’s fuel-injected motor with a higher tune. This could well be the replacement for Hero’s ageing Karizma.
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Jawa Motorcycles To Get Dual-channel ABS
Classic Legends has confirmed thats the Jawa and Jawa Forty Two will get dual-channel ABS after April 2019, when the safety norms come into effect. Currently, both bikes get a single channel ABS. The dual-channel ABS could be the same unit seen on the Perak.
- Meanwhile, Jawa has opened its first showroom in Baner, Pune.
- Did you know the 1960’s Jawa had a gear lever that doubled up as a kickstarter. Or a self lubricating swingarm pivot?
- Also want to know how the new Jawas sound?
Ducati Enters Pre-owned Motorcycle Biz
You can now buy pre-owned Ducati bikes with a one-year warranty from Ducati. These bikes will be under five years old with a mileage of under 50,000km. Bikes sold through Ducati Assurance will undergo a 35-point check by trained mechanics before being sold.
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Suzuki Hayabusa Global Production To Cease Soon
Suzuki will stop production of the Hayabusa by the end of this year to make way for the replacement model, which is expected to debut next year. While global production will stop by 2019, the bike will continue to be assembled and sold in India until 2020.
Source: zigwheels.com
