Ok, I would not mind carbeurator (heck, cant spell it), if they can price it for 1.5L. But most often, companies get caught up with things like positioning/targetting/etc,etc. If they can price it at 1.5L on road, then R15 will have a tough time

[wanderlustindia]

Originally Posted by NitinGirish

Ok, I would not mind carbeurator (heck, cant spell it), if they can price it for 1.5L. But most often, companies get caught up with things like positioning/targetting/etc,etc. If they can price it at 1.5L on road, then R15 will have a tough time

If 1.5 L OTR for the Baby Ninja, Yamaha will not sleep over it. Could spell even better news for bike enthusiasts. The R-15 could go in for an overhaul. Competition will only make the space more exciting and rewarding for prospective customers.
But, but for that the Ninja should come to market in the first place

More competition will be good no doubt. But Yamaha dropping the price of R15 or beefing it up? That I doubt. After all, is it not the same company which went about making Crux, YBX, etc for a loooooooong time before they realised that performance bikes is what is expected from their stable. Market realities, competiton, etc, I dont think figures in Yamaha's strategy. They have their own mind.

Ofcourse one can argue that they started making all those 4-stroke Xs in response to competition. But they slept for a long time and only this year they have woken up with R15 & FZ16.

[praful]

Ok guys time to wake up!

The Ninja will never be priced at 1.5L, heck even the Hyosung Comet was retailing at 1.8L. Internationally its priced at $3499! Expect the bike to priced close to 2L even with localisation. Coz at the base the engine, crankcase, transmission and frame should Kawa. Rest all plastics, electricals, wheels etc might be Bajaj'ised!

I want Ninja at 1.5L. Praful doesnt have 'can do' spirit. $3499 for Fi or carb (still cant spell the whole thing)?

[praful]

Originally Posted by NitinGirish

I want Ninja at 1.5L. Praful doesnt have 'can do' spirit. $3499 for Fi or carb (still cant spell the whole thing)?

Yeah its called wishful thinking.....

Come back to the real world!

PS: Its 'carburettor'!

[wanderlustindia]

1.5 lacs only if Rahul Bajaj is reading this and empathizes with the 'aam junta' . I agree with praful. The price will knock the doors of 2 Lacs inspite of localisation, if it retails for 3499 USD abroad.

Maybe we should stop discussing the Ninja for now till we have concrete information about the possible launch dates.

I realised, no one's talking about the KTM Duke. Perhaps its too far-fetched at the moment.

Yes, I agree. We shouldnt be talking about it coz God knows how many light years away the launch is.


Praful-I will have to get a notebook to office tomorrow and write it 100 times to get it right (spelling of carb)

[OceanBreeze]

Guys
I got fed up wasting time speculating - this has happened time and time again in the past and the results are all too familiar. SO I called Bajaj Auto in Pune, spoke the Brand managers and asked when the Duke / Adventure of KTM was going to be launched.

I was told that there was "some delay" and that it was a management decision to probably launch the "co developed Bajaj KTM" bikes instead.

I asked what cc - unclear answer - except that they will be small bikes up to approximately 250cc or so starting at 150cc or so is the impression I got. Maybe , just maybe upto 400 ?? But I dont know.

What i DO know is they are NOT launching the Duke or the 690 Adventure or the 990 Advnture or the 990 Duke or the VUlcan 900 like they displayed at the Auto Expo - no sir, they are back to small bore engines.

The only good news was that the 250 Ninja should be out by October end or December 2008

SO NO KTMS of the type we have been led to believe that they were launching.

[straight6]

So looks like the Ninja will be launched this year for sure then.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Originally Posted by OceanBreeze

Guys
I got fed up wasting time speculating - this has happened time and time again in the past and the results are all too familiar. SO I called Bajaj Auto in Pune, spoke the Brand managers and asked when the Duke / Adventure of KTM was going to be launched.

I understand your frustration Ocean, but no matter what we all dream about, all available market research shows that there aren't enough takers for this multi-lakh two-wheelers in India yet. There are some like you and me but our number is not enough to get any manufacturer to look at that segment seriously. In India motorcycle is still seen as a comfortable alternative to public transport, for getting from point A to point B. It has zero recreation/sports value.
Very few Indians would sink a few lakhs to buy a two-wheeler. They would all rather buy BMW and Mercs. Two wheels, to a lot of people, is half of four wheels !!! Sad and frustrating but that's the reality.
And after all this comes the question of fuel economy. Even people who can afford Mercs go for diesel Merc just to save on fuel bill. Can you imagine our mindset? So even if we do get a Ninja it will be a tiny 250 cc and nothing more.

[TheARUN]

If I buy a bike now its going to be the FZ16.

Yes, the KAWASAKI is everything you would need in a bike

1. 250cc engine that is an ideal combination for performance and mileage
2. Twin cylinders to make it sound more like the RD
3. Full fairing, SBK looks, the works
4. Proper documentation and service availability

But too much money to shell out for one. The NANO is sure making people think twice

[OceanBreeze]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

I understand your frustration Ocean, but no matter what we all dream about, all available market research shows that there aren't enough takers for this multi-lakh two-wheelers in India yet. There are some like you and me but our number is not enough to get any manufacturer to look at that segment seriously. In India motorcycle is still seen as a comfortable alternative to public transport, for getting from point A to point B. It has zero recreation/sports value.
Very few Indians would sink a few lakhs to buy a two-wheeler. They would all rather buy BMW and Mercs. Two wheels, to a lot of people, is half of four wheels !!! Sad and frustrating but that's the reality.
And after all this comes the question of fuel economy. Even people who can afford Mercs go for diesel Merc just to save on fuel bill. Can you imagine our mindset? So even if we do get a Ninja it will be a tiny 250 cc and nothing more.

Good points. All correct. I have recently written a paper on the Import policy - its with all the editors of the Auto mags and will be printed in one form or another over the next few issues. Do read it. There is much in there that CAN be done if our DAFT government had some level of competence in such matters. Precisely for what reason you have said - small volumes in these segments; my arguments are against the high duties charged for import of such vehicles. A volume base of 2000 - 5000 bikes (at the HIGHEST - this factoring in 300% growth from current volumes recorded by greymarket) against a sale base of 7 million single cylinder commuters per annum is not going to hurt anyone . So they have NO case for such high duties and restrictive conditions for import.
Do read the issues - they are very thoroughly covered in my study. I am not sure if it would appear as a letter to editors or a stand alone article but when you digest everything - I encourage you to spread the word and write back to editors in support of the suggestions in the article to reduce duties along certain criterion. We need to DO something - not just vent. So I have done what I could and there are many others who have taken the matter forward. We need to drum up support at ALL levels so volumes of people are writing in with support. Take it from me - the Government has absolutely no idea what its doing in the imported motorcycles space

[Bluu]

Originally Posted by TheARUN

The NANO is sure making people think twice

How can you compare the Ninja 250 to a Nano? There is absolutely no level on which the two can be compared. The Ninja will be one of the best bikes in its category available to most enthusiasts while the Nano is going to create a greater ruckus than there already is all across the country.

I've been rooting for the Nano project to continue getting delayed.

Also, the 2 odd lakh that everyone seems to believe the pricing will be seems just fine for a bike of that standard and quality.

[kcstheg]

OT, I would consider Nano to be by far the BEST thing to happen to the indian automotive scene EVER.

I live in hyderabad and it give me real jitters to see people riding splendors/passions with their wives and 2 kids, like freaking maniacs.
There are a trillion other things that prove that the Nano should not be compared to motorcycles (especially the performance/lifestyle ones).

Lets keep ourselves to the Ninja/KTM

P.S - Ofcourse, no offense meant to anybody here.