King Long KL-6113

Ram · 17th February 2007, 12:20

Hi friends:

Travelled in a King Long KL-6113 last night (20:40..23:00) from Pune to Mumbai.
The bus was operated by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corp. under the brand "Mahabus". Mahabus is painted white with a smartly understated red and blue body-graphic.

MSRTC also operate baby-blue merging to sky-blue Volvo B7Rs under the brand "Shivneri"

The KL-6113 is a competitor to the Volvo B7R.

King Long (Pinyin pronunciation: Jinlong) is a Chinese manufacturer located on the island of Xiamen, China.

The bus bodies are built by JCBL Limited, Lalru (Chandigarh-Ambala highway), Chandigarh, a Rs.70-crore commercial vehicle-body builder. JCBL also builds bodies for some models of Tata Globus and Tata Starbus and built L.K.Advani's rath.

The King Long KL-6113 bus was every bit as comfortable as a Volvo. The airconditioning felt really and continuously cold.

Trivia: The Chinese VCD player was playing "Phir Hera Pheri (2006)"

The pneumatically operated passenger door in front, opens to a set of steps, with an extra step just 4-inches off the ground. This last step is retracted when the door closes. The Indian Volvo B7R lacks this convenience feature.

And the driver was driving quite fast.

There was a time when he came up in the fast lane and tried to pass a 40-ft. container trailer at 100 km/h. Suddenly that an unexpected unlit Sumo was in the fast lane ahead. He stepped on the brakes and the King-Long smoothly and surely decelerated to 40 km/h. I was in the seat behind the driver and felt no discomfort at all.

Like the Volvo B7R, this is also a rear-engine, rear-transmission, rear-axle bus.
Supposedly, the fuel efficiency of KL 6113 is 4.6 km per litre compared to 3.5 for the Volvo B7R.

The KL 6113 is powered by a British-produced 8,270 cc 6-cylinder Cummins C245 intercooled turbo-diesel engine. The engine produces 260 bhp @ 2,200 rpm and 976 Newton-metre of torque @ 1,300 rpm. An electronic governor prevents the engine from being revved above 2,200 rpm.

The Cummins straight-six drives the bus through a ZF S6-90 all-synchromesh six-speed gearbox and rides on a Holland-Neway "air-ride" air-suspension, built in the Beijing, China factory of Holland-Neway International, USA. Braking is via a four-circuit ABS brake system.

Had mentioned it here over 13 months ago.

The purchase price is Rs. 48 lakh as compared to Rs. 60 lakh for a Volvo B7R.

Ram
[Interior pics taken around 21:15 on my Nokia N73 phone]

jkdas · 17th February 2007, 12:49

some interstate tour operators have this one and you can see this bus at MAdivala. And cummins...was it linked with tata or leyland? I haev heard it before but cant recollect the details.

sajo · 17th February 2007, 14:28

Looks similar to the bus I had posted here : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...new-bus-3.html.

Jomz · 17th February 2007, 14:44

@ JK Cummins is linked with TATA.... THe tata Trucks have Cummins Engines Now...

rahul_intlad · 17th February 2007, 14:52

Along with two King Long buses, the Mahabus fleet will have 20 buses manufactured by Tata Motors and Sutlej Transport.

Source:Now, luxury state transport buses on rural Maharashtra roads

*********************************
The King Long buses have been hired for two months by the MSRTC through the New Delhi-based Association of State Road Transport Undertaking (ASRTU) from a private party

Source:Mahabus launch aborted, no clearance from RTO

salilpawar1 · 17th February 2007, 15:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by sajo

Looks similar to the bus I had posted here : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/18718-new-bus-3.html.

No, Sajo. I said it and I say it again. The bus you had posted is a Tata. The above pic shows the wheel of the bus which is typically Tata whereas the Kinglong has wheels similar to the B7R in terms of shape, design and finishing. You can clearly observe the difference in the pic posted by Ram.

That's all I can say....

agspins · 17th February 2007, 15:05

some King-Long's are used by APSRTC for their services .. i suppose its for Garuda service apart from B7R's .

salilpawar1 · 17th February 2007, 15:09

Those interested can read my review about the Tata Globus
[COLOR=#333333]http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ost322250.html[/COLOR]

hvkumar · 17th February 2007, 15:22

The price of a King Long is very competitive, surely going to give Volvo B7R a run for its money. I have seen some King Longs running with Konduskar on the Mumbai-Kolhapur route. And with Ashok Leyland's Luxura coming soon, the B7R market is going to see some good action. I beleive AL will be using its own engines which may give it a cost advantage over imported Cummins engines (not sure whether Cummins makes 260 BHP engines in India, although I think the new AMW truck uses the Cummins 260 BHP powerplant sourced from the Pune plant)

theMAG · 17th February 2007, 16:50

Nice writeup Ram. Theoretically atleast the King Long seems to be as good if not better technically than the Volvo. The differentiating factor that would determine the success or otherwise of the King Long is the reach of its service network. Even if it has the same number of service centers as Volvo, it would sell more.

Sankar · 17th February 2007, 17:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by theMAG

The differentiating factor that would determine the success or otherwise of the King Long is the reach of its service network.

And the reliability & durability too...

I read in an auto mag that the brake shoes of the volvo lasts more than a lakh kilometers.

tushky · 17th February 2007, 18:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by salilpawar1

No, Sajo. I said it and I say it again. The bus you had posted is a Tata. The above pic shows the wheel of the bus which is typically Tata whereas the Kinglong has wheels similar to the B7R in terms of shape, design and finishing. You can clearly observe the difference in the pic posted by Ram.

That's all I can say....

nope, this is a new bus from unknown company. not tata/kinglong or Ashok L. i also seen this bus in yellow colour near arai. in april 2006.. the company was new. i dont remember the name. i have taken some photos. will upload it in dew days.

w 12 · 17th February 2007, 18:30

Nice report..

The 20% less price tag of this bus should hopefully result in a lower ticket price for the user , compared to Volvo.. pulling in more pasengers and expanding the market..

Does any one know if the KSRTC fleet has these buses? ( They have more than 200 Volvos now)

binz · 17th February 2007, 18:37

Its 20% cheaper and more fuel efficient.Question is,are they passing their savings on to you?How much was your ticket ram,compared to a similar route on a B7R?

Mpower · 17th February 2007, 19:06

Nice review Ram. How was the noise and vibration andn also the suspension's ride quality compared to the Volvo. These two features are important for the passenger and will be key to its success.

also is there a difference in ticket prices between Mahabus and Shivneri...considering diff in FE and purchase price.

17th February 2007, 12:20	#1
Ram Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Singapore, Mumbai, Nagpur Posts: 2,166 Thanked: 219 Times View My Garage	King Long KL-6113 Hi friends: Travelled in a King Long KL-6113 last night (20:40..23:00) from Pune to Mumbai. The bus was operated by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corp. under the brand "Mahabus". Mahabus is painted white with a smartly understated red and blue body-graphic. MSRTC also operate baby-blue merging to sky-blue Volvo B7Rs under the brand "Shivneri" The KL-6113 is a competitor to the Volvo B7R. King Long (Pinyin pronunciation: Jinlong) is a Chinese manufacturer located on the island of Xiamen, China. The bus bodies are built by JCBL Limited, Lalru (Chandigarh-Ambala highway), Chandigarh, a Rs.70-crore commercial vehicle-body builder. JCBL also builds bodies for some models of Tata Globus and Tata Starbus and built L.K.Advani's rath. The King Long KL-6113 bus was every bit as comfortable as a Volvo. The airconditioning felt really and continuously cold. Trivia: The Chinese VCD player was playing "Phir Hera Pheri (2006)" The pneumatically operated passenger door in front, opens to a set of steps, with an extra step just 4-inches off the ground. This last step is retracted when the door closes. The Indian Volvo B7R lacks this convenience feature. And the driver was driving quite fast. There was a time when he came up in the fast lane and tried to pass a 40-ft. container trailer at 100 km/h. Suddenly that an unexpected unlit Sumo was in the fast lane ahead. He stepped on the brakes and the King-Long smoothly and surely decelerated to 40 km/h. I was in the seat behind the driver and felt no discomfort at all. Like the Volvo B7R, this is also a rear-engine, rear-transmission, rear-axle bus. Supposedly, the fuel efficiency of KL 6113 is 4.6 km per litre compared to 3.5 for the Volvo B7R. The KL 6113 is powered by a British-produced 8,270 cc 6-cylinder Cummins C245 intercooled turbo-diesel engine. The engine produces 260 bhp @ 2,200 rpm and 976 Newton-metre of torque @ 1,300 rpm. An electronic governor prevents the engine from being revved above 2,200 rpm. The Cummins straight-six drives the bus through a ZF S6-90 all-synchromesh six-speed gearbox and rides on a Holland-Neway "air-ride" air-suspension, built in the Beijing, China factory of Holland-Neway International, USA. Braking is via a four-circuit ABS brake system. Had mentioned it here over 13 months ago. The purchase price is Rs. 48 lakh as compared to Rs. 60 lakh for a Volvo B7R. Ram [Interior pics taken around 21:15 on my Nokia N73 phone]
	() Thanks

17th February 2007, 12:49	#2
jkdas Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Thiruvananthapu Posts: 9,687 Thanked: 1,492 Times View My Garage	some interstate tour operators have this one and you can see this bus at MAdivala. And cummins...was it linked with tata or leyland? I haev heard it before but cant recollect the details.
	() Thanks

17th February 2007, 14:44	#4
Jomz BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Detroit, MI,USA Posts: 834 Thanked: 335 Times	@ JK Cummins is linked with TATA.... THe tata Trucks have Cummins Engines Now...
	() Thanks

17th February 2007, 14:52	#5
rahul_intlad Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 1,579 Thanked: 4 Times	Along with two King Long buses, the Mahabus fleet will have 20 buses manufactured by Tata Motors and Sutlej Transport. Source:Now, luxury state transport buses on rural Maharashtra roads ********************************* The King Long buses have been hired for two months by the MSRTC through the New Delhi-based Association of State Road Transport Undertaking (ASRTU) from a private party Source:Mahabus launch aborted, no clearance from RTO Last edited by rahul_intlad : 17th February 2007 at 14:54.
	() Thanks

17th February 2007, 15:05	#7
agspins Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: MH-31 Posts: 1,652 Thanked: 508 Times View My Garage	some King-Long's are used by APSRTC for their services .. i suppose its for Garuda service apart from B7R's .
	() Thanks

17th February 2007, 14:28	#3
sajo Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 2,625 Thanked: 1,153 Times	Looks similar to the bus I had posted here : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...new-bus-3.html.
	() Thanks

17th February 2007, 15:09	#8
salilpawar1 BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mumbai (MH-01) Posts: 852 Thanked: 247 Times View My Garage	Those interested can read my review about the Tata Globus [COLOR=#333333]http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ost322250.html[/COLOR] Last edited by salilpawar1 : 17th February 2007 at 15:12.
	() Thanks

17th February 2007, 15:22	#9
hvkumar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 7,369 Thanked: 3,454 Times	The price of a King Long is very competitive, surely going to give Volvo B7R a run for its money. I have seen some King Longs running with Konduskar on the Mumbai-Kolhapur route. And with Ashok Leyland's Luxura coming soon, the B7R market is going to see some good action. I beleive AL will be using its own engines which may give it a cost advantage over imported Cummins engines (not sure whether Cummins makes 260 BHP engines in India, although I think the new AMW truck uses the Cummins 260 BHP powerplant sourced from the Pune plant)
	() Thanks

17th February 2007, 16:50	#10
theMAG Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Avon, CT Posts: 7,217 Thanked: 1,807 Times View My Garage	Nice writeup Ram. Theoretically atleast the King Long seems to be as good if not better technically than the Volvo. The differentiating factor that would determine the success or otherwise of the King Long is the reach of its service network. Even if it has the same number of service centers as Volvo, it would sell more.
	() Thanks

17th February 2007, 18:30	#13
w 12 BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: bangalore Posts: 402 Thanked: 26 Times	Nice report.. The 20% less price tag of this bus should hopefully result in a lower ticket price for the user , compared to Volvo.. pulling in more pasengers and expanding the market.. Does any one know if the KSRTC fleet has these buses? ( They have more than 200 Volvos now)
	() Thanks

17th February 2007, 18:37	#14
binz Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,306 Thanked: 431 Times View My Garage	Its 20% cheaper and more fuel efficient.Question is,are they passing their savings on to you?How much was your ticket ram,compared to a similar route on a B7R?
	() Thanks

17th February 2007, 19:06	#15
Mpower Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 10,409 Thanked: 1,730 Times View My Garage	Nice review Ram. How was the noise and vibration andn also the suspension's ride quality compared to the Volvo. These two features are important for the passenger and will be key to its success. also is there a difference in ticket prices between Mahabus and Shivneri...considering diff in FE and purchase price. Last edited by Mpower : 17th February 2007 at 19:34.
	() Thanks