[Amey Kulkarni]

Heads up Guys!

Here's the list shared by IKM for their ASCs across India.

So, the Pune guy is Kundan Wheels based out of Koregaon Park and no more Khivraj to be seen on the list.



Cheers,
Amey

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Amey Kulkarni

Here's the list shared by IKM for their ASCs across India.

Thanks Amey! Does this imply that there is going to be only one point of service each for all Kawasaki owners in these cities? I have no idea of the no. of Kawasaki bikes in these cities but sounds like a crisis to me!

[Amey Kulkarni]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Does this imply that there is going to be only one point of service each for all Kawasaki owners in these cities? I have no idea of the no. of Kawasaki bikes in these cities but sounds like a crisis to me!

Yeah! Looks like major cities too getting one ASC which actually is a crisis with the range of Kawasaki in India and the number of bikes sold.

I am more worried on the availability of spares and consumables with the ASCs as they would need to carry inventory of all the bikes in the range. If customers have to wait for basic stuff like a chain sprocket set etc then it'll be highly frustrating.

Cheers,
Amey

[nishsingh]

The list is also available at Kawasaki's website (in the news article in which Kawasaki announces the divorce with Bajaj) -

http://kawasaki-india.com/2017/03/25...-april-1-2017/

[NaXal]

I guess, for the Kolkata address, KTM and Kawasaki still share the same premises !!

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by NaXal

FIAT spoiled their Indian Career with TATA (when comes to cars)
Kawasaki definitely spoiled their career with Bajaj (when it comes to 2 wheels)

I am surprised as if we look at the trend, all foreign two wheeler giants started (due to gov regulation) mainstream business with Indian JV, but as the market grew, all of them slowly separated and made their own entry.

Harley might be a good example for Kawasaki with their Indian commitments for sales / after sales.

Fiat spoiled their own fortunes by tying up with that unprofessional fly by night operator premier automobiles. They managed to stay alive for a while thanks to Tata. Had Tata not tied up with fiat , fiat may have shut shop in the early 2000s itself. Plus the issue with fiat is that they lack innovation, exciting products and don't know how to move on with times. Bajaj tied up with Kawasaki and they didn't obtain any benefit in terms of technical know how. At best they obtained a caliber and eliminator from Kawasaki. Partnerships don't work in isolation with the foreign partner expecting a cakewalk entry into the Indian market by exploiting the Indian company's resources. Exiting the jv with Bajaj is Kawasaki's loss not Bajaj's. Bajaj was not allowed to make bigger bikes (650cc and above) due the jv. Now that they have split up, we may see bigger home grown products, with much better pricing which may very well kick the green rear end of the foreign partner.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

Bajaj tied up with Kawasaki and they didn't obtain any benefit in terms of technical know how. At best they obtained a caliber and eliminator from Kawasaki.

Sorry, but this is wrong IMO.

Bajaj only started to build motorcycles thanks to the partnership with Kawasaki.

Their first product (after the licensed Chetak and M80) was the Kawasaki Bajaj KB100 and Kawasaki Bajaj KB125. Then came Kawasaki Bajaj 4S Champion and later on the Kawasaki Bajaj Boxer.

The new generation for Bajaj was again kickstarted by Kawasaki with the Kawasaki Bajaj Caliber, Aspire 110, Wind 125 and Eliminator 175.

Almost after 15 years of building Kawasaki bikes, they finally launched their own product with the Pulsar range. Later they introduced this engine from Pulsar into the Eliminator and introduced the Avenger range. Platina etc still remains largely true to the original Kawasaki bikes they were based on.

Bajaj didn't have the technical know how to produce the bigger bikes, and they introduced the higher end vehicles from Kawasaki. However, the partnership now was limited to just the local assembly, sale and service of these bikes.

Meanwhile, Bajaj as a company grew very well thanks to the Pulsar range and the new phase started with the acquisition of KTM shares. This gave them their own international company to partner with, and one that they could benefit way more than their partnership with Kawasaki. The green was soon sidelined, and now kicked out.

Kawasaki did not prevent Bajaj from building bigger bikes, they just didn't have the bigger bikes to build and had to resort to Kawasaki for that. They don't need to anymore, since KTM already has established their 390 and their is a new middle weight twin coming soon as well. Which made Bajaj move out of the Kawasaki relationship, a move that makes better business sense, though rather ungrateful in terms of the treatment.

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Sorry, but this is wrong IMO.

Bajaj only started to build motorcycles thanks to the partnership with Kawasaki.

Their first product (after the licensed Chetak and M80) was the Kawasaki Bajaj KB100 and Kawasaki Bajaj KB125. Then came Kawasaki Bajaj 4S Champion and later on the Kawasaki Bajaj Boxer.

The new generation for Bajaj was again kickstarted by Kawasaki with the Kawasaki Bajaj Caliber, Aspire 110, Wind 125 and Eliminator 175.

Almost after 15 years of building Kawasaki bikes, they finally launched their own product with the Pulsar range. Later they introduced this engine from Pulsar into the Eliminator and introduced the Avenger range. Platina etc still remains largely true to the original Kawasaki bikes they were based on.

Bajaj didn't have the technical know how to produce the bigger bikes, and they introduced the higher end vehicles from Kawasaki. However, the partnership now was limited to just the local assembly, sale and service of these bikes.

Meanwhile, Bajaj as a company grew very well thanks to the Pulsar range and the new phase started with the acquisition of KTM shares. This gave them their own international company to partner with, and one that they could benefit way more than their partnership with Kawasaki. The green was soon sidelined, and now kicked out.

Kawasaki did not prevent Bajaj from building bigger bikes, they just didn't have the bigger bikes to build and had to resort to Kawasaki for that. They don't need to anymore, since KTM already has established their 390 and their is a new middle weight twin coming soon as well. Which made Bajaj move out of the Kawasaki relationship, a move that makes better business sense, though rather ungrateful in terms of the treatment.

I had information that Bajaj was not allowed by contract to make a bigger cc bike, all higher capacity bikes were to be Kawasaki branded. This agreement worked well until the Indian market matured and even 250cc was considered superbike territory. Once the market opened up and Bajaj wanted to build higher capacity bikes they couldnt due the jv until they bought over KTM and then sold Ktm products. Thats why the Pulsar range was restricted to 220 until recently. Even 250cc was to be branded Ninja.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

I had information that Bajaj was not allowed by contract to make a bigger cc bike

Source please?

A bigger bike never made any business sense to Bajaj till the market evolved so much recently, and neither did they have the technology for it yet. Moreover, sub branding was a philosophy adopted by Bajaj and not Kawasaki. They wanted the products to be known by their names, and not company names as it would have been obvious in the case of the Ninjas.

I would take this statement with a truckload of salt if not supported by a valid source.

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Source please?

A bigger bike never made any business sense to Bajaj till the market evolved so much recently, and neither did they have the technology for it yet. Moreover, sub branding was a philosophy adopted by Bajaj and not Kawasaki. They wanted the products to be known by their names, and not company names as it would have been obvious in the case of the Ninjas.

I would take this statement with a truckload of salt if not supported by a valid source.

If you have a valid source which you can share then i will be inclined to accept it. And surely without salt
Salty jokes aside a few years back Bajaj were displaying their version of an offroad 250 with some 30 odd bhp. Was supposedly a kawasaki product, never made it to production. Going through the jv details on google.will share sources once I find it

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

If you have a valid source which you can share then i will be inclined to accept it. And surely without salt

Be my guest.

Here is the statement given by Mr Rajiv Bajaj when the sub branding philosophy was introduced back in 2011 -

“Actually I don’t want that (Bajaj) name. We have already started the process so today on a Pulsar, the Bajaj name is seen only on the engine. The same is the case with Discover. Our three-wheeler has Bajaj in small font while the initial ‘RE’ is in much bigger font. One day, We will drop the Bajaj name from there also completely”, adds Bajaj.

“Consumers know that the product is coming from Bajaj, just like I know my Audi is coming from Volkswagen. But there is no Volkswagen on the Audi product. This creates a perception that there is something more in the product” Bajaj adds.

“I will make all efforts to make the bike a Pulsar and not a Bajaj. I will have Boxer, Discover and Pulsar and tomorrow KTM. There is no Bajaj name on any of them. People will still remember this comes from Bajaj, but this too will go away with time. After five to 10 years, customers will remember Pulsar and Discover and not Bajaj”, he further adds. "The entire exercise will cost the 600-odd dealers and 1,100 service centres around Rs21 crore collectively. The upgradation programme will also be extended to the next generation of motorcycles comprising KTM, Kawasaki and Bajaj models that would be launched this year."

[Aditya]

Full list of Kawasaki dealerships in India - Posts moved to a new thread.

[Amey Kulkarni]

Just did my third paid service at the new Kawasaki Pune (Kundan wheels) which was to be done at 12k kms or within one year.

The list of things to be done were -

Air filter cleaning
Oil filter replacement
2.5L Motul 10W 40 engine oil
Brake bleeding
Throttle body cleaning
Valve synchronisation
Chain clean and lube
Coolant check and top up
Brake fluids check and top up
Miscellaneous checks
Spark plugs replacement is mentioned in the manual but were not needed to be replaced.

The total service costed me - Rs 5975 /- with 500mL Motul engine oil given back.

Earlier service done at 1k initially done at KTM showrooms costed around Rs 3.5k.

So a steep rise in service cost is to be expected.

The one good thing about Kawasaki is they have a minor service at 6k kms which costs half the price as oil change is not recommended. So, all in all an annual service would be roughly cost around Rs 8k-9k which is very high for a 300CC bike to be owned.

Cheers,
Amey

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by Amey Kulkarni

Just did my third paid service at the new Kawasaki Pune (Kundan wheels) which was to be done at 12k kms or within one year.

The total service costed me - Rs 5975 /- with 500mL Motul engine oil given back.

Earlier service done at 1k initially done at KTM showrooms costed around Rs 3.5k.

So a steep rise in service cost is to be expected.

Hi Amey,

How can you compare a 1k service with a 12k service?

Wouldn't there be a lot of differences in terms of what was done at each service - making it an incomplete comparison?

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Hi Amey,

How can you compare a 1k service with a 12k service?

Wouldn't there be a lot of differences in terms of what was done at each service - making it an incomplete comparison?

Rehaan, In real world terms there is not much of a difference for 1K kms service or 12K service ( assuming it's a general service)

Most of the Super-bike manufacturers have a standard cost for each service at least till 20K service which would be the first major service with a few component replacements and typically will be your first fat bill for a service in your ownership period

Example

1. Triumph : 1K, 6K, 12K cost exactly the same price : ~ 6K
2. KTM ASC Servicing Kawasaki : 1k, 6K, 12K costed almost identical : ~ 4K

I think what Amey is highlighting is the spike in labor cost which has increased the overall service cost

KTM used to charge 1K as labor cost whereas Kawasaki will be charging INR 1500/- per hour and you need anywhere between 1.5 hours to 2 hours for a general service for a superbike so here is primary reason for this increased cost