[Himanshu809]

Originally Posted by darkLightning

In my opinion in last few years the overall design language expectation has changed a lot in India.

I still remember when I bought my Splendor Plus at that time commuter looks were equal to Splendors and Passions, a bike like CB Twister was considered sporty.

The sporty look quotient in Indian market has been raised several notches by both Yamaha (FZ/R15/Fazer) and Honda (Twister/ Stunner/ Hornet/ CBR) Not to forget the contributions of Adreno/ Karizma/ CBZ/ Apache family/ Pulsars.
However it kinda saddens me deep down when these bike's looks are today classed as commuter like where as the newer kids (looking at you KTM) have got all the sporty look thunder.

I feel in terms of design a saturation point has already been reached in the minds of public as well as manufacturers where no new bike visible on horizon can be termed as a fresh design.

We really need a new Adreno or Karizma or FZ or CBR kind of ground shaking design to really usher a new era.
Indian public's acceptance of XPulse and Himalayan (other than Impluse all previous ADV looking bikes were higher and out of mass market reach) has shown that the mass market is still willing to accept a new design.

It is about time where manufacturers start asking the general public what they want their bike to look like.

TBH the Indian biking scene is a bit mellowed out. Indian manufacturers are unable to create exciting products (barring a few). KTM makes good motorcycles, so does TVS. Bajaj is cheap, in terms of quality and reliability.

It's the foreign manufacturers which launch interesting products. I hope Indian manufacturers pick up the pace before it's too late.

As a guy who loves biking, it makes me sad to see so much potential wasted especially by a leading manufacturer like Honda. They can launch an amazing bike at a very decent price if they just stop being greedy and try hard for once.

[abhkop]

I would call Hornet 2.0 as a facelift rather than a new generation. Equipped all the necessary features unlike in the previous iteration. The price definitely on the higher side comparing the other 180cc rivals.

IMHO, OEMs are struggling offer a right VFM 2W around 200cc. The vehicles around this segment seem to be overpriced.

[W.A.G.7]

The way I look at it, this is a nice looking facelift of the Hornet 160. However for most of the people out there, the Honda engine and gearbox is a deciding factor in the bike purchase (myself included). I think even though this is a tame upgrade, it will still tick the right boxes for most people (with a smooth engine and a sure slotting gearbox) and Honda will have another motorcycle bringing in decent numbers. At this price point, there will be better options (Yamaha MT-15) or better snob value motorcycles out there (e.g Royal Enfield Bullet 350 KS or KTM Duke 125) but unless we actually test drive this motorcycle, it will be incorrect to write this off as a failure. Let's see, time will tell soon.

[Carpainter]

Originally Posted by Viju

Not familiar with the motorcycle prices off-late, but for someone who bought a brand new P180 Classic back in 2002 for 62000/-, a 184cc for 1.26L does seem a bit on the expensive side.

Originally Posted by NPX

I bought P180 in 2011 for Rs. 69980. Bikes are not VFM anymore.

I think the disease of overpricing cars is quickly catching up to two wheeler market in India. Last month my friend got himself a new TVS Ntorq and he paid more than 1 lakh That was once a premium bike category for a 125cc scooter. Gone are the days when 150cc bikes used to come at around 65-70k on road.

Talking about the bike itself, I think Honda is not sure which segment it wants to target with this, 160-180cc or 200cc. It's in no man's land. Hard to think that Hornet was once the most powerful bike in its segment. Other than USD forks it has no other USP. Being a 2018 Hornet owner, I'm happy that my bike won't feel outdated for some time.

[kar_thikr]

Originally Posted by Carpainter

I think the disease of overpricing cars is quickly catching up to two wheeler market in India. Last month my friend got himself a new TVS Ntorq and he paid more than 1 lakh That was once a premium bike category for a 125cc scooter. Gone are the days when 150cc bikes used to come at around 65-70k on road.

Yes, I bought My CB Unicorn for 68,690 in 2011. Now I think its about 1.2 lakhs, for a bike that hasn't changed in any way aesthetically. Apart from the BS6 160 cc Engine swap, it makes the same amount of power as the old model, and from the opinion of those who have tried it, it feels more sluggish as well.

Coming back to the bike, I kind of dig the looks of it, being a fan of the old hornet's design. I think the USD forks goes well with that design, but Honda should have really given it a 6-speed gearbox as well as a duel Channel ABS.

These Japanese giants need to learn for KTM, they proved that if they can provide a well-rounded product without cutting much corners, people will line up to buy it regardless of the price and will have a cult following as well.

[Arjun Bharadwaj]

What is this a 200cc bike with a 20cf discount? They should call this Hornet 180 like the Apache 180 or the Pulsar 180

Like some suggestions above, better spend 30k more for additional 70cc and buy the Fz25. The extra low end torque and Yamaha's quality will be worth it - no replacement for displacement.

[ram.iyer95]

Originally Posted by Carpainter

Last month my friend got himself a new TVS Ntorq and he paid more than 1 lakh That was once a premium bike category for a 125cc scooter.

Off topic, but 1 lakh for a 125cc scooter! I bought my Access 125 for 70k on-road, just 3 years back.

Ather 450 costs 1.14 lakhs on-road Bangalore after all subsidies, as per their official website. Makes a whole lot more sense over a regular petrol scooter now. Actually, this is the perfect time for Ather to take advantage of this whole BS6 overpricing fiasco by marketing their product aggressively and expanding to other cities. I would happily exchange my Access 125 for one, if they ever come to my city.

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by ram.iyer95

Ather 450 costs 1.14 lakhs on-road Bangalore after all subsidies, as per their official website. Makes a whole lot more sense over a regular petrol scooter now. Actually, this is the perfect time for Ather to take advantage of this whole BS6 overpricing fiasco by marketing their product aggressively and expanding to other cities. I would happily exchange my Access 125 for one, if they ever come to my city

This BS6 situation for 2 wheelers seems like a purposeful decision to encourage the transitioning of people to EVs by reducing the cost discrepancies between EVs and fossil fuel based vehicles which would allow EVs to compete on more even grounds.

Don't know what the situation for cars and commercial vehicles looks like though.

[guptavis]

Originally Posted by Carpainter

I think the disease of overpricing cars is quickly catching up to two wheeler market in India. Last month my friend got himself a new TVS Ntorq and he paid more than 1 lakh That was once a premium bike category for a 125cc scooter. Gone are the days when 150cc bikes used to come at around 65-70k on road.

Some of the price increase is attributable to inflation and a substantial part to the enhanced safety and emissions regulations imposed by the government. This is true for both cars and two-wheelers. Features such as ABS (atleast front wheel) being made mandatory and Fuel Injection, Catalytic Convertor, etc which have been necessitated to meet the stricter emission norms have caused a major increase in prices. Engines and components like fuel pump also need to be better made to deal with lower emissions and new fuel specifications. I think IF you keep the vehicle for a longer time and do a lot of KMs on it the gains in fuel efficiency do offset some of the higher initial cost of purchase and are better for the environment. Personally, I'm all for price increase due to better technology.

The fact that most of these components (which have been around for a long time internationally) are still not manufactured in India also bumps up costs significantly. If indian manufacturing can up their technology and manufacture these locally, cost can be brought down.

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

This BS6 situation for 2 wheelers seems like a purposeful decision to encourage the transitioning of people to EVs by reducing the cost discrepancies between EVs and fossil fuel based vehicles which would allow EVs to compete on more even grounds.

Don't know what the situation for cars and commercial vehicles looks like though.

This would be a very good outcome. I think atleast for two wheelers, the price difference is small now and I hope indian manufacturers focus on EVs as mass adoption does not look far away in the 2-wheelers space. I have not done an analysis but if your driving is more then an electric two wheeler may work out cheaper over its life as compared to an IC engine. That is why a lot of e-delivery companies have started committing more and more to EVs. Flipkart recently stated it will move to 100% EV fleet by 2030. Amazon has been moving in that direction in the USA. I think for basic commuter bikes the future is limited to 5-7 years. Companies like HeroMotocorp should really be thinking what they are going to do when their splendors go out of fashion. Eventually all manufacturers will have to evolve to be able to survive.

For cars the transition still looks some time away as price difference is still huge! Also the charging time is longer and range on single charge is a more important factor for 4 wheelers when used for interstate travel. For two wheelers these challenges are not too great.

[Yieldway17]

Are people really comparing 60k in 2001 and 2011 with today's prices? Hope you all are aware that cumulative inflation over the last 20 and 10 years should be 130% and 70% respectively without currency exchange differences.

Here is a handy calculator for you all based on World Bank inflation data - https://www.inflationtool.com/indian-rupee/

Technology, local sourcing, automation and economy of scale has actually cut into the prices and the current prices for equivalent products are technically below what it would have cost in 2001 price when inflation is factored in.

[jaganm]

I think Dominar has dealt a death blow to any exciting bikes getting launched in the Indian market. When you get that much features in a bike costing 2L, how do Honda/Yamaha compete at double the price? The extra refinement and quality can only make so much of a difference

[Bismaya]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RygS...ature=youtu.be

Seems like this is the first actual Walkaround Video about the Hornet 2.0 on YouTube.

[Bismaya]

https://youtu.be/1YEBqG-so6A

First Ride Review by Dino's Vault.

[ast.ggn]

Hornet 2.0 Repsol Edition launched at Rs. 1.28 lakh. Dio also gets a Repsol Edition.

Link: https://auto.hindustantimes.com/auto...797111013.html

[Bismaya]

The Repsol Edition of 2.0 looks attractive but as is with every limited edition models, parts are hard to find.