[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by KPR

One bike that is not a runaway hit and not a flop either. That crown goes to Mahindra Mojo. The bike is put in ICU since launch by its parent for no ailment infact.

I believe this is because people are bit wary of the Mahindra as a 2 wheeler brand. Had the bike been launched under say Bajaj/Hero brand, it would have done far better. Very underrated bike. Even I was seriously contemplating this bike because of its excellent ride quality and comfort. I do not care about top speed or quarter mile timing. But the lack of service centers and reviews of spares not easily available put me off. The bike has character!

[ArTigor]

Honda Dio, back then people considered it too sporty, when I bought it back in 2009, Activa had a waiting of 15 days to 1 month, but the Dio was available for outright purchase. Even the sales executives were least interested in making a pitch for the Dio, in fact when I was keen on buying the Dio the sales representative was trying hard to sell me the Activa. Eventually 5-6 years down the line with a generation change in design, which bought major updates in looks, the sales scenario for Dio completely changed, even the market was accepting sportier designs.

Suzuki access, was a slow seller in smaller towns back in 2008-9, Activa was the most preferred scooter, Suzuki was still re-establishing its brand value and market outreach, but eventually people became aware of the supreme ride quality which Access offered and it became a sales hit, by 2013 it was selling in good numbers.

[rajwheelz]

Bajaj Wind 125 . I owned this bike during the 2003-2005 period. It ran like a dream and I never had a single complaint. I am still to date clueless why it flopped.
Spare parts were very tough to get and eventually I had to let go of this bike.

[Guru_Shikhar]

Good thread.

Would like to mention few bikes which were real flop and others which sold moderately initially achieving good sales afterwards.

Few bikes I wanted to represent here are-

1. I don't know how many of you remember Hero Ambition- with round headlamp.

Our very own Sourav Ganguly had acted in its commercial. The bike just disappeared accompanied by CD Joy.

Ambition garnered moderate sales numbers.

2. The LML twins- LML Adreno and LML Freedom.

One of my engineering colleagues had an Adreno while my younger brother’s friend had a Freedom.

Most unique thing about both bikes was- both bikes were the only bikes in respective colleges ( Adreno was the only Adreno in Sinhagad College of Engineering and Freedom was the only Freedom in BMCC college Pune around 2004-05.

Some funny things about Freedom were it was 4 up gears bike ( shift all gears backwards). Whenever it used to cross a speed breaker in moderate speeds; all gears used to sleep and bike used to come to neutral just like that.

Another thing is the sales persons used to instruct not to fill speed petrol in the tank at all. The reason they gave was tank coating will chip inside and will rust. Basically both bikes were a flop show. The sale never picked up.

3. Suzuki Shogun- lovely lovely two stroke bike which did not achieve sales numbers as like Suzuki Samurai ( which was another good bike at that times) but was an important bike with very good exhaust note. Sold in moderate numbers.

4. Kawasaki KB100. Sold side by sides of Bajaj 4S champion. Did not appeal masses.

5. Bajaj Enduro- flopped badly. Too much ahead of time.

6. LML Supremo scooter- had good sales based on previous LML scooters in market but did not excel like it’s siblings.

7. Bajaj Legend scooter- Good attempt by Bajaj with 4 stroke engine and it was sold in good numbers.

8. Honda Eterno scooter ( the predecessor of Activa with gear)- came silently and achieved the sales figures.

Cheers.

[arjpillai]

Honda Eterno - It was a bold attempt at a time when Indian buyers were falling in love with the idea of an effortless scooter as personified by the Honda Activa. The days of geared lateral-engined scooters were on the wane with the first blow coming in the form of the 2-stroke ban. Second was the Activa's launch, as until then Bajaj was trying to adapt its scooters to the 4-stroke era with the 4S Chetak and Legend.

Given these headwinds, it wasn't a surprise the Eterno didn't really take off like its gearless sibling did. We bought ours in 2005 and remember taking it home the same day of booking, a surprise given the long waiting periods for the Activa. Even the sales guy said it's a slow-moving product; we bought it for ₹35k OTR.

But from around 2007, I started seeing a lot of these scooters on the road, which is why it was a rude shock to see Honda discontinue the Eterno in 2009 (iirc).

The model is the Toyota Hilux of scooters, it just goes on and on and takes the toughest of abuses - main reason why you'll often see mechanics, tyre guys, people plying different trades etc. still riding beaten down Eternos around.

Ours did over 1.7 lakh km, still on stock engine with only the timing chain changed once. But it does need an engine rebuild now.

After not being able to ride it regularly (this just accelerates a machine's death), I gave it to my FNG for use. He's quite happy with it and keeps asking me if I want to sell it to him. I'm not able to let go of it. Hope to do a full rebuild/restore one day.

I often wonder if Honda knew this machine would last for an eternity even under abuse, when deciding to tag it Eterno.

[saikishor]

One example which came to my mind after crossing a TVS showroom is the TVS iqube. I guess this one didn't really flop as such but it was the company who took it slow. The iqube was restricted to a very few number of cities and dealers at launch. It was available in a single color and a single variant. But now iqube is selling decently well. I see one every alternate day, and even sales numbers reflect the same. The iqube has expanded to a wide number of cities and dealerships, and it now has 3 variants and a lot of colors on offer.