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Indian two-wheelers with unconventional design / looks

In automobiles, looks alone don’t sell. But, having said so, there are examples where design/looks probably had a major say in the downfall of a few decently specced sets of wheels.

BHPian Emvi recently shared this with other BHPians.

Over the years, we have all seen two-wheelers with unconventional design/looks plying on the roads. While looks are definitely subjective, unconventional looks or quirky designs are polarizing without a doubt. As rightly mentioned by BHPian cool_dube, it would not bode well to term the unconventional looks/designs UGLY in the forum.

In automobiles, looks alone don’t sell. But, having said so, there are examples where design/looks probably had a major say in the downfall of a few decently specced sets of wheels. My list of few such INDIAN two wheelers:

Rajdoot GTS 175

Fondly known as “Bobby Bike”, was definitely a head turner. This was probably not meant for the masses and wouldn’t classify as a sales dud IMO.

Hero Honda Street

Bajaj M80, a step-thru like the Hero Honda Street was a decent hit at least in the rural areas. Even though the Street had an innovative feature like clutch less rotary gear transmission unit, it failed to sell in large numbers. The design wasn’t well accepted in the market.

TVS Suzuki Fiero

To counter the highly successful Hero Honda CBZ, TVS launched the Fiero. The performance was more than decent, but the unconventional looks probably deterred the potential buyers.

Yamaha Libero (First Gen)

After the demise of RX series bikes owing to stringent emission norms, Yamaha struggled for years to have a decent market share. In the early 2000s, Yamaha managed to catch eyeballs for sure by launching Libero, but..

Yamaha Fazer 125

If Libero was oddball, Yamaha went a step further ahead and launched the Fazer 125!

Suzuki Slingshot

I always believed Suzuki had good mechanicals, the designs probably did not do justice. They were either too bland or too busy. Overcorrection probably led to this.

Mahindra Mojo

Another bike with a lovely powertrain but polarizing looks. Poor marketing made the matters worse.

Hero Karizma ZMR

The first gen Karizma had a lot of fans and definitely had the performance to go with the looks. The ZMR version and its disproportionate design left even the die-hard fans disappointed.

Honda Navi

Quirky design, fun-to-ride machine. I doubt Honda will be proud of the sales figures. Personally, I like this tiny Honda.

Honda Cliq

With the unbeatable Activa and the funky Dio in their arsenal, what were Honda aiming for with this!?

Honda X Blade

A strange name and a stranger front end design.

Suzuki Intruder 150

With disproportionately bigger body panels and an even bigger name, I guess Suzuki lost the game well before actually playing it.

Image Credit: Various sources from the internet. Copyright respective owners.

I might have missed a few. Hope to see some additions to the list, without offending anyone or calling names. Thank you.

Thanks to Emvi again. Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

 
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