5 Highly Anticipated Budget Performance Bikes of 2016

It’s a great time for those of you who want a high performance motorcycle at an affordable price. Here are 5 hot, upcoming performance bikes, all launching over the next 10 months.

Royal Enfield Himalayan

In weeks from now, India will get an affordable adventure tourer from one of the world’s oldest motorcycle brands, Royal Enfield. The Himalayan is a big leap for Royal Enfield, and could be one for the Indian motorcycle industry as well. The motorcycle is touted to bring in a genuine dual sport package for a price of about 1.8 lakh rupees. The bike will get a 411 cc, overhead cam four stroke engine with 24.5 Bhp-32 Nm. An electric start, 5 speed manual gearbox twin disc brakes, long travel suspension and a mammoth 220 mm ground clearance will be standard.

Bajaj CS400

 

India’s very own Ducati Diavel is a few months away from launch. Yes, Bajaj is all set to build the Pulsar CS400, India’s first power cruiser. The CS400 combines peppy performance from a 373 cc four stroke engine with relaxed ergonomics. A muscular looking bike, the CS400 has affordable-ness written all over it as it’s built by Bajaj. Twin disc brakes, upside down front forks, a monoshock rear and ABS are some of the standard features on this bike, which should be able to hit a top speed of a genuine 160 Kph.

Bajaj RS400

The KTM RC390 costs about 2.2 lakh rupees. How about a 375cc sportsbike priced well under 2 lakh rupees? That’s the Bajaj RS400 for you, due for a launch later this year. The bike will share its engine with the CS400, and is expected to be an aggressive sportsbike that will be Bajaj’s flagship. However, in terms of performance and ergonomics, the RS400 is expected to be less extreme than the KTM RC390. A fully faired sportsbike built to be comfortable for everyday use, the RS400 will also be very affordable.

Hero HX 250

Hero Motocorp claims that the HX250 fully faired sportsbike will hit a top speed of 165 Kph. If true, the motorcycle will be the fastest 250cc in the country. The bike, which will also be the fastest that Hero Motocorp has ever produced, is almost launch ready and should be in the market in a few months from now. A cracker of a price tag is likely as the HX 250 needs to grab market share from established players such as the KTM RC200 and the Honda CBR 250R. Hero has also revealed that the HX 250’s liquid cooled 250cc engine makes 23 Nm of torque at 7,000 rpm. Another talking point of this bike is it’s ultra light kerb weight of 136 kilograms.

Benelli BX 250

Benelli wants to introduce India to the world of super motos and BX 250 will be the first bike in this brand new segment. Shown at the Auto Expo, the BX 250 is expected to be CKD assembled in India. A price tag close to the 2 lakh rupee mark is likely. The bike will use a 250cc, liquid cooled engine that puts out 25 Bhp-21 Nm. A 6 speed manual gearbox is standard on the bike. The BX 250 is intended to be a fun bike whose hefty ground clearance means that a tyre change should be enough for hitting the Ladakh circuit each year.