The INS Vikrant lives on in a motorcycle. Yes, that’s right. Bajaj’s latest commuter motorcycle, called the V15, has steel sourced from the decommissioned warship, the INS Vikrant. Well, the bike’s tank has some percentage of steel sourced from the Vikrant, and that’s that. The V15 is a 150cc commuter bike that’s styled like a sport cruiser. This unique looking machine will be priced between Rs. 60-65 thousand, and will go on sale in India from March 2016.
The bike sports chunky styling that’s clearly “Sport Cruiser” inspired. Some bits that suggest this include the 18 inch alloy wheel up front, the meaty 33 mm telescopic front forks, a fat 16 inch rear tyre and an upswept exhaust tuned to produce a throaty note. The V15 could be to Bajaj what the Splendor Classic Pro is to Hero Motocorp – a completely unique machine to carve out a niche in the commuter motorcycle market.
The bike’s powered by a 150cc, air cooled, twin spark four stroke engine that puts out about 12 Bhp (@ 7,500 rpm) and 13 Nm (@ 5,500 rpm). Clearly, torque will be the talking point of this motorcycle, which uses a 5 speed manual gearbox and tips scales at about 137 kilograms. A kick starter is retained although an electric start is standard. The front wheel gets a disc brake while a drum retards the rear.
Dimensionally, the V15 is pure commuter class, with length, width and height measuring in at 2,044 mm, 780 mm, 1,070 mm respectively. Ground clearance stands at 165 mm, while the wheelbase is an ample 1,315 mm. Fuel tank capacity is rated at 13 liters. The rear seat comes with a removable cowl, which means that the bike is essentially a twin seater tweaked to look like a single seater.
