EICMA: Bikes headed to India

With announcements already made at the ongoing EICMA/Milan Motorcycle Show, we look at the motorcycles that are coming to India. There’s some exciting stuff headed our way, and with the 2016 Auto Expo just around the corner, it’s unlikely that we’ll have to wait too long for the new launches.

2016 KTM RC390

It largely looks unchanged to the naked eye, but the changes on 2016 RC390 are quite meaningful. Up front you get a larger brake disc (320 mm), there’s a ride-by-wire throttle, a new exhaust (gone is the underbelly unit), and a slipper clutch. Power and torque figures remain unchanged.

Benelli Tornado 302

It shares the 300 cc parallel twin with the BN 302 (TNT 300 in India) but apart from that the fully faired Tornado 302 is a new bike underneath. The Tornado uses a new trellis frame, is slightly heavier, and looks stunning. Inverted forks up front, twin discs at the front and one at the rear, and 17-inch Metzelers complete the package.

Benelli Leoncino

If you look at the market the Scrambler has become the Café Racer, so every company has to have one. However, given the good looks and everyday functionality, we aren’t complaining. Benelli’s version – called Leoncino – comes powered by a 500 cc engine, gets dual discs up front and a single one at the rear, has ABS standard, flat handlebar, knobby tyres on wire-spoke rims…

Should Ducati be worried?

Ducati Scramblers

Talking of which, Ducati also launched two new Scramblers – Flat Track Pro based on the current Scrambler and a new 400 cc Scrambler Sixty2. The latter is powered by a 399 cc engine, loses out on some of expensive bits (like the inverted forks up front), looks every bit as sweet (almost), and might come to India.

Yamaha MT-03

If you find the Yamaha R3 a bit too focussed for everyday use (it’s said to a little less focussed as the R15, though, but is bigger and more powerful), there’s the MT-03 to take care of your biking needs. The naked uses the same underpinnings but loses the fairing, gets a flat handlebar, is slightly lighter than the faired version, and has a lot of appeal, too.

UM Renegade Sport S

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In collaboration with Lohia Auto, the American company UM Motorcycles will debut in India next year, and one of its products will be the Renegade Sport S. The 279 cc cruiser (engine’s a single cylinder unit that makes 26.6 PS and 22.76 Nm of torque) gets a 150-section tyre at the rear and a 110-section one at the front.

Triumph Bonneville range

What could be a better entry point to a marque as big as Triumph than its retro Bonneville range, but right before EICMA the range was updated, hence almost managing to shoo away competitors even before reaching the dealership. The new range comprises five models, namely Street Twin, T120, T120 Black, Thruxton, and Thruxton R. Among them there are three new engines and a lot of racy, retro goodness. Apart from this, the Tiger and the Speed Triple ranges have been updated.

Ducati XDiavel, Hypermotard, Multistrada, and 959 Panigale

The Italian bike-maker has updated its line-up, so there are new versions of the Multistrada (Enduro 1200 and Pikes Peak), Hypermotard (939, 939 SP, and Hyperstrada), and even the Diavel (XDiavel and XDiavel S). The latter comes uses a belt-drive, gets its power off a 1,262 cc engine that makes 156 hp and 128 Nm.

The 899 Panigale has been replaced by a new side exhaust-bearing Ducati 959 Panigale. The repositioning of the exhausts is Ducati’s effort to help the bike pass Euro4 noise and emission norms. The engine – a 955 cc V-Twin unit – makes 157 hp, while the electronics have been updated, and the company claims that service intervals for the new 959 remain the same as the 899’s. The non Euro4 version of the bike gets an underbelly exhaust like the 899, and looks better.

BMW G310R

To be manufactured at TVS’s facility in India, the BMW G310R is powered by a single cylinder 313 cc engine that makes 34 hp and 27 Nm. The bike won’t just open avenues for BMW to cater to a new segment, it will also help TVS move up the ladder.

New Gixxer

The 2017 GSX-R1000 has also been unveiled, and while its launch is expected to be in the later part of next year, the bike will eventually come to India. It’s said to use variable valve timing, updated electronics and rider assists – three riding modes, 10-level traction control, launch control – and a quickshifter.