Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2022 i BIKE India

Zontes 350T ADV ZONTES ARE SET TO INTRODUCE five motorcycles in the Indian market. We got a very short spin astride two of their motorcycles. The first of these is the 350T ADV which boasts of a few segment-first features. In terms of design, it looks like a proper adventure motorcycle and one of the other models from this line-up is a variant with alloy wheels compared to the tubeless spoked wheels on this one. This ADV makes use of a 19-inch front wheel and a 17-inch one at the rear, while the road-focused T variant uses 17-inch wheels at both ends. What makes it unique is that it is keyless, so the fuel-tank and seat can simply be opened with a button incorporated into the switchgear. Apart from that,…

THE NAME “RONIN” COMES FROM Japan and is referred to as a wandering samurai with no lord or master. The TVS Ronin is a unique motorcycle in that sense as the manufacturer wants it to be unscripted just as the name suggests. This motorcycle follows a retro design language with some scrambler and modern street bike elements. For this review, we have the bike in the top TD trim which gets a dual-tone colour scheme and dual-channel ABS as well. A round LED headlight unit at the front encases a T-shaped DRL and this unit offers brilliant visibility while cruising around at night. The 14.5-litre teardrop-shaped tank sports the TVS logo and the rectangular side-panels get “Ronin” branding. The rear end sports a sleek LED tail-light running under the seat,…

APOLLO TRAMPLR TYRES APOLLO TYRES ARE ENJOYING A great run in the Indian market with their range of tyres for street motorcycles, including the premium Vredestein brand. The Alpha and Centauro ranges have found favour with many customers in the short time since their launch. Riding on this wave of popularity, Apollo Tyres have decided to expand the business to dual-purpose tyres as well. That makes a lot of sense because adventure-touring has caught on in India and is a great market to explore. Apollo are specifically targeting the 150- to 500-cc premium motorcycle market. This range of tyres was christened “Tramplr” and we were invited to Bengaluru to sample both the XR and the ST variants. The XR is the more off road-focused of the two and is available…

MotoGP IN THE QUALIFYING session, Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) secured pole position, followed by Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing) in second and Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) in third place. From pole, Miller got away well to keep the lead and so did his teammate, Francesco Bagnaia, as he was straight up to third from P5 on the grid. Behind them, there was drama, with Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing), Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team), and Michele Pirro (Aruba.it Racing) crashing out of contention at Turn One. Things became even more dramatic on the second lap as Miller slipped out at Turn Four and a few corners later, at Turn 10, Bezzecchi was on the floor. Both riders were unhurt and both remounted. New race leader Bastianini then had…

YAMAHA MT-10 SP BACK IN 2016, YAMAHA INTRODUCED THE pinnacle of their MT empire, the MT-10, and, later, the premium MT-10 SP. Transforming a crossplane R1 into a torque-rich sports naked bike was an obvious move. It was an instant success: fun, muscular, easy to ride, and full of character other Japanese “hyper nakeds” seemed to lack. It was reasonably priced too. In recent years, however, the MT-10 has begun to show its age, especially in terms of technology and rider aids. It was always on the thirsty side, too, and, by modern standards, the brakes were lacking. It was time for an update, which is why for 2022 Yamaha introduced a new MT-10 earlier this year. The unique-sounding engine was never a weak point but Yamaha did give the…

BEFORE I GIVE YOU THE LOW-down on Zero’s all-new electric adventure bike, even before I highlight the joys of riding it up and down Mount Etna in Sicily in near-silence, I need to ask you a few questions. What is an adventure? Is it determined by its duration, distance covered, beers drunk or simply the memories it creates? An adventure for my eight-year-old son is camping in the back garden, less than 10 feet away from a warm house and power for his iPad. For some of my friends, an adventure means nothing less than pitching their tents at base camp on Mount Everest. So, yes, this is an unusual way to start a road test, but it is worth considering the “adventure” label and the enormously wide spectrum of…

MotoGP ARAGON MotoGP IN QUALIFYING, FRANCESCO Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) claimed pole position and was ready to try and claim his fifth consecutive victory this season. His teammate, Jack Miller, qualified second and Enea Bastianini completed the front row, starting third. Bagnaia headed the field into Turn One after a good start, but there was a lot of chaos in the middle of the pack. The main talking point this weekend was the return of Marc Márquez on the Repsol Honda after being declared fit to race in front of his home fans. Having qualified 13th on the grid, he was already up to sixth when he had a moment exiting Turn Three and closed the throttle, leaving Fabio Quartararo with nowhere to go on his Monster Energy Yamaha. Quartararo…

JONATHAN REA (KAWASAKI Racing team worldsbk) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha With Brixx WorldSBK) were at their surgical best at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours during qualifying. The two rivals rewrote the history books by setting identical fastest lap-times but pole position went to Rea because his second-fastest lap-time was quicker than Razgatlioglu’s. Razgatlioglu and Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) completed the front row. As the race got under way, the first slice of drama appeared on the second lap when Rea crashed at the exit of Turn 17. Although he nursed his Kawasaki back into the pits, he did not re-join the race. One lap later, Turn 13 caught Razgatlioglu by surprise while braking. He, however, was able to re-join the race and went on to finish in…

Moto Morini X-CAPE 650 IT IS ALWAYS EXCITING TO SEE A new adventure motorcycle being launched in the Indian market. With the X-Cape 650, the Moto Morini brand is offering two variants, Standard and X, which will allow customers to choose on the basis of on their riding style. The X variant is more off road-focused and sports a set of spoked wheels as compared to the cast alloy ones on the standard variant. Both bikes get a 19-inch wheel at the front and a 17-inch one at the rear. While we did not get a ride on the standard variant, we spent a very limited time astride the 650X. The bike has a commanding stance with those split LED headlight and daytime running lights (DRL) giving it a unique…

SUZUKI KATANA THE LINEAGE OF THE SUZUKI Katana dates back to 1982. There were various iterations of the motorcycle until production came to an end in the mid-2000s. In 2020, Suzuki brought the legendary motorcycle back to life and, in a surprising turn of events, the Katana was launched in the Indian market a few months ago. As the name suggests, the design of the bike has been inspired by the Japanese sword of the samurai. This is essentially a sport-tourer speaking one of the most unique design languages. You get a half-fairing at the front with a rectangular LED headlight and sharp DRL units jutting out of the corners of the fairing. The “Katana” logo can be seen on either side of the fairing, while the fuel-tank sports sharp…

ROYAL ENFIELD ASTRAL RIDE LADAKH, A PLACE WHICH EVERY traveller has on their bucket list, is a destination with several sights to behold and doing it on two wheels with a motorcycle like the Royal Enfield Himalayan makes it even better. Being a motorcycle enthusiast who enjoys a good ride and a photographer by profession, I had plans similar to many others—riding a motorcycle in Leh-Ladakh and shooting the beautiful landscapes there. Haven’t we all dreamed of it at one point? Thus, the Royal Enfield Astral Ride was like an opportunity sent from heaven—almost literally. It ticked all the right boxes. I have to consider myself the lucky one. I would finally get the chance to tick this one off my bucket list and I was more than thrilled and…

MotoGP MARC MÁRQUEZ (REPSOL Honda Team) returned to pole position in the qualifying session after a very long wait. Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) qualified in second place and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) in third. Because of a mistake by Aprilia, Aleix Espargaro had to enter the pits after the warm-up lap to swap his motorcycle. That bike had a different tyre configuration from his race choice which was going to make it a tough task to battle through the grid after starting from the pit-lane. Binder got a great start as he made a move on the inside of Márquez to take the lead going into Turn One. Next, Martin passed Márquez going into Turn Three. Jack Miller began to charge and was running in fifth…