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In its second innings in India, Triumph rolls in with 10 bikes

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The rejuvenated Triumph motorcycle nameplate is back in India after a hiatus of over half a century and it comes packing a sizeable spread to entice the small but growing community of bikers who want more from their machines. Never before in the history of this brand has it ever unveiled 10 all new motorcycles to spearhead its two-wheeled portfolio in the country. In fact, even when it had its sunny days under British India rule from the 1930s to the late 1950s, it didn’t have 10 different motorcycle models on sale in the country!

What makes this entry so very significant is that the British bike maker had stunned bike enthusiasts at the 2012 Auto Expo in New Delhi by announcing a super low price point for its classic Bonneville twin-cylinder machine and since then, the clamour for Triumphs reached dizzy heights. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be capitalised on for the simple reason that the UK-based firm wanted to get the distribution, logistics and the assembly aspects perfected before rather than during the time the bikes went on sale and this 2-year period has been one of consolidation.

The firm starts out with the Bonneville at Rs 5.7 lakh and then proceeds via the Bonneville T100 (Rs 6.6 lakh), Thruxton (Rs 6.7 lakh), Street Triple (Rs 7.5 lakh), Speed Triple (Rs 10.4 lakh), Tiger 800XC (Rs 12 lakh), Tiger Explorer (Rs 17.9 lakh), Daytona 675R (Rs 11.4 lakh), Thunderbird Storm (Rs 13 lakh) to its flagship hunk of a machine, the Rocket III roadster which would carry a Rs 20-lakh price tag (all prices ex-showroom Delhi).

As one can see, no one barring Harley-Davidson has such a spread of two-wheel delicacies on its platter, but unlike Harley, which is all about vee-twins, vee-twins and even more vee-twins in cruiser configuration only, the Triumphs are well defined with roadsters, classic speedsters, go-anywhere adventure bikes, supersports missiles and of course, large capacity Harley rivaling cruisers. Of the 10 bikes listed above, six would come in via the completely knocked down (CKD) route, these being assembled at the firm’s Manesar facility, while four of the top end machines would be pukka CBUs (completely built units).

The main thrust of sales for Triumph will begin from the four major metros and that’s where the first four dealerships -- Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad -- would begin operation from January.

Paul Stroud, Triumph’s global director in-charge of sales and marketing, was categorical in stating that India represents a huge opportunity for his firm. Speaking to dna, Paul who has earlier worked with brands like Harley-Davidson and Buell plus also BMW and the MG-Rover Group, said: “India is an exceptionally exciting market for us and the premium motorcycle segment in the country is seeing tremendous growth.”

What is of even greater import is that Triumph like many others hasn’t lost sight of the fact that India and other emerging markets in South East Asia are seeing a growing appetite for 250cc high performance machines. Conversely, the growing lack of entry-level machines in mature markets of Europe, North America, Japan and Australia is craving for a small capacity motorcycle of similar size. A series of all new motorcycles with engine displacement in the region of 250cc-400cc are on the anvil and this range of small Triumphs could very well be made in India from 2015 onwards. Kawasaki and the Bajaj KTM combine are the world leaders in this class of quarter-litre performance machines with the Ninja 250 and 300 models plus the 200 and 390 Dukes, respectively, and Triumph wants to step into this class.

It is exciting times but as more competition enters, the point to be made is whether this proliferation will increase the segment and take the game higher or would it just be posturing to vanity? Answers as we roll on.

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