Separating the men from boys on our highways

Sports bikes enjoy a cult status among Indian motorcycle aficionados. Even with their exorbitant price tags, the Hayabusas, Harley Davidsons and Ninjas have been plying on Indian roads, thanks to style-savvy youth.

Though there are no specific figures, industry experts agree that the market is growing at a fast pace. “The fact that youngsters are passionate about bikes is nothing new. However, unlike early days, youngsters do not restrict themselves to low-end bikes,” says Harish Vadhwa, CEO Aerolex Motors, an authorised Suzuki Superbike dealership.

Though priced between Rs14 lakh and Rs15 lakh, Yamaha R1-1000, Honda’s CBR-1000RR and Suzuki GSX-R1000 are still the most sought after.

“Price is not a factor when people want to buy a Harley. To buy a Harley, one just needs to have the passion. We have a wide customer base. People from 25 years of age to 65 years swear by the Harley. Our most popular model is the Sportster family,” says Srinivas Reddy, managing director, Tusker Harley Davidson.

And for those who have a tight budget, hamara Bajaj comes to the rescue with its Pulsar 220 DTS-i and Avenger DTS-i models, which are priced between Rs85,000 and Rs90,000.

“These two bikes have been instant hit with customers. After Avenger and Pulsar, the launch of Ninja 250R was many one of the many initiatives taken by the company. Kawasaki Bajaj Ninja is the largest selling 250CC bike in the world. We launched it in October 2009. Till date, we have managed to sell 1000 units,” says Gaurav Rathore, head (sales), Bajaj Probiking.

However, he adds, the market for such bikes is still in a niche category and it is not a market for the masses.

“Our main customers are IT professionals. This market is mainly driven by passion. There are a few cases where even before buying a car, people go for sportbikes. We started Bajaj Probiking a few years back with the objective of making it the automatic destination for bike enthusiasts looking for sportier bikes. Our goal is to extend the Ninja family. So we plan to come out with bigger Ninjas in next six-seven months,” says Rathore.

Modification market
The ‘modification market’ has been there for some time now. But that was time when even nuts and bolts of a bike had to be imported. But with imported bikes flooding the Indian market, has the scene changed a bit?

“The market is not big now, but it is still growing. These days, it’s the youngsters who come to modify their bikes. Five-six years ago, the crowd was not young and high-end bikes were not available in the market.

Now, customers mainly come to increase engine power of their bikes. I discourage customers to make changes in the body as it won’t last long. With bikes available in the market, it is better if they buy the original,” says Joe from Joe’s Automobiles.

Also, modification means many rounds of visit to the RTO for special permission.

“I modified my Bullet and have made it longer by nine inches. I am yet to register it with the RTO. I am too passionate about bikes and it took me two years and couple of lakhs to make my bike look the way it is today,” says 27-year-old Ramakrishna Acharya, an HR professional.

“I get two-three customers on an average every week. They are mostly students and want to their bike to be more powerful. It is simply peer pressure,” says a mechanic at Vijayanagar.