Indian Motos Blog » Honda Motorcycles

Honda plans foray into used vehicles business

Rakesh Sridhar — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:40:48 +0000

"Energy can neither be created nor be destroyed" - But when it comes to motorcycles, we see, hear and learn that a sea of them are being made everyday but are they all destroyed? Well, the answer is no! Indian motorcycle market has a total sales of around 8 lakh bikes every month. So the annual figure amounts to about 1 crore bikes! But after a year or two, a better motorcycle is launched in the same segment with a lot of attractive options tempting the consumers to change their machines. So round-about 10 million bikes are due for change every two years. Where do these old machines go? Some are kept by the dealers, some are kept by the owners themselves as their spare vehicle while most of them are pushed over to the second-hand two-wheeler brokers who thrive all over the country. Once these bikes land up with the brokers, the quality of the bike depreciates considerably due to poor stocking conditions. Lack of standardization of the rates for second-hand two-wheelers is an another problem encountered. After contemplating on all these aspects, HMSI (Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India Limited) has decided to take advantage of this hitherto untapped opportunity of dealing in the second-hand two-wheeler sales.

Though Hero Honda already runs a similar program called 'Sure' since 2005, 'Sure' is implemented only in the semi-urban areas and trades old vehicles only for a Hero Honda. In contrast, Honda's initiative concentrates on the direct purchase and sale of the used Honda two-wheelers. According to the experts, this move will improve the brand good will of Honda and aid the penetration of the brand into the rural areas. Industry estimates report the size of the second-hand two-wheeler market to be double that of the newly sold two-wheeler market. We can be sure that the other companies will also be vying for their pie in this market. If this is the way to go, the consumers looking for a second-hand two-wheeler can be assured of a tension-less peaceful procurement process. Eventually, every company will offer several benefits for their second-hand bikes leading to the availability of high quality low-cost used two-wheelers. Rest assured, we can be confident of witnessing a great competition in this market this year. Source - mydigitalfc.com

Honda to go back to year 2000 pricing levels

Sachet Parkash — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 10:37:17 +0000

Two-Wheeler giant Honda has plans to take the pricing of its motorcycles back to the levels at which they were in the year 2000, but only in its home country of Japan. This move comes on the back of the growing disinterest in motorcycles amongst youngsters in Japan. The manufacturer plans to cut prices of around 50 of its models over the next three years. The price cuts for these models could be in the range of 10 to 30 %. The manufacturer plans to increase the number of models which it produces in Asian Nations other than its home market of Japan, where the cost of labour and production is low, thereby enabling it to reduce the prices of its products. Honda also has plans to source more inexpensive parts, which have been produced overseas, to further aid in the cost-cutting process. Honda's move to cut prices of its products in Japan, could rub off on its products which are brought in through the Completely Built Unit (CBU) route into India. The current CBU lineup of Honda in India includes the CBR 1000RR Fireblade and the CB 1000R. Since these bikes are brought in through the CBU route into India from Honda's plant in Japan, there could be a fall in prices of these models over the next three years, thereby making these bikes a slightly better value proposition for prospective customers. Source - Visor Down

Scoop- Honda 250cc bike to be called KYZ

Nazish Siddiqui — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:17:57 +0000

Honda's 250cc bike in India would be called KYZ

You must have read in our earlier post that Honda is planning to launch a 250cc with a next few months in India. For our readers we have a few bits of more info regarding this bike, not much but we thought to share whatever info we get with our readers.

The first info which we have is that this bike would be called KYZ and the second and most important information is that this bike would be priced around Yamaha's YZF R15! Well if Honda can price this bike around R15 then this will take the motorcycle by storm. Anything around 1 lakh for a 250cc bike is very competitive and good in all aspects.

If this happens then this bike will surely kick every other bike from the premium segment giving direct competition to the Ninjas, ZMR and Pulsar200 and Yamaha's R15.

Coming Soon- 250cc from Honda along with upgrades to Shine and Unicorn

Nazish Siddiqui — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 17:01:02 +0000

The market is going to get hotter with the entry of a 250cc from Honda

Another good news for the bike enthusiasts in India, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) is planning to launch a 250cc motorcycle in India in the next few months.

As per the sources, the R&D work on the bike is complete and the model will come into trial production in the next three months.

The only offering in the 250cc segment currently is Bajaj-Kawasaki Ninja 250R which is far beyond the reach of many of us when it comes to its price. This segment is least exploited in our country and if Honda could price this 250cc bike competitively then this could turn out to be a real delight for the end users as well as the company.

The good news is that the bike is expected to be priced around 1.5 lakh which I think is really competitive for a 250cc bike in India. The bike is expected to be launched around Diwali to make use of the festive season around that time of the year.

The rest of the techincal details for the 250cc bike are not known for now but we will keep our users updated as n when we have it with us.

But this is not all for the bike lovers in our country. If powerful bikes are not your cup of tea then here is what might excite you. Honda is also planning to bring in the upgraded version of their 125cc Shine and 150cc Unicorn before the entry of 250cc bike. This means that the upgraded versions of Shine and Unicorn are expected to arrive much earlier.

Honda also has its 110cc CB Twister ready for the debut which is expected to attract many buyers because of its features.

With bike offerings ranging from 110cc CB twister to a 250cc bike, it looks that Honda is in no mood to let the other bike manufacturers dominate in the country in the year 2010.

Source: DNA

Honda CBR1000RR Street Fighter version by Roland Sands

Nazish Siddiqui — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:12:13 +0000

Roland Sands's naked CBR1000RR will impress women. Almost every woman.

Roland Sands, custom motorcycle builder and a former 250GP racer has designed a Honda CBR1000RR street fighter version. The bike can be termed naked CBR1000RR as the full fairing has been replaced by a 2006 Honda Hornet 600 headlight and cowl. The clip-on handle bar is replaced with wider flat handle. The bike retains its fuel tank, seat and rear section but the regular number plate has been removed. Enhancing the performance is Vance and Hines CS One full exhaust system, Performance Machine wheels, brake calipers, levers and crash bobbins have been incorporated in this naked version of the CBR1000RR. The final touch is the gold/yellow paint job which gives the bike an eye-catching look.

Honda CBR1000RR by Roland Sands Image Gallery

Source - MCN

HMSI-Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India at Auto-Expo 2010

Nazish Siddiqui — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 07:31:27 +0000

Honda showcased a wide variety of motorcycles at the Auto Expo

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd.(HMSI) today unveiled six new models at the 2010 Auto Expo. The new models launched are the 110 cc CB Twister, 125cc new CBF Stunner and 102 cc Dio scooter aimed at the masses. Honda also displayed their global fun bike “VFR1200F” and the new CBR1000RR Fireblade. The company also showcased concept sports bike and U3X experimental mobility device. The company may also introduce a couple of new motorcycles in the next fiscal in order to strengthen their lineup as mentioned by HMSI President and CEO Shinji Aoyama. The company is targeting the sales figure of 15 lac units in the financial year of 2010-11 with a growth of 20% over current fiscal. The main stress has been on providing more safety through features like Combi-brake which is present in the new Aviator and Activa Deluxe variant and also the combined ABS feature present in bike like CBR1000RR 2010 model. The company also thinks about keeping the environment clean by providing high efficiency products like CB Twister, the new Activa and Aviator. The introduction of Programmed Fuel Injection technology included in the CBF-Stunner PGM-FI is also another example in this regard. The newly launched CB Twister looked impressive with its stylish look matched with its well balanced specifications. The bike comes up with a 110 cc engine and 9 BHP of power. The bike also comes up with tubeless tires and claims the mileage of 70kmpl. Another add on features to the bike are maintenance free battery and viscous air filter. The bike is available in five colors, electric yellow metallic, candy palm green, pearl nightstar black, pearl siena red and pearl Fiji blue. The bike has three variants which are kick drum alloy(Rs. 41,850), self drum alloy(Rs.44,850) and self disc alloy(Rs. 47,850), all these prices are ex-showroom Delhi. The 2010 CBR1000RR Fireblade was also unveiled at the expo. The bike is equipped with Electronically Controlled Combined ABS which further enhances the braking system of the bike. Some of the few add-ons to the new 2010 CBR1000RR Fireblade are as follows. * Sharper rear styling with revised shape and new tailoring with clear lens * Sharper exhaust muffler appearance with aluminium muffler cover * New graphics and colors * Improved crankshaft inertia mass Apart from launching its CB Twister Honda also launched its 2010 CBF Stunner. The stunner got some cosmetic changes and some other features borrowed from its more advanced sibling the Stunner-PGM-FI. Some of the new features of the CBF Stunner are: * Tachometer- Much desired feature * Half chain cover- enhances sportiness * Bar-end weights- reduces vibrations * Maintenance free battery and viscous air filter- improves the overall performance and low maintenance. * No kick start feature- to keep up with the ongoing tradition of no kicks(similar to bike likes Yamaha FZ, and R15 and many other bikes currently in the market) * New graphics and overall black theme of the bike- Again to improve the looks Honda also showcased the Unicorn- sport concept, CBF stunner racing and the CBR 150R racing bikes. The CBF Stunner racing and CBR 150R have already hit the racing circuits at Chennai & Coimbatore in 2009 races and the Asia Cup.