Intermot 2016: 5 bikes that will come to India

The International Motorcycle, Scooter and e-bike fair that is underway in Cologne, Germany  is dishing out surprises by the dozen. Chief among them are the new products launched by Ducati, BMW, Kawasaki and Triumph; manufacturers that have a heavy fan following in the Indian market as well.  Unveilings and launches at Intermot consisted of debuts, colour scheme updates and technical upgrades as well. Luckily India will not have to be content with just updated goods, the market can also expect some new bikes to enter our shores. Here are five of the bikes that are coming home to us from the Intermot.

1: Ducati Supersport

Ducati India has been keen on establishing its foothold in the country. Since its entry into India, a few years ago, the Italian manufacturer has tried to give to us most of its International offerings. This new Supersport motorcycle that’s more of a road-focused supersport bike will come to India. In fact, the Indian arm of the Italian company would want to get this bike as early as possible due to its relevance to the market. Unlike the Panigale range, the Supersport is less aggressive in terms of ergonomics as well as performance. But it does get a host of electronics and rider aids that makes this supersport a very tempting proposition. But the best part of this Ducati will be the pricing. It’ll come to India from the Thailand’s plant and that means we can look forward to reduced taxation if any, thanks to the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries.

2: 2017 New Kawasaki Ninja 650

The Ninja 650 has been Kawasaki’s most successful product in India. It still manages to do decent numbers. The Indian market likes this sports tourer due to its practicality, performance and the pricing. The 2017 Ninja 650 has upped it sports quotient in terms of styling and that we think, will be reason enough to draw customer interest. We’re expecting the official launch to take place early next year as the bike will be assembled in India. The prices are expected to shoot up by Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000.

3: New Triumph Bonneville family

Triumph used to sell the T100 in India until they launched their T120 range. But it looks like the Indian market is going to get more affordable Bonnevilles. These new 900cc motorcycles will be sold in India as complete-knocked down units and will be priced competitively too. But will the Bonneville T100 be priced below the Street Twin? We don’t think so. While both the bikes share the same amount of electronics like ABS, ride-by-wire and traction control, we believe that the non-chrome one– the Street Twin will continue to be the most affordable Triumph in India.

4: 2017 Kawasaki Ninja 1000

Kawasaki has been selling the Ninja 1000 in since 2014. The Ninja 1000 has been one of the most practical sports tourers in the country. The Indian arm of the Japanese company is definitely going to get the 2017 version to India next year, but it will cost more than Rs 12.5 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). Why? Mostly design and technical upgrades. This bike now gets the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) which controls the Kawasaki Cornering Management system. The Pannier system has been revised and so has the design.

5: 2017 BMW S1000 range

BMW has updated their entire S1000 range that includes – the S1000RR, S1000XR and the S1000R. All three bikes get a couple of mechanical and cosmetic updates, along with some new features. When BMW debuts in India early next year, the entire range will be there inside the showroom but expect it to be priced more than their Japanese and Italian competitors.