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    Aprilia Storm 125cc Scooter Disc Variant Discontinued

    This new development will be in effect from 1st July of 2022 – Only drum brake variant available post thatImage – Autoholic ManishFollowing the success of SR series of sporty scooters in India, Aprilia attempted to take on the masses with a budget-oriented scooter. SR series had 125 cc and 150 cc options with the latter now bored out to displace 160 cc. These were pricey options that didn’t really tickle the fancy of an average Indian.Aprilia wanted to take 125 cc scooter segment by storm. So, they based their Storm 125 on the SR platform with their tried and tested 125 cc engine that also does duties on Vespa scooters. To get the price down, there were some cuttings. Most notable of them were the smaller 12” wheels at both ends and a lack of a disc brake.  Aprilia Storm 125 Disc Variant DiscontinuedEven with these deletions, Storm was still just as pricey, if not more, than other rivals in the 125 cc scooter segment. When Storm 125 received its BS6 update, Aprilia also added a front disc brake as an option for around Rs. 11,000. Storm 125 has had a disc variant as an option ever since. Until now, though.Fast-forwarding to 2022, Piaggio, the parent company of both Aprilia and Vespa, has revealed that they are going to discontinue the disc brake variant of their Storm 125 scooter. The Italian automaker hasn’t cited a reason as to why this sudden move.Aprilia 125cc Storm DiscontinuedBut we can speculate that Storm 125’s front disc variant was in low demand. Or the company might be luring buyers to just step up to buy the SR 125 for around Rs. 11,000 more than the price of the disc variant of Storm 125. Either way, this new development will be brought into motion from 1st July of 2022.Specs & CompetitionAprilia Storm 125 is powered by the familiar 125 cc engine from Piaggio that powers scooters of both its subsidiary brands in India. It is a 124.4 cc single-cylinder air-cooled engine making 9.78 bhp at 7500 RPM and 9.6 Nm at 5,500 RPM. It gets 12” wheels wrapped by knobby and block-pattern tyres that almost give it a scrambler-like appearance. From July 1st, it will also lack a disc brake at the front while the drum variant will continue to be on sale.Aprilia Storm 125 is priced at Rs. 1.01 lakh. If we look at the competition and their respective pricing, Drum variant of Storm 125 is almost Rs. 20,000 more expensive than respective counterparts from Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha and Hero.Even though Storm 125 comes off as pricey, it has the Aprilia brand value to back it up. It competes with other 125 cc scooters in the market and price bracket like TVS Ntorq 125, Suzuki Access 125, Honda Grazia, Honda Activa 125, Yamaha Ray ZR, TVS Jupiter 125, Hero Maestro 125, Yamaha Fascino 125, Suzuki Burgman Street 125 and the newly launched Suzuki Avenis 125.Source More

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    New Energica Electric Motorcycle Sports Tourer Debuts – 420 Kms Range

    Energica Experia is a road-biased sports tourer with ADV like styling that features the largest battery pack on an electric two-wheelerNew Energica Electric MotorcycleThe electric mobility revolution has reached such a stage that auto manufacturers aren’t afraid to dive into new segments. Italian brand Energica has revealed its new electric motorcycle called Experia which is a road-oriented adventure touring motorcycle. The electric bike made its debut at the Mugello MotoGP recently.The bike, though technically a sports tourer, has plenty of ADV-like characteristics in its styling starting from a beak up front, a tall windscreen, prominent side fairing, raised tail section and split seats. Further, a tall stance helps accentuate its adventure touring credentials.New Energica Electric MotorcycleEnergica claims that it has a low centre of gravity which allows better low-speed rideability. Experia is the first model to be based on a new second generation “Energica Green Tourer” technological platform that intends on balancing comfort, power and range while being extra environmentally clean. Given it caters to the touring segment, several changes had to be made to its hardware specs.For instance, it gets a new steel tubular trellis frame in place of a steel chassis as seen on other EV offerings from Energica. It gets new aluminium side plates while the rear mono-shock has now been centrally repositioned. The fully adjustable suspension setup has been derived from Sachs which consists of 43mm USD forks at front and a mono-shock at rear, both offering 150mm travel each.New Energica Electric MotorcycleThe electric sports tourer rides on cast aluminium 17-inch alloy wheels that are shod with road-friendly Pirelli Scorpion Trail II tyres. Braking duties are handled by 330mm twin disc brakes at the front wheel, with Brembo four-piston radial callipers and a 240mm single disc with a Brembo two-piston calliper at rear aided by an electronic ABS sourced from Bosche.Powertrain SpecsPowering Experia is a 22.5kWh Lithium polymer battery pack that feeds energy to a 60kW Permanent Magnet Assisted Synchronous Reluctance motor. This powertrain returns a peak output of 75kW (101 bhp) and 115 Nm of torque. The battery pack is claimed to be the largest seen on any electric two-wheeler and offers a maximum city range of 420km whereas combined range stands at 256km on a single charge.However, the real world range stands at around 222km as per WMTC (world motorcycle test cycle). The battery could be charged via a Level 3, 24kW DC charger that takes 40 minutes to rejuvenate from 0 to 80 percent. There are other conventional 240V and 120V plug-in points as charging options that take a longer duration for recharging.New Energica Electric MotorcycleFeatures on offerIn terms of features, Experia is loaded with a rider-aided electron suite that comprises six levels of traction control, a cornering ABS from Bosch, four regenerative modes (high, medium, low and off) and four riding modes including Eco, Urban, Rain and Sport. In addition, it is also offered with a fully digital five-inch TFT instrument display.At 260kg, the bike is definitely not nimble and surely heavier than most other petrol-powered adventure tourers. A seat height of 847mm will also make riding it a more challenging task, especially for a novice rider. Bookings for this electric sports tourer have opened while deliveries should commence around October. It will not be launching in India anytime soon. More

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    Top 10 Motorcycles 150cc To 200cc Apr 2022 – FZ, R15, MT15, Apache, Pulsar

    Yamaha FZ was the best selling model in this segment in the past month while the Unicorn 160 was at No.2Yamaha R15Sales in the 150-200cc segment have been lackluster since the start of this calendar year. Sales had stood at 89,509 units in January 2022 but fell to 85,470 units in Feb 2022. Improvement was seen in March to 1,05,308 units but has again dipped in April 2022 to 67,489 units.Total sales in this segment that had stood at 67,489 units last month fell 37.02 percent YoY over 1,07,151 units sold in April 2022. It was also a MoM degrowth of 35.91 percent over 1,05,308 units sold in March 2022. Rising fuel prices, a skewed economy, price hikes announced by a host of two wheeler makers could be reasons for this dip in demand.Top 10 Motorcycles 150cc To 200cc Apr 2022 – YoYUsually the battle for top in this segment is between TVS Apache and Bajaj Pulsar. But that is not the case for April 2022. It was Yamaha FZ that headed top 10 sales charts with 16,508 units in the past month, up 34.23 percent over 12,298 units sold in April 2021. This was a volume growth of 4,210 units and a 24.46 percent market share. MoM sales however, dipped 28.28 percent from 23,016 units sold in March 2022. Yamaha FZ currently retails at Rs 1.09 lakh and Rs 1.18 lakh (ex-showroom) for its standard version and FZ-S variants respectively.Sales of Unicorn 160 dipped YoY by 20.65 percent to 13,173 units from 16,602 units sold in April 2021. MoM sales improved 2.20 percent over 12,889 units sold in March 2022. Market share also improved MoM from 12.24 percent held in March 2022 to 19.52 percent in the past month. At No. 3 was Yamaha MT15 with a 62.12 percent YoY growth to 9,228 units, up from 5,692 units sold in April 2021. This was a 3,536 unit volume growth with a 13.67 percent market share. In March 2022 there were 0 units of the MT15 sold due to the fact that it was not on sale.Motorcycle Sales 150cc to 200cc – April 2022 vs April 2021 (YoY). Yamaha market share at 49.91%.There was also the Yamaha R15 at No. 4 with sales of 7,948 units, up 31.98 percent YoY over 6,022 units sold in April 2021. MoM sales also increased 37.79 percent from 5,768 units sold in March 2022 bringing up market share from 5.48 percent to 11.78 percent. From May 2022, Yamaha India has hiked prices of R15, FZS, Aerox, Fascino and RayZR in view of rising input costs.Apache, Xtreme 160R, PulsarTVS Apache suffered a YoY de-growth of 75.08 percent and MoM de-growth of 73.24 percent to 7,342 units. Sales stood at 29,458 units in April 2021 and at 27,439 units in March 2022. TVS Apache prices have also been hiked from June 2022 across all variants and now sells at Rs 1,12,940-Rs 2,65,000 (ex-showroom).Lower down the order on the list of best-selling motorcycles in the 150-200cc segment was Hero XTreme 160R. Sales increased substantially both on YoY and MoM basis to 3,981 units, up 73.62 percent over 2,293 units sold in April 2021 and up 201.36 percent from 1,321 units sold in March 2022.Motorcycle Sales 150cc to 200cc – April 2022 vs March 2022 (MoM)Bajaj Pulsar sales suffered YoY and MoM degrowth down 88.05 percent to 3,201 units from 26,871 units sold in April 2021 and down 87.26 percent from 25,121 units sold in March 2022. Bajaj Auto has increased prices across range in May 2022 by a maximum of Rs 4,900. The Pulsar range sees prices increased by Rs 1,299 to Rs 4,800 depending on variant and now retails from Rs 81,389 to Rs 1,44,979.XPulse 200 (3,179 units) XBlade (763 units) and Hornet 2.0 (584 units) also saw a YoY growth in sales while Gixxer (1,008 units) suffered YoY degrowth in April 2022. There were also 258 units of the CB200X, 174 units of the Avenger and 142 units of the KTM200 sold last month but 0 units of the Intruder. More

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    New Yamaha X Force 155cc Scooter Debuts – R15 Engine

    Yamaha X-Force gets some feature additions over the Aerox 155 that is on sale in India2022 Yamaha X Force 155cc ScooterJapan gets all the good stuff. We have been telling this for a long time now and it hasn’t made any difference at all. This is especially true when it comes to the automotive industry. The JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) vehicles are so good that they have a cult following. The modifying culture that these JDM vehicles enjoy are totally drool-worthy.Despite being one of the world’s largest two-wheeler markets, Japanese automotive manufacturers often don’t bring their entire product line-up to India. Same goes with Yamaha. The company’s motorcycle and scooter portfolio for JDM just got a new entrant.2022 Yamaha X Force 155cc ScooterYamaha has been making good use of its 155 cc engine in scooters. We’ve seen the NMax 155, we’ve seen the Aerox 155 and now, Yamaha has equipped the potent R15’s engine on a new maxi-scooter. In comes Yamaha’s new kid on the block, X-Force maxi-styled scooter.2022 Yamaha X Force 155cc Scooter is aiming to appeal to millennials and gen Z as reflected by its youthful and sporty styling. Just like Yamaha’s NMax maxi-scooter, X-Force is also based on the company’s successful Aerox 155 platform. This currently Japan-exclusive scooter lacks one thing from the Aerox 155 and NMax 155 that makes it more practical than those two. That is the central spine.2022 Yamaha X Force 155cc ScooterLack of the central spine has carved out a lot of foot space and due to the flat floor board, it also opens up a lot of luggage space too. Like Aerox 155, it gets the liquid-cooled, single-cylinder 155 cc engine with VVA (variable valve actuation) making 14.7bhp and 14 Nm. We can also expect similar fuel efficiency figures to the Aerox 155.2022 Yamaha X Force 155cc ScooterFeatures & LaunchIn terms of features, X-Force gets LED lighting all around and is coupled with a USB charging port for charging electronic gadgets on the go. It gets a fully digital instrument cluster with Bluetooth connectivity. This allows users to connect their smartphones to this LCD cluster and get call and SMS alerts and more such connected features.The headlamps get a split design with separate chambers for low beam and high beam. Front indicators are neatly integrated into the scooter’s body. Above the headlights, we see a Yamaha logo and a smoked visor to deflect wind blast away from the rider. It gets a 267 mm disc at front and a 230 mm unit at the rear and connecting the two, is a dual-channel ABS system.2022 Yamaha X Force 155cc ScooterIn terms of suspension, it gets telescopic units at front and twin shockers at the rear. This scooter rides on 13” wheels unlike the 14” wheels on Aerox 155. It is shod with 120/70 rubber in the front and 130/70 rubber in the rear.Yamaha is charging a price of JPY 3,96,000 (Rs. 2.3 lakh ex-sh) for the equipment X-Force gets. Yamaha is highly unlikely to bring this scooter to India as its sibling, Aerox 155 is priced at Rs. 1.38 lakh (ex-sh) over here. Yamaha would have a tough time justifying almost double the price for a similar platform. It mainly competes against Honda’s Vario 160 in Japan. More

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    New Lambretta Scooters Debut In The 300cc Segment

    Lambretta’s G350 and X300 scooters are designed in Milano and ooze Italian flair from every inch of their bodyNew Lambretta Scooter – X300Lambretta recently announced two new scooters, which have been redefining classic scooter design language. Of the two, G350 stays true to the classic lines and X300 follows a slightly edgy and futuristic approach. But both scooters get iconic Lambretta design elements like the front horn cast finished in chrome. Both designs look stunning, making Mr. Ferdinando Innocenti, founder of Lambretta’s parent company Innocenti, proud in his afterlife.  Even though they’re pitted as classic scooters, they get modern features like disc brakes, ABS, sophisticated suspension arm linkages and LED lighting all around with headlights shaped in typical Lambretta’s DNA. A weird quirk about these scooters is that the G350 with its more retro appeal gets a modern TFT display with multiple functions whereas the futuristic and edgy X300 gets a semi-digital display. Hey, whatever tickles their fancy.New Lambretta G350 ScooterG350 is a classic retro-styled scooter powered by a 330.1 cc single-cylinder, 4-valve petrol engine making 27 bhp @7500 RPM and 27 Nm @6250 RPM. It gets a large 9.5 litre fuel tank and weighs a healthy 173 kg. G350 rides on 12” wheels wrapped with 120/70 Pirelli rubber at front and 130/70 Pirelli rubber at the back.The scooter also gets other modern features like a USB phone charger adhering to modern lifestyle. It also gets beautiful and classic Lambretta branding showing its rich heritage.New Lambretta Scooter – G350Designed in Milano, Lambretta G350 comes in 3 beautiful shades. The White shade gets an Orange contrasting seat, Red shade gets a Dark Red seat and Black shade gets an orange seat too. The Black one looks the classiest as the intricately designed and tasteful chrome elements are contrasted more than in other colours.New Lambretta X300 ScooterX300 is a more futuristic approach to scooter design taken by Lambretta. It is powered by a 275 cc single-cylinder, 4-valve petrol engine making 24.8 bhp @8250 RPM and 24.5 Nm @6250 RPM. It gets a relatively small 7 litre fuel tank and weighs 165 kg. Just like the G350, X300 also rides on 12” wheels wrapped with 120/70 Pirelli rubber at front and 130/70 Pirelli rubber at the back.Lambretta has had a free hand in designing the X300. It is reminiscent of the scooter’s overall design. For starters, it gets a massive square LED tail-light with LED indicators. It is one of the biggest tail-lights we have seen in a while. Rest of the design takes an edgy theme over the more retro-looking G350. It gets very minimal chrome treatment too.New Lambretta Scooter – X300X300 comes in 4 futuristic shades and all of them get a Dark Green seat. But Lambretta has played with wheel rim colours with X300. Silver shade and White shade gets silver wheels, whereas Green shade and Black shade get Black wheels.India LaunchEven though Lambretta used to have ties in India, the company is not likely to launch these scooters in the country. Due to the higher engine capacity and performance, it is expected that the price will also be exorbitant. The Italian automaker would have a hard time justifying the price too. More

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    TVS Apache, Raider Prices June 2022 – Increased By Up To Rs 5k

    For select scooters and motorcycles, TVS had raised prices earlier this year in April and May as wellTVS ApacheDue to rising commodity prices, auto companies have been forced to increase prices at regular intervals. In June, TVS has revised prices of its Raider and Apache motorcycles.Prices of other motorcycles and scooters remain unchanged. Only exception is iQube electric scooter that has actually witnessed a price drop of Rs 1,647 (On-road, Delhi). iQube new on-road price in Delhi is Rs 99,130. This is because TVS introduced an updated iQube recently.TVS Raider, Apache price hike June 2022Price of Raider Drum brake variant remains unchanged at Rs 84,573. However, Raider Disc variant will now cost Rs 1,900 more. New price is Rs 90,989. Raider was launched last year in September at a starting price Rs 77,500. It comes with features such as a fully digital reverse LCD console with multicolour display, underseat storage, ride modes of Eco and Power, engine idle stop-start system, USB charger and side stand indicator with engine cut-off function.Prices of TVS Apache motorcycles have been increased in the range of Rs 1,200 to Rs 5,015. In percentage terms, the increase is marginal at around 1 percent. Price increase for Apache RR310 is relatively higher at close to 2%. The bike will now cost Rs 2,65,000, as compared to Rs 2,59,990 earlier.TVS Motorcycle Prices June 2022Apache 160 2V (drum / disc) price has been increased by Rs 1,200. New prices are Rs 1,12,940 and Rs 1,15,940, respectively. A price hike of Rs 1,350 is applicable on Apache 160 4V (Drum), Apache 160 4V (Disc), Apache 160 4V (Bluetooth) and Apache 160 4V Special Edition. New price of Apache 180 is Rs 1,19,890, an increase of Rs 1,200. Apache 200 4V Single ABS and Apache 200 4V Dual ABS have become costlier by Rs 1,500. New price is Rs 1,39,690 and Rs 1,44,740, respectively.Prices of Apache range were increased in April and May also. In April, a price hike of Rs 1,295 was applied for Apache 160 (drum / disc), Apache 180 and Apache 200 4V (single channel ABS / dual ABS). Apache 160 4V (drum / disc) prices were hiked by Rs 45. RR310 had not witnessed a price hike in April. In May, Apache motorcycle prices were increased by Rs 2,100 for all models. Only exception was Apache RR310 that had gotten costlier by just Rs 90.Scooter prices unchangedAs of now, TVS has not raised prices of any of its scooters. TVS scooter prices were increased earlier this year in April in the range of Rs 540 to Rs 2,535. TVS scooter portfolio starts with Scooty Pep, which is available in the range of Rs 60,334 to Rs 63,234. Next is Zest scooter, which is available at Rs 67,016 for Gloss variants and Rs 68,693 for Matte variants.TVS Scooter Prices June 2022TVS Jupiter 110 is currently being offered at a starting price of Rs 68,571. Top-spec Jupiter that comes with SmartXonnect connectivity platform is priced at Rs 82,346. TVS Jupiter 125 is available in the price range of Rs 78,175 to Rs 85,075. TVS Ntorq variants are priced in the range of Rs 77,106 to Rs 97,061. More

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    Yamaha Electric Scooter Leasing Business Starts In India

    Yamaha Motors’ Moto Business Service India (MBSI) invests in Zypp Electric to launch 250 Hero Electric scooter in DelhiImage for reference.Yamaha Motors 2-Wheeler Asset Management Services, Moto Business Service India (MBSI) has now commenced business in Delhi. The mobility solutions company caters to services for tech startup companies. This focuses on shared mobility space in India. The first investment in Zypp Electric caters to the launch of 250 Hero Electric scooters in New Delhi.Zypp Electric orchestrates last-mile delivery service to E-commerce segments. Applications are widespread including logistics, groceries, food and pharma sectors. The goal is to develop sustainable, attrition free and affordable delivery paths.Yamaha Electric Scooter Leasing Business focuses on increasing vehicles on shared/rental platforms. This in turn creates employment opportunities by supporting business growth of mobility platforms. And all roads lead to a cleaner and greener environment, which is why investing in the EV segment is the way forward.Electric scooters for last mile deliveryYamaha Electric Scooter Leasing Business MBSI explores avenues to work with last-mile delivery platforms. And their interest pivots around companies deploying e2Ws and e3Ws. A strong push for sustainable delivery channels encourages more delivery executives to rely on electric mobility.Zypp Electric ScooterDeliveries whether at business level or doorstep are now a part and parcel of urban living. And switching to sustainable mobility translates to substantial reduction in fuel emissions. Zypp currently deploys a fleet of 5,000 electric scooters. Following Delhi, expansion plans include Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune in 2022. Growth is being fostered by adding 1000-1500 EVs each month. Plans are afoot to add 1,50,000 EVs to its fleet by 2024. This will foster sustainable last mile delivery in India. The company is keen to customize its fleet as per delivery specifics, while providing IoT support.Switch Delhi EV charging portalDelhi Government policy updates mandate logistic companies and aggregators to go 100 percent electric by 2025. To support the goal, EV charging stations are being built in quick time. To promote EV adoption, the Switch Delhi portal can be used so users can opt for a private EV charging point installed. This includes at their homes, group housing societies, multistorey apartment complexes, RWAs’ offices and commercial shops through vendors.Such charging stations are also to be installed in government offices. This will enable employees and the general public to charge vehicles. With systemic changes being articulated, changes at the ground level are starting to take shape.Yamaha Leasing and Zypp ElectricShoji Shiraishi, Managing Director, MBSI says, “We are extremely excited to officially launch MBSI in New Delhi, by kick-starting our operations with Zypp Electric. The Indian electric vehicle mobility market is growing in line with the overall global trend and will see rapid traction and growth for shared two-wheelers and four-wheelers in the EV segment.We need to create an evolving ecosystem that can address all challenges and enable millions of businesses to adopt sustainable modes of transport. We plan to work with more environment friendly mobility companies in the future and to transform the overall shared mobility space in India by bringing our financial and strategic experience from our stakeholders.” More

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    2022 Honda CB250R Updated With New Features – 145 Kgs

    Due to the presence of its bigger sibling CB300R, Honda CB250R launch in India is very highly unlikely2022 Honda CB250R – New updatesOne of Japanese Big Four (Japan’s largest motorcycle manufacturers Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki, in no particular order), Honda is known to launch all sorts of motorcycles in its home country. Despite being one of the biggest motorcycle markets, India is not very fortunate to get all motorcycles Honda sells. One such motorcycle is the recently launched CB250R.CB series of motorcycles are quintessentially street motorcycles that consist of a wide variety of engines ranging in various displacements. Whereas CBR is a series consisting of fully-faired motorcycles. Some of the most notable CB motorcycles are CB150R, CB250R, CB300R, CB500F, CB650R and CB1000R.2022 Honda CB250R LaunchedThis quarter-litre cracker comes in the lower end of the CB range and has a decent balance between everyday rideability, touring and occasional track day. It replaces the CB250R that was sold before with some thoughtful changes and feature upgrades.It still gets front USD forks from Showa. But this time, they’re SFF-BP (Separate Function Fork – Big Piston) units that boast more bump absorption capability and are lighter in weight. That’s the whole theme with this 2022 Honda CB250R, weight. Or the lack thereof. Because, this 250 cc motorcycle has a kerb weight of a mere 145 kg. It is very impressive considering the fact that a KTM 125 Duke with a 125 cc engine weighs 159 kg.2022 Honda CB250R – New updatesOther upgrades include a slip and assist clutch ensuring smooth shifts and the fully-digital instrument cluster now gets a gear position indicator which was missing in the previous model. Other notable features of 2022 Honda CB250R are a 10.5 litre fuel tank and a very user-friendly 795 mm seat height. It also gets a single disc at both ends and comes with dual-channel ABS as standard. With a low kerb weight of 145 kg, we can say that the braking will be very impressive on this motorcycle.Engine & LaunchThis quarter-litre motorcycle comes with a, well, a quarter-litre engine. It is a single-cylinder, liquid-cooled 249 cc engine producing 26.8 bhp and 23 Nm. These are very good figures for a 250 cc motorcycle.If we factor in the low kerb weight of 145 kg, Honda CB250R has a very impressive power-weight ratio. This engine is mated to a 6-speed transmission and with the addition of slip and assist clutch on the new update, we can expect smoother gear shifts.2022 Honda CB250R – New updatesHonda is unlikely to bring this motorcycle to India. Even though Kawasaki India doesn’t have a single-cylinder street or sports motorcycle in India, we have the other two of the Japanese Big Four, Yamaha and Suzuki. From Yamaha’s stables, we have the FZ25 and from Suzuki stables, we have Gixxer 250.We have Honda’s own CB300R which is a bigger sibling to CB250R. From Bajaj’s stables, we have ‘The Fastest Indian’ Pulsar N250. With equipment like Showa USD forks, slipper clutch and Honda’s pricing strategy in India, it’s not a stretch to imagine the high price tag that 2022 CB250R would’ve borne. More