Bike News

Simple Energy had launched their first electric scooter last year, called Simple One – Deliveries are yet to startSimple One Electric ScooterIndia has witnessed a lot of EV manufacturers in the recent past. Leading them all in retail sales for Sep 2022, we have Ola Electric. Apart from Ola, we recently witnessed Hero MotoCorp’s entry into this segment with Vida V1 series of electric scooters.We also have Ather, TVS, Bajaj, Hero Electric, Okinawa and a lot more companies. A Bengaluru-based startup called Simple Energy has launched its Simple One electric scooter in India to take on above-mentioned rivals. Simple One deliveries have not yet started.Simple Energy Trademarks New NamesSimple Energy has applied trademarks for a slew of products including Simple Two, Simple Three, Simple Four, Simple Five, Simple Six, Simple Seven, Simple Eight, Simple Nine and Simple Ten. Simple Vision, Simple Vision 25 and Simple Galaxy have also been trademarked.12 new trademarks have been applied. Most of these trademarks are still not approved. However, trademarks Simple Six, Simple Eight and Simple Nine have been accepted recently. It is not yet clear if Simple Energy is readying products in the immediate vicinity that would don these names.Simple Energy Trademarks Multiple New NamesSimple One electric scooter promises a lot of oomph. When pitted against rivals, Simple One trumps all with its largest-in-class battery and highest-in-class torque promising longest-in-class range from a single charge.Simple One gets a 3.3 kWh fixed battery as well as an optional removable 1.5 kWh battery. This innovative solution takes its total battery capacity to 4.8 kWh. Drawing juice front his battery is an electric motor making 8.5 kW of peak power and 4.5 kW of continuous power. Range is an astounding 236 km from the fixed battery and 300 km from the optional removable battery (claimed).Simple One DeliveryThe electric scooter startup has not been able to commence deliveries even in October 2022. Originally, Simple One delivery timeline was promised for July 2022. Which was postponed to September 2022. That didn’t materialise for the company and launch was postponed to October 2022.Simple Energy Trademarks Multiple New NamesThis is October 2022 and now, the delivery timeline has been pushed further to 1st quarter of 2023 (January to March). Latest postponement is attributed to various battery safety-related updates set by MoRTH (Ministry of Road Transport and Highways). These guidelines for EV manufacturers come in light of multiple EV fires that took place across the country. Simple One rivals Ola S1 Pro, TVS iQube, Bajaj Chetak, Hero Vida V1 Pro, Ather 450X and the likes. More

Top 10 two wheeler sales in September 2022 grew marginally; Hero Splendor maintain lead as bestselling motorcycleTVS ApacheCumulative wholesales for Top 10 Two Wheelers Sep 2022 grew marginally. At 2.57 percent growth, sales were up at 11,73,214 units from 11,43,810 units. Volume gain stood at 29.4k units.Yet again Hero Splendor stood atop the sales chart at 2,90,649 units. At 4.82 percent growth, up from 2,77,296 units, volume gain stood at 13,353 units. Given the sheer volume of Splendor sales, the model accounted for almost a quarter of all sales in the top 10 list.Two Wheeler Sales Sep 2022Splendor is closely followed by its one true nemesis, the evergreen Honda Activa. While motorcycles dominate the sales chart, Activa has broken through such cliches and established itself as a top two-wheeler choice, generation after generation. In fact, its sale potential is so high, it’s the only 2W that has on occasion outsold Splendor.Honda Activa sales last month barely gained at 2,45,607 units, up from 2,45,352 units. Volume gain stood at 255 units. The most sold scooter’s market share at the top of the order stood at about 21 percent.Top 10 Two Wheelers Sep 2022Honda CB Shine further helps strengthen the manufacturer’s strong position in the marketplace. CB Shine motorcycle sales were up marginally at 2 percent. Sales stood at 1,45,193 units up from 1,42,386 units at volume gain of 2.8k units.Bajaj Pulsar sales visibly improved. In fact, its gain is the highest in the top order. This however is on account of YoY low base sales. Pulsar wholesales in September 2022 stood at 1,05,003 units, up from 57,974 units. Volume gain stood at 47,029 units at 81.12 percent growth. Hero HF Deluxe sales fell by 30.43 percent. Volume loss stood at almost 41k units as sales fell to 93,596 units from 1,34,539 units.Jupiter, Apache, Access salesTVS Jupiter scooter is the brand’s bestseller these days. Its sales are stronger than the Apache series as well as XL 100, which at one time was the undisputed sales topper for TVS. Jupiter sales grew handsomely at 46.25 percent, up at 82,394 units from 56,339 units. Volume gain stood at 26k units.Top 10 2WheelersSep-22Sep-21Growth % YoY1. Hero Splendor2,90,6492,77,2964.822. Honda Activa2,45,6072,45,3520.103. Honda CB Shine1,45,1931,42,3861.974. Bajaj Pulsar1,05,00357,97481.125. Hero HF Deluxe93,5961,34,539-30.436. TVS Jupiter82,39456,33946.257. Bajaj Platina73,35482,559-11.158. TVS XL 10047,61361,664-22.799. Suzuki Access46,85145,0404.0210. TVS Apache42,95440,6615.64Total11,73,21411,43,8102.57Bajaj Platina sales fell 11 percent. Down at 73,354 units from 82,559 units, volume loss stood at 9.2k units. TVS XL100 sales are down at 47,613 units from 61,664 units. Volume loss stood at 14k units at 22.79 percent decline.Suzuki Access is the brand’s lone representative in the top order. Its success in recent months has seen Suzuki 2W sales go from strength to strength. Wholesales grew marginally at 46,851 units, up from 45,040 units. Volume gain is reported at 1,811 units at 4 percent growth. TVS Apache sales were just shy of 43k units, up from 40,661 units. Volume gain stood at 2,293 units at 5.64 percent growth. More

Priced at Rs. 1.19 lakh, Keeway SR125 seems to justify its price, when taking into account all the extra goodies it brings to the tableImage – Bike Point By Mintu&RahulAs part of Keeway’s 8 motorcycles launch strategy in India, we got SR125. As a final installment, Keeway SR250 launch is likely to happen sometime in the near future. SR125 was previously predicted to be priced at a premium end of 125cc spectrum. At Rs. 1.19 lakh (ex-sh) it is at the pricey end of 125cc motorcycle spectrum, but not as pricey in comparison.We have TVS Raider and Bajaj Pulsar NS125 which could be termed as premium 125cc commuters. They are priced slightly more than regular 125cc commuters and come with their own charm. Speaking of charm, Keeway SR125 has loads of it and at Rs. 1.19 lakh, one can even say that it is justifiable. Let’s take a closer look.Keeway SR125 Vs Premium 125cc CommutersLooks are subjective. In this case, Pulsar NS125 comes off as a sporty product owing to its NS200’s body. It is the most muscular of this lot. Raider 125 also has some muscles to flex and has a unique design. Keeway SR125 looks the most charming as it pays tribute to motorcycles of yesteryear.Raider 125 is the only one to get oil cooling, even though it doesn’t fall into sight immediately. SR125 and NS125 only get air cooling. All three motorcycles get a 5-speed gearbox coupled with their engines. Speaking of, NS125 leads this comparo with 11.6 bhp at 8,500 RPM. Followed by 11.2 bhp at 7,500 RPM by Raider 125 and lastly, we have Keeway SR125 with 9.56 bhp at 9,000 RPM.Keeway SR125 Vs RivalsTorque is 11.2 Nm at 6,000 RPM on Raider 125 followed by 11 Nm at 7,000 RPM of NS125 and lastly, 8.2 Nm at 7,500 RPM on SR125. Keeway’s commuter makes lowest power and lowest torque at a higher rev range as opposed to its rivals. Raider strikes the best balance in this aspect. Keeway is lightest at 120 kg followed by 123 kg on TVS and NS125 weighs fricking 144 kg.Despite its weight advantage, Keeway is less likely to be very peppy owing to its fatter 110/70-17 front and 130/70-17 rubber at the rear. Fatter tyres look good but increase the contact patch. Coupled with least performance at a high rev range, SR125 doesn’t seem to be appealing on paper. Both Raider and NS125 come with 80/100-17 at front and 100/90-17 at the rear.Features & PricingKeeway SR125 gets spoke wheels coupled with tube tyres while the other two get alloy wheels with tubeless tyres. Owing to its platform sharing with NS200, NS125 has the longest wheelbase. Ground clearance is the highest with Raider 125. Keeway strikes back with a 14.5L fuel tank which is the highest in the segment and maybe even a segment above.As opposed to a rear disc brake offered by Keeway SR125, Raider and NS only offer drum brakes. All three offer front disc brakes (optional with Raider). Keeway offers the largest in-segment 300mm disc at front and 210 mm disc at the rear. Owing to its old-school appeal, SR125 gets rear dual shockers as opposed to monoshock units on others.NS125 comes off as dated, credit to its halogen headlight and analog/digital instrumentation. Both SR125 and Raider offer LED headlights and the former even offers LED blinkers as well. The only chink in Keeway’s armour might be its limited dealership network. Priced at Rs. 1.19 lakh, Keeway SR125 seems to justify its price, when taking into account all the extra goodies it brings to the table. Raider 125 starts from Rs. 90,000 and NS125 costs Rs. 1.05 lakh (all prices ex-sh). More