Big bikes cometh

In December last, Yamaha India finally headed to market mutterings and launched two of its premium bikes in India the MT01 and R1. The super sports bike R1 with its 1,000cc producing a mind-blowing 177.5 bhp @ 12,500 rpm and with a turning force of 112.7 Nm @ 10,000, 283mm disc brakes, crouched riding stance and a maximum speed of 285 kmph is a dream machine on all counts. Naturally, it caught the attention of those with a penchant for road racing.



Within months of its launch, it has inspired an exclusive R1 biking club in Bangalore, websites raving about the thrill of riding it, and video clips of R1 on Indian roads that have flooded Youtube.
The MT01 on the other hand is not a super sports bike, but like you can guess from its girth, a torque sports bike. The naked V-style 2-cylinder 1670cc engine rides on the immense torque - all 150.3 Nm of it at a mere 3,750 rpm. The 88.9 bhp @ 4,750 rpm might sound a tad less compared to the R1, but combine that with a torque and you have the puny 125cc bikes running for cover on the road.
Both the bikes tipped the price scale at Rs. 12 lakhs on road but not too many people squirmed at the price tag to have one of the best bike technology.
Interestingly, the bikes first went on sale in Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Ahmedabad (note the missing Mumbai!). Even now only 8 Yamaha dealers around the country are equipped with handling the big bikes. But more are in the pipeline, promises Yamaha.
Just when the market was still digesting these two bikes, Yamaha went a step further and launched the YZF R15 last month. Ideologically, a successor to the RD350, it combines Yamaha’s ‘Art of Engineering’ superbly to make a mere 150cc bike a dream machine.

The headlines with some of the best bikes in the world and all of them have one thing in common: they are all about the world’s most notable two-wheelers coming to India. So the next time when you see the Yamaha MT-01, it will probably be on the lane next to yours or a KTM Super Duke could speed past you at the signal.
Years of ogling at big bikes in Knight Rider or Dhoom are now over, and you could be speeding down the Western Express Highway on a Hayabusa, a-la John Abraham… if you have deep pockets. Because they are still gonna cost you a damn lot more than your regular Pulsars and Gladiators.
FIRST ON THE ROAD Scour the internet, speak to biking enthusiasts and all of them will tell you that the last good bike that Yamaha brought to India was the RX100. The RD 350 that they introduced earlier is of course, an all-time favourite big bike, comparable only to the Bullet in its fan following.