Original Source: Hero CBZ Xtreme Ownership Review by Lakshman from BikeAdvice.in

Hi Everyone! This is my first ever review of a bike in a website. I am a regular reader of BikeAdvice.in so I have decided to publish it here. When I was in under graduation of 2nd year my dad promised me to buy a bike but it was like stars in the morning my dad failed to make promise full fill but after my graduation has completed and when I was out of station my dad called and asked me what’s your favorite bike without any hesitation I said hero CBZ Xtreme he said ok and there was no words again about the bike again my dad called after 9 days and asked me when are you returning I said 1st oct 2011 he said ok come without fail I said ok but I did not know that my dad was making a bike surprise party for me (Love you DAD & MOM).

Its 1st oct 2011 I reached my home town Hyderabad and it was as usual on 2nd oct but 3rd oct was a heavy surprise it was around 9 am in the morning my mom woke me up and said someone has come for you I went out and was surprised to see the bike in the Rain covered with a rexine cover I could not believe my eyes and I was in heaven I thanked my mom and dad for the surprise and had my bath and took the bike to the temple and made pooja.

Coming Straight Away to the Comparison of Old and New CBZ Xtreme

• New digital – Analog combo meter console
• All secure ignition switch with key shutter

During Day Time

During Night Time

• Diamond lustre headlight

During day

During Night

• Anti drag fuel tank.

• 5 spoke wheels & front and rear disc brakes.

• Prism shell LED tail lamp

During Day

During Night

• Rear shocks with GRS

Engine and Performance

As the same old engine this new beast also has a heart (Engine) of 149.2 cc which can produce Max Power 10.6 kW (14.4 PO@ 8500 rpm) Max Torque 12.80 N m @ 6500 rpm. It has got Carburettor of CV type with carburetor controlled variable ignition. No kick start if we want we can make it for 4000 extra as now a days no one requires it still its good to have but company fitted is best so I dint fix one for mine. In the place of kick we got a new AMI – Advanced Microprocessor Ignition System for starting bike which is worth a good technology.

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Transmission & Chassis

• Cluch : Multiplate wet
• Gear box : 5 Speed constant mesh
• Chassis Type : Tabular, diamond type

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Suspension

• Front : Telescopic hydraulic type.
• Rear : Rectuglar swing arm with 5 step adjustab gas reservior suspension which is very good step taken by hero by fitting GRS for the rear suspension.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Coming to my review on engine I drove just 400 kms in which one was a small tour of 110 kms. I felt no vibrations when I drove my bike at a speed of 90 (Which I broke the rule of company just to check out engines stability). I drove on raw roads thanks to rear grs suspension and tubeless tires (filled with nitrogen air as most recommended).

I got over all mileage of 43-45 (under mixed conditions) before my first service. Once my 1st service is done I will re update about the proper mileage, since there is no change in engine I may get around 50- 53 as all the cbz old costumers are getting. I am happy with the mileage. I have tested the company add of 0-60kms in 5 sec approx under my testing conditions I got on to 0-60in 11 sec since I weight 93 my bike was not able to reach.

Thanks to hero for understanding young ster needs and made the seat split in to two and made us feel like moving in air. I was able to drive in 4 gear at a speed of 20 with no engine knockings on flat road but in first gear I wen I tried to reach high speeds the engine made lot of sound. I tried cornering It was stable thanks to anti drag fuel tank. Least but not the last the new tag line ‘Live Off The Edge’ suits it a lot.

Over all performance of the bike is very very good I give a rating of 4.6 / 5 and I am very happy and proud to have CBZ Xtreme (SAM – My bike name which I call it and make my friends call it since bike has got a heart in the form of Engine). On road price in Hyderabad is 78400 since my dad has got some friends he got it for 76000 it’s a gift from my parents and will maintain it as gift through out my life.

Regards,
Lakshman

Original Source: Honda CBR250R Ownership Review by Diwa from BikeAdvice.in

I never thought I will also end up writing this. But I am not ashamed to put some time towards writing about my bike as it would help at least one person to decide upon owning this mean machine. I would say my passion towards biking and my love towards my Baby Fireblade made me write this. This is not a review in my opinion; rather it is my observation on my baby.

To start with, I am Diwagar 28 yr. Old SW Engineer living in Bangalore. From my childhood I dreamt of owning a bike but I never got a chance to own one until I get my first ride from my own earnings. It was 2007 I finally decided to get a new bike (preferably 100 -125CC), but had multiple choices. I personally didn’t like Bajaj & TVS products for its refinement and reliability (No offence taken).

I ended with Honda, Hero Honda and Yamaha. I decided to go for Hero Honda Passion Plus with optional Disc brake in front. But unfortunately I didn’t get one with Disc anywhere which left me to choose something else (Later I realized, it wasn’t unfortunate). I didn’t get convinced with any bike without a front disc. So I landed in 125-150CC mill and finally decided to get Hero Honda CBZ Xtreme.

I would like to thank my friend Nizam who deliberately wanted me to go for 150CC or more after seeing my passion towards biking. I went to the showroom and booked the bike without even taking a test drive, having trust on Hero Honda’s reliability, and of course the name ‘CBZ’. It was 31 Mar 2007 I got my first ride and I was with me for 4 years until I sold it to give way for my new baby.

It got a huge impact in my life towards biking. It brought the true biker in me out. Topped 120+ Kmph several times, made multiple long drives (from Bangalore) to Mysore, Salem, Chennai, and Madurai. It never let me down. Even after riding it for more than 33K Kms and owning it for about 4 years I never thought of upgrading it until I came across the legend.

As I keep going to blogs, I came across news about Honda CBR250R launch which was yet to happen worldwide and to my wonder in India too. I would say it was Love at first sight. I was totally obsessed by its beauty. Wow I never saw such an attractive bike which is affordable. I know many of you reading this article won’t agree with me in this regards, still looks are dominated by one’s individual taste.

I started digging more about the beauty. 26 Bhp power (Indian version degraded to 25 Bhp compromised for mileage), 22+Nm torque liquid cooled engine with fuel Injector, fatter rubbers. Can I expect anything more in a bike for this price, that too from Honda?

Days passed, I started thinking about upgrading my ride, meanwhile I learnt more about the bike and it was announced officially and in India Honda started taking pre-bookings. Few more days passed, finally I decide, Yes am going for this baby, I immediately went to the showroom along with my roomie and made a pre-booking for ABS version as I already knew about ABS technology.

Like everyone out there it was one of the toughest parts of life when I was waiting for delivery of my bike. Meanwhile I sold my Xtreme and waiting for this bike with fervent. As everyone I used to call the dealer once in a week to check if they got my ride. It was very frustrating the way Honda responded. They didn’t have any deadline for my bike delivery and no one took responsibility to answer.

Finally after 4 months of long wait I got an unexpected call on 25th June when I was in office saying they got one Black ABS model on that day’s lot. I was literally flying to see it in flesh. I returned home early, and made quick arrangement for cash that day and finally the next day me and my friend went to pay the remaining cash. We opened the entrance gate of the showroom and astounded for a moment.

A Repsol edition FireBlade was in the central display welcoming us. For few seconds I forgot my baby FireBlade seeing the massive machine. After few mins of observation we moved on. Saw 3 different coloured CBR 250R’s on a side, couple of people staring them. I had a big smile after seeing my baby. Wow, what a beauty. I didn’t expect someone to tell me that “Sir, this is your bike”.

I knew it. No gimmicks, It was the only black Honda CBR250R that too ABS version. It was not cleaned that time. Still I saw the inside beauty. Paid all amount, finished all formalities and left it there itself for registration. But I was not happy to leave it there after seeing it. It was Sunday the next day, so registration got postponed and on 28th June I got a call saying, my bike is ready for delivery.

It was morning when I got the call and I was in my office. Oh no it was the longest hours I had in my office. Finally in evening I got back home, picked up my friend again and went to the showroom. Oh man it was real beauty this time, cleaned and polished. I did all regular checkups and looked for scratches and ready for delivery.

The mechanic was trying to explain me about the bike and functionality of parts. I interrupted and told him “Boss I know everything about this bike, please get it out to the road, I don’t have patience anymore”. He got it out and now my baby is in my hand. What a beauty and what a pleasure to sit on it. Every onlooker’s eyes were on my bike.

I was in a dream land. Brought the engine to life for the first time after I got it. What a grunt. It was pleasing to my ears, engaged to first gear and started to move it slowly for the first time. It was a different and pleasing experience to me though riding two wheelers is nothing new to me. I returned home and in the same night I removed the saree guard with the help of some roadside mechanic.

Oh bad, the worst ever engineering in a bike I will say. An ugly piece of metal not in line with the bike. It was protruding out as it went down. Also I noticed there is no ladies footrest to use along with guard. I was wondering what this piece of crap is for then. It looked really much more beautiful after removing it.

Does anyone bother to have sareegurad in a sports bike like this?

It was again tough time to do run-in when u have so much power left under your belly. Honda doesn’t mention to limit Rpm, instead they advise only to take it to higher rev gently until 500KMs. Now am past 1.6K Kms. I did a single long drive Bangalore – Salem – Bangalore covering about 450Kms. Let me summarize my observation on this mean machine.

Looks

I know it is about one’s personal preference. I love it. Am 5.6 feet and lean. My friends told me that, Honda CBR250R suits me well and doesn’t look bulky. I love the layered fairing when compared to the fairing of Ninja/ZMR. Headlight looks terrific with beautiful headlights and 2 park lights making a “Y” shape design from the front and one can easily notice the sleekness of the bike though it is 250CC mill with full front fairing.

I saw many complain about the number plate positioning in the bike. I ask only one question to all of them. “Guys, do you have a better position to fix the number plate in front neatly which abides Indian Law?” I see few doing sticker work of the number in the front fender. In my personal opinion it doesn’t look nice as it condenses the beauty of the fender area and does it abide our law? I thought of doing arrangement like how it is made in Ninja 250R (mounted to RVMs) but that too will not look better.

From rear, ya quick look at the tail lamp resembles old Hero Honda Hunk’s tail lamp, But one can differentiate both with the fatter rubber. Sit on the bike and you can feel its beauty from the sculpted tank, Best in class instruments. It looks great and quite useful. It can’t even be compared with decade old styled full Analogue console of Ninja.

One of my colleagues owns a Ninja 250R. I parked my bike right next to it and found CBR looks bit smaller in size. But very minute difference. What I love in Ninja is only the roto-petal discs. Fairing – CBR looks more attractive because of layering. Ninja’s fairing looks bare but bigger. Headlights, Ninja got twin beam, still doesn’t look as attractive as CBR’s.

Instruments – No comparison here, CBR is the winner. Seat, CBR looks nice, In Ninja I noticed the side fiber next to rear seat is huge in width, doesn’t look good. Tail Lamp- Though simple, it looks best. LED lights would have been a killer. Trust me it got a great road presence, one can see lot of onlookers turning their head towards you when you pass on in a CBR. Also more than 100 of them have enquired me about the bike in signals and parking.

Performance

All of you should know about the tech spec of the Honda CBR250R, if not you can get it from official Honda site. It got wonderful pickup, and as the tech specification reads its torque matters a lot when it comes to city traffic. I live in Bangalore and you guys should know about the traffic here. I could easily pull up the bike from traffic in the middle of a gear.

Also When I start from any signal, always I will be in the front leaving every other Indian made bike behind by a huge margin. I never had a head on with Ninja 250R, but do that matter when you get more than 95% of its pickup (as per tech specification) in half of its price? Also if you shed about 2L in total you will get C-ABS version, where in for Ninja you need to pay 3L+ for non-ABS version.

Come on guys if you want that much more power, get a CBR and do modification which in total will cost much less and yield great performance. I reached 148KMPH top speed as of now and when I reached this speed I had few more power left unused. I had to reduce due to traffic in the highway I rode. It didn’t take too long to reach top end.

I weigh less than 60KG FYI. My cousin brother weighs about 70KG and he touched 156 Kmph top end. Pulling heavy riders won’t be a hindrance for CBR. Engine always got a low grunting and I feel this is must to get sporty feel, it is not noisy though. But don’t expect a butter smooth engine as u always find in low powered Honda engines.

This is not a problem at all; instead it is designed that way. Fuel injector does its job well. Never felt clogging anytime even for a second. Honda has set auto-choke at every start, so cold start is not an issue with this machine. Because of auto-choking you need to wait for about 5-10 seconds for the choke to get released after mild warm-up of the engine.

Control & Safety

To start with I own ABS version. When I was doing 148 Kmph, not even a second I had a doubt about the control, engine was growling nice (not too blaring), it was adequate. Rubbers are good enough to control the bike with full confidence (Continental ContiGo). If you take a drive for short one might feel lack of grip to the tarmac. But it is good, and it gets better and better as it heats up.

It sticks much well after a short run-in. And in wet condition, it really jolts me. I even had a thought whether this is a Wet road rubber! Such a great grip in wet roads, I did up to 140 Kmph in wet in heavy rain, great grip to the road, and of course ABS helped me gain the trust to reach this speed in wet. People say if you have ABS you will lose fun. YES you can’t do stunts when you have ABS on.

In CBR there is no such option to turn off ABS as in RTR. According to me it is right, when you pay about 30-35K extra for a safety feature, why do you need option to turn the feature off? Doesn’t that make any sense? Breaking is precise and C-ABS makes it BEST. Honda provides Nissin brakes for C-ABS version with 3 pot caliper in front and single pot caliper in rear, For standard model you will get Bybre (Indian subsidiary of Brembo brakes) Dual pot caliper in front and single pot in rear.

The extra piston in C-ABS is for the Combined system, which will get activated when rear brake is applied. Many of you may argue saying it is fun to do stunts and people like me won’t understand. I understand what such guys think, but according to me it is my hard earned money, I don’t want to spoil my life/bike, many will do that when money comes from their DAD’s pocket, Few do that from their hard earned money too. It is finally one’s personal wish.

I am having fun too. Driving fast, but am safe too. My bike is 100% under my control; I can do emergency braking in both dry and wet condition. First, I want my life then only I can have fun. Risking life for fun is stupidity, as you might lose the fun once for all. I recommend C-ABS for any who choose CBR. It is really worth for its price. Few might argue that “am perfect in braking why I need to spend such a huge amount”.

Remember something, no one is perfect in this world, you can never be on par with a computer controlled mechanism acting about 10-15 times per second. The more speed you go, even milliseconds matter while braking. When you can spend 170K on a machine to have fun, why not 30K more for your precious life? Everyone say “wear helmet. Ride safe”. But unless you got a helmet which really protects you, it is waste wearing one.

What I mean hear is always use a full face helmet. If you can’t pay more for a reputed brand, get a decent, good quality helmet with ISI embedded in it. If you look at the pictures I posted, my helmet will look like a motocross helmet with full face cover. This is best looking according to me. But it got its own drawbacks. It is prone to turn your head sideways if crosswind is more. Also while tucking in for racing posture it hampers the vision. So a simple full face helmet without the top plastic fender would be the great choice for this bike, for looks, safety as well as comfort.

Comfort

I am 5’6” tall and it is much comfortable for me. I feel the sporty posture, still not leaning much which may lead to back pain. But my roomie is 5’10” and he feels he has to bend more to reach the handles. He owns a Classic 350. Am not sure the erect position of that bull made him feel so. So Tall riders, please have a check on this part before booking one.

But a 250CC bike should be felt like that in my personal opinion. There is enough cushioning in the seat, far better than many bikes out there in the market. I never felt the need of taking a break during long drive. I did take break for a cup of coffee and not to give rest to me or my machine because the coolant which is circulated really reduces this pain.

Economy

Here comes the most important factor of the observation. It started with 16Kmpl and it gradually increasing. Now it looks like it got saturated. The final recorded mileage is 30Kmpl. I take the bike daily to 3 digit speed, as my office is located in outer ring road; Do a quick pull from signals. I do speed but not a rough drive. So if you are not going to take the bike as hard as me, you should be getting 30+ Kmpl depending on your driving style. Obviously you can’t expect more from a performance machine. I am happy getting 30Kmpl for my driving style.

Short Comings

• Front mud flap is tiny and in rainy season it gathers more mud into the radiator grill and in our shoes too.
• Horn is so feeble, it does sound as if it is for a 100CC scooter.
• Front fender transparent plastic is very light and prone to vibration even in bit higher revs (but doesn’t make any rattling noise till now).
• Though it looks beautiful, the tail lamp assembly resembles Hero Honda Hunk. At least a LED tail lamp would look better.
• Helmet holder really sucks, almost unusable as it is under the rear seat.
• Storage space is very puny. But adequate to keep standard tool kit and few documents and a small piece of cloth.

Conclusion

If you ask me “can I get a CBR?” My answer to you is a big “NO”, Because if you know about bikes and if you love bikes, you won’t be asking me this silly question. Instead you would have booked one by now. Please don’t buy this machine if you are just looking as a commuter. This won’t satisfy your requirement of mileage or leisured posture. This machine is for guys who know what biking is all about.

Honda really didn’t let me down in anyways other than the delivery delay, in particular this Baby Ceeber. Even am very much satisfied by the service done by the Honda engineers, they did use original oil filter while changing and used full synthetic oil as per the recommendation in the manual. Go for it if you want all in one package. This is not just economical, it is best in class.

Adding another cylinder and extracting a bit more juice doesn’t make Ninja excel this excellent piece of engineering. To be frank, even if Ninja is made in India and if it is available in same price bracket, my vote is still for CBR. Also guys please don’t compare this with R15 as it is entirely a different piece designed for a different purpose. After all it is just 150CC mill. Would you see it to be fair comparing CBR 250R with the FireBlade?

Hope I didn’t bore you guys much. This is my first ever blog, So please excuse if you don’t like it. Please leave your comments below. You could also ask me anything which you might want to ask about my Baby. Thanks for reading and enjoy your ride as much as you can, but well within your safety limits.

Regards,
Diwa

Original Source: Hero MotoCorp’s Maestro – Preview from BikeAdvice.in

Greetings! A couple of days ago we at Bike Advice informed you that Hero MotoCorp (formerly Hero Honda) have unveiled their brand identity at London in a lavish ceremony. In the brand unveiling ceremony Hero MotoCorp unveiled their 150cc bike Impulse and a 110cc scooter Maestro. These two vehicles together are going to constitute first roll outs from the new born Hero MotoCorp. A couple of days ago we rolled out a post about Impulse and now let’s look in to the specifications and features of the 110cc scooter Maestro.

Hero MotoCorp introduced Maestro to try and capture the moped markets as well. The scooter was unveiled at the ceremony by Irfan pathan. As far as the looks of this new scooter goes, its trapezoidal headlamp with a equally good looking visor gives the scooter a perfect look. The scooter is fitted with 110 cc engine that is able to generate enough power up to 8Bhp with an expected torque of 8.5 Nm.

The scooter also showcases a advanced V-Matic engine and Advanced Microprocessor Ignition (AMI) with TCIS. The new scooter from Hero has got the looks, the technology and a world class brand backing it up. The scooty also sports a digital analog sort of a console with a “Service Due” indicator that lets the owner know when the service is due. Not only the scooty is high on technology but also sports additional features like combi-brake system, magnetic head ignition key with shutter and tuff up tubes that gives the moped much required stability and handling capabilities.

The Hero Maestro will be available in 6 different shades viz. Panther Black med, Pearl Fadeless White, Force Silver Met, pearl Harvest Green, Candy Blazing Red and Maestro Blue Met. News also has it that this scooter along with bike Impulse is going to come to Indian markets anytime later this year and thus their prices will be unveiled once all arrangements are made by the company to launch these vehicles in India. All in all, the scooter looks cool and kind off attractive but we cannot judge anything until the moped makes its way to India. So let us all wait and see if Hero delivers what it has promised.

Original Source: Hero MotoCorp Impulse Preview from BikeAdvice.in

Greetings! As you might know that Hero MotoCorp (formerly known as Hero Honda) has unveiled its brand identity and new dirt bike called the Impulse at London, we thought of bringing in the in depth details of this dirt bike. You might be surprised by the fact that Hero’s Impulse is the derivative of Honda’s NXR 150 Bros.

There is no official announcement regarding the technical details and the features of this new bike as of now but we have compiled some technical stats for our readers from various sources. So here are the most expected technicalities of the Impulse; the bike will sport a 149.2 cc OHC, single cylinder, 4 stroke air cooled engine with a capacity to produce a max power of 13.8 hp@ 8000rpm and 13.6 Nm of torque @ 6000rpm.

Also the bike sports a five speed transmission system with a 12 liter fuel tank with a reserve capacity of 2.3 liters. Also the bike sports telescopic fork front suspension and a monoshock rear suspension. Other specs of the bike include the weight at 119.1 kgs and wheelbase of 135mm.

The bike was unveiled by the company in a humongous ceremony with Ranbir Kapoor being the brand ambassador. Some of the other features of the bike include gas charged nitrox rear suspension, higher ground clearance, smoother handling, large diameter wheels and Hero’s promise of the optimum performance. Hero is very happy to have unveiled this new bike though there has not been a word on the price of this bike.

Apart from the features mentioned above other misc. things that are worth taking a note are; a high mount exhaust muffler, raised fenders and the sporty adventurous look of the bike. The instrument panel comes with service due indicator, clock and fuel gauge that’s adds to the glam part of the bike.

Also the bike will be available in many colors viz. Black, Blue Metallic, Sports Red, Leaf Green Metallic and Vibrant orange. All in all, the company is trying very hard to establish their feet in the market after the exit of Honda. We will have to wait and see if Hero succeeds to make a mark with their new bike.

Original Source: Hero MotoCorp Unveils their Logo, Dirt Bike (Hero Impulse) and Scooter in London from BikeAdvice.in

Greetings! The world of automobiles changes in a fraction of second as every other day there is new news. The piece of news about Hero that we are going to discuss in this news post is probably the one on charts because we recently rolled out a article on a Hero MotoCorp’s new spied dirt bike.  Hero Honda who is now Hero MotoCorp has unveiled its new brand identity in London.  The company not only introduced the world to their new brand identity but also to the dirt bike that was spied a few days back.

Hero MotoCorp unveiled their new logo and the dirt bike in presence of stars like Ranbir Kapoor, SRK and Akon. Well with this act of unveiling their brand to the world in presence of different national and international starts confirms that Hero MotoCorp is eyeing for a long term growth in the markets it is planning to enter.  Hero group not only unveiled their new logo and the bike but also a scooter specially targeted at male consumers because of its masculine look.

Hero’s new logo has the word Hero In it with Capital H and rest letters being in lower case. Also the company has used red and black colors over white background for their logo which may in some cases remind you of the earlier logo of Hero Honda. Apart from the word Hero written in simple plain language, the logo forms a triangular kind of a formation that looks like an ‘H’ and it also gives the logo kind off a 3-D look.  All in all the logo of the company looks good and we hope that it adds to the fortune of the company.

Apart from the logo, Hero has signed Ranbir Kapoor as their brand ambassador may be because he represents youth and this is a new start for the company. Also Mr. A.R Rahman has composed a new brand anthem for the company to mark their new start without their Japanese partner Honda.  Well as far as the expectations of the company go, they expect to bag in 1 crore unit sales per annum, of which 10% are presumed as exports.  All in all, the new brand identity, the bike and the scooter were unveiled by Hero MotoCorp in London and the ceremony looked great.  We will have to wait and see if Hero, with their new aspirations and hopes, is able to sustain in the market or not.

Original Source: Hero Pays 811 Crore Tax On Honda Stake Buyout from BikeAdvice.in

Greetings! The Hero Honda and Honda breakup story is probably one of the longest breakup stories in the history of joint ventures breakups because every day or the other there are some latest developments taking place. We at Bike Advice have always been trying to track every bit of developments taking place with the break up. As per the recent news, the BM- Munjal promoted Hero Group has reportedly paid as much as Rs.811 crores as capital gains tax for buying out their ex partner Honda from the joint venture completely.

According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes spokesperson, Hero Group has paid this huge sum of 811 crores inn two installments of 100 and 711 crores respectively, totaling 811 crores. Hero Group has paid this tax at the highest rate of 22%, CBDT spokesperson added. All in all, Hero Group has kind off cleared every other formality as regards the joint venture break up so much so that they can now freely start their own brand building and promotion. Hero Group has already moved from Honda in more ways than one i.e. by trying to build their own brand image, conquering global markets and building plants abroad so that they can take advantage of low production costs and localize production.

In December last year, the B.M Munjal Group has agreed to buy out the 26% stake of Honda in Hero Honda for 3,841.83 crores. With this the most successful Indian partnership between Hero and Honda ended. With Hero paying such huge amount of taxes in the form of capital gains makes it clear to us that they are on their way for something big. We will have to wait and see if there are any more developments left in the Hero and Honda breakup.

Original Source: Hero Group Looking for Design and Engineering Experts from BikeAdvice.in

Greetings! There are a lot of things going around in the motorcycle market from the launch of new bikes to the break of successful joint ventures. When it comes to break up in context of the two wheeler market, the first thing coming to everybody’s mind is the Hero Honda joint venture menace.

Hero Honda pulled their ways apart somewhere last year and since then both the companies are only working on building their own brands and revenues. We at Bike Advice are continuously involved in tracking down the story for our readers. As per the latest development in the story, Hero MotoCorp (also known as Hero Honda till they receive the certificate of incorporation) is looking for engineering and design experts in order to develop technology base so that they can retain their top spot in the industry post its separation from Honda .

Though there is a clause in the memorandum of understanding between Hero and Honda that the latter can actually provide technical support to Hero till the end of 2014, Hero group feels like they have to be self dependent so that the company ‘s fate is not ruined after 2014. Thus the company is taking all the mandatory steps in order to build their brand and protect it. Mr. Ravi Sud, CFO of Hero group said that technology tie ups are brain storming and also a long term process. He said that the company is exploring various avenues and is looking for various tie ups and contracts with foreign firms for engines, transmission and design capabilities. It is clear that Hero is evolving its own technology and trying to produce new bikes on their own without being dependent on any other outsider.

Mr. Sud also said that the companies like Recardo and AVL from UK and Austria are good in engines and for design it would be Europe or Japan. Although he mentioned names of few companies, he did not clarify whether Hero group is in talks with them. News also has it that the company is also looking to hire engineering experts to strengthen their R&D. All in all, Hero group is all set to make their mark and is looking to strengthen the areas they were lacking. We will have to wait and see if Hero can actually make it bigger on their own and roll some new models based on their own technology.

Original Source: Aggressive Indian Two Wheeler Industry Targets Africa from BikeAdvice.in

Greetings! The Indian two wheeler industry has become more aggressive over the past couple of years or so. We are day in and day out able to experience that the Indian players no longer want anyone else to rule the markets be it Japanese manufacturers or someone else.

Not many days have passed when we at BikeAdvice released a post on how is Bajaj planning to nail down the Japanese manufacturers especially Honda and Yamaha. This time around the news concerns the whole of the Indian two wheeler industry, The Indian two wheeler pros plan to wage a war on their Chinese counterparts in Africa by introducing new range of price sensitive and durable products.

This basically means that Indian makers are trying to increase their correspondent export revenues by launching price sensitive and market acceptable products in Africa. In queue to nail down Africa’s manufacturers are three Indian bike makers namely Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto and TVS. These three Indian players are planning to set up their respective plants in Africa hoping to build their exports and benefit from the vast scope Africa provides.  It is speculated that Africa sells nearly 2.5 million bikes every year and thus our Indian firms are more or less interested in Africa.

It is obvious that Chinese manufacturers who rule the African soil are going to face tough competition from the Indian players.  According to industry experts the existing firms in Africa are going to face competition in terms of product quality, customer satisfaction and revenues from the Indian firms.

Every other big bike maker is looking to target easy countries like Africa to increase their revenues and profits eight folds. Mr. Abdul Majeed, Auto Practice Lead at PWC said that the Indian two wheeler manufacturers have a gem of a chance to succeed in African markets because of their high price sensitive and customer centric products coupled with after sale services.  He was of the opinion that African rivals would no longer hold good if the Indian firms take on them.

As a matter of fact most of the bike makers have started planning for Africa like Hero MotoCorp which is planning to launch their entry level CD Dawn into the African markets to nail down their competitors there. Once this CD Dawn sets right into the African market, hero group will start rolling out as many 100cc bikes as it can.  Moreover a spokesperson from Hero Group confirmed the plans and said that the firm is looking to export and penetrate in African, Southeast Asian and South American markets.

He further said that the work was under process and the company will soon be ready for it. Also Bajaj Auto, who gets some substantial part of their revenues from exports to Africa, is looking to localize production in order to penetrate deeper and nail down the already existing manufacturers there. All in all the stage is set and Indian bike manufacturers are looking in an aggressive mood to conquer the world markets one by one. Let us wait and see how far this commitment and dedication as regards conquering markets and setting up milestones goes.

Original Source: Hero Honda Becomes Hero MotoCorp – Obtains Shareholders Approval from BikeAdvice.in

Greetings! Over the past couple weeks or so the news of Hero Honda becoming Hero MotoCorp is around the web. The news has just materialized on Friday with Hero Honda becoming Hero MotoCorp with the consent of its shareholders officially. Hero Honda Motors Ltd, the largest two wheeler company by volume has on Friday got shareholders approval to change its corporate name to Hero MotoCorp Ltd. With this new name the company is definitely looking to establish a new image for itself and its band of motorcycles.

Now that the shareholders have approved the name changes Hero Honda is looking forward to adopt the name as quickly as possible. Their approval will now be sent to the registrar for any final changes. Hero and Honda are one part of a great 27 year legacy that broke somewhere in 2010 end. The joint venture was literally a benchmark for many of the companies but it is very unfortunate that the venture between the two no longer exists.

On the contrary, Munjals have every right to use the name Hero Honda till 2014 but they are keen to experiment with the new name and establish their own markets post break up with Honda. Moreover Hero Honda has assigned the task of brand positioning and brand building to London based Wolff Olins. The company plans to export to Africa, Latin America, West Asia and South Asia.

The Hero group is keen to focus on their export strategies as now they are under no obligation that can restrict them from exporting their products to countries where Honda is present. The group has also set aside as much as Rs.100 Crores for brand building and market positioning. All in all it is clear that the company is all set to experiment with its new brand name. We will have to wait and see if this name fetches anything to Hero Honda or not.

Original Source: Hero Honda Sets up Uphill Tasks Concerning Overseas Markets from BikeAdvice.in

As I have mentioned in my last post that no day can pass without there being any news from Hero Honda or Honda, today is no exception. Hero Honda lead by the Munjal group is all set to rock overseas markets up by displaying their competencies in the markets abroad. The company is all set to set up factories and lay operational lines in the overseas markets. Hero Honda is also keen and is in the process of developing unique products for the foreign markets as well.

After the break up of Hero and Honda last year, Munjals have got a free hand and can now operate freely in the overseas markets. The group is of the opinion that overseas markets have got great potential for new products and are good in terms of revenue and brand growth. The Hero Honda group is therefore looking to take on world markets like Latin America, Africa and South East Asia. Mr. Anil Dua (Sr. VP, Marketing & Sales) said that the company is looking to grow their share in overseas markets and thus they are in the process of setting up assembly units and manufacturing plants abroad.

Hero Honda is lacking behind many of their peers as far as sales from exports are concerned, Bajaj for instance gets 30% of their revenue share from exports and Hero Honda got only 2% last fiscal. Dua also said that the company has got drastic expansion plans to increase their brand value and revenue share. Hero Honda is looking to widen up their operations overseas just to reduce the dependence on domestic markets. It is also evident that company is looking to create its unique brand identity and as a result the company is changing its name to Hero MotoCorp Ltd from present Hero Honda Motors Ltd.

Speaking on the long term prospects Mr. Dua said that the company is looking to set up manufacturing facilities across the globe. He also said that the company is in process of evaluating various overseas markets based on which they will decide whether to export products from India or to set up separate facilities in those countries. He lastly said that the company will have to also look to produce new products for new markets apart from importing the products from India. All in all, the company is studying overseas markets and wants to take on its peers in terms of exports and global revenues.