It seldom happens nowadays that I don’t come across a Harley-Davidson whenever I am on riding to work, and I also see a lot of them on Sundays. But while those weekend machines are generally the big ones, the daily warriors’ choice of weapon happens to be H-D Street 750, the most affordable Harley in India yet.
Before this bike was launched, one could see the Superlow and Iron 883 frequently, but it’s the Street 750 now that has taken over the mantle of the best-selling Harley in India. Last month alone H-D sold 212 units of this motorcycle and the year-to-date (April-October 2014) figure stands at 1,904, which is just a smidgen less than what Royal Enfield’s Continental GT could manage (2,035 units) in the same period.
And that’s saying a lot if one factors in the price difference between the two bikes – you could buy two GTs for the price of one Street 750 and still be left with enough cash to invest towards your riding gear. That being said, the beautiful Café Racer from RE is the best-selling motorcycle in the 500-800 cc segment and other than the Street 750, nothing else comes close.
The Street 750 found 212 buyers last month while the GT 535 occupied space in 254 garages. Keeping the GT’s price-point in view it’s interesting to note that this Royal Enfield’s year-to-date figure of 2,035 units is astoundingly better than the CBR 250R’s 784 for the same period! Of course, KTM selling 3,077 units of RC 390 and Duke 390 is in a different league altogether.
Keeping the sticker prices in mind, it can be said that Triumph managed a decent 40 units (includes all of its bikes between the 500-800cc – Daytona, Street etc) while the Ninja 650 also found 80 buyers. Hyosung has not shared the sales figures for any segment that it operates in.
This is a promising segment, for both companies and buyers alike – the former can gain volumes from it while the latter can have a realistic expectation of owning their first big bike. CKD would be a prerequisite and let’s hope that the Honda CBR650F sets a new benchmark in this aspect…
Note: Figures for Ninja listed under Bajaj as well as Kawasaki. We have clubbed both of them while reporting in this article.
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