Five really promising upcoming bikes in India 2014

That the Indian biking scene has come a long way is something that has been pretty obvious. Until little more than a decade back, the performance bike aficionados of our country had just a couple of machines to choose from. Fast forward to the current scenario, and Indian performance bike market is bustling with activity! Gone are the days when one needed to choose from the Hero Karizma, Bajaj Pulsar 220 and Yamaha YZF R15 to have his taste-buds tickled. Instead, the buyer is now spoilt for choice, with an assortment of bikes, ranging from Bajaj Pulsar 200NS to the KTM Duke 390, being officially on sale in the country. And things are looking even brighter for the bike buying lot in the near future. There are at least half a dozen upcoming bikes that promise to re-write the rules of the Indian performance bike market and needless to say, we just can’t wait to get our hands on them. Here is a list of top five bikes that should be here sooner than we all expect them to.

Top 5 upcoming bikes in India 2014

1) Bajaj Pulsar SS 200

• Engine Displacement–  200 CC
• Expected Power- 24 bhp
• Expected Torque- 19 NM
• Expected Launch- April 2014
• Expected Price- INR 1.20 lakh

Easily among the most awaited bikes of the recent times, the Bajaj Pulsar SS 200 could be launched soon after the advent of the next fiscal. The new bike, which is basically a faired version of the Bajaj Pulsar 200NS street naked, would look much like the SS 400 concept that was unveiled at the Auto Expo 2014 and would take on the likes of Yamaha YZF R15 and Hero ZMR facelift. Expected to come with segment leading power figures, the bike might very well prove to be a game changer of sorts in its segment.

Hero HX250R

• Engine Displacement- 250 CC
• Max Power- 31 PS
• Peak Torque- 26 Nm
• Expected Launch- October 2014
• Expected Price- INR 1.6 lakhs

Unveiled earlier this year, the Hero HX250R promises to be the next big thing from the world’s largest selling bike maker. For the development of the new Hero HX250R, Hero MotoCorp claims to have worked in close ties with EBR (Eric Buell Racing) and the bike’s specifications alone make us want to believe the manufacturer. To be the biggest production bike from Hero ever, we’ve got a feeling that the HX could very well become the spiritual successor to the original Hero Karizma.

Hyosung GD250N

• Engine Displacement- 250 CC
• Engine Power- 28 bhp
• Engine Torque- 24 Nm
• Launch- April 2014
• Expected Price- INR 1.9 lakhs

The Hyosung GD250N is a really tasty looking street naked that, in all probability, would be launched sometime next month. Expected to come for a price of close to INR 2 lakhs, the GD250N won’t exactly be cheap. However, its stylish body work, along with decent performance figures, should make it a worthy rival to some of the established models out there.

KTM RC390

• Engine Displacement- 375 CC
• Expected Power- 45 bhp
• Expected Torque- 35 NM
• Expected Launch- June 2014
• Expected Price- INR 2.2 lakhs

Expected to come in summers this year, the new KTM RC390 is basically a sportier version of the already ferocious KTM 390 Duke. Powered by a re-tuned version of the KTM 390 Duke’s single cylinder engine, the RC390 would come with a slightly higher max power and a different torque curve. Quite obviously, the bike would have sportier ergonomics and the windscreen would ensure decent wind-protection. Going by 390 Duke’s pricing, the RC sibling would come to us at an attractive price point. With a really competitive price tag, scintillating performance, stylish bodywork and Bajaj-KTM after sales support, the KTM RC390 ticks almost all the boxes in our check-list! Really can’t wait for this one.

KTM RC200

•     Engine Displacement- 200 CC
•     Expected Power- 27 bhp
•     Expected Torque- 19 NM
•     Expected Launch- June 2014
•     Expected Price- INR 1.6 lakhs

Expected to come soon after the bigger RC390, the KTM RC200 will be a faired and sportier sibling of the 200 Duke. The KTM RC200 will become a direct rival to the Honda CBR250R and might even lock horns with the Yamaha YZF R25 in future. Another promising motorcycle that will be priced far below the INR 2 lakhs mark.