The next day morning we met up with Ravee and his friend Amul, who introduced himself as a rally driver and a hardcore car and bike enthusiast. Having owned zillions of various cars and bikes till date, Amul current rides a DN-01, the production version of the exactly similar looking concept that our team had discussed about the previous night. The same body lines, the same colour, the same everything. Even after draining out all the wine from our system, the DN-01’s facia did look similar to a shark’s face with the sharp, pointed and aggressive nose, the menacing, cold, round eyes and the smooth, sculpted surface that may actually have the drag coefficient of a fish!
The bike’s nose section extends backwards to integrate the fuel tank and air box housing. The top section of the nose protrudes to act as a wind deflector – there is no individual unit here. While the front of the bike follows this sharp design, the rest of the bike has a cubic form with the squarish cross section of the exhaust canister, the rectangular taillight assembly etc. The tubular frame forms a window on the left hand side to show off the mono-shock absorber and the ‘DN-01’ lettering on the engine casing, while on the other side of the bike, the same window in the frame is covered with a fibreglass panel to don the ‘DN-01’ monogram; weird symmetry. The DN-01 has a huge digital console under its so-called windshield and just like the rest of the bike, the console too is carried over as it is from the Tokyo Motor Show concept. Though the overall design of the bike is radical, the straight forks and the decade-old design on the Nissin callipers upfront, is a let-down.
