The performance bike industry has been doing incredibly well lately. Manufacturers have not been shy to make an entrance in India and as a result, every year we get lots of new motorbike launches that compete for a piece of the market. The performance bike standards have changed drastically in this country and local as well as foreign manufactures are pushing out a lot of high performance motorbikes at relatively affordable prices, which has made it a rather competitive space and requires a lot of thought on the manufacturers end to deliver a good product. Now while there are lower priced performance motorbikes, there are higher priced ones too, so let’s have a look at some of the sports bikes that are set to launch soon before the end of this year:
- MV Agusta Dragster800 RR: MV Agusta is an Italian performance motorbike brand that has its roots set in the race track. It is a name that purists associate with sheer performance and the brutal way in which it is delivered. The Dragster as the name suggests, won’t be any different as it’ll produce an astonishing 138bhp @13,100RPM from the relatively small 798cc engine. It is an aggressive looking Naked street motorbike with minimal flaring and a complete bad boy attitude. It is set to release this October at a whopping Rs.12 Lakhs.
- Triumph Speed Triple: Triumph is known for giving us some of the finest motorbikes currently in production. This British company has been present in this country for a while now and is all set to launch an updated version of the Speed triple motorbike, which is a track focused motorbike. It’ll be available with a 3cl 1050cc engine, producing about 150bhp @10,000RPM and will be mated to a 6 speed gearbox. It’ll have a launch price similar to the Dragster 800, but unlike the former, this is a lot more civilised.
- Benelli TRK 502:Benelli has been around the same time in India as Triumph roughly but the two of them are very different motorbike manufacturers. Benelli is mostly known for making track focused motorbikes but the TRK 502 will mark their entry into the cruiser motorbike segment. Estimated to produce about 48bhp from a 2cl 500cc engine, the TRK 502 is looking like a pretty capable and affordable Italian cruiser, estimated to be launching at around 5-6 lakhs.
- BMW G 310 GS: IF you find the RE Himalayan a bit too slow and want the BMW badge at a somewhat affordable price, you can’t get wrong with this. The BMW GS 310 is a cruiser much like the Benelli TRK 502, but costs a lot less. It has already been launched a few days ago and the initial reviews are quite positive. The 1cl 310cc engine might not be as refined as its rivals but it still manages an impressive 34bhp @9500RPM and 28nm torque.
- BMW G310R: The BMW G 310 R shares most of its components with the G310GS, but since it forgoes the whole off-road adventure cruiser thingy, it manages to be a capable daily performance bike as well as cheap, coming in at just Rs.3 lakh est. It is a naked street performance bike that aims tom compete with the Yamaha MT03 when it launches. The refinement levels are decent although Yamaha might inch out a bit because the BMW has a dry clutch system, which is a real miss.
There are lots more incoming in 2019 but this year was a brilliant from a motoring perspective with all these exciting launches.