Honda VFR 1200F - India's first sports tourer Honda VFR 1200F launch 2010

Honda VFR 1200F - India's first sports tourer Honda VFR 1200F launch in 2010
Buoyed by the overwhelming response to its top-end bikes, Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) is now gearing up to launch India’s first 'sports tourer'- VFR1200F-in the near term. Like other big bikes launched by HMSI earlier, the aforesaid one is also expected to attract a 110 per cent import duty (on CBU) and is estimated to be available in the range of Rs. 20-30 lakh.

                                             Honda VFR 1200F photo

It is to be mentioned that the Honda VFR1200F is a V4 sport touring motorcycle that was announced by Honda in 2009 and was also unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show. Its production has already commenced at its hit-tech Kumamoto factory in Japan last year and the first batch of models will be delivered in early 2010 in the European and Japanese markets. It is notable for having the first dual clutch transmission offered on a motorcycle.

N.K. Rattan, head of sales and marketing at Honda Motorcycle, told wheelsunplugged.com, “CBR1000RR Fireblade and CB1000R are Honda’s internationally recognized products. The CBR1000RR Fireblade has been crowned with “International Bike of the Year” award 2009 and ranked at top whereas the CB1000RR ranked at 2nd position. To cultivate 2-wheeler FUN market with the responsibility of safety and good service, we are opening two exclusive showrooms in Delhi & Mumbai to provide customers 4S facility that is Sales, Service, Spares & Safety under one roof. We designed showroom keeping in mind the target customer’s profile and it will provide the best of attention to our valued customers. We have already sold around 65 units of our superbikes are now planning to launch our sports tourer VFR 1200F by the end of this year.”

According to the Honda International's release, “The VFR1200F has been developed in keeping with previous VFRs; that have delivered a combination of sports and touring capabilities using the latest technologies. This motorcycle is however brand new: A clean-sheet interpretation of the ultimate road-sport machine – a concept driven by extensive understanding of customer needs and the adoption of state-of-the-art technologies.”

In pursuit of heightened levels of control and feedback, the VFR1200F adopts the latest race-track bred technologies but adapted and evolved to create a machine that can be many things to many riders. Furthermore, the new engine incorporates the single overhead camshaft distribution system called Unicam which has been already tested on Honda's offr-road machines. This compact system reduces engine size which could be placed further forward in the bike's frame while lowering its center of gravity.

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Honda to Lease electric two-wheeled Motorcycles in Japan - EV-neo

Honda Motor Co Ltd announced April 13, 2010, that it will start leasing a business-use electric two-wheeled vehicle , "EV-neo," in December 2010 in Japan and unveiled a prototype.

In 1994, the company released the "CUV ES" electric scooter in a limited number of 200. But it is equipped with a nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) rechargeable battery, and it takes as long as eight hours to fully charge the scooter, which runs 61km per charge.

The EV-neo comes with Toshiba Corp's lithium-ion (Li-ion) rechargeable battery and can be quickly charged. It runs more than 30km per charge on a flat paved road at a speed of 30km/h.

In the development of the EV-neo, Honda decreased the mass of the vehicle by reducing the battery capacity and compensated the low capacity by adding a quick charging function.

The company established Blue Energy Co Ltd with GS Yuasa Corp, a Japan-based firm that is engaged in manufacturing, sales and development of Li-ion rechargeable batteries for hybrid vehicles. But Honda employed Toshiba's battery in consideration of the concept of the electric two-wheeled vehicle and the mass production capability.

The battery employed for the EV-neo is the "SCiB," whose negative electrode material is lithium titanate and whose voltage is lower than those of commonly-used Li-ion rechargeable batteries. Honda probably decided to use it because of its rapid charging capability and high durability.

The EV-neo is classified as a motor-assisted bicycle in Japan, and the rated output of its motor is 600W or less. Honda made efforts to ensure that the vehicle has enough power to run uphill with a load of 30kg.

In fact, the company visited several firms that provide delivery services to know how they use vehicles for delivery. As a result, the EV-neo has a hill-climbing performance of 12°.

The motor was designed based on the permanent-magnet DC brushless motor used for Honda's Monpal four-wheeled welfare vehicle. And it is manufactured at the same plant where the Monpal is produced.

The voltage and rated output of the Monpal's motor are 24V and 430W, respectively. But the motor of the EV-neo probably has a higher output because it is a motor-assisted bicycle. The motor is located in the box located left to the rear wheel and driven through reduction gears.

The Li-ion battery is located under the footrest, but the EV-neo is not mounted with a battery charger. The battery capacity of the vehicle has not been disclosed.

Honda developed both a rapid charger and a normal charger for the vehicle. With the rapid charger, it takes 20 minutes to charge the battery 80% with a power supply of AC200V. And the normal charger can fully charge the battery in four hours with a power supply of AC100V.

The company said that the power consumption of the normal charger is lower than that of a microwave oven. Judging from the charging time, we estimated that its capacity is little more than 1kWh.

Honda is planning to announce the price of the EV-neo in the fall of 2010. It assumes that the sum of the lease fee and the electricity charge for use of the vehicle for three years will be equivalent to that of a gasoline-powered two-wheeled vehicle.

On the day Honda announced the EV-neo, it offered test rides of the two-wheeled vehicle and gasoline-fueled motor-assisted bicycles. When I compared the EV-neo with the Dio, which has a maximum output of 3kW and and a displacement of 49cc, I found that the EV-neo makes less noise and vibration and that its acceleration to about 30km/h is much faster because of its high torque at a low speed.

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Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS - Lightweight sports bikes of the Year 2009

The Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS has just been launched and it has already started winning awards! This year's ET-Zigwheels Bike of the Year award goes to the Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS - hats off!

Zigwheel's reaction sums up the verdict on Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS : "Jury members unanimously voted the Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS for the top honours in the bike category as it not only is a market redefining model but also a great step from an Indian bike-maker in the right direction." And that's what we think too about the Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS.

The new Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS aims to create a new market segment of lightweight sports bikes which are fast, powerful, stylish and well designed enough to give a thrilling ride as well as value for your money both on price and fuel efficiency. While other bikes by both Bajaj, like the Kawasaki Ninja 250R, Activa (new) from Honda and bikes from other manufacturing giants like the Royal-Enfield were up in competition, the Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS easily took the crown on price, looks, efficiency and potential.

The Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS's lightweight frame, excellent ergonomics, and responsive engine makes it a top consumer's choice and the seasoned jury at Zigwheels agreed fully to the people's verdict.

Like each of its awards, Zigwheel teamed up with Economic Times and extensively used both the Times media network as well as their online poll system to arrive at their decisions and 2009's award for the Bike of the Year went to Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS.

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