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SPORT: 2012 MOTOGP TEAMS 1 HOW TO RIDE A MOTOGP 1000

DUCATI

PUBLISHING

FEATURE40 YEARS

OF DUCATIL-TWIN

SHOOTOUTKTM 200 DUKE vs HONDA CBR 250R

TRAVELOGUES1 ROYAL ENFIELD IN RAJASTHAN1 HONDA CBR 250R IN NORTH-EAST

PUBLISHING

WWW.BIKEINDIA.INVOLUME 7 ISSUE 009 APRIL 2012

PANIGALE1199

WE EXPERIENCE IT

ITALIAN EXOTICATAKEN UP A NOTCH

SEXCLUSIVE!COLIN EDWARD’S

AUTOGRAPHED POSTER

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EDITOR Aspi BhathenaASSISTANT EDITOR Sarmad KadiriCOPY EDITOR Deepak UpadhyeEDITOR AT LARGE Navroze ContractorMOTOGP EDITOR Mat OxleySENIOR CORRESPONDENT Adhish AlawaniCORRESPONDENT Ravi ChandnaniSENIOR STAFF WRITER Saeed AkhtarSTAFF WRITERS Sridhar Chari, Rommel Albuquerque, Piyush Sonsale, Gasha Alawani, Mohnish BoseART DIRECTOR Ramnath ChodankarSENIOR DESIGNER Ravi ParmarDESIGNERS Varun Kulkarni,Santosh Wadhai, Shajib ShamimSENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER Sanjay RaikarCONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS DPPIPRODUCTION EXECUTIVE Dinesh BhajnikADMIN. EXECUTIVE Roshni BulsaraCREATIVE DIRECTOR & HEAD PRODUCTIONAtul Bandekar

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARDHoshang S Billimoria, Aspi Bhathena,Navroze Contractor

PUBLISHER Marzban Jasoomani

MARKETING & SUBSCRIPTION HEAD OFFICENext Gen Publishing Ltd.Trade World, C-Wing, 2nd Floor, Kamala Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel(W), Mumbai 400013. India.Tel + 91 22 43525252 Fax + 91 22 24955394

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Printed by Marzban JasoomaniNext Gen Publishing Ltd., Trade World, C-Wing, 2nd Floor, Kamala Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel(W), Mumbai 400013.Published by Marzban JasoomaniNext Gen Publishing Ltd., Trade World, C-Wing, 2nd Floor, Kamala Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel(W), Mumbai 400013. Printed at Kala Jyothi Process Pvt. Ltd,1-1-60/5 RTCX Roads, Hyderabad - 20.Published at Next Gen Publishing Ltd., Trade World, C-Wing, 2nd Floor, Kamala Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel(W), Mumbai 400013.

EDITOR Aspi Bhathena

Member

BIKE India Magazine, 401B, Gandhi Empire,5th Floor, 2 Serene Estate, Kondhwa Road,Pune 411 040. INDIATel: +91-20-32930291 / 2 Fax: +91-20-26830465Email us at: bikeindia@nextgenpublishing.net

ASPI BHATHENAEDITOR

THE

RIGHT L

INE

10

AS THE EDITOR ALSO OF CAR INDIA I have driven a number of super cars – Ferraris and Lamborghinis, etc – on the racetracks around the world and I thought that driving these cars was very exciting. Until last month, when I rode the Ducati Panigale.

Since I stopped racing motorcycles I have been riding on the racetrack off and on, but these have mostly been25 PS toys. The last time I rode a proper motorcycle on the racetrack was in February 1999 and the bike was the Yamaha TZ 250-cc, producing90 PS . Now, exactly after 13 years, I got an opportunity to ride the Ducati Panigale on the Yas Marina F1 circuit in Abu Dhabi and the experience was just mind-boggling. Let me say that no car is capable of giving you the excitement and thrill of a motorcycle.

LET ME SAY THAT NO CAR IS CAPABLE OF GIVING YOU THE

EXCITEMENTAND THRILL OF A

MOTORCYCLEThis month we have compared the

KTM 200 Duke with the Honda CBR 250R and we must say that we were quite disappointed by the KTM, because it lacks the Honda’s refinement, ride quality and performance. The low gearing on the KTM gives a false feeling of great low down and mid-range performance compared to the Honda. However, once you compare gear-to-gear ratios of both these bikes, you can easily see that the CBR’s second gear is the same as the third gear of the KTM. Due to the short gearing the KTM feels very busy while cruising at 100 to 110 km/h, whereas, at the same speed, the CBR feels completely relaxed.

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12

CONTENTS

APRIL 2012

Bike India // April 2012 www.bikeindia.in

20Moto Guzzi California 1400 unveiled

Yamaha’s 250-cc bike coming soon

Honda CBR 150R launched

Dream Yuga waiting in the wings

Triumph to set up facility in Karnataka

Nebula Automotive launches 12 new ATVs

Ducati Panigale to make international racing debut

A look at Hero MotoCorp’s journey so far

Ducati to auction GP10 and GP11 bikes, earlier raced by Stoner and Rossi

Audi to be the new owners of Ducati?

IGNITION

8 YOU! 14 MAILBOX 18 TECHNO MAIL 20 IGNITION 30 MOTOWARE 32 DO IT YOURSELF 34 YOUR STUNTS & RIDES 36 COLUMNS 46 NEW PRODUCTS 96 BI GARAGE

REGULARS HOW TO RIDE A MOTOGP 1000As the era of the 800s in MotoGP comes to an end, giving way to the litre-class, Mat Oxley explains, inter alia, how to tackle those extra 200 cc, what to expect in this season and also gives valuable tips on litre-class riding

BACK END 98 WSBK100 SPORT NEWS 102 MADOX104 MOTOGP PREVIEW114 RIDING A MOTOGP 1000 122 BI BUY-BOOK

114HOW TO RIDE A MOTOGP 1000HOW TO RIDE A MOTOGP 1000As the era of the 800s in MotoGP As the era of the 800s in MotoGP

Content_April12.indd 12 3/16/2012 3:14:41 PM

13www.bikeindia.in

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52

Design: Ramnath Chodankar

FEATURES

48

60 90COVERSTORY

DESIGNER PROFILE: EDGAR HEINRICHDesign guru Glynn Kerr on the VP, Product Design, Bajaj Auto, who returns to BMW in June this year

KTM 200 DUKE vs HONDA CBR 250RHow well will the new Duke take on Honda’s blue-eyed baby?

MISSILE ON WHEELSRoland and Aspi have a gala time riding the new Ducati Panigale 1199 S on the Yas Marina circuit inAbu Dhabi

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DUCATI’S REVOLUTIONARYL-TWINAs Ducati’s legendary L-twin engine enters into the 40th year, we take a look at its journey so far

PARADISE UNEXPLOREDSaeed takes the Honda CBR 250R to the magnificent land of the Seven Sisters

RACE TO RACETRACKThe winner of Bike India‘s contest shares his experience of tuition at the California Superbike School

ROYAL ADVENTURERommel tells the tale of his foray into Rajasthan astride the Royal Enfield Classic 500

70DUCATI’S DUCATI’S REVOLUTIONARYREVOLUTIONARYL-TWINL-TWIN

Content_April12.indd 13 3/16/2012 3:18:19 PM

unable to do a clutch wheelie on my Honda CBR 250R. I have tried many combinations and popped the clutch at different points from 3,000 to 6,000 RPM, but I am unable to do a wheelie. Please advise.Varoon Naidu, via e-mail

Hello, Varoon,Please bear in mind foremost the fact that the kind of stunts mentioned by you should be attempted only with proper riding gear on, in an open space and controlled environment.For a wheelie on the CBR 250R the clutch

should be popped at 7,000-8,000 RPM. The rider’s body weight needs to be transferred towards the rear and the clip-ons need to be pulled up simultaneously. This technique can be useful to understand a simple pop. To carry long wheelies, one has to master the pop first and follow the same procedure and keep accelerating.As for a stoppie, the most important thing is weight transfer. While rolling at a speed of 30 km/h, the front brake needs to be applied and, simultaneously, the rider’s body weight needs to be transferred to the front by gripping the tank with the thighs and pushing the body forward.

>>All For Bike expertiseI am a great fan of your magazine. I am a student of Standard X and my aim is to become a mechanical engineer. I want your help to build up automotive expertise in the future. After passing my Secondary School Certificate examination, I want to be trained technically in motorcycles, for which I require your help. Please recommend to me a good trainer. I am ready to go to any city, my priority being Bengaluru.Nirav kansara, sattur, tamil Nadu

Dear Nirav,While appreciating your enthusiasm for technical expertise in motorcycles, we feel that your parents and local vocational counsellors would be in a better position to guide you about your future career. Since you want to become a mechanical engineer, securing enough marks to ensure admission to an engineering college should be your first priority. As for hands-on experience in motorcycle maintenance and repair, you may seek an apprenticeship opportunity with one of the more experienced mechanics/service stations in your vicinity or in Bengaluru, according to your convenience. We wish you the best!

>>trAiNiNg iN stuNtiNgI really appreciate all that you have been doing for all the motorcycle lovers in our country.

I am a very enthusiastic and passionate biker and have been riding for almost eight years. I have undertaken many motorcycle tours across the country and across Australia. I have also attended a training programme in racing, conducted by Honda. I still continue to read, learn and practise.

In order to satisfy my thirst to learn all aspects of biking, I decided to venture into stunting. I just want to learn the basic stunts such as wheelies and stoppies. I have watched innumerable educational videos, but am

>>Bike India reader Kiran Kuttaiah, who prefers to be called the ‘THE DEVIL’ (we do hope it’s just a harmless moniker with no wish to live up to it), has shared a few pictures of his impressive collection of scale model bikes, although the four-wheelers as the escort played spoilsport.

>>Aspiring bike designer, Sachin M Pednekar of Uran, district Raigad, feels that Royal Enfield is headed in the right direction by unveiling the Café Racer during the recent Auto Expo and congratulates the company for it.

He says, “A couple of years ago, the company made an attempt at introducing a sportster version, the Fury 500, on the existing frame and 500 (UCE) engine, which somehow didn’t go down well in the export

markets. I think it lacked the visual appeal needed to attract prospective customers.”

Sachin further says, “Here is my own version of a sportster, which I have designed around the upcoming Café Racer’s frame and engine and which, I think, can help the company establish an all-new segment.”

Royal Enfield, if you like this sportster design, please get in touch with Sachin at Sachinpednekar1010@gmail.com

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LETTERS_Apr12.indd 14 3/16/2012 1:02:36 PM

STAR LETTERwins a 1-litre pack of

Motul 300V

ANKIT VERMA, VIA E-MAIL

THREE IS A CROWD?

the Pulsar family. What would come next? Four spark-plugs per cylinder?

I think true advancement came through Bosch, whose twin-electrode spark-plug was profoundly advanced in terms of spark-plug technology, which Bajaj primarily seem to focus upon now.

Furthermore, what the Indian marketseems to focus upon in terms of modifi cations is colour changes (Hero have been the pioneers in this). A black engine looks good juxtaposed with coloured body parts, etc,but such modifi cations are meant forafter-market purposes.

STAR LETTER

At the very outset, hats off to you chaps for publishing such a great magazine! I have been an admirer of Bike India since my childhood.

The other purpose behind writing this e-mail is to express my views on the current trends in technology seen among motorcycle manufacturers. Recently I saw the Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS, which features a triple spark-plug. I think it is merely an attempt at technical modifi cation. Two spark-plugs were fi ne enough until now, extracting as they did the maximum possible fuel economy, but putting in three looks like a way to deliberately extend

A NOTE FOR OUR VALUED READERSDear Readers,Thank you for the large number of letters! However, we request you to send them in a proper format. Firstly, please ensure that your letters are part of the e-mail itself, and not an attachment. Only

pictures, wherever necessary, may be sent as attachments. Secondly, please mention the subject in the subject line. For example, if your letter is for the ‘Letters’ column, please mention LETTERS in the subject line. If it is a technical query

to be answered by us, please mention TECHNO MAIL and so on. Otherwise your mail could land up in the spam bin. This will ensure that your letters and queries are published regularly.

– EDITOR

Some people aver that the old Royal Enfi eld Bullets were the true Bullets and that the new ones pale into insignifi cance when a comparison is made. The same old story again. People go gaga over the myths that sound good to them, but the truth is that, as you know, the new Bullets come equipped with OHCs, which are refi ned and are actually better than the old ones. As for myself, I like both the old Bullet as well as the new one.

Hello, Ankit,Thank you for your compliments and for sharing your views with all the readers.

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LETTERS_Apr12.indd 16 3/16/2012 1:03:26 PM