If you are an adrenaline junkie and love speed, there is good news riding the highway towards you. International motorcycle companies are coming to town with a bang. The iconic British motorcycle brand, Triumph that was launched yesterday is the latest entrant with a few more brands following suit.
Until a few years ago, 100 cc bikes ruled the roads with the occasional 1000 cc Yamaha and Kawasaki zooming past. But the trend is changing. Preetam Daniel, the business head, world, for Imax justifies the shift in trend to developing economies. The 33-year-old who rides a BMW R1150GS was earlier the associate head of the Harley Davidson owners club. He says, “Given the hectic schedules that people live, they need an outlet to vent. With the foray of brands like Triumph and Harley and easy loan options, the dream of owning a super bike is no longer a distant one.” Incidentally a little birdie told us that in the coming months American brands Victory and Indian will also be setting showrooms ablaze!
Bike enthusiast, Sathvik S is elated about the present scenario. “Servicing imported bikes was a big hassle. Though the bike was under warranty, free servicing is done from the origin of purchase which wasn’t feasible and getting spare parts was a tedious process. With these companies coming to India, these problems will be solved. There will be no dearth of well trained and qualified mechanics too,” states Sathvik, who rides a BMW S1000RR. He cautions first-timers, “Always graduate slowly from a lower cc bike to a higher one.”
But that’s not the only reason our bikers are smiling. The fact that Dainese, the Italian biking apparel company is also opening its first store in namma Bengaluru has put these guys on cloud nine. “The biking culture is growing at an exponential rate. These fancy bikes have also led to the formation of biker’s clubs,” explains Vimal Sumbly, managing director of Triumph motorcycles India. Joseph Raja Singh, proprietor of Joe Automobiles, attributes the craze among young riders to Dhoom, the Bollywood flick. He says, “People had never seen a super bike until that movie. That said there are two categories of people who own these bikes, those who love their Sunday morning rides and the second who love the attention it draws. Whatever be the reason, the trend is growing.”
