The KTM 125 Duke will have its official presentation today at the 2010 Intermot show, and here we can see preview pics of the production version of the KTM 125 prototype for 16-year-olds. Envious? We certainly are - to be 16 again! The new 125 Duke is the fruit of collaboration between KTM and Bajaj and the bike should appear right across Asia, South America and Europe. It could be a little saviour in a time of crisis, particularly on the European market.

The 125 Duke style is impeccable - modern and perfectly in proportion for a 125cc bike. The chassis is a tubular trellis housing a single cylinder engine which will be available in larger versions in the future, up to 350cc. The front of the bike would seem to come in two different versions and leaves us a little confused, although its designed to distinguish the sports Duke from the standard one. The sports Duke in fact has lower handle bars and a seat for one.

Another unusual design element is the choice of colours - black, green and purple - which seem more fitting for a 1990’s Honda than a 2011 125cc KTM naked. It looks like the company’s got the urban-enduro mix down pat though, and so we’ll wait for more high-res pics from today’s Intermot show.

Source | MC24

....

0 comments

Traditionally a two-wheel manufacturer famous in India, Bajaj Auto will be working on a new project with Renault-Nissan Indian operations to create a low-cost car. The move is part of Renault’s expanding operations in India, although it will see Bajaj create its own design with a view to get the car to market by 2012. This is another feather in the cap of the Indian company, after recently announcing a joint venture with KTM to produce bikes for emerging markets.

The move should enable Bajaj to get into the developing and highly lucrative low-cost car sector in India. While bikes are still the national transport of choice, the compact car sector is rapidly expanding, now occupying 70 percent of the total car market. For our part, we can’t wait to see what Bajaj comes up with, at least for its advertising campaign….

Source | Automotive News

....

0 comments

After the lovely KTM concepts seen at last year’s EICMA show, the 2010 EICMA will see those models, or something similar, head to production in a joint venture with Bajaj, which owns a 30 percent stake in the Austrian company. The bikes will be built as entry level models as Bajaj hopes to capitalise on the European know-how at lower prices in emerging markets. Brazil will be the first market to get lucky on the new KTM street bikes.

Hopefully the move will prove a good one to get lower production cost bikes to market, while still keeping KTM quality. The Austrian brand could get a nice boost in emerging markets from this initiative, with its products appearing in South America and Asia. A statement from the company’s financial report reads:

In addition to the already entered KTM markets, new market opportunities in emerging markets come along with the serial production of entry-level street motorcycles (125cc to 350cc), which will be launched in late fall 2010 in cooperation with Bajaj Auto Ltd. The fist step will be Brazil, where the market offensive is already in the preparation stage.

The bikes are likely to be lightweight, four-stroke options taking on some of the elements of the concepts that KTM presented last year. The street-cred, funky urban appeal of KTM, as well as its offroad qualifications, should ensure the success of its brand but we’re with Wes Siler on this one - hopefully they won’t be just cheap bikes with an orange paint job.

Source | HFL

....

0 comments

Indian motorcycle manufacturer Bajaj must have an art director who loves to see women fighting and is a Matrix style fighting fan because this is the second video we’ve seen with two girls going at it to see who gets to ride pillion on a Bajaj motorcycle.

What we don’t know if the girls are fighting over the rider, who could be a Hugh Jackman look-a-like or just the pleasure of getting a ride on one of India’s best known motorcycles.

Check out the previous commercial after the jump.

Continue reading: Bajaj loves Girls Fighting to Ride Pillion

....

0 comments

The other day we showed you the covered photo and teaser videos for the launch of India’s new Pulsar, but we got a tip from one of readers, Shrawan Raja, that Indian Autos Blog had a few ‘spy shots’ (more like full pics) of the new bike.

It’s a small displacement motorcycle, a 135cc that looks pretty nice and above all nimble to ride, especially in something like India’s traffic, not that Italy’s traffic is any less chaotic, especially in cities like Rome or Naples.

Source | indianautosblog

....

0 comments

Bajaj, India’s largest manufacturer of two-wheeled vehicles and known by those outside India for producing some very excellent ads and commercials, will be launching on December 9th a new model of their best selling Pulsar family.

For the launch, they’ve got a mini teaser website with the usual countdown timer and the covered bike that you can click on to see revealing bits and pieces of the bike, but the best part are the Goodbye Traffic videos.

Check them out after the jump.

Continue reading: Goodbye Traffic: Bajaj Launches New Pulsar (w/videos)

....

0 comments

Indian motorcycle manufacturer Bajaj makes the coolest commercials around. Check out this one that has two sisters fighting Matrix style to get to ride pillion on the XCD-135.

....

0 comments