The BIG BIKE Boom

While a majority of high rollers seem to be paying everincreasing sums of the green stuff to be seen stepping out of the swankiest international luxury cars, the young-atheart Indians are opting for a more exciting and active form of experiencing life on the road - on motorcycles. With the recent spate of international superbike launches, and a whole lot of manufacturers making a beeline for India, life in the fast lane is rapidly taking on a new meaning altogether.

Japanese giants

Bike-makers from Japan have had their feet in India for a long time now, but have started seeing potential for their performance bikes the country only now. First off the block was Yamaha India, which launched its international flagship superbike, the YZF-R 1, in December last year.

The acclaimed track-assault weapon can be seen competing in race form at the World Superbike Series, and having the same genes at work on Indian streets set the imagination of bike lovers across the country on fire. The 1000cc, 180PS machine features some of Yamaha's most advanced power-production-weightreduction wizardry. And it looks a million bucks too! Yours for Rs 10.5 lakh, exselect Yamaha showrooms across the country.

Not as stunning in terms of looks, but way more stunning in terms of straight-line performance is the Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa. Even though it has been launched in India very recently, the bike has been breaking drag-strip records (and competitors' hearts) for almost ten years now. The new generation 2008 model is arguably the biggest, baddest and the fastest hypersport production machine in the world (capable of a restricted top speed of 298 km/h), and Suzuki has played smartly to showcase its absolute best in India.

Italian eye-candy

On the heels of Yamaha came Italian sportbike maker Ducati, with its entire range of exotic beauties. Even though there were talks of the company tying up with some established Indian motorcycle maker to facilitate operations, it ended up joining hands with Precision motors Co., which is currently its sole dealer throughout the country.

Ducati has been responsible for consistently churning out some of the most desirable motorcycles, and its current line-up which is available in India has them all. From the naked V-twin powered Monster 696 (Rs 13.8 lakh ex-showroom ) at one end of the pricing spectrum, the stylish and attitude laden Hypermotard (Rs 18.2 lakh) somewhere in the middle, right up to the technologypacked race-ready WSB winning 1098R superbike (a whopping Rs 48 lakh exshowroom ) at the other end, the Italian exoticas are inarguably the most expensive set of twowheels on Indian roads. The upside is that they are also the most beautifully scultpted pieces of rolling art.

Presence machines

If high-performance fuelled adrenaline does not quite match your taste, there are international offerings which offer more laid-back and comfortable rides, but probably end up making larger style statements than most superbikes. At the forefront of this segment was the Yamaha MT-01 which was launched with the R1 back in December 2007. Its ridiculously large capacity 1670cc V-Twin engines a monstrous 150Nm of torque, but the true fortes of the bike are its grizzly, no-holds-barred looks and its rumble-roar exhaust note.

On similar lines, Suzuki will be launching its M1800R cruiser along with the Hayabusa, with dyed-inthe-wool custom chopper looks but characteristic Japanese technology in the engine underneath. It may not beat the Hayabusa, but it is plenty fast and once you factor in the heads it will turn wherever it goes, we bet it will be worth expect to turn heads everywhere you go with it.

The road ahead

Next-up down the big-bike road is Austrian motorcycle maker KTM, which will be exploiting its alliance with Bajaj Auto Ltd. to bring in its range of zany sport and street bikes to India early next year. Japanese bike maker Kawasaki will also hark back to its ties with Bajaj Auto for dealer and service support to bring down its own brand of Japanese mania. With three of the Japanese big four already clear about their big bike presence in India, Honda with its already established base here cannot be far away.

Since volumes are too low to even begin contemplating local production, all these bikes are being flown in as completely built-up units and prices are still off limits for the populace owing to figure-doubling duties on imports of this sort. Some may say that Indian infrastructure and traffic conditions are not suited for such high-performance machines, but that takes nothing away from the pride of ownership that they offer.

Things have never been better for those with enough fortunes to be able to afford these delectable two-wheeled machines, with completely legal ownership, service backup and loan schemes. These are, after all, some of the best bikes in the world, and if you can afford them, the time is ripe is switch to a more fulfilling and stimulating way of life on motorcycles.