Upcoming new bikes in December

Benelli 302R:

After some delay, Benelli will be finally launching the 302R in India this month. The bike was scheduled to be launched during the festive season. However, company officials decided to launch the 302R with ABS and the approvals took more time than anticipated. Showcased (and generating a lot of curiosity) at the 2015 EICMA motorcycle and the 2016 Auto Expo, the 302R will be the first fully-faired motorcycle from the Italian maker in the Indian market.

While the Benelli 302R would look like a faired version of the TNT300i but that isn’t the case. The Benelli 302R employs a newly designed trellis frame which is significantly lighter than the older frame and also improves the handling dynamics of the bike. The sharp and sporty styling of the motorcycle has been designed specifically keeping in mind the desires of youngsters. It gets powered by a 300cc, liquid-cooled parallel-twin motor producing 36PS at 12,000rpm and 27Nm of peak torque at 9,000rpm. Power is transmitted to the rear wheel via a 6-speed gearbox. Benelli claims that the 302R has a top speed of 170kmph. Suspension duties are handled by USD front forks and a monoshock setup at the back, while disc brakes provide anchorage with ABS as standard. We expect the Benelli 302R to be priced around Rs 3.5 lakh (ex-showroom) and it will compete against the likes of the Yamaha R3, Kawasaki Ninja 300 and the KTM RC390.

Bajaj Dominar 400:

After a lot of speculation, Bajaj Auto revealed the name of its upcoming power cruiser – Dominar 400. The ‘Dominar’ has been derived from the Spanish language and its literal meaning is ‘to excel or exceed in power.’ The Bajaj Dominar 400 will be the most powerful offering from Bajaj Auto and with the new bike, it plans to kick-start a new segment of affordable power cruisers in India. Production for the Bajaj Dominar 400 has already commenced and the new motorcycle will be launched on December 15th in India. The headlight of the new Bajaj offering will be a LED unit, making it the first bike in its segment to offer the same. The instrument console is an all-digital unit while the tell-tale lights have been mounted on the tank.

Bajaj Dominar 400 will share its 375cc, liquid-cooled, single-cylinder engine with the KTM 390 Duke. But, the engine will be re-tuned to suit the characteristics of a power cruiser, with better low-end power delivery. The frame of the motorcycle is a perimeter unit as seen on the 200NS, unlike the trellis chassis as seen on the KTM 390 Duke. The bike employs telescopic front forks and a monoshock rear unit for damping while anchorage is provided by disc brake on both ends. We expect Bajaj to offer dual-channel ABS as an optional extra. Expect the Dominar 400 to be priced between Rs 1.5 to 1.7 lakh, ex-showroom.

Bajaj V12:

Bajaj tasted success with the V15 that was launched earlier this year as it has clocked sales of over 2 lakh units. It was pitched as a 150cc motorcycle for the price of a 125cc offering and the above strategy worked in favour of the Chakan based two-wheeler giant. To cash in on this positive trend, Bajaj will launch a new motorcycle christened the V12 in December, 2016. The new Bajaj V12 will be powered by a 125cc motor which is likely to be taken from the one as seen on the Discover 125. The styling of the bike is expected to similar to the V15 which has been inspired from a café racer but we might see few changes in the form of different graphics or minor cosmetic elements.

The new motorcycle doesn’t come as a surprise as Bajaj officials had hinted during the launch of the V15 that they would be launching more products under the “V” family. If the motor is the same unit as seen on the Discover 125, the single-cylinder motor will develop 11PS and 10.8Nm of peak torque. The air-cooled mill is mated to a 5-speed gearbox. Production for the Bajaj V12 has already commenced and it will be priced at Rs 56,200 ex-showroom Delhi.

Source: ZigWheels.com