The performance motorcycle section of Indian automobiles has been one of the most booming segments in India. We have seen bikes from Yamaha RD 350 and Yamaha RX100 to bikes like the HH Karizma and Yamaha R15. Although day by day we are improving in the field of technology and so many bikes are being improved and launched by different manufacturers each year there is still one category of motorcycles which I feel is being neglected and not being explored.
I mean there are still not many options available when it comes to the cruiser bikes in India.
Except the products from Royal Enfield and the Avenger from Bajaj, there are no other cruiser bikes available in the market. A few years back, Yamaha tried to play with its Enticer which somehow made a mark and boosted up its volumes. It also proved tough competition to the Kawasaki-Bajaj Eliminator, but this motorcycle didn’t last long and I’m not sure why the Enticer was not worked upon further and upgraded models were never to be.
Apart from the Enticer from Yamaha, Kinetic in collaboration with Hyosung Motors launched Kinetic Aquila a few years back, featuring a 250cc, V-twin, liquid cooled engine, 26 bhp of power at 9000 RPM, and a top speed of 130 kmph. This bike was priced at 1.75 lakhs on road and I think this was not only heavily priced, but the root cause of its failure.
I think there is a huge scope for cruiser bikes in India and there are many people who, if provided a good option, will not hesitate in spending money on them. Yamaha have launched bikes like YZF- R15, FZ series in India based on the themes of their powerful super bikes R1 and Fazer 1000. Why then can’t they launch a cruiser bike for the Indian market in a similar fashion which could be a mini version of their Midnight Star or Drag Star series?
Apart from Yamaha and Bajaj, there hasn’t been a single cruiser bike from big motorcycle manufacturers like Hero Honda and TVS till now.
For me, a cruiser bike should be at least a 200 to 250cc with a higher bhp rating and the exhaust sound, which sets these machines apart, should give a similar effect as an ideal cruiser bike would give.
Motorcycle manufacturers in India should think over it and come up with cruiser bikes suitable for Indian conditions. Biking culture in India is improving day by day and people are more literate about them these days than ever before. Therefore there should be more options available for the Indian customers in the cruiser bike category.
hi, i have best indian cruiser bikes, ofcourse, we indian have only have two choice for cruiser bike, avenger and Royal Enfield’s thunderbird. I have both the bike but i feel more comfortable on avenger.
I am in the USA actually from India and was wondering what kind of cruiser bikes folks at back home are riding. I have a Suzuki Boulevard C50T and just
made a 1250 mile two day trip to New Orleans and back home to South Carolina.It is a 800cc 600+ Lbs bike, a little heavy for an average rider but the ride is exceptional and most of all exhilarating !! I am thrilled to read posts on this site specially by Harsha from Colombo. May be you can get the latest Enfield 500 cc bike from over there but I read the specs and leaves much to be desired. There are some other fine Japanese and local bikes. Keep on riding !!
I own 2 Royal Enfield 350 CC , makes 1972 and 1981 and have covered almost 9 states (Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab , Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Maharashtra ,Kerala) states in India . I believe the bike has got all what u expect from your vehicle i.e. Power, Performance, and Reliance and Respect the best being Performance and Reliability. If you really think that u r for a cruise and passionate about it and loves and likes to explore places, this country full of beauty and like to for high terrain of Himachal or being Rajasthan or be it Madhya Pradesh or Be any southern states u need to forget all the other bikes U should go for Royal Enfield.
I like the cruise bikes very very much. Its been a long wait and its still going on…I like Avenger but I am looking some other options too…Kinetic Aquila was launched few yrs back but was not seen on the roads. Why all the two wheelers companies are after sports bike only. think about launching some cruiser bikes too. I don’t mean to say that sports bikes are bad but why COMPANIES ARE NOT THINKING ABOUT LAUNCHING CRUSER BIKES so that we can have options to choose!!!
Hi Guys,
I am also looking for a Cruiser bike with great Looks and optimum performance of around 200cc, and a mileage of around 40-50. The great cruiser looks depends up on the shape of ‘fuel tanks’, ‘Wheel base’ and the handle. if such a Bike available in india that will really a hit…..
Agree with Jaz, Cruising along the beach is a good experience in its own. I think every should try it at least once.
Hi! Guys
I am having one APACHE RTR 160 which is 1 yr old and nw m palnning to buy bullet electra 350 5s. I find bullet the ultimate machine for indian roads……i cant think abt any othr bikee than Bullet….
Hi Guys,
saw all your converstaion and just thought adding my points on this topic. 1st of all i would like to say that India has already got one of the best bike in the world which is constantly performing on the Indian roads since last 50 years the BULL itself is Royal Enfield Bullet.Though it doesnt follow in the hardcore cruiser category but if you are someone who love to see different roads, likes to travel in defferent parts of country you already have an option to cruize all alone.I own a Bullet Electra 350 5S and have covered almost all the southern beautiful parts of india.I believe the bike has got all what u expect from your vehicle i.e. Power,Performance,Reliance and respect. trust me if you really think that u r made to ride and to explore this country full of beauty then forget all the indian bikes u mentioned and go for the metal bull.
can u suggest the difference between avenger 220 cc and 200 cc? will there be any launches of cruiser bikes for yamaha, tvs or hero honda soon?
Hi Avik,
I own a avenger 200cc, it’s really awesome and fun vehicle, when it come up to its identical long drives. obviously, it makes me mad to drive/explore more… every morning i’m waking up for drive this beast… hopefully the 220cc is slightly much better than 200cc, eventually it has good heart a bully machine…. its the star among the cruisers in india…
avenger is the bike which make every one mad, its difficult to express in word. this machine is dam good….. dive it and feel like king, its convert your ride into royal ride.
Brother whatever you said is true & feel too that indian Mfrs should think about this segment in mumbai people are modifying there yamaha, Royal Enfield, & Eliminater to get choppers look.
In fact i m big crazy fan of choppers I love cruise bikes since i was 12
hope 1 day they come to know our feelings
All the best
God bless you
It would indeed be a nice cruise under 45degree sun LOL
waiting for harley davidson’s v rod to fit my pocket as my salary is not gonna tripple soon in the future…lol but sad
I am Harsha and i am living in the capital of sri lanka which is colombo. This country has nearly all the indian bike brands except the most praiseworthy royal enfields. My first bike was a pulsar and i noticed something i expect from a motorcycle is missing and then i discovered that i am a devoted cruiser biker. so i switched to the bajaj avenger 180Dtsi. It was a amazing bike until it start giving problems after two months of use. Giving misses, giving major starter problems. i have taken the bike to the company dealers workshop for more than 15 times, wrote to Bajaj India. nothing worked so i decided to sell my motorbike. Sadly but it had to go, i sold it and bought a Yamaha Virago 250cc V-TWIN which was a great bike and i traded it for a Yamaha Virago XV400cc Cruiser which is my current bike. When it comes to Japanese bikes they are great and breaks less often. Biggest issue with these monsters is that fuel, none of my yamaha’s are economical but i am still using my 400 because i love the cruisers. I wish Indian motorcycle companies will come up with a good cruiser motorcycle, hopefully powered with a V-TWIN engine, somewhere around 250cc so everyone can be happy about it. I am telling this in public, hoping that Bajaj, Hero Honda, TVS, Yamaha india will hear it as well as the people. and also i wish Royal Enfield was here, so i can buy one of those.
” WE NEED A GOOD INDIAN MADE EASILY MAINTAINED CRUISER “
[...] writing the article on the need for cruiser bikes in India, I thought of evaluating a cruiser bikes in India. Luckily my good friend Ifti had bought a Bajaj [...]
The void is unfilled. Harley Davidson will come to India with bikes worth 10 lakhs. TVS, Honda, Yamaha will wake up after that incident and take some kind of action by launching a new cruiser with 175cc or so and pricing it near 1 lakh. Wait and see, this will happen.
@Eskay and Jaz- Even I don’t understand the reason for not launching an upgraded version of Enticer or for that matter discontinuing it. This bike was doing very good and as I said in the post it gave the eliminator a tough time due to its low cost and better mileage(Of course the engine was not as powerful as that of an eliminator). We all know how strange Yamaha has been in the past years when it comes to its strategies in our country. They were somewhat hibernated until they launched YZF R15 and the FZ series. May be they have something in the pipeline for this segment and ready to explore it in the near future.
@Wheel Industry- Yes, the pleasure and thrill is one of a kind while riding a cruiser bike. You may just cruise it along or ride it fast. These are heavy duty bikes and best suited if you love to go for long rides.
TVS is looking to enter the different segments in India, I read here sometime back they are going to compete with Honda Activa, and they launched electric bike also. This trend should move to next block, they must bring cruiser in India and tap the potential
@Aravind – Don’t think so mate. I don’t think TVS would like to launch a cruiser bike since the risk is too heavy. But if they did, it would be interesting to see how they market it and get it across to the audience.
I think this segment in India is not understood well by manufacturers. Naz made a good observation – why didn’t Yamaha launch an upgraded Enticer? I used to see Enticers everywhere, and Yamaha still decided to discontinue in India.
@Eskay – You are right. Yamaha did not launch upgraded Enticers. Why didn’t they do that?
I know the passion about cruiser bike when we ride with the extreme speed. It is one of the kind of bike in its segment.
@Wheel Industry – More than speed, I think it is the sensation of just cruising at normal speeds along the beach (if you live along the coast) with a group of friends sails our boat.