Aishwarya Pissay has added one more World Championship medal to her kitty by securing third place in the 2024 FIM Bajas World Cup. With this victory, she has become the first and only Indian to win three World Championship medals in Motorsport.

The championship's eighth and final event, the challenging Dubai International Baja, took place on Sunday, marking the end of the season. The Bengaluru rider, who competed in the 450 cc and Ladies' classes, encountered technical difficulties, including problems with her navigation system in the last round, which prevented her from making it to the final classification. Notwithstanding these disappointments, she was able to solidify her position as a trailblazer in Indian motorsport by earning enough points from previous events to clinch the second runner-up spot on the Bajas World Cup standings.

With her victory in the 2019 Bajas World Cup, Pissay became the first Indian to win a World Championship in motorsport. She currently possesses three World Cup medals, which is a record in 2W motorsport. Together with co-sponsors IIFL, Micro Labs and Surana College, TVS Racing has helped to support her outstanding achievements.

Pissay said, “This rally was a true test of resilience. Unfortunately, technical issues with the navigation system on both days kept me out of the general classification, but every challenge brings a valuable lesson. Rally life often throws the unexpected at you, and this experience has only fuelled my determination to come back stronger. Despite the setbacks, I’m immensely proud to have secured 3rd place in the World Championship for India. This marks my third World Championship podium in the history of the sport, and I’m deeply grateful for the unwavering support of my team, fans, and everyone who continues to believe in me.”

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Thumb the starter on the KTM Duke 160 and the first impression is of familiarity – those tense lines, sculpted tank and sit-in stance that signal ‘Duke’ before the wheels even turn – yet there’s also a welcome lightness to how it picks up and changes direction at parking speeds and in the first hundred metres. That easy agility is backed by a chassis brief that reads serious on paper – trellis frame with bolt-on subframe, lighter five-spoke wheels, hollow axles and geometry that’s a shade sharper than the bigger siblings – so the bike feels eager without getting nervous when the pace rises.

Within a few blocks, two things set the tone for daily life: a clutch that’s genuinely light and progressive and a gearbox that slips through ratios cleanly, letting short, tidy shifts replace the usual 160cc thrash – helped by a slipper clutch that takes the drama out of hurried downshifts when traffic opens and closes without warning.

What stands out

The Duke 160 looks and feels like a proper Duke – tense lines, sculpted tank, sit-in stance – and backs it up with a genuinely light and eager front end thanks to the trellis frame, lighter five-spoke wheels and sharper geometry. The motor’s real-world strength is tractability and in-gear urge rather than fireworks off the line; timed roll-ons of 30–70 kmph in 6.8s (4th) and 9.1s (5th) make short overtakes easy without constant downshifts, echoing the sentiment that it feels brisk between gaps more than it feels explosive from a standstill.

Braking hardware is a headline win: a 320mm front disc with braided lines and dual-channel ABS (rear channel switchable) gives bite and progression few 160s can match and it shows when hustling or panic-stopping in town.

The everyday reality

At 815mm, the seat is on the taller side for an average-height rider; those around 5ft 8in may tip-toe at awkward cambers, though the wide bar and neutral pegs help low-speed balance and leverage in traffic. The clutch and gearbox pairing is excellent – light, smooth and confidence-inspiring – so creeping traffic and quick, clean shifts become second nature within minutes of riding. Lever placement is not perfect from the crate; both the gear and brake pedals could use a quick adjustment during PDI to better match different boot sizes and ankle angles, which takes the edge off initial niggles.

Ride and features

Suspension tuning leans towards control with acceptable compliance: the Duke stays planted and keen to turn, yet retains enough travel to keep sharp edges from jarring too much in the city, though rougher patches still remind that it’s set up to feel taut rather than plush. Thermal management is a positive: a larger radiator surface area helps in slow-moving traffic and while the fan cycles in dense conditions, heat never tips into discomfort during typical urban use in this test window. The monochrome LCD with a dot-matrix pane is clear in bright light, offers all the basics at a glance and the microswitch cubes feel a cut above the class; Bluetooth navigation remains an accessory, which keeps base weight and price in check.

Verdict

Against the Yamaha MT-15 V2, the Duke 160 trades efficiency for feel: the Yamaha is lighter and significantly more frugal (users often report 50+ km/l), while the KTM bites harder on the brakes, feels more planted at the front and pulls stronger in mid-gear bursts on paper and in practice. The KTM’s 19PS and 15.5Nm edge the Yamaha’s 18.4PS and 14.1Nm and its 320mm rotor dwarfs the MT’s 282mm, but the MT-15 counters with lower kerb weight and everyday economy advantages that matter to commuters. If weekly highway runs and traffic sprints define the brief, the Duke’s chassis feedback, brake feel and roll-on pace make a compelling case; if fuel economy and a lower seat are top priorities, the MT-15 remains the pragmatic pick and price positioning in on-road terms still favours the Yamaha in many cities.

In short, the Duke 160 is not the outright quickest feeling 160 off the mark, nor the most frugal, but it is the most ‘KTM’ in the way that matters: front-end feel, braking confidence and mid-gear urge that make real-world riding more engaging and assured than the spec sheet alone suggests. It could do with lower seat options from the factory and cleaner lever ergonomics out of the box; sort those and it becomes an easy recommendation for riders who value control and character over kilometre-per-litre bragging rights.

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TVS Motor Company, a leading manufacturer of two-wheelers and three-wheelers, has expanded its TVS Raider Super Squad Edition. 

The company has introduced two new thematic options for the Raider Super Squad range with the addition of Marvel’s Deadpool and Wolverine decal options.

The new TVS Raider SSE comes a powerful 3-valve engine, which produces 11.75 Nm @ 6,000 RPM of torque. The Super Squad Edition will now also get the iGO assist with Boost Mode for enhanced acceleration and GTT (Glide Through Technology). It also features a fully connected reverse LCD cluster with more than 85 features.

It was in August 2023 that TVS Raider became India’s first motorcycle to launch Marvel-themed editions, debuting with Iron Man and Black Panther.

The new TVS Raider Super Squad Edition is priced at INR 99,465 (ex-showroom Delhi) and will be available across all TVS Motor Company dealerships.

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Royal Enfield has introduced a new Shadow Ash colourway for its Guerrilla 450 motorcycle at the ‘GRRR Nights X Underground’ event in Pune. The event, held in partnership with Tapaswi Racing, was a blend of motorcycle stunts, drag races and musical performances.

Priced at INR 249,000 (ex-showroom Chennai), the new colourway features an olive green tank with blacked-out detailing, giving the bike a more aggressive, muscular appearance. The Shadow Ash model, part of the Dash variant, also comes equipped with the Tripper Dash navigation system.

The launch event was attended by over 3,000 enthusiasts and showcased the motorcycle’s performance capabilities through high-octane stunts. Professional stunt riders, including Padma Prashanth and Anish Shetty, performed drag and drift stunts. A highlight of the night was renowned motorsport athlete Akildas T.D., who performed a gravity-defying drift showcase on the new Guerrilla 450. The Guerrilla 450 is powered by a 452cc liquid-cooled Sherpa engine.

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Pune-headquartered two-wheeler and three-wheeler major Bajaj Auto has announced that it has resumed deliveries for its Chetak e-scooter across dealerships.

The update comes after weeks of production impact on the back of the disruption in the supply of rare earth magnets, which had forced the company to cut down on production of the e-scooter.

Bajaj Auto shared that now with production restored ahead of schedule, it has resumed production and shipments from 20 August, marking a faster-than-anticipated return to full capacity.

Furthermore, the automaker claims it has secured sufficient supply of rare earth magnets and other key materials to ensure availability during the upcoming festive season.

Eric Vas, President, Urbanite Business Unit, Bajaj Auto, said, “We appreciate our customers’ patience. Demand for Chetak remains robust, supplies have normalised and deliveries against bookings have commenced. We are scaling up production to meet rising demand while staying true to our standards of quality and customer delight.”

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