The trend of adventure-touring bikes is not new to India. Many Indian actors and actresses rode such bikes – of foreign make – to stardom. After being projected as machines that were truly out of reach of the masses, adventure-touring bikes have come a long way in the country. Seeking rejuvenation with the arrival of premium machines like the Triumph Tiger and Honda Africa Twin, they have spread themselves to newer budget points. They have got themselves closer to a point where they can appeal to the masses. Offerings like the Royal Enfield Himalayan and Hero Xpulse have got the prospect of owning an adventure-touring bike closer to riders having a tight budget to comprehend. Considered as dandy machines that could ride on the road, and off it, these bikes have come to draw the attention of young riders. Proving to be highly aspirational, adventure-touring bikes, with high ground clearance and a longer-travel suspension among other attributes, are aligning well with the exponential rise in the trend to ride on and offroad.

Not to be left out, Honda has launched the CB200X adventure touring bike at a price of INR 144,500 (ex-showroom, Mumbai). Earlier, the company had the Hornet to offer. Based on the Hornet 2.0, the CB200X is a sizeable touring-ready bike. It looks quite different from the Hornet 2.0. As an entry-level machine, it draws good attention. Introduced post much research and understanding of the buyer and user psyche, the CB200X, with its wind visor, sharp tank shrouds that connect the LED headlight to the tank and the handguards with integrated turn signal indicators, looks attractive. The pillion grab rails have been revised and are now bigger and wider. To ensure better off-road control and ride, conventional road tyres have been given a preference over knobby tyres. The thinking behind it is that conventional tyres will provide optimum grip. The new machine is available in three colour variants – Sports Red, Pearl Nightstar Black and Matte Selene Silver Metallic.

With an upright riding posture, the handlebars of the CB200X are raised. Comfortable for long-distance touring, the wind visor, although small, helps in reducing wind resistance at high speeds. A diamond-type chassis frame – it is the same as Hornet – evenly distributes the weight at the front and the rear. The kerb weight of CB200X is 147 kg. With a fuel tank capacity of 12 litres, the bike offers a riding range of between 400 and 500 km. This is subject to the nature of one’s riding style, however. Equipped with gold-coloured upside-down forks at the front and a rear mono-shock suspension, the CB200X offers a good ride and handling ability. If there are instances when the rider is made to think that he could do well with some more suspension travel, the bike does a fair job of negotiating the surfaces that come its way.

Powered by a 17 hp, 184 cc engine, the bike does 16.1 Nm of peak torque at 6,000 rpm. Keeping up with the city traffic with ease, the bike supports an easy ride over a variety of road surfaces due to its high ground clearance. Out on a highway, it does tend to ask for more power and torque. But then, find a sweet spot and the CB200X makes an easy task of riding it. Sans any riding modes that would help modulation of traction as per the surface underneath, the bike is fitted with conventional alloys. It is equipped with tubeless tyres. The front tyre specification is 110/70 – 17, and that of the rear is 140/70 -17. The 276 mm petal disc at the front and 220 mm solid disc at the rear ensure good braking ability as well. There is a single-channel ABS on the front wheel.

The upswept exhaust and tail fender of the CB200X come from the Hornet 2.0. Featuring a fully digital instrument console, which relays gear position indicator, digital clock, service due indicator and battery voltmeter, the CB200X is priced at INR 10,000 more than the Hornet 2.0. Speaking at the launch, Atsushi Ogata, Managing Director, President and CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, mentioned that the CB200X was designed keeping in mind the evolving lifestyle of the Indian youth. As an urban explorer, it presents a riding experience that would cajole the rider to explore. The CB200X is a perfect riding companion for daily city rides and also for short weekend getaways, he said. (MT)

 

Hero Xpulse 200 Vs Honda CB200X

In the sparsely populated sub-200 cc adventure category in India, the Hero Xpulse 200 could be considered as the direct rival of the CB200X. The 220 mm ground clearance and 190 mm front fork travel lends the Xpulse 200 great manoeuvrability on and off the road. The bike weighs 157 kg and is powered by a 17.8 bhp, 199.6 cc engine that does 16.45 Nm peak torque at 6,500 rpm. Heavier than the CB200X by 10 kg, the Xpulse 200 is priced at INR 120,000 (ex-showroom, Mumbai). It is less costly than the CB200X by roughly INR 20,000. It will be interesting, therefore, to see how the CB200X grabs the pie of the category from the Xpulse 200, especially when the buyer is expected to be highly cost-conscious. (MT)

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Suzuki Motorcycle India (SMIPL), the two-wheeler subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan, has opened its first dealership in Bathinda, Punjab, under the name Pluton Motors, which follows the recent opening of Pluton Wheels in Ludhiana.

With the addition of this location, SMIPL's retail network expands to 1,245 outlets across India. The Bathinda outlet functions as a 3S facility, consolidating sales, service and spare parts within a single location. The opening marks the company's 13th retail location in Punjab.

The facility displays Suzuki Motorcycle India’s complete two-wheeler lineup, including the Access, Avenis, and Burgman Street scooters, alongside the company's electric scooter, the e-Access. The performance motorcycle segment is represented by the Gixxer, Gixxer SF, Gixxer 250, Gixxer SF 250 and the V-Strom SX adventure motorcycle.

The dealership incorporates a service workshop with diagnostic tools for vehicle maintenance, and handles the distribution of official accessories, apparel and merchandise.

Kenichi Umeda, Managing Director, Suzuki Motorcycle India, said, “Pluton Suzuki in Bhatinda brings us closer to our customers, giving them easy access to our full range of scooters, motorcycles, and after-sales services. This dealership allows us to be by the side of our customers, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable ownership journey. Beyond the products, we also look forward to engaging with customers through our initiatives like Suzuki MotoFest, the Access Mileage Contest, V-STROM Experience rides, and Gixxer Pitstop that truly celebrate the spirit of motorcycling. We sincerely thank our dealer partner, Gauarav Kanodia & Rajan Aggarwal for their collaboration in making this possible. With this new addition, we now have 13 touchpoints in Punjab.”

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Chennai-headquartered Royal Enfield, the mid-size motorcycle segment leader under Eicher Motors, has officially expanded its twin-cylinder lineup with the launch of the Bullet 650 in India.

The introduction marks the most powerful displacement variant in the model's 94-year continuous production history, following its initial public presentation at the EICMA 2025 motorcycle show in Milan.

The motorcycle is priced at INR 364,856 (ex-showroom) and is available for retail purchase at authorised Royal Enfield dealerships across India.

The Bullet 650 transitions the classic commuter nameplate onto Royal Enfield's 650cc parallel-twin engine architecture, featuring a 6-speed gearbox equipped with an assist and slipper clutch for lighter lever operation. The chassis is built around a steel tubular spine frame.

It is developed in partnership with Showa, featuring 41mm front forks with 120mm of travel and twin-tube hydraulic shock absorbers at the rear providing 112mm of travel. The motorcycle retains traditional proportions with a 19-inch front spoked wheel and an 18-inch rear wheel setup to maintain its signature upright stance.

The mechanical layout is completed by a pair of dual peashooter exhaust pipes finished in chrome, tuned to deliver a distinct, low-frequency twin-cylinder exhaust note.

The styling cues of the Bullet 650 pay direct homage to its historic post-war iterations, specifically referencing design hallmarks established by the brand in 1954:

The Bullet 650 features the iconic teardrop fuel tank decorated with a vintage-inspired 3D winged badge and hand-painted gold pinstripes. The front fascia retains the traditional steering casquette housing an updated LED headlamp, flanked by signature ‘tiger-eye’ pilot lamps.

The switchgear uses polished aluminium housings equipped with retro-styled rotary switches and adjustable hand levers.

The seats come fitted with a contoured, single-step bench design to offer optimised cushion support for long-distance riding alongside easy ground clearance for the rider.

The instrument cluster bridges vintage aesthetics with modern instrumentation, integrating a classic analogue speedometer with a secondary digital LCD layout that relays fuel levels, trip parameters, a gear position indicator, and automated service reminders.

The motorcycle debuts with two primary dual-tone factory paint schemes engineered to highlight its old-school lines – Cannon Black and Battleship Blue.

B Govindarajan, Managing Director, Eicher Motors and CEO, Royal Enfield, said, “For over nine decades, the Bullet has stood as a symbol of authenticity, resilience, and unmistakable character — defining Royal Enfield’s philosophy of Pure Motorcycling. With the all-new Royal Enfield Bullet 650, our approach was not to reinterpret the Bullet, but to elevate it with modernity and authenticity. Every element — from its proportions and silhouette to its stance and detailing has been carefully evolved to retain the pure essence and character of the iconic machine, while seamlessly integrating the power and refinement of the parallel twin 650cc platform. The interest since its global showcase at EICMA 2025 reaffirms how deeply the motorcycle resonates with the riders across the globe, proving it is the original icon of the motorcycling universe.”

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Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) has surpassed the 10 million cumulative two-wheeler sales milestone across North India, which includes Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh – accounted for approximately 15 percent of the company’s overall domestic wholesale volume during FY2026.

The milestone highlights Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India’s ongoing consolidation in key volume categories across northern states. According to internal wholesale tracking data for FY2026, the manufacturer secured an approximate 75 percent market share (nearly three out of every four units sold) within the entry-level 110cc scooter sub-segment in the region. The brand also maintained a strong volume share within the 125cc commuter motorcycle class, driven by steady regional demand for platforms like the Shine 125 and SP125.

To manage its regional sales volume and support vehicle lifecycle requirements, the company currently operates an expansive network of more than 1,000 authorised customer service and touchpoint locations across the northern zone.

Looking forward, HMSI intends to build on this regional volume foundation by systematically expanding its premium ‘BigWing’ retail network. This physical expansion will coincide with a strategic push to enhance its mid-size and higher-displacement motorcycle line-up to address premiumisation trends in semi-urban and metro markets.

Mutsuo Usui, Director of Sales & Marketing, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, said, “Reaching the 10 million milestone in North India reflects how deeply two-wheelers are embedded in everyday mobility across the region, particularly beyond the large urban centres. Our focus has been on building consistent access and reliability over time and we see this continuing as customer expectations evolve.”

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Bengaluru-based electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ultraviolette Automotive has announced a major engineering pivot for its upcoming Tesseract e-scooter, transitioning the vehicle to a new 100V high-voltage powertrain architecture.

This shift, it claims, makes it India’s first electric scooter built on a 100V platform. To accommodate these extensive technical re-engineering cycles and subsequent validation testing, the official commercial launch has now been pushed to January 2027.

The technical overhaul follows a public roadshow across 30 Indian cities, where the company said it gathered direct consumer feedback from prospective buyers. Ultraviolette has received over 70,000 bookings for the Tesseract since its initial conceptual reveal.

The transition from a conventional 60V setup to the 100V platform was driven by the challenge of managing high current flow and exponential heat generation while chasing performance targets. The production-spec Tesseract is equipped with a 15kW peak power electric motor, delivering roughly three times the power output of mainstream electric scooters and mimicking the performance metrics of a 200–250cc combustion engine.

The production-spec Tesseract is scheduled to enter early assembly and tool-up phases by the end of 2026. Production will be handled at the company's upcoming manufacturing plant, which is set to boost Ultraviolette’s localised production capabilities from 60,000 units annually to 150,000 units to support the higher volume requirements of its mass-market scooter line. The company is targeting initial retail distribution and customer deliveries within the first quarter of 2027, with base prices projected to start around INR 145,000 (ex-showroom).

Narayan Subramaniam, CEO and Co-Founder, Ultraviolette, said, “Building the Tesseract has been an incredibly ambitious and challenging journey for us. As we pushed the platform further through development and validation, it became evident that achieving the benchmarks we had set for ourselves required additional engineering and refinement – especially on the ride ergonomics and radical redesign of the battery architecture. While this extends our launch timeline, it ensures that every Tesseract customer receives a scooter that is not only future-ready but embodies the Ultraviolette DNA of performance, technology, and reliability.”

Niraj Rajmohan, CTO and Co-Founder, Ultraviolette, added, “From the very beginning, the vision for the Tesseract was to create a scooter that would redefine benchmarks for the industry. Delivering on the performance and technology promises we made, while staying true to the Ultraviolette DNA, required us to rethink and evolve the platform significantly. The transition to a 100V architecture is a major step in that direction, enabling higher levels of power delivery, load carrying capability, and efficiency. Every engineering decision we have made on the Tesseract has been guided by our commitment to deliver a product that sets a new standard for mobility- in India and globally.”

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