The excitement brought in by the new breed of performance 150cc bikes launched last year was balanced out by a rather practical and subtle model from Suzuki India, the GS150R. Varad More puts it through its paces.

In the past two years the Indian two-wheeler bazaar has seen a lot of action in the 150cc motorcycle segment, with almost every bike-maker launching at least one product in this category. This clearly points out that demand for motorcycles with decent fuel economy, good looks and adequate performance is increasing every passing day. Masses are slowly, yet steadily moving away from the boring 100cc commuters towards something that offers more style and performance.

However, the 150cc segment has now been divided into two categories, namely - premium and budget. The premium class consists of the two new Yamahas launched last year and the TVS Apache RTR 160 FI. All of them have strong USPs and state-of-the-art technology to justify the hefty price tags. For those looking for practicality and the value-for-money aspect, Hero Honda has three answers in the form of the Hunk, the CBZ Xtreme and the understated Achiever (Yes, it's still being sold). And though Bajaj Auto's old-timer Pulsar 150 DTSi and Honda's Unicorn offer more bang-for-the-buck compared to HH's three offerings, they still don't pack in enough features and performance to compete in the premium 150cc segment.

Now there is a sizeable gap that has developed between these two categories of the 150cc segment and that's where Suzuki's latest offering, the GS150R fits in perfectly.It has no strong unique selling point or any high-tech gadgetry in its kitty to boast about. So what does it have that Suzuki is banking on to set its cash registers ringing? Let's find out.