Hits & Misses Of 2019 On Two-wheels

  • Dec 12, 2019
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Here’s a small recap of the highs and lows from the past twelve months

2019 has turned out to be a crucial year for the automotive industry as a whole. With the economy in the doldrums and manufacturers gearing up for the upcoming emission norms, there has not been much to cheer about in the two-wheeler segment. Times though, are a'changing. This year witnessed a rapid growth in the electric mobility space. And thankfully, some of these scooters and motorcycles cater to enthusiasts. Here are the hits and misses of 2019:

HITS

Electric Two-wheeler Revolution In India
Revolt, Ultraviolette Automotive and 22Kymco were some of the few electric two-wheeler manufacturers who created noise in the Indian two-wheeler market. Even established bike maker, Bajaj Auto, revived the Chetak name for its upcoming electric scooter. If 2019 was anything to go by, we can definitely expect a stronger show from electrics in 2020.

Royal Enfield 650 Twins Smokes Its Competition In The Sales Department
Royal Enfield stepped up the game with the 650 Twins. Not only were the Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT 650 competent motorcycles, both of them score well on the reliability front, unlike Enfields from the past. The bikes have become so popular that they even managed to outsell the KTM 390 Duke, the TVS Apache RR 310 and the Bajaj Dominar 400 put together in the past month.

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Motorcycles Now Safer Thanks To ABS & CBS Law

2019 was an important year for two-wheelers in India. The Indian government passed a law making it compulsory for every two-wheeler above 125cc in India to be fitted with ABS and the ones below that cubic capacity mark with CBS. This was a welcome move given the sorry state of our Indian roads.

MISSES

Jawa Deliveries Test Your Patience
Jawa was one of the most searched motorcycles of 2018 as the retro brand was revived last year. The company received such an overwhelming response that the bookings had to be suspended for the better part of 2019. Sadly, the deliveries took way longer than initially anticipated, stretching up to nine months at point of time.

No Adjustment For The Long Wait Of KTM 390 Adventure
The KTM 390 Adventure is a motorcycle that has been in the making for more than four years and still the best that we got in 2019 was just an unveil. Non-availability of spoke rims was never going to bother most users, leaving only the hardcore off-roaders broken-hearted. What was a downer though, was the spec-sheet of the 390 Adventure destined for India - the suspension units offered do not have the levels of adjustability as the Euro-spec bike.

Hero’s XPulse 200 Wasn’t Pulsating Enough
Here’s another adventure motorcycle with high hopes that were not fully met, the Hero XPulse 200. The Impulse-successor was in every way a better motorcycle than the Impulse. Yet, the issue of lack of power has not been fully addressed. The 200cc motor quickly runs out of breath on the highway, limiting its touring capabilities.

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