Another bike to tempt some of us for leisurely country rides. Interestingly the Indian BSA brand owners have taken a decision to water-cool their bike in contrast to Royal Enfield, no doubt driven by emissions and the ability to get more horsepower out of the engine for a given cc. They hide the radiator quite well in a similar fashion to Triumph. Pretty brave to go for a 650cc single mind. 45BHP and a lovely torque curve no doubt.
I like it
It's gorgeous! Now to build a great dealer network, something that RE needs work on.
That's awesome....I'd give that a hard look since i know Indian is a quality product from various rides I've taken. Could be an awesome alternative to triumph.
It's not the Indian Motorcycle company that makes the v-twins. It's made in India by Mahindra, designed in the UK like the Royal Enfield twins. Mahindra is a huge company, making cars and trucks, so no lack of backing. As such, it may just be a product they can boast showcase, rather than a real money maker.
I think if Mahindra were smart, it would start with a small number of their own dealer stores in select urban areas, so prices could be set by them, without the freight/setup/additional dealer markup. Follow Tesla's marketing strategy, with all advertising online.
A very pretty motorbike! It is getting crowded in the light-weight low-capacity retro-bike scene from the east: a few Royal Enfields, the Honda H'ness, Jawa Perak, Benelli Imperiale. Then there are the Kawasaki's W800 and Z650RS.
I assume they initially go for the UK & European market. Who knows the USA and Canada may follow. But BSA then needs at least some dealers. That is not so easy, even for a big player like Mahindra (see e.g. Piaggio/Aprilia/Guzzi for how NOT to do it). I am impressed with RE and their rapidly growing dealer network here in Canada.
