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For a change, glamour goes rural as exhibitors glam up their products meant for India's villages.
Text: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com
Lohia Auto which partners with UM the US-based motorcycle brand of Renegade fame showcased its first lithium ion battery operated two-wheeler the Oma Star Li and Elite 3000.
This electric bike can do a max speed of 60 kmph, a first compared to the low speeds of current e-scooters.
Their second offering in white is the Oma Star Li which is eqipped with advanced lithium ion batteries which can run 60km on one full charge.
Lohia brought glamour to its stalls catering to the rural towns. Here they showcased the Narain Cargo, which they also call the HUmsafar, and can be used as carton carriers or ice cream counters. The company claims the bike has a load carrying capacity of 320kg+.
The Passenger version of the Humsafar is called Humrahi.
Going on to the concepts...
They showcased India's first concept electric three-wheeler and Kushal Khosla, who kindly shared this picture, says that this is Lohia's attempt to curb pollution in India Big cities.
A good step by Lohia, I think. Most of the automobile makers and also the government seems to only be thinking of putting policies on cars and trucks but nothing much is done about three-wheeler autos which currently run either on diesel or CNG.
Moving on to TVS Motor the two-wheeler manufacturer in India unveiled the Akula 310 concept which is based on the BMW G 310 R. This concept also won the best concept for two-wheelers at the Auto Expo 2016.
Moving away from concepts to actual bikes, here are some bikes which were at the TVS arena.
The TVS Apache RTR 450 FX is a lightweight scrambler and weighs only 310kg. It churns out a whopping 407 BHP. It has a number of victories in National Rally Championships to its name.
From championship racers to bikes and scooters for the common man...
If you notice TVS seems to have concentrated only on the ruggedness of their automobiles and not the outfits they gave the models!
The outfits were coming apart at the seams but the models still put up a brave front.
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Moving on to the Suzuki Arena one first noticed the Gixxer SF which was launched by Salman Khan in 2015.
And here's the Intruder which Salman rode in Kick.
Also seen were the Suzuki GSX 1000cc bikes which were launched in 2015.
Hero Moto Corp which parted from Honda seemed neglected by the consumers. But the faithful still did linger around its bikes.
Hero again showcased its HX 250. Their 250cc motorbike was unveiled as a concept at the 2014 Auto Expo.
The bike on display was a new blue-coloured machine which is now closer to production.
Also showcased was the Hero Hunk.
The Piaggio Arena had their signature Vespa scooters on display.
The centrestage was taken by the Vespa 946. This stunning scooter which was launched in 2015 to celeberate 130 years of Piaggio has been designed in association with Armani.
Piaggio also unveiled its first scooter, the Aprilia 150SR.
This is a powerful scoooter which will be aimed at those looking for a motorbike type experience that comes with power and convenience of an automatic scooter.
Also showcased was the Aprilia Barracuda.
And this gentleman made the model get off the bike and pose with him. And she obliged :-)!
Also at the Piaggio Arena was the Moto Guzzi V9 Bobber with its 850 cc V-Twin engine.
And the 1400cc Moto Guzzi ElDorado.
And finally, the BMW G310R made its Indian debut after a long long wait. Here the G310 R streetfighter was officially unveiled and the bike which is jointly developed by TVS and BMW will be on the Indian roads later this year. The pricing will surely be competitive as it will be manufactured at the TVS's Hosur plant in India.
And bye from the glam world of bikes are Agnes Scuik from Poland and Judy Torrens from Spain.
Photographs: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com; Hitesh Harisinghani/Rediff.com