New Bikes Coming in February 2024
The year 2024 Started off on a good note as we witnessed multiple new two-Wheeler launches in the month of January.
And guess what? We are expecting February to be equally exciting with a variety of highly anticipated two-wheelers entering our shores from small size electric two-wheelers to big bikes.
There should be a bunch of new two wheelers, which should interest every kind of buyers in India.
Hero Maverick 440
Now, the first motorcycle in our list is the Hero Maverick 440. Now this bike has already been unveiled in India.
Now this motorcycle is based on the Harley Davidson X 440, which is a bike that is, being produced and is developed by Hero Motor Cop itself in association with Harley Davidson.
Now, the X 440 and Maverick share the same platform, but we believe they will deliver an entirely different or distinctive riding experiences.
Design
First up is the design, where the X 440 is more of a cruiser or a flat tracker kind of motorcycle.
The Maverick comes across as more of a roadster, which gets a more upright stance. And, apart from the overall stance, there’s difference in their, wheel sizes.
Wheel Size
Also, X 440 gets, 18 and 17 inch wheel combination, whereas Maverick gets 17 inch alloy wheels and optional spoke wheels at both ends.
Apart from that, the wheel base is also different.
And, the seat height, the ground clearance, the overall cover of both these motorcycles is also different, and that’s what makes us believe that the riding experience of both these motorcycles will also be different.
Engine
Now, moving on to the engine, both these bikes are powered by a four 40 cc, air and oil cool single cylinder motor, but perhaps because of some difference in their tuning, the to output is slightly different, where the X 440 makes 38 newton meters of top.
The Mavericks top output sits at 36 Newton meters.
And also the throttle calibration and the way the power is delivered and considering the curve weight also in the picture the way the power is delivered or the way you feel, the character of the engine might also be slightly different.
Features
In terms of features, they are almost nearly identical full LED headlamp dual channel ABS and, uh, fully digital instrument cluster.
But the X 440 gets a TFT console and Maverick gets a more budget LCD console, but a Bluetooth connectivity remains a commonality and in both these motorcycles.
Pricing
Now coming to the pricing, the Harley X 440 is priced at 2.39 lakh, but knowing Hero, we believe the Maverick 440 will be, will sit under Rupees 2 lakh Ex-showroom and it’ll compete against the likes of the classic 350.
And, the speed 400, the Honda CV 350 and the Triumph Speed 400.
Now about the pricing, we believe it should be way lower than two lakh rupees because hero knowing it for years, they have always tried to make their motorcycles more affordable and more accessible as compared to their competitors.
So it should be very interesting to see what will be the price tag of the Maverick and how it’ll stack up against the more popular offerings or the already very popular offering offerings like the classic 350.
V Storm 800 DE and the GSX 8 R
Next up on the list are two big motorcycles coming from Japanese brand Suzuki, and these are the, the V Storm 800 DE and the GSX 8 R.
Suzuki would’ve already, unveiled this motorcycle in India at Bharat Mobility show that is happening in Delhi.
Now, both these motorcycles share almost the same platform with obviously subtle differences or extensive differences because the V Strom 800 DE is an outright adventure, motorcycle, whereas the GSX 8 R is more of a sport touring kind of motorcycle.
Engine
Now both these motorcycles are powered by the same 776 cc parallel twin DOXC engine with a 270 degree crank shaft.
Now, this kind of engine configuration, a 270 degree crank and parallel twin cylinder layout is being adopted by a lot of manufacturers across the globe because it gives them a big advantage in terms of less internal components and thereby lighter weight of the engine and easier packaging of the motor.
And as a result, it also gives a friendlier a more manageable and more versatile kind of performance as compared to, let’s say an inline four, which is more concentrated.
The performance is concentrated more towards the top end.
Power
Now as for the power and talk output numbers, the V-Strom 800 DE churn out close to 83 BHP and 78 NM of peak torque.
But depending on our, uh, going by the difference in application, the GSX 8 R, which is a sport bike, it has been tuned differently and it moved and it makes slightly more power and a slightly higher talk output.
Wheel Size
Similarly, there is a huge difference in the way the hardware has been designed for both motorcycles.
The 800 DE is it rides on a 21 inch spoke wheel at the front end 17 inch wheel at the rear, whereas the GSX 8 R, gets a 17 inch Alloy wheel at both ends.
Weight & Height
Similarly, the curb weight, the wheel base the ground clearance, seat height, suspension travel, everything for both These motorcycles are very different, again, depending on their applications and the genre in which they fit.
As for the competition, the Suzuki V-Strom 800 DE being, being an adventure touring motorcycle will lock hos with the Triumph Tiger 900 rally the BMW F 850 GS, and the new Honda Transalp.
Whereas the GSX 8 R its closest rivals happen to be Ducati SuperSport and not in terms of displacement, but in terms of body style and application, there is the Kawasaki Ninja 650, the Honda CBR 650 R, and the upcoming Triumph, Daytona 660.
KINETIC E-LUNA
The next step in line is the legendary Luna or the electric version of Luna, which is being brought by Kinetic Green, which is another new brand.
It is coming back after a long hiatus. So the deliveries of the E-luna haven’t started yet in India, but we already know quite a fair bit of on paper specifications starting from pricing.
Pricing
The pricing is set at 75,000 rupees ex-showroom, which is quite accessible and affordable as compared to many other even low speed electric two-wheelers, which are priced higher than the E-Luna 110 kilometer of battery range and 52 kilometer per hour of top speed, which is what should make it a good city runabout.
Weight
And as for the weight, it sits at 96 kg, which makes it pretty accessible and retains the OG Luna character.
But the main highlight of this electric two wheeler is the design, which seems to have been retained or very similar to the legendary Luna, which got discontinued many years back.
Design & Storage
So you have got the same step through kind of design with a, with a center spine, which has quite a bit of storage space at the front.
You’ve got a circular headlamp with a square shaped bezil. You’ve got a tall ape hanger kind of handlebar, which should make the overall ergonomics, very accessible and comfortable and neutral.
Wheels
It’s, it also gets a very long seat, a split type one, and it rides on a 16 inch spoke wheels at both ends with conventional telescopic folks DuaL springs at the rear, which would make it a very rugged kind of offering, which you can take on on different terrains and load up a lot of luggage. So it will be a very utilitarian kind of offering.
KTM RC
KTM also took the wraps off the 2024 editions of its RC lineup, the KTM RC 125, the KTM RC 200, and the KTM RC 390.
But do not get your hopes high because this is not the next generation models and just a color scheme or color palette update.
And there are no mechanical differences, but we are really looking forward to the next gen KTM RC 390, which has already been spied abroad.
So it’ll get the new 399 cc engine from the new 390 Duke. It’ll get a new frame, new suspension, new wheels, and new brakes.
So the entire package and including a new design and perhaps additional features. So the entire package is going to be all new.
Now coming back to the 2024 editions of the RC lineup these are all just color options, very and bold looking, but my personal favorite is the black one for the RC 200, which gets a fully blacked out body work with subtle,streaks of white and orange shade, which gives it a very stealth and, very nice look.
And, while this is just a global unreal, as of now, we hope and we expect KTM to launch all these motorcycles or all these color options in India with slight bump in pricing and maybe even not that because KTM has been really surprising us over the last few months as we witnessed with the new KTM 250 Duke, the pricing wasn’t changed and we hope that KTM does the same with the new 2024 RC lineup with the new color options.