Yamaha’s R15 has been the embodiment of their “Racing Instinct” tag line.  Technologies such as liquid cooling, a 4-valve head, a Deltabox frame, well tuned suspension and impressive rubber have made it a sublime race track focussed machine.

Royal Enfield’s flagship Classic series has been upgraded with the introduction of two limited edition bikes – the Classic Chrome and Desert Storm. The Classic series has been a runaway success story for Royal Enfield since its launch in November 2009, its sales far surpassing the Chennai-based manufacturer’s expectations.

Mahindra 2-Wheelers is working hard to get things right. Earlier this year we were acquainted with the Duro DZ and now a second coming is the Rodeo RZ.

Husqvarna is a name most Indian bikers will only have heard of vaguely. Many upheavals in the Swedish brand’s rich history now has their bikes built in Varese, Italy under the tutelage of German automotive powerhouse, BMW Motorrad. ‘Huskies’ as this marque’s products are popularly known are generally focussed, top class off-road motorcycles.

The last few years have seen a spate of Japanese manufacturers including Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki unloading their ammunition of numerous litre-class bikes. Not one to follow the norm, Kawasaki and Bajaj initially decided to proceed with an assembled in India, more usable Ninja 250R. After which, they have now decided to bring in their bigger Ninja, the 650R.

Kawasaki and Bajaj have kept loyal fans of the Ninja 650R on tenterhooks for a while now. It's taken an age for the 2012 model Ninja 650 to arrive to India, but you can blame this on Government red tape, and arrive it now has, in style.

Almost a quarter of a million Monsters have sold around the world since its 1993 introduction. So, how many of the next quarter of a million Monsters are to be powered by Ducati’s new Monster 795 for Asia? A quick ride brings us closer to the answer.

The Hero Maestro’s appearance includes a well thought-out front apron, mudguard and vast side panels, all showing conservative lines. The headlamp works well, and adding some style are the dual tone rear-view mirrors, which work well but are cumbersome to adjust.

The Ignitor is yet another Hero MotoCorp commuter motorcycle in the burgeoning 125cc segment. A glance is all it takes to realise this is a re-badged Honda Stunner. The Ignitor’s headlamp and the visor are in line with Hero’s new corporate identity, with dual tone mirrors adding style to the new bike.

The GT250R signals Korean bike maker Hyosung’s comeback to the Indian quarter-litre bike segment after an eight-year hiatus. In 2004, Hyosung’s 250cc naked streetbike, the Comet, landed in India as a limited edition thanks to Kinetic Motors, while this time round, Garware Motors aims to blaze its own Comet trail with a modern, fully faired, sportier variant of the original.

The high-volume Indian commuter bike segment has received yet another motorcycle, the 112.8cc Suzuki Hayate. Hayate means ‘fresh breeze’ in Japanese.  In profile, the conservative new bike takes you straight back to the Suzuki Slingshot, with an all too familiar curvy bikini fairing and bright, well focused headlight.

Mahindra 2-wheelers’ Duro has recently been revamped and we’ve brought out our magnifying lens to look beneath the surface and tell you all that you want to know about this latest DZ variant.