Baby Beemers starting to take shape
The partnership between TVS Motor Company and BMW Motorrad is close to fruition, and we should be seeing at least one model by the end of 2015It looks like the first fruits of the TVS-BMW partnership are starting to come through, with this nakedbike recently spied in testing in Germany.
The new machine, reportedly powered by a 300cc single-cylinder four-stroke mill, will be aimed at machines like the KTM390 Duke, the Kawasaki Z300 and the Honda CB300F in what is fast becoming the most lucrative motorcycle segment in the world.
The TVS-BMW appears to come with the goods – 40-odd horsepower, upside down forks, monoshock back end, six-speed gearbox and aggressive styling but only a single front brake disc, which should make it appealing to new riders.
The partnership between BMW and Indian manufacturer TVS is much like that of the Bajaj-KTM alignment, where high tech European companies can access the reduced manufacturing costs and high volume output available in India (to give you an idea of how high the volume output, in December 2014, TVS sold a staggering 191,880 motorcycles and scooters. In one month…).
What’s interesting about this machine and indeed the sports and adventure bikes rumoured to follow in the coming years, is that Indian buyers will be buying TVS-branded bikes while the rest of us (European, American, Australian) will be buying the same bike branded BMW Motorrad. It will be interesting to compare the prices of the two different (but exactly the same) models…
The TVS-BMW is slated to be released later in 2015, but it’s unlikely you’ll see a finished product before the big international bike shows in Europe towards the end of the year.
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