Gone are the days when only select range of motorcycle could ride into the top terrains of mountains. Now it is found that one out of ten superbikes sold has the capacity to reach the peaks. The bikes under this category are priced in the range of Rs10 lakh – Rs60 lakhs. These superbikes are mostly preferred by the lovers hailing from north east and north parts of the country who contribute 10% of the net sale, said an official from Suzuki Motorcycles, known for its super bike Hayabusa. The superbikes are characterized by engine capacity of 1000 and +, rugged performance and sporty designs. The major players in this segment are Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki and Davidson. Their target customers are placed mostly in metro cities in the country, but much demand arises from Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai and New Delhi. But the unexpected spree from the mountain belt customers is a big surprise for these companies.
The demand is faceted for two reasons, disposable revenue and installation of sales centers covering mountain regions, said the head for marketing and sale of Honda Motorcycle. The demand from these steep regions is not comprehensive but is crucial in the overall sale. Among the metro cities, Mumbai has the good fare with one third of the sold superbikes, whereas Bangalore and Delhi have less than Mumbai- 20%. The superbike motorcycle segment boosted its reputation once Yamaha introduced YZFR R1 and MT01 before 2 years. Then came Suzuki’s Intruder and Hayabusa. Of these, Hayabusa has set the record sale of 106 units since its launch. This makes the net sale volume for the companies as – Suzuki (210 units), Yamaha(158 units) and Honda (70 units). The market analysts foresee that the superbike segment has a potential to reach 1000 units per year from next year since in 2009 it was 600 units.