Honda to Launch CBR1000RR speed bikes

The high-end fun-bikes market is expanding with Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), the wholly-owned Japanese subsidiary of Honda Motor Company, planning to sell its super-speed products soon.


“We will enter the high-end fun-bike market with CBR1000RR Fireblade and CB1000R Hornet imported models from Japan with a price tag of Rs 12.5 lakh and Rs 9.5 lakh, respectively,” Naresh Kumar Rattan, head — operations, sales and marketing, HMSI, told Financial Chronicle. The bikes will be sold through two company-owned showrooms ‘Honda Wing World’ in New Delhi, he said.

The Fireblade will be available in black and blue while Hornet will come in dragon green and black.

Honda’s competitors, Yamaha and Suzuki, have also tapped this high-end market with their popular models. Yamaha recently launched the YZF R1 and the torque sports MTO1 models at a price tag of between Rs 10 and Rs 12 lakh. Suzuki’s Hayabusa and Intruder bikes are priced at Rs 12.5 lakh each. BMW and Ducati models cost a steep Rs 40 lakh and Rs 30-45 lakh range, respectively.

Rattan said the company targeted to sell over 100 units of its fun-bikes in 2009 in metros such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore.

Yogesh Mathur, regional manager, sales, HMSI, said the Indian fun-bike market was catching up with about 400 units being sold annually. From mid-last year, the government eased norms to import 800cc and above bikes, while earlier completely built-up units entered the Indian market through the illegal route.

Rattan said the company staff had been trained in Australia and Singapore to handle these super-speed sports bikes and train the customers. “Only after being thoroughly trained on how to handle these bikes on the roads, these models will be sold to our customers to ensure safety and security,” Rattan said.

The company is planning to roll out the upgraded deluxe version of 110cc new scooter Activa in August. Its price will be disclosed on the launch day. The new standard Activa launched last week carries a price tag of Rs 39,787 (Delhi) and Rs 41,297 (Pune). The company plans to sell 12.5 lakh units in 2009-10, of which 7.3 lakh would be scooters and 5.2 lakh units of motorcycles. The company sold 10.7 lakh units in 2008-09.