The auto industry just keeps on giving. Suzuki (the ones who worked with Maruti, yup those dudes) have announced that Inazuma GW250 will be arriving in India come 2014.
Inazuma is another naked street bike, with a 248cc twin cylinder liquid cooled 4 stroke engine (Wow…wrote that in one breath). It should (in all rocket science probability) be able to produce 26HP and 24.2 NMof torque. The engine will be paired to a six-speed manual transmission, which will transmit power to the rear wheels via a direct chain drive. The weight of the bike is a bit on the higher side at 182Kg. It looks very retro-ish and seems like something the 1990s forgot. The pillion seat though looks comfortable, so that’s a good sign.
Speaking to AutoCar, Atul Gupta, executive vice-president, SMIL confirmed that the company plans to launch the Inazuma late January 2014. Its a weird step, with the Auto Expo in Feb, why would you release a brand new bike just a month before the convention. But what do bikers know, obviously that guy in the suit is smarter.
Starts as mile muncher, ends as a sports bike
Silly release dates aside, the Inazuma is the latest offering in the sub 500cc section. Today the options range from the KTM Duke (my precious) to the Pulsar to Honda CBR250R to Kawasaki Ninja 300. We are telling you, this is by far the best time to be an Indian Biker. We don’t think that people are really going to take kindly to something which looks like something the cat threw up (sorry Suzuki), but more options is always nice or was it competition drives prices down. Whatever, we never really paid attention in the Economics class.
In the interview Atul also mentioned that Suzuki has plans to expand its current roster in India, not limited by just bikes. Currently Suzuki has Access 125 and Swish 125 in the scooter section, Hayate (110cc), Slingshot (125cc) and GS150R (150cc) in the biking categories. He did not disclose what other products are lined up, but he did mention that Suzuki plans to increase their dealership network in India, which really needs a boost when you look at the fact that they are absent from about 60% of the market.
The Inazuma, will be imported in Completely Knocked Down Kits (CKD) and would be assembled at Suzuki’s facility at Gurgaon. Atul also hinted upon increasing the capacity of the facility. He did not mention any price range, but we expect the bike to be somewhere between the Rs. 1.2-1.8 Lakhs. It also needs to be noted that outside India, there is also a semi-fared version of Inazuma available. We are not clear if that model would be available simultaneously if at all along with the naked version of the Inazuma. Guess, even RiderZone doesn’t know everything.
Indians love fares…even if they are Semi
Well, Suzuki hasn’t had a very successful working relationship with India. Will the Inazuma change all that? We wish the company best of luck with their new launch. But we would love to know, what you think of design, the idea of a new 250cc bike, or the weather. Just sound off in the comments below.