The mighty Indian Chief has landed on Indian soil

Well after months of rumours and speculations Indian Motorcycles have finally entered the Indian market. Seeing to the recent trend of premium segment bike manufacturers hoarding off their models in India, Indian Motorcycles could not resist this lip smacking opportunity and after a bit hesitation has brought a fleet of exquisite motorcycles.

Indian Chief Vintage

Now lets clock back to some history of this brand. Indian Motorcycle is an American motorcycle maker that has been manufacturing bikes since 1901. It has changed ownership several times over the course of its history, but in 2011, Indian Motorcycle was acquired by Polaris Industries, a company best known in India for its range of specialised off-road vehicles. In 2013, Indian Motorcycle launched a new line-up of three cruisers, namely the Chief Classic, Chief Vintage and Chieftain, and these are the models that have been launched in India too.

Indian Chief Classic

The three bikes will be brought into India as CBUs or completely built units (and are hence subject to full duty) and are built around Indian’s new Thunder Stroke 111 engine. The ‘111’ here refers to the engine capacity in cubic inches, which equates to 1,811cc. It’s an air-cooled and fuel-injected engine that produces 14.1kgm at 2,600rpm. New engine apart, the new Indians look very much like the Indians of the past. There’s lots of chrome, studded seats and the traditional flowing rear fender. However, the three bikes do differ slightly on styling and equipment.

Indian Chieftain

The Indian Chief Classic that has been priced at Rs 26.5 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) comes with ABS, cruise control and keyless start as standard. The Indian Chief Vintage (Rs 29.5 lakh) sees the addition of leather saddle bags and a quick-release windshield. Priced at Rs 33 lakh, the range-topping Chieftain is identifiable by its curvaceous fairing and hard saddle bags. This model also gets tyre-pressure monitoring and even 100W speakers that can stream music from a smartphone! 

Motorcycle customisation will also be introduced in India in a phased manner. Indian Motorcycle is not very ambitious about sales in India and unlike its traditional rival Harley-Davidson, the manufacturer has no plans to venture into the smaller segments or local manufacture.

Spied and Rendered – Kawasaki Ninja 250 SL

Rendered: Kawasaki Ninja 250SL

Recent spyshots have emerged on the internet hinting that Kawasaki could introduce a new baby sportsbike. The new single-cylinder Kawasaki motorcycle has been caught nearly uncamouflaged in Indonesia, and based on those images, Moto Blast has rendered the bike.

The rendering shows a well proportioned, fully-faired sportsbike featuring a single headlight unit. If you compare this with the spyshot attached below, the rendering seems pretty accurate.

While details on the new Ninja are unknown, Moto Blast thinks it would be called the Ninja 250 SL. The single-cylinder bike would sport features such as front and rear disc brake and a fully digital instrument console.

The year 2013 saw a product offensive from Kawasaki as the brand launched 5 motorcycles in India. The Ninja 300, ZX-10R, ZX-14R, Z1000 and Ninja 1000 were introduced in India last year.

New Spied Kawasaki 250 SL

Further, company officials announced that a new product could be launched which we think would Z800. And apart from the above mentioned bikes, reports have also indicated that the Versys 1000 and ER-6n would be brought into the country by the middle of this year.


So what are your expression from the new Kawasaki Ninja 250SL?

Image Source: Motoblast.com