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Harleys in India: A look at the mean machines
Motorbike giant Harley Davidson is all set to launch in India and marked its presence with a 'Boot Camp' in Mumbai on November 13, offering free test rides.
Sportster, Dyna, Softail, VRSC or the V-Rod, Touring and the CVO are the models that will roll into country in early 2010. We got a sneak peek of the mean machines and needless to say, like most biking enthusiasts, we too were floored.
Just in case you were wondering why the Harley never really made it to India before, it was all thanks to the government that had rejected the company's proposal saying India lacked prescribed emission norms for motorcycles with an engine capacity more than 500cc.
Funnily, importing bikes such as the 1300cc Suzuki Hayabusa is permitted.
Made for India
Either way, Harley is finally here. And everyone's excited. Marc Billimoria who could hardly contain his exhilaration told us after the ride that it was like 'having the power of two Maruti 800s between my legs'.
Anoop Prakash, the marketing director of Harley Davidson in India, said that all the models have been tested for Indian road conditions and that they planned to bring in the motorcycles in five India cities in -- Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chandigarh.
We are also told that all the bikes have special features that make them unique -- from each other as well as from other bikes on Indian roads.
Where power and looks combine
The V-Rod family can be enhanced with HEX Chrome and black chrome, which is said to never erode. It has a huge liquid cooled 1250cc revolution engine. These bikes are more often known as the power cruiser. The revolution engine delivers 9,000 rpm and pushes put up to 125 horse power.
John McEnaney, who was representing Harley Davidson, cheekily said, "This bike is not for the shy and definitely not bank robbers. Because if you rob a bank people will know which way you went. People will want to talk to you when you get off this baby and they will expect you to talk to them."
Match your style
The Sportster is racing-inspired and boasts of innovative technology like vibration-isolated fuel injected evolution engines with high-performance carbon fibre belts and more. This is more toward the bobber style as many might want to cut weight from the bike to increase its speed. Most of the parts are cut down and modified to high performance and stability while riding.
The company also offers you something called a 'Chrome Consultant' who caters to your needs. You can bobby your bikes with less or more chrome as you desire and add flames or radical paints.
Soup it up
The consultant will help you with the 5,000 different accessories including wind-shields, visors, farings and tourists cases or boxes, cigarette lighters, CD players, MP3 players, removable luggage, controls for the pillion, helmet headsets through which you can talk to your partner while enjoying the Harley bike experience.
Billimoria who is a banker and an avid biker confessed, "I own super bikes and sports bikes but nothing compared to a Harley Davidson. I don't feel like riding any of those after sitting on this baby."
Pure pleasure... doesn't come cheap
McEnaney took the opportunity to clear the misconception that a Harleys are heavy and difficult to handle bikes.
"You don't need to be Arnold Schwarzenegger to ride a Harley Davidson," he said.
Of course the pleasure and pride associated with a Harley comes at a price. And though the company is currently tight lipped about what these beasts cost, we are told that they could be anywhere between Rs 4 lakh and Rs 14 lakh (or more).
A ride to remember
The 883 Sportster for instance costs about Rs 3.2 lakh -- that is if you don't count the custom duty charges levied on it and the other miscellaneous expenses.
So is it worth going in for such an expensive two-wheeler? As a biker points out: there are only two kinds of people in this world -- those who've ridden a Harley and those who haven't.