Looking for a Suzuki Caribian

[Ronaweigh]

In the latest edition of AMCN Australia they have written

Rumours are emerging that Triumph is developing a single cylinder roadbike model with a capacity around 350cc mark. The all new naked bike will be manufactered in Thailand as an affordable entry-level bike in USA and Europe and a prestige model in Asia. According to AMCN sources the Triumph Street will be presented in 2012 as a 2013 model, and will be powered by a liquid-cooled,four-valve,single-cylinder engine measuring anywhere between 267cc and 350cc, depending on the country in which its sold.

Also the 250cc KTM has been scrapped and instead KTM will launch a 350cc Duke at the EICMA Milan Show in November which will have been developed in India by Bajaj Auto for manufacture there.

They also have pictures of a rumoured 250cc Yamaha though the picture is a littled blured and in black and white, looks like the answer to Hondas 250cc CBR

Lets hope we see these bikes come true and released in Thailand at reasonable prices

[visions]

Yamaha are/have been re-developing/upgrading their 250 engine to compete in the new MotoGP250 class. That means they will also be producing a suitable frame etc. Why would they bother to compete in that class?..... unless......they have the intention of producing a road bike in the near future,

They already produce sportbikes in the 125 and 150 range (Im not sure where threy are produced? Japan?) so a 250 is a logical extention to capture some of the globally popular 250 market.

The big question is...........where will it be produced? Too expensive coming out of Japan compared to Thai built Kawa and Honda.

I would think India, Indonesia Thailand or China are the present options, but no rumours yet?

[Richard-BKK]

The answer is India, Yamaha currently builds a good amount of models in India, think YZF-R1, YZF-R15, YZF-R125, FZ1, V-Max and a few more... Rumors are that the Yamaha YBR-250 is also manufactured in India, but that is not confirmed or denied by Yamaha-India.

I cannot believe that Bajaj Auto stopped the development of the KTM Duke 200 or 250, in India, similar to Thailand and the rest of ASEAN – you pay a lot more tax, and with that making the motorcycle less affordable, if the engine is bigger than 250cc. Also the free-trade-agreement that India has with Thailand and the other ASEAN countries only applies for motorcycles with a engine size below 250cc.

Bajaj Auto wants to position the new single-cylinder 250cc in the market under the Kawasaki Ninja 250R. Some people even believe that they will make the new bike cheaper than the Honda CBR250R.

But everything regarding the motorcycle produced by Bajaj Auto is currently only build on rumors... But logic would suggest that a 350cc for the Asian market is not the smartest move...

2011-Yamaha-YBR250-factsheet.pdf

Edited April 25, 2011 by Richard-BKK

[visions]

The answer is India, Yamaha currently builds a good amount of models in India, think YZF-R1, YZF-R15, YZF-R125, FZ1, V-Max and a few more... Rumors are that the Yamaha YBR-250 is also manufactured in India, but that is not confirmed or denied by Yamaha-India.

I cannot believe that Bajaj Auto stopped the development of the KTM Duke 200 or 250, in India, similar to Thailand and the rest of ASEAN you pay a lot more tax, and with that making the motorcycle less affordable, if the engine is bigger than 250cc. Also the free-trade-agreement that India has with Thailand and the other ASEAN countries only applies for motorcycles with a engine size below 250cc.

Bajaj Auto wants to position the new single-cylinder 250cc in the market under the Kawasaki Ninja 250R. Some people even believe that they will make the new bike cheaper than the Honda CBR250R.

But everything regarding the motorcycle produced by Bajaj Auto is currently only build on rumors... But logic would suggest that a 350cc for the Asian market is not the smartest move...

Thanks for the reply/info. The more competition the better for us consumers. With rising fuel prices there will be more and more seeking Mbike as an alternative mode of commuting.

I am surprised that Yammy are not doing a competitor in the YZF sportbike to match Honda and Kawa. They have the 2 smaller models.

In Australia Kawa have just announced a A$1500 (roughly 50,000 baht ) reduction in the price of the Ninja 250.......to counter Honda's price advantage......wow imagine if you bought last week!! Immediate $1500 depreciation on every 250 Ninja now!!

The marketing war is heating up.

Edited April 25, 2011 by visions