Suzuki’s Little Gixxers Finally Go Green!

It teased us with just an unveil at the Expo and now, Suzuki has finally launched the Gixxer BS6 and Gixxer SF BS6. The cost of cleaner tailpipe emissions? Around Rs 12,000. Yep, you read that right! The Gixxer BS6 will now set you back by Rs 1,11,900, while its faired cousin, the SF BS6, retails for Rs 1,21,900. Want that race-y look to grab eyeballs at traffic lights? You’re in luck, because the Gixxer SF MotoGP edition has also received the BS6 update, and will cost you Rs 1,22,900, making it Rs 12,295 more expensive than before!

We’re a little flummoxed as to where this rather significant price hike comes from. It’s not like Suzuki has needed to add fuel injection; the BS4 bikes already featured the technology. Yes, an additional catalytic converted was thrown in to help keep tailpipe emissions in check, but that still doesn’t account for Rs 12,000. Rather disappointing, then, since no other updates have been made to the bikes.

What about performance? Well, more bad news here. Engine output is marginally down to 13.6PS and 13.8Nm, compared to the earlier 14.1PS and 14Nm. To make matters worse, we expect that weight will have gone up by a couple of kilos thanks to the extra cat con. Hopefully, this shouldn’t dent performance figures too much, but the BS6 bike certainly won’t be any quicker than before.

The popular Gixxer now sits in a segment of bikes that have almost all been updated to BS6. Its most direct competitors - the Yamaha FZS-Fi and TVS Apache RTR 160 4V - have already been launched in BS6-compliant guise, and even the more affordable Bajaj Pulsar 150 and TVS Apache RTR 160 2V have gone green too. How much will this considerable price hike affect its sales performance? Only time will tell.