ZigWheels BIKE OF THE YEAR VERDICT

We had two 125cc machines, two 150cc motorcycles, a singleton big-wheeled scooter and of course a brand new iteration of the classic Royal Enfield Bullet. Big daddy Honda is slowly but surely moving with measured yet decisive steps on the motorcycle front and its CBF125 Stunner was clearly that - a bike with proven mechanicals which got updated and housed in a new stylish set. This was one profound move up the ladder from the dowdy Shine and it immediately reflected positively in the sales charts. Wonder how Honda missed the point in the first place itself! Challenging the Stunner was the TVS Flame, a bike which had been in the wars for technology infringement (the case is in the legal domain and no result has been declared but TVS has had to discard the twin spark plug top end and make do with a single plug unit). That said the styling of the Flame makes for an even more stunning motorcycle than Honda's new stylish executive commuter but overall in terms of refinement and delivery the Flame gets doused by the Honda offering and thus loses out on the best in class accolades to the Stunner.

The scooter class had just one all new entrant and that was the large wheeled Honda Aviator. Ti's strange this Honda name game but whatever be it, the Big H delivered massively in 2008 both with its Stunner as well as with its Aviator scooter. The latter packed in the proven aggregates from the Activa / Dio set, housed it in a newer taller body and made it into a more upscale scooter.

Royal Enfield had the traditional classic category all nicely sewed up with its 350 Thunderbird Twin Spark. This is more than just an engine with a twin spark plug top end, it is an all new unit-construction engine with gearbox now incorporated into the overall crankcase housings rather than being a separate unit. This latter trait did duty for well over six plus decades and it was about time this was laid to rest. The new engine is a step in the right direction but more needs to be done even if Royal Enfield yet wants to retain its neo-retro appeal in the international bike world.

Brings me then to the two 150cc bikes. There is no doubt that this is the category which will see immense action all through the coming few years as Indian bikers would upgrade to this class of bike as the benchmark for an all round use machine for the masses. Both the 150cc machines under focus for the ZigWheels Bike of the Year 2008 came from the same manufacturer but both of them were stunningly different and enticing in their distinctive appeal and character.

No prizes for guessing that both bikes came from Yamaha. If anyone had mentioned this time last year that Yamaha would be coming out with two stunning new bikes, many would have yawned and told us to stop dreaming. Auto Expo 2008 changed that but Yamaha had yet to deliver. What we saw at the Pragati Maidan were two bikes developed from Yamaha's international roster. This statement isn't so clear-cut as that and let me explain. Yamaha as many other bike makers have been hard pressed to get motorcycle sales restart big time in the developed markets and their lack of entry level bikes was dismal or woefully inadequate for Europe and elsewhere. A team got cracking on it and they first came up with the highly acclaimed YZF-R125 for Europe which in turn got a cubic capacity bump for India and emerged here as the YZF-R15. Probably this is the most advanced bike India has seen to date and is designed for track day use and also possible tearing up the streets in real life. Of course its single-minded dedication to out-run, out-handle anything on wheels makes it a solo-oriented machine which would be had work for everyday use though I haven't seen many owners crib about this fact of life. No one would, not after they had dished out in excess of six-figures to get a 150cc liquid cooled machine which looks as if it is a scaled down R1 superbike and has the aura, the style, the performance and the capability in the same scaled down manner. If one were to talk about making a mission statement, the R15 did that pretty effectively for Yamaha after years of promises which were hollow and too good to be true.

However I for one didn't think the R15 to be that much of a segment mover as its unfaired, naked, FZ16 roadster sibling with those dressed to kill streetfighter looks. The FZ16 is all what Yamaha should always have been doing but they were too scared to attempt the same! It was a last gasp attempt but everyone has to admit that Yamaha did deliver when it mattered and delivered it strongly and purposefully.

The FZ16 is a bike which is in the mould of the Bajaj Pulsars - raw, macho, sexy and stunning. Bikes like these do work you know and while many tried to come up with watered down hunks, the FZ16 went the whole hog and caught the fancy of all those who set gaze on it. The slash and carved sculptured look along with the fancy choice of surface treatment plus the tightly packaged engine housed in the small-wheelbase chassis makes the FZ16 one of the most distinctive machines on our roads. While the R15 is tech laden and therefore costs a small fortune, the perfectly priced FZ16 doesn't use technology for technology's sake but just enough to give punters an all new ride which is beguiling in its entirety. Is this then the lesson which Yamaha and many others hadn't learnt or were they too diffident to learn from their Indian rivals? Whatever be the case Yamaha could price the new bike so competitively because it came from day one with localization to the tune of almost 95 per cent and therein lies another secret for many to use and employ.

Bikes however do not appeal for just being price competitive but to be dazzling in their turnout, adequate in the grunt and shove department and nifty and nimble when carving corners. That they could also roll down Main Street at a slow pace and make heads turn is an added attribute and the FZ16 has all this and more in its arsenal! Those killer looks are the biggest turn-on for the diehard biker or goggle-eyed lay person irrespective of gender. The power is torquey and thick, delivered with each progressive shift. It will not break speed and distance records but will give you the biggest smiles as you go about wringing the throttle and that is what motorcycling is in its true essence. A bike has to handle and that too safely and Yamaha has made a bike which even the newest of newcomers can take to and ride easily from day one. As for the experts, this bike couldn't have come at a better time. Best of both worlds and fittingly the ZigWheels Bike of the Year in 2008