An Average Indian Biker!

Hi Guys,

In the western countries, cars are part of everyday living and motor bikes are highly powerful and they are part of luxurious living. But in India and some of the Asian countries, cars are luxury (which is changing over the past few years) and bikes form a part of everyday living.

This has led to the fact that most of the leading bike manufacturers in the world are Indians. Whether it maybe Hero Motocorp or TVS motors or Bajaj Auto, the understanding of Indian market and delivering affordable products for the mass middle income group has led India to the leading users of motor bikes in the world.

So, what defines an average Indian Biker? Some of the youngsters may prefer zipping past in the highways and accelerating heavily in the narrow lanes of their city. But an average Indian biker has lot of preferences and it is ultimately reflected in the bike market.

One important factor an average Indian biker will look forward is the mileage that the bike will provide. With the increasing fuel rate, the money that one needs to spend on the fuel keeps increasing. Advertise that your bike has got a good mileage and next day and surely people will start enquiring about your bike. This is one big factor why the 100 CC bikes like Splendor plus and Discover are the fastest moving ones.

Most of the 100 CC bikes are classified as starting segment bikes. Apart from mileage the other factors that lead to the increase in bike sales are the lower cost factor, less weight and value for money. As the bikes have lower power engine, obviously they will be the lower costing bikes too and the less power leads to lower weight and all the factors will lead to a observation that ‘This bike is worth the money I spend’

As I said earlier, people who buy bikes for fun and thrill are less compared to the people who buy bikes to travel to offices, shops and other daily routines. So, most of the travel occurs within the city. Any Indian would know what an average Indian Road would give its riders. Narrow lanes, cross roads, potholes and heavy traffic. So, virtually buying a higher power bike for the standard Indian roads will lead to excessive braking and reduce the mileage. It will also lead to a state where you will have very good features but you will not be able to use it. Places where heavy traffic occurs and movement occurs inch-by-inch, bikes offer you a luxury that cars won’t. You can zip past the cars in a narrow place available. You will be able to escape the signal more easily.

Of late, a change in trend has been setting in slowly. The average Indian road conditions have improved. At least the main roads have got better infrastructure and we need not brake as frequently as we did earlier. This has lead to the freedom of accelerating as per our wish to a certain extent. This has resulted in an increase in creation and sales of sportier bikes like Pulsars, Apaches and Fazers. The higher spending power and the thought of thrill among the younger people have also boosted the sales of these bikes despite the higher cost and lower mileage factors.

Choose a college and enquire the guys about the bikes they have got and you will be able to find that most of the guys will own the more than 150 CC bikes. They have the nerves for thrill and also most of the colleges are located on highways which have led to the freedom of zipping past the other vehicles.

The mindset of an average Indian biker is changing slowly. Cars are no longer a thing of luxury and thus people who think of the safety factor and have higher spending capacity have moved to cars. So, the number of people who have started to get sportier bikes are also on an increase. In my view it won’t be a big surprise if the power of engines keeps increasing and if 125 CC or 150 CC becomes a standard sometime in the future.

My biggest worry is the safety of the riders. Some of the youngsters consider the thrill, but forget the dangers. Many of the accidents occur due to the higher speed and absence of helmet. The ethics of the Indian riders must improve. Considering the thrill in riding bikes is not a problem, but the reluctance to obey road rules and wear helmet are serious problems. Hope the average Indian biker becomes more mature in the future ahead!

Happy Reading!!!

P.S: This post is written for ‘The Power 1 Biker Code of India’ contest sponsored by Castrol Biking. Indibloggers who like my post can vote by visiting my post at thecontest page.

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