Here comes a business segment that definitely doesn’t believe in the numbers game. Rather, they are content if they manage to grab their fair share of the passionate Indian bikers. There was a time when BMW came to the Indian market with similar big sports bikes, but the market was not ready then and they had to face a disappointing sales debacle. It also scared other prospective sports bike makers away from the market, who were content producing the regular bikes for the regular consumer. Times are changing now, however, and mean machines from every noteworthy stable are making a comeback. The markets also seem ready for the new machines on the horizon now.

It isn’t the sales of sports bikes that have caused this change in mindset. Rather, the popularity of the luxury car segment convinced the global motorbike giants about the bright future of premium sports bikes in India. Yamaha used to be a predominant player in the Indian bike market earlier but lost much ground to other motorbike manufacturers. Now the company is all set to make a strong comeback with its two cult sports bikes priced at Rs. 10.5 lakhs each and hopes to re-establish its brand equity in the huge and lucrative Indian bike market. Other major companies planning on entering the sports bike segment are Suzuki, Honda and BMW. Even Harley Davidson has been lobbying with the Indian government to reduce the import duty so that it may set up shop here.

India is a challenging market for the sports bike manufacturers, especially in terms of providing after-sales service outside the metros, as the Indian consumers attach a lot of importance to this. Yamaha will be increasing its dealerships in a phased manner so that the after-sales service infrastructure is in place in time.