By the end of 2014, India would definitely be the toughest 2-wheeler market in the sub 500cc segment. Yes you all know the reasons for that. By the end of 2014 India will be looking at 15 bikes competing in the 200-500 cc segments; which include the fully faired Bajaj Pulsar 200 SS to the Honda CBR500R. The year 2014 alone will see at-least 9 confirmed launches from both local as well as foreign players. With so many bikes lined up, the showrooms are gearing up to wave the chequered flag. It would be a feast for automobile enthusiasts as they would definitely go hay-wired looking at so many beasts at a time. The list is set to get bigger with Suzuki joining this league with the Suzuki GW250, popularly known as the Inazuma.
So far in our country Suzuki has managed to earn only a small part of the bread in the two-wheeler market and it is seriously planning for a bigger bite. Suzuki is the only mainstream 2-wheeler company in India which does not reveal sales figures but claims to have posted a 10% MoM growth in volumes. The Japanese automaker would be launching a 150cc as well as a 250cc bike early next year. The 150cc bike would appear a lot like the big daddy GSXR-1000, competing with the Yamaha R15 and Honda CBR150R. On the other hand the 250cc Inazuma would be locking horns with the well established KTM Duke 200 and CBR250R.
The Suzuki Inazuma is powered by a quarter litre in-line twin engine. This street-fighter bike will be delivering a power of 26 HP at 8500 RPM and 22 Nm of torque at 7000 RPM. A 6-speed gearbox will propel the bike across the 150 km/hr mark. The front suspension is a conventional fork while the rear is an adjustable monoshock. Both the front and rear brakes are of disc type and the vehicle weighs around 183 kgs. For a naked version, this bike exceeds the weight at-least by 30 kgs and is certainly a drawback.
Now the question is “What would be the price of the Suzuki Inazuma?” As this bike is brought into the country as a CKD; it definitely won’t be cheaper than the KTM Duke 200. We expect the bike to be tagged along with the CBR250R which should put the cost at above Rs 2 lakhs. We have been screening the web and managed to hit a dealer’s Facebook page which quoted Rs. 3.66 lakhs which is double the expected price. We are sure that Suzuki is not foolish enough to spoil its market with such a price tag and we still believe the bike will be priced under a couple of lakhs.
