Team-BHP - Will big wheels keep turning on Indian scooters?

There was a time when the Indian two wheeler user was incapable of looking beyond the Vespa/Bajaj 150 (and its various iterations) until the mid 1980s when the 100 cc motorcycles from Japan took over the market and the scooter almost died in the market. At that time Bajaj and Hero tried to revive the scooter market with scooters with big wheels. During the 1990s the European market saw a growing demand for scooter with CVT transmissions and 14 inch wheels. Bajaj used its 75 cc engine from the M 80 to create a scooter called Rave. Unfortunately the Rave suffered from starting problems and also had the fairly horrible hand shift gear system. And so the scooter just died and Bajaj did nothing to revive it either.

Hero Honda which was not allowed to make a scooter with Honda collaboration due to the fact that Honda had an exclusive collaboration for scooters with Kinetic Motor Company floated a company called Hero Motors and entered into a collaboration with Malaguti of Italy to create the Winner, another scooter with 14 inch wheels and a 75 cc engine (probably it was the 65 cc engine from the Hero Puch and bored out to 75 cc but I am not sure of this). The Winner did better than the Rave but it too finally had to throw in the towel.

It was then left to Honda and the Activa to revive the scooter market and it seems now that the Japanese are interested in bringing big wheeled scooters. The wheels of the Wego and the Gusto are already 12 inches in size and offer clear handling and balance benefits. Various reports across the net in the last couple of days have been speculating that Piaggio will bring its 12 inch wheeled 125 cc engined Fly scooter (this rumour did do the rounds once before but it has started doing the rounds again), Yamaha will bring the Soul scooter with 14 inch wheels and 125 cc engine (it has just launched this in Indonesia and blogs have been claiming that it is just a matter of time before the scooter comes to India as well) and also that a similarly specced scooter from Suzuki called the Hayate 125 will also eventually make it here (the name will have to be changed since Suzuki already markets a motorcycle with that name). If these speculations turn out to be true then the question will be will the Japanese and the Italians succeed where the home grown manufacturers have failed.

Though there have been speculations about launch of these scooters in India, they still appears to be in preliminary stage of testing and no manufacturer have confirmed launch date for any of them.

As per NDTV, Honda too join the wave with PCX (not sure about wheel size though):
http://auto.ndtv.com/news/honda-pcx-...is-year-729713

Why such scooters were not launched in India yet? blame it to our market ( I am talking about majority here) where scooters are still perceived as made for girls and elderly only :Frustrati

Not sure if the market is really ready for big wheeled scooters. Scooters are gradually shedding the "female only" image as proven by the consistent increase in the segment's sales. That being said, some of the scooters shown in the images above aren't very conservatively styled and most buyers are just looking for a simple, reliable and utilitarian scooter.

A scooter with 14 inch wheels or more will probably be given a more lifestyle focused image and target buyers in the 18-22 age group. A handful of models like the Hayate 125 and Sould will most likely be brought into the market and serve as "water testers". If sales prove to be significant enough, I can imagine more models of the sort entering the market soon after.

I think this is the right time to launch big-wheeled scooters. The bigger wheeled scooters have the potential to take the scooter game forward and could be an ideal upgrade for those who want an upgrade from their plain vanilla Activas and Rays.

The Rave from Bajaj was almost a beautified M80 (with alloy wheels and new panels) and it was pretty much a disaster as far as looks were concerned (even for the 90's). Also, the hand shift gear was not a step-up from conventional geared scooters. Hero I believe was much more successful, but eventually, did not manage big volumes.

Bigger wheeled scooters are more stable and handle much better. Our conventional buyers may still not be ready to gobble up the looks of a TVS Neo or any of the step-thrus which are popular in markets like Indonesia. To the typical Indian buyer, they scream more moped than scooter. That is why I think a more scooter-like styled machine such as the PCX has a much better chance at creating a new segment in the Indian market. I had the chance to test one for a short duration and it was good fun.

Looks like both Honda and Yamaha have most of their focus on scooters right now. Wonder why our Indian OEMs are not responding fast enough when the growth rate has been clearly visible for quite some time. If Mr. Bajaj does not gobble up his words soon enough, KTM might be the only profit-making arm left for Bajaj.

Y know if there is a good moto scooter in India, I would pick it up in a flash. For a single guy in a crowded over bearing city, a car is a real bane. I for one will love to get a touring bike for the weekends and a moto scooter for the week. The Aprilia unfortunately is not a proper moto scooter in my books, just a racy looking scooter. Do correct me if wrong. I am evaluating a car vs moto scooter purchase in the near future.

Don't think I will go the Honda navi way though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Liner (Post 3910910)

The Aprilia unfortunately is not a proper moto scooter in my books, just a racy looking scooter. Do correct me if wrong. I am evaluating a car vs moto scooter purchase in the near future..

Going by what is currently available in India, the Aprilia is certainly a step up. It comes with a 150cc engine while the current crop are stuck at 110cc (7-8bhp) or 125cc (9bhp), 14 inch wheels on both ends while the current scooters come with 10 inch wheels and the rare ones with 12 inch wheels & from the pics comes with front disc brakes. This makes it a decently powerful, comfortable alternative to say a 150cc bike since it will be more comfortable than the current gen scooters due to the bigger wheels and telescopic suspension and easier to handle and move about in traffic compared to a bike.

Moto Scooter for a traffic congested city like Bangalore makes more sense if you already have a bike for the weekend rides. Only if you are a family of 3 or more and always travel in city together would you need a car to protect you from the elements (Husband, wife, kid/kids as an example).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tushar (Post 3659490)

That being said, some of the scooters shown in the images above aren't very conservatively styled and most buyers are just looking for a simple, reliable and utilitarian scooter.

I second your thought. When I got my Suzuki access, all I was looking for is a fuss free vehicle to get to the local grocery store and nearby places, for which I don't need to get my car out every time. A 14 inch wheel or a 10 inch wheel was the last priority, even 110cc/125cc didn't matter.

I suppose much has not changed now as well, and people buy scooters just for the convenience.
Also, IMO the smaller wheels look better than the bigger ones on a scooter. They are neither here nor there. Saw a lot of Suzuki Swish in the Philippines(they have big wheels there) and it looked kindof odd to me.stupid:

It seems like the right step to take or should I say the "right step-through to take"
But, going by the market trends, I highly doubt the japs might get anything bigger than whats already available. Problem being cost and service. The PCX, N-Max are all liquid cooled and would cost more. Besides, servicing such scooters could be challenge too as most service guys have never seen liquid cooled engines.
I recently bought a new Suzuki Access and after seeing it's new engine realised that just because Honda is the market leader, most mechanics who can fix the activas couldn't repair the earlier Access which had a very different engine design compared to the Activa. So, to make matters simple, Suzuki redesigned their engines to something similar to what the Activa is hence making it easier for mechanics to fix!

In India scooters are equated with practicality. So if one were to look for big wheels and such things people immediately think of proper bikes. Scooters are equated with comparatively smaller wheels, on which a balancing driver in crawling traffic can easily put his/her foot down frequently as needed. Smaller wheels also ensure that if the rider loses balance at such low speeds then too the scooter often merely tilts and does not fall. And finally, on weekends the rider can put the that rice gunny bag or the gas cylinder, and dare I say, even his two little kids at times, between his two legs and ride merrily through the gallis to reach his/her destination.

Now go and have a look at most of the big wheeled scooters (including the TVS ones) and you will know why these may not hit our shores in a hurry. :)