[milindajp]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

@milindajp- you have dissected contents of my post & evaluated them individually & hence the reaction.

No I dont have Any statistics but what I have said is based on hearsay from some of the then owners of the bike. I am not sure if you have heard this but the RD was also often called "Yamdoot" NOt only becasue it was Yamaha + Rajdoot but also because of the risks involved in riding such a high speed bike.

Kmpl is not a criteria for judging a flop but sales numbers are, which may or may not be impacted by kmpl.

I am not sure why you say this "But then Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Porsche are all “Flop” ", if you had related them with BMW F650 I could have understood.

An RD was a regular production bike when higher CCs were quite a norm (Jawa/Bullet/RD/Rajdoot etc). What separated it from its peers was the mad power that it had.

Over a period people started giving more importance to mileage over power which lead to the declining sales of the RD & which incidentally is what we call as flop.

Nobody is doubting the legend of RD but we do have to accept that there came a time when people were not interested in buying them.

I beg your appology for the breaking a rule and dissect contents of your comments. Actually, I wanted just to highlight the RD350 section and so did that mistake. Forgive me.

Is it true that people were not interested in buying it? I think on the other hand it is the availability. The Yamaha company stopped the production of bothe RD350 and RX100 due to the 2-stroke factor. Even today, if we do a market research, we will find it one of the most desired bike in India.

RD was initially given to police, but later stopped because it's perpormance in terms of expense/km was much lower then other bikes of this class. So, here comes the budgeting factor. Kmpl is indeed a major factor for sale figures in Indian market.

Why I haven't related RD350 and BMW F650 is that - the later one was projected as a touring one, where as Rd was projected as a sporty power bike. For that same reason, I haven't relate it to Harley also. On the other hand, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Porsche - all are projected as powerful and sporty, I relate them with RD. My setting of example is based on what basis a company project it's product rather then the no of wheels it has.

I think - it is better if we consider performance, price, acceptability among the class for which it is projected, factors leading to its closer, before branding a model "Flop".

Ok, lets request any fellow bhpian who have link with Yamaha - please do provide us some statistics / data. We need those to make the debate more spicy ....


Again Technocrat, please accept my sincere apology for dissecting your comments.

[Technocrat]

Hey, No need to apologize Man, you had made your point of view I made mine & as long as we are clear of what we are saying to each other, its all fine

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

Add LML Sensation(125 cc scooter) to the list as well

My first 2-wheeler. Gave me quite a headache in the initial months. Finally gave it to my brother after I bought the Pulsar 180.

The one I owned was of this color.


Image Courtesy: http://vne-resource.iol.co.za/30/pic...cle1/8/9/16141

[tushar1985]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Racked my brain a lot and the answer is the Enfield Mofa 22cc. Alongwith I would also mention the 35cc Luna Wings from Kinetic and the sub 50 cc (don't know how much exactly?) Atlas Solex made by Atlas Cycles Ltd, Sonepat, Haryana, in the late 1970's.
The Enfield Mofa and the Atlas Solex (French collaboration with the makers of carburettors and mopeds) had small engines on the front mounted above the front wheel. The engines used to turn alongwith the handlebar while turning.
And the greatest punchline now! None of these needed a RTO registration or licence to drive as they were below the designated cubic capacity for RTO formalities.

LOL, I remember as a child, my mom used to own a MOFA....no license required, there was no Petrol tank on this one, the front down tube was used for storing petrol and the funniest thing, when we finally sold it a decade later, for 600 bucks the guy (scrap dealer) who bought it, tied it to the carrier of his Hero cycle

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by tushar1985

LOL, I remember as a child, my mom used to own a MOFA....no license required, there was no Petrol tank on this one, the front down tube was used for storing petrol and the funniest thing, when we finally sold it a decade later, for 600 bucks the guy (scrap dealer) who bought it, tied it to the carrier of his Hero cycle

yup it had 23cc engine,and new one used to cost rnd 3000 bucks
its commpetitor was Luna Wings which was 35cc,and another one,about which i cant recall.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

yup it had 23cc engine,and new one used to cost rnd 3000 bucks
its commpetitor was Luna Wings which was 35cc,and another one,about which i cant recall.

There was also the TVS Express with the 32cc I guess, I had also taken a test ride on it and it did feel faster than my friend's old Luna. The express tried to stand out as the one I had seen was in red and yellow.

Coming to the Luna, two of us have done trips of 300kms plus on it with a briefcase between us as luggage. It was old time fun.

[shankar.balan]

my god well done!
i suddenly remembered this Mofa - horrible little putput it was.
a little more than a bicycle with a motor.

anyone remembers these funny vehicles especially in Madras ?
1. Lots of fellows used to attach a small kerosene or Kerosene + petrol powered type of 2 stroke noisy engine to their hero bicycles - atleast in the '80's and early '90's.
2. then there were those 3 wheeler 'fish carts' - regular bullock carts, slightly jazzed up with 2 regular wheels and tyres in some cases and for the major part the typical "ironing" carts with 2 bicycle wheels at rear, with 50% (front half ) of a bicycle attached in front and powered by a horrible sounding kerosene + petrol driven motor - 2 stroke which used to make a heck of a noise;.
Necessity sure is the mother of invention.

Originally Posted by tushar1985

LOL, I remember as a child, my mom used to own a MOFA....no license required, there was no Petrol tank on this one, the front down tube was used for storing petrol and the funniest thing, when we finally sold it a decade later, for 600 bucks the guy (scrap dealer) who bought it, tied it to the carrier of his Hero cycle

[Shashank.A]

I am sure many of us not aware..but mofa was a sister of Bulls.

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by Shashank.A

I am sure many of us not aware..but mofa was a sister of Bulls.

I do remember
it was enfield Mofa

[siddvi]

As young kids, me and my cousins had fun riding the Avanti (Garelli?) moped. I remember it being taller and heavier than other mopeds and was quiet loud too.

[mantrig]

Came across a post from a guy called Purirhn from Delhi, who had a Mofa for sale and had posted the pics below as well with the following note :-

This is a beautiful machine called MOFA. Engine seems to be 30-40cc. It is in a very good condition. Found it lying in one corner of a house. The owner was not ready to sell it but somehow we managed. There are no title documents. No registration with the transport authority. The owner says these machines did not require any registration. However he has issued a sale receipt. According to the owner this is from the Royal Enfield family. Inspite of our efforts we have not been able to find another piece like this on the internet or anywhere else. Condition is pretty good and the paint is still original. A good piece for collection. A very rare piece indeed. I am expecting a good price for this. Maybe around 1000 US dollars or so

[anjan_c2007]

Another little known make was the Hitodi made by India Automotives Ltd (IAL) Jamshedpur. The name Hitodi came from Hindustan Tools and Dies. They launched a 49.9 cc moped in the mid 1970's which sold in miniscule numbers.
In 1988 the Hitodi Flash came along with its 3.3 bhp engine and 4.1 Nm torque @ 3500 rpm. The petrol tank was mounted in the Enfield Explorer bike like fashion.The moped weighed 66 KG had a fuel tank of 6.5 litres and did a max speed of 65-70 kmph.
Just one point- The Mofa engine was normally mounted and not on the front handlebar as earlier stated by me here in one post. The Atlas Solex moped's engine was mounted on the front handlebar indeed!
The Mofa tech specs are here:
Engine 22 cc, 2 stroke single cyl, air cooled
Power 0.8 bhp( Now can we give this to a teenager today who wants anything above 10 bhp?)
Weight Unladen 30 Kg ( How much you think a bicycle weighs?)
Wheel Size 2.00" X 17 " both front and rear
Seating Capacity One
Fuel Tank 1.45 litres ( My Landmaster needs that amount to warm up on a cold winter morning)
Payload 80 Kg
Fuel Consumption 90 kmpl (the HH CD 100 gave 80 mph under "ideal" conditions)
Maximum Speed 30 kmph ( and those sports bicycles?)
Price in 1988 Rs 2950/- in Tamil Nadu (no RTO, Insurance, Licence)

[RVD]

If I am not mistaken, there was/were brands called Panther And Pacer. Not sure if it was Panther Pacer as in one vehicle or if they were two seperate entities.

[akshay4587]

Add LML Supremo to the list

[jaaz]

Originally Posted by sushrutha

How about Kinteic Comet 250 & Aquila ? Only limited number of bikes were manufactured ?

These 2 Bikes were excellant. It's only the Kinetic image which didn't get along with these Bikes.