• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

S. Muralidhar

THE INDIAN bike buyer is an enigma. His clan is so diverse by age group and expectations and yet so contrived when it comes to the bike of choice. Great brands get kicked to the wayside and excellent bikes wait forlornly in their showrooms unable to woo this whimsical customer.

What does he look for in a bike — brand, pedigree, looks, build quality, fuel-efficiency, speed, after-sales service or a combination of these parameters?

The market is complex enough even for bikes that are slotted in specific, focused sub-segments and it just gets even more complicated for ones that are attempting to cater to a cusp — a set between two segments, that is.

The game plan is not so easy for companies that are trying to get the commuter bike buyer to upgrade to the 125cc segment. So, when Hero Honda launched its much-awaited answer to the other 125cc contenders, it was getting into a sub-segment that was potentially a quagmire of expectations.

But there were enough precedents in the form of competing bikes whose experiences Hero Honda could collate so as to be able to fathom what the biker in this segment may be looking for. And, predictably, as has happened in the past, the new Hero Honda Super Splendor has put this segment into a tizzy.

We have been flooded with enquiries after the new bike was launched, and with at least three big contenders already in the market, we thought a comparison would make the job easier for the potential 125cc bike-buyer.

The best part about Hero Honda's focus for the new Super Splendor is its clarity of purpose.

It is extremely focused on affordable pricing and economical performance — parameters that will be the key to pushing the 100cc bike owner to upgrade to the new cusp segment.

Here again, Hero Honda has ensured that it leverages the brand and image of the Splendor, its most popular bike. The `herd mentality' amongst bike buyers for the Splendor is explainable. With its reputation built over the years, the Splendor has come to epitomise rugged build, high fuel efficiency, low maintenance and good resale value — qualities that have endeared it to millions of economy-conscious Indian bike owners. Traits that have enabled it to become the world's largest selling motorcycle model.

With such a large base of satisfied commuter bike owners already within its grasp, all that Hero Honda had to do was to offer an upgraded version that presented a step-up in performance, without compromising much of the focus on economy that the smaller-engined Splendor+ has come to be identified with. That does seem to be the strategy that the company has adopted for the Super Splendor — the only 125cc bike that is unabashedly focused on fuel efficiency and affordable pricing.

The flip side to these pluses for the Super Splendor is the fact that it is the most conservative looking bike in this segment and material quality is clearly also economy class.

But with the Hero Honda Ambition 135 not making a mark and attracting sizeable number of buyers, the Super Splendor at least does not have in-house competition.

The Super Splendor's ability to come with class-leading mileage is thanks to its relatively low kerb weight, thin, 2.75-inch rear tyres and equipment such as the roller-rocker arms and tweaked digital ignition. On its part, despite the bike's economy focus, Hero Honda also claims that the Super Splendor `Quantum Core' engine's power delivery is better in the riding zone (0 to 60 kmph) than any motorcycle in the 100/125cc class.

To improve its easy maintenance, economy image, the company has also made a provision for changing the Super Splendor's cam chain externally without opening the engine.

In our rankings list, the Super Splendor, along with the TVS Victor GLX 125, emerges the second best contender in the executive-commuter segment.

The ranking neither takes into account some of the extremely qualitative factors such as brand image and history of reliability nor reflects the slightly one-sided focus of a bike such as the Yamaha Fazer or the Super Splendor.

The new Hero Honda bike and the Bajaj Discover are less expensive among the five contenders; the latter offers more upfront to the 125cc buyer.

Similarly, the Fazer with its international styling, refined performance and ride comfort and top notch build should be able to offer a riding experience that is much more of an upgrade for bikers looking to graduate from the 100cc class.

But the Fazer suffers from a relatively poor mileage rating and after-sales service quality has been found wanting by quite a few existing Yamaha owners.

Despite these minuses, the Yamaha Fazer would still feature at the top in our reckoning. It stays tied with the Discover for the No 1 slot, because the Bajaj bike has managed to offer a fairly good combination of looks, performance and fuel economy. The only negative with the Discover being the slightly inferior ride quality.

Overall, the Super Splendor has its reasons for its focus, but it still may not appeal to many potential 125cc biker buyers.

The earlier entrants into this segment have not aged and will, as yet, be able to compete despite the behemoth of the Splendor brand backing Hero Honda's 125cc model.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Mutual fund performance — Braving a bumpy market

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line