Top bikes, scooters launching in India in the coming months

It’s a good time to be in the market for a new two-wheeler as the number of offerings is going to grow substantially, irrespective of the price range or powertrain you’re interested in. This list covers the new bikes and scooters that will be launched leading up to the festive season.

Aprilia

Aprilia has been testing an all-new small-capacity sportbike that uses a new 440cc parallel-twin engine, derived from the 660cc mill in the middleweight Aprilia line-up. This new RS 440 looks like it borrows its styling from the RS 660 as well and will be made entirely in India at the plant in Baramati. We expect this bike to debut very close to the festive season this year.

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Ducati

Funnily enough, of all the bike makers listed here, exotic Italian marque, Ducati will have the most new bikes that will be coming to India. The Bologna-based company has already launched the DesertX and the Monster SP this year, but there’s lots more to follow. The likes of the Panigale V4 R, Streetfighter V4 SP2, Diavel V4, Scrambler 2G and Multistrada V4 Rally are all going to make their way to India in the next few months. And if that wasn’t enough, the ultra-exclusive limited-edition Streetfighter V4 Lamborghini will also be coming here for a select few well-heeled customers.

Harley-Davidson

The times are a-changin’ and no one is more aware of that than iconic American bike maker, Harley-Davidson. In an effort to produce an accessible, entry-level model, Harley teamed up with the manufacturer that (arguably) does affordable transportation like no other – Hero MotoCorp. The first images of the bike yielded by this partnership have surfaced and they show a bike that’s just about ready to come out from the shadows. 

Hero MotoCorp

Speaking of Hero MotoCorp, the company is gearing up to launch as many as five new bikes in the Indian market this year. The Passion Plus will be making a return to the Hero fold and the Xtreme 200S will be updated with the new 4-valve engine. The new Karizma that has been spotted testing will be breaking cover this year as well. 

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Honda

Honda is working on three new small-capacity offerings displacing 125cc, 160cc and 350cc, respectively. The 125cc scooter will likely be based on the same platform as the Activa 125, while the new 160cc bike is rumoured to use the same engine as the Unicorn and XBlade models. The 350cc model is rumoured to be a cruiser, which will borrow components from the H’ness/CB350RS platform, with the Meteor 350 squarely in its sights.

Honda also recently patented the Transalp middleweight adventure bike in India and considering the loyal fan following the Africa Twin has garnered over the years, it makes sense to launch a more affordable and manageable adventure bike that slots in underneath it.  

Not only new ICE models, Big Red will soon be launching two new EV products in India in FY24. The first of which is touted to be called the ‘Activa’ electric and will have a fixed battery, while the other one will be a more sporty offering that gets a removable battery pack.

Royal Enfield 

Royal Enfield has a litany of new models that have been spied testing multiple times and quite a few of them appear to be close to production-ready. Arguably the most awaited of the upcoming REs is the Himalayan 450 that's slated to debut an all-new liquid-cooled engine and chassis platform, which will also be seen on the 450cc roadster. There is also the Shotgun 650, J-series Bullet 350 and the 650cc scrambler, all of which have been spied on our roads. The most recent new model that was spied was the 350cc single-seat bobber, based on the Classic 350, although that's still some time away.

Triumph

It’s no secret that the first bike co-developed by Bajaj and Triumph is slated to make its public debut on June 27. This will be the first modern-day Triumph that will have a single-cylinder engine, instead of the usual parallel-twin and triple-cylinder layout found on the British marque’s other offerings. There is more than one bike in the making from this alliance and we expect this bike to be unveiled before the end of this year.

Speaking of triple-cylinder engines, the new Street Triple R and RS are slated to make their Indian debut very soon. We got a chance to sample them in Jerez, on the road and the track, and to read about that, click here. Originally, the new Street triple line-up was slated to make its India debut in March, but due to Bajaj’s takeover of India operations, the launch has been deferred to a later date.

TVS

Currently, the TVS/BMW partnership has yielded three products based on the 312cc platform for the Bavarian manufacturer and only one for the Indian one. That soon seems like it will change, as we have learned that the Hosur-based manufacturer is working on a new TVS Apache RTR 310 street naked, based on the same platform as the Apache RR 310 sportbike.

The range-topping ST variant in the refreshed iQube line-up is due to break cover very soon and will have a claimed range of 145 km (IDC) on a single charge in Eco mode. It will also be the only variant in the iQube line-up to have keyless operation, Alexa voice command and a massive 32-litre underseat storage. 

Vespa

The 25th anniversary of Piaggio in India will be marked by new launches spread across the Vespa scooter line-up. All the Vespas are slated to get a new i-GET engine, which, according to the company, provides ‘enhanced acceleration and braking ability’. There will also be a new Vespa Touring variant, which could use a large-capacity engine, and there could finally be a Vespa GTS on sale in India.

Which of these models are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments section below.