Top 5 Great Motorcycles That Failed

A lot of bikes and scooters have been launched in India over the years. However, some couldn’t make an impact on the market like others – either because they were really bad, or since they weren’t really what people wanted, even though they were objectively good. Here we are talking about 5 bikes and scooters that were really nice, but were launched at the wrong time or didn’t fit the purpose well:

Bajaj Pulsar AS200

The Bajaj Pulsar AS200 was launched in 2015, and was based on the Pulsar NS200 – AS stood for Adventure Sports. It was a pseudo-ADV of sorts, that too at a time where the concept of an ADV, that too affordable ones, was something Indians didn’t know about. It had a semi-fairing, a tall windscreen, and looked as muscular as its siblings. Since the AS200 had the same underpinnings as the NS200, it had a familiar handling and performance.

However, that’s also one of the reasons why it wasn’t accepted well. It was neither a proper naked bike nor a full-fledged ADV with rough-road capability. Even though it was priced at about Rs 94,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi), which was approximately Rs 2,000 - Rs 3,000 more than the NS200, it couldn’t really win over Pulsar enthusiasts. Those who wanted to munch miles loved the Pulsar 220F, which was already a hit. The AS200 was an ‘ADV’ ahead of its time, and who knows, if Bajaj revived the badge, it might just work well this time around, provided they give long-travel suspension and other goodies. 

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Suzuki GS150R

The Suzuki GS150R was launched back in 2008. It was the first 150cc commuter bike in India with a six-speed gearbox, a well-tuned one at that. This made it usable not only in the city, but on highways as well. It wasn’t flashy, but looked premium enough. Also, it had a gas-charged rear suspension, which was very uncommon then. This ensured the ride quality was plush too. 

All said, it didn’t really do great numbers for Suzuki. It was mainly overshadowed by the likes of the Bajaj Pulsar 150, Yamaha FZ, and the Honda Unicorn which were known for performance, reliability, had a good service network, and most importantly, were priced lower than the GS150R. 

Kinetic Blaze

Kinetic Blaze was really,really ahead of its time. It was launched in 2006 at Rs 61,000 (ex-showroom), when the average buyer didn’t really know about maxi-scooters as a segment. This was a time when the likes of the Honda Activa, TVS Scooty, Hero-Honda Pleasure, and the Suzuki Access were the default choices of family scooters. These were quite affordable, had good mileage, were easy to maintain and had a good service network. 

The Blaze offered performance unheard of in scooters back then, but this came at the cost of mileage. Another factor that affected its sales was a rather poor service experience, and it was also expensive to maintain. India’s first maxi-scooter was finally discontinued around 2008. The Blaze might be no more, but in a way, it sparked the interest for sporty 150cc scooters in India such as the Aprilia SR150 and then Yamaha Aerox 155. 

TVS-Suzuki Fiero 

The TVS-Suzuki Fiero was launched in 2000. It was quite stylish, and the indicators integrated with the headlight was a unique design in the 150cc segment at the time. Not only that, it had a good performance as well. It came in at a time when people prioritised price over looks, and mileage over performance. While the bike had a lot of promise, it too came at the wrong time. It was rivaled by bikes like the Hero-Honda CBZ and the Bajaj Pulsar 150 which were more affordable, and were much more popular thanks to cool TV commercials. 

Hero Impulse

The Hero-Honda Impulse was a rebranded Honda NXR160 Bros. The latter was sold in South American markets. The Impulse was launched in India in 2011, and was the first road-legal off-road bike that you could buy from a showroom. The Impulse had all the right hardware and could tackle trails with ease. 

While it could go over broken roads without a hiccup, it wasn’t a commuter as such. It was aimed at a super-niche off-roading community. However, the target market found it to be really underpowered. Those who could afford, replaced the stock engine with the one from the Karizma, and called it the KariPulse. Since the bike wasn’t meant for everyone, it failed to gain serious traction in the country. However, after Hero parted ways with Honda, it launched the more powerful XPulse 200, which worked well, and is still on sale.