Two-Wheelers That Were Discontinued Post BS6 Deadline: Activa i, Bullet 500, Unicorn 150, R15 V1.0 & More

These BS4 vehicles sadly did not make the cut

The proposed April 1 deadline for complying with BS6 emission norms witnessed Indian two-wheeler manufacturers scrambling to launch their updated scooters and motorcycles. An obvious but expensive way to do this was the use of fuel injection and the inclusion of a catalytic convertor. With the deadline over, Indian automakers can no longer manufacture BS4 compliant vehicles. However, owing to the coronavirus pandemic, the Supreme court has granted them an extension to sell their remaining BS4 stocks but with some clauses in place.  While some manufacturers have temporarily discontinued some of their products with plans to launch their BS6 versions in the future, some have been permanently discontinued. The reasons vary from poor sales to the inability to justify the cost of BS6 conversion for these two-wheelers. Here’s a manufacturer-wise list of scooters and motorcycles that were discontinued:

Honda:

The Japanese bikemaker has discontinued the Cliq and Activa i scooters owing to poor sales. The Aviator, too, has faced the axe as it did not find any takers thanks to its premium pricing. In the motorcycle segment, Honda has discontinued the 110cc Livo and CB Unicorn 160.  The dated Honda CB250R, too, has been discontinued owing to poor sales. 

Hero:

Hero has discontinued the Duet, Pleasure and Maestro Edge scooters and now the only 110cc scooter in its portfolio is the Pleasure Plus BS6. It appears that Hero wants to focus more on the 125cc scooter segment. While the Passion XPro failed to make the cut, the bikemaker has discontinued the ageing Karizma ZMR as well, owing to poor sales. 

Yamaha:

Yamaha plans to make scooters with engines displacing higher than 125cc and as a result, the 113cc, Fascino, Ray Z and Ray ZR have been discontinued. Thankfully they have been replaced by the more powerful and fuel-efficient Fascino 125, Ray ZR 125 and Ray ZR Street Rally 125. In the bike section, the 110cc Saluto RX and 125cc Saluto RX have been discontinued as has the ageing 150cc SZ-RR. On popular demand, Yamaha had revived the R15 V1.0 but that too hasn’t made the cut for BS6 updates. It appears that Yamaha has no plans of reviving the 150cc Fazer either. The larger Fazer 25 and R3 have been discontinued as well. 

Bajaj:

The Chakan-based bikemaker had quietly discontinued the V15 a while ago. Bajaj has launched the Avenger Street 160 and Avenger Cruise 220 but sadly the Avenger Street 220 does not make it to the list. 

Royal Enfield:

Royal Enfield has discontinued its 500cc motorcycles, including the Bullet 500, Classic 500 and Thunderbird 500. Even the Thunderbird and Thunderbird X range has been discontinued and will be replaced with the all-new Meteor. The Bullet Trials range was discontinued owing to poor customer response. 

TVS:

TVS has updated most of its products to meet BS6 norms, with a couple more to go. However, the Wego will not make the cut and neither will the once-popular Victor as the segment it competes in is already oversaturated with the Sport BS6, Star City + BS6 and Radeon BS6 anyway. 

Interestingly, the only major bikemaker that has not discontinued any of its current products is Suzuki. The bikemaker recently converted its entire lineup to meet BS6 norms.