The Bajaj V: Bike Made With Metal Sourced From INS Vikrant


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Bajaj auto is all set to make new range of bikes from the INS Vikrant (India's first aircraft carrier) named V will be launched on February 1st.
Bajaj Auto will be revealing a new range of bikes, Bajaj V on February 1. What sets these bikes apart is that they are made from the same metal used in India's first aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant. Commissioned in 1961, and in service for 36 years, the INS Vikrant was decommissioned in 1997 and scrapped in 2014. On the eve of India's 67th Republic Day, the Indian automaker has released a video showing a glimpse of its new range of V bikes made from the "invincible metal of the INS Vikrant".

"We at Bajaj were determined to not allow history to fade away into oblivion. So we took INS Vikrant's metal, melted it, and gave it a new face," the voiceover in the video says. The video doesn't reveal much about the new bikes. Only that they will be badged Bajaj V, get a special logo, and will be introduced on February 1.
Refer this link

Some Pictures and video.

 
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Re: Bajaj Auto To Make New Range of Bikes From India's First Aircraft Carrier

Now is this a limited edition bike? Because the steel from Vikrant will be in limited quantity. and what part of the bike is Vikrant Steel? Basically scrapping of Vikrant by Indian Govt was a bad idea, but now Bajaj trying to immortalise in bike with even lesser life span.

Idea is good, saving environment by using recycled steel. However claim that steel from vikrant is amn advertising gimmick, (which I am sure most of the people will fall for) since this will molten and impurities removed and recasted back and probably mixed with other steel sourced from mines.

Have bajaj brought the entire scrap or part of the scrap?
 
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Re: Bajaj Auto To Make New Range of Bikes From India's First Aircraft Carrier

This may not be a limited edition as i think the Royal Enfield has created a big impact in the Indian Market so to be competitive Bajaj has taken this great step in developing a motorcycle with big solid build quality and nowadays people prefer only the most highest quality products so Bajaj after seeing a much demand to vintage modern bikes they must have decided to buy the scraped out Aircraft carrier which has more rock solid metal than present metal and i think this type of idea makes/creates a demand that Bajaj has come up with more heavier metal motorcycle.

I too don't have the idea to which part of Vikrant is the V motorcycle but i am sure about one thing is that the metal used in the motorcycle will be rock solid even for many years without any problem so the motorcycle will be long lasting but as per the video the engine is such a smaller unit so i doubt the engine longitivity.
 
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Re: Bajaj Auto To Make New Range of Bikes From India's First Aircraft Carrier

They should have used this opportunity to come up with more robust cruiser kind of a bike on lines of Harley, albeit a lower engine capacity like 300-400 CC. looking at the engine size i doubt if it is any thing more than 200cc.
 
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Re: Bajaj Auto To Make New Range of Bikes From India's First Aircraft Carrier

Its just a marketing gimmick. The steel would be limited and so will be the bike edition. The engine is expected to be 150 CC with 13-14 hp on tap. The idea seems to be pretty good as people now-a-days look for unique products and the "V" will surely be unique in its own fashion. Bajaj will surely gain some temporary volumes riding on Vikrant's popularity.
 
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Re: Bajaj Auto To Make New Range of Bikes From India's First Aircraft Carrier

Bajaj Auto, the Indian two-wheeler giant, today unveiled the all-new 150cc motorcycle, V, in India. The bikemaker added that Bajaj V launch in India, however, will happen "within a month". The bikemaker had earlier teased the bike that also provided insight into is its build with the metal sourced from the decommissioned INS Vikrant aircraft carrier. Eric Vas, President, Bajaj Motorcycles, said, "After the news to dismantle INS Vikrant came in 2014, we decided to do something about it. INS Vikrant is a symbol of India's military power projection and Bajaj wanted to remind the nation, and also remember, INS Vikrant's story."

While Bajaj V's production will begin on February 5, 2016, deliveries will only start in March. It will be priced between 60,000 - 70,000, and is likely to be closer to 60K than 70.

Talking about the company's strategy Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director, Bajaj Auto, said that while Bajaj is already a leader in half the Indian bike market, the other half has been elusive. Considering the fact that commuters buy 125cc bikes, things were kept things simple. while approaching this market albeit with a good product and a good story.

Initially, Bajaj V's production capacity will be 20,000 units per month, which will then be ramped-up, depending on the demand. The company says it will focus all capacity in maximising returns on this market segment and will not export the Bajaj V for now since the focus is to consolidate the new bike in India first.

Tagged "Part motorbike, part war hero", Bajaj V uses scrap metal from INS Vikrant. It comes powered by a new 150cc DTS-i engine that develops 11.76 bhp and 13Nm. The company claims the Bajaj V offers 25% more torque as compared to leading names in the 125cc segment. In terms of features, it gets a removable cowl for pillion seat, 18" tyre in the front and 16" at the rear. Furthermore, the bike will also carry INS Vikrant insignia on the fuel tank.

As far as colour options are concerned, Bajaj V is being offered with 2 choices: Ebony Black and Pearl White.

bv1.jpg

bv2.jpg

bv3.jpg

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Re: Bajaj Auto To Make New Range of Bikes From India's First Aircraft Carrier

Looks very appealing to me. Nice effort by Bajaj. The engine spec could have been 220cc instead of 150cc. I wish Bajaj do that in future.
 
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Re: Bajaj Auto To Make New Range of Bikes From India's First Aircraft Carrier

Only the tank cap is made of Vikrant metal.
Read it some where, forgot where I read.
But the bike's looks are distinct and awesome, different from others having the same FZ like shape.
 

Akash1886

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Re: Bajaj Auto To Make New Range of Bikes From India's First Aircraft Carrier

Friends,

Saw this Bajaj Bike in Mumbai in my recent visit. The Black and Red combo looks quite nice and this one looks like some cafe racer type bike.

20160506_180215.jpg

20160506_180135.jpg

Regards

Akash
 
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Hi,
First time Bajaj trying in this type of bikes and it looks very neat and different in real.
But they haven't changed the engine type, its almost the same sound of pulsar.
 
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To me it doesn't matter if they added INS Vikrant Steel or not. It sure is a marketing gimmick to launch and place a bike in a particular segment. To me it looks like a mini avenger and looks good at that.
 
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For me this bike is nothing more or different than pulsar. Looking at this bike i think it is having same pulsar engine. Bajaj is only changing the looks of its pulsar series bikes since production of its first pulsar bike but the engine is same. Only dts engine was made after 2003 and still we see that same type engine on every pulsar bike. Even avenger bike which cost above 1 lac gives nothing new thing. It is having same pulsar dts engine. And i think now this ins vikrant metal bike is also giving same dts engine.
 
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Bajaj to introduce two new motorcycles based on the V Platform.
In a recent statement, Bajaj Auto, Managing Director, Rajiv Bajaj said "From April 2016 to March 2018, the biggest focus for us is to leverage this platform we created so that we can get a very healthy share of the commuter market."

Bringing novelty with the unconventional styling and its patriotic association with the decommissioned INS Vikrant warship, has made the V15 one of the most sought after options for commuters buyers looking for style and substance. The motorcycle that went on sale in March has been tremendously popular with even actor Aamir Khan purchasing one. While that certainly has worked for Bajaj, the company is now looking to capitalise on the growing popularity while retaining the same sentiment, and is expect to finally change the bike maker's fortunes in the commuter segment, a space where it has been struggling to find growth.

Elaborating further on the launch timeline, Rajiv Bajaj said, “The second (motorcycle) will come sometime around November which will hopefully be an equal or bigger success than V15. Then I will give it another six months, which means the third will be out around May-June 2017.” The commuter space cumulatively sells around 6 lakh units every month, of which Bajaj commands a share of just 40,000 units. Clearly, the company needs the V platform to succeed tremendously to take on segment leaders Honda, Hero MotorCorp and TVS.

The move could see Bajaj marry higher capacity engines with the V platform, borrowing the 180 or 200cc DTS-i engines perhaps from the Pulsar family; albeit tuned for high torque output. This will also address the the V15 power drawback, sinceh the current 150cc single-cylinder engine with 12hp and 13Nm of torque feels underpowered to some owners. Nevertheless, Bajaj seems to finally getting it right in the commuter space and has iterated that the INS Vikrant association will be extended to the new products as well.
Sourced from Carandbike
 
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Bajaj V15 sells over 1 lakh units; Production to be ramped up soon.

Bajaj V15, the motorcycle made of INS Vikrant's scrap metal, achieved the 1 lakh sales milestone recently. It must be noted that Bajaj Auto accomplished the impressive feat in just 120 days since the deliveries of the premium commuter motorcycle began in the country. The fact that the Bajaj V is made from the metal of India's first aircraft carrier has been a major contributor to the motorcycle's success in the country.

Since its launch earlier this year, the homegrown two-wheeler manufacturer has sold an average of 25,000 units of the Bajaj V every month. This, in turn, has lead to a 10 per cent growth in Bajaj Auto's market share in the premium commuter 125cc+ segment. By April 2016, the Bajaj V had registered its name among the top 10 selling motorcycles in India.


Mr Eric Vas, President (Motorcycle Sales), Bajaj Auto Ltd, said "The invincible V was launched with the intent of giving a piece of history to every Indian. We are thrilled with the overwhelming response from the Indian customers. We are ramping up the production by September as we are very positive that these numbers will only continue to grow and sustain the Bajaj V as one of the best-selling premium commuter motorcycles in the country." And given the Bajaj V's success in India, the company is already considering the launch of 2 new bikes under the V brand by the end of the 2017-18 fiscal.
Source: Carandbike
 

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