The Car, Bike and Cycle Expo 09 was held at Golibar Maidan in Pune from the 11th – 15th of November.
On Display were Cars from Hyundai which had their i10 and i20 on Display, Chevrolet which had their Spark and U-VA cars, Skoda which had displayed the Fabia and the Laura and Mahindra 2 Wheelers with their new range of Mahindra Power scooters.
Nebula ATV, Based in Pune, importers of All Terrain Bikes were also present. 3 Models of their ATV’s were on display, the SP200 (Red), the SP302 (Green) and SP200B (Yellow).
The entire range of ATV's have a capacity ranging from 70cc upto 250cc and cost from Rs.72,000/- to Rs2,40,000/-. Both Automatic and geared versions are available.
Another Exhibitor who caught everyone’s fancy was the 2 Wheeler LPG Stall from Ace LPG. They provide LPG kits for a number of Indian two wheelers including the Activa, and motorcycles and scooters from Hero Honda, Bajaj and TVS. All these kits are Govt. Authorized and RTO approved and claim to reduce petrol expense by upto 50%. Price of the LPG Kits with Installation Charges range from Rs. 6900/- for the Indian kit to Rs.9500/- for the imported one. All kits come with a 1 year warranty.
We test drove the LPG fitted Activa and they was only a minor difference in power (while on LPG) which will not be a hindrance for everyday use.
Mahindra 2 Wheelers:
Duro: 125cc. 8 Bhp. Has a long wheelbase os 1290mm. Hydraulic Front and Rear Suspension.
Rodeo: 125cc. 8 Bhp. Digital Speedo Cluster. Front Fueling. 4 in 1 anti theft key.
(Look out for our twin tests of the Mahindra scooters shortly)
For all Custom Chopper fans who dreamt of one day owning their own Custom built Chopper, there were 2 exhibitors.
Moto Morphs:
Located in Viman Nagar, Pune. Establised 2 years ago. Nigil has been modifying bikes since the past 8 years.
They start off with CAD designing on the computer and work with the client to get the design finalized. Everything including the fibre parts are built in house and can be repaired if damaged.
The above bike in white is an old model CBZ being used by a client for about 2 years now. It includes dummy Upside Down Forks, Underseat twin exhausts, rear disc brake, monoshocks and the rear wheel has been made by cutting a Tavera alloy wheel in half. The speedo and switches are taken off the current generation Pulsars.
The black bike is a modified Pulsar and the cruiser is the Bajaj Avenger. Both bikes are used for daily commuting.
The estimate cost of modification is around 50K – 60K and if one just wishes to have the fibre work done, then he'll have to shell out anything in between 15K-25K.
RASM Designs:
Started by Rohit Nagpure (currently in his 2nd year in production engineering) a year ago.
They work with customizing cars and bikes. He says they will build anything the customer demands from rise up doors in cars to building Custom Choppers. Their list includes Rotating Clutches, Belt Drives, Friction Drives, Leaf Spring Suspension, Suicide Shifters etc for the Bikes. The will also provide custom Graphics as per customer requirements. RASM designs prefer to work with sheet metal rather than fibres.
The above bike is a 1980 Royal Enfield 350 with a 40o rake, customised fuel tank, twin exhausts, monoshocks, rear disc brakes and graphics. It is intented to look like a mean American chopper.
Price (as it is) : About 1.1 Lac.
Pune Cycling Pratishthan:
Establised in 1996, they have more than 600 members between the age group of 6 to 75 years. It started with a main aim to encourage Punekars to use cycles in their day to day life. This would help reduce pollution apart from the other health benefits. The pratishthan arranges cycle rallies on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of every month.
Its president Dr Dilip Sarda and Vice President Dr Shirish Pathwardhan are renowned in their efforts to increase the overall health of people and also write regular articles in the DNA newspaper.
Surendra cycles, dealers in cycles for the past 30-35 years had showcased their range of Trek and Firefox cycles. Ranging between 15,000/- to 45,000/- these bikes are made of Aluminium alloy, are lightweight and their frames have a lifetime warranty, hence the expensive price tags.
Hero Cycles had displayed the Octane aluminium cycle along with its other range and BSA had showcased their lightweight Cannodale Cycles along with a couple of their Electric Bikes.
There were also a couple of Vintage VW Beetles, a Yamaha R15 with Valentino Rossi's Moto GP bike graphics and a 1986 Royal Enfield 350.
