American motorcycle brand Cleveland CycleWerks made its debut in India at the 2018 Auto Expo with a plan to start operations by June 2018. However, it has now announced (on Twitter) that the launch has been pushed to October 2018. Cleveland hasn’t given any reasoning for the delay; but we suspect the lack of a suitably set-up dealership network has deferred the launch. The American brand has partnered with Hyderabad-based Laish-Madison Motor Werks for production and distribution in India. At Auto Expo 2018, the company shared that the motorcycles launched in India will be imported as CKD kits from China and will be assembled at the bike maker's Pune facility.
Cleveland had showcased four new models for the Indian market – Misfit, Ace Deluxe, Ace Scrambler and Ace Cafe. Of the four motorcycles, the Cleveland Misfit is the most interesting looking motorcycle with its cafe racer styling. It is powered by a 229cc; single-cylinder, air-cooled engine with a power output of 15.4hp at 7,000rpm, and its peak torque of 16Nm arrives at 6,000rpm. The engine is mated to a five-speed gearbox. The Misfit employs a tubular, steel-backbone-type dual-cradle frame, which is suspended on a USD fork and twin shock absorbers at the rear. It employs 18-inch steel spoke wheels on both ends which are wrapped with a 100/90 section tyre at the front and a 120/90 section tyre at the rear. The Misfit gets a 320mm disc with a four-piston radial mount caliper at the front and a 220mm disc at the rear. It gets a 15-litre fuel tank and it tips the scale at 144kg (kerb weight).
The Ace range is more conventional in comparison to the Misfit, but is offered in three different body styles. The powertrain on the Ace range is similar to the one found on the Misfit. The Ace range features a square-section single-downtube frame. The Ace Cafe 250 and Deluxe 250 sport USD forks, while the Ace Scrambler 250 has been equipped with a conventional telescopic fork. Twin shock-absorbers at the back remain common for all the three Ace motorcycles. While the Ace Cafe 250 and Deluxe 250 run on 17-inch aluminium spoke wheels at either end, the Ace Scrambler gets 18-inch aluminium rims. Braking hardware consists of a single 298mm disc with twin-piston callipers at the front, and a 210mm disc with a single-piston caliper at the rear, for all the Ace models. All three Ace models feature a 14-litre fuel tank and have a similar kerb weight of 133kg.
Cleveland CycleWerks plans to sell 5,000 units in India by 2019 and the Ace range and Misfit are expected to be priced between Rs 2-2.5 lakh (ex-showroom). Watch this space for more updates.