From April 1, 2017, the government’s mandate for all new motorcycles going on sale to meet BS-IV emissions norms will be applicable across the country. In a bid to clear existing BS-III compliant stocks, manufacturers like Honda and Kawasaki are offering heavy discounts on a selection of their motorcycles. The move has also been provoked by the fact that the 2017 model year versions of these motorcycles, which were recently unveiled in Europe, are all compliant with Euro IV norms (and effectively with BS-IV as well), and will be making their way to India in the near future. These models include the Honda CBR 650F, Kawasaki Z250, Kawasaki Ninja 650 and the Kawasaki ER-6N.
Honda’s all-rounder inline-4 sportbike, the CBR 650F was launched back in 2015 and while it initially piqued the interest of Indian motorcycle enthusiasts, sales didn’t really take off owing to the bike’s rather steep price. However, if you’ve always wanted to get your hands on this middleweight motorcycle, now is the perfect time as some dealers are offering a discount of almost Rs 1 lakh. That puts this CBR at an attractive Rs 7.60 lakh. Now while the 2017 update to the CBR 650F will offer a slight increase in performance, the current model, with its 649cc liquid-cooled inline-4 motor making 87hp of peak power and 63Nm of peak torque, certainly isn’t a slouch by any means.
Kawasaki is offering similar discounts on almost all its India-assembled motorcycles, except the bestseller, the Ninja 300. The prices for the 650cc parallel-twin engine-powered Ninja 650 and its naked sibling, the ER-6N have been slashed by a whopping Rs 1.5 lakh. This now means that you can get the Ninja 650 for Rs 4.86 lakh, while the ER-6N comes in at Rs 4.42 lakh. This makes both these bikes fantastic value for money, and should temporarily even give Benelli’s middleweight naked bikes a run for their money.
The Kawasaki Z250, which sports a 250cc parallel-twin motor, is an interesting bike in a lot of respects but didn't really achieve big sales numbers in India. Blame that on its somewhat low performance-to-cost ratio. However, with Kawasaki lopping almost Rs 1 lakh off the Z250’s price, it certainly is the right time to pick one up. After the discount, the Z250’s price stands at Rs 2.95 lakh.
All prices on-road, Mumbai
Disclaimer - Discounts vary from city to city. Please check and bargain with your dealer for exact discounts, which may not match the figures quoted here.
Also read: Upcoming bikes in 2017