No, this isn’t a plea from me to you, for helping me find love in my lovelorn life! I wish it were that. But it is more of a study on the phenomenon, that is the rise of premium single-cylinder motorcycles in India. Barely a couple of years ago, it would been almost unthinkable for the average Indian common man/woman to buy a motorcycle with a Harley-Davidson, Triumph or a Ducati badge on it. Sure, OEMs like KTM, Royal Enfield and BMW have been in the market for quite some time now, but it was in 2023, that the market for premium single-cylinder motorcycles exploded and how! As I type this article, I am reminded of my time at the Madras International Circuit, riding the likes of the new-gen KTM 390 Duke, Harley-Davidson X440, Triumph Speed 400, Triumph Scrambler 400 X and the new-gen Royal Enfield Himalayan while on duty as a juror for the 2024 car&bike awards.
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And for the love of God and riding motorcycles, there isn’t one thing that is a glaring pain, or a fault, when it comes to the riding experience that these motorcycles offer. That was the unanimous view of the jury on the performance of these bikes. These motorcycles offer engaging performance, relatively pocket-friendly cost of ownership, great value for money and the pride of owning a motorcycle with a premium badge!
Why are OEMs offering premium yet affordable bikes? The clear answer is immense potential for volumes. Purchasing power of the Indian middle-class is on the rise and with that comes awareness of new products and technology and the demand for quality yet affordable products. Which is why, traditional multi-cylinder motorcycle manufacturers like Harley-Davidson, Triumph, KTM, BMW and others are going the single-cylinder way. And like love, it is a two-way street. Expect the Indian partners to hitch a ride on the premium model and tweaking it a bit and add it to their portfolio. The latest case in point being the Hero Mavrick 440. A Harley and a Hero, based on the same platform! Examples of TVS and BMW rebadging their motorcycles and Bajaj and KTM sharing engines have been there for a few years now.
Also Read: Will The Mavrick 440 Make Magic For Hero MotoCorp?
One also needs to focus on the partnerships of global two-wheeler brands with Indian two-wheeler giants. Hero-Harley, Bajaj-Triumph, Bajaj-KTM-Husqvarna and TVS-BMW, these partnership models are clear. The global OEM brings in the technology and the high brand value, while the Indian manufacturer pitches in with economies of scale, high production capacity, in-depth understanding of the Indian market and handling the marketing and distribution for the global brands. Royal Enfield, the outright leader in this segment, has been standing tall all by itself for close to a decade now.
Sridhar V, Office Managing Partner for Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Grant Thornton Bharat LLP says, “Manufacturing as a service is gaining grounds through these arrangements, since some of the performance brands in two wheelers have had situational delays and deferment of their plans to manufacture motorcycles in India.”
“A single cylinder engine offers these brands the advantage of positioning these bikes at different price points but much lower than their high-power performance bikes. This is possible because of lower input cost arising out of the input components in comparison to the performance bikes. One should also not forget that the largest volume of sales of bikes is in the lower displacement capacity segment,” he adds.
India is the largest two-wheeler market in the world and while the market has built itself on the basis of the extraordinary sales numbers that come from the commuter segment, the story seems to be changing and the tide seems to be turning, slowly but surely. The chief architect of this resurgence is Royal Enfield. The 300-700 cc segment is where they rule and thanks to them, the segment has not only grown but other OEMs see the benefits of operating in this bracket, reaping the benefits of premium positioning, attractive pricing, and pride of ownership that they offer to the customers.
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From FY2014 to FY2023, the sales of premium motorcycles – above 250 cc, has grown exponentially, with market share growing from 2.5 per cent in FY14 to 7.8 per cent in FY23.
With data available for January 2024, Hero MotoCorp/Harley-Davidson sold 3,359 units of the X440. The new Royal Enfield Himalayan coming in second, with 3,330 units sold. Triumph/Bajaj sold 2,015 units of the Speed 400 and Scrambler 400 X combined while KTM sold 898 units of the 390 Duke. TVS sold 697 units of the Apache 310 models (RR 310 and RTR 310 combined). These are just examples of the model launches that we saw last year. Add the sales figures of Royal Enfield’s Classic, Bullet and Hunter 350 and the numbers are relatively stratospheric.
Having jumped on this bandwagon, as an owner of a Triumph Scrambler 400 X, the headache, and tribulations of owning a multi-cylinder motorcycle are non-existent. On-road pricing in most cases is less than Rs. 3.5 lakh, the average cost of a service is anywhere between Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 4,000 (After the free services that are usually offered on the purchase of a new bike), making it significantly easier to own a sub 500 cc motorcycle than a multi-cylinder motorcycle with higher displacement. The usual parts and consumables that need replacement are economically priced and don’t burn a hole in your pocket either.
Also Read: Should You Replace Your Big Bike And Downsize To A Smaller Bike?
Rishad Cooper, veteran motorcycle journalist and juror, bikes, for car&bike awards, has an interesting take. “The single-cylinder performance bike segment is burgeoning in India. For many, it's always going to be about bigger and bigger capacity multi-cylinder motorcycles, but there's a growing breed of bikers who understand you soon run up against the wall of a very real limit, as to how much performance is actually useable in 'real world' Indian conditions. And a realisation that, with bigger bikes often comes so much added weight that the rider has to live with, heavier handling, engine heat management issues, etc.”
Explaining on the advantages of single-cylinder motorcycles, he says, “The new generation singles bring to the table zippy enough performance, with better fuel-economy while also allowing nimble road manners. Then there's the advantage of a torque-rich bottom-end of the power band. All in all, a win-win situation, which is why you are starting to see so many new bikes follow the same mantra.”
One could say that this is one of the best times for the Indian motorcycle enthusiast. And the best part is the fact that there is a motorcycle for all kinds of riders. A fast and furious KTM 390 Duke for the sportbike and speed enthusiast, a Royal Enfield Himalayan for the adventure and off-road nut, a Harley-Davidson X440 for the one who always wanted a Harley in his garage and for seekers of riding a high-quality British modern classic, you have the Triumph Speed 400 and the Scrambler 400 X. For those with an even tighter budget and those who want to ride at a relaxed, leisurely pace, you have the entire range of 350 cc bikes from Royal Enfield.
Of course, there will be continuous additions to this segment. Hero MotoCorp has already launched the Mavrick 440, based on the H-D X440 and Ducati is getting ready to launch the Hypermotard 698 Mono soon. Triumph will definitely launch more products based on its 400 cc platform, with a cafe racer already in the testing phase.
The next few years are going to be the most exciting, with OEMs triggering full-scale price and performance wars, vying for slice of the sub-500 cc pie that holds enormous potential. And with new options coming in at a steady pace, the love affair between the Indian middle-class motorcycle enthusiast and premium two-wheeler brands, is likely to hold steady for the foreseeable future.
