Honda Motorcycle to set up a plant in Andhra Pradesh

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), a subsidiary of Honda Motor Company, which is slowly evolving its two-wheeler business in India, is now going for a third plant after exces demand for its products. According to agency reports, the company will soon set up its third two-wheeler manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore. The report quoted Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Managing Director B R Meena as saying "Honda wanted 100 acres of land for setting up the facility and we have shown them available land in Medak and Nalgonda districts close to Hyderabad. Honda officials said they would invest Rs 1,000 crore on the production facility in a phased manner of which Rs 500 crore will come in the first phase.’’
HMSI which has started with scooters in India while its JV with Hero motors has ben realy successfullm of late it has been concentrating on bringing more models. There have been talks of the impending exit of Honda from the JV. The company now has a two-wheeler manufacturing plant at Manesar in Haryana with an annual production capacity of 1.55 million units per annum while the second plant, with a production capacity of 6 lakh units, is coming up at Tapukara in Rajasthan.
The report said that the proposed manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh will be HMSI's first in South India. Honda officials have submitted their proposal for setting up the two-wheeler manufacturing facility two days ago. Initially, the unit would manufacture 2,000 two-wheelers per month and gradually increase the capacity. But they are yet to submit a detailed project report.
It has also been mentioned that two more global companies -- Italian industrial manufacturing firm Camozzi and Korean power equipment major Hyosung Corporation -- are planning to invest Rs 300 crore and Rs 450 crore, respectively in Andra Pradesh. The Camozzi Group has also come forward to set up its textile and other industrial equipment manufacturing units near Hyderabad. Hyosung has sought allocation of 25 acres of land at Mannavaram near Tirupati where the NTPC-BHEL joint venture power plant equipment manufacturing facility is coming up.

Long Stroke and Short Stroke Engines

I have always been a fan of the various automotive magazines available in the country as they have always fulfilled my desire of quenching my thirst in the automotive industry during the times when the internet was still a novelty for many.

I remember buying a magazine every month to satisfy my urge of knowing more and more about automobiles and I also loved reading reviews about the latest bikes being launched.

There were always some or the other terms that were mentioned but I never understood what it actually meant. And one such term was over square engine and its similar terms like under square engine. I never knew what it really meant, but I assumed it must be something related to the engine.

So, here I am, trying to write down what exactly these terms mean and by what way it benefits the rider. The engine size or capacity is generally the amount of the space the combustion chamber displaces and is measured in cc’s as we all are familiar with 220cc, 150cc engines mounted in various bikes.

The engine capacity is measured as Bore x Stroke. Here, Bore is the diameter of the cylindrical block and Stroke is the depth of the cylindrical block, as shown in the image.

TVS Motor reports 123 percent rise in net profit

TVS Motor Company, India's third largest two-wheeler maker, on Thursday has stated that its second-quarter net profit more than doubled on higher sales and lower costs. The company reported a 123 per cent rise in September quarter net profit at Rs 54.8 crore, compared to Rs 24.5 crore in the same period last year. Revenue grew to Rs 1,616 crore from Rs 1,130 crore. "The product mix was better and the fixed costs as a percentage was lower," said H S Goindi, president, marketing. Higher motorbike and three-wheeler volumes in the quarter drove sales and profits, he added.
Goindi also said TVS Motor had taken a price hike of up to 1.5 per cent on various models in September and would take a call on another price hike during the current quarter. Net sales rose to about 15.9 billion rupees from 11.15 billion rupees.
According to an analyst it was because of the higher volume the topline was expected to be that high who also added that an improved product mix also helped operating margins. It was mentioned that TVS' EBITDA margins came in at 6.7 per cent for the quarter compared with 5.5 per cent a year ago.
Total two-wheeler sales grew 32 per cent in the second quarter to 517,000 units. Motorcycle sales jumped over 35 per cent to 210,000 units. Two-wheeler exports rose 67 per cent to 59,000 units. Three-wheeler sales for the quarter rose to 9,826 units from 3,259 units a year ago, TVS Motor said in a statement.
TVS, along with larger peers Hero Honda and Bajaj Auto has seen rising sales this year as the rapidly expanding economy continued to pull buyers.
Two-wheeler sales have grown 25.86 per cent between April-Sept, data with industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) showed. TVS Motor shares ended up 1.55 per cent at 75.25 rupees in a firm Mumbai market.

DTSi and DTS-Si Technology

Everyone might have heard of the motorcycles powered by DTSI and DTS-SI technology. So here is a quick look at what this technology is and if it is better than the technologies used in a normal (non-DTSI) powered bikes.

 DTSI stands for Digital twin spark ignition. The technology is currently used in Bajaj motorcycles in India because they have patent rights. Digital twin spark ignition technology powered engine has spark plugs at either sides of the combustion chamber. Engines powered by DTSI technology will have greater combustion rate because of twin spark plugs located around it. DTSI technology enables the engine to combust fuel at double rate than normal, this enhances both engine life and makes it fuel-efficient i.e. better as regards mileage
Aside of making the engine fuel efficient, the technology also enriches the power of the bike. The technology also results in smoother operation, adjusts the engine to varied temperature fluctuations and makes the motorbike resistant too breakdown. Overall, the bikes with the technology are supposed to live longer, run smoother with high fuel efficiency.
DTS-SI on the other hand is an upgraded version of the present DTSI technology developed by research and development team of Bajaj and they have patented it too. Under this technology, the digital twin spark plugs are located at same place like in DTSI technology engines but in an inclined or diagonal manner. This offset of things further expounds the process of combustion and makes the ignition of fuel and air faster, resulting in enhanced power and expanded fuel efficiency.

Some primary features of DTSI and DTS-SI technologies are:

• The engine becomes powerful and fuel-efficient.
• The expected life of the motorcycle increases.
• Bikes powered by the technologies are very well resistant to breakdowns and temperature fluctuations.
• The throttle response considerably enhances.

As of now, only Bajaj manufactures bikes with both the technology, as it is the only manufacturer in India holding patent over the technology for small bikes. One classic example of DTS-SI powered bike is XCD 125. This was all about DTSI and DTS-SI, in the next article we will take the concept further to know about DTS-FI.

Understanding Bike Insurance Policies in India

Two wheeler insurance encompasses vehicles such as motorcycles, mopeds, scooters, auto cycles and even motorized pedal cycles. All two-wheeler insurances in India are governed by IMT (Indian Motor Tariff) and the basic principle of all motor insurance policies is the same as that which is applicable to liability insurance or property insurance in general. The salient feature of two wheeler insurance is that the owner of the vehicle should have a legal relationship to the vehicle and will be benefitted by the safety of the motor and also stands to lose by and damage or injury to the vehicle.

Following are the two main types of two-wheeler insurance policies

Act Only Policy: It’s a liability policy that covers mainly liability towards third parties. It covers against any damage or injury to the insured vehicle and its accessories

• By Fire/explosion/lightning
• By strike or riot
• By natural calamity (flood/ earthquake/ cyclone)
• By accident(s)
• By malicious act
• And/or by any damage to the vehicle on road, inland waterway, rail, air or elevator.