India gets premium boost in bikes | Your Daily Update Blog

Just few months after German bike giant BMW Motorrad held talks with Venu Srinivasan-led TVS Motors for an India entry rival KTM bought a synchronous brand Husqvarna and announced its India launch plans.

Austria-based KTM, which overtook BMW to become the largest bike maker in Europe last year, is planning to roll out Husqvarna motorcycles from the Chakan, Pune-based plant of partner Bajaj Auto.

For BMW, India is the key for the future as matured bike markets, which are also its traditional markets including Europe, USA and Canada are grappling with weakening demand.

Emerging markets such as India, South East Asia and Latin America will power growth for even niche brands such as BMW, say automotive market experts as demand smaller performance superbikes is expected to hit new highs

Both Chennai-based TVS Motors and BMW Motorrad will cooperate in a new series of motorcycles having engine capacity below 500cc. The partnership will benefit BMW in pulling down their entry price level, which is too high at the moment.

BMW has been selling premium bikes in India since early 2011, however, they are fully imported directly from Germany with most being imported only as per order and are priced upwards of Rs 1,800,000.

KTM, along with Rajiv Bajaj-led Bajaj Auto, is planning to roll out Husqvarna motorcycles in 2015. The bikes will be designed and developed by Bajaj and will be made locally to achieve pricing advantage.

Like KTM Husqvarna, which is headquartered in Sweden, too is primarily into off-road motorcycles. The Austrian company, in which Bajaj Auto holds nearly 48 % stake, bought controlling stake in Husqvarna from BMW in February this year.

KTM aims to position Husqvarna bikes above the Pulsar brand of Bajaj but on par with its own range which presently includes the Duke 200, priced at around Rs 120,000. One of the models planned for the Swedish brand for India includes a touring bike powered by the same engine used by the Duke 200 and the Pulsar 200NS.

In an exclusive interview to Business Standard earlier, Stefan Pierer, chief executive, KTM, said, ?For the small displacements it could be that Huskys be made at Chakan. We are also thinking and analyzing which displacement makes sense, a 200cc and a touring version for something like the emerging markets; so in the mid-term for sure Huskys can come from the Chakan plant.?

KTM and Bajaj have moved beyond the Duke 200 and will shortly roll out the Duke 390 followed by a watered down version of the RC8 superbike. Moving forward the two companies will share engines, platforms and components for all the brands made in India.

?It will take two years time for the roll out of Huskys from here although the engine in ready, to develop a bike which is a part of other activities, it will take two years. Huskys will be made by Bajaj Auto just like other small displacement KTMs. It could be that the Pulsar, Duke and a Husqvarna be using the same platform?, added Pierer.

However BMW, KTM and Husqvarna are not alone. At least three more premium international bike brands are aggressively targeting the Indian buyers.

UK?s century old iconic bike brand Triumph is building a new assembly factory in Karnataka, its only third global plant after the UK and Thailand. A new 250cc model is also being reportedly developed for the emerging markets.

South Korean racing specialist Hyosung is keen to expand its product portfolio in India. Partner DSK Motowheels is investing Rs 300-400 crore into a new plant in Maharashtra which will produce 250cc and above motorcycles.

US-based cruiser brand Victory Motorcycles will also launch its bike range in India by the end of this year. The company?s high engine capacity products are built for leisure riding activities.

Source:http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/india-gets-premium-boost-in-bikes-113040800223_1.html

Source: http://yourdailyupdateblog.com/archives/36323

the misfits hook troy miracle andy whitfield kennedy demi moore

Joel Osteen Resigns? Not So Fast ...

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/joel-osteen-resigns-not-so-fast/

heart transplant the international preppers geraldo obama trayvon martin pietrus cheney

A Woman Robbed a Bank with a Can of Spaghetti Sauce

Of all the food related items or household goods that you could use to pretend to be a bomb, spaghetti sauce has to be pretty low on the list. Not to a 60-year-old woman near Detroit though, she used spaghetti sauce to rob an entire bank. And she got away. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/6DCBXMErmpM/a-woman-robbed-a-bank-with-a-can-of-spaghetti-sauce

UFC 156 my bloody valentine Super Bowl Winners what time does the superbowl start Kaepernick Tattoos superbowl time what time is the super bowl

Navy to unveil new laser weapon

No longer the fantasy weapon of tomorrow, the U.S. Navy is set to field a powerful laser that can protect its ships by blasting targets with high-intensity light beams.

Early next year the Navy will place a laser weapon aboard a ship in the Persian Gulf where it could be used to fend off approaching unmanned aerial vehicles or speedboats.

The Navy calls its futuristic weapon LAWS, which stands for the Laser Weapon System. What looks like a small telescope is actually a weapon that can track a moving target and fire a steady laser beam strong enough to burn a hole through steel.

A Navy video of testing conducted last summer off the coast of California shows how a laser beam fired from a Navy destroyer was able to set aflame an approaching UAV or drone, sending it crashing into the ocean.

"There was not a single miss" during the testing, said Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder, chief of Naval Research. The laser was three for three in bringing down an approaching unmanned aerial vehicle and 12 for 12 when previous tests are factored in.

But don't expect in that video to see the firing of colored laser bursts that Hollywood has used for its futuristic laser guns. The Navy's laser ray is not visible to the naked eye because it is in the infrared spectrum.

Many of the details about how the laser works remain secret, such as how far its beam can travel, how powerful it is or how much power is used to generate it.

But Navy officials have provided a few unclassified details. For example, the laser is designed to be a "plug and play" system that integrates into a ship's existing targeting technologies and power grids. Those factors make it a surprisingly cheap weapon.

Klunder says each pulse of energy from the laser "costs under a dollar" and it can be used against weapons systems that are significantly more expensive. The Navy says it has spent about $40 million over the past six years in developing the weapon.

Rear Admiral Thomas Eccles, Navy Sea Systems Command, says the beam can be turned on instantly and that ultimately "the generation of power is essentially your magazine. It's the clip we have" instead of bullets. "We deliver precision with essentially an endless supply of rounds."

Some new technological fixes, what Klunder calls "a secret sauce," have been developed to improve the degrading of lasers over distance as well as maintaining a lock on a target from a moving ship.

The strength of the beam is flexible enough that at a lower intensity level it can be used to warn approaching ships and UAV's not to get too close to a Navy ship. Instead of using machine guns to fire non-lethal warning shots as Navy ships do now, the laser can be aimed to "dazzle" the viewing sensors aboard the craft. That light effect warns the pilot of a small water craft or at the controls of a UAV that they are being targeted by a laser and to turn away. If they don't, the laser's power can be boosted to destroy the approaching craft.

Based on earlier testing the Navy is confident the laser is ready for real-world testing aboard the USS Ponce in the Persian Gulf. The ship was selected because of its mission to be an enduring presence in the Gulf to counter Iranian maritime threats in the region. Coincidentally Iran uses small fast boats to harass American warships in the waters of the Persian Gulf.

How might Iran feel about the new weapon? "Frankly I hope it sends a message to some of our potentially threatening adversaries out there to know that we mean business," said Klunder. "This is a system where if you try to harm our vessels that I hope you will take a very, very serious moment of pause to think about that before you do it because this system will destroy your vessel or will destroy your UAV."

The Navy wants the ship's crew to use the same techniques and methods they use with their other defensive weapons systems.

While for now the laser will be used primarily against slow-moving UAV's and fast boats cruising at speeds of 50 knots, the Navy sees the system's capabilities expanding over time to target faster weapons.

"There's absolutely every intention that with the development of this system and follow-on upgraded systems we will eventually be able to take higher speeds in-bound," said Klunder.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/navys-laser-weapon-blasts-bad-215808231.html

Star Wars Episode 7 NBA jfk airport faith hill metro north taco bell taco bell

Rick Warren's Son Dies of Suicide

Source:

lost in space elizabeth banks battle royale key largo ryan madson louisiana primary syracuse basketball

Public Sector Unions Reeling In Wisconsin (Powerlineblog)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/297360293?client_source=feed&format=rss

sasha baron cohen stacy keibler stacy keibler oscar red carpet daytona 500 start time ryan zimmerman oscars red carpet

Afghan attacks kill three US soldiers, four others, officials say

A car bomb attack killed six people, including three U.S. soldiers and an Afghan doctor, in southern Afghanistan on Saturday and an American civilian died in a separate attack in the east. NBC's Ron Mott reports.

By Ismail Sameem, Reuters

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- A car bomb attack killed six people, including three U.S. soldiers and an Afghan doctor, in southern Afghanistan on Saturday and an American civilian died in a separate attack in the east, local and international officials said.

The attacks came as the top U.S. general, Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in the country for a short visit to assess how much training Afghan troops need before U.S. troops pull out as planned by the end of 2014.

The American troops were traveling in a convoy of vehicles in Qalat, the capital of Zabul province, when the car bomb exploded. Provincial governor Mohammad Ashraf Nasery was unharmed but a local doctor and two foreign civilians also died, according to local and NATO officials.

---

The convoy was near a hospital and a NATO base at the time of the explosion. Five Afghans, including a student and two reporters, were wounded, a local official said.

?

?

In a separate attack in Afghanistan's east, an American civilian working with the U.S. government was killed during an insurgent attack, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said in a statement.

Zabul shares borders with Pakistan to the southeast and the birthplace of the Taliban, Kandahar province, to the south.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the Zabul attack in a text message from spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi. He said a car bomb killed seven foreigners and wounded five others, though he later revised the toll to 13 foreigners killed and nine wounded.

The Taliban routinely exaggerates casualty figures.

The killings come in the wake of a bloody Taliban assault in the country's west on Wednesday that killed 44 people in a courtroom in Farah province. The United Nations says civilians are being increasingly targeted in 2013.

In a statement posted online earlier on Saturday, Taliban spokesman Ahmadi said the Taliban would continue to target Afghan judges and prosecutors.

"The Islamic Emirate, from today onwards, will keep a close watch over courthouses, all its personnel and all those who try to harm Mujahideen and will deal with them the same as the judges and prosecutors of Farah."

?

Related content:

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653387/s/2a69951c/l/0Lworldnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A40C0A60C17630A5750Eafghan0Eattacks0Ekill0Ethree0Eus0Esoldiers0Efour0Eothers0Eofficials0Esay0Dlite/story01.htm

terrell owens terrell owens neil armstrong little league world series us open tennis us open tennis Empire State Building shooting