the power machines - "bentley of motorcycles'

A few decades ago, there were not so many automobiles on road – two wheelers were few.  There were scooters like Vijay, Bajaj, Vespa and Lambretta.  In fact in early 1970s there were no mopeds. Owning a motor cycle was majestic – the brands that were on road were the Jawa, Rajdoot and Enfield Bullet.  Jawa with silencers on both sides was a hit – it was of Chechoslovakian origin, named after its founder, Frantisek Janecek.  Then 100cc bikes clamoured in  - in a Country where people think of ‘fuel economy’ – ‘kithna dethe’ – there is no place of powerful cousins !!

Recently there was news of Jason Trawick [boyfriend of Britney Spears] purchasing ‘the Bentley of motorcycles’ – it is heady news when you read this post…

There are premium bikes in India too – Suzuki jumped into the fray with its high-end models GSX-R1000 (in the 1000cc category) and Bandit 1250S (in the 1250cc category) in India.  Suzuki has been already selling Hayabusas and Intruders to the high-end bike lovers and the Bandit and GSX-R1000 will join the 2 bloating the premium product portfolio of Suzuki.  Chairman of the Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt Ltd Mr. Katsumi Takata said that the main aim of the premium bikes launch is to deliver outstanding technology and performance in the Indian market.  Some reports have it that the  new super bike GSX-R1000  would cost around 15 lakhs making it the  costliest two-wheeler in the country – there were times when people used to buy apartments with that amount in Chennai itself.  

The GSX-R1000 is a sport bike from Suzuki's GSX-R series of motorcycles. It was introduced in 2001 to replace the GSX-R1100 and is powered by a liquid-cooled 999 cc (61.0 cu in) inline four-cylinder, four-stroke engine.  The GSX-R1000 is light, powerful and more balanced than any other street legal race replica and even many racing bikes.     The GSX-R1000 engine is basically a redigned GSX-R750 engine. The R1000 has 1 mm bigger bore and 13 mm longer stroke, newly designed (sligtly lighter) pistons with lower crown and gear-driven counter balancer, to mention a few differences. The engine weighs 59 kg (130 lbs) which is slightly heavier than the 750  engine. 

But value of things are known in comparison and here is something on X132 Helicat in US, which is from the stables of Confederate.

Confederate Motors, Inc. is a manufacturer of exotic street motorcycles in Birmingham, Alabama. It was founded in 1991 by trial lawyer H. Matthew Chambers, as an initiative seeking “enlightened design through true American inspiration.”  The one additional news is that this company went bust in 2001 but recovered again in a couple of years to keep producing motorcycles.  The factory was affected severely by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Confederate Motor Co. sold 37 bikes in 2008 and anticipated the sale of 30 bikes in 2009, due to the recession.  You will understand the smallness of numbers when you get to know the price of these products.   

It does not look like a bike at all – it is  Confederate X 132 – nicknamed ‘hellcat’ for you..  it is named after the legendary fighter plane of WWII – touted to be the result of an uncompromised design and manufacturing approach.  Confederate claims the centerpiece of this approach as the Hellcat’s billet aluminum case.  Instead of the usual casting method, the Hellcat’s case is machined from two blocks of billet 6061 aircraft grade aluminum.  This is touted to be  America’s best V-twin technology and America’s superior powertrain technology into a singularity.  Although this is the most expensive material selection and craft methodology, it is simply the best approach for maximizing strength and guaranteeing permanence.”  - is what they say.   

With 43 units already pre-sold, the company is set to begin production in January at a rate of two units per week.  Pricing for the X132 Hellcat is set at $45,000 through February 29, 2012.  The price will rise to $49,500 on March 1, 2012.  Orders may be placed online at www.workandcycle.com.  – and that worksout to cool Rs.23.76 lakhs / 26.13 lakhs @ 52.80 !!

Some technical specs of the vehicle are :   

Engine  X132 Copperhead; 132 cubic inches (2,163 cc); 56° Fuel Injected V-Twin; 4.4” Bore x 4.4” Stroke; One-piece Forged Crank; Journal Bearing Design

Front: Dual Beringer 4 Piston AEROTEC Radial Calipers; Dual Beringer AERONAL Floating Stainless Steel Discs

Rear: Single 2 Piston Brembo Monobloc Caliper; Cross-drilled Brembo Stainless Steel Disc

5.75” Round LED Headlamp; Integrated High Beam, Low Beam, Running Lights; LED Tail Lamp, Brake, Running Lights, Blinker System

Motogadget Precision Analogue Tachometer; Digital Speed, Status

Wheelbase: 62.5” ; Rake: 23.5 Degrees; Trail: 3.8”

Controls: Mid-Rear; Clip-On & 2” Rise 1” Back Clip-On; Seating: Solo with Removable Passenger Seat; Seat Height: 30”

500 lbs

The long awaited Confederate X132 Hellcat  was recently unveiled and the 2163 cc monster has become an instant hit.  Commenting on the release of the new model, Confederate CEO Matthew H. Chambers said that “With the X132 Hellcat, we set out to build the toughest motorcycle ever made“.  Auto analysts state that seeing the craftsmanship that oozes out of every inch of this astonishing model, we just have to believe him.

Tail piece :  Grumman F6F Hellcat was a carrier-based fighter aircraft developed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat in United States Navy (USN) service. Although the F6F resembled the Wildcat, it was a completely new design powered by a 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800. Some tagged it as the "Wildcat's big brother". The Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair were the primary USN fighters during the second half of World War II.

Tail piece 2 :  If you had thought that these are astronomical prices, there is another model R131 Fighter from the stable of Confederate – at first glance to people like me, it looks half finished but that contraption costs $ 100000 – Rupees 52.80 lakhs [without needing a calculator]

With regards

S. Sampathkumar.