Exciting News for Motorcycle Enthusiasts, Keeway and Benelli Coming Soon To Pakistan

[VCheng]

Demand for bikes over 500cc is limited, granted but demand for bikes from 250cc to 500cc is enormous.

Sir, on what basis do you determine the demand for 250-500 cc bikes to be "enormous"? How many thousands of units per annum is that?

eleven years motorcycle production of pakistani assemblers

Motorcycle Production in Pakistan (July-June) 2013-14 | MOBILE WORLD MagazineMOBILE WORLD Magazine

 

[Icarus]

Sir, on what basis do you determine the demand for 250-500 cc bikes to be "enormous"? How many thousands of units per annum is that?

People are already paying good money to increase the bore size on their 125 engines to make them higher displacement, old bikes including British-Indian Army BSAs are being maintained simply because people like to have something with a little more power. The Suzuki 150cc launched when Suzuki had next to no presence in the two-wheeler market and the Pakistani two-wheeler market is notoriously difficult to break into with a new product yet within the span of three years, the Suzuki 150 has become a common sight on the road and it should come to no surprise that people are messing with its bore size as well! As of now, Suzuki's entire two-wheeler portfolio in Pakistan runs on the success of the GS150.
I tried to look for proper sales figures, but could not find any.

 

[doppelganger]

People are already paying good money to increase the bore size on their 125 engines to make them higher displacement, old bikes including British-Indian Army BSAs are being maintained simply because people like to have something with a little more power. The Suzuki 150cc launched when Suzuki had next to no presence in the two-wheeler market and the Pakistani two-wheeler market is notoriously difficult to break into with a new product yet within the span of three years, the Suzuki 150 has become a common sight on the road and it should come to no surprise that people are messing with its bore size as well! As of now, Suzuki's entire two-wheeler portfolio in Pakistan runs on the success of the GS150.
I tried to look for proper sales figures, but could not find any.

All block walls have a thickness limit to the sleeve.

You still need larger pistons. Simple oversized will barely give you a few cc.

So where do you guys get the bigger pistons from? Local manufacture?

Valve recesses?

Your bike industry is like a cottage industry! Look at the number of players. That is something that never happened in India.

Fascinating.

 

[Icarus]

All block walls have a thickness limit to the sleeve.

You still need larger pistons. Simple oversized will barely give you a few cc.

So where do you guys get the bigger pistons from? Local manufacture?

Valve recesses?

Your bike industry is like a cottage industry! Look at the number of players. That is something that never happened in India.

Fascinating.

We usually use larger pistons that are procured through various means, relative to the pricing:

1. They may be fashioned by the machinist, they are cheap but they are hardly as precisely made as factory made and thus may erode the sleeve and weaken the integrity of the engine. Its a hit or a miss.

2. A lot of mechanics import their pistons from China. They are usually cheap, have huge profit margins for them and are generally of satisfactory quality.

3. Original Japanese imports are usually made on a specific order. Its the most expensive means but the quality of the pistons, rings, recesses is much higher quality with superior workmanship.

4. Entire engines can be procured from FATA where they are smuggled in from Afghanistan. Among them, damaged ones may be cannibalized for their their parts. Whole engines also sell cheap and are sometimes mounted on a Honda 125 frame with added brace and what is called the "Heavy Bike Kit", basically new tank as well as mounts for your 125 that make it look like a sports bike. However, using an illegal engine makes your bike street illegal and it may be confiscated but people sometimes go ahead regardless, you can get the Honda 250cc engine for about PKR 30,000 so its easy to see the charm.


Example:

 

[VCheng]

......
I tried to look for proper sales figures, but could not find any.

I have added some figures and links to my post above.

 

[Icarus]

Sir, on what basis do you determine the demand for 250-500 cc bikes to be "enormous"? How many thousands of units per annum is that?

eleven years motorcycle production of pakistani assemblers

Motorcycle Production in Pakistan (July-June) 2013-14 | MOBILE WORLD MagazineMOBILE WORLD Magazine

As ever, you surprise me with your resourcefulness.

 

[doppelganger]

We usually use larger pistons that are procured through various means, relative to the pricing:

1. They may be fashioned by the machinist, they are cheap but they are hardly as precisely made as factory made and thus may erode the sleeve and weaken the integrity of the engine. Its a hit or a miss.

2. A lot of mechanics import their pistons from China. They are usually cheap, have huge profit margins for them and are generally of satisfactory quality.

3. Original Japanese imports are usually made on a specific order. Its the most expensive means but the quality of the pistons, rings, recesses is much higher quality with superior workmanship.

4. Entire engines can be procured from FATA where they are smuggled in from Afghanistan. Among them, damaged ones may be cannibalized for their their parts. Whole engines also sell cheap and are sometimes mounted on a Honda 125 frame with added brace and what is called the "Heavy Bike Kit", basically new tank as well as mounts for your 125 that make it look like a sports bike. However, using an illegal engine makes your bike street illegal and it may be confiscated but people sometimes go ahead regardless, you can get the Honda 250cc engine for about PKR 30,000 so its easy to see the charm.


Example:

Very neat work.

Lol but the pillion does look comfortable!

 

[VCheng]

As ever, you surprise me with your resourcefulness.

I am just a Pakistani Traitor Yankee Moron Yahindian Agent, Sir.

 

[Icarus]

I am just a Pakistani Traitor Yankee Moron, Sir.

I like Pakistani Traitor Yankee Morons, you guys beat the Pakistani Mullah Brit Chavs by a mile and then some.

 

[v9s]

The demand must create the supply. Supply cannot create the demand.

Disagree. You have to develop the market for the demand to be created. There's a whole load of market research that needs to be done before one can come to a conclusion. You're basing your entire argument on the fact that only small displacement bikes are being sold in droves. There aren't many reasonably priced higher displacement bikes available as far as I know to properly drive sales of that segment.

There's a proliferation of small displacement bikes because they're cheap copies being manufactured right here in Pakistan legally/illegally. This shows an indication that there is a potential for larger bikes (i.e. people may want to trade up), given that the strategy to develop the larger bike segment is executed correctly. Yamaha and Suzuki's recent sporty offerings are an indication that they realize the potential and i'm pretty sure they've got a strategy and related KPIs to get the larger bike market developed.

A market will not jump directly from a 70cc bike to a 500cc bike overnight.

 

[Icarus]

Very neat work.

Lol but the pillion does look comfortable!

Its a sad and sorry stopgap to be honest.

As for the sheer number of players. Several tens of them open up and go bankrupt within the same year but their bikes still keep on going because EVERY SINGLE BIKE THEY MANUFACTURE IS BASED ON THE DESIGN OF THE HONDA CD70 AND CG125. RIGHT DOWN TO EVERY SINGLE SCREW. Its infuriating, I swear. Its actually common practice to buy a local bike, switch out its carb for a Honda one before you even start it for the first time.

 

[VCheng]

Its a sad and sorry stopgap to be honest.

As for the sheer number of players. Several tens of them open up and go bankrupt within the same year but their bikes still keep on going because EVERY SINGLE BIKE THEY MANUFACTURE IS BASED ON THE DESIGN OF THE HONDA CD70 AND CG125. RIGHT DOWN TO EVERY SINGLE SCREW. Its infuriating, I swear. Its actually common practice to buy a local bike, switch out its carb for a Honda one before you even start it for the first time.

A new slogan for Pakistani Tourism, with apologies, Sir:

Visit Pakistan - where old technology goes to die!

 

[Icarus]

A new slogan for Pakistani Tourism, with apologies, Sir:

Visit Pakistan - where old technology goes to die!

I would say Pakistan is the place where old technology comes to become immortal! We can take a 3 decade old Alto and run it as the Mehran for three generations. Take CD70 and 125 models from 1970s and keep them running even longer!

 

[VCheng]

I would say Pakistan is the place where old technology comes to become immortal! We can take a 3 decade old Alto and run it as the Mehran for three generations. Take CD70 and 125 models from 1970s and keep them running even longer!

Hence this tagline:

Pakistan, where the 21st century lives in the 18th, and wants to go to the 7th!



=======

Seriously, though, what you say is more a matter of shame than pride, all things considered.

 

[doppelganger]

Its a sad and sorry stopgap to be honest.

As for the sheer number of players. Several tens of them open up and go bankrupt within the same year but their bikes still keep on going because EVERY SINGLE BIKE THEY MANUFACTURE IS BASED ON THE DESIGN OF THE HONDA CD70 AND CG125. RIGHT DOWN TO EVERY SINGLE SCREW. Its infuriating, I swear. Its actually common practice to buy a local bike, switch out its carb for a Honda one before you even start it for the first time.

Simple point the way I see it.

They copy what will sell.

Nit because they cannot copy something bigger.

You guys have an entire cottage industry that makes good copies of sophisticated imported guns?

Copying an engine should be easy. Precision parts like carbs too - or they can be China sourced.