Hero Impulse
The Impulse was the first motorcycle to be launched by the newly formed Hero MotoCorp after splitting from erstwhile partner Honda. The Hero Impulse created quite a storm when it was launched as it was the only off-road motorcycle on sale at the time. It had the rugged design and the go anywhere chassis and suspension making it a fantastic motorcycle for our broken and undulated roads. Despite the initial hype, the Hero Impulse failed to pick steam with respect to sales. One of the main reasons for consumers giving the Hero Impulse a cold shoulder was the fact that the 150cc motor felt underpowered for the machine and the other being it's pricing. Both these factors and negative word of mouth reviews basically killed the Hero Impulse. The Hero Impulse is still on sale but only for the north-east markets. There have been rumours that Hero would launch the Impulse with the more powerful motor sourced from the Karizma but it hasn't materialised yet.
Suzuki GS150R
Suzuki was on a revival path in the Indian two-wheeler market and launched its assault in the 150cc segment with the Suzuki GS150R. With it simple styling, good build quality and a refined engine, the Suzuki GS150R was the Japanese two-wheeler manufacturers weapon of choice against established motorcycles like the Honda Unicorn, Bajaj Pulsar 150 and the Hero Hunk. It was also the first bike in its segment to be offered with a 6-speed gearbox, the sixth being beneficial to extract good fuel efficiency on the highways. Despite all these advantages, the Suzuki GS150R just failed to click. Many cited the poor dealer network and the fact that Suzuki didn't market the bike aggressively was also a reason as not many consumers were even aware of the bike called Suzuki GS150R. The bike is still on sale but with the new Gixxer being a success its days are numbered though.
Honda CBR150R
Full-faired body, liquid-cooled motor, fuel injection, 6-speed gearbox, fantastic handling dynamics and still the Honda CBR 150R features in this list. When Honda launched the CBR150R with much fanfare it felt that in the form of the CBR150R they had a bike to kill the Yamaha R15. Despite being a faster bike than the Yamaha R15 in terms of outright acceleration, top speed and cornering speed, the Honda CBR150R just failed to capture the Indian consumer's imagination. Firstly the CBR250R inspired styling didn't go well down with the buyers another factor was the switchgear was a straight lift from the Dream Yuga and it was just totally unacceptable at this price point. Talking about pricing it's around Rs 20,000 dearer than the Yamaha R15, which although slower than the Honda offering; it looked more appealing and was cheaper also thereby winning this Japanese scuffle quite easily.
TVS Phoenix
TVS achieved great success in the 110cc segment with the Victor and they planned to ape it with the Phoenix which was marketed as a premium 125cc commuter. The TVS Phoenix had lot going for it, pleasing styling, good switch gear and build quality, and an aptly powerful motor. Despite ticking all the right boxes, the Phoenix just couldn't capture the Indian buyer's imagination. This can be pointed out to the fact that it didn't have any USP as such while the Honda CB Shine ruled the segment as a great overall package; the Discover 125 had features and technology working for it while the Hero Glamour wasn't a great success according to Hero standards but it was clocking decent sales owing to the Hero brand name. Also it seemed that the TVS Phoenix entered the market a tad late to make an impact and it has to be among those capable breed of motorcycles that was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Bajaj Pulsar 135LS
With the Pulsar 135LS, Bajaj planned to make the "Pulsar" brand more accessible to youngsters but instead of introducing it with a 125cc which was mostly used by commuters they plonked a new 135cc motor to make it stand apart. The Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS (Light Sport) had very attractive styling with sharp and edgy lines, clip-on bars, split-seat and LED tail lamps. Bajaj marketed it as a bike with the fuel efficiency of a 125cc motorcycle and power of a 150cc bike which it had with 13.5PS and 11.4Nm of peak torque. The Bajaj Pulsar 135LS was also the first Bajaj motorcycle to feature 4-valves and DTS-i technology together and it tipped the scales at just 121kg. It even had the performance and handling dynamics to make it a competent bike. But what it lacked was bulk and mass like the Pulsar of yesteryears and consumers seemed to be turned off by its styling and the common perception was that if you want a Pulsar then buy the real Pulsar (read as 150cc or above).
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