Cheap Chinese tyres are making life difficult for the Indian tyre companies. Chinese products are well known for cheap market rates even if the material is imported. Due to the low cost of the tyres, consumers are getting attracted towards them. Clearly, it shows that, the customers are going for quantity rather than quality.

By the way, the Indian tyre business is a multi-billion dollar industry. As there is a lot of demand for the two wheelers – India is the biggest two wheeler market – the tyre business is quite lucrative here. However, due to the presence of the low price Chinese goods both the Indian rubber industry as well as the manufacturers is at a risk.

However, according to experts, the problem could have a very short life. The reason for this is being termed as the quality. At present people are eyeing only the low cost material and thus saving some money behind the deals. However, in the long run, it will not prove to be beneficial at all, some experts say.

In the test of time, the Indian tyres will come out as the eventual winners. But it may take some time for the people to realize the importance of the durability of the Indian manufactured goods. These are just temporary losses, Sheila Thomas, who is the Chairman of rubber board, said.

Ms. Thomas also said that the government should take some steps to see to it that the tyre manufacturers are able to come out of these losses as early as possible. She put weight behind the Indian manufacturers saying that India is far too ahead of China and even the other developed countries in the business and that is the reason why foremost tyre companies are coming to India.

Ms. Thomas emphasized the fact that the farmers should cultivate rubber as there is a great demand for it in the market. She also pointed out that the production of rubber is in direct proportion to the GDP. The industry is the strength of the Indian business and so the cheap imports should not harm the better of the two.

Two wheelers are certainly a craze in the young generation today. The speeds, the pickup, the smooth transition, the zipping sound, all are enough to make the young boys long for a superbike. Everyone wants speed today. Need for speed has become the necessity even for bike manufacturers. However, there are some important things that many young bikers forget today.

The first and foremost thing that holds greater significance is safety. You cannot ride a bike without taking the necessary care about the safety. As safety is important to you, so it is for others too. But as a rider, it is first important that you take the necessary precautions. Let us have a look at five such things you should have before you get on your bike.

Helmet

Whatever be the order of importance of the safety gear. Anyone will agree that the helmet stands as the top priority. Helmet has literally made the difference between life and death for the people who have got fatally injured in road mishaps. In road accidents, the possibility of broken bones is the highest. The broken arms and shoulders are common examples. However, you might have hardly heard of an incident when a person has succumbed to his injuries inspire of the helmet.

Today, helmets come in various forms, designs and sizes. You can choose the one that goes best with your personality. However, keep an eye on the interior fabric and the polyurethane foam, because your life costs more than your looks.

Jacket

A jacket is another important safety gear you should invariably have on you. A good leather jacket can potentially serve you better than expected. It will most certainly help in lessening the impact of the bruises. Some people tend to think that the jackets are worn only for fashionable reasons. However, the thickness of the leather jackets, the material like Kevlar, leather and nylon used in making the jackets tell the correct tale – it is a life saving equipment and not designed only for the fashionable reason. Some jackets also come with additional padding at the elbows, the shoulder and the spine region. This ensures more safety in case anything goes wrong.

Gloves

Another important safety aid is the pair of hand gloves. It is very likely that you would land on your hands for support in a sudden fall. Chances are that your hands may suffer scratches and bruises. So gloves give you a good amount of protection for your fingers. There are various types of hand gloves to choose from. Some of them have separate spaces for each finger. These are the best ones to have. Avoid those gloves that cover only some part of the fingers. The top part of the fingers is exposed in some differently styled gloves. They may not give you complete protection. So choose wisely – do you want style or safety?

Boots

Another important safety gear has to be the boots you wear. A pair of sturdy leather boots is a must when you are on your bike. Remember to have boots that have more covering up to your ankle. If nothing, then it is your ankle that is more likely to bear the brunt of the accident. Choose boots of good quality leather that will have a fair amount of thickness. Cuts, bruises and at times, even fractures can be avoided. The best thing can be go for hard and robust athletic shoes. If you are a frequent rider, you should invariably have a good pair of riding boots.

Protective Eyewear

A protective eyewear is a must for every rider. It would be foolishness to expect good riding without good eye protective equipment. With the safety gear on, the vision becomes clearer. For the best results, go for a pair of glasses, which are not glasses in reality. In short, choose the eye gear that is made of plastic, not glass. Specially designed plastic eyewear is more likely to give the best results than that of the glasses. In case something goes wrong, the plastic eyewear will not do as much damage to you as the glasses may bring about.

Use the best possible safety gears and always ride safe!

There will now be high-end tubeless tyres for the new upcoming motorcycles. This will be thanks to the new step taken by Metro Tyres in association with the German Continental AG. Continental AG is the preferred partner of Metro Tyres, said the company statement. Apart from that MT also has a good name in the equity in the global market.

To start with there will be the manufacturing of these tyres in the Ludhiana plant. The company has invested as many as Rs. 30 crores in the plant. The funds will be used for the development and upgradation of the plant. Apart from this, the company has made arrangements for Rs. 50 crores more.

This investment will be made for the company’s Manesar plant. For this plant in Grugaon, the company will be investing in the production and manufacturing of tubeless tyres only. The company is on the lookout for the OEMs apart from the export markets for their finished products of the tubeless tyres.

More and more bikes are entering the market with tubeless tyres. Therefore, the horizons of the entire industry are on the rise. In the coming years, this demand will also keep increasing and hence this arm of the industry has bright days ahead. Apart from that, as India is one of the top markets for two wheelers, the country is a literally a hub and a lucrative destination for such companies.

Two wheelers are the prime source of usage in the Indian market. There has been a steady growth of more than 10 per cent in the market. The exports, on the other hand, are growing twice the rate. All in all, it is all contributing towards the higher demands for the tubeless tyres.

The company currently manufactures around 2 lakhs motorcycle tyres and tubes every month. After the investment and the functioning of the new plant, the company will be able to touch the production of 5 lakhs tyres and tubes every month. It is expected that there could be a turnover of Rs. 600 crores in the following year and Rs. 1000 crores in four years of time.

The government of New Delhi has made it compulsory for women to wear helmets – one of the most important security gears while driving. Women were exempted from wearing helmet until now. However now, even the women folk will have to bear in mind that they are driving with the protective gear on head before venturing out.

However, what we are talking about may be surprising. As a matter of fact, women riding as pillion should be seated with the helmet. One source from the government has been quoted as saying that mishaps do not quite make any difference between a man and a woman. And that is why safety should come first for everyone.

This decision has good reasons to bring it in force. The accident figures show that there are many women who are succumbing to deaths (than men) for a simple yet important reason for not wearing a helmet. Wearing a helmet alone could have saved all those lives. Keeping all that in mind, the government has taken stringent steps even for pillion rider, especially women.

The Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Mr. Satyendra Garg said that as a pillion driver, they have nowhere to hold on to in case of a slip, a mishap or a sudden dash. Even when brakes have to be applied accidentally and suddenly, there is a possibility of a collision and threat to life. It is not only due to the negligence of the rider that the pillion riders have to face threats.

If the pillion falls accidentally, there is a good chance that he may get run over by a speed heavy vehicle from behind. It is indeed inexplicable as to why there was no compulsion on the women to wear helmets. However, now with the law becoming stricter let us hope the fairer sex has got its dues.

For a business house, there are hundreds of methods to make your customers happy, especially in the auto sector. Keeping that in mind, Mahindra & Mahindra has come out with a unique idea for the current festival season. According to the company’s offer, they will be providing a petrol discount of Rs. 1500.

The company has christened this as Long Drive Offer. And why is it not a long drive when the customers will be getting a potential discount to make them go for the vehicles. In these days of high fuel prices, this unique incentive will prove beneficial to the company for sure. According to the offer, one can spend the money on petrol and in exchange avail of the ongoing offer.

There is a good hefty period of around 45 days. The scheme is available in all the M & M dealerships across India. So, customers from any part of the country can have the advantage of the scheme. Kareena Kapoor is the brand ambassador which you can see in the ads that are currently running on various media.

There is the entire ‘Kareena Kapoor’ family in the advertisement. She is happy to ride around as she has no worries of fuel. This is what the ad tries to convey to the customers. The ad has been done by Pradeep Sarkar for the company.

According to the company’s perspective, the festive season is the time when people share love and happiness. It is the time to seek blessings. That is why M & M thinks that the love and joy should not be hampered by the constant rise in the fuel prices. To give unperturbed happiness, the company has come out with the idea.

As you get the offer, you can enjoy the time with your friends and relatives. This festival season will be a worry-free season, M & M feels.

Out of the many manufacturing companies that provide spare parts for bigger automobile companies, K & N is one of them. The company is known to provide quality air filters that last long. The company is quite popular and famous the world over. The company is now looking forward to expanding its horizons with the help of the Indian bike manufacturer.

Reports doing the rounds on the Internet speak of K & N making a wish of launching its new air filters. For that, they want to take the help of Bajaj Auto. K & N are targeting bikes from the Pulsar series like Bajaj Pulsar 220, Bajaj Pulsar 150 and Bajaj Pulsar 180.

The air filters from the K & N are specially designed. They not only take into account the air filtration, but also help in rising the horsepower of the bike. Higher horsepower means good acceleration. That should give K & N an edge over other rival companies.

The K & N air filters are manufactured with a view catering to the above mentioned Bajaj bikes. These air filters help the bike in getting smooth acceleration due to pure air being filtered every time. This helps in increasing the overall performance of the bikes.

K & N is currently paying attention to its BA-2201 air filter. The filters are so powerful that, there is warranty of 10, 00,000 miles is provided as well. The company has used the name ‘K & N Million Mile Limited Warranty’ and made popular. No doubt, there will be superior performance with the name K & N filters in place.

The K & N air filter weighs about 0.5 lb or 0.23 kg. The measurements of the actual product box are 7.72 inches in length, 1.75 inches in breadth and 9.69 inches in height. This is equivalent to 196 mm in length, 44 mm in breadth and 246 mm in height.

We have been constantly reporting to you about the auto companies coming up with various launches in India. Of late, we have reported to you from superbikes to consumer bikes. However, Royal Enfield is up with a unique idea. It is a different kind of a launch not directly associated with bikes.

It is not a new bike that the Royal Enfield is launching. Actually, the bike manufacturing company will be soon launching their branded merchandise for their users in India. The range of the goodies will be branded with RE – which stands for Royal Enfield. The launch is expected soon, but exactly not known when the company will be going for it.

The goodies, however, include raincoats as well. This should give an idea, that the launch might be in these the nearest future as monsoon has almost set in various parts on India now.

Apart from the raincoats, there will be driving gear like the helmets, special riding glasses along with boots. There will also be fancy key chains and bags that one can choose from. Royal Enfield will also launch the branded luggage racks and panniers and imagine the presence of branded ropes!

Royal Enfield has made a name for themselves in the auto industry. Therefore, let us suppose that they will make it well with their new business. Moreover, they will be doing business with the study of Harley Davidson marketing formula. Royal Enfield has taken a plunge in the business with a great amount of study.

As Royal Enfield has a good customer base not only in India, but also in foreign countries, they should find the going not too hard with the riding gear. However, the merchandise will be available only in Indian outlets of Royal Enfield.

Royal Enfield fans living abroad need not get disappointed as they have made arrangements for online purchasing. So, as far as foreign fans are concerned, they can order their favorite riding gear online too.

Though the name ‘Royal Enfield’ is a big one in the industry today, they will not be taking undue advantage of it. Therefore, to make it affordable for the fans and potential customers, the company will be pricing their products at high rates. To state an example, the two-piece rain coat will cost somewhere around Rs. 2,299, which is certainly affordable.

And finally, the qualities of all these products have been kept at the highest level. So, what you get in the bargain is quality material and that too of a branded company like the Royal Enfield.

As the need for speed has always been considered an inseparable part of vehicles, so have the safety measures been. In fact, safety has and always should come first for any kind of vehicles. Keeping this in mind, a student at the University of Brighton in England, Emily Brooke, has developed a unique safety gear for bikes.

This invention has got Emily a place at Babson College in Massachusetts in the US.

The new development is the laser unit. This unit actually projects a green image made of laser rays. It can then keep the other bikes on the alert and inform that there is a bike in the vicinity. The presence of this image could be potentially a life-saver as it glows bright in the dark.

Emily has named her invention, Blaze. Blaze works on a battery. This battery is fastened at the handlebars of the bike. This image gets projected ahead of their own bike and alerts them if there is any vehicle ahead of them.

There are two good things of this invention. The first is that it is a flashing light. So it is very easy to attract the attention. The second thing is that you can detect this image even in broad daylight (though practically it will not help with that intensity). That makes it an even more useful device.

The invitation for Emily Brooke in the United States has opened doors for her for further developments in her invention. But given her age as a student, Emily has studied why her invention can be of great help. Emily has said that she wanted to embark upon the issue of safety for bikers.

The visibility factor is an important issue and that is why this flash laser image could be of help. According to Emily Brooke, there are 80 per cent accidents which occur when vehicles dash them from behind. But now with Blaze in place, we can hope that the number of accidents will come down.

When it comes to owning a helmet for your safety, the Icon and Arai helmets make their presence felt in the market. However, the interesting thing is that more and more people are buying the helmets online. This has been found out by a survey conducted by the A J.D. Power and Associates.

The Icon and Arai helmets are quite popular amongst the motorcycle riders. These results came to the fore after A J.D. Power and Associates announced this after their survey ended last week. However, it was not only the outcome out the survey. There was actually more than what met the eye.

As compared to last year, more and more people were buying helmets online. The number of these online buyers has increased by a margin of as big as 20 per cent. A total number of 23 per cent of the users are purchasing the helmets from web sites.

A history of around nine years will showcase the fact that only four per cent of people used to buy helmets online. When on one hand it has increased the online business, the local business and that of the dealers’ is certainly taking a beating.

For the helmet manufacturing company, Arai it has become a habit of topping the charts for the customer satisfaction. They have been on the top for 13 years on the trot for customer satisfaction. However, this year, they shared these honors with another company, Icon.

There were eleven attributes in all through which the top spot was determined. Ventilation and air flow, face shield effectiveness at keeping the wind away, designs of the colors and graphics, the total weight and comfort are some of the attributes which were taken into account.

It is a good sign that the more and more number of people are considering the use of helmet seriously.

The D-day for the auto users finally dawned today. From midnight last night, May 14, the petrol prices have increased. The increase will come into effect from today (Sunday). However, it is shocking to know that the price hike has been far more than expected. It was rumored that the price would go up somewhere around Rs. 3 per liter. However, the official announcement speaks of an increase of Rs. 5 per liter.

So, according to the new rates, one liter of petrol in the capital of India will cost Rs. 63.37. The previous rate in Delhi was Rs. 58.37 per liter. However, the price hike announced will not serve the purpose of the oil companies in entirety as they will still continue to suffer the losses. Oil companies are still losing around Rs. 5.50 per liter. Be prepared, there is another price hike in the offing.

The shock will continue hereon as well, as the prices for diesel, which still has not been announced, are also set to be increased. It is foretold that there will be an increase of Rs. 4 per liter for diesel.

Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) increased the price by Rs. 4.99 per liter and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) gave a shock by Rs. 5.01 a liter. According to officials, the price hike could have been as high as Rs. 10.50 per liter. However, the companies increased the prices by only half the needed boost in the prices.

This announcement in petrol hike makes it the eighth hike in prices since June last year. The price hike obviously did not go well with the common man as they feel it is the ‘burden’ which has been awarded to them.

However, the price hike had been held up from January this year. The hike was imminent as the crude oil prices had increased to a high of two-and-a-half years.