The BS4 to BS6 transition has had a mini Thanos-effect on motorcycles in India. I mean, like in the Endgame, a few of your favorites won't be able to make it post the 31st of this month. So, with seven days still remaining, I thought of giving you a quick heads-up.
Please note that this small list of motorcycles, about to vanish in thin air because of the BS6 finger-snap, holds just two pieces of information for you: a) bikes you would not be able to buy from the 1st of April, and b) bikes you won't be able to buy even right now.
The silver lining is that you just might be able to buy one of these in the next seven days.
This snippet will also tell you whether, in times to come, you'll regret your decision of not buying when you could, or you'll consider yourself lucky.
Suzuki Hayabusa: I didn't mean to start off by rubbing salt on your wounds, but the truth is that you'll curse yourself if you could buy it, but didn't. Just in case it's not clear—you won't be able to buy this one brand new in the next seven days, thereafter, or in the afterlife. Suzuki sold the last specimen a few weeks ago.
And no one really knows when the new Hayabusa would come. It might break cover in the last quarter of this year, or it might make its fans wait for a couple of years. However, what is certain is that it will come—Toshihiro Suzuki, President, Suzuki Motor Corp., had himself confirmed the news last year.
What's also certain is that this one, the outgoing 'Busa, will remain the most coveted hyperbike in the used-bike market for a long time. I hate to use a cliche, but the fact is that everyone wanted to own the "Dhoom bike" in India. Everyone still wants to, and everyone would always want to. Expect the prices to shoot up considerably.
RE 500s: All 500 cc motorcycles in the Royal Enfield stable—Bullet 500, Classic 500, and Thunderbird 500—have been stopped. You could have bought one of these before the 1st of April but RE has exhausted the entire BS4 inventory. Yes, they're now selling BS6 motorcycles.
Honestly, it didn't make much sense anyway for RE to be selling the 500 singles when the magnificent 650 twins are just a couple of premature FD withdrawals away. Secondly, from a buyer's perspective, these 500s won't become collectibles like the old cast-iron 500s. So, relax, you aren't really missing out on much.
Get the 350 and save some money, or spend a little extra and buy the Interceptor 650.
Honda CBR 250 R: Okay, there's finally something in this list that you might still be able to buy before the 1st of April.
Launched in 2011, this motorcycle reiterated (the Karizma did it first in 2003) that you do not need a group of ten (at least) riders, two mechanics, a truckload of spares, a backup vehicle, and prayers to go to Leh.
A typical Honda, the CBR was reliable, smooth, silent, comfortable, and boring. It still is, all of that. So will you regret if you can't get one in the next seven days? Not really. A better alternative is available in the form of Suzuki Gixxer SF 250. That said, the CBR will indeed be missed.
There are quite a few other bikes as well that won't see the next financial year. But these three are, and will always be, special.
