Hero Honda, Bajaj head for tech face-off  ( June '2,2006, FE)

Motorcycle manufacturers are vying with each other to make technology a key differentiator in the intense war for market share in the business. Fuel injection, real time mileage indicators and smart headlights are some of the latest innovations on offer in motorcycle manufacturing as market leader Hero Honda Motors and arch rival Bajaj Auto get ready for a showdown.

Hero Honda is launching the 125-cc Glamour with fuel injection and a real time mileage indicator this month. Bajaj, too, is readying the Pulsar DTSFI with the same features. And going by the buzz in the industry, these are only the first steps in the electronic makeover of bikes. The instrument panel will go completely digital for starters. Bike makers and their vendors are working on loads of other features like a power management system, smart headlights, handle bar balancing and safety features such as stopping the fuel flow in the event of a crash.

“We have already started working on many features which will become standards in bikes in times to come,” said a manager at Minda Instruments, which will supply the digital instrument panel to Bajaj.

Digital instrument panels and fuel injection systems are common features in cars and high-end bikes of typically Honda and Yamaha make in other countries. This will be the first time that they will feature in bikes powered with engines of capacity as low as 125 cc.

But, because of the price sensitive nature of the domestic market, these features will be initially available only in bikes in the executive segment and above. Neither the companies nor the suppliers are willing to say how much these electronic components will add to the bike cost.