Auto Expo Two-wheeler Concepts That Made It To Production

Here are 6 concepts shown at the past Expos that went from concept to reality

The Auto Expo has always been the perfect platform for two-wheeler manufacturers to showcase their future concepts. Some of them made it to production and drove the change for the brand while some of them didn't. Here are the concepts that did.

TVS Draken

The Draken was supposed to showcase the future of the Apache brand. The naked motorcycle sported a trellis frame, USD fork, radial brake caliper, cast aluminium swingarm and a single-cylinder 250cc motor. Umm, sounds familiar doesn’t it? But by the time the Draken became the Apache RTR 200 4V in 2016, all of these components made way for more cost-effective options and the engine was downsized to a 200cc unit.

TVS Akula

Another important motorcycle from TVS in 2016 was the Akula! The first indication of what to expect from TVS after tying up with BMW. The Akula was TVS’ first fully-faired motorcycle. It was a proper track-spec machine with carbon fibre fairing, a steering damper, adjustable levers and believe it or not, a MotoGP-inspired gyroscopic on board camera. From the Akula we got the Apache RR 310, which lost the fancy carbon fibre and track-spec bits for a more road and wallet-friendly avatar. But still the RR 310 looks sharp, sleek and ready to attack, just like its spirit animal -- the shark.

Bajaj Pulsar RS 400

Bajaj has been absent for the past few Expos but in 2014, Bajaj showcased the Pulsar RS 400. Bajaj was looking to go big with its Pulsars with these two bikes as it made use of the KTM-derived 390 Duke motor. The Indian enthusiast was crying out loud for a full faired Pulsar and the RS 400 got us super pumped up. And we did get… the RS 200. Same odd-ball looks as the 400 concept. The motor was also KTM-derived but not the 373cc single from the 390 but the 199cc single from the 200 Duke.

Bajaj Pulsar CS 400

Showcased alongside the RS 400 was another Pulsar, one which really caught our eye -- the CS 400. The CS 400 looked the part of a modern day sport cruiser with a buff body, a chunky USD fork, split digital console and hunkered stance, like a scaled down Diavel. Thankfully, the production bike retained the 390 engine but got a new identity -- Dominar 400. It looked nearly the same as the CS400 but missed out on the USD fork and the engine was detuned. Ultimately, the second gen Dominar launched earlier this year was pretty close to the concept CS 400.

Honda CX 01

It seems that 2014 was the year of hot concept motorcycles as Honda too brought its first concept motorcycle designed by the Indian R&D team called the CX 01. CX stood for Concept Cross as the bike was meant to take on anything in its path. It was quite a sporty motorcycle with an alienesque headlamp matching its futuristic looks. The long travel suspension, the knuckle guards, the dual purpose tyres and the upswept end can were clear signs that Honda India was thinking adventure. Although we never got an adventure motorcycle, there were similarities between this concept motorcycle and the CB Hornet 160R.

Yamaha Hyper Slaz

Based on the Indonesian M Slaz, Yamaha India showcased the Hyper Slaz concept at the Auto Expo 2018. It looked straight out of the Batman Arkham video game. And it got fancy bits to match the crazy styling. It had the R15 Deltabox chassis, USD fork, an Ohlins piggyback monoshock and Pirelli Diablo Rosso II tyres. The concept naked also had a tiny camera on its forehead. Ultimately, Yamaha introduced the MT-15 in 2019 which has a similar futuristic vibe to it.