Top 19 Two-Wheelers Of The Last Decade: 2010-2019

The decade that is coming to a close is possibly the most significant for the Indian two-wheeler industry. From Indian manufacturers finally launching products which are truly global and world class, the decade also marked a significant milestone with the Indian two-wheeler industry dislodging China to become the world's largest two-wheeler market by volume. As the year, and the decade, comes to a close, we take a look at the most significant two-wheelers which were introduced between 2010 and 2019.

1. Hero Maestro, Hero Maestro Edge

The Hero Maestro Edge is the first scooter from Hero MotoCorp after Hero parted ways with erstwhile partner Honda

The Hero Maestro was launched in 2012, and became the first scooter from India's leading two-wheeler manufacturer, Hero MotoCorp, after it parted ways with Honda to set up independent operations. By 2017, the second generation model, called the Maestro Edge became Hero's largest selling scooter. Today, it still ranks as Hero's most popular scooter and is available in two engine options - a 110 cc as well as a 125 cc model.

2. TVS NTorq 125

The TVS NTorq 125 Race Edition gets a new LED headlamp along with a new DRL and new colours and body graphics

When India's TVS Motor Company introduced its flagship 125 cc scooter, the NTorq 125 in early 2018, it broke new ground in the Indian scooter segment. With first-in-class features like Bluetooth connectivity, turn-by-turn navigation on a full-digital instrument console, and a smooth and powerful 3-valve engine, the TVS NTorq 125 changed the way 125 cc scooters are looked at in India. Today, it's one of the best all-round scooters available on sale, and will probably go down as one of the game changers in the scooter market.

3. Suzuki Access 125

The Suzuki Access 125 is the highest-selling 125 cc scooter in India

Suzuki Motorcycle India may not have the volumes to compete with two-wheeler market leaders like Hero, Honda, TVS and Bajaj. But where Suzuki scores big time is in well-rounded products, and some of these became hot favourites in their segment over the past decade. With decent fuel economy for a 125 cc engine, smooth and refined performance, as well as very good road manners, the Suzuki Access 125 cemented its place as India's highest-selling 125 cc scooter.

Also Read: Suzuki Access 125 Review

4. Aprilia SR 150

The Aprilia SR 150 is one of the most sporty scooters available on sale

If scooters are considered utilitarian, the Aprilia SR 150 broke new ground as the most performance-oriented scooter of the decade. With 14-inch wheels, taut handling and thrilling performance, the SR 150, with its sleek and modern design, with bright paint scheme, truly defined the term "sporty scooter". It may not be utility-oriented, and has its share of cons, but as a scooter which offers pure excitement, even with its modest performance, it's still right up there, and makes it to this list purely as an enthusiast's scooter!

5. Honda CBR 250 R

The Honda CBR250R re-defined motorcycle touring with a reliable and dependent entry-level sport touring motorcycle

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India is best-known for the ubiquitous Activa scooter, India's most popular scooter for decades now. But when Honda's entry-level sport touring motorcycle, the Honda CBR250R was launched in 2011, it started a new generation of motorcycle touring fans. With its smooth engine, decent cruising ability and bulletproof reliability, the CBR250R still has a strong fan following, even though it has been replaced in several global markets by the slightly bigger CBR300R, the Honda CBR250R to this day is considered a benchmark in the entry-level sport touring category in India.

6. KTM 390 Duke

The KTM 390 Duke offers the best bang for buck

When Bajaj-owned Austrian motorcycle-brand KTM made its India debut in 2012, it marked a significant chapter in Indian motorcycling history. Ever since the Yamaha RD 350 from the 1980s, no other motorcycle boasted of the performance the 390 Duke offered, at a price which still makes the 390 Duke best bang for your buck motorcycle. Although it's a street motorcycle, the touring crowd also lapped up the 390 Duke, and even today, the 390 Duke, with its sharp handling and explosive performance, makes for the best budget performance motorcycle available on sale.

Also Read: KTM 390 Duke Vs BMW G 310 R

7. Bajaj Dominar

The Bajaj Dominar is an affordable and capable entry-level touring motorcycle

KTM's parent company Bajaj Auto also decided to milk the 390 Duke's popularity with its own model, focussing on a model that was designed to make motorcycle touring affordable. The Bajaj Dominar took birth in 2016, as a power cruiser, but more importantly it promised the versatility of a daily commuter with the performance and capability to go long distance touring, all at a significant price advantage. Although the Bajaj Dominar came with a slightly different state of tune on the 373 cc engine shared with the 390 Duke, today the Dominar is still one of the more popular touring motorcycles in India.

8. Hero Impulse, Hero XPulse

The Hero XPulse offers a superb dual-sport motorcycle at a budget below Rs. 1 lakh

If motorcycle touring came of age in the last decade, Hero MotoCorp treaded new ground in 2011 with the Impulse, a purpose-built off-road oriented 150 cc motorcycle, which is considered a path-breaking, entry-level dual-sport motorcycle. Although the Impulse failed to set the sales charts on fire and was discontinued in 2016, Hero followed up with a slightly more powerful XPulse, which was first showcased in 2018, followed by its commercial launch in 2019. The XPulse, with a 200 cc engine, and decent off-road capability, has captured the attention of thousands of adventure and off-road enthusiasts in India, looking for a dual-sport motorcycle at a budget.

9. Royal Enfield Himalayan

The Royal Enfield Himalayan has go-anywhere capability and offers a very good workhorse in the entry-level adventure segment

But Hero isn't the only manufacturer dabbling in purpose-built off-road oriented adventure bikes. Royal Enfield, which pioneered motorcycle touring in India, launched the brand's first adventure bike in 2016. The Himalayan, with long travel suspension, high ground clearance, and a new 411 cc engine had its share of niggles. But today, it's still one of the more common entry-level adventure bikes seen on Indian highways and in the high mountains. The Himalayan has managed to establish its own set of ardent fans!

10. Suzuki Gixxer

The Suzuki Gixxer 155 set a new benchmark in the 150-160 cc motorcycle segment

If premium commuter motorcycles focus on fuel economy, and decent performance, the Suzuki Gixxer set a new benchmark in the 150-160 cc motorcycle segment in the last decade. A segment largely dominated by the Bajaj Pulsar, and to some extent the Yamaha FZ series, the Gixxer brought in a combination of engine refinement, handling and fuel economy that set a new benchmark in the segment when it was launched in 2014.

11. Yamaha YZF-R3

The Yamaha YZF-R3 offers a superb package and the first Yamaha with a parallel-twin engine to be introduced in India since the Yamaha RD350

The Yamaha YZF-R3, popularly known as just the R3, is the first Yamaha motorcycle with a parallel-twin engine to be introduced in India after the two-stroke RD350 of the 1980s. Sporty performance, great design and a price tag of under 4 lakh for a parallel-twin sport motorcycle, the R3 was a great all-round product. But despite it being an excellent motorcycle, it didn't quite become a commercial success. Nevertheless, it makes it to the decade's significant motorcycle launches, for good reason!

12. BMW G 310 R, BMW G 310 GS

The made-in-India BMW G 310 R and BMW G 310 GS marked a new entry point into BMW Motorrad

BMW Motorrad introduced the brand's entry-level motorcycles - the BMW G 310 R, and the BMW G 310 GS in 2018. These two models, the most-affordable BMW motorcycles, have a very important India connection, because they have been manufactured in India, at TVS Motor Company's facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. The join collaboration of TVS and BMW was agreed to develop the new engine as a common platform. And even though the BMW's aren't exactly affordable, they have certainly managed to establish India as a manufacturer of quality two-wheelers in the global map.

13. TVS Apache RR 310

The TVS Apache RR 310 is quite a likeable package for the daily commute and urban, intra-day work, but is capable of long distance touring as well

TVS Motor Company, meanwhile, introduced the company's own version of the common platform with BMW. The Apache RR 310 became the flagship motorcycle of the Indian two-wheeler manufacturer, and the first full-faired entry-level sport motorcycle under the Apache brand. The RR 310 has gone on to receive rave reviews and a steady fan following, and is right now, one of the best entry-level sport tourers available on sale in India!

14. Royal Enfield 650 Twins

The Royal Enfield 650 Twins have marked a new beginning in the history of Royal Enfield

Royal Enfield may have been slowly and gradually updating its motorcycle range over the past decade with minor incremental technological updates to its range of single-cylinder engines. But the introduction of the new 650 Twin platform catapulted Royal Enfield's ambitions to establish the brand as a global leader in the mid-size motorcycle segment. The 650 Twins - the Interceptor 650, and the Continental GT 650, offered a level of finesse, refinement and performance never before seen on any Royal Enfield ever! Today, these two models have single-handedly helped Royal Enfield strengthen its global footprint, and expansion plans to establish Royal Enfield as a world-class motorcycle brand!

15. Harley-Davidson Street 750

The Harley-Davidson Street 750 is the company's most affordable offering in India

Harley-Davidson's first all-new model in 13 years, is the Street 750. A model manufactured in India for the local market, as well as for many global markets, the Street 750 cemented its position as the brand's highest-selling model in no time! Even today, the entry-level Harley-Davidson Street series is the brand's highest-selling motorcycles, and comprise 80 per cent of Harley-Davidson India's sales numbers. The made-in-India Street series made an aspirational brand like Harley-Davidson affordable, and the volumes make it one of the most important Harley models of all time!

16. Ducati Scrambler

The Ducati Scrambler resurrected the Scrambler name and kick-started a whole new lifestyle around the Scrambler brand

Ducati revived its Scrambler brand in 2015 with the Italian brand's modern-classic styled motorcycle, with styling inspired by the original Ducati Scrambler of the 1960s and 1970s. The new Scrambler brand not only fuelled a completely new range of hipster customers, but also offered an entry-point into the Italian brand as the most-affordable Ducati models. With the Scramblers available in several neo-retro flavours, the Ducati Scrambler is certainly one of the most popular motorcycle brand revival stories of the decade!

17. Triumph Street Triple RS

The Triump Street Triple RS is more flexible than ever, and its biggest strengths are versatility and flexibility

In 2017, Triumph Motorcycles updated the Street Triple with an all-new 765 cc in-line three-cylinder engine. With feisty performance, and sharp handling, the new Street Triple RS set a new benchmark in naked street motorcycles. In 2019, the Street Triple RS got one more update, with minor cosmetic changes as well as new engine internals, worked on by Triumph's Moto2 engineering team. Now, there's an updated gearbox, a new exhaust cam, new intake duct, lighter crank and clutch, as well as a freer flowing exhaust. The result is an even more engaging mid-range performance, and razor sharp handling. The Street Triple RS remains one of our favourite middleweight nakeds till date.

18. Triumph Tiger 800

The Triumph Tiger 800 offers a superb blend of highway performance and off-road capability

The Triumph Tiger 800 made its India debut in 2013, although the first Tiger 800 was introduced in Europe in 2010. In its third generation now, the Triumph Tiger 800 middleweight adventure bike became a roaring success in India, with its off-road capability, as well as refined and sporty performance from the inline three-cylinder engine. Even today, it's the highest-selling mid-weight adventure bike in India, and has a massive fan following and demand even in the used bike market.

19. BMW R 1250 GS

The BMW R 1250 GS is one of the very best full-sized adventure bikes available right now

As far as adventure bikes are concerned, there's no other adventure bike as well-known or as aspirational as the BMW R 1250 GS, the 'big GS'! A replacement for the BMW R 1200 GS, the 2019 R 1250 GS introduced several technological innovations, including a new 'Shift Cam' variable valve timing system on the new engine, and a long list of electronic rider aids. It's not difficult to understand why the 'big GS' has been so popular worldwide over several generations, and in India too, it is the most aspirational adventure bike right now. In fact, many current owners of the GS have graduated from middleweight adventure bikes like the Tiger 800 and the Africa Twin!