Most Common Motorcycles in Sri Lanka

Sri lanka's motorcycle market was once dominated by Japanese giants such as Honda , Yamaha, Kawasaki etc has started to decline in the late 90's and now being completely conquered by Indian and Chinese motorcycle makers. Reason for this decline is mainly the prices of the Japanese motorcycles was increasing as well as rarity of certain spare parts, and also fuel consumption is somewhere in the middle. Indian motorcycle makers such as "Bajaj, TVS, Hero, Kinetic" has introduced their products at the late 90's and they picked up like a storm. The popularity of motorcycle brands as follows.

1. Bajaj - It was easy for bajaj because their three wheelers has been long here before the motorcycles and they won the hearts of many. So they easily became the number one in sri lanka.
2. Hero Honda - Carrying the brand name "Honda" as a part of their brad name drew the previous Japanese Honda riders easily towards their products.
3. TVS - Was rather a new name for Sri Lanka but easily picked up the third place by giving a super low end prices, and extremely economical fuel consumption on fairly faster motorcycles.
4. Kinetic - Also as far as i heard a mixture of indian motorcycles and chinese made parts picked up the fourth place here in sri lanka because it was bought and introduced to sri lanka by a company named "Singer Sri Lanka" which was quiet a famous for their many products such as "Sewing Machines, Tv's etc"
5. Suzuki - They became the fifth place because they were carrying their Japanese ancestors name with chinese production plants. They were very famous for their trust GN125.

Other than above mentioned brand names, there are many others such as Loncin, Ranomoto, Umazaki, Senaro which is assembled here in sri laka and mainly from chinese manufacturers. Here are some of the common and famous motorcycles of Sri Lanka which you can see hundreds of them when you go to the main road.

Bajaj Pulsar

Took on sri lankan market like a storm due it's looks and power. First pulsars which was introduced to sri lanka was running at power of 150cc engine, later upgraded to 180cc and 220cc. The looks have drastically changed from model to model as well as power. They always comes in several major colors such as, Red, Black, Blue etc. Bajaj Pulsar became very famous among sport/road motorcycle enthusiasts due to it's power, looks, and the amazing low fuel consumptions. For an example Bajaj Pulsar 180Dts-i 2007 model did 50KMPL.

Bajaj Boxer

Bajaj boxer has been here since the introduction of bajaj motorcycles in sri lanka and took on like a storm on daily riders. People switched to this neat little 100cc motorcycle because of it's extremely low fuel consumption which is like 75 - 80 KMPL and it's toughness along with bullet proof kawasaki inspired engine. This has won the hearts of common man in sri lanka. Even though it is not in the main show case of bajaj right now, it is still one of the highest selling day to day commuters in Sri Lanka.

Bajaj CT100

Bajaj CT100 is also another 100cc motorcycle introduced to the market slightly later after the launch of bajaj motorcycles in sri lanka. It gain popularity again due to it's low fuel consumption, Low price and also for its's dashing looking new headlight design. It won over the Boxer mainly due to that newly installed headlight. There were some more models in the line along with CT100, suchas Bajaj Caliber 115cc etc. They were also equally famous among day to day riders.

Bajaj Discover

This was the baja's ultimate 125cc motorcycle. The picture you see is the latest upcoming model and there have been different models previously. This was very famous among people who wants a 125cc Motorcycle and the looks of the a pulser. Sometimes if the Pulsar was quiet too expensive, riders always went for this. There are some models in this line, and they were called XCD125 etc. Somehow later all of thes models were introduced with 135cc Engines and in different colors etc.

Hero Honda Hunk

Not the most famous from the huge line of Hero Honda has to offer but recently became the most famous from all of hero hondas in sri lanka. powered by a 150cc engine same as the Hero Honda CBZ, the looks are much different, and also has the Gas Shock Absorbers. Hunk is currently competing with the bajaj's pulsars market. They are somewhat head to head if you look at the colombo roads But i personally thinks pulsars head count is higher. Known to be a very reliable due to Honda developed engine. But price was slightly higher than others.

Hero Honda CBZ Extreme

This is the all time favorite from Hero Honda, and first it came as "CBZ" and later it turned in to "CBZ Extreme". It is known as one of the Cult motorcycles in India. It was not equally popular in sri lanka as in India but somewhat popular due to it's light weight, easier handling on the traffic and again bares the badge of "Honda". I had my self ridden for sometime few years back, and it was an amazing motorcycle for 150cc. had a mid range fuel consumption and extreme handling. Comfort wise it was slightly low compared to the Hero Honda Hunk.

TVS Apache

Apache became very famous for it's looks and price tag. It was in the market since the introduction of TVS to sri lanka. It has undergone through various types of upgrades since the introduction. Apache is packed with a 150cc engine and rival against Pulsar and CBZ in the market. After the initial launch, TVS has also released the 160cc Version of the Apache which is called "Apache RTR". Certain rumours say that TVS has a Apache 200 is on the horizon so all the TVS riders, grip tight for the future releases.

TVS Flame

TVS Flame is the 125cc flavour of their motorcycles. Powered with a 125cc Three Valve engine, Tvs flame quiet popular among the 125cc riders due to it's dashing looks and the mid range price tag. According to what i have found out, TVS Flame is being developed by a separate division in TVS under the authority of an professional German engineer. If someone wants a TVS and wants a good looking day to day commuter of 125cc. TVS Flame is the way to go.

TVS Star (sport & city)

TVS Star Sport & TVS Star City both were a great challenge for other 100cc motorcycles. This is the 100cc motorcycle from TVS and works great as a day to day commuter. TVS STAR series was very famous in sri lanka for it's extreme low fuel consumption and all the value added features such as Self starter, Alloy wheels, Beautiful design which other 100cc motorcycles did not had when it was launched. This motorcycle boast mind blowing 105KMPL ( on bench test at normal speed ). I have ridden one and it has a very good acceleration, and it did about 85KMPL in real life test. It's pretty amazing how they do these things.

Bajaj Kristal, TVS Scooty Pept, Hero Honda Pleasure

Hey, i didn't leave the ladies out? did i? Oh crap, stupid me. All the above manufacturers had scooters of their own brands released especially for the lady riders. yes i know, in European and many other countries ladies ride 1000cc and above, the smallest they ride is 250cc. Well it's different here and most parts of Asia i guess. The most famous from all the scooters was the TVS Scooty Pept due to it's advertising campaigns and looks. They all boasts a engine capacity of 100cc and comes with various easy to use features such as automatic head lights in the dark, self starter, economical fuel consumption etc. Even though it was intend for female riders, we see many male riders also take these scooters on the road. They are excellent motorcycles for day to day rides. Especially for the ladies and people who wants a automatic gear system on their motorcycles. One of above scooters are the way to go in Sri Lanka.

Suzuki GN125 & Clones

Suzuki GN125 is quiet famous among Sri Lankan Cruiser style motorcycle enthusiasts. When a person usually wants a bike that is comfortable for long distance riding, they usually go for the GN125. GN125 has been copied and cloned by many other makers such as Loncin, Senaro etc. They all are chinese motorcycle makers, and some of them are equally good as the original Suzuki GN125. It packs a single cylinder 125cc engine, comfy seat for two and the cruiser styling. Old skool riders also favorst he new GN-125 for it's looks.

Bajaj Avenger , Yamaha Enticer & Chinese Built Cruisers

Here comes my favorite motorcycles to talk about. That's the cruisers, Cruiser class motorcycles in sri lanka was first introduced by chinese motorcycle makers such as loncin, Daido etc. But never gain the popularity among the cruiser motorcycle fans and Harley wannabes due to it's inferior reliability and quick deterioration. Then the Bajaj and Yamaha of india introduced these two models which quickly gained the popularity among cruiser class motorcycle enthusiasts. To tan color is Yamaha Enticer 125cc & and black is the Bajaj Avenger 200cc & 180cc. According to indian market bajaj won over the Yamaha but in sri lanka it was winning over the Yamaha until sri lankan distributor discontinued bringing bajaj avenger due to low sales. Bajaj avenger is now only available in pre-orders. Yamaha Enticer is still doing well but honest truth is in sri lanka Cruiser motorcycles only gained popularity among small number of people who are harley & Cruiser enthusiasts just like my self. For past year of course cruisers has started to gain more and more popularity. Main reason for their decline is higher fuel consumption compared to other motorcycles and lack of motorcycle enthusiasts in sri lanka. We have lots of riders but very little enthusiasts. People just ride because they can't afford a car, Not that they want to ride instead of driving.

Mopeds & other 50cc Motorcycles

Hey i don't wanna leave these cute little bikes away, so here they are. Almost all the makers have a moped which is 50cc or below which requires no license and registrations, and riders are not required to wear a safety helmet according to sri lanka motor vehicle rules and regulation authority. In the picture what you see is a model named "Safari" by the indian motorcycle maker "Kinetic" which is a four stroke motorcycle runs at 50cc. These small moped motorcycles comes with neat features such as self starters, extremely low fuel consumption, some of them with paddling facilities etc. Earlier models were mostly 2 Stroke motorcycles and later on after banning the 2 Stroke motorcycles in sri lanka. Motorcycle makers came up with these neat little four stroke moped. If you are looking for something to take a ride around the city, and wants automatic gears, and lowest fuel consumption, and don't want to wear helmets and bother of license and number plates. This is the way to go, go grab a moped. Mopeds are popular among ladies, school students, and people who hates wearing helmets.

This is just a little post that will give you a rough idea of what are the most common motorcycles and brands in sri lanka. There are plenty others and not to forget the japanese motorcycles, they are in plenty, sometimes equalent to certain indian and chinese makes. What i mentioned was the common motorcycles only. This post may not include all the common motorcycles, because each of this manifacturers have a huge line of motorcycle models with various different flavors and colors and they keep changing everyday. I hope you enjoyed the post.

It's horror movie time... FEAST *Spoilers*

Turn down the lights, make sure it is night, grab your pop corn and just push the play button. Time for some horror movie stuff, yeap, i love movies and my favorite genere is horror. Yes i love good horror movies, doesn't matter whether they are B-movies, Blockbusters, as long as i am pleased, i am happy with it. For past few years this was one of my most anticipated movies, yes i watched the part one that really kicked me off the couch. I am telling you fellas, this is not for the faint hearted to watch, it's a complete gore splatter fest with lots of laughter if you can handle the gory violence. I loved the first movie from the triology. It was pretty amazingly done for a low budger horror movie. Bunch of people getting trapped inside a bar and they are being attacked by a heard of blood thirsty monsters from no where, yeah i know, sounds like a pretty same old story but watch it and see, it's different this time. I was counting my days to watch the part two of the movie and it was a bit let down. It was no where near the part one but it did continued the story from where part one is left off. Survivors from the bar get along with some others and they hit the nearest town. Then the massacre starts, and it had some real jaw dropping violence. This is one of the very rare movies which they show a death of a child as a joke, and in the real way. Children usually don't die in a painful suffering death no matter how high the violence rating in a horror movie, but in this they do and watch out for those graphic scenes. I was screamed by my wife for showing her this movie because it contains such graphic scenes. Then the part three comes. Wow, it starts right exactly where the second one left off, even better it has almost same cast as the part two until one by one is being chopped off. Ending was pretty good, i'll leave you all to figure it out. and i think there will be a Feast 4 on the horizon somewhere. I think probably 2010 we will be able to see it or at least hear about it. If you re a fan of gore fest, and laughs at extremely funny and violent deaths, this is the movie for you. Creature horror fans like my self also should look in to this. Don't expect anything like "The Ring" or "Grudge" in this. Make sure you people watch the unrated versions of this... Enjoy

What i hate about this :

• In all triology, most important survivors of the first episode never showed up, didn't even show what has happened to them.

What i like about this :

• Lots of creature horror stuff
• Plenty of laughter along with gory deaths
• Part 1 : Trapped in a bar, and terrified by monsters from no where, i like that
• Part 2 : All the biker ladies
• Part 3 : The way it continued
• Being a B-grade movie and straight to video it was really good
• Simple story, lots of chaos

A bit of photography with a touch of love for nature...

I thought i would post some of the interesting pictures that my wife takes, she is so fond of taking pictures. Ever since i knew my self, i thought i am good at taking photographs until i start seeing what my wife takes from the same camera i use. I am no where near her. Alright, Alright i know what you guys thinking.... but that's not what i meant, i am just comparing the photos i take and she takes, not what the world takes and what my wife takes... :) they were pretty amazing looking. She just used my old Sony Ericcson K750i  Two Megapixel mobile phone camera to take all these pictures. They were taken in my home garden, mostly in the mornings. Just take a look at them and make a comment if you can so i know what others also thinking.

This is one of my favorites of all time, it's just a normal desia flower which my mom planted in the garden, well she has taken a photograph of it, so i think it is really nice, sometimes i put this as a wallpaper. believe me people, i tried doing this a million times before and i never came even close this good. i know plenty of you who are reading this post can do much better than this, but i am comparing my self, again not the world. :)

This is a kind of sad photograph for us, because the cat that is in the picture is not with us anymore. He has gone out in the rainy season of 2008 and never came back. Well, we found him on the road one day back in 2006 and he never grew much larger at all. My wife named him "Kaluwae" which means "Blackie" in english. She named him after a local drama hero character. Well i know it's kind of funny. This was taken on the wall of my garden next to some wild orchid growth. I thought it is pretty neat enough to post in my blog. All you animal lovers might like it.

The legendary flower of all flowers i guess, the Red Rose. The most known and considered as the most beautiful in the world of flowers by many. Sometimes compared to love, sometimes compared to woman, it is been compared to many by poets, writers, artists etc. This was taken by my wife, in a one fine morning and i think it is a beautiful picture to be put on as a wallpaper. Those who are in love with rosses will like this.

My mom grows flowers and foliage plants while my wife loves to grow plants with fruits and vegetables. Well since we all live in the same house they plant in the same garden, it's a nice variety. This is from my wife's tomato plantation in my garden. The tomatoes are randomly arranged on the terrazo garden chair and then the picture was taken. Pretty nice though.

Has any of you have seen this flower before? if do that's cool because i know haven't. This plant also falls in the "Orchids" family and commonly called as "Kandyan Dancer" in sri lanka. This flower resembles the look of an authentic "Kandyan Dancer" in sri lanka. I think this is an amazing flower. Yep! Kandyan dancer is a form of dancing and a dancer that belongs to the ancient city of "Kandy" in sri lanka. I have added a picture of a kandyan dancer too. Compare and see.

This is actually a fruit plant. We call it "GasLabu" in singhalese, and commonly known as "Papaya", "PawPaw" etc. This fruit mainly features two kinds. One is the dark red sweet malayasian and the other is yellowish kind. Both look a like until split in to two. It is great as a smoothie drink. If you have never tasted "Papaya" before, whenever you get a chance, do taste it. It's really good, and works as a great gentle laxative. They grow almost in all tropical countries.

Again some orchids, this time the original purple variety. They do have their dedicated botanical names etc. But i am no botanist, i am just a small time tour guide posting some photos taken by my wife. This is from my mom's orchid rack. They looked pretty healthy and works as a eye candy. It's really hard to imagine that most of the orchids are considered as parasites. Well parasites this pretty? lol, it's a cool thing.

This is another desia flower, taken in the evening time. It's the yellow variety which grows in the ground.

We use to call this "Nosferatu", Because for some reason this reminds us of the old movie charachter. Pretty kreepy, well this is "Kaluwae" in the evening time. Some with the shadow of the dying sun of evening, this photo had a rather dark scary look. I hope you all horror fans out there will enjoy this.

What you can see to left is also kind of interesting picture. This was taken at my home sometime ago, my parents did a small time business which is running a small time garment at home. All these were strings bought to do the stitching, i guess because of nice variety in colors she has taken this picture.

That concludes the little trip to the photography world of my wife. I will go through her entire collection of photographs and post more in the future. i hope you all like it, even if you don't like please do feel free to post a comment belfore.