Performance
0-60kmph:	10.9s
Quarter mile:	25.2s@80.3kmph
30-70 3rd:	13.2s
30-70 4th:	16.1
60-0kmph:	25.5m@3.1s
Max speed:	90.5kmph
ECONOMY
Best:	84
Worst:	70
Range:	924
On-The-Road	Rs. 32,999
Dry Weight	116kgs
Max Power	7.0bhp@7500rpm
Engine
Chassis
Brakes
Appeal
ENGINE
Type:	Single cylinder four stroke, air cooled horizontal
Displacement:	97.2cc
Max Power:	7.0bhp@7500rpm
Max Torque:	6.6Nm@5500rpm
Bore x Stroke:	50x49.5mm
Compression Ratio:	9(+0.5):1
Power to Weight Ratio:	60.344bhp/ton
Idle Speed:	1500+-300rpm
Carburettor:	SPACO PHBJ 18
Air filter:	Foam type
Oil Filter:	Single wire mesh filter
Ignition:	CDI
Starting:	Kick
TRANSMISSION
Gearbox:	Four speed
Primary Reduction:	3.72
Final Reduction:	3.21
DIMENSIONS
Kerb Weight:	116kgs.
Max Payload	130kgs.
Wheelbase:	1250mm
Length:	1950mm
Width:	730mm
Height:	1050mm
Ground Clearance:	120mm
Fuel Capacity:	12litres
ELECTRICALS
Battery:	12V 2.5A
Headlamp:	12V 35/35W
CHASSIS
Type: Steel alloy tubular double cradle
SUSPENSION
Front: Telescopic hydraulically damped
Rear: Swingarm type adjustable for preload
TYRES
Front:	2.50 x 18 - 6 PR
Rear:	3.00 x 18 - 6 PR
BRAKES
Front:	Internally expandingdrum
Rear:	Internally expanding drum
PRICE
Ex-Showroom Pune:	Rs. 32,999

Seems all is right with the world if you are a suffering slave in a sweat shop and the above adage is being proved against the odds every other instance! Some are born to boss, others have bosses thrust on them and some try to wriggle their way into the bossman's chair (happens very often when I am out on tour - talk about the mice at play when the ogre's away!). I have yet to come to grips as to which category I can place the latest offering from Kinetic Engineering among the three alternatives I have listed. If its makers are trying to get it to wriggle to the top then they might have hit the right idea but they will need better execution to get there. Detail flair and refinement are areas someone like a stern boss needs to drill into the KEL mindset but until it happens expect its products to be bossed around with by the competition.

Which is a most unfair thing for the new offering from Kinetic which strangely enough goes by the Boss moniker. If you can see from the combative naming stance taken by Kinetic for its motorcycle range ever since it launched the Challenger, while plotting the sales graphs I noticed that they didn't keep to the direction intended as the military operation unfolded. But credit Kinetic with gamely fighting the good battle but this is hard-won experience which can only toughen it up for the bloodier battles just round the corner. Battles where the ammunition required will need to be classy, low dowdy segment or not; where the product detailing will have to be such that it will make even the most jaded of laypersons smile in lame delight; where the price benefit will also mean less frequent visits to the service centre; and where the ills of the past will always be remembered.

The Boss is the one bike which comes closest in spirit and configuration to the Honda product and while many have profited the world over by replicating Soichiro Honda's masterpiece, Kinetic can also do the same if they can give Honda quality at Kinetic pricing. Only one of these two attributes will not work for it to get its new bike into the exalted position where it can call the shots. And just as a good Boss listens attentively, to get the best out of his team and/or situation, it would do well to listen to Hero Honda customers as to why they buy and keep buying those Honda products in the millions.

What I liked about the Boss is its buzzy engine which promised much more than she delivered relative to expectations. Even the handling and ride were pretty praiseworthy. It goes to show that if it wants Kinetic can come up with a bike that can hold its own in a cut-throat class. Fact is, it will need to be consistent in the quality of its series production units for it to acquire the aura of a manufacturer bikers and consumers can look up to with respect. Playing Boss is easy, achieving respect is mighty tough.

TESTER'S NOTES: KINETIC BOSS
Despite whatever one might have to say about Kinetic and its mode of operation (it has yet to learn much about bikes for sure), the fact remains that it is a game trier with a fair opinion about itself. Not a bad thing mind you but one where the dividing line between a hero and a zero is sharp and painful. But walking the talk is what it does best and its prowess is in its ability to drum up versions from a base model a la the Hero Honda way.

Having the best in the business as your role model is not a bad thing and Kinetic have to be complemented for their reverse-engineered Honda ohc single cylinder engine. And the new Boss is an honest-to-goodness effort which looks the dowdiest of the lot but goes on to show the other two who is Boss, at least in the Fuel Efficiency stakes.

Getting right to the heart of the matter which in this case is stretching the fuel rupee, the Kinetic Boss rider should get a best of 84kmpl and a worst of 70kmpl. Or even more 'cause yours truly was at the helm when we did our fuel and Performance tests on this motorcycle. But it was no fun riding this bike just for fuel economy (not enough whoosh though the ride quality was great) but there are millions of our countrymen who would gladly prove me wrong by enduring the drudgery so as to smile their way to the bank by saving those crucial rupees every time they didn't tank up!

But do not slag off the Boss because there are some more good things adorning it. The tank and the style comes from the beefy Challenger and there is a nice attempt to remove bulk and weight. Of course the Kinetic boffins have failed in this process but not completely. Once they realise that large lug nuts and more weight are a biker's biggest enemy and they act accordingly during the design stage will they get diehard nitpickers like yours truly to appreciate their machines. Which must be good news for the company since nitpickers like me wouldn't be found riding an econo-miser and that is the segment of the populace the Boss is targeted at.

The parts bin approach has also been resorted to by Kinetic (nothing wrong in that except for the fact that the Kinetic motorcycle bin is slightly smaller in terms of models compared to Hero Honda) and they came up with switchgear, chassis, engine, suspension and other small details from the Challenger. The integrated grab rail cum large footboards for the pillion are just what the doctor ordered. And as if to say the Fuel Efficiency was no flash in the pan, the Boss also asserts itself, somewhat, and does a 90kmph top whack apart from a free-revving engine which if it stays put together can cause untold havoc on the competition. If you care to check out the Performance figures, the Boss is the fastest and the quickest of the trio plus also has the best Fuel Efficiency but it doesn't inspire a wee bit. To cap it all is the pricing, a leaf which Kinetic have taken, for a change, from their other arch rival and neighbour. All is fair in love and war and biking, though not necessarily in that order.