THE SECOND COMING

It’s been a long time since we heard from Kinetic Engineering on the GF series of bikes. The wait is now over, say hello to the go-faster GF cousin, tested here in the City trim and mechanical Specification

It’s been long since I spotted a Kinetic GF On the Road, even longer since I actually rode one of the GFs. Come to think of it when was the last time you saw a GF On the Road? Don’t remember?

The fact is that the GF never really sold in respectable numbers, numbers to make any impact on the Indian bike-scape or rider psyche. An absolute shame that, for the first Korean-built GF125s that we tested were absolute crackerjacks. Somewhere along the way as Kinetic tried their own hand at bumping up the mileage and indigenising components the whole package disintegrated, literally. Vibrations were awful, the riding position was ridiculous and the less said about the quality the better.

Things are a-changing though, especially when it comes to Kinetic. No longer is Kinetic Engineering wary of breaking into new segments unlike in the early days years when they pussyfooted for years and years until the CBZs, Fieros and Pulsars established a firm foothold. And their R&D set-up has come to grips with engineering sensible, user-friendly and reliable motorbikes, motorbikes than can compete on an even keel with segment leaders.

The GF170 is the second bike from the new look Kinetic Engineering (the first being the Hyosung Aquila) stables and represents a massive step forward for the fledgling bike manufacturer. In the early days both the GF125 and GF150 were on the cards but somehow the GF150 never saw the light of day, Kinetic preferring to iron out her existing portfolio before going up a segment. Indian biking hasn’t stood still however and the 150cc segment isn’t top dog any more, necessitating Kinetic’s engineers to eke out the very last cubic centimetre from the existing block to take the GF up the ladder. And so it is that the GF170 came about, the GF125 block bored and stroked to the very limits of mechanical tolerance and creating a bike slotted bang in the middle of the 150 and 180cc segments, in effect creating a new niche for herself. To go with it Kinetic Engineering has claimed to sort out all the vibration, quality and riding position shortcomings.