No question about it, this is the bike Kinetic Engineering should have started their motorcycling adventure with. The bike that would have established their credentials as bonafide manufacturer of high-end, quick and acceptably frugal motorcycles. As things stand, the GF170, though an extremely competent bike, has to first exorcise the spectre of the GF125 and that will be one hell of a mighty task. Not insurmountable, because the GF170 has the ability to deliver the goods, but only if (and that’s a big if) Kinetic Engineering can maintain the levels of quality that we have come to expect of our bikes.

What we are looking at today is a genuinely competent product from Kinetic Engineering, a product for which Kinetic doesn’t have to dish out excuses and a product that can churn out raw Performance numbers to outclass the competition. Last but not the least Kinetic has gone and priced the GF170 City (to give it its full name) sensibly, prices starting at Rs 47,333 (OTR Pune) for the drum brake and non-electric start version, going up to Rs 49,191 for the disc brake, great pricing that makes it a very attractive alternative to the existing 150cc segment players. At launch no electric start option will be on the cards.

In an all-out attempt to revive the GF series (the GF125 for all intents and purposes is dead) Kinetic will next month unveil a go-faster version of the GF170 with the ‘sport’ monicker. That will feature revised styling with a half-fairing, twin headlamps and a hotted up engine (hot cams, exhaust job and the like) to take on the mighty Pulsar 180. Is this the revival in fortunes Kinetic Engineering has been hoping for all along? Only time will tell.