STYLE & DESIGN :
The Challenger rides the beaten track as far as exterior embellishments go, taking recourse to loads of chrome to lure second glances. And second glances she draws for sure. Chromed mudguards, clocks and headlamp do look attractive while the underbelly fairing and twin downtubes (that serve no practical purpose apart from being stylishly curved) add a unique touch to the bike. The crashguard which is the most unique in the country, if not the world, should be detachable so it can be used as a weapon in an emergency.

The LML Energy FX now sports a fly-screen that looks very retro (thumbs up) though our long-termer featured in this comparo came without it. The fuel tank and side panels hug the tubular frame, giving her a pseudo muscle-bike look, accentuated by the 100/90 profile rubber, the widest in this lot. The taillamps have been revised from the earlier unit and look better for the same. The Hero Honda Passion heralded the 'dressing-up' craze early last year and came for all-round praise ('Sex Appeal For The Masses' being my over-enthusiastic headline for the road test). The Honda FireBlade inspired clear-lens headlamp and LED-effect taillamps together with the attractive graphics on the revised fuel tank and side panels take the plain jane Splendor looks to an altogether different plane.

Tracing Hero Honda's tyre marks is Bajaj Auto, doing a 'passion' to the Caliber (dressing up the Caliber, I mean), resulting in the Caliber Croma. The aggressive bikini fairing of the stillborn Prowler was pulled out, and allied to striking purple with silver streaks graphics, transformed the goody-goody stance of the Caliber into a racy aggressive posture. Yamaha's upgrade of the Crux hasn't really transformed the bike into a stunner. The bikini fairing on the Crux R is well below the standard set by the Passion and Croma while the flat seat and unimaginative side and tail end treatment lend a rustic look to the bike. The blue darts of colour and stylish nameplate does attempt to up the style ante together with the attractive tail-lamp.

TVS has earned a reputation for engineering excellence but of late gawky styling has been added to their illustrious resume. Though not as gawky as the Fiero, the Victor employs some of TVS's (worryingly trademark) gawkiness. The large rectangular headlamp and biking fairing is workmanlike while the integration of the fuel tank and side panels isn't imaginative in the least bit. The taillamp has a very slight hint of Honda Blackbird, evolved to look more like an open mouth with a club sandwich stuffed half way through. The plasto-chrome indicator surrounds also belong to a past era. Nevertheless the bike looks much better in the metal and is designed on lines of a 'do not offend' priority. If style is all you seek, the Caliber Croma will have it nicked but style is never going to be the only priority especially in this group, so read on.

FIT, FINISH AND EQUIPMENT :
The Challenger has come a long way from the initial bikes we tested but Kinetic Engineering still has to reach the benchmark quality levels set by the other bikes here. Equipment levels on the Challenger are very high indeed with a gear indicator, a voltmeter and a side stand down warning lamp, all unique to the bike in addition to the fuel gauge and speedo. The low-rent switchgearhowever letsdown a good effort. Fit and finish on the LML bike could have been better. What makes it unacceptable is the apathetic service network that not only forgets to tighten a nut but doesn't put a nut on a needy bolt in the first place! The switchgear has been revised to a high end unit (push to cancel indicators and flasher) but has a tendency to seize as our long-term bikes have demonstrated. Instrumentation includes a 12000rpm tacho in addition to the fuel gauge and speedo. The arrangement that locks the gear lever (preventing motion) when the side stand is lowered is impressive in its simplicity and efficiency.

The Passion has unimpeachable build quality, a hallmark of all Hero Honda bikes. Switchgear is disappointing, decade-old units not flattering the bike. Instrumentation is also basic with just a speedo and fuel-gauge. Being based on the constantly improving Caliber (that has been around for a very long time) makes the Croma free from any build hassles. Instrumentation is generous with a tacho in addition to the fuel gauge and speedo while the quality of the switchgear is of a high order. The Croma is the only bike to sport a front disc brake, which puts it a couple of rungs higher than the rest in this segment. The Crux-R carries on Yamaha's long tradition in offering built-to-last-the-distance bikes as ably demonstrated by our long-term bike that hasn't needed even a peek into the mechanicals.

The revised instrumentation sports a tacho but bafflingly no fuel gauge. The trademark Yamaha switchgear with all switches on the left does a good job.The Victor has just started duty in our long-term fleet so we can't comment on the build quality with real conviction. However all the signs emanating from a month of running the bike as well as from the earlier bike we had for a road test, puts the pointer near the 'very good' mark. Fit and finish has been impeccable with no flaws to dwell on. Switchgear is the best in the lot while instrumentation substitutes a tacho with two indicators for power and economy mode, which I shall elaborate on in due course.