BRIXTON CROSSFIRE 500 STORR

An all-new adventure touring motorcycle powered by a 500cc twin-cylinder engine is just what the doctor ordered, perhaps...

- WORDS ABHAY VERMA PHOTOGRAPHY ABHAY VERMA, BRIXTON MOTORCYCLES

The past couple of years have seen a slew of motorcycles with engines displacing 350cc to 500cc get launched. And no prizes for guessing, a lot of them are either adventure tourers, or off-road ready motorcycles, as that's what buyers seem to want, whether or not they'll ride out of the concrete jungles they live in! Manufacturers are responding to the demand too, aiming to make hay while the sun shines, and we're not complaining either. For the matter, Austrian bike maker Brixton Motorcycles who entered the country just a year ago through Kolhapur-based MotoHaus is set to launch its first adventure tourer in India too. Called the Crossfire 500 Storr, the bike broke cover internationally recently, powered by a 500cc parallel-twin cylinder engine.

Its engine displacement and configuration make the Storr an interesting proposition, as a twin-cylinder engine offers the big bike feel, which a lot of Indian buyers look for, beside which the 500cc displacement suits a wide spectrum of motorcyclists. And this will also have the Storr rival the Royal Enfield Himalayan, which while powered by a single cylinder engine, is currently the gold standard in the sub-500cc adventure tourer space. Brixton Motorcycles flew us to its global HQ in Austria to ride the Crossfire 500 Storr and we got to ride it briefly on the highway outside Vienna and around some twisties, besides a short off-roading session.