Regarding my Dilemma -

I had pulsar 180 Dtsi ( all black colour sceme) bought in 2005 which i sold during mid 2007 as it had to leave country from some years.
Now i basically drives a VW Vento TDi but miss my biking days hence want to buy one.

Why did i Bought Pulsar 180 dtsi- i loved the revving nature of the engine and good cornering ability ( apache was not lauched then ). I also quite liked the exhaust note and not to forget all black colour scheme.

My Driving style- I used to drive in and around Pune for going to trekking spots like Lohgarh, Rajmachi etc and to travel to Mumbai in rains for fun. While engine had grunt otherwise bit it used to gasp for breath on Ghat section as well as seats were not comfy for touring.

What do i need now in a bike -

(i) Should be exciting to ride, should have exciting to hear exhaust note and should look good

(ii) good pickup and good cornering ability, should have smooth engine, should feel it will last through anything.

(iii) should be easy to sell and have good resale as i plan to change bike after 3 years or so

(iv) good build quality and hassle free service

I test rode DUKE and CBR 250r and went and saw Yamaha r 15 as no TD was available for it!

Duke- first TD was on Demo Bike - with just 54 km on odo !

Looks - Looked Really good, big , mean and menacing certainly had eye catching look with lots of character
Build quality best i have had seen on indian built bike

Engine and gearbox- engine i felt is not that refined, gears were hard to engage, never even once i was able to find neutral

Exhaust note- it was noisy, not deep grunty the way i prefer, had lots of mechanical clatter

ultralight and flickable

Second test ride- on a brand new bike just after PDI - first one to ride it even before the owner- on side note- i would not like to be that owner .

gears easier to engae still had chug chug noise while downshifting, still unable to find neutral, touched 92 km/hours felt no signs of being unstable at that speed with a pillion.


CBR 250r- 2011 edition- TD vehicle probably had 2000kms plus on odo as confirmed by Sales guy

Looks - looked good but i did not like the headlight or tail end that much, would have preferred certainly cbr like looks in comparision Yamah r 15 headlights as well as tail end looks fabulous just the size of bike brings it down.

overall good looking bike but could have looked lot better- design has no heart racing element in it.

If i go for CBr would certainly work on its looks

ENgine - gearbox- excellent smooth shifts, smooth revving engine

the pickup felt lot better then duke in a way that it had that sudden rush of accelaration , ifelt a jolt when i twisted the trottle

exhaust note- quite good when revved if only if it was louder !

Fit and finish- handlebar and switches ugly- rubber on leavers cheap, bolts on handle bar were corroded.

second Test ride on CBR 2012 HRC - bike was again a demo- probably ridden once or twice but cant be sure as did not look at odo.

Looks fit and finish - vastly improved then 2011, can safely say quite close to Duke not still better though.

New HRC colour- my personnal opinion is it loosk quite good, though that red sticker on side fairing would have looked lot better if the red in sticker was same as red on front fender.

TD- engine had harshness right from 3000 or many be from 2800 or so and upwards. i felt vibes in my hands and somehow felt fairing also vibed though not sure entirely.
pickup was less, that punch felt earlier in TD 2011 CBr was missing ,took it all the way till 98 km/hour on same road as Duke.

Was not so sure this time that i had lot better pickup then duke as i felt earlier felt it had better but by a very small degree.

Took the cbr 2011 again for just 500 meter td if you can call it a td yesterday and felt it had vibes from 3500 onwards which i did not feel last time on same bike!

I am confused- idid not like duke overall as i felt engine is over stressed, exhaust note not good enough, in second TD looks did not have same arresting feel as first time. I feel with more dukes on road looks have the tendency to wear down.

CBR- loved it first time except looks and also would lovew to have more grunty pickup, higher pickup

I can extend my budget till 2.25- 2.50 lakhs for a bike which has

- Better looks then CBR, gruntier pickup, better deeper louder exhaust note and also less soft front suspension.

- whatver i can read on blogs - ony new bikes to be launched in 2012- early 2013 are -

suzuki baby B king - i did not like its pics no offence to me it looked ugly

yamaha 250 cc Aircooled Fazer- again no offence but i dont like looks of fazer at all

Hyusung 250cc- have read negative reviews about it also people have commented about its quality niggles, engine niggles so while it looks stunning in pics in somewhat Ducati red its OUT.

Triumph 250cc- just saw a sketch, no idea how the bike will look like or what tech details it may have. Triuph as a brand is good hence i am interested. Please provide any information about this bike.

Would have loved if there was yamaha R15 look alike with 250cc and albeit with better seats and modern DOHC engine but could not find any rumour etc about it

please let me know if any news bikes are being launched other then the lot which i mentioned as well as if my information is wrong or there is more information regarding the same



Regarding Any second hand bikes of higher CC like Ninja 650r, any idea of its price and where to buy etc? I am presently in Lucknow and can travel to Delhi if one is available.

In between CBr and Duke please advice if my observations are right or wrong. also am in right in believing that CBr suits my purpose more then duke.

Sorry for such a long post i actually want to buy a bike soon mostly withi in 15 days or so but do not want to regret it later hence looking at bikes which will be lauched and second hand bikes to be had!

If i can get a more powerful, better loooker, nicer exhaust note etc second hand or new bike then i would certainly wait!