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Hi Everyone,
My name is Pradeep and I am from Bangalore. I haven't ridden a bike in about 8 years (not unless you count my wife's Kinetic to the grocery shop). This is an introduction as well as a query hence the long post.
I had my first bike ride at the grand old age of 4, on my mum's Luna. I had just learnt to cycle and my training wheels weren't off yet when my cousin told me "I'll balance, you ride". So ride I did and quite well too, if I say so myself.
I learned to ride a bike on a Yamaha DT 175 which belonged to a friend of mine. I used to ride a 1996 KB 125 which is now in retirement. It still runs but a multitude of issues prevents it from being a daily commute. I have ridden most of the 2 strokes but missed the Pulsar revolution.
But since about 2005, I was a car guy, still am
. Don't hate me for it.
I got a Pulsar 180 in 2007 and about two weeks later got my Swift. Ah, the happiness, the anticipation when you saw the odometer creep past 2000 rpm, and the incredible surge of power when the turbo kicked in. We would overtake on the outside of everyone. I could feel the Swift's every response, the edge to which I could push her, the shift in weight as we went around tight corners and she responded by going precisely where I asked her to. Me and my Swift were soulmates.
The Pulsar to me was boring and plain. It had no torque. Its top whack was crap. My grandfatherly KB could outrun it on a dime and I'll not even start on the sound. It was like having bread and water after the 7 course gourmet meal that was the Swift. It parted from me after a grand total of 500 km on the ODO.
So the Swift and I had grand adventures together but alas such happiness is not meant to last
. My family grew in the form of a little bundle of spittle and poop called Eva and I needed a larger car. Not just for the daughter, the addons which came with her as well.
So after a while of looking around, I bought a Mahindra Xylo. Ok, so this car has the looks, grace and elegance of my 75 year old uncle Ramu. But unlike Good old Uncle Ramu, its quite useful. Its as big as my living room. I can put my mother-in-law in the last row where her voice doesn't reach me. It can carry 8 overweight people, 12 normal sized people, 16 youngsters or quite possibly 64 infants (this would be a sight). But this as a daily commuter, is a little tougher than it looks.
(At this point I would like to apologize for going on about Cars in a bike forum. I crave your patience. The end is near.)
So, almost a decade down the line, I am looking for a bike. And not just any bike, a screaming banshee that pushes you to go faster and faster. Yes, thats the RD350 but its older than I am.
Ninja 250 you say, possibly but 3.3 big ones is a little more that I am willing to drop. Maybe a used one. Are there any up for sale in Bangalore? Any used 400/600 for about 2L. This will be a commute vehicle as well so reliability is key.
So I am left with the CBR250, which no one has seen, or the R15 which apparently with Joel's Mods is quite a machine. Maybe it can help me ease back into the biking world.
Let me know your suggestions and thanks for reading.
I am 5'11" and I weigh about 78 kg.
My name is Pradeep and I am from Bangalore. I haven't ridden a bike in about 8 years (not unless you count my wife's Kinetic to the grocery shop). This is an introduction as well as a query hence the long post.
I had my first bike ride at the grand old age of 4, on my mum's Luna. I had just learnt to cycle and my training wheels weren't off yet when my cousin told me "I'll balance, you ride". So ride I did and quite well too, if I say so myself.
I learned to ride a bike on a Yamaha DT 175 which belonged to a friend of mine. I used to ride a 1996 KB 125 which is now in retirement. It still runs but a multitude of issues prevents it from being a daily commute. I have ridden most of the 2 strokes but missed the Pulsar revolution.
But since about 2005, I was a car guy, still am
. Don't hate me for it.I got a Pulsar 180 in 2007 and about two weeks later got my Swift. Ah, the happiness, the anticipation when you saw the odometer creep past 2000 rpm, and the incredible surge of power when the turbo kicked in. We would overtake on the outside of everyone. I could feel the Swift's every response, the edge to which I could push her, the shift in weight as we went around tight corners and she responded by going precisely where I asked her to. Me and my Swift were soulmates.
The Pulsar to me was boring and plain. It had no torque. Its top whack was crap. My grandfatherly KB could outrun it on a dime and I'll not even start on the sound. It was like having bread and water after the 7 course gourmet meal that was the Swift. It parted from me after a grand total of 500 km on the ODO.
So the Swift and I had grand adventures together but alas such happiness is not meant to last
. My family grew in the form of a little bundle of spittle and poop called Eva and I needed a larger car. Not just for the daughter, the addons which came with her as well.So after a while of looking around, I bought a Mahindra Xylo. Ok, so this car has the looks, grace and elegance of my 75 year old uncle Ramu. But unlike Good old Uncle Ramu, its quite useful. Its as big as my living room. I can put my mother-in-law in the last row where her voice doesn't reach me. It can carry 8 overweight people, 12 normal sized people, 16 youngsters or quite possibly 64 infants (this would be a sight). But this as a daily commuter, is a little tougher than it looks.
(At this point I would like to apologize for going on about Cars in a bike forum. I crave your patience. The end is near.)
So, almost a decade down the line, I am looking for a bike. And not just any bike, a screaming banshee that pushes you to go faster and faster. Yes, thats the RD350 but its older than I am.
Ninja 250 you say, possibly but 3.3 big ones is a little more that I am willing to drop. Maybe a used one. Are there any up for sale in Bangalore? Any used 400/600 for about 2L. This will be a commute vehicle as well so reliability is key.
So I am left with the CBR250, which no one has seen, or the R15 which apparently with Joel's Mods is quite a machine. Maybe it can help me ease back into the biking world.
Let me know your suggestions and thanks for reading.
I am 5'11" and I weigh about 78 kg.
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