For the money you are paying for CBR250 (I'm considering standard one).. you can actually get your self Bullet 500 Classic Desert Storm. Check that bike out

I am not going for 500 classic because i am fed up of RE
I have had 2 Thunder bird so far I had it since 2005.

Maintenance of this machine is killing, i just had my crank replaced and cylinder kit also.

Engine makes lot of noise, 70's bulls are very good but UCE engine makes lot of noise specially tappet chit chat is very annoying.

Also i want a very very reliable machine.

Then get your self a cruiser for pillion comfort and a smooth ride..

Avenger 220 is a good bike for you..

OT: Sir, you may have to ask this query on 'What Bike' section to get a overall answer from everyone for a better answer.

Enfield, R15 , Karizma discussions here makes Duke related discussion hard to find.
Just my thought.

Could it be a matter of grass being greener on the other side??

Have been riding Machismo 350 for a long time. A classic 500 for last 2 years. My monthly ride averages to 2000kms. Mix of city and tours. Initially was waiting for CBR250R. when released, found it to be somewhat similar to my Classic 500, in general. No drastic positives over the C5. Dropped the plan of CBR.
Then i was eying the Duke. After its release, test ride, etc, was in dilemma. One part of me wanted to go for it for my city commute. Another part forced me to wait for the Duke 350 as i was essentially looking at city + some highway. Have been following this thread as well as other on the duke 200 ownership, and have decided to wait for the 350. Hoping the gears wouldnt be too short on that, and they would ironed out all the small niggles by then.

The point i am trying to make is most of the modern bullet riders (the Classic 350/500 types, including me) are not really brand loyal. They ride bullet because of lack of available choices for a bike which is comfortable on the highway, decent on bhp/torque, and can run within cities as well. Now that the biking scene here is improving, bullet rides are looking at exploring other options. i know quite a few who have moved on from bullets to other makes. Modern UCE bullets have improved a lot, but there is yet a lot to be desired/improved in terms of reliability, design, engineering, quality of parts, availability of spares, service experience etc. I personally find my Classic 500 to underpowered, inspite of a long stroke single. With all the available technologies, with a totally new engine design, i am sure they could do better then extracting 27.2 bhp from a 500 mill. All these put together makes us explore other possibly better products.

Sorry, if i went OT.

Yeah.. A li'l bit...

@amandeep : Go for the CBR. It's a nice machine. But I'm sure, you'll come back to RE forever...

BTW, please stick to the Duke discussions. There are some silent followers of this thread...

Hi,
I've finally decided to go for duke after a long wait for tbts.I would like to know how much is the maintenance cost and how much does the tank, side rear fairings(dont know the term for it- plastic part present from end of rear seat) costs.Cost is not an issue, just for information.
Thank you.

Mods: Request you to Please move non Duke related posts to "What bike" section or any other appropriate section.

From Duke perspective.

Just got my Duke serviced. Changed to Motul 20W50 FS. Marked difference in ride quality.

Auto Service folks serviced the bike with utmost care and answered all my queries. Hats off to people like Venkat Shyam who always lends a patient ear to even the silliest of queries.

Gear shifts have become smoother. Never knew finding neutral was that easy, now it is easier.

I had to rush to the sticker place before it gets dark, so didn't ride long. Will do so later tonight!

Got rim tapes put! neat job done! for just 200 bucks! Thanks Shreeda for helping me find that place!

Relpppp!!!

Quick questions...

1. My coolant level is at minimum... would not be able to visit svc now.. any suggestions???... If i m to fill it ... with wat, wer it ll b avail and how much?

2. Completed 560 kms on ODO, suggestions for cleaning/ lubricating chain?... and how??...

3. Thanks to few people's advice and my change in riding style... the shifts seem smoother... however, the gear shift lever is kind of cramped and HARD... any idea to soften it up a bit... I dont want to loosen it ... its just kind of cramped and requires stomping at times... and shifts smooth at times... something fishy...

4. I am not concerned about mileage... Actually ... im getting around 30 - 40 based on riding conditions and i rev between 5-7.5 k max... which is more than satisfying for my bike... However, i have noticed... wenever i go in the densest of traffic, where u can literaly upshift from gear - 1 for over 2 kms stretch taking 15 mins - 20 mins to cross :|:|:| (Guindy kathipara - pillar), my mileage indicator shows 9kmpl and comes to around 25-27 kpl at the end of ride... any suggestions to improve the ride in such conditions??? and the radiator heats up in that short span and stays on boiling my leg lke anything :|:|:|


Thanks for your valuable suggestions...

Duke Nuke'em

Did 294 kms on my duke today, 522 on the odo. The rev limiter doesn't come on when riding in 6 th gear. I was maintaining an average speed of 50-70, just once touched 90. I kept varying speeds and took plenty of butt breaks. I used gears to deaccelerate. Used brakes only when necessary. In the midst of the ride, low fuel warning showed up so had to fill 3 lts of regular petrol. Its hard to find premium fuel on most of the highways. Once reached the destination did a tank full of speed. The guy in the station wasted almost 10 ml of fuel while filling the tank, he literally got blasted by me. This is not the first time this is happening, the day I took the delivery a lady in the petrol bunk did the same. When asked they blame the tank to have a very small opening. Did anyone else face the same problem?

After returning from the ride, went to the SVC to get the chain lubed. The guy there, his name was shankar he is the one of the service personnel who were trained to handle dukes, cleaned the chain with diesel, adjusted the chain and lubed it. I usually have a habit of offering tips, when I did the same, he refused to accept. Met two dukers there, both of them had come to service the chain. When enquired they said that they haven't heard of Xbhp. I have noticed some sort of decolorization on the silencer, this was ever since the delivery. While taking delivery I should have had a close look and should have reported. But failed to do so, I noticed that only after reaching home. Now when I brought this up to them, the answer I got was "its normal, its due to the heat". They had me look at a couple of bikes, most of them had that, but mine look more obvious. Let me attach a pic of that.


Once reaching home took the hugger and saree-guard off myself. The tools provided were helpful.

I had sent a mail to [email protected] regarding the tyre pressure. The tyre pressure value on the swing arm doesn't match with the values given on the manual. Its a typo on the manual. The reply which I got from Mr Neeraj Sharma is as follows


You guys can find the same mentioned on the FB as well.

Rishi, that's some pretty quick mile crunching.. Remember, I had more miles on the bike than you a couple of days back. Where did you clock these kms? Which HWY ? What time are you taking these long drives. I did a 15 kms inside city which took 50 mins... at the same time during the night time ( 1am - 4am ) I am able to clock about 50kms inside an hour.

I am a bit reluctant to take the bike on the highway due to the engine heat. Apart from that the bike is handling great.

My comments in Bold

duke spare costs

hey guys,
would u share the cost of servicing the duke and cost of its body parts?
im going in for duke very soon.

Gentlemen - There is NO rev limiter as far as I know. There is only the shift indicator.

There is only a shift indicator. This is what I got to know from the owner of the service center where I got my Duke serviced today.

Fuel

Guys which fuel is ideal for Duke?Personally i have always had an inclination towards Xtrapremium from Indian oil.Is this equivalent to BP's Speed?

hi bro. i went through ur views regarding duke. i just want to know how much mileage does the bike gives in the city.