Tweet
This has been pending for sometime now and if don't jot this down here right now; this will never or might not happen ever in near future again 
Having sold the Ninja, what's 'NEXT' was the most challenging question i asked myself; infact this worried me a lot since there
weren't many motorcycles available, which i thought would specifically cater to my need.
As usual, after having loads of discussions with my friend, decided to break it down and decide on as to what's best suited for me, which will quench my underlying biker itch (to say so) for a long time to come (again hopefully)
Discussions revolved around these main factors;
1) Brands - European/Japanese
2) Ease of maintenance/Parts availability
3) Cost of ownership
4) Oomph factor
5) Durability and longevity
Having owned a Japanese brand for quite a while, was very well versed of it's pros and cons. With a Japanese brand,
chances of something breaking is quite rare; until and unless you are hell bend on it
Again, maintenance and parts availability was also pretty sorted out, since Kawasaki has been in the market from 2009...
worst case scenario, there are enough players in the market from whom support is available, in case if something falls apart.
Ownership costs to be honest were on the higher side, when you compare the prices to a somewhat similar category; however
found the quality of the product/spares to be premium and long lasting than its rivals in the segment.
Oomph factor - This is quite interesting, people might not be knowing brand names of sports motorcycles...however everyone knows 'Ninja'...especially the ones which come in 'Green' color.
Durability and longevity...again this is something which i really enjoyed. Rode the Ninja for 20k kms in almost almost 3.5 years. The only thing i had to change, was the usual wear and tear stuff like Oil, filters, brakepads that's it period..nothing more. So, definitely these motorcycles are built to last long and with a little bit more effort and care, you can extend their life for a decade or even decades easily.
That's all about it and to sum it up, it was quite a pleasant and wonderful experience to have owned one from Kawasaki.
Back to present, years do pass and as a person, you tend to evolve, priorities change and now you're no longer a newbie (atleast for yourself) and wish/crave for something more. Hence, this time wanted something that i could use for a long time, without having seconds thoughts on a possible upgrade in near future.
After discussions, it was agreed that we were going for a Naked sports motorcycle; this time in the middle weight category. As expected, planned to choose one from the trusted Japanese/European stable.
Based on the criteria s which were set, few brands competed for the podium.
1) Kawasaki
2) Suzuki
3) Triumph
From Kawasaki, there were couple of contenders for the role.
Z800 ABS (Inline 4)
Pros - Awesome power - 120 ps
Cons - Too heavy (231 wet), No traction control, Seat height of 834 mm was a bummer
Decent second hand options are a rare find, since Kawasaki pulled the production line off in 2016
Z900 ABS (Inline 4)
Pros - Brutal power - 125 ps, Seat height of 795 mm is amazing
Cons - No Traction control, Heavy (212 wet); (they have raised the seat height to 820 mm for 2020 models
)
Second hand options are too costly, given the fact it's been in the market for roughly 2 years or so..
From Suzuki, there were not many who posed a strong case.
GSX-S750 ABS (Inline 4)
Pros - Good power - 114.2 ps (motor lacks the punch), Seat height of 820 mm is somewhat manageable
Cons - No Traction control, Heavy (213 wet)
Second hand options were a rare to find, given the fact that Suzuki sold only a handful of these..
From Honda, there was only one which we gave a thought; however did not fall under the particular category.
CB1000R (Inline 4)
Pros - Excellent power - 143.5 ps (Awesome power and is very refined); Single side swingarm looks very Cool;
Cons - No ABS, No Traction control, Heavy, Seat height of 830 mm is not a welcome sight (2020 model comes with ABS though)
Second hand options are very rare, to add to the woes quite exorbitantly priced as well.
From Triumph, there were quite a few which we considered.
Tiger 800 XC ABS (Transverse Triple)
Pros - Decent power - 95.2 ps (the best affordable allrounder adv motorcycle ever made as per some; i too agree)
Cons - Seat height of 830 mm (seats are made wider for comfort, however making the average built guy struggling for gravity.
Damn heavy (230 kgs plus, once accessories are loaded) and Huge (maneuvering in city and congested places is a pain)
Second hand options are available, however price is a major let down again
Street Triple 675 ABS (Transverse Triple)
Pros - Ok power - 79.3 ps (you have to really ring it's neck to get the most out of it). 800 mm of seat height is a reachable. Weighs 188 kgs wet.
Cons - Triumph launched this in India, with a detuned engine. International ones got 105 ps.
Stopped production in 2016, Design (again subjective - love the distinct looks though)
Second hand options are available, however price is very high and hence a let down
Street Triple 765 ABS (Transverse Triple)
Comes in 3 versions - S, R & RS (only S & RS is sold right now in India, 'R' is awaiting its turn)
Pros S variant - Amazing power - 113 ps (weighs just 182 kgs wet (Best in segment - Power to weight ratio which can give nightmares for exotic Supercars)
Traction control with 2 power modes for (Rain & Road) conditions. Awesome brakes (one of the best that are found on motorcycles)
Cons S & RS variant - New in the market - Cannot say this as a con; however this is a new engine from Triumph (started using in Moto2 from 2019)
hence ownership reviews and experiences is quite less on the net.
Second hand options are available, however price is quite high though
Finally, after lot of back and forth, contemplation's, arguments, hue and cry (at home with counterpart) zeroed down on one motorcycle from the above list
and the hunt was on to find a decent pre-worshipped specimen.
Don't want to go through the procurement process again and elongate the thread any more
Without further buildup, i give you my new acquisition; this time, a thorough bred from Europe.
Street Triple 765 S ABS
Cheers,
WindPacer
Having sold the Ninja, what's 'NEXT' was the most challenging question i asked myself; infact this worried me a lot since there
weren't many motorcycles available, which i thought would specifically cater to my need.
As usual, after having loads of discussions with my friend, decided to break it down and decide on as to what's best suited for me, which will quench my underlying biker itch (to say so) for a long time to come (again hopefully
)Discussions revolved around these main factors;
1) Brands - European/Japanese
2) Ease of maintenance/Parts availability
3) Cost of ownership
4) Oomph factor
5) Durability and longevity
Having owned a Japanese brand for quite a while, was very well versed of it's pros and cons. With a Japanese brand,
chances of something breaking is quite rare; until and unless you are hell bend on it
Again, maintenance and parts availability was also pretty sorted out, since Kawasaki has been in the market from 2009...
worst case scenario, there are enough players in the market from whom support is available, in case if something falls apart.
Ownership costs to be honest were on the higher side, when you compare the prices to a somewhat similar category; however
found the quality of the product/spares to be premium and long lasting than its rivals in the segment.
Oomph factor - This is quite interesting, people might not be knowing brand names of sports motorcycles...however everyone knows 'Ninja'...especially the ones which come in 'Green' color.
Durability and longevity...again this is something which i really enjoyed. Rode the Ninja for 20k kms in almost almost 3.5 years. The only thing i had to change, was the usual wear and tear stuff like Oil, filters, brakepads that's it period..nothing more. So, definitely these motorcycles are built to last long and with a little bit more effort and care, you can extend their life for a decade or even decades easily.
That's all about it and to sum it up, it was quite a pleasant and wonderful experience to have owned one from Kawasaki.
Back to present, years do pass and as a person, you tend to evolve, priorities change and now you're no longer a newbie (atleast for yourself
) and wish/crave for something more. Hence, this time wanted something that i could use for a long time, without having seconds thoughts on a possible upgrade in near future.After discussions, it was agreed that we were going for a Naked sports motorcycle; this time in the middle weight category. As expected, planned to choose one from the trusted Japanese/European stable.
Based on the criteria s which were set, few brands competed for the podium.
1) Kawasaki
2) Suzuki
3) Triumph
From Kawasaki, there were couple of contenders for the role.
Z800 ABS (Inline 4)
Pros - Awesome power - 120 ps
Cons - Too heavy (231 wet), No traction control, Seat height of 834 mm was a bummer
Decent second hand options are a rare find, since Kawasaki pulled the production line off in 2016
Z900 ABS (Inline 4)
Pros - Brutal power - 125 ps, Seat height of 795 mm is amazing
Cons - No Traction control, Heavy (212 wet); (they have raised the seat height to 820 mm for 2020 models
)Second hand options are too costly, given the fact it's been in the market for roughly 2 years or so..
From Suzuki, there were not many who posed a strong case.
GSX-S750 ABS (Inline 4)
Pros - Good power - 114.2 ps (motor lacks the punch), Seat height of 820 mm is somewhat manageable
Cons - No Traction control, Heavy (213 wet)
Second hand options were a rare to find, given the fact that Suzuki sold only a handful of these..
From Honda, there was only one which we gave a thought; however did not fall under the particular category.
CB1000R (Inline 4)
Pros - Excellent power - 143.5 ps (Awesome power and is very refined); Single side swingarm looks very Cool;
Cons - No ABS, No Traction control, Heavy, Seat height of 830 mm is not a welcome sight (2020 model comes with ABS though)
Second hand options are very rare, to add to the woes quite exorbitantly priced as well.
From Triumph, there were quite a few which we considered.
Tiger 800 XC ABS (Transverse Triple)
Pros - Decent power - 95.2 ps (the best affordable allrounder adv motorcycle ever made as per some; i too agree
)Cons - Seat height of 830 mm (seats are made wider for comfort, however making the average built guy struggling for gravity.
Damn heavy (230 kgs plus, once accessories are loaded) and Huge (maneuvering in city and congested places is a pain)
Second hand options are available, however price is a major let down again
Street Triple 675 ABS (Transverse Triple)
Pros - Ok power - 79.3 ps (you have to really ring it's neck to get the most out of it). 800 mm of seat height is a reachable. Weighs 188 kgs wet.
Cons - Triumph launched this in India, with a detuned engine. International ones got 105 ps.
Stopped production in 2016, Design (again subjective - love the distinct looks though
)Second hand options are available, however price is very high and hence a let down
Street Triple 765 ABS (Transverse Triple)
Comes in 3 versions - S, R & RS (only S & RS is sold right now in India, 'R' is awaiting its turn)
Pros S variant - Amazing power - 113 ps (weighs just 182 kgs wet (Best in segment - Power to weight ratio which can give nightmares for exotic Supercars)
Traction control with 2 power modes for (Rain & Road) conditions. Awesome brakes (one of the best that are found on motorcycles)
Cons S & RS variant - New in the market - Cannot say this as a con; however this is a new engine from Triumph (started using in Moto2 from 2019)
hence ownership reviews and experiences is quite less on the net.
Second hand options are available, however price is quite high though
Finally, after lot of back and forth, contemplation's, arguments, hue and cry (at home with counterpart
) zeroed down on one motorcycle from the above list and the hunt was on to find a decent pre-worshipped specimen.
Don't want to go through the procurement process again and elongate the thread any more
Without further buildup, i give you my new acquisition; this time, a thorough bred from Europe.
Street Triple 765 S ABS
Cheers,
WindPacer
Comment