I don't agree that someone who wants to take a pillion on his bike is limited only to splendour..what BS.Maybe you can afford to buy an r15 for solo riding and another bike like P220 or whatever for commutes with friends,gf,wife,etc..but the majority of riders can't , and however sporty they want their bikes to be,at one point or another WILL have a pillion sitting behind them.Take me for example,I ride alone most of the time,and prefer it..but if a friend needs a lift or I have to pick up my sister,etc..I will need my bike to have a good pillion seat..not one without grab rails at all.

@TS: CBR250R is an awesome choice and like others have said,suits all your requirements..I would have recommended the Fazer as it is also very comfortable on long rides and pillion seat is decent,but it struggles past 90 on windy highways...however if you want to cruise at 80-90,it is worth a look.Also rumored is a 250cc Fazer at auto expo 2012..not sure though.

If you want a cracking looking and a nice sport bike and dont carry much of pillion-Get R15
If you carry a pillion a lot and want a machine with good power-get CBR
If you want an all rounder-get 220 or RTR.

It seems like the Golden era of Indian biking has started. Lets hope for the best.

RTR180 to r15 V2

hi guys..i own a RTR180 as of now done 7100 KMs on odo bought on nov 1 2010.

i am really intersted in the new r15 v2.is it worth selling my bike and getting a r15 v2 which is less torqey and less city friendly than the RTR???i use the bike on both cities and highways.60% of the times in cities.

if i do sell my bike how much can i excpect??? at 65000 above??? its in top notch condition.not even a SINGLE ACCIDENT or major fall.

Thread approved and merged

I do not recommend changing your ride so early....ride your apache for at least 25-30k first...or upgrade to more powerful bike like CBR

Upgrade to a higher class

Considering that you want to change bikes, I am assuming that you are looking for performance rather than looks.
If were to change bikes, I would go for a higher class. Perhaps a Ninja or maybe wait for the KTM Dukes to arrive.
Selling an Apache to buy an R15 will not give me the performance gain in proportion to the money I am going to spend.
However if glances on the road is the main motivation, then everything I said can be ignored ... Go buy r15v2. I read a few comments about missing hand rails. I am assuming your wife/gf has no issues grabbing on to you! Why do you need hand rails? If someone else asks for a ride, dont go fast!

actually the reason is the looks only.not that RTR is any less.but will i get an increase in performance??if so by how much??? i just love the grunt and pick up of the RTR.will i get that in r15 v2??? i dont care about vibes or refinement.actually even a r15 vibrates(my freind has a well maintained r15)but not as much as the RTR of course.

It depends on your requirement. RTR is more a street bike than a sports and R15 is more sports/track bike than a street bike. If you are a poser and want to show off then go for R15 else stick with RTR. Also if you ride with a pillion, then take a look at the pillion sear of R15 or TD with Pillion before purchasing.

I think you should get 55-60K for your RTR.

Cheers!!

R15 all the way!!

Actually I think you better go for R15 V.2 because by looking at your post it feels like you are more inclined towards this bike than any other bike you have mentioned. In this kind of matters you always go with your instincts than asking others for HELP so that once you take the bike you must not have any regrets about it, that can be done only with your own choice and I have been there with that regrets when I used to look at R15 or ninja standing next to me and thinking why the hell I didn't took this bike but after someday I took R15 for myself and i am more than satisfy with it. Even though your choice is not good you won't feel much regret cause you will know the bike for its good reasons which you loved in it.

And the pillion seat issue, I don't think it will matter much as it will be the best position a man can think of his girl friend or a wife could sit with him. That she will be sitting either holding you tightly or completely hugging you sometime you can even cuddle with her while riding but she has to wear jeans pants or some salwar kameez something like to sit.

But as I said its completely on you to decide the bike rather asking others cause ultimately you will be riding it and every one has there one perception about the bikes and love for the bikes so most the comments either will be biased on a certain bike or on pure love for the bike they have or the requirements you have mentioned. And for the 2 or 3 years issue for pulsars and Apache is total absurd cause ultimately it will depend on you how you look after the bike. There is my cousin who as a 11 years old splendor and it still looks and performs just like it used to perform back in the days and also it delivers 75 kmpl and soooo smooth feels better than the new model and one guy even asked him how many months old bike lol. So forget about people telling you that it lasts for 2 or 3 years crap as it will dependent on you how you look after her.

But what about that smile we get under our hood, when we start our bike or when it delivers the same performance as we wished it to deliver that can only come through your heart and only when you choose it by yourself.

Don't worry just buy the bike which you feel you can manage with rather than looking at the requirements and one more thing don't keep waiting for new bikes all the time as there will be always a new bike at the corner to come and shock us so go with the current one and look after her as your Wife or girl friend or W/E. Give respect she will respect you back with much more than that.

Sorry if you guys feel that the post is way too long as i just took out all my stocked strength which i kept inside all this while since i signed up for xbhp.

If you guys feel i have done any in justice or racial remarks please do let me know I will edit it. Thank you.

My few cents or rather experience,

P 220:

Good deal for the price with enough power to cross 130+ in straight lines however cannot say the same about handling and control abilities of the bike.

RTR 180:

Brutal machine love the way it accelerates in straight line and behaves in corners.

CBR 250:

One the best touring or commuting bike i have tested. comfertable riding position and25 PS Honda keeps you ahead. However Cornering on CBR could be quite tough.

R15 V 2.0:

Not yet out so not much to say but since have be riding Gen 1 since last 2 years and many short and long rides I can say its a fun machine (Lot has been said about the old R15)

Looks:

Looks are subjective from person to person so you know what you want better than anyone else on this thread.

Fuel Economy:

No matter what magic number people say all the above will give you output of anything from 25 - 45 kmpl depending upon riding condition and style

Pillion Comfort:

R15 certainly not design to be a commuter bike so it scores lowest in all above however for short city commute it does not look that impossible as well.

Rest all the above will provide sufficient comfort to pillion.

Pricing and Maintenance:

Yamaha and Honda will be at higher side as compared to others.

I'm also in the same dilemma. I want a good looking bike which can cruise easily at 120- 130kmph in the highway, has decent handling, safety and build quality. And after reading a lot I got the following impression.
R15: Killer looks, great handler, best engine but... cost,poor low end torque and no crash guard. I love my legs more than the racing looks of the bike.
p220: Power, allrounder, good looks but .... build quality and constant niggling issues. It says if u take 5 bajaj bikes from the same lot, each one behaves different(my classic pulsar was awesome).
ZMA: Tourer, good engine but... unavailability of parts, no tubeless tyres
rtr180abs: not much idea about it. but heard that the low and torque and abs are nice. cons: small size,vibes and resale value (The same power wont satisfy us after a couple of years)
CBR is way too costly for me.
Btw, the upgrade is from a Twister which I've been riding for the past one year.
Still confused...people's answers and opinions are also like the bajaj bikes.

I'd suggest you to wait for few days and td new r15. Heard they have made some changes in low end torque

I would like to correct a few things:
ZMA now does come with tubeless tyres
And the P220 has evolved very well and gives far fewer issues than previous batches..my friend owns one and has been ripping it to shreds for over a year now..no issues faced whatsoever.The engine is surprisingly smooth,only it gets rough after constant riding of 200-250 kms

Thanks for the zma's update. I was in the impression that only zmr got tubeless. Regarding bajaj, as I told my classic pulsar 150 used to be a great bike. I have ridden it from Bangalore to Kochi (550kms) and back without any issues. The second hand bike didn't give me much trouble. But different owners have different opinion about the quality. I'm waiting for r15's reviews. Again...I ask myself..why to waste 20 - 25k extra for r15 over rtr!!! just for the full fairing and 10kmph extra??? Remeber rtr has got more initial grunt and abs(life saver..sometimes). confusion is still on...lols.