Just an update, in case anyone cares. I've decided, despite the too-high price, that I'm going to get the Tiger. The Speed Triple is too much of a single-surface bike, and even though the roads here in BBSR are getting better, it'll still be a loooooooong time before they're good enough for me to get everything out of the Speed Triple. Even though I only live 5km from the center of the city, half the roads I use to get to work are dirt or gravel. I abandoned the idea of getting a Bandit a while ago. It's just not suitable to my needs in any way.

Triumph says they'll have the first dealers online sometime in October, and booking will start then. I'm going to do my best to be one of the first to book a Tiger.

Nice choice Friend !!

Well, once again, I have to revise my decisions. With Triumph's recent deflations (launch delay, suspension of their CKD operations, and wavering on pricing) I'm finding my confidence in them fading fast. With the kind of problems they're having, it's all too easy to worry about the quality of dealer support, as well as the permanence of their presence in India. As I noted on another board, my guess is that they are finding it difficult to confirm the amount of market support for their bikes. Even though the majority of their line is priced virtually the same as it is in other countries, it's still a steep price for most Indian buyers, and with Harley, Suzuki, Yamaha, and Honda all having strong presences here, and in some cases bikes priced similarly, Triumph may feel that those other four have the USD$8000-10000 bike market already sewn up.

So, that leaves out the Tiger, which I felt would be the best choice for Indian roads, especially in my area, at least as far as large-displacement bikes goes. That also eliminates my other immediate choice, the Speed Triple, since it's from the same manufacturer. The Bandit has gotten more expensive in the meantime, so there's even less reason to buy it over other bikes. That goes for the "Naked" bikes from the other two Japanese makers as well, since they're even more expensive. I'm not going to get a Harley; they're just not my style. I can't afford the BMW 1200GS (which would be the other alternative to the Tiger here). I can't ride the race-replica bikes anymore (R1/GSXR/CBR1000RR); I'm too old. I also can't afford the VFR1200 either; likewise the big Suzuki M109R and the VMAX. The only Kawasaki I'd be interested in isn't sold here, and neither the Ninja 250/300 nor the 650R does anything for me.

That pretty much leaves one bike that does more or less what I want, and gives me the biggest "bang" for my buck, and that's the Hayabusa. Even through all of my decision process, I've always been interested in that bike. Yes, it's heavy, and very powerful, particularly for the area I live. However, it also provides decent touring capability. It can cover fairly long distances effortlessly, particularly at the lower speeds of the roads here. Since I now know about performanceracing.in, and can get frame/fork/swingarm crash sliders, I feel better about riding a fully-faired bike. Going down as a result of sand/diesel/gravel on the road and totalling half the fairing was my biggest worry for a bike like this, as those fairing panels are f&$%ing expensive.

So, there it is. It all seems fickle, even to me, but without Triumph, there aren't any other viable choices for a big bike like I'm used to from my perspective. So, the saving begins as I work towards the huge downpayment I'll need to book the big Zook. Somewhere in there, I'll probably still get the Duke I've been talking about on the ownership thread, as an intermediate bike to ride until I can afford the big one (unless I somehow either score a big pile of cash somewhere or Suzuki lets me book with a substantially lower downpayment than they had previously required).

When you started this thread i thought you needed a Sports Tourer, as most of your choices went for those models only, Later it was like you need some good big machine....Then it was as you are old some where close to some 40-50yrs age you hated SBK, You din't likes Ninja 250/300 or 650. And Eventually you are going for Hayabusa...??? Which makes me think why were you not interested in other bikes which are here available with big SVC???

IN India today if you want a big bike then mostly a person should have a big SVC, because this bikes need good mech and care with rightly available spare parts, Suzuki indeed is a nice brand but they haven't captured low leve market still, and you are planning for a Hayabusa with them.

IF you can buy a Hayabusa then why not a Honda CBR Naked or CBR RR?? Infact you will get wide spread Honda's SVC. And if one is not present in your place then surely it would be little close and satisfaction about no need to run all corners for parts..ebay...etc....


But as i read your post and you are mostly interested in touring etc...So Hayabusa won't give you the comfort you need, afterall it's made on sports concept and speed, with forward leaning to maximum extent.

Reasonable and kool choice would be Ninja 650 any day for Sports Trouring, why ?? Because you get a good engine with good backup in India by Kawasaki-Bajaj.

Else if you like crusier then you can go for HD also... But investing in Triumph or Suzuki is something which needs some more time or capability for indian market.

Ultimately it's your choice and money but put it in right place where you don't need to run here and there??

What the use of keeping a 14-19L bike and later no peace of mind??

Did u consider the f650gs? its 10L ex showroom (same as tiger) and will work well on most terrain

The Hayabusa is a sports-tourer, though it's closer to the old ZX-11 than it is to the ST1300 or the Concours. The riding position is nowhere near as extreme as that of the CBR1000RR. Also, there's a Suzuki dealer in my city, and they do carry the big bikes, so that solves the parts/maintenance problem. I plan to handle, or at least provide tools for, most of the more specialized maintenance on the bike myself. I have my own copy of the service manual for the bike, and will expect the dealer to have me supervise any and all repairs.

I don't "hate" the superbikes, I just can't ride them comfortably anymore. Shortly before I moved here, I test-rode a used R1, and while it was ok out on the highway at 100+km/hr, it was miserable on surface streets. 15 minutes of riding at 60km/h had my wrists aching.

I'm not interested in Honda in particular because their bikes are significantly higher-priced compared to their competitors. The R1 here is 10lac, while the CBR is 12lac. There's no justification for that. The CBR is not that much better of a bike (not really better at all, considering some of the advances in the R1). Ditto the naked CBR. I disagree with their pricing policy, and therefore will not give them my business.

I'm not interested in either of the Ninjas because, frankly, they're just not interesting bikes. The "big" Ninja isn't even one of Kawasaki's real sports bikes. It's a commuter bike dressed up with a fairing (the naked version is called the Versys). When Kawasaki starts bringing their inline-four engines here, then I'll be interested. Parallel-twins just don't do it for me for road bikes.

And @niks_devil666, I've heard too many bad things about the small BMWs (and BMW's service), so even for their affordable bikes, it's not worth it.

I have seen 2 -3 guys riding Hayabusa and they were literally leaning on the tank with hands straight, this shows they are more aggressive position, but still i haven't ridden personally. Still thinking!!! how come a hayabusa is a Sport tourer kind ??

See my friend how he is leaning front...

A lot of the riding position is a result of the size of the rider. I'm a pretty big guy, so for me, the bars of the 'Busa aren't that far away.

As to the 'Busa being a sport tourer, just check out this site: California Motorcycle Roads - Pashnit Motorcycle Tours Maps, Passionate Scenic Rides Photos

Triumph has bought some land at Narsapur in Karnataka for a greenfield plant. Various auto mags opine that bookings would open in mid 2013 with deliveries towards the end of that year.

My 2 cents? Why not wait for 2013 or mid 2014 (just about 22 odd months away)? If Triumph is still a no-show, you can always go for the 'Busa then. You are intending to spend a significant amount of money on this purchase so if there is no hurry, you could wait. And that wait could really turn out to be worth its while. Else, the 'Busa. I reserve my opinion on whether the Busa IS a sports tourer or not. To each his own.

Personally, I want the Bonneville and don't mind waiting till 2014. I would have gone for the Ninja 650 but for that fairing which prevents any maintenance from my side.

The wait isn't necessarily the problem. It's the lack of organization. We don't have all the details, but something pushed Joshi out or prompted him to bail out, and that, combined with their inability to get dealers lined up, plus the other reasons I listed above, really makes me concerned about how long they'd last. I really don't want to drop that kind of cash on a bike, only to have the maker pull out after a couple of years citing an inability to properly penetrate the market. You're then stuck with a costly bike, no dealer network, and no easy way to get parts. I'm fairly handy, and can probably do most of the work myself if worse comes to worst, but that would really eat at me after dropping a minimum of 11lac on a bike. Suzuki at least has a fairly stable network here, and the dealers are pretty widespread. Even if they ultimately drop the big bikes from their lineup, I can still order parts using the part numbers.

Yes as the website says it's a passion. But a ST still not convinced!!! If we love something then we ignore much for that thing. So when you are in love to Hayabusa then you can even probably take it to Leh also. This is all about love. Still i think it's a sports bike rather than ST. I googled few more pics and i saw people where elaning on it, Similarly John who is 6 +ft too was leaning on it.


And this is all about love!! Best wishes for your so expensive purchase in future. But still i would say Trimuph will need more yrs to set up here nicely and trouble free.

Right now Suzuki in India is having the best After sales service and availability of spares for their big bikes .

With various news/rumours on triumph ckd in jeopardy , I don't think its worth the wait .

go ahead with the busa , its a good sports tourer bike

First of all, I'm pretty sure you can get the big 1200GS in India as well, though it might be a special order. Based on what I've read about the 800 on other forums, it's not the bike to get; too many reliability problems, and too many major failures, and BMW will always blame the rider and refuse to fix.

Second, regarding Ducati, as I noted earlier in the thread:

Plus, there's no Ducati dealer in my city; I'd have to have it shipped out for any maintenance work.

Re: Suzuki Bandit 1250 or Triumph 800XC?

Thanks mountain. I had the feedback on Ducati but needed someone to second it, thanks.
Yes the big boxer from BMW is available, it is just out of my budget. :-(
So for me it is I enjoy baby Ceeber till triumph comes or BMW introduces the 700 in a sensible prices....
Thanks a lot.

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