Please do not underestimate something which you havnt ridden or dont have intent of riding.

Peace.

Cheers!

I meant no offence to SZ-R owners or the bike itself. I merely meant that the bike does not fulfil any of my needs. Hope that much is clear.

Guess, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, you do realize that for couple of grands more you enter into regular 150 cc category i.e. Pulsar, Unicorn etc.

Errr.... maybe, maybe not. GS150R costs 76k in Bangalore. 78.5 for Pulsar 150. 77k for CB Unicorn. We Bangaloreans get milked man. Milked to the last paisa

My budget is still around 50-65 max excluding insurance. So 125cc it is.

Well sounds like I haven't checked prices in a while, perhaps you can go for Discover 125ST as and when available. From whatever the pics we have seen it looks quite big for a 125cc and from specs certainly it got good power & torque numbers. Test ride should give you clear picture.

I checked the BAL website for you BTW.

Discover 150 comes for under 62k OTR Bangalore.

I say go for a 150cc bike, you won't regret it later i may be wrong but i have a feeling that you are having very high expectation from a 125cc machine,more than it could deliver.(but TR Slingee ok?)

OK update: I test rode the Hayate and Dream Yuga today since the showrooms were opposite each other. Haiku Honda and Aryan Auto Agencies (Suzuki) both near Domlur Flyover (dunno exact area boss so don't ask).

Lets say I had very INTERESTING results.

Suzuki Hayate


Sales

• Rs. 49000 OTR Bangalore + Rs. 700 recommended modification (see last point)
• Guy did not give solo ride
• Did not ask for license
• TR bike had no RVMs.
• 210km done on odo so pretty neat.
• Staff were equally interested to sell all bikes, from Hayate to Slingshot to GS150R. Intruders (many of them) and Hayabusa on display distracted me a LOT.

Positives

• Amazingly refined engine
• Super smooth and picks up from really low speeds at higher gears
• Very peppy engine at commuter speeds - inclines were not hard
• Extremely slick gearbox and an excellent build
• 70-75 mileage claimed (to compare, showroom guy claimed 55-60 for Slingshot+ and 50-55 for GS150R)
• Didn't have difficulty moving with a sales assistant as pillion
• Fuel Gauge + Self Start @ 49k, want more ?
• Bite of Drum Brakes good.
• After Twister, easily best looking 100-110cc bike. When you sit on it looks really nice. And finally Suzuki got the hang of how to do attractive paintjobs. All colors are splendid!

Negatives

• Bike felt cramped with pillion and a huge 6kg bag behind me, but solo sitting feel was fine.
• Sort of stiff rear suspensions, dunno if they can be softened or not.
• Miniscule tank capacity. 8 litres inclusive of 2 litres reserve = 6 litres normal run. But it looks big.
• When starting on an incline with pillion, had to revv it really hard to make it move. But I think perhaps its only expected of this bike, with solo it should have been better.
• Seat very narrow, felt like a wedge stuck between my buttocks. This one NEEDS to be changed, so add Rs. 700 to the ownership cost.

Honda Dream Yuga


Sales

• Rs. 57000 OTR + 2k accessories that are not included in cost
• Solo ride, guy took my licence as security
• Manager spoke to me and asked about ride. He directly stated that this was future of Indian commuter bikes and targeted Passion Pro aggressively.
• Bike also looks a lot like Passion Pro from front, like its evolved form, really great for marketers.
• 250km on odo when I test rode it. So fair comparo between the two.

Positives

• Big long seat
• Suspensions were comfortable
• Overall comfort was slightly higher than hayate.
• Nice pickup going solo, I can say pull was slightly (only slightly) but noticeably higher than Hayate.
• Vehicle was definitely an improvement over Passion and the like
• Looks like a no-nonsense commuter. No brash styling, and is also somewhat bigger than competition. I loved this part.

Negatives

• Bike needed 5 kicks to start.
• Bike stalled easily
• Above 2 points may be for test bike, but it ruined experience for me.
• Refinement was there, but nowhere close to Hayate level.
• Did not justify higher price, I expected it to completely outdo Hayate (since this was TD'ed second, I benchmarked it directly against Hayate)

Dream Yuga may replace Passion Pro and Splendor, but Hayate is a far superior product atleast as per my experience. It outclassed Dream Yuga in every aspect, from refinement, smoothness, gearshift, clutch feel, etc except loosing out slightly in pull but this is not too important or noticrable. I recommend anyone wanting a cheap commuter to look no further.



I will TD Discover 100 4G next, and see which 100cc bike is the best. If Discover 100 4G has better or equal pickup than Hayate and is priced similarly, I'll probably blindly buy it for the Nitrox rear shocks and Full DC electricals and cheap spares.



I am actually contemplating buying a 100-110cc bike due to low cost of ownership and mileage. Hayate is a HUGE improvement over all aspects over my Samurai but it still has a family touch to it, and I could almost feel my Samurai exclaiming "My Son!!!" on seeing the Hayate. Would be the perfect upgrade if I stick to Suzuki itself. Hayate is the first 100cc/110cc commuter launched by Suzuki after Samurai so its something like what goes around comes around.


But I DO intend to TD the Discover 125ST when it launches, because while Hayate was an improvement over Samurai, it did not meet the absolute benchmarks.

yep, White Hayate looks very cute.

Please! Any word but "cute"

Hero Dealership Experience

Had funny experience at a Hero Dealership in Bangalore today morning. Went to the one near Mekhri Circle (forgot the name). I googled it up and here it is (info got from Google Maps): https://plus.google.com/104115430913...92/about?hl=en if someone knows its name, please share.

I asked the reception lady for Achiever. She heard it as "Activa". When I said Achiever again, she said there is no such bike. She then asked me to talk to the salesperson.

Salesperson asked me to wait. He was busy talking to a man who wanted to buy his son a Mastero. Apparently the man's son wanted a Harley Davidson costing 7 lakhs, and he was pouring out his heart about how current generation kids are to the salesperson. He firmly decided that harleys were useless and a Mastero or a Dio would be much better a buy.

I was wondering 2 things:

1. Why do some fully grown men not understand the value of or appreciate fine bikes like Harleys ?
2. Why do some boys think they can spend their parents' money anyway they want.

Anyway, the conversation was in Kannada, but I tend to prefer english when talking about vehicles because my vocabulary in Kannada is limited to "Yeno maga", "Yelli idhiya" and the like.

Finally salesperson arrived and apologised for the delay stating that not many attendants were present in the big showroom since it was still morning and customers usually don't arrive this early.

I told the salesperson I want a commuter at around 60k for doing 60km daily. Immediately he said "I will show you the passion pro" I had a WTFLOLUMADBRO expression on my face.

I told him my Samurai is faster than the passion pro and I need an "upgrade".

When I asked the salesperson about Achiever, he said its available in all other states except here because people think it looks dull. He advised me to go for CBZ Xtreme for 82k OTR.

I told him dude its 10-15k above my budget.

Instead, he advised me to check out the Ignitor on display which is 67k OTR Bangalore. I wanted a TD but he embarrassedly told me its awaiting RTO approval. I will get TD after 10 days.

I explained him that I wanted to check out nothing but the Achiever, and asked him if I can get one shipped from the factory. he said its possible but then I cannot get a test ride. Atleast I know there is an option for Bangaloreans to own an Achiever if they are desperate.

He did not believe my words that a 150cc Achiever is cheaper than a 125cc Ignitor in all states and argued that Hero were not so stupid to price it that way and if it did, everyone would be buying Achievers. He said Achiever has a much much better engine that is highly refined even though the body is bit smaller than other 150cc bikes and said it'll be atleast 70-75k in Bangalore. I told him the Pune OTR price from heromotocorp.com and he said it must be Delhi price where everything is cheap. The WTFLOLUMADBRO expression returned to my face.

I politely asked him to call me back or email me when he had news about how much it would cost in Bangalore if its shipped from factory along with other bikes.

I shook the gentleman's hands (he clearly was being as nice sincere as possible even though he said some funny things hence I label him a gentleman) and left the showroom after leaving my contact details behind.

Offtopic: Stunner is bigger than the Ignitor when you put them side by side. Oh and strangely Super Splendor is 65k OTR Bangalore only 2k below Ignitor and I knew not why.

Oh and I did see a Hayate parked outside hero showroom. White in color. Not good in flesh as other Hayate colors.

Bajaj Showroom - Kalyani Bajaj @ Mekhri Circle Bangalore

Just googled to confirm that was the showroom's name. Seems like it even has its own website. Neat and smart design. Kalyani Bajaj

OK so next stop was at Kalyani Bajaj. I must say the showroom was splendid. When I say splendid, I mean it was BIG.

I was told by the reception lady when I asked for the Discover 125ST that it shall come in 2 weeks. It took 2 minutes for an attendant to arrive who told me to have a seat.

I enquired prices of all Bajaj Bikes under 70k in Bangalore. Pulsar 200NS little above Rs. 100,000

• Boxer BM150 - 49392
• Discover 100 4G - 50497
• Discover 100 5G - 52465
• Discover 125 DISC - 55941
• Discover 150 - 61825
• Discover 125 ST - 64551
• Pulsar 135 LS - 69221

BTW fun fact: Boxer BM150 has showroom claimed mileage of 80.

almost 10 minute wait for test ride. I wanted to try out Discover 100 4G and Discover 150. Finally a real slim shady came to offer me a test ride. Guy was small enough to hide behind my 3.5kg bag (today it did not have my laptop so felt lighter than yesterday's 6kg).

Now, lets get serious.


Bajaj Discover 100 4-Speed

So the real slim shady asks me to sign on a slip, and then asks where my helmet is. I told him I left it on my bike. He had a funny and slightly arrogant expression when he asked this is your bike ? I simply nodded and unlocked the helmet and was ready to test ride the Discover 100 4G.

• This bike was AMAZING I expected the performance to be below Hayate but it had a bottom-end where it equalled Dream Yuga.
• Gearbox was slightly clunky, but I loved it that way. Similar to my Samurai. With Hayate I wasn't even sure if I had changed the gear since the gearbox was too soft, a baby could shift it.
• Bike felt BIG. Much bigger than Hayate (it was noticeably longer) and comfortable even though I had a heavy bag and a real slim shady for pillion.
• I loved the exhaust note, and the bike had zero vibes at low speeds.
• Seat was narrow as the Hayate, and again this NEEDS to be changed.
• Comfort levels were higher than either Dream Yuga or Hayate however, due to Suspensions. They were BEAUTIFUL.
• All DC electricals.
• Pass light on a 100cc bike.
• Sadly nobody has engine kill switch these days that is even present in my 100cc 2-stroke kick-start bike.
• Back to bottom end, it pulls very comfortably even with a pillion. Only after finishing my ride, realization dawned. It was exhaus-tec at work. Wonderful.
• Power is lower on paper than Hayate or Dream Yuga, but bike still feels superior.

Now I know why Bajaj is Bajaj. This is the most complete mileage-oriented commuter in the market. Attention to small details have been paid and its wonderful, but for the lack of disc brakes at front. Today its COMPULSORY on all bikes. Drums were still good though.


Bajaj Discover 150

All discovers are identical. Very identical. Same dimensions and next to each-other, from top view cannot spot a difference. But Discover 150 has 150 written at its left, and front tyres are like D100's rear tyres and rear tyres are respectably big. Oh and the front disc brake. Must on all bikes.

Like all test bikes battery was missing. Real slim shady had difficulty kick starting it. He was literally STANDING on the kicker and jumping on it. I offered an advice after 10 failed kicks. Asked him to turn off ride control switch, making accelerator free to revv and then revv the accelerator immediately after kicking. He did it and bike roared to life. Slim shady gave me an embarrassed smile.

Meanwhile some traffic police cops came and asked showroom guys to move vehicles as they were on the pavement. Saw some fat muchund trying to move my Samurai. I asked him to step aside, kick started the samurai and a few (intentionally attention-drawing) samurai-esque roars and smoke later, parked it at a spot the security guard asked me to. Slim Shady looked embarrassed, he did not expect my bike to roar like that and zoom to the spot where I had to park it. When I last saw him eyeing my bike, he looked a lot more respectful.

• Bike felt the same as Discover 100 4G to sit on. Identical dimensions obviously. But it was comfortable enough.
• Sir it has one extra gear, warned Slim Shady. I thanked him in my mind for giving me this stunning and very rare piece of news.
• Engine has oodles of torque. I could stop the bike on the incline before the showroom, and with slim shady behind I could start it and take it up the incline with a tiny twist of throttle. I was impressed. A lot.
• I ripped it a bit on the road. Bike zooms ahead when told to.
• I'll have to take other people's word about its top end which I couldn't test, but its nothing some sprocketing cannot fix. It has enough torque to not feel too lost when sprocketed for a higher top end.
• I think this has to be the King of Commuters. Upto 50km/h (my top speed when testing) it felt better than CBZ-Xtreme & Pulsar 150 UG3. Considering it behaves the same till 80km/h which is the max speed possible sanely on Indian city roads, I think now I know why its called a power commuter. Its the best commuter I've ever sat on. Especially if you also consider the fact that it has great mileage, between 55 and 60.

Slim Shady asked me to fill up a guest book with experience of the ride. I obliged. The showroom seemed genuinely interested in knowing how the bike felt which was a good thing.

He asked me if I would like to book, and I told him that my ass needs to touch a Discover 125ST before I decide anything. He told me it would take 2 months and I told him the sales lady said it'll be there in 2 weeks. He said its the earliest date for arrival of demo piece, and after that it should undergo RTO approval, mechanics should be trained and only then will test rides and/or deliveries start.

While you were at it you could have checked out the discover 125 ST too. Heard quite good things about it. Any particular reason to overlook it?

I know my post is long, but if you read it fully, I mentioned that we Bangaloreans only get to see it after 2 weeks, and delivery could take 2 months

Once upon a time back in 2010, I had TRed Unicorn, Dazzler, FZ, Hunk, Apache, Pulsar 135, Pulsar 150 and Discover 150 (in that order) back to back in 1 day. I was going from showroom to showroom on my P220 with my roomie who wanted a new bike for 100% city usage.

The only bike which could bring a smile on my face was the Discover 150 and I kid you not. I really wanted someone else to feel the same way, and now we have one such person.

IMO the only reason it is not famous amongst xBHPians is because it looks exactly identical to the Discover 100. Thats the only thing BAL needed to change to get this bike flying off the shelves (not that it doesn't now ), instead they went one better and introduced the 125ST. Lets see how you feel about it 2 weeks from now.

Oops My bad.. I m sorry I missed it..