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Touring bike for The Himalayas

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  • #1

    Touring bike for The Himalayas

    Hi friends,
    I have been riding Apache RTR 160 for the past 7 years and now I am looking for an upgrade. I mostly like touring in the Himalayas and in future I have plans to go to Leh, Laddakh. I am confused between KTM duke 390 and RE TBTS 500. I like the power and features(ABS) in the duke but I don't like the small tank and pillon seat whereas the TB has good tank range, comfort but I have heard a lot of negative reviews about it. Please help I am 5'6" tall.
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  • #2
    Re: Touring bike for The Himalayas

    Query Approved

    Cheers!
    VJ
    Once upon a time, a guy asked a girl 'Will you marry me?'
    The girl said, 'NO!'


    And the guy lived happily ever after and rode motorcycles and watched sport on a big screen TV, went fishing and surfing, and played golf a lot, and drank beer and scotch and had tons of money in the bank and left the toilet seat up and farted whenever he wanted.


    THE END

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    • #3
      Re: Touring bike for The Himalayas

      Hi Himanshu,
      You can tour solo with both the bikes. If u are planning to take a pillion along then Thunderbird is the only option though I personally wouldn't recommend two up touring on the Himalayas. If you want a better handler then look no further than the Duke twins. Both are nimble, agile and light. The downside is small tank range. Thunderbird is comfortable but heavy which is both a boon and a bane, can b super stable on straights but could b a handful in tricky conditions. Go take a long TD of both the bikes, select the one which u feel is the right bike for u. Both these bikes are capable in their own right, ultimately u win some and lose some but u cannot go wrong with either of these. You can also go through a couple of travelogues of people who have Leh'd on both these bikes to get a clear picture.

      Goodluck.

      Sent from my SM-G7102 using xBhp Connect mobile app
      Typical old racer - you wobble when you walk, not when you ride

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Touring bike for The Himalayas

        Similar dilema i too had in mind but friends seem to complain of re bikes even the tbts. We can modify duke to suit our need. But modifying re wont make it reliable. I do love re too will buy it someday as 2nd bike

        Sent from my GT-N7000 using xBhp Connect mobile app
        ASHWIN NARVEKAR

        My Blog - http://driftwiththeclouds.blogspot.com/
        Leh Ladhakh Trip
        Sikkim - Bhutan Trip
        My Bikes: Honda Unicorn, RX 135(Sold)

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: Touring bike for The Himalayas

          Thanks Sarath, drifter.

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Touring bike for The Himalayas

            Hi friends how good is inazuma? I mean ride and handling. Does it has ABS?

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Touring bike for The Himalayas

              Originally posted by Himanshu Pant View Post
              Hi friends how good is inazuma? I mean ride and handling. Does it has ABS?
              Nope it doesn't .
              Its a good tourer as per reviews but its a niche product (didn't sell well might be heavy on pocket later ).
              Why not a CBR 250?
              Comfortable ,has ABS and proven tourer .

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Touring bike for The Himalayas

                Well I don't like full faired bikes and I feel its riding position may cause pain in the back while riding for a long time( its my perception, not sure about the reality)

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: Touring bike for The Himalayas

                  Originally posted by Himanshu Pant View Post
                  Hi friends how good is inazuma? I mean ride and handling. Does it has ABS?
                  Though the Inazuma doesn't have ABS, it's a fantastic bike for cross-country touring. Very comfortable riding position adds up to the smooth and reliable engine of Suzuki. Take a TR.
                  You can also consider the Karizma siblings. The increase in power has added to the excellent touring characteristics of Karizma.
                  A bike on the road is worth two in the shed.

                  Weekend Rides Around Kolkata
                  My Ride To Sunderbans -                   Hemnagar & Samsernagar
                  Saagar Kinare - Bakkhali Calling

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Touring bike for The Himalayas

                    Originally posted by Himanshu Pant View Post
                    Well I don't like full faired bikes and I feel its riding position may cause pain in the back while riding for a long time( its my perception, not sure about the reality)
                    That's not at all the case. The baby cebber is very very comfortable in long rides as well. I have done ladakh on it and after this ride, my RESPECT for this bike has only increased.

                    Have a look at my ladakh blog at www.webguy.in.

                    Also,if you like the look or atleast don't hate it, inazuma too, is a very good bike. Have a longish test ride of both I would say.

                    My pick however, would be the baby cebber!

                    Sent from my GT-I9082 using Tapatalk
                    -
                    Live to Ride, Ride to Live!
                    http://www.webguy.in

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                    • #11
                      Re: Touring bike for The Himalayas

                      Originally posted by Himanshu Pant View Post
                      Well I don't like full faired bikes and I feel its riding position may cause pain in the back while riding for a long time( its my perception, not sure about the reality)
                      Well if you have lived with Apache RTR then CBR is not a big deal especially with added smoothness .
                      It has enough power ,ABS and relatively lower overall good reliability and low up keep cost .
                      Do take a test ride .

                      Take the bullet only if the RE bug has hit you ,if so nothing can change it. Duke is not meant to be comfy in Himalayas but still many people take it .
                      Deleting inuzma as it doesn't have ABS .

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: Touring bike for The Himalayas

                        Originally posted by Himanshu Pant View Post
                        Hi friends,
                        I have been riding Apache RTR 160 for the past 7 years and now I am looking for an upgrade. I mostly like touring in the Himalayas and in future I have plans to go to Leh, Laddakh. I am confused between KTM duke 390 and RE TBTS 500. I like the power and features(ABS) in the duke but I don't like the small tank and pillon seat whereas the TB has good tank range, comfort but I have heard a lot of negative reviews about it. Please help I am 5'6" tall.
                        go for Thunderbird500 if you need bike specially for touring its comfortable good tank range good top end loads of torque for hills projector lights. you can take loads of luggage on it and can take pillion as well if required. Apart from initial niggling problems you will find it extremely reliable I again say its a reliable machine and I swear by its reliability. All this comes from rides to Leh Spiti*2, mcleodganj *2 and few more on thunderbird 350 and 500 owned by me.

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: Touring bike for The Himalayas

                          Thank you everyone for your valuable suggestions, but now I am considering ABS as priority as once I had a terrible accident as I had skid on the snow. So I believe if there is a technology why don't use it. So friends please help me out with an ABS tourer bike.

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: Touring bike for The Himalayas

                            Originally posted by Himanshu Pant View Post
                            Thank you everyone for your valuable suggestions, but now I am considering ABS as priority as once I had a terrible accident as I had skid on the snow. So I believe if there is a technology why don't use it. So friends please help me out with an ABS tourer bike.
                            ABS wont stop snow skid. go for cbr 250 ABS or 390 duke

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Re: Touring bike for The Himalayas

                              Originally posted by oilburner View Post
                              ABS wont stop snow skid. go for cbr 250 ABS or 390 duke
                              Well I had skid as I had applied brakes. Won't the abs will help in such situation and I have heard rumors of cbr300r. Is that true? How good it would be for touring?

                              Comment

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