Re: A jack of all trades required

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The Duke 200 should be the best option for you. Though it is beyond your budget and pillion seat isn't great, but then 95% solo does make this a good deal. The other option is the AS200, but i have never heard of a super smooth Pulsar at 80k kms! I have never heard of a super smooth pulsar at 50k kms either, for that matter i have never heard of a super smooth pulsar at all And that's coming from a guy who has been riding a Pulsar 220 every day for the last 6 years!

Re: A jack of all trades required

@The Monk

Believe me, I want to buy the Duke, but going by the riding position and relatively expensive spares, I don't want to bite more than I can chew.

Also, how bad are we talking about the vibrations ? RTR 160/180 are widely regarded as being consistently vibration prone, and that I did not have any trouble keeping up with them (600 km Iron butt, enough said !)

P.S. With the wealth of riders here, how is the Duke 200 to maintain? I have a preconception that it is expensive, anyone with figures for consumable spares costs? (chain sprocket, tyres, brake pads, filters and the like?) Would I be breaking the bank for every service?

Re: A jack of all trades required

You should go through the ownership thread for more details, but i haven't ever heard of a Duke owner complaining about ownership being expensive! We had two Dukes in the xBhp Office, and both were/are in great condition.

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If you are find with Apache vibes, then Pulsar vibes won't be much of a problem either! Ride it to vibe with it

Re: A jack of all trades required

My suggestion may come as a surprise to you but I would suggest you to go for a P220 or a used pre-2014 Karizma R/ZMR. Trust me these two are the jack of all trades. Both have proved to be good tourers. However P220 and Karizma have different characteristics. I don't think I need to explain the pros and cons of the two bikes after so many years (also I don't want to start another P220 vs Karizma war thread :P). However, I can speak how Karizma may suit your needs from a owner's perspective. Needless to say about tours. The bike can cruise all day at 100-110kmph without a sweat. Very mild vibes are there but you won't notice them much. Decent ride quality if not plush. Potholes are never a problem. AFAIK Karizmas are known for reliability and the stock engine parts will last for 70-80k easily. Spares while on the higher side (compared to P220 and RTR180), they do last long. Just don't break the fairing. They are expensive and are hard to source. The bike is fantastic for city also. The low end torque is both fun and useful. Expect a fuel efficiency between 33-45kmpl. ZMR is far more fuel efficient. Pillion seat is decent enough for long rides. Karizma's front end is light and easy to steer but the bike is definitely not easily flickable with that long wheelbase. Handling in neutral and never nervous.

My next suggestion is definitely the Pulsar 200 AS/NS. Great VFM product. Long term reliability yet to be known. So far I feel the bike has far lesser problems compared to earlier air cooled pulsars. Also lesser problems compared to the KTM counterparts!

I am not a fan of RTR's when it comes to cruising at high speeds for a long time. The bike feels cramped, gearing is short and vibes make the ride worse. Don't forget the stock TVS tires.

Say you buy a P220, RTR or a Karizma, you can save the leftover money for riding gears or for fuel or to add or alter some parts. For instance: Better tires on an RTR, better headlight and horn on Karizma, better RVM's on the P220 etc.

Re: A jack of all trades required

[MENTION=14210]harishkumarko[/MENTION]
You my friend has just given me food for thought !
220 is totally out of the contention, since the proportions for the thing are broken to my OCD vision. I genuinely need something that I'd want to stare at, as much as I'd want to ride it.
Karizma though (The original styling one) may actually turn out to be a good idea, let me have a look on what's available.

Re: A jack of all trades required

R-15 S should be my suggestion. Suits your requirements. R15 v2.0 was a pretty good machine but lacked a good pillion seat. But the newer version has addressed that issue. Has decent power for a 150cc. And regarding R-15's performance, nothing new remains to be said. Give it a thought.

Sent from my Xperia L.

Re: A jack of all trades required

+1
a made-in-india 300cc twin suits for highway tours.

Jack of all trades is good for nothing.

Re: A jack of all trades required

Your sentence doesn't make sense! Jack of all trades will take you everywhere. Master of one will take you to only one place.

@Deamon0508: Yes R15S is also a worthy contender. You need to get used to the obvious sporty riding position and poor low end torque in city. But the bike is great on highways and reliable too. Just make sure you find a good yamaha service centre. If you are getting a used pre-2014 Karizma R don't pay anything more than 50-60k if the bike is in good condition and has run only a few kms. Actual price of used Karizmas are even lesser since their resale value is low. Ever since the launch of the 2014 versions, the previous generation karizma prices have gone up in the used bike market. A used ZMR will cost you 8-10k more than Karizma R.

Re: A jack of all trades required

So guys, what I did was what anyone with a right mind would do, conned a 200NS from a friend (along with a 50 km something on a Gixxer), and rode it for 500 kms over the weekend, doing some of the usual weekend getaways that I do on my Honda's 'Sports model' (!). On that, later, regarding the wealth of opinions, let me try and give my two pieces on what I feel.
@krishna77 : I agree that R15S would suffice for my weekends and I'll have a good time riding it, but the point is, that I have to do a 60km commute, even if I accustom myself with the riding posture, R15 service and maintenance would cost me the amount of money that I don't want to spend (especially after my weekend with a 200NS!), call me cheapo, but that's my major major priority. I've heard from a couple of fellows that the mechanicals do last, but when they go, they do cost relatively more, so maybe in the long run it pans out as equals.
@Freak inExile : I'm just going to pretend I didn't read that. If I could buy 300cc Twins, I would've put my money down for the R3 at launch, or better yet N300, or even a TNT 25, or just the D390. But, money is a thing !! And yes, a jack of all trades does exist buddy, wherein I do agree that the traits of a Karizma would be skewed as against a Passion, but you get where the weightage lies !
@harishkumarko : Buying used, is suddenly off the table now, and ZMR is off the planet ! (I'd rather have a P220 and gawk at it, that have a ZMR and bang my head on it, trying to get the proportions right !!) The original Karizma (/R), or something else entirely, no wonder the resale value has gone up.

Regarding my experience with the 200NS. The guy had replaced the stock tires with the same sized Revz, and boy did I have a time with the thing, his eagerness to show the prowess of his machine eventually led him to loan it for the weekend. As per his inputs for the servicing and running costs, I found them a bit higher than a 150cc air cooled machine (base line was my previous Hero Honda Hunk), but nothing that I'll have to come up with my credit card. The experience that I had with that machine was primarily the factor which led me to believe that a jack of all trades is possible, perhaps even optimum for long term ownership. Regarding the vibrations of the machine, I found it pretty compliant, not in the best of leagues, but no deal breaker. The only problems I faced were the top heavy nature in slow moving traffic (I guess something we get used to) and the lorry sized turning radius. I got the worst of 30 kmpl while 85% WOT (about 110kph), and about 45 kmpl while cruising at 70-90 kmph (To anyone who's interested, 200 did about 42 kmpl overall, Gixxer was close to 50 kmpl) which was pretty amazing considering what and how and where I was driving it. Altitude sickness was expected and well under control (Although ghats and himalayas are apples to really really tiny apples). I especially liked the stability on straights, and cross wind management (yes, wind blast was an issue, but I'm looking at the AS200). Overall, I might just plonk my money on the AS200 in about 6 months time, when they sort out some/any teething issues with the initial design, improve the rattle-prone front fairing (from what I've read). The gearing too was spot on with the nature, and I never was in a gear that I shouldn't have been, I did miss solid snick snick operation relative to the japs. The engine braking was definitely worth mentioning (D200's is still better). Overall, a solid 8/10 for the overall engineering done on the machine

P.S. Regarding my experience with the Gixxer, I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it turned out to be, the riding position, grip, braking were pretty neck and neck with the 200. If the 200 did not exist, (or highways) I'd definitely gone for it. I found the gutsy and vibe free nature of the engine to be the highlight. The main difference was, while Pulsar was at 40% WOT, Gixxer was closer to 70% WOT (that was expected, and I'm sure people exist who do not care). To conclude, this machine has got a serious regard in my books for what it is and what it delivers.

EDIT : While stalking a bit more, I ended up with the good samaritan [MENTION=41586]Divya Sharan[/MENTION], sharing a google doc for the spare parts price list of the P200NS in his signature, unable to access it though, would you be kind enough to either reupload or PM ?

Re: A jack of all trades required

Yes the AS200 IS a good option.I have it and its a wonderful bike.Projectors , fairing to protect from wind blast.....its indeed a very good bike.I wouldn't say its a VFM because that's their Kind of flagship bike and ideally a flagship(After RS200) doesn't come under the scrutiny of VFM.if you want to know anything about AS200 you can ask me as I have covered almost 8000kms on it.

Here is the link for spare part list with price. The prices are upto date

Re: A jack of all trades required

You, sir, deserve my like, here, take it !

As per your ownership, I'd really interested to know your location, your usage, your problems and niggles. I'm especially interested to know if the rattling from the fairing really an issue ? can it be solved with some 'jugaad' ? Have you done anything (if there really was an issue) ?

Also, would you be the right person to give a comparison on the engineering changes done to AS200 relative to NS200 ? I mean, the gearshift feel, the turning radius, the engine cooling ? having ridden the NS200 over the last weekend, I would be able to directly relate to my own experience.

Re: A jack of all trades required


Believe me man the best choice is Apache 180 with ABS and the good news is the vibration levels in the current selling apaches are very much less than the old models ( only lesser than old) and spares also was less and response is also good in Bangalore side i don't know about other areas.

Its good in all causes for you

Re: A jack of all trades required

To the TS, just FYI, the old model apaches are still in production

Re: A jack of all trades required

Answers on BOLD sir

The AS is a great bike and i can guarantee you for the next 3 years at least all Vendors will hardly be able to make a bike at that price,and its made well, infact very well.It reaches 143,its smooth,drive all day at 110 without even sweating the engine at all,flicks well in traffic,Ohhhhh the headlights.Damn i love it and there is no other bike at this segment that gives such an awesome headlights.I just love night drives now.Its damn powerful.When you are in the mood you can have a sedate ride as torque band is fat throughout the rev range and when you are in a mood to rip u can and when you see the Tachometer thats when you realize it as there are hardly any vibes.I was confused which one to take but then i took this as budget was an issue for me but then i never expected it to be that good considering the price you pay.
Hope i was able to answer most questions bro.Still any doubts just shoot it will answer it :-)