Re: Style vs/& performance. Which one should I get?

Apart from my inline comments in bold, my observations on spares about 'old' bikes, scooters and mopeds running till date are as follows:

Yamaha:
1. RX series - spares available till date - OE as well as aftermarket.
2. Gladiator series - spares available till date.
3. Enticer - no spares available.

TVS/Suzuki:
1. Shaolin - hardly/no spares available. Not available even on order.
2. Fiero/F2 - hardly/no spares available. Not available even on order.
3. Samurai - hardly/no spares available. Not available even on order.
4. Shogun - hardly/no spares available. Not available even on order.
5. TVS 50 - spares available.
6. Star (not City, the original Star) - hardly/no spares available. Not available even on order.
7. Heat, Zeus - Suzuki ASC: generally available on order.

Bottom line - no contemporary offering from TVS/Suzuki that can be maintained today w.r.t RX series.

Bajaj/Kawasaki:
1. Chetak (scooter) - after market spares available for engine components, no OE support from manufacturer.
2. Super (scooter) - after market spares available for engine components, no OE support from manufacturer.
3. Classic (scooter) - after market spares available for engine components, no OE support from manufacturer.
4. Classic Pulsar/Discover - most parts are interchangeable with newer lots, hence spares are usually not a problem.
5. Caliber - Spares available with a little running around, available on order.
6. Boxer - Spares available with a little running around, available on order.
7. 4S Champion - Spares available with a little running around, available on order.
8. Eliminator - no spares available.

Hero (Honda):
1. Street - No spares available.
2. All 97cc offerings (Splendor, Passion, Dawn, CT100, Joy) - common parts used mostly. Spares available.
3. All scooters - Spares available.
4. All 149cc offerings (Xtreme, Hunk) - common parts used mostly. Spares available. Exception: Impulse. (Spares availability is almost nought.)
5. All 200+cc offerings (ZMA, ZMR) - poor spares availability w.r.t other Hero offerings.

Honda:
1. All scooters - all spares available. Some may need an order.
2. All 97/110cc offerings (Dream series, Twister) - common parts used mostly. Spares available. Some may need an order.
3. All 149cc offerings (Unicorn, Trigger, CBR 150R) - common parts used mostly. Spares available. Exceptions: Dazzler (Spares availability is almost nought), NSR 150 - Zero spares availability.
4. All 200+cc offerings (CBR 250R) - Spares available. Some may need an order. Exception: NSR250. (Zero spares availability)

So back to your observation on build quality, fit and finish - I'm sure most of these bikes are over 15 years old. Some even older. They are running today, meaning they need spares. They haven't fallen off the bikes or rusted away to glory for the lack of spare parts. Which manufacturer do you think is the least pro-active in supporting older models now?

P.S - TVS makes great products, but just singing their tune while bad mouthing others is wrong. And that shall not be tolerated here. Any questions?

Re: Style vs/& performance. Which one should I get?

^^i applaud you for taking your time out to give a befitting reply, quality of post is clearly seen.

For thread starter : Reliability and Hero go hand in hand, now i am not giving a blind eyed answer but, Hero has a very strong spare support, not that others dont but Hero has an edge over others just that.

You can choose from this basket : Hero xtreme sports, Pulsar 200NS FI ( Upcoming ),Hornet 160R , FZ-S ( very underrated bike) , Gixxer .
Alternatively you can buy CB Unicorn 150 which is now relaunched, No performance or visual updates.
Honda engine needs no introduction.

Re: Style vs/& performance. Which one should I get?

I actually don't agree with you here.. the first gen pulsars were far one of the best pulsars out there.. they take all the possible beatings.. they were simply too good.. I am not sure if you were even born back then.. but this is the fact.. TVS has good products, no doubt. but that doesn't mean you go around talking ridiculously bad about a product when you never even had an ownership of a bajaj product.. I used to own a P180 back in 2006 til 2009 and I know the experience I had was bad.. and on the other hand a colleague of mine who has a P 180 2002 still runs like a charm.. I know how much Bajaj quality has improved over the time... lets get the facts right.. Maintain a bike and it is going to be a charm..


If you are keen to learn about bikes, stop bashing other bikes.. anyone who reads your post will conclude that you have been hired by TVS to promote their products...

Learn how to respect every bike before you try to learn about bikes..

Re: Style vs/& performance. Which one should I get?

See nobody cares Mr.TVS


You wrote this as if you had experience with KTM

Re: Style vs/& performance. Which one should I get?

Let him actually start riding a bike man.

Aap log bacchhe ki jaan hi le lo ab. Jawan khun hai. Nadan hai bichara. Jane do yaar.

Sent from my XT1033 using xBhp Connect mobile app

Re: Style vs/& performance. Which one should I get?

I hope by now TVSian would understand what this site is all about.. And if he still continues this then what they say is true "kids never grow up"

Re: Style vs/& performance. Which one should I get?

Very well put by [MENTION=47074]Divya[/MENTION]. All bikes have their pros and cons, it all depends on how the rider treats them. TVS definitely makes good bikes but their spares support is nothing great. I have been trying for more than a year to get hold of a fuel pump for the Apache 160 EFi which was bought in 2008. I know people whose bikes have just been parked(for months) since they haven't been able to procure the fuel pump. To make things worse, the mounting of fuel pump in Apache is different from the other bikes and hence it is a real task to fit a replacement pump. Similarly I have friends who have been struggling with a few parts for Pulsars.

In the end, its all about mutual respect to all riders and their rides.

Re: Style vs/& performance. Which one should I get?

Brother, any bike which sold in lesser numbers would be hard to find parts for, i struglled months to find rear brakepads for a honda dazzler.

The thing is, people like tvsian have no real world knowledge as to how hard it is to keep a bike running once the svc stops spare and service support. I myself am restoring a suzuki shogun right now and going through a rough time finding parts for it. Sitting infront of a computer and giving gyan is easy. However actually maintaining a bike which has been phased out is very hard.

I run a pulsar 220 which is 7 years old and an rd which is practically older than me. So i know how good or bad those bikes are. I am not going to jump and say how good or bad a hero zmr or a cbr 250 is because i dont have any practical knowledge on it. Little knowledge is always dangerous.

Sent from my XT1033 using xBhp Connect mobile app

Re: Style vs/& performance. Which one should I get?

The bitter truth Bibhu.
I have an old Eliminator with me and finding parts for it is harder than finding Nemo[emoji14]Luckily a few parts can be taken from the Avenger as a jugaad but still are not of same spec as the Eliminator.

Re: Style vs/& performance. Which one should I get?

Did I see Dazzler somewhere

Re: Style vs/& performance. Which one should I get?

Exactly my point. It is not about bashing or supporting a brand or a product without the practical experience with them. As mentioned earlier, its all about respecting the riders and rides for what they are.

Good luck with the Shogun. Real hard to get hold of parts.

Re: Style vs/& performance. Which one should I get?

For your requirements, I'd suggest the Unicorn/Xtreme/SZ-RR. All three are no-nonsense powerful commuters having enough power for occasional weekend rides.
If you wish to go with something more premium, choose between FZ V2.0 snd Gixxer.
And if you are inclined towards cruisers, look no further than Avenger 150. Because you don't have any other option in thst segment anyway!

Sent from my Xperia L.

Re: Style vs/& performance. Which one should I get?

Ok. Thanks a lot to everyone for their inputs. Further, update is that, I have almost dropped Gixxer and Hornet, because of their pillion rider position and comfort. I won't be driving frequently with pillion. But, I know I'll take my mother on market and all on my bike and I don't want her to get discomfort, even if its a few times only. I wish Gixxer or Hornet would have comfortable pillions :-( Coming, to Unicorn 160 CBS: it looks good on paper. However, ownership forum is filled with issues and issues only. So, what next? Suzuki GS 150 R, Yamaha SZ RR 2.0, Avenger 150, V15 (doesn't have much happening ownership thread. why?), pulsar? About Hero: somehow, I am not finding them much appealing. May be its personal to me.....

Re: Style vs/& performance. Which one should I get?

Avenger would be best for pillion... As it is short and big seat... I would suggest always go for highest cc machine within ur budget... Say tvs apache 200, avenger 220, PULSAR 200NS Fi (but no signs of release), AS200, etc... I suggested above bcoz I can see ur mileage required is 30 to 40... Bcoz with any 150cc bikes u will feel lack of power within some days of ur bike... Go for 200cc mate... 1lakh budget is good enough for that...

Re: Style vs/& performance. Which one should I get?

Hello, thanks to you all for your inputs and valuable replies.
So here is the present situation:
1. Suzuki: Gixxer and GS 150R.
>>Gixxer has already been rejected due to the pillion issues already discussed.
>>GS 150R, though a powerful bike, looks very dated.

2. Yamaha:
>>FZ16/FZS/Fazer: Seems overpriced than its competitors. Not a bang for buck.
>>SZ RR 2: All good but ain't powerful enough. Just 11.8 bhp.

3. Honda:
>>Hornet: Same pillion issue as with Gixxer.
>>Unicorn 160: Nice specs and Honda reliability. But bad user reviews all over the net.


So , now I am open to TVS, Hero and Bajaj as well. Hence, options are TVS Apache 160 and Hero Xtreme Sports/Hunk. Pulsar may be good as well, but at given point of price, TVS and Hero seems to provides better VFM and almost same reliability. So what's now? Still my choice would be largely based on reliability of at least 6-8 years.

Regards.