Re: Bike Purchase Dilemma

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Re: Bike Purchase Dilemma

Anirudh, here is what I think..

Duke200 - Damn fun to ride but aggressive sitting might be problem for long rides. Also, ktm engines are supposed to be high revving that need lot of quick gear changes in traffic sometimes making it irritating. But that's one perspective, many riders love this nature of duke which makes traversing through traffic extreme fun. Small opening and you shoot like bullet from gun, without others realizing that you overtook them. Thousand of riders have bought and loved duke and ridden them for long and enjoyed them thoroughly. So if you are convinced with ride quality of duke during test drive, you can go for it.

AS200/RS200 - Refined ones from Bajaj. Only downside is Bajaj's service, which I hate totally owing 2 Bajaj's back to back. Only reason to go for Bajaj is that they are totally value for money products. If you've got good mechanic (ask on forum here for Bangalore's good mechanics/service stations) - then there is absolutely no downside to Bajaj. Engine refinement wise in my opinion they are just placed below Honda/Yamaha and above Ktm, but not something to be worried about at all.

Benelli T25 - No offence to owners but cost and service network availability (being a young brand compared to others) make this not a good choice for me. Again, nothing against bike as I don't know much but yes reviews are good.

CBR250 - Absolute no brainer. This is awesome machine on both city and highway. It has proved again and again. Yes, if you felt this aggressive then anything in sports/tourer sport category will not attract you, reason being - CBR has more straight position than most of the other sports bikes out there like R15/RC/RS etc..
Only thing going against this bike is that - With advent of R3/Ninja 300/Benelli 300/Mojo etc. - Its said on all forums/sites that Honda really needs to do some upgrade now. You don't know though till when you will have to wait.

Apache 200 - I had shortlisted this bike earlier (Change of plan due to personal reason so not buying anything right now though), so my opinion might be biased here. However, this is feature list of this bike, which made me to choose it. (1) Apache as brand is established with good history for refinement and reliability, not as much as Bajaj though I have to agree (2) Reviews are promising (3) Engine refinement wise they are almost equivalent to Honda/Yamaha, may be a little below being an Indian brand. (4) Complete package with no competitor at this price range and genre - Pirelli + ABS along with 200 cc refined engine that has most minimum vibes till date on any apache based on reviews (5) New bike so you will have something unique/new with you for show-off. Test drives are just starting as yet and top versions with Pirelli + ABS are yet to be available in showrooms. So if you ask me, wait for another 4-6 months before initial batches are in market and minor niggles (if any) are sorted out in forthcoming batches.

Summary - There is good chance that few new bikes get released in 2nd half of 2016 or first few months of 2017. If you can wait, then please hold on or try out available options till that time, so that you don't feel like you chose something in hurry and should have waited few more months.

Cheers,
Prasad M

Re: Bike Purchase Dilemma

Thanks for response Prasad. That was very detailed.

Apache RTR 200 is one bike I totally forgot about. I will definitely test it.

Waiting for few months does make sense. It will also give me time to save up some additional amount incase I need to stretch for a better bike. Thanks once again [emoji4]

Re: Bike Purchase Dilemma

Hi,
I say this all the time and I say it again "Buying a bike is buying pair of jeans it should fit you not the other way around"
Anyways
From your options.

Pulsar AS200

• Most refined Pulsar to date
• Good value for money.
• but since your are riding mostly city rides then the fairing may be little bit of problem.
• Some say its better than RS200.
• No ABS option
• Good pallion comfort

KTM 200

• No introductions needed.
• Best value for money
• Top notch equipment.
• Will be phased out in 2017 but next year model is new one so may have issues as with any new batch of bikes so not to worry.
• It gets little hotter in traffics but completely fine once you are used to it.
• No ABS option
• Terrible pallion comfort

Benelli TNT25

• Italian bike in the segment.
• Service network is very small.
• Costliest to maintain in the category Spares will be very expensive compared to rest.
• No ABS
• Good pallion comfort

CBR250

• Can't go wrong with it proven bike.
• Regular wear and tear parts are not that expensive
• Oldest in the batch
• May be replaced with new 250/300 nothing confirmed yet.
• Fairing so city traffic will be a problem.
• ABS option available and its one of the best in markets.
• Good pallion comfort

Other bikes to be considered.

Mahindra Mojo

• Its best of both worlds Sport bike / tourer
• comes with pirellis by default
• has everything you might want and biggest engine for the money you pay.
• No ABS option.
• Good pallion comfort

On a personal note if your are inclined toward Duke then take a test ride and forget about phasing out issue because next bike may have some issues as it enerally happens with any new bike so a refined one may come in 2018-19.

Re: Bike Purchase Dilemma

+1 to the above.

Mojo is a great bike for city commute as well as for touring purposes. Recent news reveals that CS400 might be launched during 3rd quarter of current FY. So, its worth waiting or a while.

Re: Bike Purchase Dilemma

Hi,

I won't advice you on which bike to get. But I can tell you a bit about my experience with TVS.

I owned and rode an Apache RTR 180 ABS till about 2 weeks ago. The bike was brilliant. A lot of people complained about "Vibes" and and "unrefined" engine. But I was very happy with the bike. But TVS products age very very quickly - and at no fault of their own. The TVS service centers are a real disgrace to the quality of the bike itself. The mechanics are impatient and do not treat our bikes with the respect they deserve. In the beginning I thought this was so with only the two service centers I had been to. But over the last 4 years of ownership, I went to almost every TVS service center in Bangalore and even tried one in Mysore just for the heck of it(I was visiting my uncle there). Almost every TVS service center is identical in the incompetency. Unless you know how to maintain your bike, and by that I mean REALLY know how to do most of the major stuff yourself, you'll have a machine that costs too much to maintain and gives you nothing but heartache(at least in my case, since I loved my bike very much).

Being an ABS vehicle, the local mechs couldn't help me with the ABS but they definitely did a better job in the end when it come to regular service. What made me sell off the bike was the ABS failing on me. I literally had nowhere to go to get it fixed but the damn TVS ASCs in Bangalore. Not a single service center was able to diagnose what exactly had gone wrong with my bike's ABS. The rear brake was working like a regular disc brake and the front brake was not working at all. The best diagnosis I got was that my ABS had failed(well, DUH!). Every single one asked me to get the entire ABS kit on the bike replaced. None of them were willing to do it themselves either. They told me the ABS kit would take at least a month to arrive, and more to fix it on to the bike as it needs extensive "testing".

So unless you can diagnose what's wrong with your bike yourself and tell them exactly what work needs to be done on it, they TVS mechs absolutely fail to do their job. Even after doing this, many-a-time I've gone back home dissatisfied with the quality of work they did. Many other times, I wouldn't be able to pin point exactly what needed fixing - I generally would get a huge bill of 3k or 5k in such situations.

Unless you know you have a stellar ASC near you, or have a very good local mech who knows his way around the bikes or you yourself can take good care of the bike, I'd suggest against a TVS vehicle. Unless you want the TVS champ, of course. Nobody can go wrong with the TVS champ.

I'm tempted to make a suggestion at this point as I am myself looking for a new bike to ride. I have considered two bikes in the list you made and what others suggested. The CBR 250R and the Mahindra Mojo. I'd suggest the CBR simply because it's the best and most reliable in the lot. Believe me, the seating position will grow on you. After you get used to that seating position, you literally will not want to go back to any other position - I'm saying this from personal experience. Same goes for the Duke 200. I found it very comfortable for city - can't say about long rides. The Mojo is an underdog here and relatively new compared to the CBR. CBR may need an upgrade, but as it is - nothing's wrong with it, is there? Honda service centers are not up to mark, but the bike needs such simple maintenance, you could literally do everything yourself or atleast see to it that everything you need to get done is done.

One last suggestion is that you wait till Q3 of this year at least. That's diwali time. The BMW G310R is bound to be released soon and hopefully around that time. We may also get a new single cylinder 200 from Yamaha( really just rumors in the air about the R15 being upgraded in the next V3 iteration, but worth waiting for, if it's true ). You'll have a more solid picture about the bikes coming up soon, so you can make a decision.

Re: Bike Purchase Dilemma

+1 to above post.

Honda ticks all the boxes and also gives you abs/non abs choice but CBR250 is heaviest from the lot.

i love the dukes too.
but i see a lot of ktm's in second hand markets + whatsap groups which gives me the impression that may be the overall longterm ownership is not very likeable ( ? more appropriate term)

I'm eager to try the CS400. Full system abs and hopefully lot more goodies. Don't know how long it will take.
Bajaj gives vfm bikes - Undeniable.
but new products have there initial hiccoughs.

I loved the Mojo. (except for the unconventional looks)
and the way mahindra is promoting it with quality service and the jungle/ mountain trail etc.
Soon abs will also be added so i would opt for abs variant.



Finally - waiting is a cruel game.
i think its always better to get the bike that is available and start having fun rather than waiting for the next 'Coming Soon'.
I really want to upgrade but don't have my finances straight so simply playing the waiting game in Saving mode.


cheers.
tc

Re: Bike Purchase Dilemma

I use a CBR 250 currently, and I use as my daily ride. In traffic, you will feel some discomfort initially, but as time passes you will adapt - your shoulders and wrists will get stronger.