That is understandable. The OEM price of the Shogun intake manifold is Rs. 80.00 (yes Eighty only), however it sells for Rs. 1200 ~ Rs. 1500 these days. I am habituated buying spares for my bike, and sometimes paying double, thrice and n times the original price. If I fall in love with the steed, cost will not be an issue but availability definitely will be. I went to Bangalore in January to get some spares for my Shogun and none of my friends or family members were ready to believe that I was actually travelling 1800 Kms one way to get spares for an 11 year old bike that makes "bad sound" on the road and emits smoke. Hell I love her!


I feel the ZMA has really that punch. Back then a Shogun with 104 kg kerb weight, 110 cc and pumping out 14bhp @ 8500 rpm was hell of a thing. Nicknamed "The Boss". Suzuki never designed it. Suzuki does not design such crude bikes. The AX100 was a suzuki design and later the suzuki fierro. Shogun was designed by TVS with only one objective in mind - take on the RX 100. Be it an overstressed engine design, be the parts wear out in no time, let the vibrations shake the bone marrow of the rider but lets take on the RX 100! It was also the costliest and the least fuel efficient bike in its category at that time (3 way Boss). But things have changed now. Today's machines should be more refined and more comfortable if not more powerful. Thats the least we can expect from the two wheeler industry of a country having 62 years of freedom and emerging immensely in IT. Shamefully we have blackberries, Iphones, Quad cores, pocket Pcs, Plasma TVs, Designer music systems for our drawing rooms, mind boggling shopping malls (where people buy), weekend movies for 270 a ticket in a world class multiplex plus 100 bux for that box full of white shit (read popcorn) and a glass of diluted cola - heck we do not have a v-twin in the 250 cc category! Is there anything really bwteen the ZMA and the R1 or I do not know about it? I cannot afford a R1 and I need a twin-v punch - why should I be deprived? Okay sorry to be off topic but I had to say it. Really wonder at whose mercy the Indian automobile industry rests - is it the mass or is it something else?

Regarding RD, I worship it. Have a few pictures. Have seen 2 so far in Kolkata. Chatted with one person in Xbhp who is from Kolkata and owns a RD LT. But thats all, I really do not know where to get one or where to start. Also I see the spares are very scarce for the bike. So never really thought about getting it. Heard that you can cruise on it @140 Kmph smoothly?


Pradeep I have almost decided on the ZMA except that I will take the FZ for a test ride. And TVS! what a lesson I have learnt. You know it.


Thank you. Long rides on the Shine did gave me backaches. The sitting posture for Shine is just normal, nothing sporty and it has an awesome suspension. Still dont know why it happened. Probably it is my back....


I was actually reading your thread before starting this thread and it just pushed me a few steps towards the ZMA. Hope you are enjoying her at the fullest!


Thank you all for your feedbacks and suggestions, ultimately it will be just one out of two (ZMA/FZ).

dude, i'm loving her more as each day passes. and to top it all, she still has to open up and show her true colours . waiting patiently for 2K on the odo.

reading ur long posts, i think FZ has a tough task of winning you over as against the Zma. Welcome to the club
(in advance )

Update1: Yesterday I sold off my Honda Shine.

Update2: I went to test ride the FZ today. Got on the bike. The sales person put the keys and asked me to start the bike. I got off from the bike. I suppose why Yamaha did not make the fuel tank any bigger. The bike is just full of a fuel tank. The fuel tank is huge (an adult elephant's butt inverted). Highly distracting for me. I need to see the roads ahead, I could easily feel this tank will distract me too much during my rides. So no question of testing it and wasting time and increasing expectation of the sales guy. I got off the bike, thanked the guy and rushed off the showroom.

Update3: I am considering the CBZ extreme, probably will be better for me than the ZMA.

if u are looking for a 150,just wait and do a lot of googling for news as there will be a new 150 pimped up version of the unicorn on the roads probably in the next 2~3 mnths... just like the stunner version of the shine...(check "honda's coming" thread for details)
have been using a uni for the last 4 years and trust me,i spent more than my bikes worth on my crashes(insurance paid them of course),and never came across any word (even last week,ran over a dog) about the unavailability of spares... so as a honda user u must know...

and also as u ruled out tvs,yam and bajaj u r left with

honda - uni,pimped uni

h.h - cbz exteme,hunk(only sticker upgrades unlike the uni),karizma(heard that a fi version wil hit the roads in some thread)

suzuki - gs 150r(uni+6th gear)

Pls suggest replacement for my RX100 !

Hi Friends,

I have been browsing this forum for a while but have not posted much. I am pleasantly surprised that my requirements for a new bike are so similar to that of swingarm's.

I have been a proud owner of a RX100 since 1991. It proved to be a great experience. It was a very reliable & fun to ride steed. I would now like to get myself a new bike.

My requirements are as folows;
a) The bike needs to be 150cc+
b) The bike would primarily be used for running errands in the city
c) Fuel effeciency is not important
d) My budget is also around 80K
e) I would like to keep bike to atleast 5 years
f) Bike needs to be relaible with good A-S-S
g) Bike should not be too bulky for my kind of frame (Ht:5.5ft/ Wt:60kgs)
h) It should have reasonable pillon comfort

I have shortlisted following bikes so far;

1) FZ16: It appears to be a nice bike though I am bit sceptical about its pillon seat comfort
2) Unicorn: Known for its smooth engine though It appears pretty plain-jane when compared to its competitots
3) ZMA: I really like it but am not sure if it shall suits my small frame.

I have not done any test ride on any of these bikes since I have been abroad for a year. I shall do the same once I return next week. Meanwhile would appreciate if you gurus could help me with a bike meeting my above requirements. Pls feel free to suggest any other bike apart from the three I have mentioned above you if you it would fit my needs.

I would not like to intrude into this thread started by swingarm. Since my requirements were pretty similar to that of original post, I took the liberty to add my post here.

@ swingarm: I don't mind starting a new trhread if you would like me to do so.

@ Moderators: Pls move this to a new thread if you think that would be appropriate

Regards
rx2389

Basu let us know on what you decide.

In advance welcome to hero honda club

Unicorn/GS150R are more smoother and comfortable bikes.. amazing build quality coming from Honda and Suzuki

FZ16 : Nice bike.. amazing looks.. a tad overpriced as per me.. low end torque .. way more aggressive than the unicorn/gs150r

zma : amazing bike .. but for guy who is 5'5" .. i do feel it will be pretty big .. coz im also approx the same build .. doubt if it comes within 80k

i suggest you look at the RTR-FI by TVS .. costs around 75k.. most Value For Money... need to change the tyres only (to MRF or something else).. i own one


One thing that you must do is.. look at the ownership threads of the bike you shortlist and get a general feel of the pros and cons of each bike.. prioritize your needs among then.. you can also ask bike specific questions if you have any

HTH

Are the TVS tyres on the RTR really so bad? Any idea which ones (models) are on the RTR?

TVS Srichakra i guess..

And there is another brand called Eurogrip that were used in a few lots of Bajaj bikes.Eurogrip is also from TVS and they suck grip wise. but last long

So the currently available ones like Jumbo, Terminator, Dragon, etc., are also bad in the grip department?

No idea about these buddy!

Take pulsar 200

i think P200 is better for you.. i am sure it will give great riding experience on traffic and never give back pain to you