re: A Bike for only Touring under a budget of 1 lakh to 1.7 lakh Rupees

Read your conti review..Impressive and a honest review.I can go for a bike with fairing for which i can sit in a crouching position to avoid wind blast. but not in a gt.But any way it's a cafe racer and it plays its role nicely.I have decided not to go for a contigt.

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[QUOTE=Rohan12;1265008] [MENTION=87660]Rohan12[/MENTION] , i don't want best ,because my pocket doesn't allow it you see & more over if you see my requirements initially given,it doesn't need a high speed or expensive bike.anyway, thanks...

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[MENTION=38752]monk[/MENTION] ,would you kindly edit my thread title, removing 2.2 lakh rupees and in that place put 1.7 lakh rupees? my budget is 1 lakh to 1.7 lakhs, (removed gt from my choice list)

Re: A Bike for only Touring under a budget of 1 lakh to 1.7 lakh Rupees

Done!

@Others: Please relax and help out the TS. Do not waste time in brand wars!

Re: A Bike for only Touring under a budget of 1 lakh to 1.7 lakh Rupees

Hi Just out of curiosity isn't CBR250 about 2L on road above that with ABS it is nearly 2.3L. Well if you can stretch your budget a tiny bit to 2.3 i guess the better choices would be the CBR 250R with ABS and Duke 390 with all the Bells and whistles available for Grand Tourer and Yes Mahindra Mojo is also a good contender in that range.
But In your Budget and your consideration for Gixxer SF for a span of 2-3 yrs i would also suggest you for RTR 200 and the pulsar 200 series(AS/NS/RS) considering they are brought back with FI a nice VFM products these are. No harm in selecting a Gixxer too but again you already own a 150cc Unicorn for that. Just my opinion.

Re: A Bike for only Touring under a budget of 1 lakh to 1.7 lakh Rupees

out of all of what i have seen - go for suzuki gixxer sf blindly - I would prefer suzuki over bajaj - it will be within budget - FI / Dual disk - and also has a smooth vibe free engine ! go for it you will definately love it !

[QUOTE=fullmoon;1265017]Read your conti review..Impressive and a honest review.I can go for a bike with fairing for which i can sit in a crouching position to avoid wind blast. but not in a gt.But any way it's a cafe racer and it plays its role nicely.I have decided not to go for a contigt.

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sorry ! I don't like when some one says bad things abut RE -

Re: A Bike for only Touring under a budget of 1 lakh to 1.7 lakh Rupees

[QUOTE=Rohan12;1264984]You are so cute I shall respectfully step out of this pointless conversation with dignity. Lol XD

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Hi Kaushik! I've been following your thread for a looooong time! I do agree with you, the GT is THE best built RE till date! I've personally toured the entire south (KL,AP,TN) on my uncle's GT (photos can be found on my insta account: shadowriderchennai).

I had nothing to complain of except the handlebars and the constant bashing the bike takes thanks to low GC (thanks to my weight), even found the semi rearset pedals comfy (I'm 6'2). Hence a good handle bar mod and a bash plate will work wonders!

Re: A Bike for only Touring under a budget of 1 lakh to 1.7 lakh Rupees

I had a test ride of Bullet 500. I called the dealer where I have done test ride of standard 350 few days back. He told me he'll call back in few minutes.Then he called & informed me that a new bullet 500 test ride vehicle has come to the showroom.While reaching there, I found a customer taking delivery of his new White Himalayan. My test ride vehicle was there in with rain drops all over her shining in misty grey colour with orange colour lines flow over the tank.Inspite of sales person insisting to use the electric start, i tried in vain with the kick start.He told i need to kick fully to the end (full kick). somehow it started.This comes with all bells and whistles like elec.start, wide rear tyre, front disc brake. I took this for a relatively long ride say, some 5 kms. My observations are:

Negatives:
1) kick starting the Bullet standard 350 was way smooth and easy than the bullet 500.
2)bullet 350 was really vibe free & smooth till 60 km/hr in top gear. But right from 50 km/hr bullet 500 has some vibe in handle bar,but not so unpleasant.
3) Braking is not a confident affair.
4) sweet spot to cruise comes early 80 -90 km/hr. After that you feel it is vibey.
5) seat height slightly taller than standard 350, inspite of using 18 inch wheels

Positives:
1) Torque, Torque.... Torque.... you'll feel it and it is way more than Bullet standard 350.
2) can go high speeds 100 - 110, good for overtaking.
3) comfy seat and with the momentum, you feel like floating on the bullet (See I am 63 kg only)

I really like the bullet 500, inspite of the poor braking.((Sorry I am ex-Pulsar 220(good brakes) owner)).
If I am buying a bike which could only cruise at 80-90, I do think i deserve to get a fuel efficiency of close to 37 km/litre to 40 km/litre. This is not possible with Bullet 500. But Bullet 350 would provide that full efficiency, low seat height, an easy kick start, retaining the old charm looks, but I really don't know what speed it can maintain consistently at highway with less vibes. Any Bullet standard 350 uce riders/ who rode it for a long journey could answer this. If bullet standard 350 could chug along 80 -90 all day and overtake others at 100 km/hr, then i may favour Bullet standard 350 than Bullet 500.

What about the Karizma / Karizma ZMR (2014 VERSIONS) are they worthy to cruise at 90-100 km/hr without vibrations? will it suit my requirements?

Re: A Bike for only Touring under a budget of 1 lakh to 1.7 lakh Rupees

Karizma is like sofa with smooth engine.

Re: A Bike for only Touring under a budget of 1 lakh to 1.7 lakh Rupees

[MENTION=63830]deep007[/MENTION] is zmr with fi & rear disc, full fairing is useful or will karizma semi faired itself is suitable for all my requirements, which i mentioned initially in this thread?

Re: A Bike for only Touring under a budget of 1 lakh to 1.7 lakh Rupees

Yes, the current ZMR ha FI and rear disk. A full fairing is aerodynamically better, although the semi fairing will make it more street friendly. However, I did not like the ergonomics on the new ZMR. It put me off because I felt my body was in an unnatural position - the clip-ons seem to be lowered so you're leaning forward but the footpegs are not rear-set, so your feet are at an odd angle to the forward lean. You should definitely TR the bike before deciding if the ergo is to your liking.

Re: A Bike for only Touring under a budget of 1 lakh to 1.7 lakh Rupees


1. This Thread has escalated faster than the fastest bike.
2. Your choice of words to describe RE bikes, shows that you are leaning to an RE (are you?)
3. Karizma is good bike, it can make 90-100 without vibrations, can it hold that speed all day, well you need to check with Karizma owners, (no experience about this one, sorry mate)

BTW, What are your narrowed down choices so far?

Re: A Bike for only Touring under a budget of 1 lakh to 1.7 lakh Rupees

Yes, ZMR has always been with FI and rear disc (since 2009).

Current ZMA (carb) and ZMR (FI) look exactly the same. Even fairing wise. Hero actually ruined brand Karizma with its affair with EBR. I, don't advice anybody on getting the facelift (2014+) model due to many reasons.

1. Engine - While the actual ZMA/ZMR engines were bullet proof, this tweaked one isn't so much. It has been silently improved a lot but it's not as smooth as before.
2. Vibrations - The bike resonates at the footpegs between 4k to 5k and fairing vibrates get out of control post 6k RPM. Double sided tape, tubes etc don't work as they did on the pre-facelift models.
3. Rim size - Stock tires aren't the best and not many options are available for 18" rims.
4. Rear seat - useless for pillion.
5. Rear indicators - prone to break every time someone tries to sit pillion.

On your query whether ZMA or ZMR would be better for touring (keeping all the above pointers in mind), I'd say ZMR.
Reasons:
1. FI - better mileage, better throttle response, no issues of carb tuning at various altitudes and temperatures, no cold starts (auto choke).
2. Dual disc - marginally better braking.
3. Engine - again, due to FI it gains a minor horse power bump.

Headlamps suck on both variants.

Unless Hero brings a new bike (HX250R anyone?) or updates brand Karizma to acceptable modern day levels, stay away from it!

Re: A Bike for only Touring under a budget of 1 lakh to 1.7 lakh Rupees

CBR 250 + ABS will suit your requirement without any doubt, Mojo can be considered if you don't like the lean forward in CBR but it not as good as the CBR.

Re: A Bike for only Touring under a budget of 1 lakh to 1.7 lakh Rupees

[MENTION=85525]AbiRam[/MENTION] - Solid Fairing of Gixxer SF (FI) (no complaints of vibes from users & moreover a windtunnel tested one) coupled with a comfortable handlebar-footpeg geometry, FI for a crisp throttle response,slight increase in both power & torque than Unicorn 150 would provide altogether different experience in Highways. So we cannot just equate everything with cc factor here.
[MENTION=43265]madhav766[/MENTION] - Yes madhav, It is not the same old karizma, i liked.Ergonomics also changed a lot now, not for the best.
[MENTION=41586]Divya Sharan[/MENTION] - Thanks man, for a detailed info (that too from a Karizma user) on 2014 Karizma Variants.Now Karizma is also out of my choice list.
[MENTION=36417]rugved[/MENTION] - I am not at all leaning to Royal enfield, moreover still worrying about braking capability of Standard 350 & Bullet 500.But it does connect to the Heart.
My narrowed down choices are: (not in the order of liking/priority) - Yamaha YZF R15 s, Suzuki Gixxer SF (FI Variant), Apache RTR 200 4V (with ABS,FI & Pirelli tyres), Bajaj Avenger 220 Cruise, Royal Enfield Bullet Standard 350(UCE), Royal Enfield Bullet 500, Royal Enfield Himalayan & Honda CBR 250R (non ABS Variant).

Re: A Bike for only Touring under a budget of 1 lakh to 1.7 lakh Rupees

If you have a CBR 250 R in the list, then it would definitely top all the other options. With a Unicorn experience, This would be a true Upgrade in all senses.

Re: A Bike for only Touring under a budget of 1 lakh to 1.7 lakh Rupees

A word of advice on the RTR - it's a great bike off the shelf, but I can't stress enough on this - unless you can give your bike constant and unrelenting attention please stay away from it. There is nothing wrong with the bike or for that matter any TVS bike. What's wrong is the service at TVS ASCs. They simply will fail your bike unless you know exactly what is wrong with your bike and are on their backs to get your job done. You could always do the servicing yourself, but that's a long term commitment you'll be making.

I could give you countless stories on how the ASC - in fact, multiple ASCs - failed me and my bike over and over again till I sold off the bike unable to give it the attention it deserved from me. PM me if you'd like to discuss it.