Re: Bike with a soul for less than 2.5 lakhs

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The REs, Mojo, Dominar, CBR250. Test ride them all!

Need Help

Hello everyone. I'm a guy, 21 from Mumbai. I am thinking of purchasing a bike under 2.00-2.25 lakhs for touring purpose. I'm confused which bike to go for.. I'm looking for a bike with large fuel tank. I have performed tours on my FZ-16 but found it uncomfortable personally.

Re: Bike with a soul for less than 2.5 lakhs

The new Duke 390 would be a good choice, performance wise. If you're not physically fit, touring on one would be difficult.

Ravi sir's log is indeed inspiring, although I can't help wondering that it's about the man, not the machine. What he did on RE, he can do better on the modern bikes with tubeless tyres, higher cruising speed, and ABS.


The parts of the Dominar suit it's nature, which is a power cruiser. It isn't cheap per se, just built for a different purpose than the Duke 390, although a lot of people wonder how Bajaj can make a profit out of the Dominar costing just 20k more than the RS200.

I own a CBR 250, and its a great for touring as well as daily rides. It's pretty common, so few people want to fiddle with it. People accuse it of having no soul, and characterless engine, but I always feel it's what you do with the vehicle that counts. I plan to keep the bike for 7-10 years, purely because I'm into wealth creation at the moment, and don't wish to keep spending on a depreciating asset.

Re: Bike with a soul for less than 2.5 lakhs

Thanks will do another round of test rides this weekend, hope that gives some clarity.

Re: Bike with a soul for less than 2.5 lakhs

Thanks for the reply, yes Duke looks promising the only hiccup being riding posture and seats for long distance riding.

I feel RE's are not technically advanced but if maintained properly would not want me to upgrade in 2-3 years.

Dominar is a good bike the concern is the ass and bajaj bikes generally don't age well.

Hondas are known for their reliability however I feel that like it's a bit overpriced. Would try getting a test ride over the weekend.

Thanks for the response again !

Re: Need Help

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Re: Bike with a soul for less than 2.5 lakhs

Hard seat shouldn't be an issue. You can get a cushion like Ride-on-Air | Automotive Seats Reimagined or with some desi jugaad you can get padding done in the stock seat for less than 1000 INR.

Re: Bike with a soul for less than 2.5 lakhs

[MENTION=22615]masterminds[/MENTION]
Honda is overpriced,you feel, because of its reliability. I've had a Unicorn for six years and I had no problems with it until the last few months. The engines are butter smooth and quality is exceptionally better than most others.
Anyways, coming to your thread, If i were you, I wouldn't be considering Duke because of your statement, "going to malls, theatres etc." So I think you would be going with your wife or friends to these places, and pillion comfort on duke is very very bad. But after market seats can be installed which cost you a bit again. Then, the engine heats up so much during bumper to bumper traffic and we all know about Mumbai traffic.
CBR250R is a great bike considering your options but I hope Honda brings in some upgrade to it.
Bajaj has bad ASS and bikes dont last well more than 3 years and resale value is poor. But Dominar might be different. So, I suggest you wait for a while and see the official reviews and ownership reviews of Dominar400.
In case your in a hurry to buy one, I would say CBR is your best bet.

[MENTION=85633]g.1[/MENTION] CEEEEEE BEEEEE AAAARRRRR..
Take a test ride mate. It's very rider friendly and I'm sure you'd love it. And Honda's quality.!
Take a TD of Mojo, the fuel tank beast. I personally dislike mojo especially because of the weird looks, but the ride quality is pretty decent. If you are into RE's, try Himalayan, purpose built for touring, offroad etc.

Ride safe.
Cheers,
SV

Re: Bike with a soul for less than 2.5 lakhs

Great, with the new KTM they say the riding posture has improved and I hope with a 2.5 lakh bike they put some good seats on it. Now even if they don't , I know I have options. Thanks for the inputs.

Re: Bike with a soul for less than 2.5 lakhs

Hi there, thanks for the response. Waiting for the reviews of dominar and hoping KTM gives good seats this time. Will try test riding the Honda 250 and mojo over the weekend. What are your view on the thunderbird and Himalayan from RE ?

Re: Bike with a soul for less than 2.5 lakhs

When my friend left for Netherlands three years back, he gave me his Classic 350 as he didn't want it to be unused at home. I've used it now and then and I've had my share of sufferings with RE buddy. Though I have enjoyed every ride I had taken on the bike, the expense I had to do was immense. More than the expense, the bike stops mid-ride due to a clutch wire problem or rear brake problem or sometimes puncture, or variation in engine noise etc etc. During a ride to Valparai, the bike's clutch plate broke after the first two bends and I stopped and changed it. After I keep driving, the tyre gets punctured after about 26/27 bends. I didn't have a spare tube and had to ride all the way back down to repair it
And after sales service is very poor. May be this is just in my city. I go with some problem and come back with even more but I still pay money
This is just my experience. May it was my friend's bike that had the problem. There are so many people out there who are happy on an Enfield with no such problems.
I took a test ride of Himalayan two months back and absolutely loved it and I almost even booked it, when it reminded me of my experience with RE and I'm still in a small town where there aren't much good mechanics or a trusted RE showroom. So, I decided not to buy one now.
Also, I've heard and read on xbhp, RE forums, quora, Fb, etc that RE pays good service to customers until the free service period (4 free service). After then, the company leaves you stranded and even if there are problems, you are gonna have to face them yourself.
I would say, take a test ride of RE TB and Himalayan. I hope you get a good bike. Buy one only if your sure of the RE showroom at your place and its mechanics. Since you are in Mumbai, I think good mechanics and good showroom must definitely be available. And in case you have problems later , learn to repair them yourself or get in touch with your neighbourhood mechanic...

PS: RE fans and Owners, this is nothing against RE, its just my opinion. I love RE, but I feel their product quality is dwindling for a few years now. Hope they improve in the near future.!

Re: Bike with a soul for less than 2.5 lakhs

OT
"wealth creation"- don't wish to spend on dep.ass"... right man, incl.me, many are going to huge loans for bikes, just once we have got down payment, we are ready for life on emi....

Re: Bike with a soul for less than 2.5 lakhs

Oh boy that's bad, I don't know why but my heart is tilting towards the Himalayan (stupid heart).

They had shown the Fi and abs version in the recent expo don't know when they are going to launch that. But as they say Enfield's with more technology means more headache [emoji2].

There are also rumors that the power in himalayan being adjusted for lower end grunt. I have the enfield company brand store close to my place don't know how much that helps in maintaining the bike.

The fight between heart vs head and heart vs heart is painful and hope gets over soon.

Re: Bike with a soul for less than 2.5 lakhs

Yeah, I'm one of the few jokers who felt pangs of guilt buying a 'premium' CBR 250 even though I could have afforded a ninja 250r in full cash back then.