Re: Suggestions Required For 250+ CC and 3 Lakhs Budget!

Query Approved

The Benelli 300, 25, Mojo, Z250 and Duke390 are all good bikes which would feel like an upgrade from your FZ and at the same time feel familiar enough, being naked and all that. Though you should ride all before making a decision.

All the best!

Also, if you are used to the FZ and liked the Duke, it is unlikely that a Royal Enfield would be your cup of tea. But if you still wish to pursue that path, then do take a test ride of the Continental GT. By far the best motorcycle from that company.

Re: Suggestions Required For 250+ CC and 3 Lakhs Budget!

Put 50k more or get loan for 50k and get the TNT 300. Trust me it's a superb bike.

If the FE expectation was low I would have recommended R3 as the FE is way low.

Re: Suggestions Required For 250+ CC and 3 Lakhs Budget!

Thanks @The Monk & @Shashank Suresh for the suggestions. I'm hooked at the Benelli TNT 300 and Duke 390 now. I'm planning for a test ride tomorrow to experience them first hand. From the ownership experiences and reviews I've read, I understand Duke 390 is for speed and good value for money while TNT 300 is for comfort and stability. Is there anything beyond these basic differentiators that I'm missing? I'm considering Duke 390 and spend extra on accessories and may be upgrade to a 600+ Benelli in a year two. Is that a good decision?

Thanks

Re: Suggestions Required For 250+ CC and 3 Lakhs Budget!

Your milage of 35 is not gonna get you anywhere unless you stick with duke 200 or pulsar...

If you can wait for a month or so, see if pulsar cs 400 is launching else pick up from whats available in the market...

Re: Suggestions Required For 250+ CC and 3 Lakhs Budget!

I'm not very hard on the mileage part. From what I read online, will the CS 400 be similar to Duke 390 in specs and lesser in cost?

Re: Suggestions Required For 250+ CC and 3 Lakhs Budget!

That is correct.

Only major problem with duke is the tank range as it needs to be fed fuel every 200kms

Re: Suggestions Required For 250+ CC and 3 Lakhs Budget!

I visited DSK Benelli Chennai to test ride the TNT 300 and my experience with it was nothing short of amazing. Subramani and his team at DSK Benelli Chennai were amazing, answering all questions and providing long test rides (~15 KMs) to experience the TNT 300's capabilities. The bike does look bigger than the photos as many have said at xBhp. It definitely looked like a big brother of my FZ-16 -- check the photo below!



Coming from an FZ background, the comfort and handling it provides is amazing. I wasn't completely happy about its pickup when compared to Duke, and I'm saying this from my experience of trying a Duke 200. Most KTM showrooms in Chennai don't offer Duke 390 for test drive except the one on Adyar which is disappointing. After my initial experience with TNT 300, I'm thinking of dropping Duke 390 and research on TNT 300's worthy competitors (Z250 etc). On a side note, looking at the MT-03's news -- I feel I should wait for the announcement at the Auto Expo 2016 and base my decision later. Probably more 250+ CCs could be announced at the Auto Expo?

Few more pics from the Benelli Showroom:


TNT 300 - White!


TNT 25 - Red!


TNT 600i - Gold (Limited Edition)!


A video I shot to record the exhaust sound:

Re: Suggestions Required For 250+ CC and 3 Lakhs Budget!

Update: After spending last 2-3 weeks doing test rides and reading hundreds of posts at xBhp, here is what I feel or rather confused:

Option 1: To go with KTM Duke 390 and invest on accessories or wait until Auto Expo 2016 -- assuming Yamaha announces MT-03.

Option 2: Take a loan and pick either Kawasaki ER-6n or Benelli TNT 600i. I know this is beyond my original scope of the post, when I placed my budget at 3 Lakhs but I felt if I'm looking at long term -- I felt an upgrade to these would be good and also for the fact there are some good finances options available for these monsters.

Can the good hearted xBhpians help me out of my confusion, please? If you suggest Option 2, please recommend your choice between the both. For some reason, DSK Benelli seems to be pricing their models at higher price as there seems to be something fishy around Registration and Insurance charges. Can someone link me to a thread or link where I can calculate the registration charges? I want to make my decision over the weekend, please pour in your feedback or suggestions. Thanks in advance!

Re: Suggestions Required For 250+ CC and 3 Lakhs Budget!

BMW is launching it g310r in india auto expo 2016

Re: Suggestions Required For 250+ CC and 3 Lakhs Budget!

I am from Chennai and I own a black TNT 300.

What are the doubts you have ? PM me and we can talk in detail.

Thanks
Shashank

Re: Suggestions Required For 250+ CC and 3 Lakhs Budget!

Yes, I read about it but is this confirmed? I think the same with Yamaha MT-03, Baja CS400 and Honda CBR-400. All these are rumored to be released at AutoExpo. May be the best is to wait for 10 days to get the facts right!

Thanks Shashank, I PM'ed you with doubts.

Re: Suggestions Required For 250+ CC and 3 Lakhs Budget!

Vinay,

Wait a little longer for the Auto expo to complete. Expecting MT to be launched, which a great motorcycle. The cost will definitely be under check as it sheds the fairing, but not too much. It will still come well over 3.4L OTR.

If you are interested in sub 600 class and if you think you can take care of the maintenance part. Go for it. I have sent you a PM, have a look and let me know.

Re: Suggestions Required For 250+ CC and 3 Lakhs Budget!

If I were you, I would look for twin cylinders as my main criteria.

Re: Suggestions Required For 250+ CC and 3 Lakhs Budget!

Thanks for the suggestion, I was indeed planning to wait until Auto Expo 2016 but I guess I got carried away with my impulsiveness. I have PM'ed and WhatsApp'ed too about your 600i!

I'm also trying to understand on what basis is the cost price expensive for Benelli TNT300 when compared to Duke 390. I'm not comparing the two bikes directly as I understand Benelli has twin cylinder, bigger fuel tank, manufactured in India and so on. I couldn't get a clarity on why Benelli (3.55L) is priced 1.25 Lakhs more than Duke 390 (2.25L).

The more time I spend reading about other bikes, I felt TNT 600i and ER-6n were VFM for the price they are selling currently: TNT 600i is 6.28 Lakhs and ER-6n is 5.60 Lakhs. This is when I felt I would take a loan and upgrade to a better bike than feeling confused between Duke 390 vs Benelli TNT300 vs Yamaha R3 (or MT-03).

My idea of choosing a perfect bike might not be right but if you have any suggestions, please share them.