[neil.jericho]

I guess that this shouldn't come as a surprise to any of the regulars in the Motorbikes section of our forum, but I voted for the Himalayan 450 as the TBHP 2 Wheeler of the Year, 2023. While there are a lot of contenders in this year's poll, there were only 3 or 4 serious options and among them, it felt like the Himalayan 450 was always going to be the front runner.

Here are my top picks of 2023's 2 wheelers

1. Royal Enfield Himalayan 450
The big bike feel with mass market affordability. The specs are exactly what enthusiasts wanted. The price is lower than what most of us expected. All that remains for some of us, is the eventual availability of tubeless rims. When I first checked it out, I predicted that this is going to be a smash hit for Royal Enfield. A few weeks later, I feel even more strongly about that sentiment. Well done, Royal Enfield.

2. Kawasaki ZX4R
How many of us active TBHP motorcycle enthusiasts who grew up in the 90s, dreamt about small inline fours that you could rev till kingdom come, and still not be doing insane speeds. I honestly never thought that such a motorcycle would get launched in India. Kudos to Kawasaki for manufacturing such a brilliant little motorcycle, when the rest of the world has been going in the opposite direction, and secondly, for audaciously launching it in India at a price that is fair. The fact that the bike is sold out until Q2 of next year speaks to the growing maturity of the Indian market.

3. Honda Transalp XL 750
After their noticeable inactivity led to Honda losing a lot of steam in the superbike segment, the Japanese giant has quietly launched the excellent Transalp XL 750. For owners of big adventure bikes that are getting up there in age (the bike, not the owner!), the Honda Transalp XL 750 is an excellent lateral switch. Not every adventure bike owner wants to / can upgrade to a heavier, bigger GS1250 segment motorcycle which costs Rs 25+ L. The lack of tubless tires is a noticeable miss at this price point, and an inexcusable one at that. Despite that omission, I see Honda dealers selling out all their Transalp inventory in India.

4. TVS Apache RTR 310
When the original RR310 was launched, everyone wondered what an Apache version of it would look like. On paper, TVS has loaded the bike to the gills. All that technology has led to the price steadily moving up towards its bigger capacity competitors. That said, I am yet to see one on the roads. Once dealers start getting the bikes into the hands of owners, I am sure that the RTR 310 will start seeing some decent numbers every month.

5. KTM Duke 390
The eagerly awaited successor of the previous gen KTM hasnt disappointed, on paper, at least. However, KTM being KTM, the new product has had a lot of teething issues, some of which are documented on the forum. You certainly will not find all this with its competitors. That said, once KTM irons out the initial bugs, the Duke 390 will be a great motorcycle to hoon around in.

Im sure some of you are wondering about the Triumph Speed 400 and the Scrambler 400 X not being on my top 5 list for the year. I understand why it is a forum darling. In the real world though, the bikes lost their sheen soon after they were launched. The excitement that the larger motorcycle community had with the launch of the Himalayan 450 was 25x (conservatively?) the buzz that the Triumph twins got. YMMV, of course. Admittedly the bikes do have a lot going for them, especially on the value for money front. However, with its stare and you miss it vanilla styling, inability to sell despite constant Rs 10K discounts, awful dealers (hopefully the newer ones bring more buyers into the Triumph family) and Bajaj's inability to think about the Triumph brand, Im not very high on the Triumph Speed 400 and Scrambler 400 X. In the long run, I see these motorcycles completely diluting the Triumph brand in India.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Here are my top picks of 2023's 2 wheelers

Why Neil? Why? Why Triumph didn't make it on your list?

Originally Posted by Axe77

Speed 400 or Himalayan 450? At the time of writing this, I still cant decide which way to cast my vote between these two.

I had the same confusion, the reasons I voted for Triumph were
1. Triumph has proven a few months over RE
2. RE, as always has niggling issues & stabilizes over time

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Grabbing ~31 % of the votes on this poll, the Royal Enfield Himalayan is the Team-BHP 2-Wheeler of the Year, 2023!



We had a star-studded list this year with the likes of the Triumph Speed and Scrambler X 400s, KTM Duke 390, Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650, Kawasaki ZX4R and River Indie! The Triumph Speed 400 gave the Royal Enfield a run for its money - gathering 28% of votes and ending up second in the poll.

Royal Enfield has been making significant strides in the market - and has come a long way since 2018 when the 650 twins were launched and ended up winning the first Team BHP two-wheeler award. Since then - Royal Enfield has consistently delivered - winning the award 3/5 times now, with the Hunter 350 last year and now with the Himalayan. More interestingly, Royal Enfield even competed hard with itself this year - the Super Meteor 650 ending up third in the poll after capturing 11% of votes.

Way to go RE - looking forward to your future product launches with the same enthusiasm!

[Gautham_v6]

Well, right before Himalayan 452 was launched, the Triumph speed 400 had a very convincing edge as this year's favorite. But I have to say, Royal Enfield definitely surpised us all by bringing an all new Himalayan and also making lot of fans , especially people who would have been unimpressed with thE OG 1st generation Himalayan 411.

[100Kmphormore]

As someone who had a look last sunday, voted day before and test rode it today, my vote still goes to the Himalayan 450 just because of its versatility. The Speed 400 too is impressive but it cannot do all of what the 450 can.

[VijayAnand1]

A deserving title for the Himalayan 450, voted for the Himalayan. On another note, if only the Aprilia RS457 was included in the pool before IBW, especially with the pricing fiasco of its antagonist Yamaha R3, undoubtedly the Aprilia would have been a decent runner up. With an ex-showroom price of 4.10 lakhs, excellent power and torque figures, the Aprilia would have hands down won polls. I am sure if there was ever a poll for twins ever again, Aprilia would be it, hands down.

Cheers!
VJ

[surjaonwheelz]

If the Triumph 400 votes are combined (Speed + Scambler) then the Bajaj-Triumph platform wins!

Super Meteor 650 getting more than twice the votes of the Duke 390 is surprising. This Duke is supposed to be more like the 1st gen one but only lost the value for money tag over the years.

If I zoom out and see the two wheeler companies, Siddhartha Lal & Rajiv Bajaj stands out to me as leaders of the industry! Both in their capacity have given us motorcycles to enjoy.

Few more blockbuster motorcycles are expected from them in 2024 including the biggest Pulsar!

Happy riding,
surjaonwheelz