[Harbir]

Hi guys, I need some discussion on selecting a bike.

The guy at my farm who acts as the overall manager used to ride a Discover. Any work he did on my behalf that he needed the bike for, I compensated him at the rate of 2 rupees a KM, for fuel, maintenance, depreciation, etc. For reasons that are not relevant here, he doesn't have the bike anymore and can't buy another one since he just built a house and is trying to pay off all the people he borrowed from. So now he uses a bicycle or buses to do the work I want done and I don't feel happy about that. Quite apart from the time wastage, I just think it degrades his dignity.

So I am considering that I will buy a motorcycle for his use. I'm thinking that I'll let him use it for all his own personal purposes but he'll pay for all fuel, maintenance, etc even for work he does on my behalf.

The question then comes up on what bike to buy. My inclination is that since 90% of the use is runs to the nearest village which is 3km away and the rest is to the nearest town (15km away), and there is no daily commute, it need not be anything more than a good basic motorcycle. I'm thinking something fuel efficient and very reliable with very cheap maintenance.

My first inclination is to buy the cheapest Hero Honda (now just hero), which is the CD-Dawn.

Would the Platina be a better choice than the CD-Dawn at the bottom of the market?

Is there any reason for me to spend more money on something like a Honda Dream Yuga? How about the Hayate?

your input would be highly appreciated

[agambhandari]

For an economical bike, the dream yuga is the best delivers over 70 kmpl without any problem.

But the hero bikes have cheaper and lesser maintenance. Albeit with a little lesser power and fuel efficiency.
rather than the cd dawn get the cd deluxe, due to its better looks it has much better resale as well

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by Harbir

Hi guys, I need some discussion on selecting a bike........your input would be highly appreciated

I would strongly recommend a Bajaj Boxer 150. Specifically made for rural areas, it is powerful, robust, returns decent mileage, will be cheap to maintain since it doesn't have any fancy DTSi stuff and will not cost you above 50k INR on road. It is NOT advertised on the Bajaj Auto website, but will be definitely available with the dealer. Check out reviews about this bike on various websites like zigwheels, motoroids, bsmotoring etc.

Cheers,
Vikram

[mac187]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

I would strongly recommend a Bajaj Boxer 150. Specifically made for rural areas, it is powerful, robust, returns decent mileage, will be cheap to maintain since it doesn't have any fancy DTSi stuff and will not cost you above 50k INR on road.

I second this. Boxer is built for tough conditions and it can take the abuse of farm usage. Suggest you to check it out in person, its no looker but gets the job done. Earlier models used to come with a tough luggage carrier below the rear seat. The rear seat could be removed to find a sturdy carrier which can haul heavy materials, not sure if this is still comes with one.

I wouldnt suggest Platina as it a light vehicle meant to deliver mileage and mileage alone. Since you are buying, look for a bike with lower input cost to derive maximum value. Yuga, Hayate would be on higher side of cost and maintenance.

[anujmishra]

Why are you thinking of buying a new bike for him? Instead you can get plenty of bikes in used market below 20,000 Rupees..

With this you can save 30,000 plus Rupees and a decent bike like Splendor from Hero would not ask for more maintenance. If I were you, I would have gone with this option.

[dkaile]

I was thinking of buying my office manager a CD Dawn two years back, but I upgraded my budget a little and got him a Honda Twister. He's loving every moment of it and its ultra reliable and ultimately cost effective for me. I had got my factory manager a TVS City a few years back and he's driven it something like 50k kms. That too is a ultra reliable bike though it has required some maintenance seeing the overall more distance it has covered. I would suggest you the Twister for now.

[Sheel]

Harbir,

Have a good look at this http://www.tvsmax4r.com/ It has twin rear shock absorbers. For carrying loads & being robust, few shall equal it.

My brother who is a construction contractor got one of this & the other was a Dream Yuga.

[ebonho]

Whatever you buy, pick something with a sturdy double downtube chassis and preferably sump protection. That rules out bikes where the engine is a stressed member.

[Mpower]

We buy bikes for our factory employees. Experience says that Hero Honda products although more expensive to buy but more reliable in the long run and fetch better resale.

Reliability is key because these guys don't treat it well.

[amit_purohit20]

I guess people have come out with good options for you. I frankly don't agree with ebonho about engine being stressed member or not. Although technically he is correct but I think every company tests their products enough for Indian conditions.
If you want a good reliable bike for rural conditions:
1) Fuel efficiency: You dont want this bike for your self use, so I recommend not going for 150 cc bikes as they will be less fuel efficient.
2) Inclines in the village. If the village has lots of ghats and steep inclines like in some villages in Maharashtra and other places a 150 cc is a must for good long term reliability and load carrying capacity.For minor inclines a 100 cc will be fine.
3) Go for bikes which are built by company for rural purpose. The advantages are they are designed keeping in mind rural abuse or intended use. Less plastic parts. Removable seat, Chassis members modified to tie loads and carry loads. Some have sump guard. Luggage carrier behind the pillion seat to carry loads. A basic round head lamp easy to maintain and cheap spares.
4) With my experience reliability wise in decreasing order: Hero Honda, TVS, Bajaj.
5) Spare parts cost in increasing order: Bajaj, TVS, Hero honda.
6) Check the availability of spare parts in your location, decreasing order of availability: Hero Honda, Bajaj, TVS. (It might change in your location.)

My choice: CD Dawn, TVS Star city, Bajaj Boxer 150 cc, and yes the TVS MAX 4R.
My choice if you are in North: CD Dawn.
If you are in South: TVS MAX 4R.
If you are in Hilly region: Bajaj Boxer 150 cc.

[Bazinga]

My options:
1. TVS Star City
2. Honda - Dream Yuga
3. Bajaj Platina
4. Hero CD-Dawn

Select the one where the showroom / service station is the closest for servicing and spares.

[phamilyman]

I have seen far too many doodh walas with TVS Star city around gurgaon. Surely they would've found it as reliable as the rajdoot it replaced

[Harbir]

Thanks for all the comments so far. This is in the plains of haryana so no issues with having to climb hills. Also, there is no load carrying to be done so thats not an issue either, though he will transport his family on it and come to think of it, he used to use his motorcycle to bring the LPG cylinder for the house. The roads are fairly decent in the area as well.

I vaguely recall seeing a shop selling new motorcycles in the nearby village. I'll go check out which brand it is. I have some recollection that it was Bajaj. But I also know that the bike I see most often in the area is the Hero Honda Splendor.

I am seeing that the CD-Dawn is about 35,000 for the basic model, ex showroom, about 41,000 for the hayate, and 45,000 for the dream yuga. I am having a hard time figuring out what possible benefit I could derive from spending any more than what a CD Dawn costs.

I am staying away from used motorcycles because I don't want to inherit a bike with problems for us, but I guess I should look into it.

[ghodlur]

IMO you need to skip the Hayate's and the Yuga's and stick to either Hero or Bajaj bikes. My choice would be the Bajaj Platina - fuel efficient + good after sales.

BTW which is the nearest Bike dealer and workshop available in your town/city?

[Gomzy]

I would recommend you to go in for a Bajaj Make bike since its a bit easy on the maintenance and is a workhorse, i had previously owned the Wind 125 which did not give me any kind of problem whatsoever after which i graduated to the P220. The Platina is built on the same platform of that of the Wind 125.
The Platina would cost you around 40K.

You also have Discover range to choose from.

Point me if i am wrong but isn't the Boxer out of production?