[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by vroom77

Needs:

1. Has to be sub 1 lac tag.
2. Quick low to midrange
3. A good refined engine
4. Occasional touring - Once a month around 300kms one side.
5. No bajaj ( no offense to the gazillion pulsars running strong)
6. Looks do matter.

Your help and opinions are very much appreciated.

Firstly , when you talk of mileage of 50+ kmpl forget Yamahas. FZ/Fazer would return you nothing more than 35kmpl within a year of ownership.

Going by your requirements only bike in current scenario that would be bang-for-the-buck is Pulsar 200NS. Trust me, its a lot of bike for the price and is light-years ahead of the older generation pulsars.

Any other bike that comes close in that sub 1lakh bracket is the RTR180-ABS. Known to be the fastest accelerating(0-100 sprint) bike(till KTM200/CBR250R/Pulsar 200NS came in) and the ABS actually works like a charm. Would return anything between 42-45kmpl. Handling is well known of as CSS(California Supebike School) folks give you RTRs(if you dont get your own bike) when they conduct sessions in MMSC,Chennai every year

ZMR again is an excellent tourer and does decently in city traffic too but its super heavy which eventually hampers the handling a bit.

But if you can compromise on the power a bit you might wanna have a look at the Honda Trigger(a refreshed Unicorn it is). On similar lines is the Suzuki GS150R. The 6th cog(on GS) is a boon for those highway runs.

Finally, I would suggest you go ahead a take a test ride of all the bikes you shortlist. Its never about buying the perfect bike, but adapting to the machine that leads to perfection. Wish you a happy biking

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Only thing is I am not sure if Fazer handles better than ZMA, yes the broader tires does give you better grip & riding dynamics but the handling capabilities of ZMA are top notch & one of the best out there.

(Personally I feel ) It does. I shod my P-180 V1 (the one you had) with Pirelli SD's carrying it all the way from Pune, but it didn't make much of a difference (Now I think it was more mental than anything)

On the Karizma, I scraped pegs (unintentionally) the very second day. But, I would say that the FZ/Fazer series handles better & is very sure footed. I mean you would know the way both corner.

[MotoNanu]

I would say try the Honda Unicorn. Butter smooth engine, robust build and excellent quality. The styling department is a bit let down but the bike is an excellent machine.

Personally, I have never liked the Fazer/ FZ. R15 is not meant for day to day riding IMHO, I find the posture very inconvenient. GS150 is a nice bike is what I have heard with excellent seating posture, no idea about the maintenance of the same.

PS: Please edit the title of the thread, it is Suzuki GS150 and not TVS. Or am I missing something about TVS here?

[vroom77]

Note from Mod: There are several spelling & grammatical errors in your posts. This negatively affects the board experience for other readers.

Kindly ensure that you proof-read your posts prior to submission. Also, it would be a good idea to use spell-checkers.

[vroom77]

Originally Posted by MotoNanu

I would say try the Honda Unicorn. Butter smooth engine, robust build and excellent quality. The styling department is a bit let down but the bike is an excellent machine.

Personally, I have never liked the Fazer/ FZ. R15 is not meant for day to day riding IMHO, I find the posture very inconvenient. GS150 is a nice bike is what I have heard with excellent seating posture, no idea about the maintenance of the same.

PS: Please edit the title of the thread, it is Suzuki GS150 and not TVS. Or am I missing something about TVS here?

Unicon as a bike is a no-brainer as suggested by many. Unfortunately I didn't like the way it looks. Yes you are right with the typo its Suzuki not TVS. Can mods help me with changing the title please ?

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by vroom77

Unicon as a bike is a no-brainer as suggested by many. Unfortunately I didn't like the way it looks.

When unicorn hit the shelf(read almost half a decade ago), for HONDAs ,India was a "land of snake-charmers". All they wanted to do here was dump the remains of their stone-age models. Make no mistake even the then-uber-cool ZMA was actually shod with a 20 year old tech engine(the 17bhp, 223cc). So , one didn't really expect handsome bikes but fuel-efficient ones from them. Its finally after their divorce with Hero they came out with the CBR series.

Heck, even R15 isn't a newbie developed for us, but actually a vixon150 in sporty looking clothes.

Getting back to the topic on handling department FZ is a better handler hands down, but with sheer torque and better power the ZMA would kill the FZ once you exit the corner

[CARDEEP]

Hi @vroom77

If the the Pulsars do not cut the ice for you, the Hero bikes are the best bet IMO. These bikes are identical to Honda, but as far as I understand Hero engineers tune these for better low end torque & mileage. Also, there are much more service centers for Hero as compared to Honda or any other bike maker.

[tachobells]

Originally Posted by vroom77

What do you all think ? Fazer or no Fazer ? Should I pick up anything else. If style is not an issue

Handling, Power, reliability, refinement - What do you suggest an equivalent to Fazer ? Suzuki GS150 & R15 & Fazer. Would have been very happy with GS150 + styling of R15 . 50+km mileage, good tech and reasonably good build quality overall.

Your help and opinions are very much appreciated.

I own a Fazer. It's a very good bike for city drives and occasional weekend rides around the city.

It has good low to mid end grunt. But, on the highway, you'll feel it underpowered after 80 kmph. I've not done any 100+ kms drive on it, but the ergonomics aren't so good for 300+ kms ride. It's essentially an FZ with a fairing and a modified handle.

Buy Fazer for its looks, a refined engine, handling, stability, reliability.
Don't buy if you're too concerned about long drive ergonomics, fuel efficiency, pillion driver comfort and high speed runs.

[pganapathy]

Accept that mileage on any 150 to 200 cc bike will be very dependent on your riding style. Getting anything over 50 can only be achieved by very careful riding. My achiever gives me around 40 in daily riding and between 25 and 30 on the highway (I redline it in every gear all the way). If I ride it carefully I will get 50 or a bit over it.

[vroom77]

Originally Posted by vroom77

Note from Mod: There are several spelling & grammatical errors in your posts. This negatively affects the board experience for other readers.

Kindly ensure that you proof-read your posts prior to submission. Also, it would be a good idea to use spell-checkers.

Sure will do that. Thanks for pointing out.

[amit_purohit20]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

Firstly , when you talk of mileage of 50+ kmpl forget Yamahas. FZ/Fazer would return you nothing more than 35kmpl within a year of ownership.

Going by your requirements only bike in current scenario that would be bang-for-the-buck is Pulsar 200NS. Trust me, its a lot of bike for the price and is light-years ahead of the older generation pulsars.
..... Wish you a happy biking

Bang on Post. Straight from my heart and a very honest opinion indeed.

@Vroom:
To cut it short (For everything below 1 lakh INR):
If you want a bike with refined engine : Suzuki GS 150 and Unicorn/CBZ extreme. I would now like to add Pulsar 200 NS to this.
If you want a bike with refined engine with good Power: ZMA.
If you want a bike with refined engine and good pickup and below 1 lakh: There existed none until Pulsar 200 NS was born.
If you want a bike with excellent pickup and ready to compromise on the refinement: RTR 180 No Doubt.
If you want a bike with excellent touring capabilities (Both On and Off road): ZMA no doubt. (Not ZMR)
If you want fuel efficiency: Unicorn and only Unicorn or you did be better off with 100 cc bikes.
If you want mediocre refinement,mediocre power and pickup,low fuel efficiency and with good handling and grippy tyre: Fazer/FZ.

Of all the above categories Pulsar 200 NS either excels in one or more category or at least comes close second. Its an all-rounder and you will really no more be disappointed by its inspiring handling,brakes, engine smoothness, butter shift gears and the grip levels provided by the fat tyres.
Below 1 lakh none other bike beats Pulsar 200 NS Period! And as some one has said it can no more be compared to earlier Pulsars.

[Octane_Power]

To all fellow BHP-ians who are suggesting the Pulsar 200 NS to vroom, no offense here but he has mentioned "No Bajaj".

Coming to it, I would never recommend anyone to buy a Bajaj instead of a much better package like the Unicorn or the ZMA.

I have seen 10s of Pulsars which are oo-soo-good in the first two years but then I don't know what goes wrong with them but their engines and gear shifts turn quite rough and unrefined. While, Unicorns and even ZMA's stay the same butter smooth (with only bare minimum maintenance) even after 5-6 years of riding.

A friend of mine owns the 200NS and he has nurtured his bike like a baby(proper breaking in, timely maintenance etc.) but when I ride his bike or sit pillion, there is a constant "grrrrrr" of the motor beneath, its just not refined enough(this adds to body fatigue in a big way in the long run).

It's quite disturbing and makes the ride uncomfortable(the braking and power delivery is excellent miles ahead of my Unicorn but the Silky smooth feel of Honda is what makes me choose the Unicorn over the 200NS. I can't put it in words but Bajaj just lacks that "special" feel which Honda has in its engines )

After riding my Unicorn when I ride my friend's P180, it feels like I have been asked to eat a plain loaf of bread after having excellent Butter Chicken.
There are some bikes, which even though have turned quite old are still better than other new-age bikes (e.g Unicorn, Shine, ZMA).
P.S. I am not being biased to Honda, no offense to anyone.

-Bhargav

[amit_purohit20]

Originally Posted by Octane_Power

To all fellow BHP-ians who are suggesting the Pulsar 200 NS to vroom, no offense here but he has mentioned "No Bajaj".
.....P.S. I am not being biased to Honda, no offense to anyone.

-Bhargav

I was of your same perspective before I had ridden the 200 NS. I myself stayed away from a Pulsar while purchasing my own bike the same reason as you stated. But I think the technology now is far ahead of the earlier pulsars as its been borrowed over from KTM. Coming to the grr sound it might be one off, because I have not got similar feedback from other owners. Please get that bike checked at service station!
Coming to the smoothness of Unicorn, no doubt its the smoothest engine I have ever heard but the plain boring drive it offers is really not interesting to drive for long. Personally I did prefer to drive a powerful bike with fun to drive factor rather than driving a boring butter smooth engine with no fun factor.
Put in the long touring capabilities and with you that the butter smoothness is required for munching miles.

[Vivek Jayan]

I feel that you should consider the 200NS as an option just because of it's superior tech and stunning looks. It's essentially a slightly less agressive KTM Duke 200. It's a Bajaj, yes, but that only makes it easier for you to find service centers during your long highway drives if anything ever went wrong. I implore you to do a TD of it before you finalize on anything else. It's brand new tech for under 1 lakh as some pointed out. In Kerala, it is slightly over a lakh so it is a pretty sweet deal if you get it for under a lakh! You can get reasonable FE by being easy on the throttle. It is also a capable handler. It also looks waaay better than many bikes on the market today IMO.

My brother owns the first gen Hero Honda Karizma. Bought it back in 2004. Do note that it is a real workhorse. Pulls like crazy, strong brakes, handles extremely well (better than Apache or Pulsar 220), awesome touring capability, good material quality. Brother once did a to and fro trip from Trivandum to Calicut in it once with no issues what so ever. That's around 900 to 1000 kms of hassle free motoring. He never had any handling issues in the city as well. Its an ageing model but it has stood the test of time. Used to give FE of 40 to 45 kpl. You could consider it too. Cheers!

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by Vivek Jayan

My brother owns the first gen Hero Honda Karizma. Bought it back in 2004. Do note that it is a real workhorse. Pulls like crazy, strong brakes, handles extremely well (better than Apache or Pulsar 220), awesome touring capability, good material quality.

Now that statement is a little too over the top. For better understanding of APACHE's handling capabilities you should talk to people who are regular to the tracks. Its only 2nd to R15 , and would re-iterate :

California SuperBike School who organise their training session every year in MMSC,Chennai provide you Apache RTRs for track days. Gotta be some reason. innit?

Getting back to the TS(ThreadStarter), if you are hell bent on avoiding BAJAJ, would suggest you look at the Hero/Honda 150 bunch(Trigger,HUNK,CBZ et al). Nobody else provides you a butter smooth engine returning ~50kmpl.