[aargee]

Originally Posted by parrys

But sometimes, you want all of that, and it's just super confusing as to what you are willing to let go

Hmm...that I don't think is possible when one has a clear mind. The common trait with most Indians is SPEED with FE. But one needs to understand they can either choose to remain PRACTICAL or live in world of FANTASY.

Practically speaking...
For instance, having to commute everyday for a distance of 40 Km round trip to office & having D390 is something to think about, but yes, if one makes more than what is required, even a Daytona is ok

Even if one has Daytona & makes sufficient money to fuel her & maintain, if one has to ride everyday in peak hours, it simply doesn't make sense for the torture

Talk about weekend rides or long distance touring...
Speed, shooting to 200 Kmph for 10 seconds is much different than riding in 120 Kmph for over 5 hours.
FE & tank capacity makes a huge difference when it comes to long distance touring
If it's only for a weekend spin for 100-200 Km, knock off the above points, but then the question remains, do they have enough 'moolah' (strictly no loans) to afford? Even if they do, putting down 800 Km a month for just weekend rides...is it worth?

Now if it one were to fantasize...there's no limit, one life, so go-ahead, take that loan, buy what you like; just don't stop with D390 or R25, go-ahead even with a Busa

[parrys]

Originally Posted by aargee

Hmm...that I don't think is possible when one has a clear mind. The common trait with most Indians is SPEED with FE. But one needs to understand they can either choose to remain PRACTICAL or live in world of FANTASY.

Practically speaking...
For instance, having to commute everyday for a distance of 40 Km round trip to office & having D390 is something to think about, but yes, if one makes more than what is required, even a Daytona is ok

Even if one has Daytona & makes sufficient money to fuel her & maintain, if one has to ride everyday in peak hours, it simply doesn't make sense for the torture

Talk about weekend rides or long distance touring...
Speed, shooting to 200 Kmph for 10 seconds is much different than riding in 120 Kmph for over 5 hours.
FE & tank capacity makes a huge difference when it comes to long distance touring
If it's only for a weekend spin for 100-200 Km, knock off the above points, but then the question remains, do they have enough 'moolah' (strictly no loans) to afford? Even if they do, putting down 800 Km a month for just weekend rides...is it worth?

Now if it one were to fantasize...there's no limit, one life, so go-ahead, take that loan, buy what you like; just don't stop with D390 or R25, go-ahead even with a Busa

Why is it not possible to have a clear mind?

I don't care much about speed, nor good FE.
I need *ABS*, that has been the rant I assume.

I agree on owning a superbike and all the ownership baggage that one has to carry.
But, 1. I don't have that kind of scratch. 2. I would never spend that much on a bike if ever I make that much scratch.

Currently, the stretched upper limit is 4 lakhs. And I would stick to that. No fantasy world.
Each bike has something different to offer, so waiting to get a test ride, all of them.

[sagarpadaki]

If ABS is main criteria , then CBR250R has the best ABS system out there currently . It also has the combined braking ABS system. KTM though has ABS, have heard owners not happy about how an when the ABS kicks .

[gsurya]

I have never ridden a bike in my life, though I had a Vespa for a long time, but not ridden a 2 wheeler for the last several years.

I am tempted to buy a touring bike like the Honda CBR 250R with the intention of doing some trips around India.

Should I directly jump into it as a first time biker? Or buy a Vespa again & then buy a bike in an year or so?

Or buy a commuter bike to get used to one before buying a bigger one?

Any advise from similar first time bikers welcome.

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by gsurya

Should I directly jump into it as a first time biker? Or buy a Vespa again & then buy a bike in an year or so?

Or buy a commuter bike to get used to one before buying a bigger one?

CBR has an un-intimidating power delivery below 7000 rpm and it is comfortable too. You can go for it preferably the ABS version. The seating position might get some time to get used to.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by parrys

The RC390 is going to be amazing value for money with the power on tap, and brilliant brakes to tap (ABS).

Not if they are similar to those on the Duke 390, which are not brilliant in my books at least (the 200's front brakes are so much better in every way). Yes the ABS (especially for a judicious old school rear braker like me, and especially in wet conditions) is a great boon. No arguing that. Most definitely when its packaged with great rubber as well.

But apart from that, I will only visit the RE showroom to just check out that 'Made Like Gun AGV Helmet', nothing else.

Any links? How much does it cost?

[parrys]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Any links? How much does it cost?

Here you go: http://royalenfield.com/accessories/...-helmet-black/

No idea about the cost.

I guess an RE showroom is the only place where you would get an AGV so easily. I may be wrong, but I haven't seen any store in the Mumbai region with brand new AGVs coming in. (In the recent past)

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by ebonho

How much does it cost?

About 4.5k, IIRC. Not worth it IMHO. Pathetic paddings! Co-incidentally/Intentionally, this AGV's build quality is in par with the RE's build quality!

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

About 4.5k, IIRC. Not worth it IMHO. Pathetic paddings! Co-incidentally/Intentionally, this AGV's build quality is in par with the RE's build quality!

Surprisingly in the old days when good riding gear was still a rarity and not yet universally caught on, it was the RE boys who led the way with good (and oftentimes very colorful) gear.

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Surprisingly in the old days when good riding gear was still a rarity and not yet universally caught on, it was the RE boys who led the way with good (and oftentimes very colorful) gear.

Sadly, now we see quite the opposite(No offence to the fully geared Bulleteers). Now these stereotype specimens are into the 'Branded' RE half face helmets, sunglasses and no other protection!

One good thing among this is, some people are picking up the 'RE' branded gears just for the branding which are still better than any roadside 'ISI' certified hell-mets and bomber jackets! One cookie from my side to RE for promoting safety gears!

[parrys]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

About 4.5k, IIRC. Not worth it IMHO. Pathetic paddings! Co-incidentally/Intentionally, this AGV's build quality is in par with the RE's build quality!

Thanks, that saved me a trip.

Build quality

Originally Posted by ebonho

Surprisingly in the old days when good riding gear was still a rarity and not yet universally caught on, it was the RE boys who led the way with good (and oftentimes very colorful) gear.

OT The colourful thing that I like on some of the bullets, the Leh-Ladakh prayer flags.

Let's get back to the bikes

[supremeBaleno]

Nice thread, parrys. And coincidently came at a time when I was going through similar confusion. Finally brought home a black CBR250R last Saturday.

[theredliner]

I'm also in a similar dilemma for my next year's planned upgrade. But my confusion is limited to RC390 and R25 as I'm looking at a sport bike. Here's my take,

1. RC390:
Pros - A pure sport bike with the best performance and probably the best handling under 4L. Has supersport specs like inverted forks, super sticky rubbers, clip ons with aggressive riding position etc. A proper bike for a supersport fan like me who cannot afford bikes like Daytona or the more expensive ones.
Cons - Quality issues associated with the KTMs(scary ones like rim cracking, coolant and oil mixing etc). Since Bajaj seems to be doing a lot of testing for the RCs, we can expect these to be taken care of, I guess.
200km tank. Seriously? When I first saw the pics of RC, I was happy that KTM fixed the small tank range of Duke. But when I read the specs, I was shocked to see that they made it even smaller! I'm not a hardcore tourer, but 200km is still too less. A minimum of 12l tank should have been given.

2. R25:
Pros - A parallel twin engine with 14000RPM redline, peace of mind of owning a Yamaha.
Cons - A name sake R series bike. More of a sport tourer(Fazer) than a proper R series supersport. i.e, high positioned handlebars similar to tourers, not as aggressive as R15 and no where near R125. Conventional forks(even an R125 has USDs), no deltabox frame.
Will probably have poorer handling than R15.
The above cons may look like cons only to those who were expecting sport/supersport characteristics for an R series bike.

3. Ninja 300:
Haven't really considered due to the price. The pros and cons are similar to R25, but the engine is more powerful. Costs a bomb especially compared to the expected price of RC390.

I personally haven't considered sport tourers so not going to comment on them.

[sriramv.iyer]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

If ABS is main criteria , then CBR250R has the best ABS system out there currently . It also has the combined braking ABS system. KTM though has ABS, have heard owners not happy about how an when the ABS kicks .

I am incredibly happy with the ABS in my D390 that I am planning to buy only bikes with ABS going forward. Saved my skin a few times!

There are only 3 bikes with ABS in the range that you have mentioned:
1. Apache RTR 180 - I have heard people talk very high about its ABS
2. CBR250R - I owned one, but without ABS. Super smooth and great ride. Not for out right acceleration. I have no idea about the ABS
3. D390 - I am in love :-) - Can't point out to any niggles (small fuel tank? Thats all I can think off) - Less manic than D200 and great for highways and an occasional thrills. Guaranteed to reduce the (mental) age by 5-10 years.

Have fun!

[hsub]

I am contributing to this thread as well since I own two of the bikes in the list: D390 & N300

I was in the same dilemma last year and went ahead with D390 since it got check marks against all critical points such as Performance, Safety and Cost of Ownership. D390 is a great package handles very well and is cheaper to maintain compared to N300. However for some reason I wasn't satisfied maybe it is because of the vibrations, occasional stalling or the clunky gearbox. All this while I had few friends who had N300s and gradually over many rides began to appreciate the quality/refinement that machine oozes.

Anyway fast forwarding to last week, one my friends was selling his N300 to upgrade and I just took an impulsive decision to buy it. Have done couple of short rides on it and love the bike. I can see myself being happy with the bike for few years before looking for an upgrade.

If one is looking to own this category of bike for a long time I would sincerely advice to consider N300 seriously. Yes it is expensive but you do get lot more and with used N300s hitting the markets cost factor also becomes marginal.