[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

ItReally goes on to show what an immature market india is. You think this would ever fly in the western civilisation?? Same product, exact same bike, different customers. Says a lot, doesn’t it?

Goes to prove, poverty is a mindset, a form of insecurity.

If the owner derives satisfaction from being ripped off then who are we to judge.

I still stand by the fact that a Pulsar with some money put into it can outperform the GS anyday and return way more smiles/rupee spent.

[Red Liner]

No further updates here? Guess everyone is at the interceptor party.

Anyone here have the bike? How is it treating you?

[nasirkaka]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Goes to prove, poverty is a mindset, a form of insecurity.

If the owner derives satisfaction from being ripped off then who are we to judge.

I still stand by the fact that a Pulsar with some money put into it can outperform the GS anyday and return way more smiles/rupee spent.

Why do we always have to judge a motorcycle by performance? Which basically equates to which bike has better acceleration or more top speed. These two definitely are important ingredients but not the entire pot of biryani. Different users (riders) expect different experience from their rides and this holistic experience is what i guess biking is all about. if we are talking of smiles, why measure it in rupees?

Not trying to justify, but i had the first gen duke 390 which we all know is a pocket rocket and rode it for 36k kms. Been riding the baby GS for only 4K kms and i really feel i have smiled equally on baby gs if not more. Definitely overpriced, but its a fun bike for our roads and off roads. I did try to convert my bullet to what baby gs is, i did try to convert my 390 to what baby gs is with little success. i doubt if i could convert a pulsar to do the same. Else why would KTM spend years in developing a 390ADV if a bolt-on ADV kit could do the same to 390 duke?

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by nasirkaka

Why do we always have to judge a motorcycle by performance? Which basically equates to which bike has better acceleration or more top speed. These two definitely are important ingredients but not the entire pot of biryani. Different users (riders) expect different experience from their rides and this holistic experience is what i guess biking is all about. if we are talking of smiles, why measure it in rupees?

True, I really do get that.

But what myself and a few other enthusiasts are pointing out is that the owners are being taken for a ride in the name of brand value.

Motorcycling as we know it has been adulterated a lot by big manufacturers factoring in on the niche customer which is fine but in the meanwhile it wouldn't hurt to pause and look back to factor in the limited resource you've put in i,e time, another unit of the same being Rupee.

Not trying to justify, but i had the first gen duke 390 which we all know is a pocket rocket and rode it for 36k kms. Been riding the baby GS for only 4K kms and i really feel i have smiled equally on baby gs if not more. Definitely overpriced, but its a fun bike for our roads and off roads. I did try to convert my bullet to what baby gs is, i did try to convert my 390 to what baby gs is with little success. i doubt if i could convert a pulsar to do the same. Else why would KTM spend years in developing a 390ADV if a bolt-on ADV kit could do the same to 390 duke?

Again makes sense, R&D costs more hence why we see factory motorcycles performing more reliably than custom builds.

And to be honest I wouldn't mind some of that cake provided its reasonably priced, reason being if I can get the same net result with some elbow grease and then some more put in then at least for me it doesn't make sense.

To think of it the people who popularized motorcycling did it on crappy(by today's standards) motorcycles by putting in a lot of sweat and toil into the mix and the results are evident even today.

It makes sense for brands to bring out a similar packages with a lot of R&D in it to straighten the nooks so that everyone can get a taste of the action, but with the sheer number of alternatives and free access to information you can't simply call out someone who sees things as it is and tries to get around on his own.

Since you mentioned the Duke 390, here's a quote from an article on Mohit Verma;

In three years, Mohit went from modified Bajaj discover 100cc to Unicorn and Karizma. Feeling confident Mohit got real and bought KTM Duke 390 in 2012.

“This bike has not only served me well but has also landed me a sponsorship from KTM. I was among the first in north India to start competing on KTM’s. It was launched in April 2012 and I used it during the J&K Mughal rally in June,” Mohit adds.

The 2015 has started well for the biker, who has a shop in Sector 28, Chandigarh. After a gap of one year, Mohit reclaimed podium at the 13th Desert Storm rally championship in Jaipur. Riding on his KTM Duke 390, the youngster clocked 2:4:58 hours to finish overall third place. Then in March he once again stamped his class in the SJOBA taking overall title. Over the years Mohit has had some close calls but the thrill of the ride beats everything.

This was just shared since you mentioned the Duke 390, I know very well that both motorcycles are in their own different classes as far as price and function goes.

And to sum it up, I do not own a BMW but the reason I'm taking time out of my life to share my thoughts is with the hope that it might help someone to look past the brand image of a product and see it as it is, especially considering that we're above the general census due to our passion for the net product i.e motorcycles and not merely into it for the bling.

Cheers.
A.P.

[Red Liner]

1 lakh less and we wouldn't be having any of these conversations. The baby gs would have ripped into the ktm 390's touring market like a hack saw.

This bike is overpriced by a lakh and thats that. 3.5 on road and suddenly would have become the best thing to have happened to the indian motorcycle market.

I think the upcoming 390 adv will be priced similarly to create a gulf between it and the duke version.

[nasirkaka]

But what myself and a few other enthusiasts are pointing out is that the owners are being taken for a ride in the name of brand value.

Definitely! All of us here including the auto journos and even the guys employed with BMW dealer feel the bike is overpriced. And that is the reason it will not do well over time in terms of sale. I think interceptor 650 would have gathered more bookings on day 1 compared to all the baby GS sold sofar. Its a good and comfortable bike and would have sold well if priced reasonably. I would be very happy to pick, if the same bike was branded as TVS and sold for a lakh less. Had to go with this one, as the only other bike available in this genere was himalayan which did not impress even after 3 different test rides. Took some courage in coughing up that extra lakh which we believe the bike is overpriced by. With time, we do tend to forget the cost of the bike, and once that factor is out of mind, the bike is fun thrown over bad roads and trails.

Motorcycling as we know it has been adulterated a lot by big manufacturers factoring in on the niche customer which is fine but in the meanwhile it wouldn't hurt to pause and look back to factor in the limited resource you've put in i,e time, another unit of the same being Rupee.

Yep, a very good example is the recent price launch of interceptor and GT, which brings the cost of ownership of a relatively big/multi-cylinder bike into a region unimaginable before. Goes to say the kind of margins these imported brands play with. We did not have much options earlier, but future looks better and competitive for biking in India and am sure we all will benefit.

[basuroy]

It is overpriced in the same sense an iphone is overpriced compared to a samsung but then we are all missing the major point why it commands that price in the first place - the badge on the fuel tank . And seen that way , it is priced precisely . The reason why a BMW is more premium than a Toyota has a lot to do with the number of each seen on road - the moment you see as many BMWs on the traffic stop as a corolla or city , it loses all its appeal just like a Rolls Royce will lose it appeal if it was as common as a BMW . And the way to maintain that relative scarcity is pricing and pricing alone . Brand value matters and often is make or break in automobile sector so the discussion on pricing is moot from where I sit .

My gripe with this bike is not the price though , it is the aesthetics - replace the BWM badge with a Suzuki or even TVS and no one will know the difference (plus price will be 1.5 lakh cheaper suddenly ). It is bland and unremarkable and looks like a gixxer. KTM has a unique look throughout the range - the 200c bikes don't feel like an afterthought when compared to the 1200 cc ; higher capacity BMW bikes can be be differentiated from the rest but this ? nopes . It is so unremarkable that it is a surprise really BMW even put their badge on it . Benelli puts more effort in making their 300cc bikes look special.

[Ajaybiz]

Few pics of my baby GS, still do we have someone to say that it should be compared to Pulsar

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Ajaybiz

Few pics of my baby GS, still do we have someone to say that it should be compared to Pulsar

Looks like 1L of accessories or more.

Have documented the list anywhere? Looks interesting - and where were the modifications done?

[Ajaybiz]

Around 200K

Hepco & Becker tank guard
Hepco & Becker engine guard
Hepco & Becker top box adapter plate and aluminium explorer series top box
Ram Mount
BMW Hand guard
SSB Motorrad centre stand
SSB Motorrad SRC GPS, Phone Mount
SSB Motorrad Mach 1 aux lights
MV Motorrad handle bar raisers
Tall Windshield with support steel bars
Engine bash plate
Side stand toe
Radiator guard
Rear Brake toe extender
Front fender extender
Rear fender extender
Wider Foot pegs
Mirror extender
Front mudguard extender
Italian made Tank pad
Beretta Tank Knee Grip protector

Mostly done at gearngear Bangalore and few DIY.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Ajaybiz

Around 200K

That's two pulsars worth accessories. How can anyone compare then?

Also read now in the SMALL v/s BIG bike thread that the bike is up for sale. After all these customizations? Hard to get the full value for accessories especially.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

200th bike delivered from Tusker Bangalore was a G310R, and the same was delivered to Kannada Superstar Puneeth Rajkumar.

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

200th bike delivered from Tusker Bangalore was a G310R, and the same was delivered to Kannada Superstar Puneeth Rajkumar.

Attachment 1822456

Did he buy it for his driver

Probably paid promotion from BMW.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by Ajaybiz

Few pics of my baby GS, still do we have someone to say that it should be compared to Pulsar

Well, I'll let you be the judge of that.

Here's Sahyadris price list;



Here's the very first iteration of their motorcycle;



They've ridden their Pulsars through the length and breadth of Indonesia before setting shop in India. If you were wondering about build quality/reliability.

My own Pulsar is one of their builds. For me the overall cost was under 25k for mods including panniers and the works and insanely high shipping charges due to the bulk and weight of parts shipped.

Cheers.

[Ajaybiz]

Its like putting MRF tires on Rolls Royce, no offence but there's something called taste in life, sorry but forget using these stuff for free, I would not like to be seen with these stuff even if I get paid

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Well, I'll let you be the judge of that.