[imp!]

Hi Guys,

A friend is looking for a bike for city commute with a budget of 2.5L. He has always wanted a Bullet Classic 500 and, this time, he is bent on getting one. I've been trying to talk him out of it due to reliability issues, not really being practical for city commute etc.

He is finally willing to consider other bikes. The following are the ones we are looking at:

1) Honda CBR 250R, but is it a little old now maybe?

2) KTM 200,250, 390, all in the mix, but, I used to own a 390 and it was really hot for city commute

3) BMW 310, too expensive, but will have to see if the budget can be stretched

4) Kawasaki Ninja 400, same problem as the Bimmer

5) Kawasaki Z250, same problem as 3&4

6) Enfield 350/500, is it really worth consider this?

He is never going to go touring on it. The use will be City and Highways around Bangalore. What would you suggest?

Thanks!

[ruzbehxyz]

The RE bullet will definitely have mixed reviews. Many RE owners love their bikes to the core no matter what and the others move to better bikes. Well the debate is not for RE vs other bikes. The 500cc is more for touring and long highway rides. If he is hell bent on buying a RE then the 350 is a better option for city rides and occasional highway rides. In addition, if he takes a test ride then he will definitely like the 500cc because of the punch.

[imp!]

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

The RE bullet will definitely have mixed reviews. Many RE owners love their bikes to the core no matter what and the others move to better bikes. Well the debate is not for RE vs other bikes. The 500cc is more for touring and long highway rides. If he is hell bent on buying a RE then the 350 is a better option for city rides and occasional highway rides. In addition, if he takes a test ride then he will definitely like the 500cc because of the punch.

If it's RE, it has to be the 500. he won't settle for the 350. He is coming from a decade old Pulsar 220. I'm trying to get him to see what modern bikes are capable of. They're at-least 20 years removed form what he is used to. Thing is, he is going all out budget wise for the bike, I just don't want him shelling out large sums every few months for maintenance.

[Maverick5490]

The Bajaj Dominar is also a good contender in this price range especially for daily usage.

[imp!]

Originally Posted by Maverick5490

The Bajaj Dominar is also a good contender in this price range especially for daily usage.

He's not getting another Bajaj. After 10+ years of the Pulsar, he wants to get something else.

[ruzbehxyz]

Originally Posted by imp!

He's not getting another Bajaj. After 10+ years of the Pulsar, he wants to get something else.

The Dominar is a very good bike and very ahead of the older generation Pulsar.
A test ride can be taken. It proves to be an excellent city cruiser and occasional highway cruiser.

[Funny]

You may add Mojo 300 into the mix. It comes around 2.2L OTR Bangalore. Although it is mostly a tourer, but few people find its relaxed riding posture good for city use as well. I own one and have used within the city for about 30K kms. It is not so common even today after almost 3 yrs of its launch. So if you want a bike with "unique" looks then it might be worth considering. The looks are odd but it grows on you overtime. I'm not really recommending it for city use since its best fit for touring rather than city. But what the heck, do give it a try and see if feels good within city. Mojo dealers usually give you longish test rides, so it'll be easy to decide if it can be a good choice within the city.

[SchumiFan]

The FZ25 will be cheaper and more suited than all bikes mentioned above. It has ample torque at low rpms itself and can tour on the highways when and if time calls.

If ABS is not a mandatory requirement for him, do ask him to test the bike out. I brought the FZ-S rear disc some time in June and have done two 350km+ trips on it. It performed well so I think the 250cc will be even better for your friend.

[The Great]

My suggestions in preferences order:

CBR 250 - Smooth, Tried and tested bike, fun. An upgrade to the 220.

FZ25 - All round package at a superb price.

Dominar - Unbeatable value for money for the bike specs.

Duke 250 - Stylish and fun. Give this a serious thought.

Apache 200 - Great bike for city usage.

Classic 500 - If proper care taken this bike is also great to own. (have owned one in the past and its the best from the RE stable IMO. Period)

Coming from the P220 which was an aggressive bike, he has to now first decide that he wants a total hooligan or a smooth ride with good amounts of fun.

The above bikes all are high on fun factor and each bike has proved its worth. The other bikes that you have shortlisted are an overkill for exclusive city usage. Also if he is open to the used market a Kawasaki Z-250 would also be awesome to own, since the resale is not that high he might pick up a fairly less used bike for a great deal.

Test rides are the key. Because on paper something might look excellent but in my experience the test rides will give you that signal, because not all decisions have to be rational.

[dhruvtanwar]

As far as addressing his primary need for a city commuter go, the two best options he has are the RE Thunderbird (350 or 500, as he prefers) and the Yamaha FZ25.
I personally use a RE TB350 for everyday use and the occasional weekend on the highway. Reliability is spot on, so long as the bike stays in one hand. Share it with friends and the different riding styles will definitely play with its condition and reliability. That is true for all REs. The new aavatar of the RE TB in its "urban form" as the X is pretty good too. A 350 more than suffices all urban commuting requirements, is one of the most comfortable bikes around, and will return a mileage in the ballpark of 38-42 kmpl. The 500cc version will see the same, however with a lower mileage of around 25-28 kmpl.

The FZ 25 is a great bike, with Yamaha's assured reliability,styling, and build quality.
Points of note:
1. Hold off a few months and you'll have ABS as standard on whichever bike your friend buys, once the new safety norms kick in around April 2019.
2. It essentially boils down to what kind of riding position your friend would like: Streetfighter of the FZ25 (given he's been a Pulsar owner for a decade, he should find this adequately comfortable), or Cruiser (on the Thunderbirds).
3. Riding style: REs perform best under non-aggressive riders. If your friend has a penchant for accelerations, he shouldn't consider the RE at all. The Yamaha FZ25 would be better (and since we're talking about this, anything like a Suzuki Gixxer, or a perworshipped diva from the KTM / Apache / Kawasaki stable, even the Honda CBR 250R will make more sense).

Do tell him to wear all safety gear and ride safe no matter which one he eventually chooses!

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by imp!

He is finally willing to consider other bikes. The following are the ones we are looking at:

1) Honda CBR 250R, but is it a little old now maybe?

Makes crappy torque down low, I doubt someone of normal weight would be able to use the motorcycle for city use without eventually dying of boredom.

Originally Posted by imp!

2) KTM 200,250, 390, all in the mix, but, I used to own a 390 and it was really hot for city commute

Makes decent torque down low but the way it makes it is scary(I don't mean the 'give throttle-pop wheelie kinda scary', but the 'excess load on crank due to commuting in tall gear' kinda scary) for commuting, cause there is not so much a higher compression can mask without prematurely wearing down.

Originally Posted by imp!

3) BMW 310, too expensive, but will have to see if the budget can be stretched

Overpriced and doesn't offer anything special that a cheaper commuter doesn't, but since your friend wants to shell 2.5L on commuting I presume he is more towards form than function and cares a little too much about his public perception and the impact the motorcycle he rides would have on it, hence there's nothing like riding a Beemer to work or for coffee.

Originally Posted by imp!

4) Kawasaki Ninja 400, same problem as the Bimmer

5) Kawasaki Z250, same problem as 3&4

Twin cylinder for commuting? Really? Not as bad as opting for the Duke's due to the lower displacement per cylinder being more tractile in comparisson to run taller gears at lower RPM's, but is the maintenance really worth the trouble?

Originally Posted by imp!

6) Enfield 350/500, is it really worth consider this?

Any enthusiast whose worked on Bullets would tell you that a 350 pushrod is more reliable than a 500, if the higher rev cealing doens'nt convince you I doubt anything else would. Having ridden alongside a relatively new Bullet 500 for 13 days and close to 8000 km's on my CT100B I can say for certain that the Bullet 500 doesn't perform anywhere close to its perceived reputation.

So I guess the only feasible buy that would satisfy the dudes needs would be a Royal Enfield 350, would age fine and is cheaper to run in comparisson to the alternatives and would be something to impress the ladies and (some) men alike, irrespective of whether you opt for the cheaper Bullet 350 or the more pricey Thunderbird 350.

[deepfreak15]

Why not consider the Himalayan? Though sold as a tourer , in my opinion that's the best bike to handle Bangalore's roads.

[abhipuri]

Originally Posted by imp!

Hi Guys,

A friend is looking for a bike for city commute with a budget of 2.5L.


1) Honda CBR 250R, but is it a little old now maybe?

Trusted steed but too long in the tooth.

Originally Posted by imp!

2) KTM 200,250, 390, all in the mix, but, I used to own a 390 and it was really hot for city commute

Best bang for the buck but bikes might not be to everyone's taste.

Originally Posted by imp!

6) Enfield 350/500, is it really worth consider this?

All plus and minus have been discussed to death in the forum but according to my opinion, a commuter's weight should be manageable. Managing bulls in choc a block traffic will be cumbersome.

As suggested by fellow bhpians, I will suggest your friend to try fz25.

Being an owner myself and have ridden the bike for 1.5 years and 6500 km in city traffic let me tell you the pros
1) light weight and decent pickup, can be managed easily in traffic
2) Great suspension setup, can absorb big potholes with ease, dismisses bad roads with ease just maintain recommended tyre pressure.
3) Great gearbox and smooth engine(for a single cylinder 250cc) coupled with decent fuel economy.

Cons
1) Headlight is strictly average. For me it is a plus as it discourages me to do silly speeds at night.
2) Vibrations present in 4000-7000 rpm band. This has smoothened post 5000 km on ODO but can still be felt.
3) Lack of ABS. Must be announced in coming months.

Alas, tell him to do thorough test rides of a bikes.

P.s.
Whatever bike your friend choses, kindly advice him to keep aside minimum 25000 for good riding gear. Personally, I would like to pick a bike from segment below to have proper riding gear.

[imp!]

Hi Guys,

Thank you so much for your suggestions. We went out and looked at a bunch of bikes just to get a feel. Haven't started test riding yet. We are yet to look at the Mojo and Yamaha, but, the Honda is out, it is too old. The Ninjas and BMWs are all out, too expensive and not worth the stretch to him. The KTMs are out, they have too aggressive a riding stance. He is looking for a bike with an upright stance that is comfortable.

While he doesn't plan on touring, he commutes to the Airport several times a week on work. Given that particular road, I think a Bullet 350 makes the most sense.

He is also considering some scooters:

1) Aprilia SR 125/150
2) Vespa 125/150
3) Honda Activa for low cost of ownership

Now he buys maybe 1 bike every 10 years, rides it to kingdom come while maintaining it as best as humanly possible. The initial budget was around 1L, but, given the term of ownership, he has no issues stretching upto 2.5L, now, he is debating between scooters and motorbikes and whether the European scooters are worth the money.

[roy_libran]

Originally Posted by imp!

He is also considering some scooters:

1) Aprilia SR 125/150
2) Vespa 125/150
3) Honda Activa for low cost of ownership

Damn, I was hooked on this thread, because I'm in the market for a similar (non RE) practical steed, but if 'He' has no fidelity towards motorcycles, and is even remotely open to Scooting, you might as well shut down this thread.
All the technical discussion is pointless for Scooting - no offense to scooters and scooterers or scooterettes!