[Divya Sharan]

What's the smallest "touring bike" available for us in India?

CBR 250R me thinks.

Rest, people can laud themselves for touring/commuting long distances on a Luna; we can't do anything for that.

The 1st roadblock in a typical Indian's mind is:
I have X bike.
It can do Y comfortably.

But my friend has A bike, which does B and C fairly well. So, how can I make my bike do A-Z in any which ways possible?
Max bike in min rupees. This mentality can give you maybe 40-50k kms on a small bike running at max capacity, while endangering others. Brakes suck, lights suck, they run harsh yada yada.

Now, coming back to the CBR 250R. I cannot make it a track scorcher. Plain and simple! It does the touring thing fairly well.
Why? Because it was built for long distance touring - comfortable ergos, enough grunt, decent lights, braking etc.

Now, consider what a Ninja650 can do!

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Divya Sharan

Brakes

My biggest concern with the scooter even at city speeds - many heart in the mouth moments when those drum brakes struggle to bring it to a stop, and disc brakes for scooters were unheard of back then!

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

My biggest concern with the scooter even at city speeds - many heart in the mouth moments when those drum brakes struggle to bring it to a stop, and disc brakes for scooters were unheard of back then!

And engine braking or blipping and going down the 'box. This is where I hate the scooty.

[ashwinprakas]

Passion for motorcycles and motorcycling is nice but it really does hurt to venture out without adequate knowledge about ones own machine.

Just came across these videos from the same VLogger;

Leh Ladakh : Pulsar 200 NS stopped working! Manali To Leh: Reaching Sarchu!

Manali to Leh ladakh Road Trip on Pulsar 200NS | Part 2| Problems from Sarchu To Leh | 2018

I almost FAINTED at Khardungla! Leh Ladakh To Hundar - Nubra valley on Pulsar 200 NS

The whole affair was quite sad to witness, so I'd suggest anyone and everyone irrespective of the motorcycle you choose to tour on whether big or small, it helps to at least know the basics of how a motorcycle works.

[Divya Sharan]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

I'd suggest anyone and everyone irrespective of the motorcycle you choose to tour on whether big or small, it helps to at least know the basics of how a motorcycle works.

This I agree with. At least the basics in general and common pain points w.r.t the motorcycle being ridden. I don't want to have a mechanic level knowledge but I don't want to call towing services for blown fuses, relays etc.
And to some extent, mechanicals as well.

I strongly feel that everyone need not get their hands dirty all the time, but they should have some know how. It even helps if the vehicle is at a workshop and you better understand what's going on and to some extent, saves one from getting fleeced.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Passion for motorcycles and motorcycling is nice but it really does hurt to venture out without adequate knowledge about ones own machine.

The whole affair was quite sad to witness, so I'd suggest anyone and everyone irrespective of the motorcycle you choose to tour on whether big or small, it helps to at least know the basics of how a motorcycle works.

This fellow was not smart enough (to put it politely)

He was well aware of his own mechanical incompetence and yet chose to travel without company. Dont you think?

With BS6 coming over, everyone may need to deal with EFI- It would be interesting to see how the mechanics in far off places are going to deal with it. Let alone, less mechanically inclined bike rider.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

My biggest concern with the scooter even at city speeds - many heart in the mouth moments when those drum brakes struggle to bring it to a stop, and disc brakes for scooters were unheard of back then!

True, An old driver once told me something that loosely translates to 'Everyone who has an accelerator can go fast' . So yes they can do some speeds and all, but can it handle its own pace while on the raggedy edge is the question.

Therefore - Good tires, brakes & suspension are often the only insurance you have.

Scooters by design have small tires and even smaller suspension travel - chances of flying over the handlebars are very real, I have an unpleasant memory with the ubiquitous Activa that comes with a horrid suspension setup.

[Romins]

Hope everyone is enjoying their motorcycles during the holidays, keeping the arguments aside. Big or small, have fun and ride safe.

[neil.jericho]

Im not much of a big adventure bike guy but this one makes me think I could do a solo ride around the country in peace while not missing out on the thrills of a sports bike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab9JNR8S-ls

[ashwinprakas]

A talk about Big v/s Small motorcycles by the Revzilla Team.

A nice watch indeed, covers every point there is to cover per me.

Small Motorcycles - Does Size Matter?

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

A cute little review of the Honda Monkey against the big R1250 GS -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C1Qu33Mabg

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

A cute little review of the Honda Monkey against the big R1250 GS -

Talk about click bait!

I watched this a few days back. Good to see the GS struggling up that. Am sure the monkey could have just been pushed up if nothing else

[ashwinprakas]

Not exactly a motorcycle by conventional standards, but Ryan does get into the spirit of why small is not always a bad idea.

https://youtu.be/XMjjTK-yZy0

[ashwinprakas]

Here are a few guys from ZigWheels touring from Pune to Goa(445km's) to attend TVS MotoSoul and then ride back on the same TVS entry level commuters they came in;

Part 1

Part 2

They do have pointed out a few concerns especially the one about Scooters and their extremely short fuel range, many times have that bit me on the booty when touring interstate on the Wego.

As for the rest I feel that they have over dramatized it to a great(irritating) extent, some parts were pretty dry, especially for clocking over 400km's a day.

During the GQ ride with the CT100B we were averaging at about 600km's per day for close to 2 weeks with the highest clocked being under 900km's a day and we faced several mechanical failures on the Bullet 500 yet I do not recall ranting so much.

My random guess would be the age group(sensitive topic I know, but I'm simply pointing out the obvious) as I believe none of the participants are a shade under 35 from optics, as for physical fitness I am none to complain as ya'll who've ridden with me know too well but during my internship in visually no better shape than I am in now back then at 21(proof attached below);



I used to whack over 400km's a day commuting between Kollam and Trissur every day for the better part of my 2 month internship on my Discover 100 and that too on Kerala roads.

So I'd advice to take whats portrayed with a pinch of salt and not arrive at any hard and fast conclusion cause the motorcycle is at the end of the day merely a means to an end.

Cheers,
A.P.

[Red Liner]

Wonderful review of the Tenere 700.

https://youtu.be/RQ5sd-Tm5zk

But he also debates the big vs small adventure bike conundrum quite beautifully.

[Red Liner]

Mortal Kombat Round 1

https://youtu.be/62zSljbISmw

FIGHT!