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Old 29th July 2019, 18:20   #31
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Re: Which motorcycle? Commuter on weekdays, Cruiser on weekends

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Originally Posted by MadRasTan4986 View Post
Hi Sk8r
Just curious, since I'm a FZ25 owner as well:
Where did you procure your bike?
where are you getting your Bike serviced?

I have had no issues with my services so far.
Lucky you, I had Purchased at Paras Yamaha, Anna Salai, tried servicing twice at Sun Motors, Anna Nagar.

Few quick bits :

1) Purchase Experience : My bike was handed over to me at the parking yard behind the showroom by my Finance agent. Forget a ceremony, after spending 1.5 Lakhs I will at least expect my sales rep to handover the bike with a photo taken at least
2) RC Book Error : I bought my bike with finance from HDFC, after a few months post purchase I noticed that there was no Hypothecation stamp on the RC book. Agree it was my bad to not check it initially, But I missed it due to my hectic work, it's been a year and the blame game is still on between the showroom guys and the RTO
3) Service :I gave for service at Sun Motors, Anna Nagar. Everything was fine until he handed over the bike to me without washing the bike, he just cleaned it with a cloth and that's it, what's the guarantee that he changed the Engine oil ?
4) Labour Cost: Chain sprocket replacement costs 900 as Labour charges, Brake pad replacement was close to 500 IIRC and so on, overall I never had any pleasant experience, could be my bad luck ! So I started purchasing all spares from Service Center and getting it changed and branded service outlets (Service Plus - OMR )

Note : I absolutely love this bike and use it as my daily commuter, just that the experience has not been that great !
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Old 29th July 2019, 19:37   #32
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Re: Which motorcycle? Commuter on weekdays, Cruiser on weekends

Have you considered cruiser bikes?

Avenger 220 is comfortable in a city and good enough to keep pace on the highways. Buying it with ABS is a must since front tyre grip is poor and is prone to skidding.

Intruder 150 is another option that you can consider, if you are not offended by its looks. Wait for few more months, chances of launching a 250cc Intruder is really high given that Suzuki has already launched Gixxers with 250cc engines.

V15 have a comfortable sitting position. I am suggesting cruisers because all other bikes like Apache, Dominar, FZ, etc. have sporty sitting positions. Driving them daily within city would be painful after few months.
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Old 29th July 2019, 19:43   #33
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Re: Which motorcycle? Commuter on weekdays, Cruiser on weekends

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sk8r View Post
Lucky you, I had Purchased at Paras Yamaha, Anna Salai, tried servicing twice at Sun Motors, Anna Nagar.

Note : I absolutely love this bike and use it as my daily commuter, just that the experience has not been that great !
I believe that could be the problem. Sorry your ownership experience has been so bad with these guys.
I got mine from Bikerz Yamaha, Alandur and get it serviced also there. I'll just highlight the points since you listed them out as well

1) Purchase Experience : No issues. Quote given on time. In fact before and during making the final payment of the bike, the showroom manager let me have a test ride solo and pillion with my wife. Committed dates were adhered to. He informed me when the bike came in advance and let me pick a bike for registration from the latest lot.

2) Service : Service facility is really good. The guys here are open and transparent and absolutely do not mind addressing any questions you may have. They also listen to all your concerns and do address them properly.

Only gripe I recently had with Yamaha service was regarding the repainting of the exhaust to be done free of charge. Apparently they have changed this now and are asking for payment of Rs.250. To me this seems nominal. I refrain from using Yamalube and mostly get the spares and oil from outside (Motul FTW ) and get the oil change and filter change done outside at FNG.

I'd recommend you try them out; though I can understand that distance might be an issue, but this place is run very well and professionally.

And I totally understand your love for this bike. It is such an underrated bike. An all rounder and sleeper among bikes in our market.
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Old 30th July 2019, 12:53   #34
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Re: Which motorcycle? Commuter on weekdays, Cruiser on weekends

Xpulse 200 is designed for low end torque so it will buzz a lot at highway speeds. Your best bet if you want good economy and speed is to go for an fz25 or gixxer 250 or dominar 400. Duke 250 is also a good option. Don't get dissuaded by the seating position..It is a actually very good for flicking through city traffic. If it's a one bike does it all then Duke 250 ticks the boxes except 40kpl is not possible. But I doubt any of the 250s will deliver in the 40s.

If you want 2 bikes and can stretch the budget a bit then a new xpulse 200 for the city and a used duke 390 for highways is the perfect combo

Last edited by nitro.1000bhp : 30th July 2019 at 12:54.
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Old 31st July 2019, 09:18   #35
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Re: Which motorcycle? Commuter on weekdays, Cruiser on weekends

Right thread at the right time.

My daily commute involves taking a rick, metro, train and then a walk for nearly a KM. Lugging around a laptop and lunch bag becomes too tedious. This is what I am doing due to the monsoon. By road, its 26kms one way and that too via the dreaded jvlr (Goregaon to Thane).

I was using the Wego till the monsoon began. Its nimble and very easy in traffic however not confidence inspiring on highway add to that the poor braking. The itch to get a bike has been there since long as it's been a decade after selling my CBZ.

My heart is tilting towards the Dominar, mind says CB 300.

Dominar is VFM, the only reason to look away would be the weight which would be an issue in traffic while the CB 300 is expensive in comparison. Somehow the Yamahas and Suzukis are not evoking the kind of response from within. Same goes for KTM. I would not mind a Thunderbird however I don't have too much trust/ faith in the quality.

All of the above is basis ownership reviews (within and outside of the forums).

Now my usage will strictly be for daily commute, throw in some rides which would be very rare as I don't get weekend holidays.

Would go for the booking in a month. What to bring home is the question now.
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Old 31st July 2019, 10:35   #36
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Re: Which motorcycle? Commuter on weekdays, Cruiser on weekends

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Originally Posted by Desmosedici View Post
Right thread at the right time.

My daily commute involves taking a rick, metro, train and then a walk for nearly a KM. Lugging around a laptop and lunch bag becomes too tedious. This is what I am doing due to the monsoon. By road, its 26kms one way and that too via the dreaded jvlr (Goregaon to Thane).

I was using the Wego till the monsoon began. Its nimble and very easy in traffic however not confidence inspiring on highway add to that the poor braking. The itch to get a bike has been there since long as it's been a decade after selling my CBZ.

My heart is tilting towards the Dominar, mind says CB 300.

Dominar is VFM, the only reason to look away would be the weight which would be an issue in traffic while the CB 300 is expensive in comparison. Somehow the Yamahas and Suzukis are not evoking the kind of response from within. Same goes for KTM. I would not mind a Thunderbird however I don't have too much trust/ faith in the quality.

All of the above is basis ownership reviews (within and outside of the forums).

Now my usage will strictly be for daily commute, throw in some rides which would be very rare as I don't get weekend holidays.

Would go for the booking in a month. What to bring home is the question now.
If you can consider TB, you should not have a problem with the weight of Dominar. The 2019 version is better in all ways and I would not write off without a test ride. I am yet to see a CB300 on flesh on the roads in Pune and never found it too appealing to go visit a showroom.
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Old 31st July 2019, 12:00   #37
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Re: Which motorcycle? Commuter on weekdays, Cruiser on weekends

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Originally Posted by Nilesh5417 View Post
If you can consider TB, you should not have a problem with the weight of Dominar. The 2019 version is better in all ways and I would not write off without a test ride. I am yet to see a CB300 on flesh on the roads in Pune and never found it too appealing to go visit a showroom.
I had test ridden the previous Dominar and I had loved it except the weight which is the same for the Thunderbird as you rightly mentioned. CB 300 is being considered because it's light weight and it's a Honda but yet to see it in flesh.
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Old 31st July 2019, 14:24   #38
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Re: Which motorcycle? Commuter on weekdays, Cruiser on weekends

ThunderBird shouldnt be in same consideration set as modern bikes like Dominar and CB300. Dominar is a great bike - you wont be dissapointed.
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Old 31st July 2019, 15:21   #39
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Re: Which motorcycle? Commuter on weekdays, Cruiser on weekends

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Originally Posted by Desmosedici View Post
Would go for the booking in a month. What to bring home is the question now.
If you're going large displacement for short distance commuting then a reasonable thing to do would be to test ride a couple of motorcycles including the Xtreme 200 and other Honda underpinning's(I refer to them as Honda as they display the typical character that is expected from them as the likes of the CBR250R is way off when it comes to the torque delivery).

The Dominar is the most bang for the buck offering but certainly an overkill for the intended use unless you have a predisposition for its headlight illumination.

Remember, buying is the easiest part of motorcycle ownership. Hence why you see people go crazy over a particular model and buy them soon after release to only put them up for sale a short while later with way too low odo reads.

Regards,
A.P.
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Old 31st July 2019, 15:29   #40
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Re: Which motorcycle? Commuter on weekdays, Cruiser on weekends

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Originally Posted by Desmosedici View Post
I had test ridden the previous Dominar and I had loved it except the weight which is the same for the Thunderbird as you rightly mentioned. CB 300 is being considered because it's light weight and it's a Honda but yet to see it in flesh.
Based on your short list and the fact that I travel on the said route quite frequently on 2 wheels ( Activa, CBR250, Dominar) and in my Car, I can safely say that you should go for:
1) Dominar - The new one is a bit more improved and the weight will not be an issue here. Except for the heat in B2B traffic, you will be happy. And this route does not have a lot of B2B traffic as per usual Mumbai standards. High Value for Money quotient is the key here. Once in a while it will ask for some care as it is a Bajaj afterall.

2) CB300 - If you want to keep the bike for 10 years and then hand it over to your kid or another kid in the family. But it looks just like an average Joe among motorcycles. If it is parked in a line of motorcycles, you will miss it unless you have a keen eye and know how to identify a motorcycle from 50 ft distance . For me - I would personally be happy in such a case. I once noticed a bike with an odd looking tip at the silencer in the parking lot of a DMart. Curiosity got the best of me and I had to do a full 360 round to see the bike in flesh and understand that it was a CB300.

If you are open to Used bikes, a recent CBR250 can be easily had at a very VFM price. I know because I was lookimg for one recently.

Last edited by sunilch : 31st July 2019 at 15:38.
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Old 1st August 2019, 17:28   #41
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Re: Which motorcycle? Commuter on weekdays, Cruiser on weekends

Quote:
I refrain from using Yamalube and mostly get the spares and oil from outside (Motul FTW ) and get the oil change and filter change done outside at FNG.
Motul FTW is Fz 25's RedBull.

Quote:
Only gripe I recently had with Yamaha service was regarding the repainting of the exhaust to be done free of charge. Apparently they have changed this now and are asking for payment of Rs.250. To me this seems nominal.
Wow! This is music to my ears. 250 seems very nominal to me considering the benefits of it. I will definitely check it out as I hate the look of the exhaust everytime I look it. Thanks for the info !!
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Old 1st August 2019, 21:18   #42
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Re: Which motorcycle? Commuter on weekdays, Cruiser on weekends

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Originally Posted by sunilch View Post
Based on your short list and the fact that I travel on the said route quite frequently on 2 wheels ( Activa, CBR250, Dominar) and in my Car, I can safely say that you should go for:

If you are open to Used bikes, a recent CBR250 can be easily had at a very VFM price. I know because I was lookimg for one recently.
Thanks.

I'm tilting heavily towards the Dominar. CBR 250 is good but I prefer naked than faired ones. Need the headlight to turn with the handlebar
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Old 1st August 2019, 22:16   #43
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Re: Which motorcycle? Commuter on weekdays, Cruiser on weekends

Have you considered Himalayan? Had the chance to ride it and the smoothness put me at ease immediately, struggles post triple digit speeds but 100 should be ok.Bare looks may offend some, other than that looks like a competent bike in on and off road scenarios.
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Old 2nd August 2019, 00:18   #44
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Re: Which motorcycle? Commuter on weekdays, Cruiser on weekends

Somehow any RE doesn't inspire too much confidence. No offence to the owners / fanboys but just don't think I'll be okay with one. I love the Thunderbird only for its relaxed style of riding, apart from that no other RE has appealed to me.
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Old 2nd August 2019, 10:15   #45
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Re: Which motorcycle? Commuter on weekdays, Cruiser on weekends

[quote=NaXal;4625584]Upper nut connecting leg guard with chassis failed structurally within a month of usage. No accident no fall, just normal riding vibration.

ASC has no clue how to get the broken part out from the socket.



What is the solution to this? Also since you are already facing this issue, can this be avoided in any way by taking some measures or is this reason enough to not be considering the 2019 Dominar? Thanks!

Last edited by UK07Rider : 2nd August 2019 at 10:34. Reason: The quoted message wasn't highlighted
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