Team-BHP - The BS6 predicament: Should I buy a two-wheeler now or wait till April 2020?

If you have zeroed in on Access 125 and TVS Jupiter, I will suggest you go for Access 125.

Access is having a solid chassis, behaving almost like a monocoque for better handling, more powerful and smoother engine, decent fuel efficiency to offer better value for your money. In my opinion, it's also easier to drive and handle a more powerful (more torque) vehicle.

On road the price difference between Jupiter and Access should not be more than Rs. 3000 - 4000/-.

The things I disliked in Access is 10" rear wheel and odd designed muffler.

Jupiter has 12" rear wheel for better stability, more features and all metal body panels.

Petrol moving from BS4 to BS6 will not be very different in terms of its chemical properties, so a BS4 petrol machine, unlike diesel will not suffer any technical issues. It's unlikely that Govt is going to ban BS4 vehicles post implementation of BS6 and anyway your vehicle will be registered for 15 years.

PS : I am sharing my own experience of owning a Suzuki Access for last 9 months.

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Originally Posted by dailydriver (Post 4668221)

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1. Should I purchase a BS4 scooter now spending 75k - 85k or wait for a few more months and pick up a BS6 iteration?

2. What would be the likely problems for a BS4 scooter in the BS6 era, specially with stricter environmental norms?
......

BS4 vs BS6:
It is estimated that a scooter cost will increase by 10-15K. So it is not just a question of wait, but also cost.

The conversion is not a drastic one for petrol and the BS4 engine with BS6 Fuel and BS6 engine with BS4 fuel are expected to work without much fuss.

So, some of the additional cost goes towards the R&D and assembly line changes needed to produce the new kind of vehicles. Since this is the future, most of this is probably borne by manufacturer, but some by you. A good chunk of extra money is used for components for BS6 (Fuel Injection and corresponding sensors)
https://www.outlookindia.com/website...emakers/338103

You need to decide if the additional 1K per year is worth over the lifetime of vehicle. One way to decide is to ride the carbureted and FI Activa back to back.

Older vehicles:
As far as older vehicles being scrapped, BS3 and lower should be worried. BS4 would be around for the duration of initial Fitness Certificate.

At the other end of spectrum, while you may or may not get discount on BS4 stock in Mar 2020, but the price drop on pre-owned BS4 vehicles will be much higher --- start negotiation with how many years of FC left... followed by a big Ohhhh after hearing answer stupid:

I am also on the lookout for a scooter and was looking at the Hero Maestro fuel injected version. I have an access which i have been using close to 10 years. The main problem with it has been the clogging of the carburetor which requires cleaning at frequent intervals. Sort of the scooter will fail you at critical times. I feel the BS6 scooters should not have this problem. Otherwise the scooter has got good pick up and decent mileage. The other issue is the brakes requiring frequent adjustment.

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Originally Posted by dailydriver (Post 4668221)

I live in a small town which was hitherto peaceful and relatively free in terms of traffic. Of late, with the rise in number of vehicles and increase in congestion, specially during weekends, getting a space to park my car is almost impossible.

1. Should I purchase a BS4 scooter now spending 75k - 85k or wait for a few more months and pick up a BS6 iteration?

2. What would be the likely problems for a BS4 scooter in the BS6 era, specially with stricter environmental norms?

3. Would a Hero Electric scooter (no Ather / Okinawa here) at around 70k be a worthy long term investment?

4. Should I forget all new two wheelers and settle for a pre owned one? Decent ones retail upwards of 35k.

Would appreciate your views, perspectives and suggestions.

Thanks a lot!

If it's a new petrol you are going for, I would advice that you wait for the Activa 125 BS6. It's already at dealers. From what I have seen, this one is unique beginning from that silent starter button. Although the top end is priced steep, the base should be better on the wallet. But don't go for a new BS4 scooter. You will be better off getting a used one for much cheaper like you said.

I personally would vouch for electric as that is the future and home charging should be easy. I am not sure about brands which are popular in your area, but where I come from in Kerala there is none that are reliable :) But definitely a good investment. Why not lease an electric vehicle before you decide to buy?

Considering BS6 scooters and electric are going to be priced on par and electric being cheaper in some models, you should give this a serious thought.

Good luck !

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Thanks for chipping in.

For reasons that might eventually find mention in an in-depth ownership thread (if ever there is one!), I ended up buying a Suzuki Access 125.

Here it is!

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Originally Posted by Gansan (Post 4668625)

No money ever spent on any vehicle...brought out of the showroom

Absolutely well said clap:

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Originally Posted by Gansan (Post 4668625)

If I were to buy a two wheeler at this point... Electric is the way to go in future.

Until 2 days ago, I was thinking the same. But if I were to put down the calculations on excel, it simply does not make sense to go for EV at this point in time. EVs are like mobile phones, they get super upgrades every X months (not even year). For our use of 12K Km or 40 Km a day X 6 days within city run, we found in 3 years the cost difference between Ather & petrol scooters is almost negligible including the residual value.

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Originally Posted by Sebring (Post 4673376)

We were waiting for the BS6 Honda...in 2020 (why wait?). The best time to buy is now!

:thumbs up I think most TBhpians think alike & no wonder we're all in the same community. I've come to the same conclusion for choosing NTorq. Whenever NTorq comes with Fi, we will most probably go for it than the (In)Activa Fi

If the NTORQ does come with new engine and Fi, I'd give it some time. So a year would pass. New engines need some time to settle the niggles. So more the reason to buy now.

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Originally Posted by aargee (Post 4673791)

Absolutely well said. I think most TBhpians think alike & no wonder we're all in the same community. I've come to the same conclusion for choosing NTorq. Whenever NTorq comes with Fi, we will most probably go for it than the (In)Activa Fi

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Originally Posted by Sebring (Post 4673800)

If the NTORQ does come with new engine and Fi, I'd give it some time. So a year would pass. New engines need some time to settle the niggles. So more the reason to buy now.

You got me thinking. Thank you :thumbs up

But if I have waited this long, I think I can wait a bit further for Fi as I know how good is the power delivery with a Fi

But then the price is as close to Ather 450 & now I'm back to square one again :Frustrati

I think 'on-ground' its incorrect to assume power delivery would be better, because on the Activa 125 Fi BS6 - it isn't. I rode the variants back-to-back. On paper, maybe. Anyways, lets wait for the launch, TD and then decide. (The small capacity Fi scooters in Thailand were in a different league, so there is some compromise in Indian make, somewhere) The mileage is up by 13%, so maybe that had to be accommodated.

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Originally Posted by aargee (Post 4673801)

You got me thinking. Thank you. But if I have waited this long, I think I can wait a bit further for Fi as I know how good is the power delivery with a Fi

I am in same situation as you. Sold my activa after running it for 13 years so looking for 2 wheels for my daily commute. Was tempted with chetak electric launch but 85 is not the range I am comfortable with considering my friends who have Ather have decreasing range of Lithium ion after 6 months of use.

As far as BS4 or BS6 is concerned why you shall buy a old vehicle if you are buying a new one considering the resale value will be less if you must sell after some time also no point of saving 2k-5k if you get a generation old vehicle.

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Originally Posted by Red Liner (Post 4668690)

If they bring such a scrap rule forward, they will just lose the next elections, period.

I would assume that 95% of the rural economy runs on older pre BS 4 two wheelers.

Nothing like this will ever happen in our country, and even if it does it will be done in a way to incentivise people to scrap their very old vehicles in exchange for a newer one in the future. I think the ruling party has learnt from its Demo debacle.

The old chetak without a number plate still rules the road BS VI is it that will remove all other vehicles on the road ......