[Shumi_21]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

There is no straightforward answer for what determines whether a motorcycle is fun to ride. It is the X factor that can cause a motorcycle to appear to be greater than the sum of its parts. On paper, some bikes can be meh but when you ride it you might love it. Or vice versa.

Spot On!

Originally Posted by ayan59dutta

Can you please elaborate on what you mean by the fun to ride factor? As I mentioned earlier, I am absolutely new to bikes.

Like Neil sir said, the definition of fun to ride will differ from person to person. For example, some people have fun cruising steady on the highway, some enjoy the adrenaline rush of leaning into a corner and repeating it again and again on a twisty road, while some will be grinning from ear to ear riding off road.

With that in mind, fun to ride for me is a nimble motorcycle that is fast enough to make the everyday commute, well, not boring.

You will figure out your own definition of fun to ride as you rack up the kilometres under your belt. The sporty commuter ~160cc's like the FZ, Gixxer, Apache, Xtreme, Hornet etc are versatile enough to help you find your fun. Test ride everything in your budget. You will definitely find one of them to be better than the rest!!

Hope this helps.

[shyam117]

Thanks a lot for your valuable inputs guys (drrajasaravanan, playingpossum, WinniedPo, mvadg, Cyborg, Shumi_21 and neil).

I was not considering 200cc because of the more power & 80% of my commute will be in city traffic, but will test ride RTR 160 4V, RTR 200 4V and FZS now & take a decision based on that.

I am planning to buy one in next 30-45 days so will update here with my riding and purchasing experience at that time.

[ayan59dutta]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Can you share your usage pattern? Will you be taking it in the city? On weekend runs?

Initially, after learning to ride well, I will be using it for occasional office commutes (20km each way, mostly flyovers) and city rides. Then after 1 year or so, I wish to start weekend runs to nearby places.

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

There is no straightforward answer for what determines whether a motorcycle is fun to ride. It is the X factor that can cause a motorcycle to appear to be greater than the sum of its parts. On paper, some bikes can be meh but when you ride it you might love it. Or vice versa.

Originally Posted by Shumi_21

Like Neil sir said, the definition of fun to ride will differ from person to person. For example, some people have fun cruising steady on the highway, some enjoy the adrenaline rush of leaning into a corner and repeating it again and again on a twisty road, while some will be grinning from ear to ear riding off road.

With that in mind, fun to ride for me is a nimble motorcycle that is fast enough to make the everyday commute, well, not boring.

You will figure out your own definition of fun to ride as you rack up the kilometres under your belt.

I get it now! Let's see how & when I'll be able to figure it out!

Originally Posted by Shumi_21

The sporty commuter ~160cc's like the FZ, Gixxer, Apache, Xtreme, Hornet etc are versatile enough to help you find your fun. Test ride everything in your budget. You will definitely find one of them to be better than the rest!!

Thanks a ton for the suggestions! I just got my LL & will start test rides in a month.

[SiLxNcE]

Hi everyone. I am also looking at getting my first motorcycle. Like most beginners, I started riding on my dad's Splendor and am riding it for short commutes for over 2 years now. And hence, my urge to get a motorcycle with better performance. But the prices after BS6 update is crazy. A new sporty commuter would be easily north of 1.2Lacs on road, which I believe is too much since with BS6, a lot of bikes have dropped their power output and these same bikes with no major changes were available for much less a few years back. Oh, And also, I have a soft spot for fully faired bikes, and was keenly looking at the new Gixxer SF 155, but the price is too high to be justified.

So, l am thinking of getting my first bike from the used(pre-worshipped, if you may) bike market. And here lies my first doubt. Is this a good option? Given the fact that slightly sporty commuters or entry level faired bikes are abused to some extent. And by abused, I mean ridden at high RPMs causing engine stress. I do get it that these engines can take abuse but its probably very hard to get a minimally used entry level faired bike, I guess.

The motorcycles I am looking at in the used market are:
Bajaj Pulsar 220f - since it's apparently a great motorcycle with easily available spares and probably lots of fun too.
Suzuki Gixxer SF (older model) - since it's a good entry level faired bike.
TVS Apache RTR 180 ABS. - just for the dual channel ABS. If I get one with dual channel ABS, I would probably just get it anyways.
Yamaha R15s. - The V2 has a very unusable backseat and the backseat is kind of important too for me. So the single seat version with the deltabox frame. But finding one will be tough I guess.

Are my choices good enough? And what other choices should I look at? Also for each motorcycle, how old of a bike with respect to both kilometers and years clocked should I be looking at? Like for the pulsar 220f, i hear older Pulsars have oil leaking issues, Gixxers have rusting issues etc. My budget would be around 50-60k and I can go upto 70k if needed. Is it possible to get an used CBR 250R ABS in this price? If yes, how old, and would be worth it? Your inputs would be of great help.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by SiLxNcE

The motorcycles I am looking at in the used market are:
Bajaj Pulsar 220f - since it's apparently a great motorcycle with easily available spares and probably lots of fun too.
Suzuki Gixxer SF (older model) - since it's a good entry level faired bike.
TVS Apache RTR 180 ABS. - just for the dual channel ABS. If I get one with dual channel ABS, I would probably just get it anyways.
Yamaha R15s. - The V2 has a very unusable backseat and the backseat is kind of important too for me. So the single seat version with the deltabox frame. But finding one will be tough I guess.

Are my choices good enough? And what other choices should I look at?

The R15 V1/S is your best bet, none of your other mentions will feel as well put together or as fun in terms of the chassis' capability. You could also consider the CBR250/150 or even see if you could get a good used 250 Ninja. I personally did not care much for the CBR250 or the Ninja 250 but this could be because I rode them only a couple of times when I was just learning how to ride bikes. However the R15 stood out to me even back then.

Lastly, if you are even a bit tall, do test ride an RC200. I ended up buying an RC390 as my first bike instead of an R15 V2 which I had already placed a booking for, only because the test ride blew me away. I had never even considered a KTM just test rode it at one of the showrooms because I had gone there to test the Ninja 300. Whatever you do, do not dismiss the RC200 and please test ride one.

[SiLxNcE]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

The R15 V1/S is your best bet, none of your other mentions will feel as well put together or as fun in terms of the chassis' capability.
===
Whatever you do, do not dismiss the RC200 and please test ride one.

Thanks for the reply. Even I do feel the same for the R15. What do you think of the Pulsar 220f 2017 version onwards. The BS4s i mean. They are available at around 50-60k.
Also an used Ninja 250 will be pretty hard to find and should be definitely over my budget and costly to maintain.

Height won't be an issue for me, but the reasons why I was not looking at the KTM RCs are:
Very aggressive throttle for a beginner to sports bikes.
Maintenance issues since I will be buying used. And these are notorious for being ridden harsh.
Price. I probably won't get an RC in my budget.

But yeah, I will try to test ride one. Thanks.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by SiLxNcE

Thanks for the reply. Even I do feel the same for the R15. What do you think of the Pulsar 220f 2017 version onwards. The BS4s i mean. They are available at around 50-60k.
Also an used Ninja 250 will be pretty hard to find and should be definitely over my budget and costly to maintain.

I would personally rather look at an NS200 over the 220.

Originally Posted by SiLxNcE

Height won't be an issue for me, but the reasons why I was not looking at the KTM RCs are:
Very aggressive throttle for a beginner to sports bikes.
Maintenance issues since I will be buying used. And these are notorious for being ridden harsh.
Price. I probably won't get an RC in my budget.

All the reasons you have suggested here should be reserved until you test ride one. The 200 motor has excellent throttle response and I'd wager that a beginner would learn a LOT more on an RC200 than any other bike listed here. Fueling on the 200 is not as aggressive as old 390s that have lead to this myth about KTMs being bad bikes for beginners. 200s also lack maintenance issues as such this again another myth founded on the old 390 motors and parts are cheaper than most bikes. At the end of the day, you get a very roomy (if you know how to sit on a sport bike, it is not as harsh as you may think) and extremely capable machine and nothing will come close to it in terms of fun factor. Older models go for around a lac and you will definitely be able to find one that was owned by perhaps a nervous teen who has now moved abroad for further education and resigned themselves to driving a Honda Civic

[SiLxNcE]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

I would personally rather look at an NS200 over the 220.


All the reasons you have suggested here should be reserved until you test ride one. The 200 motor has excellent throttle response and I'd wager that a beginner would learn a LOT more on an RC200 than any other bike listed here. Fueling on the 200 is not as aggressive as old 390s that have lead to this myth about KTMs being bad bikes for beginners. 200s also lack maintenance issues as such this again another myth founded on the old 390 motors and parts are cheaper than most bikes. At the end of the day, you get a very roomy (if you know how to sit on a sport bike, it is not as harsh as you may think) and extremely capable machine and nothing will come close to it in terms of fun factor. Older models go for around a lac and you will definitely be able to find one that was owned by perhaps a nervous teen who has now moved abroad for further education and resigned themselves to driving a Honda Civic

Haha. Yes. The last part of the answer had me grinning. Well the fascination with the 220 is mainly because of the big-bike looks but yes, the technology is over a decade old too. An NS would be a better deal, but personally not a fan of how it looks.

From what you say, it looks like the RC200 gets the same complaints from beginners like me who haven't test ridden one because its overshadowed by the bigger 1st gen unreliable RC390.
So, now the RC200 has my attention. But older models don't get ABS. ABS came in only from 2019. Will it be very difficult and less forgiving to learn good braking skills on such an aggressive bike? And since you own a 390, how usable is the backseat?

Also, have you tried Apaches and Gixxer SF s? I am getting quite a few offerings in my budget. Are these worth looking into as used motorcycles?

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by SiLxNcE

So, now the RC200 has my attention. But older models don't get ABS. ABS came in only from 2019. Will it be very difficult and less forgiving to learn good braking skills on such an aggressive bike? And since you own a 390, how usable is the backseat?

Braking performance and progression is pretty good and the backseat is okay. The pillion is definitely expected to be short and slim.

Originally Posted by SiLxNcE

Also, have you tried Apaches and Gixxer SF s? I am getting quite a few offerings in my budget. Are these worth looking into as used motorcycles?

Apaches, Gixxers and FZs are all okay but you will definitely get bored of what they have to offer within a week. Something like the RC200 is definitely double the bike and worth every penny more that you would end up paying for it.

[drrajasaravanan]

Originally Posted by SiLxNcE

Hi everyone. I am also looking at getting my first motorcycle.

Hi
As i understand this would be your first bike which you would use to learn and it has to be forgiving. If i were in your shoes i would avoid fully faired bikes which wont be forgiving on your wallet if god forbid you had a fall. I would rather pick up a naked bike to learn and improve your road driving skills and than upgrade to faired bikes.
I would suggest Pulsar NS 220, KTM 200, Xpulse 200 of which Xpulse would be the most forgiving. I am not sure about Kolkata but down south the preowned market for all these bikes are great for the buyer. Xpulse less than 2 years with less than 10K on odo will be sold for 75 to 90K, KTM 200 2018 model with 12K on odo for 1.3L. These two bikes i saw with my friend and he had picked the 2nd one. IMHO, consider preowned, consider KTM200 or Xpulse 200, improve your skills, give it a year or two and upgrade. Cheers

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by SiLxNcE

The motorcycles I am looking at in the used market are:
Bajaj Pulsar 220f - since it's apparently a great motorcycle with easily available spares and probably lots of fun too.
Suzuki Gixxer SF (older model) - since it's a good entry level faired bike.
TVS Apache RTR 180 ABS. - just for the dual channel ABS. If I get one with dual channel ABS, I would probably just get it anyways.
Yamaha R15s. - The V2 has a very unusable backseat and the backseat is kind of important too for me. So the single seat version with the deltabox frame. But finding one will be tough I guess.

Are my choices good enough? And what other choices should I look at? Also for each motorcycle, how old of a bike with respect to both kilometers and years clocked should I be looking at? Like for the pulsar 220f, i hear older Pulsars have oil leaking issues, Gixxers have rusting issues etc. My budget would be around 50-60k and I can go upto 70k if needed. Is it possible to get an used CBR 250R ABS in this price? If yes, how old, and would be worth it? Your inputs would be of great help.

Welcome to the forum. You are on the right track with respect to safety. I will strongly suggest that you get a motorcycle with ABS. As a newish rider, you might need the safety net of ABS at any unexpected point of time and it is something that can help you in a tricky situation.

I dont know about prices in Calcutta but in south India, Rs 70K gets you a used CBR250R in good condition. For a very reliable bike with ABS that can do the city commute and touring without breaking a sweat, that is very value for money. Even the Apache is a good platform and you cant go wrong with that either.

I would stay away from bikes that are known to have reliability issues. Take your time and see as many bikes as possible till you find the right one. There are gems to be found, it is just a matter of being patient and searching diligently. If you have a friend who has experience in riding different bikes and is mechanically adept, do ask him to tag along and check the condition of the bikes that you are keen on.

[GranvilleDsouza]

Welcome to the motorcycle world. IMHO, a 150CC - category 250CC should be light enough to get you used to it, and comfortable for most of your travels.
I'd suggest the Honda Unicorn or the FZ25. Both have good riding positions, are not too heavy and are pretty good when it comes to usage especially for a beginner.

Wild Card: If seating posture isn't an issue and something aggressive works (no pillion), go for the R15 V3. Best in class 150CC, good thrills in most conditions and shines on the highway as well. At 6'2 I do not think it should be uncomfortable for you, just some getting used to at the start. But this is a bike, you may not have to upgrade soon.

[SiLxNcE]

Originally Posted by drrajasaravanan

Hi
As i understand this would be your first bike which you would use to learn and it has to be forgiving. If i were in your shoes i would avoid fully faired bikes which wont be forgiving on your wallet if god forbid you had a fall. I would rather pick up a naked bike to learn and improve your road driving skills and than upgrade to faired bikes.
I would suggest Pulsar NS 220, KTM 200, Xpulse 200 of which Xpulse would be the most forgiving. I am not sure about Kolkata but down south the preowned market for all these bikes are great for the buyer. Xpulse less than 2 years with less than 10K on odo will be sold for 75 to 90K, KTM 200 2018 model with 12K on odo for 1.3L. These two bikes i saw with my friend and he had picked the 2nd one. IMHO, consider preowned, consider KTM200 or Xpulse 200, improve your skills, give it a year or two and upgrade. Cheers

Hi. Thanks for the reply. Yes, I get what you are saying. Initially I too wanted to go for naked bikes as there's a certain confidence seeing the headlight turn with the handlebar. But the faired-bike idea is like a boyish dream to get to own a sportsbike albeit a small one to begin with. The Ktm duke 200 might probably be a pocket rocket for a beginner but the Xpulse and the NS200 seems to be a good idea, though not a fan of either of the bike's looks.

Also are Hero bikes good to go with as used bikes? They are very frequently updating and phasing out old models. Reliability wise I think they are great as I have been riding my dad's 2010 Splendor for 2 years now.

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Welcome to the forum. You are on the right track with respect to safety. I will strongly suggest that you get a motorcycle with ABS. As a newish rider, you might need the safety net of ABS at any unexpected point of time and it is something that can help you in a tricky situation.

I dont know about prices in Calcutta but in south India, Rs 70K gets you a used CBR250R in good condition. For a very reliable bike with ABS that can do the city commute and touring without breaking a sweat, that is very value for money. Even the Apache is a good platform and you cant go wrong with that either.

I would stay away from bikes that are known to have reliability issues. Take your time and see as many bikes as possible till you find the right one. There are gems to be found, it is just a matter of being patient and searching diligently. If you have a friend who has experience in riding different bikes and is mechanically adept, do ask him to tag along and check the condition of the bikes that you are keen on.

Hi. Thanks for the reply. Very happy to see my first post getting a lot of replies. I had been reading on this forum for long but only recently got an account when I realised I would need your help and probably also give back later.

Yes, ABS has always been a high priority for me since the time I fell off my dad's bike once after locking up the front brakes to save a dog that just ran into my way. But the used market probably has very very few offerings which has ABS in this segment that I am looking at. Probably only the Apache rtr 180. Finding it in the used market is going to be a task in itself. And the Cbr250r. Though the high power figure of that makes me want to not consider it as my very own first bike.

Could you tell me a few bikes to avoid? Like I had shortlisted a 2017 Pulsar 220f but everyone asks me not to go for one as they aren't as good as the hype they have made over a decade. And many BHPians are recommending looking into KTM 200s. What's your take on that?

Yeah. I will ask some friends to tag along. Its going to be quite a task finding a good used bike that I end up loving.

[drrajasaravanan]

Originally Posted by SiLxNcE

The Ktm duke 200 might probably be a pocket rocket for a beginner but the Xpulse and the NS200 seems to be a good idea, though not a fan of either of the bike's looks.
Also are Hero bikes good to go with as used bikes? They are very frequently updating and phasing out old models. Reliability wise I think they are great as I have been riding my dad's 2010 Splendor for 2 years now.

Hi
Hero models may get phased out but you will not run out of lack of spare parts for example Honda CBR 250. The beauty of buying preowned is you do not lose much by the way of depreciation and you will find takers since you will not hold the bike for more than couple of years. Who knows if you treat and maintain the steed properly you may be even at the end of two years.
Do test ride the KTM 200, they are not as aggressive as its portrayed to be and you may like it. NS200 though a competent product does not age well like others.
Ensure you read the preowned bike check list and tag a mechanic to accompany you. Good luck with your hunt. Cheers

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by SiLxNcE

Yes, ABS has always been a high priority for me since the time I fell off my dad's bike once after locking up the front brakes to save a dog that just ran into my way. But the used market probably has very very few offerings which has ABS in this segment that I am looking at. Probably only the Apache rtr 180. Finding it in the used market is going to be a task in itself. And the Cbr250r. Though the high power figure of that makes me want to not consider it as my very own first bike.

Since you have (unfortunately) experienced the need for ABS first hand, my suggestion is to keep it as a non negotiable filter in your search. Just do your due diligence, ask around and try to gauge from your friends as well as online research on problematic bikes. For example, if you do some research on the BS4 KTM Duke 390, you will quickly come across this link with a ton of documented issues - link to Xbhp thread.

Coming to Hero, there too the situation is not that great, based on feedback from Xpulse owners link to post (Hero MotoCorp rolls out the 100 Millionth two-wheeler! That's 10 crore sales up). On the KTM Duke 200, it is a good bike if it doesnt have any issues. A friend here was one of the early buyers and he got a lemon, we joke that he would never be free on weekends since he was in the KTM SVC every Saturday morning for warranty claims. Eventually he got the entire engine replaced under warranty. At the same time, other riders have had better experiences with the 200. The ABS version got launched only in 2016. If you can get a low run bike with ABS, it might be worth it but I would put it at the bottom of my list due to the reliability concerns at the back of my mind.

Asking me which bikes to avoid is a loaded question, so let me do the reverse and suggest some bikes with ABS off the top of my head instead
- TVS Apaches 160 / 180 / 200
- Honda CBR250R
- 2018 Suzuki Gixxer

The TVS bikes are very well engineered. The Honda will be a good all rounder, you just need to find out a good mechanic and you are sorted. It is a very user friendly bike, dont worry about it overwhelming you as a newish rider. Even the Gixxer is a lovely bike, I know a few owners who are very happy with the Suzuki naked and faired bikes.