Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Motorbikes (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/)

-   -   Fast & reliable bike to carry bodyguards, under 3 lakhs? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/219052-fast-reliable-bike-carry-bodyguards-under-3-lakhs.html)

Guys,

Have a very unique request from someone I know. He cruises around in a luxury sedan with a bodyguard in the car, and the rest following in a Gypsy. However, the two cars are invariably separated in traffic.

He wants to add two bodyguards to the convoy and on two separate bikes.

<3 lakhs preferred per bike, and not a Bullet due to its poor acceleration. The bikes need to keep up with the luxury sedan on Mumbai's open roads.

The bikes will also be abused as the bodyguards are on rotation, so something durable & reliable.

Thanks much in advance!

I can think of the Duke 390 and Dominar. Fast, agile and reliable too. Dominar in the Matt black shade will match the looks for a bodyguard's bike.

The best choice is in fact from the RE stable IMHO - the Interceptor 650. Fast, reliable, within budget and doesn't catch attention!

The old Bullet 350, or even the 500 was slow thanks to a vibrating 26hp single, whereas the Interceptor makes 47hp from its smooth parallel twin! Hits 120 kmph and can cruise there all day at about 5300rpm, with the peak power still quite a while away at 7250rpm!

Bajaj Dominor will have a bit of trouble keeping up with very fast driving but overall should be good. It is well within budget and on market for more than 3 years now. So reliability is known.

Interceptor 650 goes slightly over budget but ticks all the boxes. Long term reliability is not known but one year on there have been almost no reports of any big or widespread issue. This would be my recommendation.

KTM ADV 390 is recently launched but it is essentially the same bike as the Duke 390. Overheating in Mumbai traffic might be a concern but otherwise should be easily able to keep up with any sedan.

The bike should be something fast, durable & reliable. Based on these three criteria, the only bike that can be suggested is the Honda CBR 250R in black. CBRs are fast, abuse-friendly and have all the niggles sorted out.

I believe if he can up his budget by a few more thousands - the Duke 390 Adventure will also be a good option. Especially incase of an emergency and they need to get off the road (dividers, footpaths etc) - there would be nothing better than the 390 Adv. Obviously the rider too needs to be skilled enough to tackle such situations.

Suzuki's naked 250,

Dominar 400.

Others in my opinion are past their prime or not as agile or would be as reliable / sorted.

The KTM 390 motor in its high compression DOHC Avatar is a farcry when it comes to reliability at least in the traditional sense.

A friend and fellow enthusiast had to get his top end rebuilt within 15k kms and 6 months of use.

But then reliability is a relative term.

My personal bet would be on any air cooled carburettor fed option from the Bajaj stable.

Cheers,
A.P.

Duke 390 would be the best option, nothing can filter through traffic like that.

If pillion was consideration you can opt for Interceptor 650 or Dominar.

Going by the slight experience I have of similar stuff, and the fact that this job requires function over the form, so the motorcycle needs to be well controllable, quick enough to keep up with a gypsy (Because Gypsy in the fleet means nobody will drive over 110-120). If the body guards will be carrying bigger protection tools like say carbine AR etc, then having two on one bike is a must - one has to hold the tool for the one controlling the bike.

If the guards are expected to carry pistols etc, better ask him to get two motorcycles instead of one. On an agile vehicle, better to have the ones carrying the smaller and more handy set of tools.

If the motorcycle has to cover only Mumbai roads and speeds won't go beyond 120 kph. Tell him to not go beyond Bajaj Pulsar 220; it can hit 100 under 12 seconds with a single rider and can easily outrun the likes of a Gypsy etc.

Big seat + decent control + decent acceleration, and a capability to maintain speeds like 120 kph for 20-30 kms is all we need. Why go beyond a Pulsar 220 for that? Can easily carry two, has a decent control also, acceleration is good and can go 120 kph for entire day; comes with ABS and won't cost even 1.10 lac per piece - reliability is also proven in fact!

Interceptor 650 it is. Assuming the bodyguards will be well built, the bike needs to handle the weight of the bodyguard and the stuff they carry with it. I have not seen any big built guy on a Duke 390 yet can't confirm if this can handle and mask the weight.

650 on the other hand has good low end torque which will help. Is fast and is nimble once on move. I know a few people who have not washed or cleaned their 650's properly since they got it, but they still run perfectly fine.

Costs around 3 lakhs - Check
Power and fast - Check
Abused and durable - Check

But, if the bikes will carry a pillion INT650 is a strictly NO. Also if the bodyguards are not heavy built, Duke 390 & the Dominar are a good buy.

I second VKumar on this. A P220 is a reliable workhorse and has very good acceleration. With pillion, P220 is the only one which makes sense. The rear seats are comfortable for well built body guards.

The rear seats on Dominor and interceptor are not pillion friendly from the various ownership reports that we have

With the P220, the spares are easily available in open market and any decent roadside mechanic can service it and fix issues.

Keep up with Luxury sedan, open road, 3 lakhs.

The requirements scream KTM 390.

Duke and RC both cost sub 3 lakhs but get the Adventure for slightly more since that will be more practical for the aforementioned requirement.

The 390 Adventure has a redesigned radiator and an extra fan. That should take care of the the heating issues.

Reliability though is a concern and a Suzuki 250 Naked would fare better but would be much worse off in terms of acceleration and bad road ability.

Bad road ability should come in handy when your friend eventually upgrades from a Luxury Sedan to a Luxury SUV.

I am inclined to suggest Duke 390/390 Adventure or Dominar 400 as well but I'm not so sure they will be as durable and reliable as their Japanese counterparts.

Hence my suggestions are FZ25, Gixxer250 or Honda CB00R in no particular order. These bikes would be arguably more abuse friendly and reliable. Granted the acceleration will not be as quick as Duke 390 or Dominar but they should be able to keep up with the said luxury sedan on whatever open roads Mumbai is left with these days :D

If the friend is not so concerned about maintenance costs later on, the BMW G310 would suit well in this case, especially if the luxury sedan is also a beemer.

I just love how the two wheeler market in India has opened up these days. If this query was to be posted a few years back, the only decent options would have been Pulsar 220, CBR250 or one of the Bullets.

Interesting, we have a couple of threads on the forum where 'VIP culture' is considered a negative and here we are helping out with suggestions!

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/stree...ards-road.html

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/stree...rojectors.html

(Chal, I'll probably get banned or something for this post, but worth it, some dissenting opinion must be voiced. :))