[nuew]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

I agree wait and watch seems to be the best approach. I would add the rumoured Himalayan 250 to the bikes to be excited about. The RE scrambler is likely to just have a rerouted exhaust and knobbly tires. But that exhaust would make touring on the bike difficult as it would be tough to add a tail bag and so on. The current Xpulse did have its fair share of quality issues including the wonky ABS which finally seems to have been fixed. If Hero can get the 300 on point at its launch, it could be a big game changer.

I hope RE has learned from what happened to their Trials and make a Scrambler that's worthy to carry that name. Fingers crossed. A Scrambler 650 and a Himalayan 650 would widen the options and I expect both of them to be on the road some day as RE is planning on introducing multiple new bikes.

Hero is doing better than I expected after the split form Honda. After quite a gap, they have ventured into the 1L+ segment. I hope the time they take for product development and launch is shortened enough for the product to be relevant at the time of launch. Hero Xtreme 160R looks like a step in the right direction as it seemed to come out of nowhere unlike those concepts that are still stuck somewhere never making into the roads. Coming to the Adv, hopefully the niggles will be minimal especially considering they are gunning for the 300-500cc segment now which isn't as price sensitive as compared to the 200-250 cc segment.

[dj_666]

Originally Posted by vamsi2390

Hello there ! Long post alert !!

FZ25 : Looks to be the most value for money. Also seems to have potential for being a tourer with its low end torque.

Dominor 400 : Pretty sure most of the suggestions are gonna come this way or the next contender. Somehow I'm not sold on the Bajaj on the long run.
I somehow cannot come out of my prejudice that bajaj vehicles do not stay smooth in the long run. My 70k experience withe the pulsar 1stgen DTSi.

Interceptor : It does tick everything. Saying that, now that I have grown up a little more, my mind does play its games.
Does it offer so much more at touring than lets say a FZ25 at more than double the cost?

Conti GT : Forget the need to ride, if i were rich, I would buy it just to put it up on display.
Was always a huge fan of Thruxton which used to be parked at my office in Melbourne. This was before even the GT535 came out.
If its the twins, the heart definitely asks for a 'Dr.Mayhem' or an 'Ice Queen'
But,alas, I guess for my use case, I would end up changing the handlebar.

Himalayan : Not a beauty queen by any means. Purpose built. Most comfortable in the lot. That engine though !

KTM : Im too old for this stuff. On a serious note though, I was very rash when I had the pulsar.
Somehow I have a feeling it will all come back if I get my hands on these things and their rev happy nature.
Or maybe I need to rethink now that I have matured ?
(390 ADV might be pushing the budget way over)


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It would be a good idea to test ride each in your intended usage condition and see what suits you best in terms of ergonomics and sizing, power delivery, handling, suspension, seat feel and brakes.

RE dealerships hand out bikes to prospective buyers over the weekend free of charge. For other bikes, you may have to ask your mates or borrow a rental.

Riding bikes that you haven't shortlisted too could give you perspective of offerings in the similar ballpark(Kawi twins, Honda 300, G310, RR310)

The new gen 390 twins on paper can seem intimidating but are the best single cylinder road bikes for me. Period.
The ride by wire throttle is smooth and has creamy roll-on essential for overtaking. It's also not snappy/jerky unlike its predecessor.

I could ride the 390 ADV in 5th gear at city speeds without lugging in contrast with the old one which didn't like been ridden above 2nd gear.

[vamsi2390]

Just a follow up on this situation -

Test rode most of the the bikes listed including Dominar, interceptor, GT and the ADV390.

Below are my impressions -

While I took out the GT for about 300- 400 km over a 5 hour drive - didnt have any sort of back pain at all . The under palms did pain a bit as I ended up doing a bit of bad off roading to reach a remote waterfall.

Interceptor somehow looks too similar to my Electra and yeah i hated those foot pegs. I think the GT pegs would do wonders on the interceptor as i somehow developed a liking for the footpeg position on the GT.

Dominar - I hardly had a run for about a couple of kms. Couldnt really make out much of the bike to be frank. Felt slightly bigger than the pulsar I had about 10 years back which is a good and a bad thing

ADV390 - Absolutely loved the posture though i felt the handle can be slightly more raised for me ( nothing that cant be solved). The flickability is unmatched . Hated the low end but I was somehow unable to understand if I wanted to get it or not. May be a longer ride was needed.


Most importantly though , after we have seen a chrome GT in Goa, the home minister thinks if I get something it has to be the GT or interceptor in chrome. Cant say she's wrong (I almost got to point where I decided I will get only a Dominar just for the value for money thingy that it offers). They look absolutely gorgeous in chrome. I absolutely love how the GT looks but, the question mark still remains for me - will it be the GT or the Inty. Lets see how it pans out !!