[ast.ggn]

I would better stick to Apaches or any other bike which comes with tubeless tyres.

Reason: He is traveling to interior places and all it takes is one puncture to spoil the experience.

Also low cost of maintenance is a priority. Himalayan/ Dominar are excellent choices as comfortable bikes but for someone who has a daily running, they aren't exactly cheap as other commuters to maintain.

[sagarpadaki]

For village roads, a good suspension and mid range power are most important.

Hero Xpulse 200 is a better fit IMO.

[Nikhildrao]

I would also advice against the D400 as one of friends had an issue with his where the bike would vibrate a lot between 4000-7000k rpm, the thing is his bike was barely a year old at this point and hence he made a couple of visits to the Bajaj service center to get it checked.The most interesting point was that they couldn't diagnose the issue ,so my friend actually went to KTM dealership and they fixed it! No issues cropped up for more than a year!

[Rahul Rao]

A bike is really not the vehicle for such a user, he should go in for a basic car with CNG if it is available in your region, or diesel. Even medium weight diesel cars return an affordable 20+ km/lit.
In my days of heavy use I have used an Indica for full 3.24 Lakh km.

Rahul

[vijaythacker]

Have a look at Hero Extreme 160 which is just launched,it has got the power required for day to day running, hero services are available in most of the remote areas, decent FE along with reliability for sure.
Unless you want more heavier machine with more power then yes our members suggested quite list of few of them to look at, else surely I would suggest to look at Extreme once.

[anilupadhya]

I would recommend the Bajaj Avenger 220/160. The engine is time tested. They are now updated with Fi. Spares are cheap and readily available. It has the high wind deflector for highway cruising. Wouldn't tire him on those long runs. Gives around 35 to 40kmpl. Needs some additional padding for the pillion seat though. He can attach those studd side boxes for luggage. Wouldn't look out of place. Find a good local mechanic and ensure periodic maintenance.

Are roads that bad in all villages?

[hserus]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

The word "Villages" is something that caught my eye. For bad roads, only two motorcycles fit the bill, Himalayan and the xpulse. If mileage is the concern then the xpulse will be a better choice. Both bikes have a comfortable riding position.

TN roads are pretty decent even in interior villages. Certainly not the moonscape that you will find in eg UP or Bihar. Nothing a TVS can't handle and as others have said, TVS ASS are ubiquitous in small town TN.

[samee_arian]

I would suggest to also consider bikes from Hero stable. The recent Extreme 160 looks nice at the lower end of budget and as you go up there are Expulse twins and the Extreme 200 twins (not sure if BSVI models are out yet). Mahindra Mojo is also a very good option IMHO and recently BSVI model has been revealed and price is 199K.

[HTC]

100 kms daily in rural roads definitely points at below,

1. Need to have the best of the suspension among the choices. Changing to new set of shocks shouldnt burn a hole in the pocket.

2. 100 kms per day adds up to 3k kms per month. So almost monthly services are on the cards. So service costs and availability of service stations needs consideration. And spare costs needs to be affordable.

3. Riding geometry needs to be of tourer or upright, i mean comfortable. Though he is in 20's, daily riding 100 kms is gonna take a toll on back.

4. High milage is a must.

5. He may have to install a top box to carry documents ( around 10k for basic ones like trek n ride).

Considering all these, he can do a weighted average analysis among the considered bikes and select one finally.

That apart, if he has other hidden agenda ( like impressing GF or owning the demi-god of bikes aka bullet) ... its left to him

[ashokrajagopal]

Considering the requirements are strictly professional, if I was OP's friend I would buy two motorcycles -- a TVS Star and a Bajaj Platina. Total cost would be a little over 1 Lakhs.
Guess what gives more peace of mind than owning ONE reliable simple machine ? Two of them.

Damn ! Where is ashwinprakash when we need wisdom ?

[srini1785]

I generally don't give motorcycle buy recommendations but i would make an exception for this one.

Originally Posted by jasjotbains

My friend is a banker, currently serving in Tiruvannamalai region of TN. He is on the wrong side of his 20's but is still a bachelor.

It depends on the type of banking function your friend does.

If he is a loan shark then look no further than RE classic 500 with a pronounced thump and tiger emblem rubber flap guard on the rear mudguard and a lion emblem in the front mudguard. Preferably in bright red colour with all associated accessories.

If he is a salesman for say crop / animal insurance or any such product only a TVS victor or HH splendor. Activa or Duo is ruled out, too feminine.

For everything else , TVS XL 100.

Hinterlands of TN associate bikes to specific job functions .

[Gansan]

The roads won't be much of an issue. But if he is going to spend most of his time in those rural parts, it would be better to stay away from any liquid cooled bikes. Keep things simple. Get an air cooled popular commuter model from Honda/Hero/TVS/Bajaj. I would suggest the Unicorn.

[SidharthaN]

I will suggest to get a Splendor or TVS Sport or maybe CT110. Will deliver excellent mileage even if run at 70 kmph on highway runs. Spares will be dirt cheap and available anywhere rural. Am not sure of the riding style, but believe these 100cc are bullet proof. Can be used to end of life span and discarded if required without pinching pockets.

[1.2TSI7DSG]

I would look no further than the age old Unicorn. It is still a brilliant bike.

If he is bent on spending 2 lakhs, Check out the RE Himalayan or wait for the RE Meteor

[YossarianLives]

If he is convinced that he needs a bike, then I would suggest the Apache 200. But I would advise getting a second hand car. Daily long commutes on a bike, in our summers will drain you badly. Even an Alto would be a major upgrade.