[aargee]

Originally Posted by darkLightning

Thanks man, it is really nice to hear thoughts of someone who has walked the path I am talking about, hopefully the details I have provided above give some more clarity

I will say, rent a house at Bangalore first; a house that's close to office, most preferably walk to office even if it's 2-3 Km because...





Then spend time in settling down building a home every weekend. This should easily take 2-3 months atleast. By then you can easily figure out whether you need a motorcycle, car or flight to travel between Bangalore - Bhopal - Bangalore.

One of the primary reason being, if you first spend on things you rarely need, then you'll have money rarely left for things you really need

Ending with a little humor

[Black_Star]

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

Xpulse 200T (which has been discontinued anyway).

Sorry about nitpicking but the 200T was discontinued for a while during the lockdown, but it came back again as BS6

[jomson13]

Originally Posted by darkLightning

1. Hero XPulse 200 4V - seat comfort will be deciding factor.
2. Hero Xtreme 200S - again seat comfort will be decisive.
3. Apache RTR 200 4V - Good allrounder but needs to be checked in person first.
4. FZ-X - This ugly duckling has a very comfortable seat which is creating some interest for me.
5. FZ-S - Good all around bike but is it powerful enough.
6. XPulse 200T - The road going XPulse seems good.

Thanks,

My two cents on the topic -
From your consideration set I would recommend the Apache. I own one myself and am very satisfied with it. It's not the most comfortable bike for touring but it does a fuss free job.

I see many recommendations for a gixxer 250 - do test ride one on the highway, you would be quite surprised by its performance.
It looks much better than the rest of the bikes too.

Personally speaking, If I were in your position, I would pick up a used bike from bangalore itself. I would not buy a new one when I have already decided to sell it after 2-3 years.

Also consider the interceptor, I would say its the best budget tourer available today

[shancz]

The new Pulsar seems to be coming, might just be the perfect fit
Check out the thread and this post by ashwinprakas :

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

The Official Teaser is Out!!!

https://Youtu.be/LaWeiMC5BCQ

[bhargavd]

My Views on the Xpulse

Just back from a recent 2000km+ ride on the Xpulse 200. It can tour but isn't meant to be. It was the choice for the current ride as we were planning to go on trails at our destination.

It can't cruise all day long at 90-100s with pillion + luggage, heck it was struggling with me at 85kgs and 20-30kgs of luggage.

The seat comfort is not there. Period. I had modified the seat only for this ride and could manage. My co-rider had the stock seat wasn't the most comfortable.

On your requirements-

- As a lot of people have said, forget riding Bangalore to Bhopal every month on any bike (and if I may say even a car). Not just the costs but safety and not being fatigued is more important at the end of the trip. You'd rather spend more time with family than trying to recover. The costs are just irrelevant in this case.

- For your weekend rides around Bangalore, again the Xpulse won't fit the purpose, get something way more comfortable for seating 2 up and still having the grunt to cruise comfortably.

- If buying new, the Himalayan/C350/CB350/Interceptor make a good case. Be advised few mods are in order for any of them to really make them useful for your requirement.

- If buying used, Bangalore should have a lot of options. You could take the plunge and get the Versys/Ninja 650s. They aren't very difficult to ride pretty reliable and the depreciation hit wont be too much, and are pretty reliable for most part.

Bhargav

[SVK Rider]

Mod Note : Please quote ONLY the relevant bits of a post. Quoting a full, long post inconveniences our mobile readers.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by darkLightning

Hello Team-BHPians,

As the title of the suggests I need your inputs in shortlisting the bikes for my next purchase.

Now with these two options out what we are really looking for is a bike with following capabilities -
Budget - CB350 costs 2.5L plus on road and I had no issues with that price however since I am not purchasing in that bracket I am open to anything from Shine to CB200X however if choice is to be done then 1.5L on road is the kind of price I am looking at. (My previous bike is Splendor Plus).

Looking at your requirements, you can consider FZ25 also. It really matches all your boxes, plus reliable.

[darkLightning]

Hi All,

It has been a long time since I started the thread and I am very happy to share the latest updates on my search and it's results.

So addressing the big bear first I had my job change in December and fortunately the way things have panned out so far the move to Bangalore if it even happens will not be a permanent move so the Bangalore-Bhopal round trips are scoped out of equation now.

The second concern which is related to a possibility of riding-driving gap of 2 years is still there however there are certain options which I am getting that can serve as a workaround of keeping the bike active at bare minimum level over this duration.

With these two concerns kind of sorted wife and I decide to reframe our search and explore all sorts of options available in the market. Let's first see the options that were ruled out in initial phase -

1. TVS stable - For some weird reason the TVS showrooms in my city (Bhopal) wanted to sell me Apache 180 only and they were adamant that other models of Apache are on manufacturing hold currently. Rejected whole stable since I didn't really like the driving posture on Apache, it was too aggressive for my liking.

2. Suzuki Stable - Didn't really like anything below V-Strom 650 and that one is out of my current budget.

3. Honda Stable (Regular bikes) - None of the regular Honda bikes felt special to us.

4. Bajaj Stable - Only Dominar 400 made sense to me however my preference was a bike with simpler mechanicals.

With these options strike out mainly I was looking into something from Hero, Honda Bigwing, Royal Enfield, Yamaha or Classic Legends.

5. Yamaha Stable - I really liked the driving ergonomics and overall behaviour of FZ-25 and FZ-X, however none of them really stroke that chord with us. Very good allrounder bikes, it's just they didn't feel special to us.

6. Hero Stable - I was mainly looking towards XPulse twins and Xtreme 200S, according to the Hero dealerships Xtreme 200S BS6 is launched however not yet dispatched, I cannot ascertain the validity of this statement but there was no choice. For XPulse 200 according to dealerships I need to book it and they will deliver but no test drives. Only XPulse 200T display unit was available but again no test drive. I personally felt the dealerships are too occupied with their bread butter models. Coming to XPulse 200T it's a tall bike, I liked it and may have given it a serious thought if I had to purchase a bike only for solo rides.

So ultimately the contest boiled down to Honda Bigwing vs Royal Enfield vs Classic Legends, funnily enough all these three showrooms are located almost adjacent to each other in my city

Wife and I gave a lot of thought and ultimately decided to go ahead and purchase something out of CB350/Himalayan/Meteor and gang which as I said in initial post was our original choice.

And so with spring in our steps we launched the final phase of selections, and this was our experience -

Royal Enfield - The dealership guys were extremely busy and adamant on giving test drive of Classic only, According to them Himalayan is on order only basis they don't even have display unit, Meteor they have a display unit but no test drives. I can only sit and check. I was never a fan of Classic anyways, Wife and I sat on Meteor, the immediate plus point was the comfortable seat and I must admit Meteor probably had the best pillion comfort of all bikes I have sat on. However I felt as if there is a dinosaur egg in my lap (the fuel tank) and when trying to move the bike around a bit the balance felt a bit off. Nevertheless I asked the dealership to contact me if and when they get a Meteor or Himalayan for test drive. This was more than a month ago and I am yet to hear back from them. Same story with other RE dealerships.

Classic Legends - The launch of Yezdi brought an exciting option into the mix, the dealership (only one in my city) was extremely prompt and had all bikes available for test drive (although the distance of test drive was very less, but it's better than no test drive), I took test drives of Jawa 42 2.1 and Yezdi triplets. (Roadster i test drove twice). Jawa was rejected first because it felt small and unusually wide and just not ergonomically pleasant. Yezdi Scrambler is probably the best bike out of Classic Legends stable ergonomically however the seat cannot accommodate two of us. Roadster is very elegant and comfortable.

Honda Bigwing - Finally there is a Bigwing dealership in my city and I took two test drives of CB350, one at dealership and second at my home. A total of approximately 10-12 km covered over the two test drives with roads ranging from State highway to non-tarmac. I must say the bike mighty impressed me.

So ultimately the choice came to one out of CB350 or Roadster, Below are the comparison points in purely my personal view -

Looks - Both bikes are elegant however Roadster just has the better looks especially in that Blue shade.

Ergonomics - Both bikes have similar ergonomics with CB350 a tad better for rider and Roadster tad better for pillion.

Handling - CB350 has excellent weight distribution and for not a single moment I felt like riding a 180kg machine even when I was moving it around by my legs There is just something about this mean machine which cannot be explained in words. It felt as nimble as my Splendor Plus. Roadster is really good but CB350 just hits the ball out of park in this area.

Comfort - Comfort wise both bikes are excellent but the ride quality has big impact on this aspect

Ride quality - This is where the decision was ultimately made with CB350 being butter smooth on both test drives. Roadster has a long way to go as far as ride is concerned, it is power hungry and the moment you drop the throttle Roadster starts feeling agitated. Whereas CB350 has this kind of Jekyll and Hide nature, with minimum throttle I was essentially cruising as if I was on my Splendor or Wego whereas the moment you twist open the throttle the roar of the beast is loud and clear and bike urges you to essentially go as wild as you can, in short a true allrounder bike.

Gear shifts - The slipper clutch and Honda's velvet smooth gearbox leave the roadster in smoke. No false neutrals, no missed gear shifts, no jerkiness, no stalling, no unnecessary throttle input required, whereas Roadster and all Yezdi/Jawa for that matter just give too many false gearshifts, jerkiness.

Other pointers - CB350 has better features than Roadster and then there is the reliability of Honda. Roadster is a really good motorcycle it just does not have enough going it's way currently to compete with CB350.

So finally after loads of thoughts and considerations We have finally booked our CB350 Anniversary Edition (Matte Marshal Green) today with delivery date of 2nd April (our choice, the bike is ready in stock with dealership).

I will post my dealership experience and other bits about purchasing soon

[VRod_24]

Originally Posted by darkLightning

So finally after loads of thoughts and considerations We have finally booked our CB350 Anniversary Edition (Matte Marshal Green) today with delivery date of 2nd April (our choice, the bike is ready in stock with dealership).

I will post my dealership experience and other bits about purchasing soon

Congratulations on your new acquisition and wishing you many safe miles on it. Lookin forward to reading your 2 cents on the ownership experience of the Honda.

[jomson13]

Originally Posted by darkLightning

Hi All,

So finally after loads of thoughts and considerations We have finally booked our CB350 Anniversary Edition (Matte Marshal Green) today with delivery date of 2nd April (our choice, the bike is ready in stock with dealership).

I will post my dealership experience and other bits about purchasing soon

Congratulations.
2nd April is a long way away. What is special about this day - Gudi Padwa?
I would not keep my bike with the dealer at all - I have always promptly got all my vehicles home

[nibedk]

Originally Posted by darkLightning

Hi All,

It has been a long time since I started the thread and I am very happy to share the latest updates on my search and it's results.

I will post my dealership experience and other bits about purchasing soon

Mate! I am no way going to discourage you buying a bike.

I am a biker @ heart and will remain one till my limbs support. On the right side of forties and have been riding since I was 13-14 years old. I know its not legal but am a 80s kid and all such jugaad used to work back then. Would I do it again or allow my kid to do it. The answer is a big no. A little background just to give you a context that I have some sort of experience to give my point of view.

Biking in a group over long distances is absolute fun. If you are fit and have a great group please go ahead and take up biking. But your plan to travel to Bhopal from Bangalore does not seem to be a good idea. Trust me the risks outweigh the fun and adventure part. Besides safety is an issue. We drive to 95% of our destination by car and I would not advise anyone to ride a bike alone on out Indian highways.I stopped riding long distances long back. For my loved ones my life is way too precious compared to the fun, adventure and sense of freedom that biking gives. I still ride bike or bicycle frequently but mostly within city limits.

Congrats on the CB350. Even after 2 years you can still retain the bike for quick riding to nearby places and go get the bike ASAP. 3 weeks is way too long for the bike to be kept with the dealer. You never know what all happens within their premises. You don't want to repent later. If its a green signal from the dealer please get the bike ASAP. Everyday is special if you believe it be. Its all in the mind mate.

P.S : I would have rode close to 1.5 L kms on 6 bikes/scooter that we have owned over the 30 years since I learnt riding a two wheeler.