[bugatti]

Hey, my beloved GS is mentioned here..I have the Suzuki GS 150 and I've owned various old school motorbikes but have had the GS since 2014 (pre-owned). Despite an accident and other issues, I'm still holding onto this one. Haven't experienced a bike that can putter around the city in 3rd gear at 30km/hr or cruise on the highways at 85 at 7k rpms in 6th gear for hours on end. Just did a day trip on it with family last 5 days back.

I too, am keen on eventually picking up, for kicks, a performance motorbike < 400cc but I haven't given it serious thought (perhaps next year?) I wouldn't mind a Yamaha R3 but good ones are hard to find at reasonable prices.

[drt_rdr]

Thanks, @all.

Honestly, the Duke390 may be a bit much for me. It's not the power, but combining that with the sharp and stiff handling package seemed to me like I'd have to have my attention on what the bike is doing at all times. I don't want to live with something this one-dimensional for possibly a decade. I'd prefer the CB300R to this. It's capable of similar thrills, but felt a bit softer sprung, and the handling, from what little bit I experienced, seemed friendlier.

Faired bikes are out of the question. Aerodynamics are lost on me because I don't see myself doing a lot of multilane highways and sustained triple digit speeds. I don't like having to deal with the extra efforts to do basic maintenance. I don't like the extra weight. And in case the fairing breaks, I'd absolutely hate to pay to replace something I don't want or need.

I love the FZ25. I've spent a decent bit of time getting to know it and we get along really well. I like the laziness most of the time, not that it's not a good handler or anything, quite satisfactory actually, as long as you don't compare it to the dukes or R15\MT15. I almost bought one a couple years ago, and even now, I don't mind the idea of buying it, especially considering that, with last year's price cut, it costs around same as it did in 2017\18. But considering the kinds of surfaces I tend to ride on and where I park my bikes, I think I'd benefit from a more robust build. I'm sure the engine can take more punishment than I'm capable of dishing out, but from what I've been hearing and reading, I don't trust Yamaha's suspension and wheels to be built the same. Still, it's tantalizing to buy a used BS4 model just for kicks. I might just do that.

The 250 Pulsars are too new and a bit too uncomfortable out of the box for me. BMW badge tax is a nope for me. REs are a big nope.

None of the current adventure bikes suit me because they're all too heavy for my liking. Besides, my near-stock Impulse can probably come close enough or outdo any of them for my usage scenarios.

If only Suzuki locally made common consumables on the Inazuma, like Kawasaki did for the Ninja300, it would be an easy decision. So, I suppose that just leaves the Gixxer250 and the CB300R, which, to me, seemed like similar animals, and suit me nice enough, except for the seats and suspension. They're still not close enough to a theoretical GS250R, but I'll take what I can get.

I have my apprehensions about the CB. I hope Honda don't compromise much on the build specs and quality now that it's being made in India. The upside down suspension is a bit of a worry as well. If I get one, I'll be thoroughly testing out the so-called "legendary Honda reliability", but most probably, their warranty.

....

Originally Posted by Sudarshan42

These days I'm also gravitating towards more comfortable city commuters like the XPulse 200. Will give that a try someday.

Having used an impulse for city commutes for years, I would urge you to go ahead with the xpulse, particularly if you're looking at long commutes on bangalore roads. Everyone needs to at least experience one of these kinds of bikes.

Originally Posted by bugatti

Hey, my beloved GS is mentioned here..I have the Suzuki GS 150 and I've owned various old school motorbikes but have had the GS since 2014 (pre-owned). Despite an accident and other issues, I'm still holding onto this one. Haven't experienced a bike that can putter around the city in 3rd gear at 30km/hr or cruise on the highways at 85 at 7k rpms in 6th gear for hours on end. Just did a day trip on it with family last 5 days back.

People who own a GS tend to usually describe it in endearing terms. It's such a good little motorcycle. Though mine is slightly a love-hate relationship, but it's still my benchmark for what I want in a bigger roadbike. I've had a few falls on mine too. It's just not the same bike as it was before. But I still love it to bits. The kind of go it has in 5th and 6th gears at higher rpms is such a wholesome buzz. Don't let go of it till it dies a natural death.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

The gixxer250 fairly satisfactorily solves both these troubles but, I have to agree with you, it just doesn't have the same kind of mature appeal even though it's a fine vehicle on its own merits. Wish suzuki locally made a general purpose bike in single cylinder format. I haven't extensively tested the Gixxer but I think it's going to fall short of the GS and the Inazuma's ability to be lugged. I could go uphill on a rocky path in 3rd gear with a pillion on the GS.

Originally Posted by shancz

- Thanks for the tips, Gixxer250 seems good, I haven't ridden it so this is quite helpful.

Reviving this thread ...

https://youtu.be/R7ArUwOd8_0

Cheers, Doc

[shancz]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Reviving this thread ...

So the Gixxer can also serve as an ADV if needed.
That guy has my respect and the sound of two strokes was so refreshing to hear.

I might use his idea for seat and tank cushioning

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by shancz

So the Gixxer can also serve as an ADV if needed.
That guy has my respect and the sound of two strokes was so refreshing to hear.

I might use his idea for seat and tank cushioning

The naked very easily can. Just as guys in Manali and Shimla have been modding Dukes for the SJOBA.

This one too he wanted to prove a point. He's a pro motocrosser. And vlogger.

Would have been pretty easy to go the whole 9 yards and remove the entire front plastic beak.

It's what I've always maintained.

Weight and flickability over comfort and everything else. With the right tyres (and mud clearance).

Suspension and ground clearance is overrated. Remember, Bullets have traversed the deepest and most hostile recesses of our land for decades. With zero maintenance and babying.

170 mm off the ground.

Anything more is a luxury. Good to have. Not the end of the world even remotely without.

Cheers, Doc

[drt_rdr]

@ebonho: Thanks for the find. And what a find! Just re-affirms my faith in the Suzuki durability and why this one's worth paying ~50,000 over the FZ25.

I was also discussing the same kind of modding some time ago with a couple other members on these very boards, turning the TVS RR310 into an adventure bike of sorts. This madman's gone and done it!

That said, the bike looks far from stock. The suspension looks modded. The rear shocker's definitely not the stock unit. He's taken out the clip ons and put in a wide handlebar. Looks like he's also gone for a bigger rear sprocket. ABS fuse removed. Not to mention the tyres and engine\exhaust mods.

I don't know if a stock Gixxer's suspension can take those kinds of bumps and jumps and not need a rebuild\replacement every few days. But I'm happy the frame and wheels appear to be built tank-like. I mean, this guy seems to be going on these kinds of antics for more than a year now.

Originally Posted by ebonho

Suspension and ground clearance is overrated. Remember, Bullets have traversed the deepest and most hostile recesses of our land for decades. With zero maintenance and babying.

170 mm off the ground.

Anything more is a luxury. Good to have. Not the end of the world even remotely without.

Don't think you'll ever get through to me on this.

The guy is clearly and vocally in discomfort when he's using the bike in the enduros, and rallies. This is despite modding the bike to make it more comfortable. I think he mentions he's also participating in beginner class events.

A roadbike has its limits. Hop on an impulse some time. You might change your mind about bullets being adequate.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

@ebonho: Thanks for the find. And what a find! Just re-affirms my faith in the Suzuki durability and why this one's worth paying ~50,000 over the FZ25.

I was also discussing the same kind of modding some time ago with a couple other members on these very boards, turning the TVS RR310 into an adventure bike of sorts. This madman's gone and done it!

That said, the bike looks far from stock. The suspension looks modded. The rear shocker's definitely not the stock unit. He's taken out the clip ons and put in a wide handlebar. Looks like he's also gone for a bigger rear sprocket. ABS fuse removed. Not to mention the tyres and engine\exhaust mods.

I don't know if a stock Gixxer's suspension can take those kinds of bumps and jumps and not need a rebuild\replacement every few days. But I'm happy the frame and wheels appear to be built tank-like. I mean, this guy seems to be going on these kinds of antics for more than a year now.



Don't think you'll ever get through to me on this.

The guy is clearly and vocally in discomfort when he's using the bike in the enduros, and rallies. This is despite modding the bike to make it more comfortable. I think he mentions he's also participating in beginner class events.

A roadbike has its limits. Hop on an impulse some time. You might change your mind about bullets being adequate.

If you see the begining of the video he's mentioned the mods ... front suspension stiffened. Internals played with fir tge damping. Rear shock on the hardest setting. Stock. Not allowing him to jump.

Tyres of course. He says the wider front tyre handles the ruts much better than the much thinner motocross knobbies.

Exhaust of course is a free flow unrestricted one.

Handle he says is too narrow for the weight and heft of the bike. This after the pre race recce lap.

Let's ride with your impulse and me on my Duke someday. Words are often overrated too ... like suspension and ground clearance.

Cheers, Doc

P.S. It's not my find actually. It was sent to me on WhatsApp by our fellow bhpian and young rallyist Petrolhead Neel. Another impulsian (and closet Bulleteer)

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Rear shock on the hardest setting. Stock.

The rear suspension didn't look stock. It's got a tool-less adjustment unit mounted on the pillion footrest.

Anyway, that bike's come a ways from its origins at this point.

Let's ride with your impulse and me on my Duke someday. Words are often overrated too ... like suspension and ground clearance.

Covid willing, I'll even show up with balding tyres.

Wish I had a go-pro or something so I could put up a couple timed runs on the same course between my roadbike and dualsport to showcase the difference right now.

I'll see if I can jugaad something up with my phone to make it happen.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

The rear suspension didn't look stock. It's got a tool-less adjustment unit mounted on the pillion footrest.

Anyway, that bike's come a ways from its origins at this point.


Covid willing, I'll even show up with balding tyres.

Wish I had a go-pro or something so I could put up a couple timed runs on the same course between my roadbike and dualsport to showcase the difference right now.

I'll see if I can jugaad something up with my phone to make it happen.

To be fair and have a well rounded assessment you should ride a bike everywhere. Like an extension of you.

This custom trail riding phenomenon seems to have started after I moved on to being a cyclist. It wasnt there earlier.

Like a lifestyle thing. Boutique riding. With most riders having 3-4 bikes in their garage.

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by ebonho

To be fair and have a well rounded assessment you should ride a bike everywhere. Like an extension of you.

I wholeheartedly agree with this because I do that myself. I've been riding my roadbike offroad as well for a long time now. I remember I even posted some pictures of my roadbike on the offroad riding thread.

I'm not speaking out of a skewed perspective or some newly-minted enthusiasm. My perspective comes from riding both types of bikes on the dirt (different kinds of surfaces really) for ~ a decade now. And not just the kiddie stuff like gravel roads and smooth mud trails.

Take an xpulse out for a back-to-back ride alongside your duke out on the dirt. And not the flat stuff, I'm talking about bumpy, rocky, slippery, rutted-out stuff where your average speed will be low.

You're bound to appreciate the ground clearance and suspension travel, possibly even the lack of power.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

I
Take an xpulse out for a back-to-back ride alongside your duke out on the dirt. And not the flat stuff, I'm talking about bumpy, rocky, slippery, rutted-out stuff where your average speed will be low.

You're bound to appreciate the ground clearance and suspension travel, possibly even the lack of power.

I'm not contesting that at all.

But my riding is very aggressive speed tarmac based. Even broken. But preferably there should still be tar for my rubber to adhere to.

If I was living in the hills or mountains and doing a lot of exploring, I would definitely have liked one of these. But faster.

As things stand, a Duke rocks both the north and the north east. I have yet to do Coorg and Munnar and these yummy circuits down south. But I've done Bangalore Mysore Ooty Coonoor Wellington Salem and all of the east coast from Chennai up way back in 2004, and then again in 2009 (completely different roads).

Honestly, the Duke is the type of bike we could not even dream of when we started and did the bulk of our riding because it would have been such a paradigm shift. I am blessed that through my 40s I got to rip not just one but two of these sexy dream machines.

A bike first and foremost needs to thrill you. Even scare you and make you soil your undies a bit. It needs to have grunt.

All this other suspension and ground clearance stuff is like putting long gangly spider legs on a 90 pound weakling, without the basic go. Yes he will step over a tall pile of books or a hedge in your backyard. But out of his comfort zone he is still a weakling. With long legs.

We can keep going round and round in circles on this.

Cheers, Doc

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by ebonho

I'm not contesting that at all.

But my riding is very aggressive speed tarmac based. Even broken. But preferably there should still be tar for my rubber to adhere to.

I guess that settles it. You prefer tar and think a duke can cut it for a bit of breezy dirt detours every once in a while.

While I'm talking about taking roadbikes where they'll get beaten to a pulp. The guy in the video you posted is the only one with a modded roadbike in a field of dirtbikes for a reason. Guys modding dukes and such for SJOBA, Raid and what not do so because they don't have access to real dirtbikes and have to do with what they can get.

You try going faster on some of the rougher stuff, even an anaemic impulse will scare you. The thrills and chills come from the fleeting sense of adhesion to the surface, and your ability or lack to negotiate the challenges of the surface.

If you stick to flat, smooth dirt and think roadbikes are adequate, I'm not gonna argue with that. Because I think so too.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

If you stick to flat, smooth dirt and think roadbikes are adequate, I'm not gonna argue with that. Because I think so too.

North Sikkim is not flat smooth dirt.

It's rocks and water and a lot of peg deep snow fed slush.

So is Spiti and most parts of Himachal on the eastern axis towards Tibet.

And the bit of breezy detours are usually 4 to 7 days of sunrise to sunset riding 250 km days.

What you're describing is curated Bangalore and Gurgaon Sunday trails. The boutique riding of the past 5 years I was talking about.

Where you go 40 kilometres out of the city.

And make multiple you tube videos and Instagram posts of bikes fallen on their sides and a roundtable conference in the center of the trail with one alpha gyaani supervising operations of how to pick up the bike and which line to take.

In multiple takes before the final "assault" ...

Does it ring a bell?

Cheers, Doc

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by ebonho

North Sikkim is not flat smooth dirt.

It's rocks and water and a lot of peg deep snow fed slush.

So is Spiti and most parts of Himachal on the eastern axis towards Tibet.

And the bit of breezy detours are usually 4 to 7 days of sunrise to sunset riding 250 km days.

Though I've never been up north, from what I've seen, I'd categorize the usual touring routes up there as pretty breezy as well. I doubt you'd find the sweaty stuff in the middle of a touring route.

Or maybe it wasn't breezy because you were on a roadbike which is just making things difficult for yourself. Artificial difficulty.

Anyway, seems like the scenario where adventure bikes will trump over roadbikes. And the lighter dualpurpose bikes will trounce over both of those. Don't knock them before you try them.

What you're describing is curated Bangalore and Gurgaon Sunday trails. The boutique riding of the past 5 years I was talking about....

What's wrong with that? Not everyone can handle a full course meal. Some people just want a McDonalds happy meal till they can build their appetite for the bigger meals.

[ambarkhan]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Reviving this thread ...
Cheers, Doc

from this to GSX1000rr in Baja 500 https://www.rideapart.com/news/31317...r1000-offroad/ people are having fun on motorcycles.

Apart from very focused bikes like 4 Cylinder CBR250RR and proper dirt bikes , I think we have got at least one bike in each category unto 500cc in Indian Market. Let it be a Track bike , dual sports or fun commuters.