[Nikhildrao]

My 2 cents

INT/GT 650 or the Duke/Adv 390 is the way to go. No offense to anyone but the suzuki 250cc is a very boring engine and it feels like the toyota corolla of bikes. The Xpulse is underpowered and CB300r are expensive for what they are. I would also suggest used ninja/Z650s if you're interested.

[neil.jericho]

For my next motorcycle, I both want something nimble and lightweight, but also decently powerful. I prefer ADVs to road-oriented motorcycles, but at this point I am open to both kinds of options. My budget is 3 lakhs give or take. I am open to used motorcycles, which broadens the search a bit.

Originally Posted by Nikhildrao

INT/GT 650 or the Duke/Adv 390 is the way to go. No offense to anyone but the suzuki 250cc is a very boring engine and it feels like the toyota corolla of bikes. The Xpulse is underpowered and CB300r are expensive for what they are. I would also suggest used ninja/Z650s if you're interested.

Nikhildrao, the only reason that a few TBHPians have suggested the Suzuki 250s is because the OP has specifically called out that he wants something nimble and light weight. The 160 odd kgs of the Suzuki bikes makes them super light and flickable, while also offering reasonable performance at the price point.

Without the dimension of weight being thrown into the mix, yes the Royal Enfield 650 twins and the KTM 390s are great all round motorcycles that most TBHPians would love to own, at around Rs 3L.

[Shubhendra]

Originally Posted by karanddd

I sold my Himalayan yesterday and I am already thinking of what motorcycle to get next.

For my next motorcycle, I both want something nimble and lightweight, but also decently powerful. I prefer ADVs to road-oriented motorcycles, but at this point I am open to both kinds of options. My budget is 3 lakhs give or take. I am open to used motorcycles, which broadens the search a bit.

Welcome to the club. I am in the same dilemma since more than a year. I had Himalayan since its launch and I got bored with my Himalayan in 2019, there were literally no complaints (other than reliability issues) but wanted to move on. Sold it few months back thinking until I sell it I won't be able to move on.
I also test drove below bikes:
1) KTM 390 adventure: Top end was good but not the low end. Had to do frequent gear changes and suspension was not at all to my liking and was stiff.
2) BMW 300 GS: Everything was good except low end power and scarcity of service centres (90% of my riding is to remote places)
3) XPulse: value for money but fun to ride. lacks power big time
4) Scram 411: You should definitely take a test ride of this bike. We took a brand new rental bike for Arunachal trip , rode more than 3000 kms and its fun. Better city and off-road combo than Himalayan. Himalayan feels bulky in front of Scram. Its chuckable and fun to ride in city as well as on highway.
I bought Ninja 650 (non ABS) few months back, but I was still missing Himalayan. A friend who is at his hometown currently, gave me his Himalayan to park and use. For now, its a good combo of Himalayan and Ninja for me. I may still go ahead with BMW 300 GS, if I don't find Himalayan 450 good enough.
Because of road conditions, urge to explore remote places and pre-set condition of not buying a powerful (read Tiger 800, BMW GS 850) adventure bikes. I still don't find any other bike suitable enough for me until.............

[karanddd]

Originally Posted by Nikhildrao

My 2 cents

INT/GT 650 or the Duke/Adv 390 is the way to go. No offense to anyone but the suzuki 250cc is a very boring engine and it feels like the toyota corolla of bikes. The Xpulse is underpowered and CB300r are expensive for what they are. I would also suggest used ninja/Z650s if you're interested.

The RE 650s are the opposite of nimble. Effectively already have a Duke 390, so I want something different. ADV 390 may work, if I can find one under budget. I get the same appliance-y vibe from the Suzuki, but I'll give it a test ride anyway.

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Nikhildrao, the only reason that a few TBHPians have suggested the Suzuki 250s is because the OP has specifically called out that he wants something nimble and light weight. The 160 odd kgs of the Suzuki bikes makes them super light and flickable, while also offering reasonable performance at the price point.

Without the dimension of weight being thrown into the mix, yes the Royal Enfield 650 twins and the KTM 390s are great all round motorcycles that most TBHPians would love to own, at around Rs 3L.

Yes, the weight is a significant consideration in my mind. The Suzuki remains in consideration for that very reason.

Originally Posted by Shubhendra

Welcome to the club. I am in the same dilemma since more than a year. I had Himalayan since its launch and I got bored with my Himalayan in 2019, there were literally no complaints (other than reliability issues) but wanted to move on. Sold it few months back thinking until I sell it I won't be able to move on.
I also test drove below bikes:
1) KTM 390 adventure: Top end was good but not the low end. Had to do frequent gear changes and suspension was not at all to my liking and was stiff.
2) BMW 300 GS: Everything was good except low end power and scarcity of service centres (90% of my riding is to remote places)
3) XPulse: value for money but fun to ride. lacks power big time
4) Scram 411: You should definitely take a test ride of this bike. We took a brand new rental bike for Arunachal trip , rode more than 3000 kms and its fun. Better city and off-road combo than Himalayan. Himalayan feels bulky in front of Scram. Its chuckable and fun to ride in city as well as on highway.
I bought Ninja 650 (non ABS) few months back, but I was still missing Himalayan. A friend who is at his hometown currently, gave me his Himalayan to park and use. For now, its a good combo of Himalayan and Ninja for me. I may still go ahead with BMW 300 GS, if I don't find Himalayan 450 good enough.
Because of road conditions, urge to explore remote places and pre-set condition of not buying a powerful (read Tiger 800, BMW GS 850) adventure bikes. I still don't find any other bike suitable enough for me until.............

I like the Scram suggestion because it does seem to improve upon the small things I did not like about the Himalayan (weight, agility), but because it's largely the same bike, it does not quite satisfy the itch for something new. I will give it a test ride for sure. Could you also PM me the name of the rental company you used in Arunachal? I've been keen on a North East trip for a while, but I don't think I have the time or wherewithal to actually ride there on my own bike. A Scram rental would be superb.

I also have a question from people who have ridden the various Suzuki 250s. Is the Gixxer SF significantly lighter than the Vstrom 250? I guess the Vstrom gets better long-ride ergonomics, but what else does it improve upon? Is it worth the price and weight premium over the naked Gixxer?

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by karanddd

Is the Gixxer SF significantly lighter than the Vstrom 250? I guess the Vstrom gets better long-ride ergonomics, but what else does it improve upon? Is it worth the price and weight premium over the naked Gixxer?

I don't own any of the 250s but have ridden them all with the intent of buying one of them.

The SF is only 5 or 6 kgs lighter than the strom. The naked is about 10-11 kgs lighter. The handling dynamics between all three are appreciably different, but it has less to do with the weight and more to do with other mechanical changes. Simply said, if you didn't mind the slow handling of the himalayan, you won't mind the vstrom at all. If you did mind it, then the V is not going to thrill you.

What does it improve upon? Mainly touring related concerns. Comfort and luggage hauling.

As you mentioned, the ergonomics. But, importantly, the seat seems much better on the V. All reviews so far have praised the seat for being comfortable for long durations. I personally liked it much more than the harder seats on the gixxers. Also, pillion seat is bigger than the gixxers.

It's got 3.5 cm more ground clearance.

It comes with some trickery on the dash that the gixxers haven't yet got. Connected features including navigation + USB charger port.

It's got potentially more weather protection. A taller windshield+plastic handguards.

You could also put the much more stable handling as a plus if you prefer relaxed riding.

And aesthetically, the blacked out wheels are much nicer than the shiny stuff on the gixxers.

Is it worth the price and weight premium over the naked Gixxer?

That's for you to weigh up and decide though.

Personally. I can easily see the merits of the strom over the gixxer for my usage. And if only the handling was atleast similar to my Impulse, I'd have no problems putting my money on it. But it's a bit too lazy for me. So, now, I'm thinking about how I can get the seat on the strom to fit the gixxer. But since you're coming from a himalayan and xpulse, you may be able to live with the handling characteristics.

I don't see why you're thinking about the gixxer though, if you have access to a Duke 390 anytime.

[karanddd]

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

I don't see why you're thinking about the gixxer though, if you have access to a Duke 390 anytime.

Thank you for the very helpful comparison between the 250s. Yeah you are right. I guess the only reason I am thinking about them is because I do need a motorcycle and I'd rather it be a lightweight ADV, which calls the Vstrom 250 to mind, and because the Vstrom is at heart almost the same as the Gixxer, I want to know what I am getting for my money.

The only Suzuki it makes sense to get is the Vstrom then, as the Gixxer would just be in the Duke's shadow. Between the Vstrom and Xpulse, I don't know. There are clear upsides and downsides to both bikes. For the kind of riding I do, I am not sure if the off-road ability of the Xpulse is needed at all. But the way I think about it is that if I do have the Xpulse, it'll make me want to try going riding on trails, and that may turn out to be very fun. The Vstrom feels less special and is more expensive.

For someone who doesn't tour, is there anything the Vstrom does that stands out or makes it a compelling purchase? Guess I'll find out.

[drt_rdr]

Well, if you think of the strom as a harder, better, faster, stronger Himalayan, I suppose that could be reason enough. The suzuki build quality is a major lure, for me atleast. The bike may possibly outlast my desire to ride motorcycles.

And the engine has got things going for it other than just outright punch. I'd not describe it as boring atleast. So, I'd say, take a few test rides without expectations to see how you like it.

But since you already practically own a roadbike, the duke 390, maybe a used xpulse is the way to go so that you have extremes in choice, while not overcommitting to either. Maybe, sometime down the line, you may come to certain concrete ideas about what kind of riding you prefer, and something like the V-Strom, BMW G310GS etc may make more sense then.

[LongDrive lover]

Originally Posted by karanddd

For someone who doesn't tour, is there anything the Vstrom does that stands out or makes it a compelling purchase? Guess I'll find out.

No. Someone who doesn't tour, why would he/she look upon Vstorm then? Its meant for touring mainly

[chinmaypillay]

Since your brother already has a KTM to zip around the town, get the Interceptor if it is comfortable for you. You can take it for long drives and enjoy it there.

Else, a bike like ninja 300 or 650 if possible, just for touring purpose with the same logic. Apache rr310 is also a worthy contender.

[The_Medic]

Originally Posted by karanddd

KTMs

Brother lives in GA and has a Duke 390 which he hardly rides so it's as good as mine. Do I want the same engine et al with more plastic cladding? I like the ADV 390 kind of, but feels too samey still with the Duke. Is the ADV 250 significantly lighter than the ADV 390? I'd give that a look then. Online it says the weight is the same.

The Xpulse right now is the most likely candidate as it's the easiest on the wallet and will let me save a good deal of money. In the future I can play with the rally kit, I can off-road a bit, etc. I have no doubt I'd enjoy it. But two Xpulses in two countries? Hmm.

Seems to me your questions are already answered here. But here's my view. Having owned a D390 and ridden almost all the bikes in that list, I don't see why you would want to worry over Power of the bike. None of the bikes on your list will outperform the d390 power wise. So if you have easy access to the D390, the other KTMs and REs simply don't make sense. Now, what makes sense is the Xpulse 200 4v rally. Do you have the patience for hero to come out with the rally kit customised for the new 200 4v? My dad owns the 2004v and i know how bloody amazing it is gonna be with the rally kit. Makes me, a thorough sportsbike fan, drool. If i were you, this would be what i would do. Either wait for the rally kit to come out and buy the bike with it installed. Or get the 200 4v right now and get the kit whenever released. Will give time to appreciate how much more fun the rally kit makes the already pretty good 200 4v. Whichever way you go, always keep the shiny side up. Cheers!

[karanddd]

Just want to update the thread as I did finally make a decision. Due to work I didn't get any time to do test rides. So I went ahead and bought an Xpulse 4V in red. It feels more peppy and sounds nicer than my other Xpulse (hah). I plan on doing some rally mods soon but I'm holding back because parts would have to come from a Hero showroom in north GA, and I'm 2 hours away in south GA. And it's raining so hard that even short rides are tricky. I spot a lot of trails around here on which I think the Xpulse would really come into its own and I'm keen to try that out once the skies clear a bit.

I want to thank everyone for inputs regarding other options and I apologise that I wasn't able to give due consideration to every bike mentioned here. Ultimately having the Duke around meant that I didn't want another KTM, the only RE I wanted (Interceptor) would be too expensive, getting a Suzuki or Honda would mean 2 hours one way for servicing or any issue. The Hero dealership and service centre are right here, the Xpulse is (relatively) cheap so I don't feel too precious about it, and so it feels like a perfect everyday bike. In the future if I have more money I'd like to get an RE 650, maybe the cruiser.

I do have one question for other Xpulse owners. Do you know of any aftermarket exhaust options for the 4V? The engine has such a nice thrum to it that I feel a new exhaust would really bring the sound to life, make it go a little brap brap. That and the flat seat are my first mod interests. The full rally kit only when I feel like I've gotten what I can out of the stock suspension (which already feels very capable and far beyond my ability).

And if there's any Xpulse owners meetup or WA group, please feel free to DM and let me know. It would be nice to share tips and tricks.