[ExOblivione]

Originally Posted by Darkcloud

Quite an interesting statement. I’ve never thought of a motorcycle as anything but fun. So never thought of this viewpoint.
I would like to know which are these powerful bikes which would make you sick of riding them or tire you out so much? Would make an interesting read or ride.

What I said isn't a universal statement, meant for all riders. Read it in context of what Sebring stated, since it was a reply to him. He was talking about how a comfortable bike allowed him to explore more, contrasted to the statements of his peers who stated that that he had overspent compared to other bikes with "similar specs".

People have different thresholds and different sensitivities. Some people have loud exhausts give them a headache in little time, while others want it as loud as possible. I am personally very put out by vibrations. A very vibey bike will have me wishing for the ride to end. Other might be fine with it.

My riding style tends towards long runs, preferably in the mountains (something I am thankful to have quick access to), which is a much more involved ride than a cruise. And there is usually a place at the end of the ride I want to explore, and that often means a decent hike up steep inclines, before an equivalent ride back. I too give priority something that doesn't tire me out. So supersports with their committed riding posture that put strain on shoulders/back/knees, and vibey bikes (personal sensitivity) etc. bikes are out.

As an example; a friend has a 1st gen XR. Supremely powerful bike, awesome in almost all ways, but for the high-frequency vibes. I don't like that, he seems fine with it. Have heard that the latest gen seems to have solved that though.

Anyway, different strokes for different folks!

[Darkcloud]

Originally Posted by ExOblivione

What I said isn't a universal statement, meant for all riders. Read it in context of what Sebring stated, since it was a reply to him. He was talking about how a comfortable bike allowed him to explore more, contrasted to the statements of his peers who stated that that he had overspent compared to other bikes with "similar specs"

My post wasn’t meant to question your statement. Also, I did read it in context.

I’m in the process of replacing my old R1200GSA. I’m waiting for the launch of the new 1300GS and will compare it to the Multistrada V4S.

But the bike my heart is set on is the Transalp! After the test ride I felt the Transalp was so much easier to live with than either the GS or the Multi, except for those tubed tyres. Also it fulfills all the needs of an average Indian rider.
So I’m torn between the Transalp and the heavy weights.

Hence your statement got me thinking and I felt I should hear your views.

[ExOblivione]

Originally Posted by Darkcloud

I’m in the process of replacing my old R1200GSA. I’m waiting for the launch of the new 1300GS and will compare it to the Multistrada V4S.

But the bike my heart is set on is the Transalp! After the test ride I felt the Transalp was so much easier to live with than either the GS or the Multi, except for those tubed tyres. Also it fulfills all the needs of an average Indian rider.
So I’m torn between the Transalp and the heavy weights.

Hence your statement got me thinking and I felt I should hear your views.

My personal views are that, for a tourer especially, something easier to live with is much preferable to something a bit more “sexy”. Many small niggles that would be fine, even charming, on short weekend rides or bombing around for a few hours, can get under your skin on long tours. Fatigue, physical and mental, is cumulative, getting worse day by day and it magnifies every little thing. Exhaustion is dangerous and leads to lack of focus and poor decision making.

Poor ergos, vibrations, noise and heat are the biggest contributing factors to exhaustion. They are also a completely inevitable part of riding. They can’t be avoided, but at least they can be minimized to reduce their impact. Your fitness, your gear, and perhaps most importantly, your bike.

Our country already tends towards being very hot and/or humid for most places, most of the year. You also run across a wider variety of environments as you cross climes as varied as the ones we have here. Having to crawl through a crowded city on your route, with the sun beating down and ambients getting close to 40, a 170 bhp, fire breathing V4S might quickly lose its charm.

For example; this February I did the longest ride of my life. In 22 days and 6200km, I toured all of Gujarat. 15 of those were riding days, rest exploring places (also on bike). 16 were solo (had friends join me for 6 days towards the end). When I started, it was shivering in single-digit temps in Uttarakhand. Within 2 days, deep into Gujarat, I was pouring sweat and getting dehydrated.

While exploring, running into bad riding conditions is a given. On my trip, on route to Kutch, and later at Kadiyo Dhro, had to ride across places with deep, very fine sand and dust. My Versys (because of weight and Road 5 tyres) was skidding, losing traction and fishtailing, while lighter bikes were having a much easier time. The idea of dropping a heavy bike, laden with luggage, in a place where your feet won’t have proper traction (mud, grit or significant inclines), is not fun. If you have friends, there is at least a safety net, if you are solo it’s worrying. The two big bikes you mentioned are 250kg behemoths.

Many remote places often don’t have 95 octane fuel, making it another thing that could weigh on your mind. Transalp’s relaxed 11:1 compression ratio will be fine with regular, compared to GS’s 13.3:1 and Multistrada’s 14:1. As would limited service support in case of a problem, or if your scheduled service falls in the middle of a long trip.

I don’t have any experience with the MS or 1300GS, so I can’t comment on the vibrations. From others’ comments, they have smooth engines. Having toured on vibey bikes (singles), fatigue comes quick and hard. Even a single full-day ride is exhausting. I don’t like that sensation for anything more than a couple of hours. The tolerance varies by individual, but if vibrations are there in the rev range you are going to be in for extended periods, it’s going to get tiring and annoying.

Managing fatigue is very important. At the tail-end of the last 2-3 rides of my trip, because of the accumulated fatigue and lack of proper sleep, I experienced exhaustion while riding where I felt my mind literally lagging. While riding I could perceive a delay in how quickly my mind would respond to stimuli. I have prided myself on being completely cool on the road, and finding amusement rather than annoyance and anger at our chaotic traffic. But at that time, I felt myself getting irritable. On the last day, 300 km into the 750 km ride home, it felt too dangerous and spotting a khat at a petrol station, I lay down and drifted off in a fugue state for 15 mins. That cleared up my mind. I have been exhausted on other riding+hiking trips, but never to this extent. Still, it took about 17-18 days of non-stop running around to get to this point. I have learned my lesson. I am never going to get into that kind of situation again.

Does there come a point where your choice of bike starts having significant input on the rides you want to take? Do you start avoiding riding for much of the year because of heat, reducing the time and places you could ride to? Or if you push through, reducing the pleasure of a ride? Do you start avoiding routes where you could run into really bad riding conditions or fuel availability? And what do you get in return? Power you can’t use? Maybe the clout of having the biggest… ahem, cylinder around? Are you really going to have more fun, on MS/GS than on the Transalp? If yes, how much more? Enough to overcome the drawbacks? That only you can decide.

Just to be clear, I am in no way whatsoever judging or denigrating those who have endgame machines. GS and Multistrada are exceptional. But they, like every other bike, come with certain tradeoffs and compromises. What matters most is what makes you happy. As mentioned previously, my friend has an XR, which he loves. I love these machines myself, but from a distance. The beauty, the power, the sheer craziness is awesome. Just like the reason to climb a mountain is “because it’s there”, these machines exist just because they can. However, they don’t gel with what I want to get out of riding (mountain twisties, exploration, long tours - all with minimal hassle), and their raison d'etre is something I can’t justify for ownership.

If the Transalp already calls to your heart, there should be no contest. You are lucky that your heart and head are in harmony. It’s relatively lightweight, plenty powerful, fun, has fantastic suspension, reliable and versatile. It will be so much easier to live with and enjoy in the widest variety of situations possible, without a doubt. The only real drawback are the tubed tyres, but you can either get the Africa Twin’s wheels, and consider the cost part and parcel (you already had a much higher budget anyway), or look into aftermarket solutions like Outex I guess.

Do drop a post whichever way you decide!

[Darkcloud]

That was an insightful post. You have put in words what we all understand but find difficult to articulate.

Originally Posted by ExOblivione

The only real drawback are the tubed tyres, but you can either get the Africa Twin’s wheels, and consider the cost part and parcel (you already had a much higher budget anyway), or look into aftermarket solutions like Outex I guess

The tubed tyres are the only reason I haven’t booked the Transalp yet. It’s almost a deal breaker for me.
Me being on the wrong side of 40, the Striple dosent see much riding now. Hence I also briefly considered selling my Street triple and getting the NX500 for city use, and replace the GS with the new GS/Multi.
But I’m finding it difficult to settle for the NX500 after experiencing the Transalp!

[ExOblivione]

Originally Posted by Darkcloud

The tubed tyres are the only reason I haven’t booked the Transalp yet. It’s almost a deal breaker for me.
Me being on the wrong side of 40, the Striple dosent see much riding now. Hence I also briefly considered selling my Street triple and getting the NX500 for city use, and replace the GS with the new GS/Multi.
But I’m finding it difficult to settle for the NX500 after experiencing the Transalp!

If the bike you are having trouble deciding on is for city use, then basically everything I said in my previous post is rendered irrelevant! Since the bikes in question (MS, GS, Transalp) are all hardcore tourers, I assumed the purpose was for touring, where the drawbacks of a bike are much more relevant.

It’s just that when you said:

Originally Posted by Darkcloud

I’m in the process of replacing my old R1200GSA. I’m waiting for the launch of the new 1300GS and will compare it to the Multistrada V4S.

But the bike my heart is set on is the Transalp! After the test ride I felt the Transalp was so much easier to live with than either the GS or the Multi, except for those tubed tyres. Also it fulfills all the needs of an average Indian rider.
So I’m torn between the Transalp and the heavy weights.

I got the impression that the Transalp was a contender as a replacement for your current GSA1200, rather than being in addition to its replacement in the form of a new MS/GS. Unless I am still misunderstanding your intentions (since you said "briefly considered selling my Street triple") and was correct in my original assessment of the Transalp being a replacement for the GSA.

Transalp is going to be good anywhere, though feels a tad overkill for just use as a city runaround. But if your heart is set on it, then get Outex for the tyres.

[Sebring]

Please buy the Transalp and have the wheels from Africa Twin installed. They told me it is a direct fit. Even I'm in love with the Transalp

Originally Posted by Darkcloud

The tubed tyres are the only reason I haven’t booked the Transalp yet. It’s almost a deal breaker for me.

[Darkcloud]

Originally Posted by ExOblivione

I got the impression that the Transalp was a contender as a replacement for your current GSA1200, rather than being in addition to its replacement in the form of a new MS/GS. Unless I am still misunderstanding your intentions (since you said "briefly considered selling my Street triple") and was correct in my original assessment of the Transalp being a replacement for the GSA.

Transalp is going to be good anywhere, though feels a tad overkill for just use as a city runaround. But if your heart is set on it, then get Outex for the tyres.

Yes you thought correct. I'm thinking of the Transalp as a replacement for the GS.
I had thought of getting the NX500, but that thought faded away quickly.
I rode the Transalp in the city and found it to be great there too.

Originally Posted by Sebring

Please buy the Transalp and have the wheels from Africa Twin installed. They told me it is a direct fit. Even I'm in love with the Transalp

I too find it amazing. For 14 lakhs on road Mumbai it's good value. But 1.5 lakhs more for the Africa twin rims make it feel too expensive. I'm waiting to test ride the new GS before I make a decision. I've been quite happy with the GS and the way Honda deals with selling the big bikes still scares me.
A friend is still waiting for the 2024 Africa Twin, having pre-booked it in early January.

[windiesel]

So yesterday I walked into Bigwings in Gurgaon. They do not have either a display bike or a TD NX500 available anymore. Deliveries for existing bookings will be in Oct, the sales guy said. He was not too keen on taking my booking. Is this again going to be withdrawn like the CB500X was??

[Sebring]

Likely not. They're doing tiny adjustments to the indicators set up (Some regulatory issue) and bring in more bikes, come January

Originally Posted by windiesel

Is this again going to be withdrawn like the CB500X was??

[on2wheels]

I got the crash guard and the bash plate installed this past Saturday. The finishing in not great, but they're build solid for sure. You get more than what you pay for. They sent me the radiator grill and number plate holder complementary for the delay in delivery of my order :P. It has helped me move the number plate from the visor to under the headlight. I also installed a pair of aux lights I imported from China.

However, all the accessories have added a bit of weight to the front of the bike. So much so that the bash plate scraped on one of the iceberg-sized speed-breakers for the first time on my commute to work. Never happened before, no matter what speed I approached it at.

[Sebring]

CR uses Apollo steel and this makes the guards over 1.2 kilo heavier than imported stuff, (when we weighed). But then the imported stuff costs double. Finishing is good on mine, the first batch. That welding was outsourced.

Originally Posted by on2wheels

However, all the accessories have added a bit of weight to the front of the bike.

[on2wheels]

Originally Posted by Sebring

CR uses Apollo steel and this makes the guards over 1.2 kilo heavier than imported stuff, (when we weighed). But then the imported stuff costs double. Finishing is good on mine, the first batch. That welding was outsourced.

Yes, I did speak with Ravi at length on this subject. And as I mentioned, the built quality is good, but finishing could've been better.

[true_sedan]

Originally Posted by Darkcloud

I too find it amazing. For 14 lakhs on road Mumbai it's good value. But 1.5 lakhs more for the Africa twin rims make it feel too expensive. I'm waiting to test ride the new GS before I make a decision. I've been quite happy with the GS and the way Honda deals with selling the big bikes still scares me.

For a moment I thought I was in the wrong thread. I can understand people comparing the new NX500 to the Himalayan 450 atleast on practicality terms - similar seat height, same weight, same ergonomics, same fuel tank capacity and almost the same engine CC(albeit the honda is a twin cylinder). But comparing the Transalp 750 to the GS1300 in the NX500 thread is as confusing as it gets.

[jlukose]

In light of the honda nx500 delivery delays, bought a preowned cb500x

[venksv]

Originally Posted by jlukose

In light of the honda nx500 delivery delays, bought a preowned cb500x


Attachment 2625620

Nice - congratulations!! Can’t even find used ones here in BLR.