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-   -   Which motorcycle for a beginner? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/290288-motorcycle-beginner-2.html)

From your latest post, It appears that your heart and mind both want a Royal Enfield 350. The classic with alloy wheels will cost above 2.50L OTR. So Hunter makes the most sense. Take a long test ride (solo) and see if you are ok with the suspension. If yes, go for it. The Hunter 350 alloy wheel variant should cost 2L OTR.

I personally would always advise on getting the MT15 or CB300F to people on 2L budget and want fun bike for city use mainly. But since you want retro type bike and had a good experience with your friend's royal enfield, it appears that Hunter will be best suited (for 2L budget)

The Pulsar 150 is the best for a beginner. Please don't even look at 200 cc. It is a murder weapon between your two legs. Trust me, you will be very much inclined to ride fast and then get into an accident. This is my story, I crashed my NS200 (bought for cheap second hand) and broke my leg after getting confident riding it for a while. Our roads are best suited for max 150-180 cc bikes. Anything higher is dangerous, best suited for expressways.

One more thing that works against your favour is that every 200cc+ bike (performance oriented) will heat up like crazy, which will be inconvenient even though manageable in B2B traffic. Also comes with all the expensive maintenance of changing coolant, flushing it and all.

For just city rides, a Pulsar will be fun and punchy. Good luck. Based on my experience of 10 years riding the wild cities.

Keep in mind, in cities you have to be very agile. In your TD, take sharp cuts and see if you can maneuver the bike quickly without stressing out. The REs are very heavy in traffic. Not for a beginner.

TVS RONIN is a no brainer else the PULSAR NS400 if you can stretch the budget a bit.

If you can stretch your budget to around 2.5 lacs, then CB350 RS would be a perfect choice for you. Currently I own CB350(Classic) and it's one hell of a bike from looks to comfort to sound/feel and everything. It feels very special as well.

However, as a first time rider, you could also go for Hornet 2.0. It has a very punchy 184.4cc engine that is both smooth and powerful at the same time in typical Honda fashion. The motor is extremely tractable inside town/city and is very fast when you want it to be. It has power to entertain without overwhelming you. I own this beauty as well and absolutely love it.

Kindly go and take a test-ride of Hornet 2.0 and decide for yourself:D

It appears that your mind is set in RE. In fact I think it's a good bike and it's one bike in India that whether you like it or not, you want to own it at some point in your life just to say - ok, now I know what these RE fans are talking about.

Just be mindful of the weight, the cost of maintenance (considering its your first bike) and fuel cost too (expect 30kmpl - 40 if driven really nicely).

Similar to finding a life partner, you won't find the 'best' bike, but you will have to make it perfect for 'you' over time. If you are ready to accept this fact, then any bike you have your heart on, you will make peace with it, despite its shortcomings :)

Here are some tips that will help you (or confuse you further)
- Short stroke, 4 valve cooled engine: usually rev happy and ready to lurch ahead. But torque concentrated in higher revs -> Have to work with throttle, but power will not taper off at higher rpms -> Higher top speed, sweet sound at higher rpms

- Long stroke, 2 valve engine will oil cooler -> More Torque produced lower down, power tapers at higher rpms -> Easy to ride in cities and less twisting of throttle -> Get noisy above legal speeds with no perceptible feel of increase in power.

- Sharper rake angle (R15) -> Sharper feel at front, good on twisties and safer to lean
- Longer rake angle (Avenger) -> Loose front feel, not good/confidence inspiring when leaning in

- Longer Swingarm (Yamaha FZ250, Dominar, Avenger) -> better feeling of stability at straight line, but risk of rear wheel locking when braking.

- Cradle frame (old Pulsars) -> Engine resting on chassis. Higher center of gravity -> less 'stickiness' on the road -> Higher weight

- Deltabox/Trellis/Single tube frame -> Engine suspended from mount points. Lower center of gravity -> More sticky feel -> Less weight (depends on materials used as well)

- Handlebar, footpeg and seat geometry : will give you either a normal, relaxed, sporty or offroading stance on the bike. Make sure you test this out.

I always felt the Honda Unicorn is the best bike ever made :D If only it had more power.

Something like the pulsar n250 or apache 200 should be good options for a beginner. Light weight, decent power, usable pillion seats unlike ktms/my and most importantly good handlers be it city or the highways. Id seriously ask you to consider skipping Hunter just because of the suspension. Start taking test rides and push for longer ones. You'll soon discover what you like and don't. Looks shouldn't matter a lot. I was in love with dominar's looks for years but when the time came to own one I hated how the bike handled and that was it.

Wow, A 21 year old on an Articleship stipend planning to buy a 2L OTR bike with his own money!
My first reaction on reading this echoed Alice in Wonderland ( Curioser & curioser) .
In my mind it's criminal for a 21y.o to be seen on a Bullet ( no offense to this classic bike ). Plonk yourself for a sleek, nifty looking faired sports bike with 6 gears to play with ; believe you me, it's a decision you will not regret. Just my two cents. Anyway all bikes are well engineered now and if ridden well, should last a decade easily without major repairs. Buy a bike which will make you want to look back and admire it while walking away after you park it.
Whichever bike you decide to buy, ride it responsibly and safely while also exercising that right wrist!
Nostalgic Note : Many many moons ago ( 38 yrs ago to be precise ) when I was studying to be a CA, my articleship stipend would cover exactly a full tank of fuel ie 10 lts @16 a litre, and some left over along with free Air, Water n Love to hold body and soul together for the month!
Times have sure changed. I got my bike solely due to the munificence of my dear Dad & Mom.

In my view, first bike is a heart over mind decision. So I suggest you buy what your heart says. You are young and will adapt to any shortcomings the bike might have. I was 22 when I bought my first bike a Pulsar 150. I didn't even think a minute, as soon as I had enough money I went straight to the showroom and bought it. Never regretted the decision and rode it for a long time.

A ton of great advise has already been administered. My 2₹, If that's your position as a beginner, for the love of your family, tone it down a few notches. The initial throttle response is something that can be had at lower cc too, only limiting factors are top speed.

As a beginner, it's unlikely that you can even ride a 150pulsar to it's potential. Remeber, most of our homegrown racers grew up on <200 cc bikes, we didn't even have the more powerful options except for imported sports bikes.

Hey, does it have to be a brand-new bike? I'd recommend going the used route because you will have many more options within your budget if you go that route. And it will also hurt less if you drop a used bike while you are getting the hang of it.

This will go against the advice of many folks here but I have an uncle who learned how to ride on an Interceptor 650 he bought at the age of 45. It is often recommended that you start with smaller bikes, but the 650 engine is pretty laidback and if you go around it with a little maturity, it is a bike you can learn on and then keep for quite a few years. And used 2020-21 examples can be had for less than a new 350 on-road.

Your purpose of buying a motorcycle is totally different than your expectations from that motorcycle.

You want a beginner motorcycle but you are expecting traits of the motorcycle which an experienced rider should look for.

I suggest you to firstly re-work on your options and decide whether you want a beginner motorcycle or a performance motorcycle.

Remember, you are going to begin your motorcycle journey. A performance motorcylce may not be much forgiving in your learning journey. So decide wisely !

Hey guys I had a question. I am looking for a >200CC motorcycle for daily use in the city and the occasional highway stint.

I am a college student and this will be my first bike, hence I want to purchase something that is reliable. I live in Bangalore and a bike that many people have suggested to me are the Suzuki Gixxer 250 twins. The issue is the bike seems pricey for what it offers (actually for what it does not). It is approximately 2.4-2.6 lakh OTR in Bangalore.

I just wanted to know does this price make sense even after the lack of features when the bike is compared with its competitors ? It does not have a slipper clutch, some of the 250's have more performance etc. Another alternative I considered was the new Xtreme 250R but my friends said since it is a new engine we will not know it's reliability track record which makes it a little risky.

What should I do?

Thanks for the help in advance :)

For that money I wouldn't really suggest the Gixxers. If you don't mind streching a bit the Duke 250 is an excellent option that is well-built, reliable and quite sedate for a KTM. You'll find that the Duke 250 feels calm and commuter-like below 5000rpm but wakes up and the KTM DNA kicks in after 5000rpm.

About the Hero, the only gripe I have is that the service centers are going to be really packed. If you don't mind that the bike is pretty sound and a good all-rounder for that price. It won't feel as premium as the KTM but it sure is fast.

I also thought of the Duke 250, but the thing is I'm not willing to strech my budget that much and my parents are against purchasing a KTM because of the 'issues in their brand image'

Thanks for the help regardless :)