[Rajesh Rawal]

Originally Posted by amtak

Positives:

• Awesome ride quality, easily comparable to a good bike.
• Good Headlamp with parking light
• Decent storage space

Negatives

• Extremely poor braking. Already had a few nervous moments.

Congrats and totally agree on the brake part,have had my share of close calls as well(specially when you are cruising and suddenly a speed breaker/human/animal/car comes your way)

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

A related update is that I've taken a leap of faith as far as another TVS product is concerned, and bought a retro Apache RTR 160.

Keeping my fingers crossed that I'll have a comparatively niggle/issue free ownership this time around. Touchwood!

Congrats Vikram! Wish you happy miles of motoring on the RTR160. Do start an ownership thread of your own.

[zaveed]

Originally Posted by longhorn

You can realistically expect around 45kmpl +- 5 in city conditions. My Dio (pre HET)gives an average of 45 kmpl in the city. HET would add around 2 kmpl to this max. Don't expect anything above 50 kmpl with HET.

I bought the new HET activa 2 weeks ago, mileage that i got is 53kmpl, empty -- empty

thanks

[prakash_ajp]

Hello everyone,

I am in the market for a scooter (for my wife) with a budget of around 50K, 55K being the hard limit. Our preferences are for a light weight and slim bikes with no compromise on power. So, we have short-listed a few, though I must admit we haven't considered all the available ones in the market:

(1) Yamaha Ray, (2) Honda Dio and (3) Mahindra Rodeo std

So, over the weekend we went and visited the three dealers. We were put off by the attitude of the guys and Honda - In our 5 minutes, nobody bothered to come to us or pay attention. Just like I had done at VW showroom, when I was in the process of buying a car two years ago, I just walked away without thinking twice and hence Dio is off the list. Now that leaves only the Ray and Rodeo in contention.

We are in a dilemma as both scooters have pros and cons over the other. Ultimately, it has come down to appearance and price of which there is not much difference between the two but I am trying to negotiate with the dealers. To my surprise none of the dealers are willing to give any discount, even a single rupee or any freebies even when I said I am willing to make 100% cash payment. Now, here are my questions:

1. First of all, why are the scooters priced so high, much higher than some of the motor bikes ?
2. Even with tough competition, how come nobody is willing to give any discount?
3. And finally, of these two bikes I short-listed, do you think one is significantly better than the other?

Thanks for your help.

[2000rpm]

Between the Yamaha and Mahindra, I would suggest you go for the Yamaha. Mahindra is trying out the two-wheeler market and you never know what will happen.

On a different note, I am also planning to buy a Scooter this weekend

Budget: 55K
Requirments: Sturdy, good storage space (to be used by retired father)
Plan to keep it for 5 years atleast

Which one will be the best pick?
Suzuki Access
Activa
Maestro
TVS Wego
Pleasure
Ray.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

Which one will be the best pick?
Suzuki Access
Activa
Maestro
TVS Wego
Pleasure
Ray.

My suggestion would be to remove Access from list and include Swish. If you are looking at lighter vehicle then Ray (6kgs less than competitors) but bit costly than rest. Cheaper than Ray is Wego with almost same features. Chuck Activa & Maestro/Pleasure from the list.

Test drive the rest and decide.

[2000rpm]

Even I like the Wego, but was thinking that after 5 years, it will have to be sold as scrap as it will command very less resale. Hence was considering Activa and Maestro for Hero's 5 year guarantee.

[F1amit]

Originally Posted by shijinpr

Have booked DIO from Whitefield Dream Honda, white colour. Delivery time quoted is 30-40 days. I was under a impression they are available off the shelf. The waiting period came as shocker!

When we were in market looking for gearless scooter (Activa) for my wife, we were quoted a waiting of 75-90 days based on the colour. A query to Honda (on honda2wheelers.com) about actual waiting period for Activa in Mumbai did the trick. Two days after sending query to Honda, we got a call from dealership that they have white colour Activa HET. Once balance payment is made, we can get the vehicle within 5-10 days. White was second option on our original list of colours (first one was Purple) so we agreed and got our Activa within 20 days of initial booking.

[longhorn]

The quality of parts being turned out from Honda is in the pits. In my 10 month old (6000 km) Dio I have so far replaced the choke cable, horn switch and high/low beam switch. None of these are covered under warranty. Why can't they bring quality parts in spite of charging a premium. In contrast, I never changed a single switch/cable in the 9 years (60,000 km) I used my Splendor.

[sagarpadaki]

Headlamp upgrade for Flyte.

Flyte has pathetic headlamps. And does not even have the standard H4 setup. Has some unknown setup with some unknown bulb type . Even though the headlamp is focussed towards the ground ,the bulb spread is angled upwards. Any options for head lamp upgrade?

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Headlamp upgrade for Flyte. Any options for head lamp upgrade?

The bulb type will be S1 or S2. Technically these bulbs come only in 35/35watt. There is no correct upgrade to this. I tried a lot of experiments with my old scoot and it did not yield any good result. That is obviously due to the fact that each reflector is designed for a bulb type and it wont serve its purpose with a different bulb. Another problem with this bulb type is, most of the brands don't even manufacture the bulb properly. The filaments will be wrongly placed. This will further deteriorate light output.

Check the bulb if it has a cutoff plate, and two filaments placed in line and not parallely. If yes, then nothing can be done with the bulb. In that case check the mounting of the lamp. Try to adjust it downwards. Apart from this, there is no other choice. There are some so called halogen versions in the same bulb base, but I've been there and done that. Utter useless. Then after all this hungama I went on a searching spree and got a Philips bulb which at least made things better.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by audioholic

The bulb type will be S1 or S2. Technically these bulbs come only in 35/35watt. There is no correct upgrade to this. I tried a lot of experiments with my old scoot and it did not yield any good result. That is obviously due to the fact that each reflector is designed for a bulb type and it wont serve its purpose with a different bulb. Another problem with this bulb type is, most of the brands don't even manufacture the bulb properly. The filaments will be wrongly placed. This will further deteriorate light output.

Check the bulb if it has a cutoff plate, and two filaments placed in line and not parallely. If yes, then nothing can be done with the bulb. In that case check the mounting of the lamp. Try to adjust it downwards. Apart from this, there is no other choice. There are some so called halogen versions in the same bulb base, but I've been there and done that. Utter useless. Then after all this hungama I went on a searching spree and got a Philips bulb which at least made things better.

Wow, you seem to have done a lot of research on this! Thanks for the info. The original bulb was round in shape and the throw was decent. When the bulb Went kaput, the replacement bulb is tubular shape , like car bulb. And yes it was two parallel filaments one above the other. And the throw is pathetic. Headlamp is tilted down to the max possible limit using the adjustment screw.

Can you share the info on the Philips bulb you got? Exact model name and where you purchased it?

Btw , what mileage you get on your Flyte? I get 36 now

[audioholic]

I dont own a flyte. I used a Bajaj wave for two years for nearby work. The tubular ones you got are not the right ones to go into the headlight assembly. That was what I was exactly talking about. They are the so-called halogen bulbs but they are just useless.

The correct bulb looks something like this:

image source here - http://www.wwag.com/step/295/14226.jpg

The bulb shown above has its filaments located where they must actually be. The bulbs with parallel filaments are just for namesake

Just now came across this http://www.lighting.philips.co.in/v2...p?id=1052843#0 a 45/40watt version of the bulb. Not sure if this is really available here in India. Just check with AK Traders. I brought the bulb from a nearby shop. Initially I was given the same old fake bulb which I refused and asked for a good quality one. Then I was given the actual bulb.

Even the HS1 bulbs in my Dio suck. Good beam throw but intensity is bad. Given it is upgradeable to H4 I may switch to 60/55watt bulbs, after I sort out power issues.

[dass]

Suzuku Access should be good for your father. It has a lower front seat, making it easier to sit and to lower your foot while coming to a halt. Has decent under seat storage and good pickup too. I have been using it for almost two years and have liked it, except for the headlight throw, which is utter rubbish.

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

Between the Yamaha and Mahindra, I would suggest you go for the Yamaha. Mahindra is trying out the two-wheeler market and you never know what will happen.

On a different note, I am also planning to buy a Scooter this weekend

Budget: 55K
Requirments: Sturdy, good storage space (to be used by retired father)
Plan to keep it for 5 years atleast

Which one will be the best pick?
Suzuki Access
Activa
Maestro
TVS Wego
Pleasure
Ray.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by audioholic

I dont own a flyte. I used a Bajaj wave for two years for nearby work. The tubular ones you got are not the right ones to go into the headlight assembly. That was what I was exactly talking about. They are the so-called halogen bulbs but they are just useless.

The correct bulb looks something like this:

image source here - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/iipcache/148423.jpg

The bulb shown above has its filaments located where they must actually be. The bulbs with parallel filaments are just for namesake

Just now came across this http://www.lighting.philips.co.in/v2...p?id=1052843#0 a 45/40watt version of the bulb. Not sure if this is really available here in India. Just check with AK Traders. I brought the bulb from a nearby shop. Initially I was given the same old fake bulb which I refused and asked for a good quality one. Then I was given the actual bulb.

Even the HS1 bulbs in my Dio suck. Good beam throw but intensity is bad. Given it is upgradeable to H4 I may switch to 60/55watt bulbs, after I sort out power issues.

You are right. The stock bulb was exactly as you have shown in the pic. Its the replacement tubular bulb that is horrible

Will check out with AK traders . Although I doubt if they Will have this . Can you please tell me from where you got the original bulb in Bangalore? Shop name location etc?