[Sankar]

He does ride fast but only when i'm riding along on my Karizma lol

His bike has done only 5200 something kilometers till now, third service recently completed, so the engine is pretty new.

[bmw_m5_titus]

Considering your use and pillion comfort being a criterion, i would strongly recommend the Unicorn.
The Rtr fi is a good bike, good would be an understatement( tbh i have experience with the carb model only), but its not the most comfortable one! the riding position is hard on the rider as well as the pillion.

[Technocrat]

Hmm I am some one who is in a similar of not same dilemma

Have you checked out Hunk?

[Sankar]

Hunk is a very good alternative. Eventhough it's not as punchy as the RTR it does look way better! For someone who doesn't need the revvy performance of the RTR Hunk would be a good choice, especially since you want to use the bike for shopping and errands. It will be more comfortable also.

[Technocrat]

Yeah Man I am so twisted between Hunk - RTR - RTR-Fi - ?

I have never been so confused about buying a bike.

My earlier bikes(were picked up without test rides & no alternatives in mind) are causing hindrance in my decision making exercise

Sorry for stealing your thread sammyboy

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Sorry for stealing your thread sammyboy

Both of you guys are in the same boat... so paddle together

[sriramv.iyer]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Yeah Man I am so twisted between Hunk - RTR - RTR-Fi - ?

I have never been so confused about buying a bike.

My earlier bikes(were picked up without test rides & no alternatives in mind) are causing hindrance in my decision making exercise

Sorry for stealing your thread sammyboy

I too need a bike and badly :( - I gave up my bike (Karizma) to my friend before my travels.

Yesterday, after talking to the auto-walah, I thought I should make him stop at a bike showroom on the way to office, and buy a bike. It is so frustrating!

And to add, I dont know if I'll shift my base to chennai soon.

I was initially thinking about R15 - But it is quite small (esp for its price tag). I am not a fan of P220. I have been smitten by the bullet bug (drove a 350 cc one of my friend) - And after reading Sankar's earlier thread, I thought I should pick up an RTR Fi.

As you said, earlier, there were no problems - Just went and picked up a Karizma. Now there are more options

1. RTR Fi (not as expensive as R15, so can always ask my parents if I can buy a baby Ninja later)
2. R15
3. R.E. Bullet 500 ( cannot buy Ninja 250 if I buy one of options 2, 3)

Sorry for hijacking the thread though!

But, I can add soem info that might be useful.
1. Most of the phone number listed in TVS webpage for Bangalore dealer are wrong (or) do not exist
2. Finally caught Tristar Motors (MG Road) on phone, and the first shipment of RTR Fi reaches them on Sep 1st / 2nd. No bike for even test drive now

[Sankar]

OT: Recently i rode fellow TBHPians Karthik's R15 and surprisingly the riding position of the R15 was much better than the RTR and my wrists didn't feel the strain it usually feels when i ride the RTR. And i rode it with a pillion btw.

This may not be applicable to all and don't go by what i say take an extended test ride (from showroom or a friend's bike) of whichever bike you want to buy, i'm saying this because your wrists might be different from mine and you may not feel the pain.

[sammyboy]

Thanks for your comments Sankar.
Now please dont talk about the R15, that will confuse me even more ..hee hee . Anyways that is out for me as i just dont want to spend 1 l on this.
Techno and sriramv , hop on guys. The thread will meet its purpose if all of us are able to reach some decision soon
Titus - Thanks man but I just cant picture myself riding the Unicorn, just doesnt do it for me.
The Hunk too somehow just does not appeal to me.
THe thing is that after a long time I have actually thought of buying a bike and think that I might actually like it when I take a test ride. I used to have a splendor (bought in 97). It served me very well for quite a few years before I sold it off in 2004.
Hardly rode it after 2001 as it was in Doon and I hardly go time to go home.

I have been pretty much out of the biking scene for the past few years (basically praying for the baby ninja to launch) but also because nothing that was being launched appealed to me. As mentioned, I love the Karizma and now the RTR Fi.

I am bent towards the RTR because of the fun factor + good avg + nice looks +decent avg coming at a decent price.It will not dent the finances so much that I can not think of going in for the ninja whenever it is launched.
The Big picture : One more thing is that even after I buy the ninja (whenever) I should not feel that the RTR isnt fun , dont want to but a Hunk etc which I might not even wanna look at later on . Heh heh so now you know where I am coming from.

Got stuck today so couldnt go anywhere, hopefully a test ride will put things in the right perspective.

[sriramv.iyer]

Originally Posted by sammyboy

Techno and sriramv , hop on guys. The thread will meet its purpose if all of us are able to reach some decision soon

Titus - Thanks man but I just cant picture myself riding the Unicorn, just doesnt do it for me.
.....
It will not dent the finances so much that I can not think of going in for the ninja whenever it is launched.

Sammy: Thanks for sharing space on your thread! As you said, it would be good if we can reach some decision soon.

Btw, I just wanted to say we are great men ['cos we think alike ]

Like you, I cannot picture myself riding a Unicorn - Somehow I am unable to digest that! Also, RTR-FI would not dent my finances so as to rule out Ninja later. [Thats why I am hesitating to go for R15/Machismo]. cheers:

A few test rides (after homing down on my city for next couple of years (Bangalore/Chennai) ) would help!

[praJEEP]

Take a test ride of RTR and Unicorn you will defenetly feel a lots of difference between the two

EDIT : My vote goes for unicorn, good riding position for city riding.

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by Sankar

OT: Recently i rode fellow TBHPians Karthik's R15 and surprisingly the riding position of the R15 was much better than the RTR and my wrists didn't feel the strain it usually feels when i ride the RTR. And i rode it with a pillion btw.

You bad boy you are are adding fuel to the confusion now :(

As for Unicorn There is nothing wrong with it & being a Honda its good but then nothing attracts towards Unicorn either.

[sammyboy]

whoa and I thought it was just a simple issue
Anyways might require to divert finances towards the home front so might have to postpone the bike till things get sorted out. Lets see what happens.

[doomsday]

Originally Posted by Sankar

OT: Recently i rode fellow TBHPians Karthik's R15 and surprisingly the riding position of the R15 was much better than the RTR and my wrists didn't feel the strain it usually feels when i ride the RTR. And i rode it with a pillion btw.

This may not be applicable to all and don't go by what i say take an extended test ride (from showroom or a friend's bike) of whichever bike you want to buy, i'm saying this because your wrists might be different from mine and you may not feel the pain.

I can surely vouch for this as well.. The R15's position can be described as 'comfy' when compared to the RTR. I've ridden over 300 kilometers on the R15, on state highways and crossing cities, mostly with a pillion while it was pouring like hell, and I didn't feel any physical weariness at the end of the ride. On the contrary, a 15 km dash in the RTR leaves the wrists paining, so much so that I have to ride upright sometimes, to avoid putting weight on the wrists. The handlebar-footpeg-seat combi is right on the money on the R15. Sometimes while riding it is difficult to believe that one is on a 150, with enough grunt for overtaking even in 6th gear at triple-digit-speeds. The only grouse is the open chain, which doesn't bother the rider, but ensures that the pillion's footwear and lower portion of clothing is utterly ruined within a kilometer of riding in the slush.

[praful]

Originally Posted by doomsday

I can surely vouch for this as well.. The R15's position can be described as 'comfy' when compared to the RTR. I've ridden over 300 kilometers on the R15, on state highways and crossing cities, mostly with a pillion while it was pouring like hell, and I didn't feel any physical weariness at the end of the ride. On the contrary, a 15 km dash in the RTR leaves the wrists paining, so much so that I have to ride upright sometimes, to avoid putting weight on the wrists. The handlebar-footpeg-seat combi is right on the money on the R15. Sometimes while riding it is difficult to believe that one is on a 150, with enough grunt for overtaking even in 6th gear at triple-digit-speeds. The only grouse is the open chain, which doesn't bother the rider, but ensures that the pillion's footwear and lower portion of clothing is utterly ruined within a kilometer of riding in the slush.

No offence, but IMO seating postion is more of a personal thing. Some maybe built in a particular way that a certain bike suits them which might not be the case for others. Also, its also a about getting used to a particular postion, especially if one has been riding in different position for a long time.

But definitely +1 for touring on the R15.