Team-BHP - Std 350? Hmmm Electra 5s? Or Mach 350?

Agree on the pricing as compared to 500, but since the concern is kmpl, the 500 would be a bit lower on that too.The clatter is typical AVL, that does not change with 500 too.

If pricing is the concern, then the war would be between the STD v/s Electra approx 16k more but includes Fr. Disc, 5 Speed, Gas Shocks and ES.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant (Post 1419918)

Hi All,
...
The story begins like this. I spend close to 3 litres of petrol for my daily commute to office and back, This comes to Rs.150/day. I realised that it is pretty expensive during recession.
...

You are worried about recession and still want to buy a new bike:Shockked:?
Please buy a second hand Std 350. It wont cost you more than 35K and the max that you would need to shell out would be 5k for the smoother ride.
I had a pulsar before and now I own electra 4s. I know how it is to change from left gear to right gear. Believe me, it will take only a couple of days to get adjusted! Rest assured you will like the bullet since that was the bullet that you used to like anyways :D.

Tejas

Hi Vinit,

Buying a bullet is more a decision of the heart than of the mind. One cannot rationalize this decision.
You need to be clear what is the option you want to choose. If its the decision of the heart go for the Bullet Electra 5s, you cannot go wrong with this choice; also as rightly said earlier, go for a second hand one & get it customised to your taste & prefrences.
If its the decision of the head, do not go for the Bullet.

Once you have this clarity your confusion will greatly reduce & the experts will be in a better situation to guide you.

I went through the whole thread ( several times ) and have gone through similar threads on the net.
As I was in a similar predicament. First it was Which Bike ? Then it came to which Re ? Initially I was tilting towards the Electra but after riding my friends Mach 350 which has a
few performance mods ,Goldstar silence , chrome et al - I feel in love with it .
I understand you 100% .
A commute it may be, but who says you should not commute in style, dont people go to work in their super cars.
I too need the bike for commute but if you commute on a Bull its no longer a mere commute it becomes a 'Ride'.
Now to answer you question ? ( Note I have still not bought the bike, looking out for a good second hand one)
But from the many reviews I have read the AVL ( especially the Mach 350,for some unknown reason )
and the TBTS ( uCE engine ) are the most reliable ( compared to the other RE's ofcousre)
In my opionion the TBTS is ugly, tank pointing to heaven, not a proper cruiser not a proper RE, just a bundle of reliable rubbish.
If you have fixated on the Bull no other bike will make you happy
All in all if you want a RE just go for it, there are a few things that you will need to learn intially to enhance the reliabity.
Are you prepared to Bit the Bullet ..could not resist :)

I heard someone did not believe there were oil leaks from a bullet in showroom. Heres a pic I took last week when I went to the showroom. Check out the oil leak from the Std 350. There was no oil leak from other models though.

But then oil Leaks, etc are all part and parcel of the Bullet.

What is a Std 350 without its traditional oil leaks :)

I have been thinking hard on this.
I feel I will not be using the LB500 to its true capacity, as I dont intend to do long drives on it. So it doesnt make sense for me to go for the Mach 500.
I would settle with the 350 versions.

Electra 5s is at the top of the list followed by Std 350 & then the Mach 350.

My target purchase date is next month. Lets see what I ultimately buy when I go to the showroom with the check in my hand.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant (Post 1421531)

What is a Std 350 without its traditional oil leaks :)

No offence but if i may ask, i don't understand why you had to take a pic of an oil leak at the showroom if you feel thats a standard feature on the STD350 :confused:

And i was the one who said that i have not seen an oil spill at the showroom, probably because i did not look as hard as you did ;)

anyways we hope you makeup your mind on which 350 to buy next month.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MumBiker (Post 1421817)

I did not intend to take pic of the oil leak. I only took a pic of the Std350, along with Electra and Mach 350. I visited the showroom alone and FYI - purpose of taking the pics was to show them to my better half. :)

Took a test drive of the Electra and liked it too. I will settle for the Electra. I intend to take delivery on Dussera, hence am now busy with arranging funds. The showroom tie up is with HDFC, and they charge a whooping 13.5%. A loan of 57k and you pay 72.5k in 18 month. I will visit the Bank Of India, who charges 10% and at Reducing balance (I want the loan for not more than 12 months, which option is not available with HDFC. BOI also gives an option of lesser term i believe.