Its been quite sometime I have been postponing my bike buying decision but now that its for pretty much sure that I'll be going ahead with the purchase next month, another and a bigger hurdle comes my way.
I have a budget of around 1 lac. So the obvious choices are the 220s,ZMR,R-15 and some less obvious choices are RE 500 classic (thats probably as far as I can stretch), used comets (hard to find, spares harder to get) , used ZMAs, Fazer and er...my girlfriend as usual brings the "safety issue" and suggests a NANO!!
My requirements (Highest to lowest priority) are:
1) High performance (by regular Indian standards)
2) Good handling and braking
3) Highway stability
4) Reliability
5) Looks and equipment
6) FE
The bike will be used in city, though I intend to do a fair amount of touring as and when circumstances allow.
I do not intend to perform stunts of any kind.
Now, coming to the main issue,
1)a good friend just checked out a R15 for sale.
The bike is in good condition with few minor scratches on the black paint. The sweetener is that it has done only about 1300 kms which is next to nothing.
The price is about 80000 bucks and I intend to haggle the seller a fair bit so that he drops it further by a couple of Ks.
Also, it will leave me with a fair amount of spare cash to splurge on 'race kit' which some trusted tuner is offering at around 25000 bucks. The bike is expected to clock a sub 10 second run to 100kmph with the aforementioned kit.
Now here is where the problem starts. First of all, am not too keen for the add on race kits as I suspect their reliability and long term impact on the mechanical bits. Also, I am not too willing to fiddle with the bike's stock ECU settings, reason being the lack of tech support from the service centres.
Am not impressed with the power of the stock R15 and so am sure I'll keep on cribbing about lack of outright power all the time. So, that quite rules out the option of a new R-15 as well.
However, I understand that R15 is a great bike for beginners who intend to polish their riding skills and that keeps me hooked to it.
2)The second option is the 220-Streetfighter. I for once think that Sleeper is more apt than Streetfighter as the latter suits FZ more than anything else.
Anyways, what's in a name and the real reason for thinking about 220-s over the faired model is the near 4 kgs of weight advantage.
Though I'll miss the excellent projector lamp on 220F which I guess is a boon for touring.
Also,I'll have to dump the main stand for really diving into corners and coming out of them not being embarrassed.
It being cheaper means I wont be buying a 'Second-hand' bike and will have lots of cash left for riding gear and a K&N filter with a good aftermarket exhaust (availability/existence of which is a suspect though).
Now, the trouble is that the 220 is essentially based on a near decade old bike and no matter how improved and faster it is, its age shows.
And if that's not enough, going by the new 135-LS am quite sure that the upcoming series of pulsars will be quite radical and so I'll be left with a last-gen bike then which may also affect the resale.
3) I DO NOT like the ZMR because neither it has the performance nor dynamics for the price its asking.
4) Again, the 500 classic is not exactly within my budget and even if I manage to buy it I will have nothing left for my riding gear except a helmet and a pair of gloves.
Plus, REs have never appealed to me the way the R15/220 have (Proud RE owners please pardon, no offence meant) though I seemed to like the 500, the only time I rode it for about 20Kms.
5)The ZMA/ZMA-R is a comfy tourer and I have thought about it a bit. Buying a used example for around 50K and later upgrading when a package that has punch of 220 and dynamics of the YAM arrives in the market. But the latter seems a far-fetched dream, does not it?
6) From what I have seen and heard its easier qualifying in CAT than buying a used Comet in good condition and maintaining it with ease.
7) Lets leave the girlfriend and the nano out of the scenario. I would rather walk than use that home appliance (the nano,i meant).
My search for a balanced solution will continue for around a month more (maybe lesser) and based on the suggestions I get I'll go ahead for something.
Suggestions will be really welcomed.