which motorcycle to buy?

devarshi84 · 22nd November 2005, 04:37

HI people,

I am looking for a new motorcycle to use in India.

I have previoulsy had a

LmL Adreno
and
bajaj pulsar 180

I am currently looking at

1. yezdi roadking (cheap 250cc power)
2. bullet machismo
3. enfield thunderbird
4. yamaha rx-z/rx-135

I would like to go for a cruiser or a 2-stroke as I have had two 4 stroke bikes before

which among the following would you suggest and why.

devarshi84 · 22nd November 2005, 05:08

Just forgot to add that I wouldnt want to spend much and hence

please consider this as the first priorioty

1. price among the four(even that of a used)
2. condition of a used.

nisarg86 · 22nd November 2005, 10:05

Go For RX-100 . RX100 is good for commuting purposes and as well as performance mods. Just Make sure You Check the engine before u buy, rather than paint or tyres which can be easily done up! And Rx-100 has one of the best firing man ..... awesome sound

zulfikar · 22nd November 2005, 11:13

enfield thunderbird all the way..............

Tom · 22nd November 2005, 11:25

thunderbird is a good cruiser

RX135 · 22nd November 2005, 11:34

Aren't the Bullets 4 stroke engines?

If so, not much to choose, I guess.

jkdas · 22nd November 2005, 11:38

Why these four?
Yezdis can be bought at less tahn 10k ; but what abt maintenance/mileage?
Bulls! I love bulls. YOu can get it fro 25-35k for seconds. I am nit sure abt thunderbird prices.
But costly for new ones. By the way, checkout 5Smodel too
Yamaha; RXZ are nice to be modified and cheap to maintain.

If I had money, I would get thunderbird or the Electra 5S

speedsatya · 22nd November 2005, 12:52

buy something thats still in production....of the current bikes its the thunderbird,the karizma ,the p180 and the unicorn that you can look at ...

2fast4yaa · 22nd November 2005, 13:13

buy one which looks good and gives a good milage too cause u never know when the petrol prices may hike up again,u may have to chose between milage and looks.im dont have a very good idea bout the models and names and stuff but there are many people on the site to help u with that......

karl.

fieroid · 22nd November 2005, 20:45

i would sugget u the RX-Z for its looks and power and its the peppiest 2-stroke arnd..only if u wanna rip in the rip!
however if u want to cruise all-day, nothing comes close to the Enfield thunderbird...

Steeroid · 22nd November 2005, 22:25

Devarshi

If I understand your need, its mostly for running about town when you're back in India. Its not going to be a regular commuter but more of an occassional ride.

If that IS the case, go for something unusual - mileage, maintenance, etc shouldnt be an issue for occassional usage. Your options should then be unusual:

1. Original Jawa 250. Not CLII Yezdi.

2. Yezdi Roadking.

3. I really like this one - original Rajdoot with Earles Fork and 3-speed gearbox.

4. Enfield Crusader.

5. Bobby Rajdoot !!! (again the one with the Earles Fork)

Also look out for Yezdi 350 or RD350s....

Forget the usual stuff!

devarshi84 · 23rd November 2005, 04:21

you got that right Steeroid

I dont care about the mileage at all.

I will be usually driving my lancer around but even the bike is going to see a lot of running around.

The enfield 2-strokers and bobby are out of chance as my height is too long for me to fit in properly. I tried a bobby once and I can gurantee that a tall person will really have a backache.

why I chose the following bike is because I have already had 4-stroke performance bike and the adreno was more of a small capacity sports cruiser. While the adreno bombed in the market I can vouch on its road grip at top speeds and the comfort.

hence I decided to go in for a 2-stroke bike. I went to India in August and one of my frinds got a yezdi for 8k. It was so good to ride with that exhaust note right in the ears.

enfields come in the picture as I rode test rode the thunderbird once when they were launched I found it to have an altogather different magic to it.

1. Is it true that the Rx-z has been discontinued. The one with 14bhp and 5-speed. My neighbour had one but he sold it when I was in Canada. Bad luck coz he had ony driven it for some 7k and was abuot to sell it for 20k-25 k. Was a pretty good deal with disc brakes.

2. What among the enfield stable- the thunderbird, the lightning, the machismo, bullet 500 is the best to own and drive. FE doesnt count in

3. WIll Yezdi be a good buy at sub 10k price? My friend has had one for some months and he has not had any problems. Is my first option as of now.

Please see I dont care about the FE. Price of the bike is an issue though and I would like in to go in for something cheap.

dogdiga · 23rd November 2005, 10:25

IMHO there is no match to the thunderbird.

Technocrat · 23rd November 2005, 10:36

From your last post I have following suggestion:

1) If you are looking at bullet, try to source a 500 that will gie u max bang for you buck :-) if going for std then i will suggest go for cast irons & not AVLs(read thunderbird, machismo) Y? coz they are good & modern machines(in bullets) & people dont sell them unless they face any isssues with their bikes(havent come across any one selling an AVL) besides avls are expensive both new & old (The TB sell for close to 1 lakh new) The std 350 can be bought for sumwher from 15k to 35k depending on the condition. The 500 wil be slightly diffcult to get as hardly any one sells it, it shoudl again cost you somwher arnd 30k to 50k depending on condition

2) In Strokers sub 10k Yezdi is definetly the best option & the only stroker i can think of which would be suitbale for a tall guy(i bleiev its taller than the RD) & also from what i know it needs less maintainance(i could be wrong tho). If budget arnd 30-40 then spend some time searching for a good RD

You can take a look at yezdi's website (yeah its still there & working

)

www.yezdi.com

you can check out the various models that were available also :-)

One thing you have to be carefull while buying any of these would be that you have to be a bit flexible for the papers as most of thes bike are either extinct or becoming extinct, so you might not get original\genuine papers especailly for the RD & Yezdi. So make sure whether you getting original or fake papers.

My 2 paisa

fieroid · 23rd November 2005, 19:52

a yezdi these days is a pain to maintain, unless u stay somewhere close to mysore where the parts are available in bulk.,...however they are damn expensive tho...
right now, i'm working on my friends 92' yezdi roadking that he recently picked coz he was crazy about the roadking..infact it was one of the best that he could spot and was neatly maintained...however we had to shell a whooping 13k, coz normally a yezdi is found under 5k easily...
I was totally surprised by the way the bike was after i opened it...teh bore was totally out and there were lots of works to be done...
The first thing was changing the carb to a VM28 which improved starting and running...
now we had to ride to mysore to pick parts and then never found a new bore...atlast found a junked aluminium bore and he quoted 4.5k......***...
now we somehow found a standard bore thru one of my contacts here at bangalore...
its a pain to get the spares and work on the bike...
the bike now sports cbz shocks and disc assy and will be on roads on saturday hopefully, if I finish the work by then....
so a yezdi is no longer that cheap "forever bike"..its a big wallet burner! so just be carefull..
i'd still sugget a RXZ.

View Poll Results: WHich bike
Yezdi	4	8.70%
Bullet machismo	11	23.91%
enfield thunderbird	16	34.78%
rx-z/rx135	15	32.61%
Voters: 46. You may not vote on this poll

22nd November 2005, 04:37	#1
devarshi84 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Ahmedabad - Tor Posts: 4,024 Thanked: 211 Times View My Garage	which motorcycle to buy? HI people, I am looking for a new motorcycle to use in India. I have previoulsy had a LmL Adreno and bajaj pulsar 180 I am currently looking at 1. yezdi roadking (cheap 250cc power) 2. bullet machismo 3. enfield thunderbird 4. yamaha rx-z/rx-135 I would like to go for a cruiser or a 2-stroke as I have had two 4 stroke bikes before which among the following would you suggest and why. Last edited by devarshi84 : 22nd November 2005 at 04:40.
	() Thanks

22nd November 2005, 05:08	#2
devarshi84 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Ahmedabad - Tor Posts: 4,024 Thanked: 211 Times View My Garage	Just forgot to add that I wouldnt want to spend much and hence please consider this as the first priorioty 1. price among the four(even that of a used) 2. condition of a used.
	() Thanks

22nd November 2005, 10:05	#3
nisarg86 BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Ahmedabad Posts: 392 Thanked: 13 Times View My Garage	Go For RX-100 . RX100 is good for commuting purposes and as well as performance mods. Just Make sure You Check the engine before u buy, rather than paint or tyres which can be easily done up! And Rx-100 has one of the best firing man ..... awesome sound
	() Thanks

22nd November 2005, 11:13	#4
zulfikar BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 532 Thanked: 18 Times View My Garage	enfield thunderbird all the way..............
	() Thanks

22nd November 2005, 11:25	#5
Tom BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bangalore, India. Posts: 401 Thanked: 0 Times	thunderbird is a good cruiser
	() Thanks

22nd November 2005, 11:34	#6
RX135 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: pune Posts: 2,106 Thanked: 75 Times	Aren't the Bullets 4 stroke engines? If so, not much to choose, I guess.
	() Thanks

22nd November 2005, 11:38	#7
jkdas Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Thiruvananthapu Posts: 9,687 Thanked: 1,492 Times View My Garage	Why these four? Yezdis can be bought at less tahn 10k ; but what abt maintenance/mileage? Bulls! I love bulls. YOu can get it fro 25-35k for seconds. I am nit sure abt thunderbird prices. But costly for new ones. By the way, checkout 5Smodel too Yamaha; RXZ are nice to be modified and cheap to maintain. If I had money, I would get thunderbird or the Electra 5S
	() Thanks

22nd November 2005, 12:52	#8
speedsatya Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: bangalore/manga Posts: 3,169 Thanked: 738 Times View My Garage	buy something thats still in production....of the current bikes its the thunderbird,the karizma ,the p180 and the unicorn that you can look at ...
	() Thanks

22nd November 2005, 13:13	#9
2fast4yaa Newbie Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: bombay Posts: 3 Thanked: Once	buy one which looks good and gives a good milage too cause u never know when the petrol prices may hike up again,u may have to chose between milage and looks.im dont have a very good idea bout the models and names and stuff but there are many people on the site to help u with that...... karl.
	() Thanks

22nd November 2005, 20:45	#10
fieroid BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: bangalore Posts: 706 Thanked: 304 Times	i would sugget u the RX-Z for its looks and power and its the peppiest 2-stroke arnd..only if u wanna rip in the rip! however if u want to cruise all-day, nothing comes close to the Enfield thunderbird... Last edited by fieroid : 22nd November 2005 at 20:47.
	() Thanks

22nd November 2005, 22:25	#11
Steeroid Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: N.A Posts: 7,046 Thanked: 2,751 Times	Devarshi If I understand your need, its mostly for running about town when you're back in India. Its not going to be a regular commuter but more of an occassional ride. If that IS the case, go for something unusual - mileage, maintenance, etc shouldnt be an issue for occassional usage. Your options should then be unusual: 1. Original Jawa 250. Not CLII Yezdi. 2. Yezdi Roadking. 3. I really like this one - original Rajdoot with Earles Fork and 3-speed gearbox. 4. Enfield Crusader. 5. Bobby Rajdoot !!! (again the one with the Earles Fork) Also look out for Yezdi 350 or RD350s.... Forget the usual stuff!
	() Thanks

23rd November 2005, 04:21	#12
devarshi84 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Ahmedabad - Tor Posts: 4,024 Thanked: 211 Times View My Garage	you got that right Steeroid I dont care about the mileage at all. I will be usually driving my lancer around but even the bike is going to see a lot of running around. The enfield 2-strokers and bobby are out of chance as my height is too long for me to fit in properly. I tried a bobby once and I can gurantee that a tall person will really have a backache. why I chose the following bike is because I have already had 4-stroke performance bike and the adreno was more of a small capacity sports cruiser. While the adreno bombed in the market I can vouch on its road grip at top speeds and the comfort. hence I decided to go in for a 2-stroke bike. I went to India in August and one of my frinds got a yezdi for 8k. It was so good to ride with that exhaust note right in the ears. enfields come in the picture as I rode test rode the thunderbird once when they were launched I found it to have an altogather different magic to it. 1. Is it true that the Rx-z has been discontinued. The one with 14bhp and 5-speed. My neighbour had one but he sold it when I was in Canada. Bad luck coz he had ony driven it for some 7k and was abuot to sell it for 20k-25 k. Was a pretty good deal with disc brakes. 2. What among the enfield stable- the thunderbird, the lightning, the machismo, bullet 500 is the best to own and drive. FE doesnt count in 3. WIll Yezdi be a good buy at sub 10k price? My friend has had one for some months and he has not had any problems. Is my first option as of now. Please see I dont care about the FE. Price of the bike is an issue though and I would like in to go in for something cheap.
	() Thanks

23rd November 2005, 10:25	#13
dogdiga BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 74 Thanked: 0 Times	IMHO there is no match to the thunderbird.
	() Thanks

23rd November 2005, 10:36	#14
Technocrat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: GTA Posts: 14,813 Thanked: 2,700 Times	From your last post I have following suggestion: 1) If you are looking at bullet, try to source a 500 that will gie u max bang for you buck :-) if going for std then i will suggest go for cast irons & not AVLs(read thunderbird, machismo) Y? coz they are good & modern machines(in bullets) & people dont sell them unless they face any isssues with their bikes(havent come across any one selling an AVL) besides avls are expensive both new & old (The TB sell for close to 1 lakh new) The std 350 can be bought for sumwher from 15k to 35k depending on the condition. The 500 wil be slightly diffcult to get as hardly any one sells it, it shoudl again cost you somwher arnd 30k to 50k depending on condition 2) In Strokers sub 10k Yezdi is definetly the best option & the only stroker i can think of which would be suitbale for a tall guy(i bleiev its taller than the RD) & also from what i know it needs less maintainance(i could be wrong tho). If budget arnd 30-40 then spend some time searching for a good RD You can take a look at yezdi's website (yeah its still there & working ) www.yezdi.com you can check out the various models that were available also :-) One thing you have to be carefull while buying any of these would be that you have to be a bit flexible for the papers as most of thes bike are either extinct or becoming extinct, so you might not get original\genuine papers especailly for the RD & Yezdi. So make sure whether you getting original or fake papers. My 2 paisa Last edited by Technocrat : 23rd November 2005 at 10:40.
	() Thanks

23rd November 2005, 19:52	#15
fieroid BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: bangalore Posts: 706 Thanked: 304 Times	a yezdi these days is a pain to maintain, unless u stay somewhere close to mysore where the parts are available in bulk.,...however they are damn expensive tho... right now, i'm working on my friends 92' yezdi roadking that he recently picked coz he was crazy about the roadking..infact it was one of the best that he could spot and was neatly maintained...however we had to shell a whooping 13k, coz normally a yezdi is found under 5k easily... I was totally surprised by the way the bike was after i opened it...teh bore was totally out and there were lots of works to be done... The first thing was changing the carb to a VM28 which improved starting and running... now we had to ride to mysore to pick parts and then never found a new bore...atlast found a junked aluminium bore and he quoted 4.5k......***... now we somehow found a standard bore thru one of my contacts here at bangalore... its a pain to get the spares and work on the bike... the bike now sports cbz shocks and disc assy and will be on roads on saturday hopefully, if I finish the work by then.... so a yezdi is no longer that cheap "forever bike"..its a big wallet burner! so just be carefull.. i'd still sugget a RXZ.
	() Thanks