[BoltThrower]

Originally Posted by Amey Kulkarni

Congratulations BoltThrower on the new purchase!

A very well written detailed review on your perfect pick.

To own a perfect bike for Indian road conditions; satisfying our budget and passion is a little tough.

The price bracket below 10L is a weird playground. Minimal options with here and there compromises are to be welcomed without a choice.

But, IMO, considering a mix bag of touring and cornering; CBR 650F is the real deal in terms of a sports tourer.

Let me or //M know once you're in Pune. We have a riding group named "RAPTORS" wherein we consistently ride every weekend for about 200-300Kms.

Happy munching miles ahead!

Cheers,
Amey

Thanks Amey! 100% agree with you, very well put indeed. I’m in pune this weekend on a ride binge. you boys off somewhere today?

[//M]

Originally Posted by BoltThrower

I’m in pune this weekend on a ride binge. you boys off somewhere today?

Oops missed reading this !

Bhpian Amey Kulkarni along with a dozen full of riders (mostly fellow bhpians) had rode down to Guhagar over the weekend.






While myself, bhpian Happy Smiles and a few friends rode to Mumbai/Lonavala and back.






Request you to PM me your whatsapp contact number so that we can be in touch for future rides.

[BoltThrower]

Originally Posted by //M

Oops missed reading this !

Bhpian Amey Kulkarni along with a dozen full of riders (mostly fellow bhpians) had rode down to Guhagar over the weekend.

Attachment 1738232

Attachment 1738239


While myself, bhpian Happy Smiles and a few friends rode to Mumbai/Lonavala and back.

Attachment 1738240

Attachment 1738241


Request you to PM me your whatsapp contact number so that we can be in touch for future rides.

Superb pictures

I'm gonna sound like a total noob here but I can't for the life of me, figure out how to send a pm

[//M]

Originally Posted by BoltThrower

Superb pictures

I'm gonna sound like a total noob here but I can't for the life of me, figure out how to send a pm

Ahh sorry forgot to mention, newbies cannot send PMs. Neither can I send you a PM.

[BoltThrower]

Originally Posted by BoltThrower

Things I don't like:

1. Headlights: The throw is about 5 feet short of where I need it to be, leading to stress-filled riding at night time. Definitely not looking forward to long highway trips at night.

I tinkered with the setting a little bit and realised there was plenty of room for vertical adjustment left despite what the Honda technician told me when he last set it. Last night I rode 230 Kms from 1 to 4 am and I must update that with the setting now higher, the throw is excellent and I felt more than comfortable cruising on the highway even with oncoming traffic glare. No aux lights necessary. I'm a very reluctant night rider and was surprised how much confidence the stock LEDs provided last night after having adjusted them. Felt like this needed updating. Also I apologise for not putting up more pics especially the invoices, have been busy riding but I intend to rectify that soon.

Side note: As I mentioned I'm not much for night rides and a scratched up helmet visor F*ing up your vision is one of the reasons why. All my old helmets had scratch resistant visors but none of them worked. But since this time I bought an AGV K5 I decided to look up the best way to keep the face shield clean and the following trick I learned from a revzilla video has been a life-saver. It might be common knowledge but came as a revelation to me and so I'm putting it here in hopes that it might help somebody. Mods please advise if this belongs in the gear section instead, i'll move it there.

Things you'll need:
warm water.
1 soft kitchen towel.
1 microfiber cloth.

The idea is to not use ANY products on the visor as it may harm the anti-scratch and other coatings. I always used baby shampoo on my old helmets and switching to this technique the difference is, as DJT would say, YUUUUGE!

1. Warm up some water to little more than lukewarm and soak the kitchen towel in it.

2. Then take your visor off the helmet and cover it with the warm towel.

3. Let it sit for 5 minutes. This dislodges any bug/grime/dust that may be on the visor.

4. Unwrap the visor after 5 minutes, dip the towel back in hot water and gently rinse the dirt off the visor. You will not need to use force as the dead bugs and other stuff will come off nice and easy at this point.

5. Once you're done rinsing, use the microfiber cloth to dry the visor and Voila! Visor good as new.

hope this helps and Happy riding!

[BoltThrower]

It has been a month since I first got my hands on the CBR. After having done 3000 kms on it, I felt the need to update the thread with certain points for potential buyers to consider.

The stretch of NH61 between Ahmednagar and Malshej Ghat is a beautiful bit of tarmac, smooth with long sweeping curves and devoid of pesky bumps and undulations. The ghat itself is a joy to ride although it's a bit bumpy. I rode with the usual suspects - two street triples, an MY 2015 675 and an MY 2017 street triple S. I can't recommend this road enough. If you're in the vicinity and looking for a nice short ride - this is definitely one to consider.

The CBR is a highway machine. I like to introduce it to non-bikers as a 'well-mannered sportsbike' since it tends to do high speeds without making it very apparent. It's only when you look down at the speedo you realise you're going about 50-60 kmph faster than you thought you were. On both straights and corners it handles itself with grace and precision, completely devoid of any drama whatsoever.

As an aside, we did some speed runs on a closed stretch of road at a friend's industrial compound in Ahmednagar and I didn't feel the need to tuck in till about 150 kmph. The stock windscreen works despite what all the forums had me believe. Maybe a double bubble works better but the stock works, as far as I'm concerned. Doing triple digit speeds while touring therefore is a breeze and very enjoyable.

It completely lacks grunt at low rpms. One needs to drop from 6th to 3rd or even 2nd to keep up with the old Striple as it accelerates in 4th or 5th. This is because of its relatively low torque of 60Nm. One needs to peg it up to 7-8k rpm before feeling that surge that usually comes with big bikes. When ridden like that the CBR returned an average of 15-16 kmpl. The striple s did slightly better at 16.6 kmpl indicated.

Top end performance is spot on, however. It is a 4 cyl motor after all. Has no problems keeping up with the big boys. I'm more and more inclined to do something about the stock exhaust. Not to keen on slash and cut slip on jobs or even an expensive full system swap. Looking into getting an electric butterfly valve attachment just after the cat-con to maintain back pressure and actuate 'bass mode' on command with a switch on the handle bar. It's just a germ of an idea so far, would appreciate any inputs.

Time for some long overdue pictures. Excuse my poor editing, the friends and I aren't really into selfies and social media.

Cheers and happy riding!

[Added_flavor]

Originally Posted by BoltThrower

Choosing the bike: Being on the wrong side of 25 and dangerously close to 30, I decided to put down some money toward a real, actual motorcycle. First I looked at the Benelli 600i, for obvious reasons. It's the cheapest inline-4 in the market and sounds bloody good. I formed a rapport with the salesman at the Pune showroom and took 2 test rides, one of them 3 hours long. After having ridden it in traffic and on the highway I can say this about the test bike - It was unwieldy and its power unusable until you got to 9,000 rpm. And the brakes were shit. Service interval is every 4000 kms even though the engine is from a 2005 Yamaha R6. That's where Benelli recoup the money from you by the way. Your warranty is void if you don't stick to the service interval, each costing about 8000 - 10,000/- I've also heard rumours that DSK has filed for bankruptcy so reliability and parts availability therefore is an issue. At 6.84 Lakh on road Pune, not very a good deal in my opinion. Especially for someone who rides 2000 kms a month on average.

Second, I looked at the Versys 650. It was perfect in all respects. The ergonomics, the touring ability, even the feel and character of the engine. I do not like parallel twin engines, just something off about the way they feel. The Ninja 650 for example, feels vibe-y and shake-y to me, like a Pulsar on steroids and not much else. But the Versys, which has the same engine as the ninja is a different animal altogether. If I didn't know otherwise, I'd say they were two very, VERY different engines. I was blown away by the feel, character, punch, and refinement of the Versys 650. Only problem is I have that inline 3/ inline 4 itch that I must scratch. I feel like the Versys can be the bike I can keep for 20 years after I've got my fill of sporty inline 4s out of my system. At 7.76 Lakh on road Pune, I feel that it is the most bike you can buy for your money.

Third was the CBR650f. I never looked at it as a real option before actually, seriously coming to the market for a middleweight motorcycle to buy. It checks all the right boxes - inline 4 engine, Honda reliability, excellent ownership reviews, alarmingly low maintenance costs, fully faired for highway touring, etc. Before I got into researching this bike I thought of it as over-priced, sedate, boring, and quiet. That prejudice was shattered as I kept on digging into it on the internet. Today, there isn't a Youtube video or an article or a forum review on this motorcycle that I haven't watched/read at least once. I test rode it on 3 occasions from 3 dealers in 3 different cities. The stock exhaust leaves a little to be desired but that's a compromise I'm willing to make. In Delhi the difference between the on road price of the CBR650f and the Kawa Z900 is 50,000 or so. In Maharashtra, it is 2.5 Lakh thanks to the weird CBU tax structure here. If I lived in Delhi, I would have been hard pressed to make a decision between these two but Maharashtra state taxes made that decision for me. Also, from all the reviews it seems the CBR is an absolute delight to ride in corners. That part is super important to me.

Lastly, there was the Street Triple. Two of my closest riding buddies have Striples and I've ridden those bikes a lot. It's a brilliant motorcycle but a little too expensive for me and also a little small (I'm 6'4). It isn't the best at touring but not bad at it either. if it was priced within 9 Lakh on road I would've seriously considered it. But as it stands at close to 11 lakh on road Pune, I simply could not afford it.


Some pictures:

Not sure how I missed this thread! Congratulations BoltThrower and welcome to the club!

I had the exact same shortlist, except for the Benelli which I never bothered to even look at!

Was torn b/w the Versys650 and the CBR and the exact same reasons (inline-4 itch and cheap ownership cost) sealed the deal for me! This sure is a fantastic all-rounder to own and it's got even better now with the 2018 version!

Honestly, even on the previous version, the 'vibrations issue' is blown out of proportion a bit, IMO. After 16k on the Odo, my bike's gotten much smoother than what it was (Maybe the extra tight engineered Honda engine) and probably I've gotten used to it too!

I'm a little surprised that you find the bottom end torque dull, cuz that and the associated in-city rideability is something a lot of us enjoy. Sure the power delivery is linear and mature (Some find it boring!) but not slow I believe! One can ride it like an automatic as it easily picks from 40 kmph (~2000 RPM) to all the way to the top in 6th gear. (Is it something with the different ratios on the 2018s?)

[BoltThrower]

Originally Posted by Added_flavor

Not sure how I missed this thread! Congratulations BoltThrower and welcome to the club!

I had the exact same shortlist, except for the Benelli which I never bothered to even look at!

Was torn b/w the Versys650 and the CBR and the exact same reasons (inline-4 itch and cheap ownership cost) sealed the deal for me! This sure is a fantastic all-rounder to own and it's got even better now with the 2018 version!

Honestly, even on the previous version, the 'vibrations issue' is blown out of proportion a bit, IMO. After 16k on the Odo, my bike's gotten much smoother than what it was (Maybe the extra tight engineered Honda engine) and probably I've gotten used to it too!

I'm a little surprised that you find the bottom end torque dull, cuz that and the associated in-city rideability is something a lot of us enjoy. Sure the power delivery is linear and mature (Some find it boring!) but not slow I believe! One can ride it like an automatic as it easily picks from 40 kmph (~2000 RPM) to all the way to the top in 6th gear. (Is it something with the different ratios on the 2018s?)

Thanks a tonne! I do believe you've nailed it with the 'linear and mature'. I prefer aggression from the get go so am a *little* bit disappointed by that. However the sheer smoothness of its operation throughout the rev band as you mentioned more than offsets that tiny niggle. And there's no shortage of grunt after you drop the gears so that's easily fixed. Thanks again and hope to ride together some time

[shan_ned]

I know few Ninja 650 owners who have gone for shorter gear ratios (by dropping two teeth in the front sprocket) to boost the torque at the rear wheel and they are very happy. Few CBR 650F owners may have tried the same and you can check for the feedback. This gear ratio change on your CBR will definetly make you happy with some compromise on the FE (and slight compromise on the top end speed as well).

[BoltThrower]

I'm posting the first service bill here. Something fishy I feel happening there with the seat cowl having two taxable amounts?

Some background: Of all the bikes and cars I've bought, this particular transaction was a bit murky and opaque for my liking. The quote of 8.36L was inclusive of insurance at 13000. I decided to get zero dep insurance done from my guy instead at 8500. Spoke to Pashankar and they said they'd reimburse the difference amount at delivery. Fair enough. Add 2500 discount on handling charges bringing the difference up to 7000. They'd also offered a free bike cover which I decided not to take (I already have one) and asked them to add its value to the total discounts. So that brings it to 9400.

I bought the seat cowl at the time of delivery and after installation they said all told, we owe you around 3500. I asked for a detailed written calculation which I did not receive. While the sales rep was asking me for my bank details, the service technician said "3500 would roughly be the first service cost to you so if you want we'll just adjust that there". Hmm. "Fine" I said. In hindsight I should've just taken the money but, rookie mistake. The gleaming new bike had me all distracted.

So for first service I didn't pay a dime but the numbers don't add up. Have asked Pashankar to clear everything up but the way things are, I feel clarity in the matter will only be achieved when I go to Pune next and sit down with them face to face.

here's the bill:

[Added_flavor]

Originally Posted by BoltThrower

I'm posting the first service bill here. Something fishy I feel happening there with the seat cowl having two taxable amounts?

Some background: Of all the bikes and cars I've bought, this particular transaction was a bit murky and opaque for my liking. The quote of 8.36L was inclusive of insurance at 13000. I decided to get zero dep insurance done from my guy instead at 8500. Spoke to Pashankar and they said they'd reimburse the difference amount at delivery. Fair enough. Add 2500 discount on handling charges bringing the difference up to 7000. They'd also offered a free bike cover which I decided not to take (I already have one) and asked them to add its value to the total discounts. So that brings it to 9400.

I bought the seat cowl at the time of delivery and after installation they said all told, we owe you around 3500. I asked for a detailed written calculation which I did not receive. While the sales rep was asking me for my bank details, the service technician said "3500 would roughly be the first service cost to you so if you want we'll just adjust that there". Hmm. "Fine" I said. In hindsight I should've just taken the money but, rookie mistake. The gleaming new bike had me all distracted.

So for first service I didn't pay a dime but the numbers don't add up. Have asked Pashankar to clear everything up but the way things are, I feel clarity in the matter will only be achieved when I go to Pune next and sit down with them face to face.

here's the bill:

1. Totally, they owed you 9400 (Insurance+Handling charges+bike cover). The cowl is worth 9580(7485+28% GST at 2095). So how do they owe you 3500?

2. In the invoice, they have added all the entities with 28% GST in the second row of the bottom table. (7485.33+1.53+10.7+808.47=8306.03). Engine oil and 'Others' have been charged at 18% GST. 'Others', I'm guessing refers to consumables like chain lube and cleaner etc.

[BoltThrower]

Originally Posted by Added_flavor

1. Totally, they owed you 9400 (Insurance+Handling charges+bike cover). The cowl is worth 9580(7485+28% GST at 2095). So how do they owe you 3500?

Exactly. That's why the numbers don't add up. I asked them for the break-up of their calculations but never got one. It seems like poor management more than malpractice at this point but still, transparency is always appreciated. I mean, what are the chances that the service bill payable was the exact amount that they owed me?

Originally Posted by Added_flavor

2. In the invoice, they have added all the entities with 28% GST in the second row of the bottom table. (7485.33+1.53+10.7+808.47=8306.03). Engine oil and 'Others' have been charged at 18% GST. 'Others', I'm guessing refers to consumables like chain lube and cleaner etc.

Ah yeah, that makes sense. Thanks for clearing that up. Guess I saw the same HSN code as the seat cowl and got confused.

[BoltThrower]

Originally Posted by Added_flavor

1. Totally, they owed you 9400 (Insurance+Handling charges+bike cover). The cowl is worth 9580(7485+28% GST at 2095). So how do they owe you 3500?

Just got off the phone with Pashankar. Here's the break up:
13000 was insurance + extended warranty. (10506 insurance + 2452 ext. warranty. I dunno why they grouped it like that)
So since I got the insurance from outside, they owed me 10506 (insurance) + 2500 (handling charges discount) = 13006. They didn't add the bike cover which is why I think the sales rep didn't want to give me a written break up then.

13006 - 9580 = 3426. That's the 3500 he was talking about.

Now, the service bill is 12964. 13006 -12964 = 42. Hisaab barabar.

[whencut86]

Just read your ownership thread. Looks smashing in red. The real cowl looks too good in red. I am contemplating between a CBR650F or a R3. I need to head to Pashankar Auto and take a test ride on the bike. The cost, weight and ground clearance are the only factors making me hesitant to go for this one.

[Amey Kulkarni]

Originally Posted by whencut86

I am contemplating between a CBR650F or a R3. I need to head to Pashankar Auto and take a test ride on the bike. The cost, weight and ground clearance are the only factors making me hesitant to go for this one.

CBR650F anyday! New R3 is still yet to be tested for the niggles it carried in the last gen.

I had visited Pashankar Auto, Pune last month and they did not have any bike to test ride. Do give them a call before you visit in the same regards.

Bike delivery lead-time is almost two months as quoted by them officially.

Cheers,
Amey