[Amey Kulkarni]

Originally Posted by BoltThrower

Also, I was wondering if anyone's tried the fake helmet visors from aliexpress? they're 10 times (!) cheaper than the real thing. My visor is all scratched up and a stop-gap measure such as these would be nice to get through a couple of months before a friend can pick up real ones from abroad for half the price they sell in India

Our fellow BHPian and a dear friend Monaro CV8 has been using Aliexpress visors on his AGV K5 since about a year now.

Its totally worth it if you find the right fit for your helmet. Its so cheap that you may even decide to change it every six months.

Cheers,
Amey

[whencut86]

Originally Posted by //M

Many Congratulations BoltThrower !

The CBR650F is a wonderful do-it-all motorcycle. I was super impressed by its versatility so had booked one last year from Pashankar Honda, Pune.

Somewhere during the waiting period, I told them to hold on to my booking as I wanted to wait for the BS4 650F in new colours, specially loved this red-black Deadpool spec.

But to my utter agony, the Honda guys never followed up. I inquired a few times after the launch of the 650F but no display bikes/no test ride bikes and no response from the dealer left me frustrated. So much so that I finally gave up and started evaluating other options.

Glad that you had a much better experience at Pashankar Honda. The red-black 650F is a beautiful looking motorcycle, saw one recently on display at the Honda stall in Auto Expo. Also, the rear seat cowl looks fabulous.

Congratulations again. Wishing you many happy miles with your 650F. Ride Safe !

The quote they gave me was for a Pearl White color. They haven't even bothered to change the colors in their system. But the sales advisor incharge of Wing World in Pashankar was good though.

Originally Posted by BoltThrower

Thanks so much for the wishes, M. The lack of test rides is really quite frustrating. I'm in Pune quite often and would be happy to ride with you if in case you feel that would help you make up your mind about buying the bike.

Cheers and Happy Riding!

Pashankar still don't have a test ride bike yet. Not even in the previous version. I want to test ride one before going ahead with a booking but not sure what to do. I just sat on a bike which was in for servicing to check the riding position . But the clutch part in the right side is quite protruding. Not sure how it will be when riding the bike actually.

[BoltThrower]

Originally Posted by Amey Kulkarni

Our fellow BHPian and a dear friend Monaro CV8 has been using Aliexpress visors on his AGV K5 since about a year now.

Its totally worth it if you find the right fit for your helmet. Its so cheap that you may even decide to change it every six months.

Cheers,
Amey

Much thanks, Amey. You're a life saver, I've been on the fence about the same for weeks now. Let's ride together some time. I'll text //M next time I'm in town.

Originally Posted by whencut86

Pashankar still don't have a test ride bike yet. Not even in the previous version. I want to test ride one before going ahead with a booking but not sure what to do. I just sat on a bike which was in for servicing to check the riding position . But the clutch part in the right side is quite protruding. Not sure how it will be when riding the bike actually.

It isn't really a problem but hey if you're ever in A'bad, hit me up and check it out for yourself

[BowMan]

Hey guys, just a small update from me.

I'd be happy to share with you that I have got myself a new bike. And it is very much a Jap inline 4. But this one is not the 650F but that 600F4i. Here she is after I rode her all the way from Jodhpur to Gandhinagar.

I will be doing all my maintenance activities myself and I guess I will keep on posting my experiences on this very thread, since the bikes share same pedigree. I hope the 650 owners will not mind :-)

Leaving you guys with a pic of my bike. The first day of 500 Km ride on her and I was clear on one thing. All that talk about character some manufacturers and riders (me included) can't stop harping on. In the end it was all just vibrations.

[Amey Kulkarni]

Originally Posted by BoltThrower

Much thanks, Amey. You're a life saver, I've been on the fence about the same for weeks now. Let's ride together some time. I'll text //M next time I'm in town.

Haha! No worries! I would be shifting to Mumbai next month onwards. Nevertheless, I should mostly be in Pune over the weekends. Lets see how it works out. Do let us know when you're in Pune; if not ride in the rains maybe a coffee meetup can be planned too.

Cheers,
Amey

[BoltThrower]

Originally Posted by BowMan

Hey guys, just a small update from me.

I'd be happy to share with you that I have got myself a new bike. And it is very much a Jap inline 4. But this one is not the 650F but that 600F4i. Here she is after I rode her all the way from Jodhpur to Gandhinagar.

I will be doing all my maintenance activities myself and I guess I will keep on posting my experiences on this very thread, since the bikes share same pedigree. I hope the 650 owners will not mind :-)

Leaving you guys with a pic of my bike. The first day of 500 Km ride on her and I was clear on one thing. All that talk about character some manufacturers and riders (me included) can't stop harping on. In the end it was all just vibrations.

Attachment 1772612

Now that's one hell of a twist! I have half a mind to swing by Gandhinagar on my upcoming ride to uttrakhand just to be able to congratulate you in person. Absolute masterstroke, Bowman. Do please feel free to grace this thread with your experiences in depth. Wish you thousands upon thousands of glorious miles on your new baby.

Originally Posted by Amey Kulkarni

Haha! No worries! I would be shifting to Mumbai next month onwards. Nevertheless, I should mostly be in Pune over the weekends. Lets see how it works out. Do let us know when you're in Pune; if not ride in the rains maybe a coffee meetup can be planned too.

Cheers,
Amey

Ah yes. //M did mention the exodus when I spoke to him last. Will try and make it before both of you take your leave from Pune. I definitely enjoy riding in the rain and a hot cup of coffee when you're drenched and cold sounds wonderful

[GTO]

Originally Posted by BowMan

I will be doing all my maintenance activities myself and I guess I will keep on posting my experiences on this very thread, since the bikes share same pedigree.

Request to please start your own ownership thread. We insist. Thanks!

[BowMan]

Originally Posted by BoltThrower

Now that's one hell of a twist! I have half a mind to swing by Gandhinagar on my upcoming ride to uttrakhand just to be able to congratulate you in person. Absolute masterstroke, Bowman. Do please feel free to grace this thread with your experiences in depth. Wish you thousands upon thousands of glorious miles on your new baby.

You are more than welcome. If you happen to pass by just let me know. We can ride out for some distance

Originally Posted by GTO

Request to please start your own ownership thread. We insist. Thanks!

Sure thing GTO

[BoltThrower]

Second Service Update:

Went in for second service with 5979 kms reading on the odo. And good thing too, if the Pashankar Auto service technician is to be believed. He claims Honda charges 1500/- for bikes brought in for servicing beyond the specified odo read-out which in this case was 6000 kms.

I had the oil filter changed at this servicing even though it isn't recommended by the manual, as a precautionary measure. The total cost came to 4400/- inclusive of the oil filter.

The service experience was rather pleasant. They have a separate air conditioned room for servicing big wing machines. There's only space for one at a time so appointments are a must. One gets to sit and be a part of the servicing process if one so desires. The whole thing took 2.5 hours and the work done was:
1. changing of the oil
2. checking and adjusting chain tension
3. checking and adjusting clutch pull
4. brake pads check and clean
5. replace oil filter
6. bike wash

My only gripe is that once I left Pune and reached home I noticed that the seat cowl's main fasteners were both broken. They are basically two plastic prongs with holes that fit around the protrusions made for them under the seat. I have a picture of it unbroken, sitting on the service floor so I'm not sure if they broke during service or during my ride to malavli and then onward, back to Aurangabad. Guess this gives me the opportunity to buy a black/blue cowl from aliexpress at half cost, an idea that I've been tinkering with at the back of my mind for some time. Purely aesthetic, of course.

I would also like to bring to the forum's attention that the Pune-Lonavala road has turned into a bottle-necked nightmare owing to some major road work wherein they've dug up the main through the middle. The Talegaon-Chakan-Shikrapur route however is brilliant at this time with some really nice Misal Pav places along the way. It's quite scenic too. I'm attaching pictures to back up that claim. I'm also adding screenshots of the fuel log app (cost per km, per week, per year, etc) for benefit of anyone looking to do an in depth cost analysis. Do bear in mind most of the fuel figures in the 20's are at a relatively constant highway speed of about 110-120. And anything below is straight up bat-outta-hell mode.

Cheers and Happy Riding!

[Red Liner]

Honda's service always brings a smile to my face. Visiting any other SBK brand service outlet is a lottery game of nightmares.

This is a big big reason I am genuinely open to upgrading to a "new to me" Honda Africa Twin in a couple of years. Should have enough in the used market by then. What a sweet machine.

That's unless the 790 ADV hasn't made it here by then.

[BoltThrower]

I have news. the exhaust mod is complete and the results so far are pretty good I'd say. As previously stated, I went for a some what unconventional butterfly valve cut out mod to get that proper inline 4 sound I grew up drooling over. This allows me to switch from loud to soft at the touch of a button.

Why didn't I go for a slip on or a full system swap? 2 reasons. money and permanence. With this mod I get to fly under the radar when I want to and get the cheap thrills too when I want them.

The whole thing cost 10k with parts and labour. And, the most expensive of all, about an inch and a half of ground clearance (I know, I know) but I'm learning to live with it. Gonna stiffen up the rear with preload adjustment and things should be fine on that front.

I'm attaching below a picture of what's been done. I'll soon be making a video of the difference opening and closing of the valve makes (and what a difference it is) I will also post a step by step job report along with links to the parts ordered. sharing is caring, right?

Till then, cheerio. And ride safe.

[shan_ned]

There are two bikes in the video. Which one is yours ?. I guess it is the first one, but not 100% sure about it. From the video, the sound is very high (of the first bike) even from a far away distance. I guess you need not buy any loud sound horn to alert other vehicles

Like to see more details about this mod in your next few posts.

[BoltThrower]

Originally Posted by shan_ned

There are two bikes in the video. Which one is yours ?. I guess it is the first one, but not 100% sure about it. From the video, the sound is very high (of the first bike) even from a far away distance. I guess you need not buy any loud sound horn to alert other vehicles

Like to see more details about this mod in your next few posts.

Thanks for the pointers Shan. I've edited the post to clarify which bike is which. You're right, with the valve opened it is massively loud. Way more than I wanted or thought it would be. There are more videos but my friend's really lazy with his GoPro. I'll put those up as soon as he's done farting around and sends them to me.

[Amey Kulkarni]

Originally Posted by BoltThrower

I went for a some what unconventional butterfly valve cut out mod to get that proper inline 4 sound I grew up drooling over.

Great Mod! Just to understand in terms of performance, what's the difference w.r.t stock setup?

Low-end?
Mid?
Top?

Cheers,
Amey

[BoltThrower]

Originally Posted by Amey Kulkarni

Great Mod! Just to understand in terms of performance, what's the difference w.r.t stock setup?

Low-end?
Mid?
Top?

Cheers,
Amey

To be absolutely frank Amey I really haven't noticed much discernible difference in outright acceleration. Top end has certainly improved. I'd be really interested to see the difference in power at the wheel, if any, but unfortunately I don't have access to a dyno. I'm in Pune this weekend, are you around?