[Axe77]

@Sawyer:
Here are some Ducati Monsters as well to check out. I think one of the twins was a 796 but dont remember. In any case they look near identical.

[Axe77]

Does anyone have a phone no for Dream Bikes?

[navpreet318]

They have a website planetdsg.com which caters to their riding gear department.you can get contact details there.

[Sawyer]

@Axe77- thanks for all the pictures. The Bandit does look very purposeful, and the black one could be dull as you pointed out, now that the engine/cycle parts are all in black as well in the current models. The Ducatis look good to eat!

[Sawyer]

I found a thread on xbhp about a Bandit ride all the way to Khardungla this past July, in wet weather. I am not sure I would have the abandon and the guts to do that, that is no road for a 250 kilo, relatively slick tyred highway tourer/occasional city commuter. But it makes interesting reading, and kudos to the rider for daring to do this and getting back safely!
The Bandit seems to have done well, given that it was in places it was never designed to be in. The engine seems to be very rugged by being unstressed by design, and the rest of the bike held together very well.
The perfect dry weather ( 8-9 months in most parts of India) highway ride, it looks to be like. Just some concerns about it perhaps being too heavy/large for Indian cities, where the MT01/CB1000r, or even a Ducati Monster 796 may work better.

[Sks_Biker]

The guy who did that, Sandeep is a real tough veteran of the road (have rode with him in the Himalayas too). Not to belittle the Bandit's ability, but it takes a lot of skill too to go there on a bike that big and heavy.

But looking at the overall picture again, as of today Bandit seems like the best bike in its class for India.

[speedy]

Here is a clear picture of the Honda CB1000 and MT01 and the Bandit. Source bikepics.com

[sachinwadhwani]

my thoughts,

Bandit is great value for money in India, its the cheapest SBK currently available. However, i feel it loses out on the looks department, looks pretty sober and dated. Its perfect for somebody looking for something that wont draw any attention whatsoever, Having said that, i havent seen the bike in the flesh, im speaking strictly from the impression i have got looking at the pics of the Bandit, so perhaps im wrong. Great for touring so if thats what one is looking for in his/her bike then its great.

MT-01, I was at Yamaha in Malad next to Inorbit Mall a few months ago, i was told the MT01 is not available anymore, there was a FZ6 parked there though strictly for display. I did ask about FZ1 being launched they said nothing confirmed.

CB10000R, great looker, great for city and for out of town rides, expensive but thats the way things go in India as of now. However, please keep in mind Honda India is doing a really bad job at registering these bikes, atleast from what ive experienced and from what ive heard from people in Mumbai. They are taking a long time, often running into months.

All the best

Sachin

[Sawyer]

I was able to get away to visit the showroom today and see the Bandit in the flesh at the service station. I have to say it looks very underwhelming, and that is the one things that sticks in the throat. One bends down, looks all over and around it and its - I am going to pay Rs 9.5 lakhs just for that much of metal/electronics/technology??!! Of course that is not all the story, one needs to see what it can also accomplish which is a hell of a lot - but then the question is how much out of that can one use on Indian roads.
The bike sells for around 7000 pounds in the UK. Straight conversion, that is Rs 5 lakhs. If one accounts for salary and other differentials in the two economies, a guess is that the impact of buying one of those bikes would be an impact of spending Rs 2.5 lakhs on Indians living here. At that price in India, it would still not make sense to lots of Indians who would correctly say, I can get a maruti 800 car at that price and still not buy a Bandit 1250. So too, in the UK, at that price of 7000 pounds there are new cars, A segment, that one can buy. But, for those who still bought it anyway, it would not be as ridiculous a spend as Rs 9.5 lakhs for it is in India.
Time for some soul searching!!

[pjbiju]

Sawyer, all these bikes and cars are attrociously priced in India because of the import duties. So the decision to buy one of these is not easy unless

• You have a lot of money and these figures (cost vs the money in your vault) do not amount to much
• You are so passionate about getting such a bike (or for that matter an imported car) that the value for money concept takes the pillion seat or no seat at all

Besides, we do not have safe roads (good roads we do have) and quality pumps along our highways at regular intervals to support long bike tours. And using these only in the city is really a shame.

Not an easy decision to make (and to think that we have Ducati bikes that cost over Rupees 50 lakhs)

Why don't you consider the Ninja 250. Although it terms of CC it sounds so puny, in terms of performance they seem to be very well suited for our roads from the reports that we have on Team-BHP.

-Biju

[shayne]

Hi Sawyer

I have followed your comments and thoughts on buying a Bandit for a while, since i was toying with buying one when i returned to India. Unfortunately I came to the same conclusion as you have.

I have a Kawasaki ER6n right now, which is a great bike and i enjoy riding it every day. BUT. it is an entry level communter bike essentially. It cannot give me that pride of ownership and love (?) that i would have got even with a BMW F800 GS.

I meet a huge collection of bikers on weekends, who have bikes ranging from Ducati 1098's to KTM Adventures/BMW 1200 GS' to smaller KTM's and CBR/GSXR/ZZR/R6/R1's. There are a LOT of ER6n's as well.. but when they are all parked together you can see that something like a ER6 is a functional tool whereas the others are about something else. I cant explain it better unfortunately. Even a little KTM supermotard kicks my bikes a$$ when it comes to that certain something!

So what i am saying is that though the Bandit is a tempting mix of VFM and power, neither i (nor most avid bikers) would be 'happy' with a bike like it for very long.

regards
shayne

[Axe77]

@Sawyer: Perhaps you should seriously check out the Ducati Hypermotard 796 as well. Much more upright posture than the Monster and roughly remains in the 10 lakh range (on road bbay).

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by pjbiju

Why don't you consider the Ninja 250. Although it terms of CC it sounds so puny, in terms of performance they seem to be very well suited for our roads from the reports that we have on Team-BHP.
-Biju

My problem with this sensible suggestion is that at 6 ft/90kilos, I am not sure that is the bike for me. Plus, I don't want a bike that needs to be run at high rpms to enjoy what it can do, and I don't fancy the race track riding posture it asks to be adopted.

Originally Posted by shayne

I cant explain it better unfortunately. Even a little KTM supermotard kicks my bikes a$$ when it comes to that certain something!

I agree and understand what you are trying to convey. I am not sure that the Bandit will engender the pride of ownership factor. It is just that certain something that is missing in it.

Originally Posted by Axe77

@Sawyer: Perhaps you should seriously check out the Ducati Hypermotard 796 as well. Much more upright posture than the Monster and roughly remains in the 10 lakh range (on road bbay).

I shall do so, thanks for the input, though I thought the Monster also allows a reasonable posture? I wish we had more feedback available on the quality of Ducati after sales support in India though.

[black12rr]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

My problem with this sensible suggestion is that at 6 ft/90kilos, I am not sure that is the bike for me. Plus, I don't want a bike that needs to be run at high rpms to enjoy what it can do, and I don't fancy the race track riding posture it asks to be adopted.

Did you check out a Hayabusa .Many may call it too common,ugly ,very power . But its perfect bike . It can be a sport bike when you want , a super bike when you want ,a tourer when you want . Its a ALL-IN-ONE bike . .
Its a very comfortable bike which you can ride in formals too (like pinnacle :P ) . You can be in 6th gear all day loafing around and just little bit more twist ,it can wheel spin even in 6th gear .

[navpreet318]

Just fumbled across this.If this is reliable then it would make a great tourer once we get in installed in a good chassis like the bullet or the karizma.Ofcourse with some extensive chassis mods.But in itself it is a complete engine.

400cc Motorcycle Engine with 3 Cylinder - EN-03 - Sonik (China Manufacturer) - Motorcycle Parts & Components - Transportation Products -