Confused over buying a new bike???

‘Fools learn through experience, the wise learn through inference!’

We are ready to be called fools, for the sake of helping you making the correct choice in buying your first bike.

We start off with 6 simple steps to complete the entire decision making process. Succeeding it is a brief outline of the bikes available in India and their categorisation, which will help you to understand what the Indian bike market has to offer. But, no sooner you have been to the first shop, you will come back with a host of other questions, mainly arising because of the jargons the salesmen would use. To answer those questions there is the FAQ section at the end. So here we go…….

SIX STEPS for all you wanna be bikers:-

1.Prioritize.
2.Plan your budget
3.Search for availability
4.Study the shortlisted
5.Select
6. Finalize

The first step is to set the priorities right. To do this, ask yourself why are you buying a motorbike? Do you need it for travelling 30 kms a day to you office? Or will you be travelling every weekend hundreds of kilometres to the Dam or Beach nearby? Or you need to buy it because all the good girls are going for the hunks with bikes? The answers to the above will help you plan your budget! Once you have decided the purpose of the bike, you would have a fair idea about your budgetary requirements. In case you need bank loans, most sellers these days have bank agents on the shop itself, who would advise you on the loan schemes. It’s always a good idea to window shop at several places to get a fair idea about the best deal.

The third step is searching for the available models. A visit to the showroom is essential in this step and it should not be done on the phone. The salesmen often advise the customers to wait for an upcoming model or variant. And it’s not a bad idea to have your hands on a bike that is uncommon on the streets. So please listen to them and remember to collect all the handouts and brochures they give you.

Study the bikes using the publicity material you have collected, browse the net for user reviews and then zero in, but not more than 2 models should be on your wishlist. Go to the showroom ask for a test ride. The feel of the ride is the most important factor that should help you finalize on your selection.

Broad outline of Bikes in India. (Availability as on 25.01.2007)

In India the bikes are broadly grouped into five categories:-

1.     Standard

a.      Bajaj : Platina,

b.      Hero Honda : CD Dawn, CD Deluxe, Splendor⁺, Splendor NXG, Passion plus, Super Splendor

c.      TVS : Star

d.      Kinetic : Stryker

e.      Yamaha : Alba, G5, Crux

f.      Global Automobiles : Rock 100

2.     Executive

a.      Bajaj : XCD 125, Discover

b.      Hero Honda : Glamour, Glamour PGM FI, Achiever

c.      Honda : Shine

d.      TVS : Flame

e.      Yamaha: Gladiator

f.      Suzuki : Heat, Zeus

g.      Global Automobiles : Xpression, Xpression plus

3.     Premium

a.      Bajaj : Bajaj Pulsar DTS-i

b.      Hero Honda : CBZ Xtreme, Hunk,

c.      Honda : Unicorn

d.      TVS : Apache RTR 160

4.     Cruiser

a.      Royal Enfield : 350, Electra, Machismo, Electra 5S, Thunderbird

b.      Bajaj : Avenger, Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi,

c.      Hero Honda: Karizma

d.      Kinetic : Aquila, Comet

5.     Superbikes :

a.      Yamaha : R1, MT01

FAQ

How Much CC should I go for?
The cubic capacity of your bike is directly related to the Fuel Efficiency you desire. The higher the cubic capacity, the higher is your engines capacity to push you to higher speed but also it decreases the fuel efficiency. Regular commuters who are keen on buying fuel efficient bikes should choose bikes in the Standard or Executive Segment.

What should be the ideal Fuel Efficiency?
Best Fuel Efficiency is delivered by a bike at RPM of 4500 for most bikes available with minimum number of Gear shifts. So keep your bike within those limits and enjoy more kilometres per litre.

What is Cruising Speeds?
Ideally speaking the best Cruising speeds for any bike is at an RPM 500 less than the RPM that produces Peak power as this RPM will let u easily overtake others on Torque and the engine is slightly more relaxed and number of gear shifts required is less too. So on highways this RPM gives the prefect blend between fun, Fuel Efficiency and speeds.

What about Serviceability and Service Duration
Winner among serviceability is by Royal Enfield Bullets, there is a saying ‘an Enfield never betrays its rider’
But in terms of service duration it as bad as it gets as you will need to speed more time with your Mechanic.
So choose a bike that’s easy to service and doesn’t need servicing frequently. All major dealers in India have a very good service centre network but the quality is questionable in some centres. It is advisable to do your own homework on the nearby service centres before deciding on one.

Should I buy a Commuter or a Sporty Bike?
Now people say commuter riding position is more comfortable than sporty riding position. Yes in the city they are comfortable as they are somewhere between cruiser and sporty bikes but for long rides they are not. Primarily because the riding position is slightly awkward and weight rests more on your back and may cause terrible back ache but in Sporty riding position with rear set foot pegs the weight rests on your Shin the strongest bone of the body and thus saves your back from taking a beating.
So we recommend people taking bike mainly for city purpose to go for commuter riding position but someone taking bike to highways frequently must take a bike with rear set foot pegs.

Some more seriously technical stuff…….

What is more important TORQUE or BHP?
People usually tend to overlook torque figures and buy a bike with higher BHP and later they find out that Torque is what drives the bike.

Torque generally defines the pulling capacity of the bike you might be having a bike that produces more BHP but you can still get torqued by a machine that produced slightly lower BHP and produces more Torque.

Why the more powerful bike in terms of BHP gets torqued? The bike with greater Torque will have greater pulling power and it may be slow to start with but after some the peak torque will be achieved and the bike will just keep going forward on Torque and chances are high that it will overtake other on Torque.
— have faced conditions where you need to down shift a gear to overtake someone.
Why that happens — simply bike has to make more torque to take u forward.

Our Take – Torque will enable u clear the traffic ahead of u just by flick of throttle with out changing gear. We don’t mind losing a couple of BHP to get a better torque Curve.

Which is better Cruiser or a Sporty Bike?
This is a popular misconception that cruisers are more comfortable than the Sporty bikes on a long ride.
Yes Cruisers do have a better torque curve than Sporty bikes and helps them operate with fewer gear shift.
But feel like god yeah on good roads they make cruising feel like good but on bad roads they are more pain due to low seating height and longer wheelbase combined with that low height makes it hell to handle the bike over broken patches of road.
Whereas Sporty bike are comfortable on good roads as well as bad roads and manoeuvring them is easier.
So if you are die hard fan of Cruiser then you can opt for it. But if you are choosing it simply because you heard they are comfortable for cruising, think again.

What should I go for Long Stroke or Short Stroke?
If your looking for bike for cruising take long stroke engine as they tend to produce better torque curves where as if u are city rider and like to get the best out of engines over a short range then take a short stroke engine as they develop BHP rapidly and gives u quick 0-60.
Fun starts in Long Strokes after 60 but in Short Stoke engines fun starts from 0 but Dies out as soon as it produces the peak power in a particular gear.

Our Recommendations:

Cruising – Hero Honda Karizma, Bajaj Pulsar 220
City Riding – Pulsar 200/180 TVS Apache RTR 160

for Fuel Economy conscious people:
Cruising – Hero Honda CBZ Xtreme, Hero Honda Hunk
City – Unicorn, Discover 135

For Cruiser Fanatics
Avenger200,Royal Enfield Bullet Machismo 500, Royal Enfield ThunderBird.

For Hardcore Fuel Efficiency conscious:
Bajaj XCD, HeroHonda Glamour PGMfi, Honda Shine, TVS Flame

 

courtesy–www.theroadrollers.com