[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

..The footpegs are too far behind. More than they need to be IMO. I am thinking of adding an inch to the seat height, along with making it less forward - pitchy. This should give me some extra room

Adding seat foam is nice but if you move the peg further forward anymore without lowering it, your knee will touch the flaring of the tank even without a kneepad.

Me too! Any idea when this is expected to be launched? Estimated pricing? Guesstimates are between 6 and 7 lac INR.

My only concern would be the quality control. Strange I know, for a Honda. But the initial lot of 250s had more than one issue and the overall build quality was quite poor. Is it gonna be manufactured in India or assembled only?

No idea about all that! I dont believe much in these speculations floating around. But last thing I heard was that Honda has brought one specimen to India for R&D purposes!

http://www.bikewale.com/news/1477-ho...0f-for-rd.html

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Sheel

I want an involving bike with sharp brakes and very good handling. That is it.

Sorry for rant

Not a rant at all. I want exactly the same. The Duke was all of that and more. It was only that with some really close riding buddies moving on to faster bikes, and as a result us amongst ourselves as well as part of larger groups riding with faster bigger bikes, I realised that aside from the kick of dicing with the big boys with the smallest gun in town, and not get blown away either, I really did want to do more. For which I needed some more at the top end - probably the only area not the Duke's (200's) strong suit. Hence the decision to move on - and the evolution of the choice process detailed above.

Between the 390 and the 250, purely on top end, the riding I have been doing with the 390 guys, most of them top out at 165-ish. Yes I know guys have taken it to 170+, some claim 175+, some others claim 180+, but in my circle what I have experienced is 165-ish. And these are riders I know and can vouch for - both in quality as well as credibility. Basically the confidence that they would not BS ....

I do not know if the Ninjette can also hit the same top end (165-ish) or whether it can hit it as easily as the 390 does. But even if it does not, it will at least be somewhere in the region/ballpark. The rest can and should be compensated by extra-bike factors. At least that's the thinking for now .....

These are all real road riding I am talking about. Not tracks or any such, where probably higher speeds are hittable. For Indian conditions, anything over 140 and you are faster than most of the traffic, 2 and 4 wheeled. 160+ means you are leaving it behind. You don't need 200 and even if you have it, you could probably seldom hit it. I may be wrong and would love to be corrected by the big boys on this though.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Doc, is the 390 adventure coming up or no? So much news everywhere, and all of a sudden it looks like a mirage.

No idea bro. Right now all I (and all of us) know is that the RC390 is next. Probably Diwali.

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

No idea about all that! I dont believe much in these speculations floating around. But last thing I heard was that Honda has brought one specimen to India for R&D purposes!

http://www.bikewale.com/news/1477-ho...0f-for-rd.html

I know a guy working inside ARAI who says that they are also testing a big Yamaha.

600 or 650 cc.

[Abhi_Automobile]

Originally Posted by ebonho

I know a guy working inside ARAI who says that they are also testing a big Yamaha.

600 or 650 cc.

Any more details than that buddy After such a long wait, I will also want to go for something bigger. A 600-650cc suits me down to the 'T'. The only catch is (not considering N650 as I just find it a little docile): we are not exactly inundated with options. Street Triple is far too expensive for my liking.

All I am ready to put is 3-6 lacs on this purchase. Do you see anything launching within that price range? What could be the price of a used N650 (2011 or 2012) model?

PS: Just realized what a great deal Ducati Monster was for India@5.99 lacs. It is a different matter that they didn't offer any A.S.S and packed up their bags (or have they just yet?)

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by ebonho

I know a guy working inside ARAI who says that they are also testing a big Yamaha.

600 or 650 cc.

Blessed are we if Yamaha is serious about it. May be a 650, but is'nt there some legal restrictions to sell 600cc bikes here in India?

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Abhi_Automobile

Any more details than that buddy

Not yet. But I am as interested as you are. Yamaha being Yamaha would of course eventualy disappoint us and give us some third world biker apartheid crap like they plan to with the 250 ....

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

Blessed are we if Yamaha is serious about it. May be a 650, but is'nt there some legal restrictions to sell 600cc bikes here in India?

Then how does Bajaj sell the Ninja 650? Why cannot Honda and Suzuki and Yamaha do the same here? Never understood that .....

[basuroy]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

Blessed are we if Yamaha is serious about it. May be a 650, but is'nt there some legal restrictions to sell 600cc bikes here in India?

Below 800cc , the bike has to be assembled within india as CBU imports of brand new bikes are not allowed . Ninja 650 is assembled here .

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Then how does Bajaj sell the Ninja 650? Why cannot Honda and Suzuki and Yamaha do the same here? Never understood that .....

Originally Posted by basuroy

Below 800cc , the bike has to be assembled within india as CBU imports of brand new bikes are not allowed . Ninja 650 is assembled here .

I specifically meant 600cc. Selling 650, 675 etc are not a problem. I have read somewhere that there is a legal restriction to sell a foreign brand 600cc multi cylinder bike in India. I believe its due to the same reason why R6, GSXR600 or CBR600RRs never officially made it to India, even as a CKD.

One reason I have heard is that this restriction is to safeguard local manufacturer's market share in this category (IN CASE they decide to make an engine that big!). If only the 600cc is the restriction a 599cc or 601cc should be fine I guess!

[basuroy]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

I specifically meant 600cc. Selling 650, 675 etc are not a problem. I have read somewhere that there is a legal restriction to sell a foreign brand 600cc multi cylinder bike in India. I believe its due to the same reason why R6, GSXR600 or CBR600RRs never officially made it to India, even as a CKD.

One reason I have heard is that this restriction is to safeguard local manufacturer's market share in this category (IN CASE they decide to make an engine that big!). If only the 600cc is the restriction a 599cc or 601cc should be fine I guess!

There is only one restriction - that is any bike below 800cc has to be assembled here(known as CKD or complete knock down kit ) as CBU imports are not allowed . There is no restriction specifically for 600cc , it just so happens none are assembled here so none are sold either . And yes the reason you mentioned for this law is correct , to shield domestic market or force internation brands into setting up assembly lines.

The 650 or 675 or the ninjas are all assembled here , if any company wants to sell a 600 cc , they can do so by importing the Knock Down Kit and assembling it here - since the japanese brands mainly focus on volume sale of low cost motorcycles , they are content to sell the litre class bikes as CBU(complete built unit ) imports which attract an 89% import duty alone if I am not wrong , the duty on CKD is lower and lowest on complete manufactures ( ktm , harley street series ).

[Urban_Nomad]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

Adding seat foam is nice but if you move the peg further forward anymore without lowering it, your knee will touch the flaring of the tank

Hey bud! I meant reducing the forward pitch if the seat and make it more neutral / less slanting forward. Don't want to make modifications to the foot pegs.

Do read this if you get the time. Very interesting read

http://www.diymotorcycleseat.com

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

Do read this if you get the time. Very interesting read

http://www.diymotorcycleseat.com

Thanks a lot for this. Great read! I wish I had come across this article when I had my Royal Enfield!

[sammyboy]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Between the 390 and the 250, purely on top end, the riding I have been doing with the 390 guys, most of them top out at 165-ish. Yes I know guys have taken it to 170+, some claim 175+, some others claim 180+, but in my circle what I have experienced is 165-ish. And these are riders I know and can vouch for - both in quality as well as credibility. Basically the confidence that they would not BS ....

I do not know if the Ninjette can also hit the same top end (165-ish) or whether it can hit it as easily as the 390 does. But even if it does not, it will at least be somewhere in the region/ballpark. The rest can and should be compensated by extra-bike factors. At least that's the thinking for now .....

I havent ridden the 390 but the Ninja can do the numbers you mention. It reaches the 150- 155 mark pretty quickly and then things take a while but I have seen the 165-170 figure for a few fleeting seconds (the 170 was downhill by the way and only once)

The thing about the Ninja is that its extremely stable at those speeds, the wind protection is very good if you crouch a bit and you can do good speeds without feeling the strain of the wind hitting you squarely on the chest. Even otherwise, you only realize the speeds you are at once you look at the speedo.

It handles cross winds very well and is rock solid in terms of handling.

Disclaimer: These speeds were touched on empty roads for a few fleeting seconds only.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

One reason I have heard is that this restriction is to safeguard local manufacturer's market share in this category

I am not sure who or what there is to safeguard. Royal Enfield? This safe guarding local manufacturer excuse has been around for a really long time. I don't see a local manufacturer doing anything about it as well.

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

I am not sure who or what there is to safeguard. Royal Enfield? This safe guarding local manufacturer excuse has been around for a really long time. I don't see a local manufacturer doing anything about it as well.

Reservation system! OBC, SC/ST, Royal Enfield, Hero, Bajaj.. All are one and same!

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

Reservation system! OBC, SC/ST, Royal Enfield, Hero, Bajaj.. All are one and same!

What is OBC, SC/ST?

Royal Enfield have nothing to worry about. With a client list willing to wait for 8-9 months to get their hands on a motorcycle, I think they are safe. Atleast the bike's sold today, to some extent are getting close to the Fill it, Shut it, Forget levels when it comes to upkeep. Thanks to the new dude Siddharth. As an Enfield owner, I don't see myself picking up a new generation Enfield though. Maybe the Interceptor, that is, if Royal Enfield engineers are capable of building a reliable one.

Hero continues to sell a motorcycle with an engine thats close to 30 years old. No major mechanical changes to the big boy Karizma too. They continue to sell well.

Bajaj are the smartest. They got KTM and get to use KTM tech on their motorcycles. Its a sweet deal. Someone who wants a Pulsar will stick to a Pulsar and the same goes with KTM. They don't poach each other on pricing too.

With the inflow of all the big motorcycle brands, I thought the protection policy was all over.

We should put up another thread or this.

[basuroy]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

I am not sure who or what there is to safeguard. Royal Enfield? This safe guarding local manufacturer excuse has been around for a really long time. I don't see a local manufacturer doing anything about it as well.

It is not so much a safeguard as it is a massive headache . Bike below 800cc have to be homologated by ARAI - this takes months and considerable investment from the manufacturer .

Say yamaha wants to sell the R6 but only as CBU , first they spend time and money on to homologate the bike and then they put this bike in the market at twice the price because of tax - result is hardly enough sales to justify all the hassle in the first place. If they set up an assembly line , the tax is significantly reduced and that will boost sales and as such certain brands like kawasaki or hyousung have found it worthwhile to make their bikes available.

Over 800cc , no homologation required - import , register , ride .