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Originally Posted by shan_ned Doc, can I ask you a politically incorrect question ? You can choose not to answer if it is going to create a war like situation between the KTM and Ninja group  Assuming all the things (price, build quality, after sales support, etc.,) being same, which one will you choose between D390 and N250/300 if the only criteria is pure/raw performance ? |
Nothing politically incorrect about the question at all. I have never hidden the fact that I think the Ninja is a lovely bike. I have ridden a Ninja like 3 times in my life (3 different Ninjas), for a grand total of under 30-40 kms maybe. That was enough to convince me about what the bike was and what it could do.
So if your question is Ninja 250 vs Duke 390, asuming all things being same as hypothesized by you, I would pick the Duke.
With the 300 vs the 390, I would pick the 300.
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Originally Posted by theexperthand Congrats on the bike, Doc. It is nice to have you back and with a bike at hand, we can bug you more for answers to our queries  |
Anoop the last 4 months, its not like I did not have a bike or had stopped riding. The Bullet is still a bike, when you remove all the surrounding fluff around it of tradition, heritage, history, character, soul, brotherhood, sisterhood, etc.
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Any plans to graft that exhaust you mentioned earlier? The one you found so impressive.
--Anoop
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Nope, none whatsoever. If after some time I feel the urge to have some more, and more importantly, if I feel I have been able to max out what she already has with my current level of skills and am getting bored or not being pushed enough, only then would I look to my biker friend from Australia getting down some tried and tested tuning bits. Till then I plan to enjoy her for what she is. An almost brand new, unexplored, untouched bit of kit.
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Originally Posted by zulfi hansi Most of the other 390s available are in the price range of 1.65-1.85 L which have run about 5000-8000 kms. The New 390 is 2.16L OTR. |
There is nothing to stop anyone from quoting anything on OLX/Quikr etc. Bottom line is, what is the final price deals actually close at?
Well, I won't comment on Bangalore or out of Maharashtra bikes, because I never considered them in my search. But Maharashtra I believe I can speak for, considering that I recently deleted 44 contact numbers from my cell phone - the total of potential sellers I had been in conversations with for either Ninja 250s or Ninja 650s or Duke 390s (the three bikes I had been looking at to replace Baby Duke).
Let me give you a representation of my final consideration set of bikes, in descending order of final expectations/deal closures (this is after a few rounds of phone negotiations - so possibly the lowest you can get them before you actually meet them face to face and they actually smell/see your money waving under their nose .....):
JUL 14, 750 kms, 1.75
FEB 14, 3500 kms, 1.75 (CLOSED)
JUL 14, 3000 kms, 1.65
JUL 14, 700 kms, 1.65
NOV 13, 600 kms, 1.65 (CLOSED)
MAR 14, 2300 kms, 1.60
APR 14, 2500 kms, 1.60 (CLOSED)
MAY 14, 5700 kms, 1.55
MAR 14, 8200 kms, 1.45
OCT 13, 4700 kms, 1.45
MAY 14, 7000 kms, 1.40 (CLOSED)
APR 14, 6000 kms, 1.40
OCT 13, 4500 kms, 1.40 (CLOSED)
FEB 14, 9000 kms, 1.35
DEC 13, 8500 kms, 1.35
Hope this helps give you a real life feel for the market. I know potential sellers are going to kill me for this, but what the hell, this is the same market that had virtually DESTROYED the resale of the 200 when I was a seller, so what goes around, comes around!
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Originally Posted by Ricci Congrats Doc, I was expecting this to happen once the news of the 690 giving way to a 790 twin was out, given your penchant for thumpers. |
Thanks Ricci. You are spot on. That was the straw.
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I was expecting you'd buy a new one though.
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I got an almost untouched, unmoested, hardly run one. The next best thing. Point to be noted, except for my Pulsar 180, my Classic 500 and my Baby Duke, none of the 8 bikes I have owned to date have been new ones. And the two I have been most attached to, and which served me longest, Simone (my KB 100 RTZ) and Doppie (my Std 500), both came to me used.
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PS: Is that AGV the old, now discontinued Pacific ? I have a dark tinted visor left over, in case you're interested.
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I am very interested. I know its the equivalent of looking a gift horse in the mouth buddy, but would you perchance also be having a clear one somewhere, even used? They have just disappeared from the market.
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Originally Posted by TheCelestial Congrats Ebonho! Hoping to see you join us for a ride sometime on the 390. |
Thanks buddy. Please let me know and if it works out I would be delighted to join. Am PMing you my contact number.