"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools" - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Background
There is something about motorbikes, which makes me go weak on my knees. I had always loved them from young age, and always wanted to own one looker of a bike. You place a ducati panigale and a lamborghini side by side, i know where my feet will take me, i don't even have to try.
My journey started with my dad gifting me a Pulsar 150 cc (Definitely Male), in the early days of September 2003. It was my first job, and those times it was important to have your own mode of transportation. It was a silver Pulsar and a great bike at that. It served me well for the first few years, and then subsequently had small niggles which started to irritate me. Six years later i bid the pulsar goodbye, and got the Apache RTR 160 home.
Apache was one brilliant looking bike and a bike which was built rock solid, in my entire 9 year of ownership the only problem i had was to have the Speedometer replaced once last year. Other than that, the bike ran smoothly, no matter where i took her, no matter how i treated her. Press the starter and it will come to life, no fuss, no drama. I loved every single minute i have spent riding her. I am still not sure if i will sell her, i still love taking her for a spin, and might look at converting this to a single seater cafe racer.
The Itch
Everything was going fine, and then one fine day Bajaj decided to change our lives forever, they introduced the KTM to us mortals at a brilliant price. No matter what i think of the initial pulsar, i stood up and applauded Bajaj, they had shaken the two-wheeler market with such a brilliant product and such an amazing price. I was not in a position to upgrade so soon, and i started following them closely. KTM continued to take indian market seriously and then ended up launching RC390, it was love at first sight, my heart knew i wanted one. I waited for the first year to pass by so that major niggles can be sorted, and then took a test drive somewhere mid of 2015, i had made up my mind that this will be my birthday gift to me.
I test drove the bike, and was not thoroughly impressed. I was absolutely not sure that if this is the bike i can live with on a daily basis, the committed stance was not to my liking, the crazy acceleration was something i would have loved in my teens, but with nearing 35, i thought this is not for me. With heavy heart i had to contend with buying myself another watch on my 35th Birthday. The itch was gone, and i did not know, what next.
Then Akula happened, TVS stunned pretty much everyone with the Akula, what a beautiful looking bike, and designed in India. Wow. I was again interested, but then it was a concept and they said Launch is atleast a year or 18 months away, so i let it be. Kudos to TVS though to come up with such a great looking bike.
The Hunt Begins
It was July 2017 and spy shots of Akula were everywhere, i thought if not 35th let it be 37th, but let me gift myself a bike this time. So, the hunt started, with the mindset that this year i will get my bike.
My Requirements
1. Fully Faired bike.
2. ABS a must.
3. 80% City Riding + 20% Highway riding.
4. Fun to Ride, puts a smile on my face everytime i crank it up.
5. Good Handling
Bikes considered
1. Benelli 302r
2. Ninja 650
3. Akula rr310 (When it launches)
Bikes not considered, due to lack of ABS, though i really liked them
1. Ninja 300
2. Yamaha R3
If not for my love and desire to own a fully faired bike, i would have definitely bought the Duke 390, looks smashing.
Bikes Test Driven
1. Benelli 302r
Benelli 302r was launched in India sometime in July, and i went for a test ride in August. The first time we went for the ride, SA informed us that we need to book a Test ride on the Site, and we just can't walk in. We were like OK, and we left the showroom after having a look and feel of the bike. The second time i had gone to test ride the Ninja, and Benelli showroom being very close, we walked into see if a test ride will be provided. They did provide a test ride this time, without asking for an online booking(Guess they finally realized the bike is not selling as well as they expected).
It was a short ride for about 2 Kms with me following the SA on another bike. It was a short and sweet ride, and Benelli did impress me a bit, but not as much as i had expected. Wife kind of liked the bike, but i put it on hold for now.
Pro
Comes loaded with features, ABS (Switchable), Slipper Clutch, USD Fork
Smooth Parallel Twin
Beautiful Exhaust note (not as good as the naked though)
Cons
Very Heavy (Heaviest in the class)
Dated Speedometer
Very small interval of Service.
DSK group instability.
So i decided to let go off this. The SA did keep following up till i informed him of my decision of not going ahead with the purchase.
2. Ninja 650
Kawasaki did not have a Ninja for test drive, so they offered me a Z650 for test drive. I drove it twice, once for few Kms in the city, and second time for around 6 Kms on Highway. the SA was very good and did his followup, till i informed him that i would rather wait for the Ninja 400.
Pros
1. Super refined engine
2. Looks very well built and put together.
3. Great power delivery
4. Good breaks
Cons.
1. No USD forks for such a price.
2. Exhaust note is not that great for a 650 cc.
3. Famed Kawasaki ASS.
4. Wife afraid that it is too powerful and she will be scared with me on it, while riding on highways.
I was still interested in the Ninja 650 if i could find a second hand 2017 model for around 5.5 lacs mark, as 6.7 lacs was pushing my budget too much. I had to drop the idea for purely financial reasons, and would hopefully add one to my garage when i get a good deal on a pre-owned one.
3. Apache RR310 - Never test drove it, was just wowed by seeing the bike in red color. Booked the bike the day booking opened, 1st customer to do so, and started waiting Patiently.
Buying Experience.
I booked the bike with Prakruthi Motors Bangalore. The dealer received the display bikes only by Second week of January. I was told that since i made the the first booking, i will be one of the first customers to get the bike. Dealer called me on 18th Jan and asked me to make the full payment.
Well the birthday had come and gone, and i got my belated birthday gift in the form of wifey paying up for the bike, well what can i say, thanks a lot. The bike was delivered on 26th January, with a TC number. There was a cake cutting ceremony, and owner of the dealership himself gave me the keys. The dealership though is very mediocre, and does the job very shabbily. The RTO inspection was delayed twice, and a lot of homework that a dealer should do was missing. The SA was a nice chap, and did answer my queries, but seems he also had limited information at hand.
Over all i will rate the Dealer as 2/5. I wish TVS has chosen a better dealer to sell the flagship bike. The only reason i am happy is that they stuck to the promise of delivering the bike to me in the first batch itself.
This is what greeted us when we reached the Showroom
Unveiling what is below the cover.
A nice cake and a bouquet
Getting the keys from the dealership's owner