[amol4184]

Originally Posted by ebonho

It was what we in the biological space call a living dinosaur. A creature that did not die off with the general extinction epoch of its species.

The 650 twins are proper and intentional retro classics though rather than a byproduct of RE's natural (read old fashioned) tendencies...or so I like to think. The twins feel world apart from other "modern" REs.

[Rocketscience]

Originally Posted by amol4184

The 650 twins are proper and intentional retro classics though rather than a byproduct of RE's natural (read old fashioned) tendencies...or so I like to think. The twins feel world apart from other "modern" REs.

Although the twins are great, a huge step up for RE and genuinely great bikes for anyone (they do 0-100 in 6.xx seconds and have power almost anywhere in the power band and are silky smooth, much more so than the single cylinders and much more advanced KTMs), they have hardly any cons apart from (for me atleast) the styling, which should be retro themed yet modern and not just a copy paste job from 50 years ago which it is, but having said that even they make the sort of power that Triumphs from the late 50s, early 60s made, they look not similar but same as the bikes from that era and can be classified as dinosaurs too, so they are far from being technological breakthroughs or even at par with the tech of today, i have to admit still great and very solid bikes nonetheless and given their reasonable price very worthy of their success.

[coriollis]

Voted for Adventure tourer. In fact wanted to vote for retro classic too . Fact is that I own bikes in both the above categories. Just love the way the Bonneville A3 looks and sounds. And then there is the smoothness and fantastic suspension of the Versys 1000. And as I am riding the Versys frequently, I am appreciating the ADV qualities of the bike to tackle our infamous roads.

Cheers,
AB

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by amol4184

The 650 twins are proper and intentional retro classics though rather than a byproduct of RE's natural (read old fashioned) tendencies...or so I like to think. The twins feel world apart from other "modern" REs.

The "feel" is in all likelihood because they are bigger, and twins to boot.

Cheers, Doc

[adityasiera]

Voted Adventure.

I had owned 8 bikes prior to getting the Tiger 800, and almost on all of them i had to make some compromise, be it for comfort, luggage, or ergonomics or speed.

I feel that the middle-weight adventure (650-800)cc are the best bet for not only Indian conditions but the world over.

Cheers.

[88_TANK_88]

Voted: Other
Specific: Sports Tourer
Bikes like Ducati Supersport, Ninja 1000, Suzuki Hayabusa and Kawasaki ZZR1400. They have the looks and performance to match the Sportsbike/Superbike but with less extreme riding positionand generally softer setups, allow for longer rides with lesser strain on back and wrists

[SpinWizard]

Cannot choose one! That's why I have one bike for each purpose

Search is on for a retro classic!

[Swap_Abarth]

Voted for Naked sports category.

My current ride is duke 390 (3.5 years of joyful ownership) with mileage over 30k. I love bikes which are agile & sharp in handling, and with lot of grunt. Duke is sublime to cut through traffic. And it is blast on open roads. Compact dimensions are big advantage in city rides. I live with a dream to own MT-09 one day.

Before Duke, I had TB 500 for 2.5 years. Couldn't connect with it. Though it was 500 CC, the oomph from the motor was lacking. The brakes were plain horrible, hadn't give me any confidence to take the bike over 90 kmph. Cruisers are not my cup of tea.

I learned riding on Yamaha FZ 16, used it for 6 years before opting for bigger cc bike. Again, it was naked street bike, and I thoroughly enjoyed it throughout my ownership.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Swap_Abarth

Voted for Naked sports category.

My current ride is duke 390 (3.5 years of joyful ownership) with mileage over 30k. I love bikes which are agile & sharp in handling, and with lot of grunt. Duke is sublime to cut through traffic. And it is blast on open roads. Compact dimensions are big advantage in city rides. I live with a dream to own MT-09 one day.

Before Duke, I had TB 500 for 2.5 years. Couldn't connect with it. Though it was 500 CC, the oomph from the motor was lacking. The brakes were plain horrible, hadn't give me any confidence to take the bike over 90 kmph. Cruisers are not my cup of tea.

I learned riding on Yamaha FZ 16, used it for 6 years before opting for bigger cc bike. Again, it was naked street bike, and I thoroughly enjoyed it throughout my ownership.

From what I've seen of the original FZ15, its a handler. Pure and simple. Let down of course by an insipid Yamaha motor which never did justice to what that rolling frame was capable of.

The Duke is much in the same class. With a brilliant motor. So I'm not surprised about how naturally you took to it and how you hated the Tbird.

In fact, if you ask any Duke rider to pick just ONE characteristic about the bike that its USP, the majority I feel would pick its handling over its motor. Though it would be close.

What else is there in a bike? Looks? I think the Duke has that one nailed as well.

Cheers, Doc

[Swap_Abarth]

[quote=ebonho;4939163]From what I've seen of the original FZ15, its a handler. Pure and simple. Let down of course by an insipid Yamaha motor which never did justice to what that rolling frame was capable of.

Agree. It's the character of the bike, which connects with the rider. Duke has covered most of the crictical aspects of riding - handling, exposive motor, looks & features from couple of segments above. It will be hard for me to let it go in future, whenever I will look for upgrade.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Swap_Abarth

Agree. It's the character of the bike, which connects with the rider. Duke has covered most of the crictical aspects of riding - handling, exposive motor, looks & features from couple of segments above. It will be hard for me to let it go in future, whenever I will look for upgrade.

In the old days, with flexy frames, spindly forks, thin tyres, and drum brakes, stability and road grip in the handling category came majorly from weight of the bike. And its wheelbase.

The Duke turned that equation on its head for most Indians by unlocking the pleasures of a machine that remains glued to the ground in spite of a lightweight build and crazy inputs from rider and motor.

Nakeds all the way!

Cheers, Doc

[nasirkaka]

Voted for Dirt.
To me, the idea of biking is changed with time. Initially, as most, i was in awe of the super-bikes or their posters, the bikes were not available. Then came infatuation with HDs or cruisers followed by many others genres.

In short, earlier, riding was more about the bike. How the bike looks? how do i look with the bike? Over time, biking for me is changed. Now its more about what the bike can do for me. Where can it take me? what all can it show me. What all challenges it can help me take.

Have realized light weight adv bikes makes the most sense for exploring, Think the road legal dirt bikes comes closest to it.

[karanddd]

Maybe not the right thread to ask, but seeing as there's love for Dukes here, do you guys recommend going for a second-hand Duke 390? I already have a Himalayan, which I love, but I want to try what the Duke life is all about. Assuming the answer is yes, I'd like to know which model year I should be looking at. I'd like to not spend more than Rs. 1-1.2 lakhs. Is that a reasonable amount? I have seen Dukes from '13-'14 in that price range. If I look harder, maybe I could find some newer ones as well. What things should I keep in mind when I look at the bike? Are there any known problems?

To answer the poll, I'd say, despite really liking the Himalayan, the larger ADVs are not my cup to tea. There's some rugged futuristic Mad Max type appeal no doubt, they don't have the plain style that retro/standard/naked bikes have. In fact somehow the Himalayan has that retro industrial style in spades, which I think, beyond its ability or lack thereof, gives it that appeal and charm that, say, an ADV 390 or even its larger cousins lack.

PS. I am not a huge fan of orange as a colour, all the more because of the current political scenario, but an all black Duke 390 could look really sick. And I fear that if I get one I'd probably like it so much I'd stop riding the Himalayan altogether. Oh well.

PPS. If anyone here is selling a second hand 390 in the aforementioned price range, please let me know! I'd trust an enthusiast owned bike from this forum over anything in the open market. As someone who doesn't know all that much about bikes, I truly fear the latter.

[jas_mirage]

Hasn’t anyone mentioned scramblers. I love the seating position of the scramblers and the feel I get on it.

Used to love sports bikes when I was much younger. But now not a big fan of the strain they put on your wrists.

For me a good scrambler with a strong engine gives the feel of a cruiser with the agility of a sports bike.

[Carpainter]

Voted for street naked. They look muscular and rugged. I think this is the most practical body type for every day use. Purely looks wise I like sports bikes as well but they are great for weekend rides only. Too committed riding posture is a pain specially for longer rides. Personally I distaste retro style. They're may be comfortable but I'd never own one.