[.HEM]

Voted for Retro Classic!

I have a RE classic 350 and a Jawa 42. Though my usage have come down now, I still hold on to it without selling the RE.

I use both the bikes just to drop my kids to school, with Covid19, the usage had Come to nil, still I take them out for a joy ride every weekend

[msnarain]

Retro all the way!

[abnormalspirit]

A adventure or sports tourer, yesterday i got my Kuwait bike licence now i am searching a good bike hope i can update soon.

[bigron]

As a biker, I know that for an intended purpose some bikes are better than the others.

For in city rides and leisure no rush trips I prefer the commuters. The retro classics are basically commuters in a fancy shell. And the naked are commuters with a rocket thrown in. Basically bikes which are easy to maneuver and handle without the extreme riding ergonomics and the heat. They can be extremely fun in a number of situations. As a note I am not talking about 100/200 cc putters but bikes which have 350 pluss cc.

For interstate state tours I prefer faired sports tourers and the road versions of adventure bikes depending upon the destination and the roads.

If it is the hills, then I prefer a middle weight naked. Try catching someone on a ktm in the hills. He ll be having all the fun and you ll just be struggling to keep the nose up no matter what you riding. Or for that matter a Hero pulse is phenomenal for short uphill rides.

For serious off road trips of course the Tigers and the GSA's fit the bill.

If its just a sunday morning ride, then anything that gives joy will do.

Also, the lines that used to demarcate the category of various types of motorcycles have blurred over the years.
There are some bikes that have a tremendous all purpose appeal. The Kawasaki versys 650/1000/Suzuki SV, the KTM 890, RE 650 twins. You can tour, take inter state, hills and even mild off road.
Then there are some that you can only truly enjoy on a track. The 600/1000cc pocket rockets. They are so brutal in every which way that riding them anywhere other than a closed circuit is an exercise in focus, grit and self belief. Oh , lastly there are these Hardly Abelson type metal monstrosities, they are no good anywhere and everywhere IMO.

There is nothing more uncomfortable then being on a wrong bike doing a ride it was not designed to do. A Ducati 1190SP for tours will kill you , so will a fully faired Suzuki 1340 on narrow twisty hills or the cruisers on a trail.
So as a biker its hard to have a single preferred motorcycle style.

[Frankenstein]

My 2 cents on this subject being living with most of the mentioned style of motorcycles.

First and foremost thing is to try to have the best fitness and ideal weight for ones body , this it self gives us a lot of comfort. An unfit person will find any bike uncomfortable.

Secondly no bike is a fit for all size in ergonomics , you have to work on these things like seats, bar risers, pedal lowering, forward controls etc.

Thirdly the riding gear , has to be light , comfortable and do its job well not only in protection but keeping the body warm or cool depending on the weather .

With these things set , 70% of the issues will be solved.

I ride a Ninja zx14r, hyper sports category or what ever you call it. I have done lots of trips in this bike including hills, highways, state highways , single roads etc.

First thing i did was to ride the bike stock for 1000 kms in mixed conditions and finally settled with a 1 inch bar riser , next would be a pedal lowering kit.

For the 4 lane smooth roads , to get from point A to point B , this is the fastest way .

Pros, tremendous reserves of power, not only speed, it pulls strong from 50km in 6th gear , so less gear changes . Suspension is ok for smooth roads .

Cons, any speed below 80km is not comfortable , gets tiring. Suspension cannot handle bad roads , it can be a handful on the hills, fuel efficiency is low, the engine always makes you feel a rush which gets tiring on long trips. There is limited wind protection from the bubble screen, sustained speeds of 140km can be tiring . Practically on public roads max 50% of the power can be used.


Second motorcycle i ride is a Harley Davison Fatboy.

Just changed the stock handle bar to 12 inch ape hangers.

Pros , supremely comfortable , can cruise slowly too while enjoying the scenic spots , engine is super relaxed at 120km or higher, comfortable suspension on most surface, more than enough torque and power . Decent fuel efficiency

Cons , Can get a hand full on the hills due to the weight, it handles brilliantly but uses your whole core strength. Too much low end torque gets tricky while cornering if not smooth with the throttle. Minimum speed in 1st gear is 20km, which gets tricky in tight situations .

Third in line is Harley 48 , its got the super comfortable 16 inch ape bars, light and agile, rev friendly and mile muncher. Literally flies.

Cons, low end torque is quite less compared to the bigger Harleys. Bad rear suspension.

A small note on cruisers, you dont have to sit on the tail bone, specially with ape bars you can sit on your hip bone keeping the back straight, they have big wind screens and backrest too.

Fourth is the good old Bullet CI350. Lovely for the hills , single lane roads or country roads. Very less gear changes required , this is the best on small hill roads where the speed is max 30km, pulls in 2nd or 3rd , sounds melodious . There is a certain type of pleasure to be had with this bike .

Had a Honda Africa twin for a day and rode in Mixed conditions, does everything perfectly , but its boring, no look , no exhaust track, just a bigger powerful commuter bike with long travel suspension.

After getting used to the forward controls , ape bars , relaxed engine and high torque, back rest and wind screen , all this while not sounding or looking boring , i vote for the cruisers.

[ManneAtWheelz]

I always like a commuter bike for weekdays which looks as retro classic and can be used as a cruiser for adventurer sports on weekends. What am I talking , OP it's better if the options are available as checkboxes rather than radio buttons.

We indians don't have that luxury of options to choose from just because of so many reasons but fortunately we have a big brand RE where most of the bike lovers can think of from a different angle. Personally I love INT650 and I voted for Cruiser, again which is not a complete answer to choose.