[lazyrev]

Originally Posted by neoonwheels

BUB planning a mega 50 bikes delivery this Sunday, will get confirmation in couple of days. Mine is registered with RTO as per SMS from RTO Pune

I checked with them and I am expecting to get mine by second week of September. However, they said I have to make the final payment but can only do PDI and see the bike before it goes for registration. It will take 4-5 days for delivery after I make the payment. The bikes are stored in their lot in Talwade apparently.

Is it common or advisable to make the full payment before I get to see the bike?

[neoonwheels]

Originally Posted by lazyrev

Is it common or advisable to make the full payment before I get to see the bike?

I have not done this so far with cars but given the bike is a new launch and one of my friends pulled some strings, I went ahead and paid in full. Also, all the bikes are freshly made so no risk of picking up a bike lying around for months. Did PDI on last Saturday and hopefully will get the bike this Sunday. I can see bike registered on my name on RTO site so all is well.

[lazyrev]

Originally Posted by neoonwheels

I have not done this so far with cars but given the bike is a new launch and one of my friends pulled some strings, I went ahead and paid in full. Also, all the bikes are freshly made so no risk of picking up a bike lying around for months. Did PDI on last Saturday and hopefully will get the bike this Sunday. I can see bike registered on my name on RTO site so all is well.

Good for you. Seems like the day is very near for you (I am jealous ).

I am not that concerned about a damaged bike as such, but I am concerned about the deliveries getting delayed for one reason or another, AFTER I make the payment. I am in the first 500, not in the first 50, who seem to be getting better treatment so that the initial deliveries look smooth. Mine will be mid-Sept by when their motivation to give a smooth experience will be lower.

I have read about a case in Mumbai (Shaman Triumph) where someone paid the entire amount and he has been getting cold shouldered for almost a month. I checked with him yesterday and he still hasnt got the bike.

I have 0 friends or connections in Pune to help me, if the same happens to me. I guess I can only try to push the showroom to let me PDI the bike and I will transfer the whole amount then and there if I am satisfied.

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

[neoonwheels]

Originally Posted by lazyrev

I am not that concerned about a damaged bike as such, but I am concerned about the deliveries getting delayed for one reason or another, AFTER I make the payment. I am in the first 500, not in the first 50, who seem to be getting better treatment so that the initial deliveries look smooth. Mine will be mid-Sept by when their motivation to give a smooth experience will be lower.

Its not so different for me as well. I have to chase them even after being in first 50-70. Runs in Triumph DNA looks like. Even after getting number allotted, the lady who took my booking was not sure about the day the delivery would happen. I had to call couple of folks to know Sunday is the day they would do it.

This is completely in contrast to what was my experience with Octavia delivery by Garve Skoda. I am not expecting to get bike in 2 days but you have to keep the customer warm and have some communication

[Rimfire]

Keerthi Tirumph Bangalore On Road Price

[Striker_wheels]

Mine is in first 40 bikes in Delhi, paid in full this Monday after PDI, yet not received the bike.

One Triumph showroom citing billing software issue as a reason of delay and even said that they are facing issues with selected 7-8 bikes only. This is strange for brand like Triumph that their billing system is down since last 4 days.

Not a good experience to start with..

[pratik_terni]

Originally Posted by lazyrev

However, they said I have to make the final payment but can only do PDI and see the bike before it goes for registration.
....
Is it common or advisable to make the full payment before I get to see the bike?

Originally Posted by Striker_wheels

Mine is in first 40 bikes in Delhi, paid in full this Monday after PDI, yet not received the bike.

I had the same question. It looks like each dealer is handling things differently. For example, Keerthi Triumph in Bangalore also asked me to make the full payment now itself (minus the 2k booking amount), while for Striker_wheels and a few others, they paid 23k+2k, and made the remaining payment only after PDI.

When I asked Keerthi about this, and even suggested about 25k payment done by other Team-BHP forum members, the sales rep said that full payment was a standard practice.

[shailinder]

Originally Posted by pratik_terni

When I asked Keerthi about this, and even suggested about 25k payment done by other Team-BHP forum members, the sales rep said that full payment was a standard practice.

Hmmm, this is where the problem lies. Dealers are trying and somewhat dictating their terms with the customers. I got a WhatsApp message a few days back from *Triumph that "Your All New Triumph Speed 400 is allotted." I have not even done the test ride nor given any confirmation beyond 2k at the time of online booking.

How do we stop such practices by dealers in any city?

Is there an email address or something wherein we can leave our grievances for better control or overview from Triumph and Bajaj leadership? End of the day, they want to sell more and more bikes in India, and if the customers are in doubt, then chances are they (dealers) will be able to fool a few, but many will discard the bike (read company) and move on.

*This is Keerthi, Bangalore, for reference.

[vzvish91]

Originally Posted by shailinder

Is there an email address or something wherein we can leave our grievances for better control or overview from Triumph and Bajaj leadership?

Don't even bother doing that! I tried contacting them multiple times via the email ids <customer.care@triumphmotorcycles.in , customercare@india.triumphmotorcycles.in> & mobile number <+91(0)1145031452> listed on their website but both of them were not-responsive. So resorted to social media and got some response via their Instagram handle.
The general theme what I've observed with them is that both the Triumph India and their dealerships (Riya Triumph Ahmedabad in my case) get intouch only if they want to push their 'agenda', orelse they will simply ghost you.

Funny incident: Riya Triumph is expanding their touchpoints in Gujarat, and they are going to open up soon in my city Vadodara. Since I was in touch with them I got a call back from their Vadodara staff, and the salesperson over the phone was pushing me to get over with rest of the payment & paperwork formalities even before I get to testride(s) the bike! He even promised me to deliver the bike on/before Rakshabandhan. He was trying to make the sale by saying that just imagine you will be the first person in the city to own the bike even before we officially open up here! How childish

Looks like they still need to work on their before & after sales services!

[lazyrev]

Originally Posted by lazyrev

I checked with them and I am expecting to get mine by second week of September. However, they said I have to make the final payment but can only do PDI and see the bike before it goes for registration. It will take 4-5 days for delivery after I make the payment. The bikes are stored in their lot in Talwade apparently.

Is it common or advisable to make the full payment before I get to see the bike?

Ok, follow up to this. I raised a "complaint" on the Triumph customer care portal saying that the dealer is asking for full payment before letting me inspect it. I was hoping to talk to someone from Triumph/Bajaj. The system instead redirected the complaint to the dealer and he called me within half an hour. He sounded upset that I had "queried".

Anyway, after a 10 min back and forth he said they are allowing people to pay the full amount and take delivery quickly (I doubt that very much) but if I really want to insist, I can inspect the bike when my turn comes, and pay within a week to confirm my booking. It will take a week more after that to deliver. The conversation wasnt smooth, to say the least. So basically, they will take it slow if I dont go the pay before you see route (which is the right way to do it).

The dealership seems to be getting a lot of attention and they have so much leverage that they arent even bothering communicating clearly. It wasnt as bad as a regular neighbourhood TVS, Honda showroom but still.

One more thing, when I had visited for the TR, I was told I am approx #470 on the list and today the person said I am around #560 so instead of beginning of Sept, I will only get mine by end Sept. I have a feeling they have allowed friends, family and aquaintances to get early slots since there is nothing transparent about this sytem, EXCEPT for the first 10k customers part, which luckily is controlled by Triumph and not the dealer. Imagine if dealers got to control that.

I feel bad because Triumph seems to be doing all they can but the dealers have gotten so much attention that they have let go of all pretenses and are cashing in on the huge demand for this beautiful bike, in the scummiest ways possible. Saw a few tweets about delayed delivery after payment in Bhubaneshwar, Bangalore and Mumbai too.

BU Bhandari is one of the best dealers apparently but the way they communicated in the beginning of the month was a million times better than the way they are behaving now. I am willing to let some of it slide considering they are under huge pressure but I really hope it doesnt get worse.

[vzvish91]

This is an interesting thought experiment that I'll like to put out here; want to see what experienced buyers here have to say about it.

Please note that this is valid for:
- Those eligible for early adopters Rs. 10,000 discount
- All cash purchase only
- Those who don't 'need' a new bike right now, and thus can wait
- Those who don't want to deal with initial lot niggles (if any)

Also note that some approximations are done during calculations, which should not make any impactful difference.

Visualise below:
Here in Gujarat with the early adopter Rs. 10,000 discount the onroad price comes around Rs. 2,67,000. Roughly add Rs. 33,000 for riding gear & accessories, making the sum total to Rs. 3,00,000. Now this Rs. 3,00,000 is the disposal cash you have in hand with you, with help of which you are going to purchase this bike. Since these are the 1st lot deliveries, it is safe to assume & expect some minor / major niggles with them (the product and/or the before & after sales services and/or replacement parts).

Now if your risk taking appetite isn't good or you are not sure and can wait, then I think its better to hold onto the cash and put it in a Bank FD which shall fetch you guaranteed 7% interest. So this Rs. 3,00,000 of yours will mature & fetch you Rs. 3,21,000 after 1 year i.e interest earned of Rs. 21,000.

I dont expect Triumph/Bajaj to increase their price by more than 10% in next 1 year without adding any new features (assumption made on the likelihood of bike manufacturers generally not updating their bike within 1 year). Also consider 10% price hike in riding gears & accessories.
So effectively you'll end up paying Rs. 20,000** extra, which is 6.7% of Rs. 3,00,000 which you are willing to pay upfront as of now.

**[{(277000*1.1)+(33000*1.1)}-(300000*1.07)]=20000

Kindly note that I am not suggesting anyone to cancel their prebooking & wait for a year. It depends upon your requirements, needs & your approach towards purchasing in general.
Disclaimer - I am yet to testride and take the final call.

I just want to convey that do not rush into the buying decision without taking proper testrides first, especially when this 300-500cc sub 5 lakhs on road bike segment is getting hot in India!

[antz.bin]

Originally Posted by vzvish91

This is an interesting thought experiment that I'll like to put out here; want to see what experienced buyers here have to say about it.

Please note that this is valid for:
- Those eligible for early adopters rs10000 discount
- All cash purchase only
- Those who don't 'need' a new bike right now, and thus can wait
- Those who don't want to deal with initial lot niggles (if any)

I fit your thought experiment to the T.

So I actually test rode the following bikes in chronological order:
KTM ADV 390
Triumph Speed 400
KTM Duke 390
KTM RC 390
RE Interceptor 650
RE Continental GT 650
2017 RC 390 (used)
2019 RC 390 (used)

I skipped the Dominar since I don't find it appealing. Skipped the Super Meteor since I am not looking for a cruiser form factor as of now.

After owning a 21 Bhp Pulsar for 14 years, I am really not interested in anything lower than 40ish BHP so no TVS / BMW.

Pricing has had no bearing on my decision since I was open to all of the above, I have also been active on the 2 New Duke 399cc threads (even pointing out it's beauty through engineering).

Let's go through what is in the pipeline.
Triumph Scrambler 400x
KTM Duke 399cc
RE Himalayan 450cc
Hero 440cc ADV (based on the Harley engine)
TVS Apache RTR 310

The first 3 were appealing but what is the guarantee that they won't have issues in the 1st year? Actually Scrambler is the least likely to face any issues. The Duke almost shares its engine with the Speed as well but the RE engine is all new. All new frame as well (we have seen how that worked out for the 411cc Himalayan).

Disregarding the potential issues and looking objectively at what these bikes bring to the table:

Scrambler 400x is a Speed 400 with more suspension travel and GC. But Speed 400 GC also adequate (more than a quite capable Duke) and the suspension is excellent. The difference won't be life altering.

Duke 399 is the bike I have been lusting after for quite a while but I would rather have the RC / ADV 399 when those come in 1/1.5 years (after waiting another 6 months for issues to get ironed out) when I am ready to commit to a body style.

Himalayan 450 is the most likely to cause buyer's remorse at the moment since so little is known about it. What we know is that it is speculated to have 40ish bhp with a big focus on off-road ability. But I am not ready to commit to that body style yet and it is also the most likely to have the most issues during the first year.

The last 2 don't fit the 40ish bhp criteria. I don't think we are losing out too much there.

What you get if you choose to not wait 1 year:

• Having fun on an excellent bike for the next 1 year (you are not getting any younger)
• Maybe some heartache on issues that will probably be rectified under warranty
• ~30-40k as depreciation if you end up hating yourself for the decision and get rid of it in 12 months. That's about 3k per month to run the experiment. I was spending 1400/month to try out if I can make a cycling hobby stick so ~3k/month for a motorcycle is not bad.

Is it really that bad a situation? I think it isn't. But that's just me and I think that this risk/reward ratio is good enough. I have already mentioned here (Triumph Speed 400 Review) that this is my trial bike that I will experiment on before I move on to what I figure out I really want from a motorcycle. But that's my reasoning for going for this, your mileage may vary. I really want to commit to my love for motorcycling but not yet commit to a particular style of motorcycle so I am taking the middle path.

It's the bike that is best for me and my unique situation (not Shumi/Singhee whom I really respect but who didn't really sing praises for it for taking the middle path. Both of them can enjoy their Dukes.). Maybe middle of the road Is exactly what I need right now while I get my bearings back on motorized 2 wheels.

I am probably making full payment to BU Bhandari Pune later today. Just the excitement of it all is not letting me sleep for the past 2 hrs.

Edit: I seem to have missed the Yamaha R3 and MT-03. But since they are CKDs, they will be priced out of the league of what I have mentioned above. Not looking to spend that much especially when most international reviewers consider the current Duke 373cc to be superior.

[nasirkaka]

The Duke almost shares its engine with the Speed as well

Are you sure on this one? As most have claimed the Triumph 400 platform to be a completely new design. Also, KTM and Triumph are sort of competitors in Indian and International market, so wonder if they would exchange tech. But yes, if you mean a similar capacity compact single, with similar tech, features, and character, cannot be very different from each other, i get your point.

Coming back to dilemma of when is the right time to buy the bike, i have come to realize that motorcycles are a matter of heart. Once the money is arranged for, numbers, statistics, logic, take a back seat and all we want is to get the delivery of the motorcycle, and asap.

And from the last few posts, looks like folks who have booked are already on the edge and its very natural. With any new launch, and new showrooms mushrooming as well in this case , there is always confusion with regards to RTO enrollment of bike, registration, logistics, payment, delivery timelines, waiting period, etc. All this gets streamlined with time, but TIME is something which we dont have. We want our bikes ASAP, esp after the payment is made/loan approved. We call the showroom multiple times a day to check on delivery status, and passing each day gets tough with mind pre-occupied with thoughts of the bike. And if things gets delayed for whatever reason, the patience runs out and we start getting irritated and angry and show it around too, until comes the ultimate delivery day. And God save others, if the promised delivery day gets extended for some reason.. I have been there myself a few times and its not a happy space.

So hold on to your patience, soon the bikes will be delivered and hearts will be happy.

[davelok]

Originally Posted by nasirkaka

Coming back to dilemma of when is the right time to buy the bike, i have come to realize that motorcycles are a matter of heart. Once the money is arranged for, numbers, statistics, logic, take a back seat and all we want is to get the delivery of the motorcycle, and asap.

All this gets streamlined with time, but TIME is something which we dont have.

Precisely. I'm already over the hill, wife and I have been thinking about getting a good bike for the last three years (thanks to Ms. Noraly Schoenmaker), and finally this one comes along. It fits the purpose for which it is actually going to be put, fantasies of traveling in the mountains notwithstanding, and I don't want to wait for another year as life whizzes by.

Hence, 50% payment made, balance before delivery. Bike's already there at the dealership, but I will pick it up only next weekend.

[antz.bin]

Originally Posted by nasirkaka

Are you sure on this one? As most have claimed the Triumph 400 platform to be a completely new design. Also, KTM and Triumph are sort of competitors in Indian and International market, so wonder if they would exchange tech. But yes, if you mean a similar capacity compact single, with similar tech, features, and character, cannot be very different from each other, I get your point.

More common stuff:

Both have the same bore and stroke
Both are made in the same plant

The KTM engine will probably be have a higher compression ratio and a bigger airbox to be able to generate that 5% extra torque and 10% extra power from the exact same engine capacity.

KTM did not quote the kerb weight precisely to avoid this comparison but they did mention 165kg without fuel. The current 390s have 13.4l tank. Assuming the tank capacity is carried forward, 13.4l of petrol weighs about 10.1kg (specific gravity of 0.755).

165 + 10 is roughly the Kerb weight of Speed 400.