[aviator1101]

Originally Posted by Pferdestarke

80% of my riding will be on highways and this will be used mostly for weekend fun rides, casual city riding now and then but no touring.

I need a big, bold motorcycle with a unique character of its own and a powerful engine (2 cylinders minimum) that can cruise at 100-120 with breeze. Top speed is not much of a requirement but 150 is plenty of headroom for me.

Planning to hold onto this for a period of 3-5 years.

So far, these bikes have made it to my watchlist:

1. Pre-owned HD Iron 883 / Super Glide Custom [worried about parts / service]

2. Honda Rebel 500

3. Super Meteor 650

4. Himlayan 452

The easiest thing to do is recommending a bike to someone. That too in an online forum. So you will be bombarded with suggestions and opinions which, at the end of a long session, will generally leave you at the same place where you began.
This platform is different, thankfully.

Few pts for your consideration :-

• As far as superbikes are concerned, brand doesn't matter. They are all equally good or bad. Depends on how far you stay from the SVC and how long you are ready to part with the bike if (God forbid) something goes wrong.
  
• HD might have left India for whatever reasons, there are 1000s of HDs still running on Indian roads, new HDs being sold (not the 440 ones mind you). And Hero is supposedly providing service support now in whatever form it can.
  
• A Super glide custom and Super Meteor have nothing in common except the word Super in both cases. RE has gone a long way in developing the product. Good job RE but stiff rear suspension is something I didn't like and the jolts get transmitted straight to the spine (this is no hearsay, my personal experience). Take a test ride over few bumpy patches and decide for yourself.
  
• Honda Rebel is a no fuss cruiser, but presently doesn't feature on the Honda Bigwing Indian site. Is it available?
  
• Also worth considering is a pre owned Kawasaki Vulcan S. Bulletproof time tested 650cc engine (same used in Z650, Ninja650 and Versys650), less maintenance and fuss free ownership. Know couple of happy owners personally.

Whatever you buy, trust me, after some time you will fall in love with it. After all, it's your hard earned money.

So go ahead and take the plunge

[neil.jericho]

Pferdestarke, if you absolutely must have a cruiser then I would suggest either a
- pre-owned Kawasaki Vulcan S. In a Kawasaki showroom full of overlooked motorcycles, this is the one that is most overlooked, and for no good reason!
- new Royal Enfield Super Meteor. Its solidly built and you have a pan India service network.

From an ownership perspective, you wont have to worry too much about either option. As for the Harleys, do some research on how existing owners are getting their bikes serviced, the availability of spares, trained mechanics in the SVCs etc. In late 2023, I would be wary of buying a pre-owned Harley in India when you can have peace of mind ownership with other brands.

If you are not hell bent on a cruiser, then the sky is the limit. Test ride everything in your budget and take a call. You never know what motorcycle will appeal to your sensibilities.

[ani_meher]

Where did Honda Rebel come from?! Not sold in India.

[dwanderlustdrv]

Would like to first understand why you are interested in buying a cruiser. And your question is good, I will definitely post an article on my own experience with my 2nd innings with motorcycling.

I had a Hero Honda Karizma since 2005 and kept it for 17 years through all the troubles and good stuff that I had with it. Finally giving up and scrapping it and I moved on to the KTM Duke 200 which I thought was a reasonable upgrade. In retrospect, I feel that it was the best decision of my life. With the KTM, it was like learning to ride a bike all over again because there are several things to re learn. Additionally KTM opens you up to the larger biking community and helps you to learn a lot of new things which you would never have otherwise considered.

It is because of buying this bike that I planned and successfully completed my first ever solo bike ride from Pune to Ladakh!

https://youtu.be/R3F8UdWp5Nc

Here's a short video of my story. Still need to work on the YouTube vlogs

[Pferdestarke]

Originally Posted by ani_meher

Where did Honda Rebel come from?! Not sold in India.

It's queued for launch in Q1/Q2 2024. Refer to this post (Pre-worshipped cruiser motorcycle under 5 lakhs).

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by Pferdestarke

So far, these bikes have made it to my watchlist:

1. Pre-owned HD Iron 883 / Super Glide Custom [worried about parts / service]

2. Honda Rebel 500

3. Super Meteor 650

4. Himlayan 452 [I like the bike but it doesn't suit my riding style]

Am going to stick to your list. Have you ridden the HD you've listed? Once you do, you won't really like the other 2. If you can manage to find a good bike, get it spruced up / serviced then HD is addictive.

[Brio2014]

Originally Posted by AnAntinspired

You are in a boat that is sailing towards a shore I suddenly find myself on! Having booked a single cylinder Hero-Harley x440 on the booking opening day of July 4th, I realised I wanted my 35th motorcycle to be a bit more special than just practical as always.
...

This post and the detailed analysis further down helped me to connect with Farhan at NAFS motors and now I have a 2016 Street Twin in Cranberry Red to call my own. Been good so far, just a day old with me. Will soon need a front and rear brake pad replacement and potentially a new rear tyre.

Any suggestions on this forum about specific EBC or other models for the brake pads and suitable front and rear tyres for the Street Twin, front 100/90 - 18 rear 150/70 - 17..

[AnAntinspired]

Originally Posted by Brio2014

This post and the detailed analysis further down helped me to connect with Farhan at NAFS motors and now I have a 2016 Street Twin in Cranberry Red to call my own.

That's great to hear! My ownership experience of over 2 months has been nothing short of stellar, discovering that Triumph, with its rapidly expanding dealer and service network, is possibly the best superbike brand to invest in for widespread and easy access to service and spares currently.

Combined with how these 900cc Bonnie's deserve all the praise they get for quality finish, ride comfort and easy handling in both city and highway, I don't regret this buy even once. If anything, the bug to up the number of cylinders has bitten, and i have some days I'm almost inclined to sell my Street Twin if the offer is right, without even having done 900kms on it since purchase!

Thanks to this niggling desire, If you had reached me before heading over to NAFS asking to buy mine, I may have succumbed, so thanks for letting me ride another day on the beauty! And happy miles to you too.

[Pferdestarke]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

If you are not hell bent on a cruiser, then the sky is the limit. Test ride everything in your budget and take a call. You never know what motorcycle will appeal to your sensibilities.

Thanks for this post of yours and my friends Ishan Pandya, Mohsi & BHPian krishnaprasadgg who guided me in taking a well informed, thoroughly thought through decision, I've finally got my hands on a sparsely used naked sports - 2014 model Yamaha FZ 1 with 8k kms on odo.

After deciding on the model, had checked 3-4 deals finally landed up with this one.

Will shortly share pics and more details

[shabih]

Originally Posted by AnAntinspired

That's great to hear! My ownership experience of over 2 months has been nothing short of stellar, discovering that Triumph, with its rapidly expanding dealer and service network, is possibly the best superbike brand to invest in for widespread and easy access to service and spares currently.

Thanks to this niggling desire, If you had reached me before heading over to NAFS asking to buy mine, I may have succumbed, so thanks for letting me ride another day on the beauty! And happy miles to you too.

Hello 'AnAntinspired', curious to know how is the ownership experience so far. Have you moved on to more cylinders yet?

[AnAntinspired]

Originally Posted by shabih

Hello 'AnAntinspired', curious to know how is the ownership experience so far. Have you moved on to more cylinders yet?

As long as the speed limits and enforcing cameras on highways curtail higher bhps, I am well satisfied by the borderline thrills offered by a torquey twin. No more cylinders sought, either in kitchen or on motorcycle!

If anything changes, it will be because I like taking in my ride scenery more and dislike oil cooler fans or twin cylinder heat & weight...in which case I will look for an equally refined as my Street Twin replacement, with surely cylinder or cubic capacity mattering least!

[shabih]

Originally Posted by AnAntinspired

As long as the speed limits and enforcing cameras on highways curtail higher bhps, I am well satisfied by the borderline thrills offered by a torquey twin. No more cylinders sought, either in kitchen or on motorcycle!

If anything changes, it will be because I like taking in my ride scenery more and dislike oil cooler fans or twin cylinder heat & weight...in which case I will look for an equally refined as my Street Twin replacement, with surely cylinder or cubic capacity mattering least!

Good to hear. Having owned this gentlemanly beast for 1.5 years, I can certainly say there is nothing that comes close to the ownership experience. It's an easy rider that doesn't scare you to death when you're on the saddle neither does it make you sweat when you're off the bike (being worried about people tampering with it). On any kind of road, you get full command of the bike, never for a moment does the power or handling seem inadequate. Yes, I miss a 6th gear on highways but in the city and short rides, it works beautifully.