[saikishor]

There is an exact ditto thread on this topic, but exclusively on cars. Since no one was discussing about bikes there, I thought why not create one for bikes.


1. Himalayan 450 is absolute trash. The bike feels like a beta version at best. It took RE years to match performance levels of their peers and yet after all the testing and delay the final version feels so rough and unrefined. Not to mention the heavy weight of the motorcycle. RE deserves all the praise for the 650 twins but for the 452, I am not so sure.

2. KTM should axe the 125 and 200 from their line up. These bikes bring in huge volumes but at the same time affect the brand image due to the undesired colored hair guys buying these bikes. Back when KTM was launched in 2013 in India, their DNA was represented by the 200 and 390. 10 years later if you ask me, their DNA is represented by the 250 and 390. This way the brand will not be diluted further.

3. No brand can match the smoothness of a Honda Activa. Rivals will come and go but Activa will remain. Say after a period of 25000kms, your rival product will start to feel harsh but an Activa will feel as good as new. There is a reason why this has cemented itself in the market.

4. Karizma XMR was a missed opportunity. 210cc motor in 2023 for an aspirational top of the line product, what was Hero thinking!

5. TVS may try how much ever they want but they will simply not sell premium motorcycles. TVS as a brand is not strong enough to be selling premium motorcycles. Add to it their dealership experience and aftersales is sub par.

6. Japanese motorcycles might be low on tech and power, but no one can match their refinement levels.

7. KTM's are very reliable motorcycles provided you do the required services on time.

8. Adjustable suspension on KTM's was something that only a very minor audience wanted. In my 22,000kms of ownership of a 390 Duke, not once did I want adjustable suspension. My bike has stiff suspension, but never did I want to adjust it to a required setting.

9. Turn by turn navigation is useless. Instead, provide a USB charging port to charge our phones.

10. Sports tourers are a beautiful breed of motorcycles, just what Indian riders need now. Adventure bike's potential can be utilised to the fullest only by the hardcore offroaders as most riders cannot handle the bike due to the tall seat height and mostly heavy kerb weight. For touring which most riders do, sports tourers will suffice.

[hikozaru]

Wow. 1 and 8 are truly controversial my friend. Here goes mine

1. Aftermarket exhausts are literal cancer. It is bad enough smelling the exhaust gas on my stock BS6 bike on a cold start (which is when a bike is most polluting because the catalytic converters do their chemical magic at super high temperatures), it sucks having to smell death even when engines are warm and running.

2. Loud exhausts are ear cancer. If you want noise, just rev your bike past 6k, no need for loud exhausts. A stock r15 can easily go above permissible limits for deafness at peak power rpm.

3. Loud horns are bad. Anyone complaining about their 'puny activa horns' should relearn riding. In the 6000km I have done, I have used my horn less than ten times (yes, I ride in India). People should learn to do a rolling stop at intersections (without signals), check out Daily rider from Revzilla to see this in action, yield at roundabouts, overtake only when there is a clear line of sight and space instead of honking all the $^&& time. It is a real shame that REs come with deafening horns as standard.

4. Road presence is for people who look at their bikes more than they ride.

5. New expressways are boring. If you want a straight line transport, get on a train. Wish the government would stop spending money on pointless roads and build more rail.

6. Rear view mirrors on bikes are pointless considering how they work only for one riding posture. A shoulder check is more reliable and has no aero penalties.

7. LEDs and white LED headlights are bad. Bring back cinematic orange lights.

8. Speaking of orange, the new duke 390 looks great. Looks like a proper little concept bike which did not get dumbed down for mass production. In that way it looks more katana than the latest Katana from Suzuki. The orange seat and the orange tank looks better in real life. It has a nice little dab of exciting purple on the side panel without veering into joker territory and the stark contrast between orange, the black painted frame and the white shock create a very sharp look. Oh, and its also hi-vis.

9. It is foolish to try and beat google maps ETA estimates. You might beat it once or twice, but it is literally a leaderboard where it would then start telling people the new fastest time as the ETA.

10. Bikes with a generic indicator icon flashing instead of telling you which side is flashing need to be updated. More generally, bikes with terrible dashes need to be updated ASAP.

[GTO]

1. Just as I wouldn't be caught dead driving a station-wagon (or even vans like the Eeco), you'll never see me riding a scooter. Only motorcycles for me.

2. We might be the biggest car forum in India, but a little known fact is, we are also the biggest motorcycle forum in India.

3. I love Ola & I love Bhavish Agarwal for their achievements. There are many holes in their execution, but what Ola Scooters has achieved in just 2 years is astounding! Even the pace at which the factory was developed & rolled out scooters is remarkable.

4. Newer competition from Triumph & Harley will only make Royal Enfield stronger. I love how they've stepped up their product game. It is an iconic brand with some great-looking motorcycles! I see a lot of similarities between Royal Enfield & Mahindra.

5. The government should outright ban cheap Chinese import scooters. Too many of them on our streets with just a new, local-looking Indian label. Get rid of them.

[rishi.roger]

1. Majority of Indian Motorbiking community and vloggers are a cancer, particuarly those on Yotube. In fact, Youtube and vlogging has really spoiled the motorbiking IMO.
2. Royal Enfield is going to get better and better with time.
3. Motorbiking in India is in a confused state of identity crisis.
4. Japanese make some amazing machines, but our country's motorbiking audience isn't ready for it yet (everything in India is about cost, people might compare an Adv to a Street Bike if it's in same price segment).

[Axe77]

Here’s my list.

1. While I love many different kinds of motorbikes, if there’s one genre that I doubt I’ll ever own, it’s a cruiser / chopper style of bike. It simply doesn’t talk to me.

2. Harleys: Yay or Nay? Nay.

3. Royal Enfield: Yay or Nay? Yayyyy!

4. I can have plenty fun on a 40 BHP bike but I don’t believe in the view that 40 - 50 BHP bikes are all the power you need and litre class bikes are overkill. I love my 100+ BHP engines through and through, even if its for touring at 100 - 120 kmph.

5. I’m not a supersports guy but I’d love to be able to ride one well, if I can get enough track days to skill up.

6. I love where the motorcycle scene is heading at this point. We’ve got a brilliant range of accessible single cylinders coming up from a bunch of brands. This will soon extend into the 400 - 600 cc range I believe. Mid segment and liter class offerings are also coming in thick and fast.

7. ADAS on motorbikes: NAYY!

8. Yes Yamaha? Not yet! Please prove me otherwise, Team Blue.

9. EV bikes for me? Big No. EV scooters? Big yes!

10. Loud aftermarket exhausts. Nay!

[HowDifferent?]

Same point that I posted in the car thread. Delete turn indicators in bikes. Who uses turn indicators in bikes? And horn as much you can when riding a bike. Your safety when riding depends on how much you horn in our kind of traffic.

[ajay0612]

1. Seat Height of bike does matter a lot. Exceptions don't make a rule.
2. Weight of bike does matter a lot. If you feel it too heavy while lifting off stand, it is too heavy for you to handle.
3. All the talk that 'you don't feel the weight while driving, so it doesn't matter' is like saying that 'you don't need power steering in a car, as you don't feel the weight while driving'.
4. Long stroke engine is only one of the ways of having good starting torque. It is not the only way. Fuel mapping, compression ratio, free revving nature of engine also contribute significantly.
5. It is a myth that Cruiser are the best highway mile munchers. Slightly forward lean is required for better control, better load distribution (wrists also share a bit of load to support your spine. Also air blast acts as a counterweight).

[Shonith]

1. Ktm 450cc parallel twin platform was a made up “BULLSHIT” just to gauge the market response. Ktm didn’t get the response that they were hoping for so they left it at that. I have a feeling not even a prototype 450cc must have been made.

2. RE hunter is a great bike deserves more credit for what it brings to the table. Good city bike, decent on the highway, handles well for an RE, 8 colour options, 11 official type of accessories (yes ktm i am looking at you), cheapest bike in their line up, yet, its not plagued by the “cheap bike” tag line. Gets all the respect that a modern RE gets. How right can it get?

3. RE Himalayan 450, had to look at the engine specs after 8kms of test ride just to make sure its 40Nm at 5500 rpm, there is a kind of mismatch between the amount of throttle given to the performance offered. Revved the new test ride bike to the red line and only when i opened up about 80% of the throttle did the bike actually perform like a 40ps machine. Reviews on social media seem to be a bit biased regarding the engine offered on this bike.

4. Ktm needs to make the bigger advs in India and sell them here, 10 years on and 390 is still their biggest offering. At least bring the superduke in small numbers the large ground clearance makes it “ready to use” on our roads. We are ktm’s biggest market and if they continue treating us like we dont deserve their good stuff. They can take their small stuff and go back to Austria.

5. Honda cb300r is a 300cc commuter good initial pick up, good midrange, very mild throttle response, flat torque curve. Its a premium commuter!

6. Loud exhaust saves lives! Ya right tell that to your neighbour who owns Ather or Ola.

[SaurAswale]

Here goes my rant-

1. All RE's are overhyped. I don't see point in buying retro bikes (They arfe just BORING). Why people are stuck into 1960's?? I can understand for senior citizens who have seen and crave for those machines in their time. But these bikes should not be even in wish list of anyone under 35. Engineering and material science has come so far, why someone wants to... (repeating myself, you get the point).

2. This might upset a lot of people but I found it stupid to spend a fortune to add accessories and modifications to new bike. First understand what the bike can do, where it lacks and what is needed to improve the experience. Don't jump the train and spend 40-50k on new bike. (Aux lights, expensive panniers, tyres, gaurds and whatnot) I would rather spend this money on road trips to understand and connect with my machine. Attend a riding school to improve yourself instead of trying to improve the bike. If you outgrow it, you can upgrade in 3 or so years.

3. For all vehicles bodies,
Plastic polycarbonate, fiber/ composites= Good
Metal= BAD (I've seen many people debating why metal panels are better, they are just not!!)

4. Double D-ring helmets are better than quick release helmets.
But what if I get's into accident, then haw can others remove my helmet? -I DON'T want someone to remove my helmet.
And Open Face helmets are simply STUPID!!

5. For rev counter, I'll always enjoy watching the needle rising. Digital tachometers are boring.

6. For enthusiast market, Era of Japanese motorcycles is gone (mostly due to their own stubbornness) Indians are catching up and Europeans are coming....

Originally Posted by Axe77

8. Yes Yamaha? Not yet! Please prove me otherwise, Team Blue.

I respect your opinion and agree with you for most of the part. Except R15 and Aerox of course. Both are terrific two wheelers. Everything else in Yamaha stable is just Crap.

Which brings me to last one, 155cc's is all the bike you need for daily usage. Unless you have expressway in your backyard and can do 120kmph daily Or you want to do Chhapri things in traffic.

[tchsvy]

1. Motorcycle manufacturers know the Indian market! We, the enthusiasts are still a miniscule number for them.

2. Buying a motorcycle is a personal decision, you can take all the feedback regarding ASC, maintenance cost, fuel efficiency etc. but the rider has to choose his ride.

3. A 'perfect bike' is a unicorn (not the Honda!).

4. 'Honda's bikes lack character', yest the last bike Honda made with character was the CBX. They understood that you cannot ask the rider to improve his skills to ride their bikes, to take the market their bikes need to be friendly and they have been making friendly bikes ever since.

[Draken]

This was a fun read. Heres mine:

1. People installing aftermarket exhausts on any bike for the loud noise should be fined every day they ride.

2. Rules against bikes like not being allowed on expressways, lower speed limits like in Kerala should be removed for larger capacity bikes. They should also pay tolls if using expressways.

3. Should have license category for larger bikes. Some of them are insanely fast and people need to be taught to ride properly

4. Old cast iron RE's are total crap. They are slow and heavy and have bad breaks.

5. License should be cancelled for repeated dangerous driving. Bikes are easily accessible to younger riders and some lack the maturity to drive sensibly. Not talking about speed here. I dont consider going 200kmph on a straight 6 lane with full visibility low traffic dangerous driving. But when you do 100 on a 2 lane curvy road thats dangerous.

[Nikhildrao]

Hot takes -

- The Gixxer 250 is a garbage bike subjectively , it's an appliance that invokes no emotions. Hence the low sales.

- The Karizma XMR is going to die a slow painful death just like the Gixxer 250

- Ather is probably the world's best manufacture of EV scooters

- Electric Scooter >>>>>>> Electric bikes

- Honda is an activa/shine brand , they will never care for >300cc bikes

- Yamaha has the worst after sales in Bangalore, worse than TVS and Suzuki

- TVS should develop a new 400cc engine and ditch the reverse inclined BMW motor as it is inferior to every other engine in the segment.

[Jangra]

Originally Posted by hikozaru

6. Rear view mirrors on bikes are pointless considering how they work only for one riding posture. A shoulder check is more reliable and has no aero penalties.

I was going to say - rear view mirror for bikes are for a purpose, please use them. Most of the bikers in cities are on the mercy or car driving carefully because either they don’t have the mirror or the mirror are folded for the convenience of navigating between the traffic.

[antz.bin]

1. Scooters should exclusively be EVs. Brand new ICE scooters <150cc make no sense.
2. 100/110cc bikes have no USP left.
3. Most Made in India bikes are really good. There are no bad bikes left. There is no reason to buy anything not Made in India < 47hp. (Looking at R3, Ninja 300/400, Benelli, QJMotor, Cheap Chinese EVs etc. etc. etc.)
4. All 100/110cc family scooters look exactly the same. Without stickers and badges, even enthusiasts will find it hard to differentiate one from the other.
5. You don't need ADVs and Scramblers for city use no matter how many speed breakers and potholes are on your daily commutes.
6. KTM and the Euro A2 License was the best thing that happened to the Indian enthusiast. They paved the way for TVS/BMW 310s, RE 650s, Harley 440, Triumph 400. Without the first 2, the rest wouldn't exist.
7. KTM have enough people upgrading from their 390s to support a local manufacturing base for its multi cylinder bikes. But not the 450cc twin from CFMoto. We want the real deal.

[bharathdonti]

1. Restrict bikes with engine capacity below 150cc from accessing highways.
2. Prohibit the detachment of rear-view mirrors for safety reasons.
3. Implement a mechanism that stalls the bike if a rider's hand is off the handlebar for more than 10 seconds, discouraging phone use while riding.
4. Prioritize Indian-made electric scooters over the abundance of Chinese-made options in the market.
5. Electric scooters, which go slower than 25km/h, don't need to be registered. What!!