[Uncia6276]

Your requirements made me remembered mine, when 7 years back I had got Himalayan 411 (all except that for Cruising, I was happy with 90-100 kmph)

Rear seat comfort being priority.

Fastforward to 2024, the requirements are still very similar, wanted a bike for my son - safety being priority (Dual channel ABS)

Got Suzuki VStorm 250 for
- Smooth reliable engine
- dual channel ABS
- good service support
- Torquey engine, and good mileage
- rear seat the best in class (much better then Himalayan)
- Street presence
- Best riding position, with commanding view of the road (you sit higher)

I will suggest you test ride this bike (1 long test ride) then decide.

Had test rode Triumph 400 / Triumph 400 Scrambler - and after that, found VStorm 250 to be overall better fit to our requirements.

[CloserToTheEdge]

I too think the Suzuki VStorm SX will be a better bike. Also considering your height of 6ft. Has good torque, 6 speed, and good pillion comfort compared to other bikes you have shortlisted.
You can check for a resale one if the new is out of budget.

do check below reviews: https://www.bikewale.com/expert-revi...ngterm-review/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C5OG054jt8

You could also check out a new or resale KTM Adv 250.

[SaurAswale]

Hi, if you need great mileage with 100kmph cruising ability, no one does it better than the Yamaha. The 155cc will do 100kmph whole day and still return 45kmpl+ mileage. In city, it exceeds 50kmpl. But, both bikes are not for you.

You are already using a 150cc, so anything with 200cc or less will not feel as an upgrade.

When I read your requirements, my mind shouted KTM250. I wonder when you shortlisted RR310 but left out the Duke 250. You can easily get a good example around 2L. I thinks it's still better than new N250 (my opinion- some may disagree). KTMs are reliable now, and spares are available everywhere. Last gen 250 had good quality. Accessories are endless, you can modify it the way you want. It will satisfy your mileage requirements. 30 hp should be good for highways too.

If you can increase your budget to buy a new one, its even better.
If you don't like KTMs for some reason, remember Shumi said 'its the most unKTM KTM'.

Please let us know once you test ride all options. Happy Hunting!!!

[Gansan]

While you are at it, check out the TVS Ronin too. A few of my friends who bought it are quite happy. One of them, a then 74 year old, did a Rajasthan-Chennai-Maharashtra-Gujarat-Rajasthan tour of about 6000 km on it during 2022 and had only good things to say about it. I heard he did a trip to Kolkata-north east and back last year. But he is not your height. No harm in taking a test ride.

[shadowrider]

Like others, I'll also suggest the Suzuki Vstrom 250. The engine is very reliable and tractable, but yes it does go beyond your budget. I'd suggest you to save up a bit more and buy this gem of a bike.

[venukrithish]

I own a 21 apache and it's an absolute hoot to drive here in chennai. It handles really well like u mentioned. Touring mods are available easily. Definitely not great at highway as it's cruising speed is 90-95. If your planning to buy it used, it makes a lot of sense. Apache has poor resale here in chennai and 21 model could be yours for 90-95k. That's a lot of bike for that price.
Please avoid the rr310. From the riders I've talked to they have had not so good experiences with service and maintenance.
I got a chance to drive the N250 last year and it reminded me a lot of the Apache but better. Very sprinty in the city coupled with a really good gearbox. It has more power and cruising speed could be around 100. It's available dirt cheap in the used market. Take advantage of it. F250 is available for even cheaper for some reason.
With the current state of Suzuki and especially how their dealers are in chennai I'd definitely avoid V Strom or sf250.
As your going to be spending most of the time in city, it makes sense to get a city oriented bike and compromise a bit on Highway performance. That's exactly what I did with my purchase.
If you don't mind the looks, go for the cb300f. It's great in the city and has enough oomph in the highway. It definitely isn't as fun as an rtr or a pulsar.

[Balaji31582]

I own a fzs25, the bs6 model (2022). It's production is stopped. It weighs 154 kgs (yes little heavier than CB300R) and very tractable such that the 5th gear can pull from 35 until 120. This will be a 250cc that is linear, can sprint from 20 to 90 easily and can hold on to 105 or so with the pillion and can also be giving a mileage around what you are looking for. The best part is as mentioned by venukrithish for apache, this should also be available for less money in used category.

[rjkapur]

Originally Posted by jetsetgo08

My suggestion would be to checkout the new Pulsar N250 or wait for the faired version of Pulsar 250.

Xpulse would surely feel out of breathe at 100kmph, forget adding pillion. The new Karizma has more of a KTM 200 like character, short stroke combined with short gearing, check if it suits your riding style.

Xpulse isn't just struggling. That's probably being optimistic.

[USM_1]

Thank you for all of your suggestions, I test rode Bajaj N250, NS200 , RE Hunter 350, Meteor 350, TVS RTR 310 , Honda CB 300F and CB 300R, I was not able to test ride the Suzuki V storm SX 250 yesterday but will try to get one in next week.

RE Twins:

Hunter felt very easy to ride and little bit punchy where as Meteor offered a great riding comfort with front set foot rest, broad rider seats and wider Handel bar and it complemented my size as well. Hunter is too small to me so I am hesitating to consider it. In TN Hunter 350 sells for 2.20 L and Meteor 350 for 2.45L OTR.

Bajaj N250:

I could see a lot positives comments on 2024 N250 and went for a test ride, in photos the bike looks great but in person it didn't really appeal to me though it is not deal breaker, I had a short test ride the bike had vibrations/ buzz at around 3.5-4k rpm in handle grips, foot pegs, riding position is slightly towards forward as the handle bar pipe is bent in such a way. The digital cluster is small and the problem is there are no conventional mode and set buttons near cluster as NS 200 or 160 has, N250 offers only one mode button in left side switch cluster and it does all the function like trip meter changes, ride ABS modes and even for Bluetooth functionalities like to attend / decline calls which is not good idea in my opinion but it is the cheapest feature packed 250 cc bike at 1.87L OTR. The main USP of the bike I see is roomy seats for both rider and pillion and headlight performance.

Bajaj NS 200:

2024 NS 200 sells for 1.97L OTR, This is an all round package, fun to ride low maintenance but the cons are low ground clearance as it has under belly exhaust when ridden with a pillion the belly scrapes most of the speed breakers in city, engine heat and hard seats. The new digital cluster is same as the N250 but NS 200 comes with Mode and set buttons and a separate mode button in left side switch gear to access Bluetooth functions.

Honda CB 300F and 300R:

I was offered a brand new bike for test ride with just 2km on its odometer, the bike's engine was smooth till 6.5k rpm and I did not push the bike to higher revs , the overall quality of the bike was also satisfied. The rider seat is little bit hard and pillion seat is small and hard, It offered a decent ride comfort and it should be good enough for city rides. The showroom experience was a set back when compared other brands that I visited yesterday but test ride was offered with out any trouble. The Big wing Honda is running an offer till this month end or till April 24 ( confirm with your nearest dealer if you are interested ) called Youngster offers 12800 rupees as cashback and is applicable for people between the age 18 and 25 , I am eligible for it and the on road price is 1.98L which I feel is great deal, current CB 300F owner kindly put in thought on service experience, real time mileage, engine vibrations, seat comfort (if you have done any modification for long rides) and headlight performance.

CB 300R with out any doubt is really a great machine, I rode a previous year model, the bike is rev happy and no vibrations felt, butter smooth gearbox, The on-road price is 2.90L which is not in my budget and the bike is too small for my size.

TVS RTR 310 is a head turner for sure, it gives a big bike feel and sharp edges adds more character to its design, I really liked the bike in person, the test ride bike had bad rear brakes so was not able to ride at higher speeds, I felt a bit of vibrations as well and the exhaust / engine sound is not like typical RTR. The bike offers excellent rider seat where as pillion seat is not that comfortable will be good short city rides. The features are endless and I hope it gives a niggle free experience to the owners. The bike sells for 3.20L for the base variant.