[MotoChef]

Hey There!
So, the dilemma you are in is a pretty tight one I must say.
Go for the 390 Gen1 if you have to go for it, the 250R makes no sense, being that old and out of the market for so long. IMO I would say, wait for sometime, try out the Honda 300 siblings, The CB 300R & CB 300F, On Road Mumbai, both comes around 2.75. They are the best budget japs in the market currently, with super refined engineering and great power.
Happy Riding!

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Get a Bullet 350. I think a brand new one would just fit in your 1.20 lac budget.

Cheers, Doc

Seems my info was outdated majorly. Just checked on the official website. The black Bullet 350 (with a hideous new seat) costs upwards of 1.70 lacs ex showroom. Damn!

Cheers, Doc

[maheshm619]

Hi Kirtan,

I think I’ve noticed you in CBR FB forums and I guess it’s the same person here.
This is from a perspective of an ex- CBR owner ( pre-owned).A pre owned CBR is a good buy only if it comes with a good service history / a knowledgeable owner. Whereas most old bikes from major ORMs can be easily restored / maintained, maintaining a CBR250 becomes a pain if there’s no supportive ASCs or mechanics knowledgeable about it is available nearby.

While the engine itself is very reliable and abuse tolerant to an extent, getting necessary trim parts, seals becomes a pain. In a short period of owning a decade old CBR, I became acquainted with parts managers of Honda service centers in at least 3 cities. The bike was not confidence inspiring to take for a ride in a remote area , fearing that something would fail. This would never be the case if the service history is transparent and the previous owner took good care of it.
I ventured a lot into diy and serviced the throttle body myself, gave a rust treatment to fuel tank, replaced all filters and so on. The first thing I got along with the bike was a detailed list of parts no.s and drawings. As time went on I think I was putting in too much time and resources to keep it running. While the joy of riding it was good, perennial issues like rust, broken trim clips always use to linger in back of my mind.
Finally managed to sell the bike and within a few months , alongside the new owner, a nut broke inside the magneto housing while the bike was running and it damaged the whole alternator winding. Always prepare for the worst and have a plan to source spares. For common CBR issues like replacing shims, no ordinary mechanics would dare to check it.

To sum up, go for the CBR only if you have a good garage nearby and time to dedicate for maintaining your bike. It’s very hard to come across good pre owned bikes. R15 is a good option if you are OK with the sitting posture. It is far ahead to CBR in terms of performance and has a very good fuel economy. For sheer performance a KTM would be a good choice.

I was once very keen like you to purchase an old CBR and restore it to good condition and thus own a mini cult classic. But the path is not for the weak hearted and I chose to be weak.

[ridealongkirtan]

Originally Posted by Sangfroid1007

If you are not a top speed guy & ready to go back to unicorn, have a look at CB 300F as well.

Thank you so much for the kind words. Unicorn isnt a bad motorcycle at all I have ridden a good example unicorn. It’s just that when I started learning how to ride on my brothers Unicorn he hadn’t maintained it thus the bad learning experience. But it also thought me how to ride a bad bike without the fear of it failing. It was just sarcasm when I said I was going back to Unicorn I will keep the gixxer and sell down the road when I am capable enough to buy a brand new bike.

Originally Posted by MotoChef

IMO I would say, wait for sometime, try out the Honda 300 siblings, The CB 300R & CB 300F, On Road Mumbai, both comes around 2.75. They are the best budget japs in the market currently, with super refined engineering and great power.
Happy Riding!

I dont like the looks of gen 1 duke at all. And the riding triangle on gen 1 duke, its like my legs are bent but my body is very upright which I feel is weird. Gen 2 on the other hand was really nice to ride for me plus I dig the looks too and can modify it to my liking. Cb300f is too much of a commuter to me to be honest and the CB300r when I sat on it looked very small on me. Even till this date people tell me that the Gixxer looks like a toy bike on me. Only bigger bikes like aprilia rs457 and street triple have looked proportionate on me according to everyone. With duke I don’t have to worry much as its a naked and not too wide at all.

Originally Posted by ebonho

Seems my info was outdated majorly. Just checked on the official website. The black Bullet 350 (with a hideous new seat) costs upwards of 1.70 lacs ex showroom. Damn!

Cheers, Doc

Bullet is not the bike for me doc. I already have a classic 350 in my household and I hate it a lot. My dad is a diehard Royal Enfield lover so he has one from the very start. I like the new J series classics better but there’s no way I am ever owning one. My dad is going to upgrade to J series soon so I dont have to worry on that end. My mom only very very occasionally sits on my bike. I just want that whenever she does its atleast comfortable for 1km max rides. Nothing more. Her comfort is not my priority as she doesn’t ride with me daily, only once a while. I would rather hear her complain about my bike which I like than buy one that suits her and she only sits on it once or twice a year

Originally Posted by maheshm619

Hi Kirtan,

I think I’ve noticed you in CBR FB forums and I guess it’s the same person here.
I was once very keen like you to purchase an old CBR and restore it to good condition and thus own a mini cult classic. But the path is not for the weak hearted and I chose to be weak.

Yes I am the same guy that you may have seen on CBR FB Forum’s. I understand everything you say to the bone. My cbr was in good condition other cosmetics which I was going to fix. Unfortunately my accident set me back hard and there was no recovering from that. I do have really good mechanics here and know how to work on my own bike. But the main problem is parts even if I can source it, it takes time and over all of that, I have to spend more time to get it into good condition. All that time working on it and not riding it. And if one thing goes wrong its all back to square one. I think I can easily maintain a cbr now but the duke might be a better choice as I’ll have an upgrade too. Hopefully they launch cbr500r at a good price in India and maybe I’ll go back to it. But the aprilia will probably be the better buy here. Let’s see if I can find a good duke I will sell the gixxer, otherwise will keep the gixxer till I can make good money. Thank you so much for your input, it is always awesome to see another CBR Owner around.

[Samarth 619]

Adding to the discussion on spares, I feel the KTM might have an upper edge here as well.

The Duke 390 shares a lot of parts with Dominar, so if you can't find a KTM service in an emergency, you're likely to go into Bajaj service instead.
A lot of parts are easily replaceable with ones from Bajaj in emergency, some of these in my knowledge include chain sprockets, service parts, gaskets, rear view mirrors, etc. and there may be many beyond my limited experience too.

Plus, the KTM just doesn't stop anywhere randomly, leaving you stranded, in my personal experience of 1.5 lakh kms. Minor niggles may crop up, but I never had to stop my journey ever.

As for maintenance costs, on 1.4 lakh kms completed, the engine started giving white smoke and consuming oil, and it required a slightly expensive overhaul (Rs.54k total, each and every recommended part included).
Otherwise, the max bill I ever saw neared 10k or so, but mostly it hovered around 2.5k-6k including the engine oil cost. (2.5k was in 2014~)

As for Honda, I recall reading & hearing about spares availability being a big problem, even when the bike was on sale, but I don't have a personal experience so can't comment.

By the way, if you're considering these 2 bikes, you might remove RE from the consideration, its vastly different. You're either RE guy or you're not. Simple.

[ridealongkirtan]

Originally Posted by Samarth 619

By the way, if you're considering these 2 bikes, you might remove RE from the consideration, its vastly different. You're either RE guy or you're not. Simple.

RE was never in consideration. Already have a classic 350 at home and it is not for me in any sense. I am specifically looking for 2nd gen duke 390. Waiting for my gixxer to be sold so that I can make the final decision. Not being able to find a good CBR so mostly cbr is out of option. Can't find any other options too in my budget which will be an upgrade. After 1.5Lakh km engine rebuild seems acceptable to be honest. In Mumbai where I live finding KTM parts is very easy, at worst I have to wait a few days nothing more. Thank you for your input, I will definitely keep your experience in mind.

[100Kmphormore]

Your requirement - nimble and fast, reliable for 2-3 years - scream a well maintained Gen 2 Duke 390. That was what I wanted after my saga with the Himalayan, not to forget how quickly you will outgrow the bikes power. The Gen 1 youngest will be atleast 7 years old and most likely never will be on the used market, except for a couple of relocaters or highly abused/highly run, odo tampered ones. Finding a well maintained and true odo one, even for theGen 2 is a needle in a haystack. I landed on mine after nearly 100 olx/fb ads.