[Sebring]

Originally Posted by cool.aquarian

How is Yamaha Aerox ? Seems like a good balance for city ride + highway with automatic transmission.

Superb Scooter, or is it a bike?

I have it for over a year now.
In fact, I went for service yesterday,
spotted a new seat at the showroom.

Looks great.
Go for it

[farhadtarapore]

Originally Posted by Sebring

Superb Scooter, or is it a bike?

I have it for over a year now.
In fact, I went for service yesterday,
spotted a new seat at the showroom.

Looks great.
Go for it

I've heard horror stories about the stiff suspension. I have an Avenis 125 and within just two commutes to my office I had back and neck pain on Mumbai's roads :( I'm in the market for a motorcycle as well. Currently eyeing Duke 390.

[Sebring]

Originally Posted by farhadtarapore

I've heard horror stories about the stiff suspension.

Last year they sorted the suspension issue. Since mine was first batch, I hand carried a set from Thailand. Now, its OK. Test ride once and then decide.

[cardreamer]

Hey!
I think you have described the requirements pretty well for the use case.
I would suggest to go for

Honda SP 160 or Unicorn - For normal sedated riding.
Apache 160 or Pulsar - If you love speed and want quick shifts.
Hero xtreme can also be considered if you want something which is less common on roads.

[RYP]

I'm in the same situation right now. Switching to electric makes complete sense. My current commute is about 12 km one way, three days a week. With my Jazz CVT, my running costs are around ₹3,500 - ₹4,000 per month. By going electric (considering options like the Rizta, Chetak, or iCube), my running costs would drop to about ₹150-₹200. That's almost nothing—about the cost of a biryani, haha!

With petrol two-wheelers, the cost would be around ₹1,000-₹1,500, which is manageable. However, the biggest issue is the service schedule every 3-4 months, which is hard to keep up with due to my work commitments. I can only manage once a year. Therefore, going electric makes perfect sense. Give it a thought

[RD410]

Originally Posted by cool.aquarian

Hi..looking for advice which bike to go for..
I am a single guy in early 40s, about 5'7" height medium built.
Only bike which I owned before was Bajaj Discovery 125, which served me very well with good balance of looks and performance. I wouldn't mind anything similar or better than that.

My suggestions (in this particular order) -

1. Yamaha FZ v3 (yes, still available). It's the most VFM 150cc bike available currently as it costs just 1.17lakhs ex showroom. It's super fun to ride with great handling, braking, stability and reliability. Smooth engine, smooth gearbox, comfy ergos and decently fuel efficient too (50+kpl avg). Don't go by the specs on paper, FZ still has good pickup till 70-80 and the torque spread and gear ratios are very well matched for effortless riding.

2. Xtreme 125R/ Raider - both are good bikes in their own respects. Will offer almost similar peformance to 150cc bikes, if you are riding solo. But with a pillion, you'll feel the need for more torque.

3. 200ccs - If you can strtech your budget to 1.9- 2 lakhs, then any of those 200's viz. RTR200, Xpulse 200 4v, NS200, etc are much better than the 150-160ccs and will keep you happy for a long time.

4. Used RTR200. You can get a decent used Apache 200 for under ₹1 lakh and this one of the best used bikes to buy. It's a jack of all trades, which is also very fun and engaging to ride.

Don't go for Unicorn/SP160. Too many issues, that 'Honda reliability' is a thing of the past.

And finally, since you are primarily a motorcycle user, don't go for any of those scooters. Yes some of them are fun, yes they offer great practicality. But they will get very boring, very soon as there isn't much to do apart from twisting the throttle. And no matter how good a scooter is, it can't match a motorcycle in handling and braking. Also, back pain is a guarantee with scooters.

[Arwin07]

Go for TVS Apache RTR 160..
It ticks all your boxes. The power and comfort are surprisingly good for a 160cc.
I have owned 2 Apache 160cc so far. First one did 1.2 lakh kms and still running smoothly at 15 years.
Second one is still good as new, at 73000 kms, 5 years old.

Fill engine oil, petrol and forget. Very low maintenance, reliable, doesn't leave you stranded. Good F.E of 45-55kmpl depending on my riding style.

[Flechazo]

You should look at 160cc segment. Bikes like rtr160, n160, Xtreme 160 4v are sporty yet frugal. Will give around 40-45 easily. Comfortable enough for two. No 125 provides dual channel abs, so unless you need very good fuel efficiency (around 55-60), skip the 125s.

[devilmotorhead9]

My father was is in the same boat as you, a month ago. He was a man in his early 50s, with his office 30 kms one way. Living in the heart of Chennai City, it was very irritating as well as time consuming for him to travel by car. The commute which took 1 hr one way of his time on bike was demanding a 2-2.5 hr drive. He felt a lot of precious time of his was being wasted in his busy schedule. He has been using a Honda CB Shine since 2018, and has clocked around 1.3L on it. Now he wanted to upgrade to a better bike within 2L budget, to feel comfortable commuting to office everyday. He was always a fan of sporty looking bikes, and didn't want to get anything of retro style.

The bikes considered
1. FZ 150 V3&V4- Jack of all trades. Good ride quality, good fuel efficiency and reliable.
Only con was the maintenance being on a little bit of higher side, as complained by one of his colleagues.
2. Xtreme 160R- UNDERRATED BIKE. Rejected only for the reason that, the hero folks were not even willing to give a test ride
3. Unicorn, SP160 and SP125- Coming from a Honda, he was very happy on getting another. But a lot of people around us were complaining about the 160 engine+gearbox combo, giving a lot of niggles.
4. Xtreme 125R- after the test ride, he was not as happy as the test ride of FZ
5. Having had a few TVSs and Bajajs in his friends circle, he had premonitions about the reliability and durability of these. So ignored

We finally ended up getting the FZ150 V3 in its black colour for a few thousands less than 1.5L. He is very happy with the upgrade, and the big bike feel it is giving. He is able to achieve a mileage of 47-50 before the first service. The bike has clocked 500 kms, in one week,and it is a worthy companion for city commutes

P.s. I am all of 18 years, and have just got my license. This FZ is my ride for the short weekend plans, around the city with my friends. I am also very overwhelmed riding it.