[Foretio]

Just wanted to share my experience and ask fellow forum members—how did your riding style change after downgrading your ride?

I learned to ride on a Pulsar 150 and a Royal Enfield Bullet 350. I’ve ridden both bikes extensively, but for the past year, I’ve been commuting almost daily on a Hero Splendor Plus. I thought it’d be interesting to share how this shift has changed both my perspective and riding style compared to the other bikes in my garage.

• I often find myself cruising at 35–40 km/h on the Splendor, whereas I’d typically be in the 40–60 range on the Pulsar.

• Doing 50 on the Splendor feels scarier or faster than hitting 70 on the Pulsar.

• I don’t feel the urge to push the Splendor the way I do on the Pulsar.

• Overtaking on the Splendor—even in city traffic—requires a bit of planning. On the Pulsar, I could just open the throttle and confidently pass.

• I tend to ride more lazily on the Splendor—often staying in 4th gear even over speed bumps.

• I brake earlier than I usually would.

• My general riding style changes to relaxed mode on Hero.

• And surprisingly, getting nudged from behind in traffic doesn’t bother me as much on the Splendor as it does on the RE.

Would like to know how other members who ride 500+ cc motorcycles feel when they ride like 150cc bike.

[GTO]

Don't know much about motorcycles, but I can tell you that I prefer revving the nuts out of a 400cc bike than a liter-class in India. I prefer to ride a slow bike fast, rather than a fast bike slow.

Can speak for cars though, as I drive 40 - 50 new cars every year.

- All of us love big, powerful machines. I am no exception. I love big cars, I love big engines with lots of horsepower.

- That being said, I'm more a fan of "cheap + fast + compact". Because I think these cars are most fun for India. Think of a car like the Citroen C3 Turbo, Fronx 1.0L MT, Slavia / Virtus 1.5s, i20 N-Line...or even those fast new compact EVs that do 0 - 100 in 8.xx seconds and make you giggle.

I'm a firm believer that the Mini Cooper S is way more fun to drive in India than the large and unwieldy 800 BHP supercars.

- How my driving style changes = More carefree, some of them can be pushed like go-karts, quick & chuckable. The small & fast cars have a more connected, visceral feel that I'm addicted to. Can park them anywhere and no one will bother them (try that with an expensive German).

- My driving also changes in that, if I take these smaller cars on the highway, I accelerate hard to 120 kmph, but stop there with a compact machine. Most of these cars offer low levels of safety and in crashes, size counts.

[himanshu_trikha]

I drive an XUV700 ,Thar and Baleno for my city commute.
Highways runs are primarily on Employer provided Innova.

The simple NA engine of Baleno coupled with hatchback dimensions is so much fun to Drive in city that I am considering a hot hatch as my next car instead of big Germans.

I love to accelerate hard, zipping through city traffic but not to reach triple digit speeds.

[acex]

Originally Posted by GTO

Don't know much about motorcycles, but I can tell you that I prefer revving the nuts out of a 400cc bike than a liter-class in India. I prefer to ride a slow bike fast, rather than a fast bike slow.

I usually ride my CBR 250R but when I take out the Pulsar 150 I like to rev it like its a dirt bike. So light and so much fun.

[ss11011988]

Hi Foretio,

Thanks for starting this thread. I'm in the same boat as you are, starting off with a Thunderbird 350 and now using the Lord Splendor for commuting. Where we differ is in the way our personality changes we hop onto the Splendor. For me, I love the agility that the bike offers and its mad fun filtering through the traffic. True, it's scary to take the bike above 50-60 kmph, 35-40kmph is the sweet spot for this bike. And though it loses steam above 40, I rev the nuts out of that bike when I get a chance and it's absolute fun too. Learning rev matching with the Splendor currently, though I know it ain't going anywhere fast with that Supercub derived engine.

In effect, the Splendor has made me more of a hooligan than a relaxed chap, though if I want to be as lazy as a sloth during a particular day, it's more than happy to oblige. Much as I love the bike for what it offers, I'm also extremely bored with the bike. I need a proper upgrade in terms of power, madness and capability that will keep me on the edge and will make my life less boring in that process, something a particular orange bike can happily oblige, I feel

Who knows what could transpire in the future

Cheers,
NI

[100Kmphormore]

I first learnt to ride on a scooter in 2009, shifted to a motorcycle in 2017 (while driving cars regularly during this period) and not have driven regularly since 2021 since I turned to motorcycles full time. Hence, my take on different parts of the spectrum -

A car is more safe and fun to handle. Lesser the power, better you learn to exploit it, especially if you come down on the power front. After driving the 620 nm 530d, the 290 nm Scorpio became very laggy - pushing it on ghats until the tipping point . The best I could downgrade to, if I was, is a 1L turbopetrol engine - no NAs for me. Before the Scorpio, my learning days was in an Zen Estilo and that is a fond memory, accelerating the hell out of it and finding the non existent horses :P.

Motorcycles wise was what hit me the hardest. The last 28000 km of my 2 wheeler usage has only been on motorcycles - the Himalayan felt so laggy after a test ride of the 390 Adventure that I immediately upgraded to the ferocious BS4 Duke 390. What was a borderline sleepy rider is now an alert rider, especially surroundings wise simply because of no aids like Traction Control to save you. The impact - I cannot downgrade! I choose not to ride a scooter, especially on rainy days simply because of how ABS has protected my behind so many times, even on dusty roads (I ride a bit aggressively).

More the power, better the braking systems provided (sintered pads, better brake fluid, discs vs drum etc). That has to be a given before even I choose to push it.

[condor]

Downgrade your ride/drive when you are ready to relax your riding/driving style accordingly. You may be able to go fairly fast with a small car, but driving dynamics and comfort features are also at a lower level.

From a 2.2L Safari, I have over the past few months, done cars in the range of 600cc to 2.8L., a mix of Petrol & Diesel, manual and automatic/AMT. I have been able to bridge the differences because my driving style is quite steady. I enjoy the Crysta AT for what it offers as much as I love the compactness of a Nano.

Know what your ride/drive offers, and focus on that. IMO, this is the key.

[AMG Power]

You change driving styles for EVERY car / bike according to its capabilities and your understanding of your limitations and the limitations of the car.

Its not only when you downgrade, but its when you upgrade, do a lateral shift, move from 2 to 4 wheels and the like.

The operational word is limitations - each vehicle has its own. Sometimes a downgrade will translate to more fun - better handling, control, confidence. This happens with cars and I’m sure it will with bikes too.

As I’ve said before, with hugely powerful cars in India, most of the time its power you cannot access, handling that cannot be fully exploited, every pothole poses a threat as does every speed breaker, stress when a bus or lorry passes close, a security cordon following you should you get kidnapped, unwanted attention from various quarters, parking in any area external to your home is an easy way to increase your BP and you also lose that invaluable commodity - anonymity.

So there’s a lot more carefree, comfortable and pleasurable experience with ordinary cars. Your bike downgrade should be the same. Happy motoring.

[Foretio]

Originally Posted by GTO

Don't know much about motorcycles, but I can tell you that I prefer revving the nuts out of a 400cc bike than a liter-class in India. I prefer to ride a slow bike fast, rather than a fast bike slow.

I haven't ridden anything over 350cc yet but I know how sometimes flickability and lighweight nature of splendor makes it easy to cut corners in heavy traffic, definitely much more fun that RE.

Originally Posted by GTO

- That being said, I'm more a fan of "cheap + fast + compact". Because I think these cars are most fun for India. Think of a car like the Citroen C3 Turbo, Fronx 1.0L MT, Slavia / Virtus 1.5s, i20 N-Line...or even those fast new compact EVs that do 0 - 100 in 8.xx seconds and make you giggle.

Despite of low in power figures on our Etios Diesel, its the same feel when I drive it in city as compared to Scorpio or Fortuner. While on highways the SUVs are our preference due to bad roads and more confidence in general.

Originally Posted by acex

I usually ride my CBR 250R but when I take out the Pulsar 150 I like to rev it like its a dirt bike. So light and so much fun.

Pulsar 150 feels like a gem to push to rev limit and does not feel much strained.

Originally Posted by ss11011988

Hi Foretio,
I rev the nuts out of that bike when I get a chance and it's absolute fun too. Learning rev matching with the Splendor currently, though I know it ain't going anywhere fast with that Supercub derived engine.

In effect, the Splendor has made me more of a hooligan than a relaxed chap, though if I want to be as lazy as a sloth during a particular day, it's more than happy to oblige. Much as I love the bike for what it offers, I'm also extremely bored with the bike. I need a proper upgrade in terms of power, madness and capability that will keep me on the edge and will make my life less boring in that process, something a particular orange bike can happily oblige, I feel
Cheers,
NI

Its definitely fun to push splendor but sometimes it feels all roar and no go with how long it takes to reach speed and as soon as you leave that accelerator it goes back to under 40 like its saying "that's enough, let me get back to my usual zone". I can relate to how boring it gets to ride it and crave upgrading it to something like a Xtreme 250r or Pulsar N250 or NS400z or CBR300R or Speed 400 but then the crazy amount of traffic in my city makes me rethink about those thoughts.

[ss11011988]

Originally Posted by Foretio

Its definitely fun to push splendor but sometimes it feels all roar and no go with how long it takes to reach speed and as soon as you leave that accelerator it goes back to under 40 like its saying "that's enough, let me get back to my usual zone". I can relate to how boring it gets to ride it and crave upgrading it to something like a Xtreme 250r or Pulsar N250 or NS400z or CBR300R or Speed 400 but then the crazy amount of traffic in my city makes me rethink about those thoughts.

Hehe, true, I feel you brother on that matter. As for the latter part of what you said on the craving for upgrade, that is exactly what I'm going to do, and this time, it's going to be one mad machine . Whether it's madness or midlife crisis, I'm not sure, but life is short, I had enough of the easy going demeanor, and I have decided to keep the sedentary life style for a later stage in my life . Let's see how that turns out.

Cheers,
NI

[nasirkaka]

Not much of a car guy, but have changed many bikes over years.

Started with Lord splendor back in 2003 and gradually moved to a Pulsar 150 and then to a Machismo 350. The upgrade felt good in many ways but is it ever enough? Phrases like "Dil maange more!" and "No replacement for displacement" ruled the mind. Heart always wanted something bigger and better only restricted by the pocket size.

From Machismo 350, moved on to classic 500, to a Duke 390 and also got a used 2014 aircooled bonnie A3 followed by a new Kawasaki Versys 650. It was all uphill/upgrade to this point and what followed next was a massive heart attack in 2016. Post recovery, was forced to downgrade. Heavier versys 650 was replaced with a lighter 310GS and that was the turning point. Literally.

I realised that lighter bikes made much more sense where we could push the limit, ours and bikes both, and with good confidence. That was also the time the focus from road shifted to explorations off the road. Next purchase was the versatile Xpulse 200 which I absolutely enjoyed bashing around. I no longer looked up to bigger bikes with longing eyes. Infact I also ride and maintain a 1200GS (my Boss's bike) and that reconfirms the feeling that small bikes are more fun. GS 310 was eventually replaced with a triumph 400X which I am presently enjoying. I was looking forward to the KLX 230 but for its much expensive price tag.

In terms of riding style, I remember riding the duke 390 like a hooligan, pushing our limits. Few tosses here and there on the bike affected the riding style. With every fall, the average speed reduced. Starting a family, having a baby further changed the way I used to ride. Health issues affected the style as well. Earlier it was about speed and acceleration. I use to get intimidated by someone challenging on road for a quick race. Things have changed a great deal. I ride these days as I enjoy spending time on two wheel. Its not about how fast I am going or how big a bike I am riding. More about spending some good time with like minded freinds. Even when I am riding a bigger bike, I am at peace and at my own pace, not easily affected by external factors.

I may have multi-bike garage including the middle weight, but completely believe in lighter and simpler bikes are much more fun. It is not any more about how fast we get there, but about how we get there.

[gauravanekar]

Originally Posted by nasirkaka

I may have multi-bike garage including the middle weight, but completely believe in lighter and simpler bikes are much more fun. It is not any more about how fast we get there, but about how we get there.

Thanks a lot for your candid post, it clarifies a lot for people like me. I am a biker as well; I can afford big bikes if I stretch but I dont want to spend such kind of money on a personal hobby. Posts like yours gives people like me an opportunity to learn things from others' experience rather than spending one's own money only to discover the same truth few lakhs later.

[glvenubt11]

I travel the same boat as you while i recently bought a Royal Enfield Bear 650, my alternate ride is my father's Honda Shine 125. I tend to use the Honda for local errands including school drops for my children. I intend to use the Bear for long & solo rides. I could sense the difference in riding style too.

[maverick029]

I have had more fun on my small capacity bikes of 200cc rather than on my 390 Adv, I could wring out the throttle to 9K rpm with no second thoughts or keep it in 40Kmph in 5th gear. Either way it was more fun that with my adv where i have to be in right gear always and be careful, I now rotate between Jupiter and 390 every 2 weeks and for regular commute of during rains i prefer the jupiter more than my 390.

[bf1983]

Similar story with me. I ride a Z650 and while I am a very sedate rider I still cruise around 80 - 90 kph on highways. My dad has a TVS iQube electric scooter which is honestly a hoot to ride thanks to it's instant torque. However it's still a scooter with skinny tires and a very stiff suspension that transmits all shocks directly to my spine. So I am usually very happy to ride the scooter at 50-60 kph max even on empty roads due to skinny tyres not providing much grip and the stiff suspension making fast riding very uncomfortable.

Plus my Z650 is quite loud while my dad's scooter makes no noise! When I am riding my Z650 and I accelerate in traffic I notice a lot of cars move to the side because they can hear me coming before they can see me in my mirrors. With my dad's scooter they don't realize that it's an electric and can accelerate very quickly and I almost had two near misses because I forgot that the cars in front of me couldn't hear me accelerate and didn't expect me to close the gap so quickly when they last glanced in my rear view mirrors.

That said I still enjoy riding my dad's electric scooter. It's very fun to ride if only the suspension was a lot more softer!