Team-BHP - What 2-wheeler @ What Salary?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ss11011988 (Post 5962153)

This is kinda off topic, but could we also have a What Bike @What Salary thread too:), considering our 2 wheeler market is getting heated up with newer, exciting and increasingly expensive options these days?

I initially thought this was a tongue-in-cheek comment! But if you are serious, then the topic is not very relevant because of sales statistics.

- 90% of 2 wheelers sold are priced < Rs. 1.5 Lakhs.
- Another 5% is between Rs. 1.5 Lakhs and Rs. 2.5 Lakhs
- Remaining 5% is > Rs. 2.5 Lakhs.

What this implies is:

- Most 2 wheelers are a necessity
- Expensive bikes are lifestyle products

It means for expensive 2 wheelers, there is low correlation with income of person making that purchase.

It is equivalent to asking -> what smartphone @ what salary
After all, smartphones are available at > Rs. 50,000 price too.

So these are discretionary + aspirational buys. Meanwhile, car/homes have a much wider distribution of sales volumes & price range.

Thinking again from my first reply above (where I was only looking at it from a limited personal lens maybe), in hindsight perhaps an independent thread is indeed a good idea (thanks to the OP for thinking of this). At this point a few scenarios come into to my mind which I thought might be worth posing when it comes to buying a two wheeler.

1. Two wheeler as a direct means of income
Here, I’m alluding to folks who use the scooter for their work without which either the job wouldn’t exist or it would be impossible for them to sustain their employment. (Examples of former any delivery chap like Zomato etc and of latter, perhaps where you can’t get to your workplace practically without a scooter or the inconvenience of alternate modes is disproportionately expensive or impractical)

2. Two wheeler as a critical aspect of your daily life
It enables several critical activities like local running about for shopping, taking kids to school or classes where alternatives are not available or are more expensive or time impractical. Have a class or local market or salon 2 kms away. An uber can be unduly expensive, time consuming, a walk may eat up too much time or weather may not make it practicable, there could be parking challenges. A scooter / bike can solve wonderfully for these scenarios.

3. Two wheeler as a discretionary purchase
A superbike. Choosing a two wheeler as a lifestyle purchase where it may or may not also serve point 2. above - in that sense, its serving a dual purpose.

In category 1., I guess it is a critical ‘must have’ for survival and what will be paramount is the ROI between what you spend on the two wheeler vs what earning it is enabling. Choice of scooter vs motorcycle in such cases may also be guided by who else in the family could make use of the vehicle. For instance if there are ladies using it too in its free time and they can’t ride a bike, a scooter will make sense over a motorbike.

In category 2., I would say it is now entering a next segment of purchaser but still someone who is buying it out of necessity. Just given the inherent nature of two wheelers from a safety context (2W being more unsafe), I think budgets should also be balanced with making choices that have better safety features. I would again test the financial cost and advantage of owning a 2W like this vs the time and / or cost savings in using the 2 wheeler as an alternative.

In extreme situations where the household doesn’t have a car at all, perhaps attempt to stretch to the cheapest car as well as a safer alternative, should finances permit.

In category 3., I would peg this as a pure discretionary / enthusiast / lifestyle expense so the principles for most part that are in the What Car @ What Salary thread could apply, specially as espoused there in the context of more expensive / luxury car purchases. When buying a superbike, I have used this approach to budget my overall automobile spend. Secondly, even I have a scooter just for some of the scenarios I outlined in category 2. Its run all of 1800 kms since its purchase in Jan 2021 but it was incredibly convenient in all this time.

These are just some of the thoughts that came as top of mind when I got to thinking of this as a standalone purchase.

First of all, my sincere thanks to the mods who were kind enough to consider my request and started a separate thread for this, you're awesome guys!!:Cheering:

Let me try to set context on what made me ask for that. In the MotorInc Xpulse 210 review, there was a query from the community on why Hero didn't shoehorn the 250cc engine, instead went for the 210cc from the XMR engine, which Shumi did ask the Hero team. Their response was something in the lines of (my best attempt at interpreting their response):

"At present we don't think the market as a whole has agreed(from a mass market / volume perspective) to the concept of a bike being priced northwards of 2L. Bringing the 250cc engine might push the price northwards of 2L, which might make people think in a different direction from an approachability perspective, as majority of the 2-wheeler community purchases in the country falls below the 2L price bracket still as per our analysis. We're not saying that a 250cc or 400 / 421cc Xpulse is not a possibility, we will be ready with that and we for sure will release those products once we are able to read through / see through that shift in the customer mindset."

That made me wonder and ponder as to whether there is truth in that analysis, so naturally came here to clarify my query. From @SmartCat's response, it does seem to be the case:). The excellent 2-wheeler sales analysis also pretty much points out to the same. Hoping to see more discussions in this thread and this one too getting heated up.

Cheers,
NI

NB : I might also be reading between the lines wrongly / misinterpreting things. If so, I would be more than happy to have me corrected. What I have put through are just my thoughts / perspective on this so far.

2 wheeler purchase in India is use case driven and not linked to salary, even the higher middle class earning substantially renting many houses can still own an activa simply because to run errands around the house it is best.

Some one in mid-life crisis wants to relive a lost passion would buy a lovely expensive toy to cruise and find comrades to go for a cruise (mid life crisis is optional)

Someone who wants to earn a livelihood out of delivery, would buy the most economical 2w to make sure maximum savings in terms of total cost

So on and so forth, you will see very strong correlation in mopeds, smaller cc motorcycles, city scooters that they are use case driven. Especially where scooters can not be used cross country run errand use case.

An activa ad featuring the whole family riding it for various reason is simply one size fits all use case, nothing depending on money, age etc..

I bought my first brand-new motorcycle when I was just 6 months into my first job. The bike is a KTM ADV250, which costed me 2.9L on road Kolkata. I had no need for the bike since I was working from (my parental) home, and it was a purchase for leisure.

My monthly in-hand salary back then (January 2023) was Rs. 45,000, and the bike was registered as in my father's name and leased through his company. I only had to pay for the insurance and road tax (around Rs 45,000), and the rest was financed at 0% for 60 months (I wanted a lower term but the conditions of the lease were non-negotiable). Net net, I was paying (and still continue to pay) Rs. 4,092 per month as EMI, which was roughly 9.1% of my in-hand salary.

After I moved to Gurgaon in another 4 months, the bike became a mode of transport for me as well, since public transport in Gurgaon is absolutely trash. Although my office was just about 500 meters from my place, I used the bike everywhere else, clocking upwards of 2,000 kms per month from mid-2023 to mid-2024. With ~28 kmpl, that would be between Rs. 6,500-7,000 in fuel every month and another Rs. 5,000 for a service every 7,500 kms (needing roughly 3 services a year). Even with paying rent, groceries, electricity, and SIPs, this did not pinch me.

Back in college though, I saved every penny I had and emptied out my bank savings to buy my first motorcycle (used of course) in Aug 2021. The second motorcycle came in Dec 2021 (again used), when I literally sold off my mobile phone to arrange money for it. So I'm definitely not your ideal candidate to be preaching about financial literacy.