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Originally Posted by rashreddy Superb Stuff Haroon ![Thumbs Up](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/thumbs up.png) This will really help a lots of guys here
How would you rate the Aprilla Caponard? Is it also in Multistrada category or tougher? and also the Suzuki VStorm and also the Kawasaki Versys which i thought they were going to launch here.. How do all these compare with the Tiger and 1200GS?
Does the BMW actually deserve to command such a hefty premium over the other bikes just on Brand value? As it is the other Bikes themselves dont come cheap and cost 20 or upwards of 20lakhs
Many Thanks |
Thanks rashreddy.
A small typo correction in my hurry in my previous post- the Intermot is in Germany
In this wonderful thread of Pramod, one of the most heartening things to see is that there is a small but rapidly growing group of bikers in India who want to enjoy the lovely biking world beyond the ‘Doom’ type of inline4, fully faired, crotched seating, loud exhaust…..sports bikes. Till some years back here in India adventure touring bikes where simply looked upon as a lost in translation bike…It was like that very tall girl in school who was good in studies but not everybody wanted to be seen with her! And on the all important 10km weekend ride to the local joint (for the posing crowd), there was nothing much in terms of outright performance to brag about so that bike was non-existent. Now, that sure is changing with serious touring enthusiasts wanting something different and 3 cheers to Triumph for presenting these bikes in a ‘relatively’ affordable range and being lenient with demo rides for serious enthusiasts.
Taking a little liberty from Pramod on Adventure touring subject on his thread and coming to your query on the Caponard, while I have ridden the Multistrada1200 back in 2010 when it was launched (I was blown away by that bike), I haven’t ridden any of the Aprilias till date. So a new Caponard owner like our fellow member-Rossiter will be the best person to shed first-hand knowledge on that bike. In the meanwhile, from my long association on international touring forums, I have noticed that the earlier generation Caponard was a well liked bike in Europe as well as US. It was a fairly durable & go anywhere bike, but riders stayed mostly on paved roads. Their only weak point in general were the electricals (like most earlier Italian bikes). The new Caponard has been completely revamped with a punchy motor and lots of electronics. From a touring point its again in the same league of ‘Adventure-sport-tourer’ like the MS1200 but from what I gather some of the main differences in these two wonderful bikes is: The MS1200 definitely is more powerful, has much more sharper handling, more on the sporty side of touring and lighter in weight, while the Caponard is more on the softer side of suspension etc, which means it has more emphasis on the touring side of adv-sport-touring description, and more comfy, but definitely heavier. Both bikes have got their own versions of the ‘intelligent suspension’ which basically understands the kind of road surface/speed and automatically adjusts the suspension to your needs. Ofcourse, being Italian, you get what you pay for so the stock suspension, wheels, brakes & other components etc are all top notch stuff. Indeed the MS1200 is a lot more expensive than the Caponard.
Coming to the V-Strom, a riding buddy here in Saudi had the first generation V-Strom650 and we always exchanged bikes when I had my earlier R1100RT, so I have ridden his bike for many many kms. It was an absolutely wonderful machine, dead reliable, easy to maintain- rather rarely needed any maintenance other than oil changes. Honestly it could do about 80% of what a regular GS can do at probably one-third the BMWs price. It also had a good gas mileage. The earlier generation 1000 although a good bike, it was not a big seller. The new 650 & 1000 are substantially revised bikes and great value for the money as long as you are not addicted to the inline4 engine. The V-twin has a character of its own and most people fall in love with it after a while. I would have still preferred the V-strom650 for Indian market over the 1000 for being offered at a lower price range and the 650 is more than adequate for our riding conditions even with a pillion & luggage.
As for Versys1000, just prior to purchasing my recent bike in Saudi, the Kawasaki Concours14, there was a sparingly used Versys for sale and I took it for a small test drive. Seating, riding & handlebar position etc was almost like the GS and the engine was almost similar to my 2007 Z1000, which btw is a brilliant engine, but since I already have the GS in India and since I have been on shaft driven bikes for a long while, I didn’t buy it. If not I would have definitely purchased the Versys1000. It’s a lot of bike for the price as it comes standard with Traction control in different modes, ABS etc.
These 2 are UJMs which you must remember while being extremely reliable and easy to maintain etc are always made to a particular price point. So its natural you cant expect top notch components like Ohlins, Brembos etc, therefore some bit of limitations on suspensions, fork play etc will be there, but as long as it’s the bike that you are in love with, these can be easily remedied with a host of aftermarket stuff for these bikes. Touratech, Twisted Throttle etc are aftermarket companies that make a living mostly from adventure touring bikes.
All said, these 4 above bikes have long travel suspension, higher ground clearance, windshields for better wind protection, luggage rack provisions etc, but they all come with alloy wheels, so your true off-road adventures are limited to some light duty only. A serious alloy wheel damage can set you back anything from Rs 50K to 100k or more per wheel. Whereas spoke wheels on the Tiger, Explorer, GS/GSA, Super Tenere, KTM1190 can take a lot more beating and tackle hardcore off-road stuff.
As for BMW, if anybody has noticed their prices in Europe & US (its biggest markets), for the past 6-7 years the prices there have remained almost on the same level. Besides, in those markets the base model S1000RR or 1200GS is probably $1000-1500 costlier than their completion from Japan. Whereas here in India its a combination of factors that put their prices high up on the roof. Firstly, it’s a pure dealer initiative to order the bikes from BMW Germany (not BMW India) and sell them, so they just pay the full price, import it and put their markup and sell it. That’s why you don’t see much adverts, lenient demo rides & other promos etc since BMW Motorrad Germany is not participating in any of these and they have to be funded exclusively by the dealer. Secondly, they mostly import the top of the line full option bikes that naturally take the prices to the sky. Thirdly, currency fluctuations play their own game. Lastly, at the prevailing prices only a small percentage of their buyers are serious enthusiasts who can afford them.
In the above scenario, all above bikes being CBU imports, Aprilia has a very small functioning dealership network some of which I am told is good, Ducati is still vavering, BMW is already highlighted here while Suzuki & Kawasaki(if they bring the Versys1000), are going to be ‘bought’ (rather than being sold!). Hence with Triumph churning out some high quality, reliable bikes and having a full fledged dealer network and parts support, their Tiger & Explorer have a very good potential to ‘Triumph’ over the others if they stick to a game plan for the long haul in India.
Ride safe & hope to see more adventure touring bike ownership threads here