Moving back to India after 16 years: Help me buy a used motorcycle

I am looking for suggestions for a motorcycle/scooter. Main purpose is to drop/pickup my daughter from School which is about 7kms from my house.

BHPian revhappy recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hi All,

I have been living in Singapore last 16 years and plan to move back to Bangalore next year for good.

Regarding car, my sister has left her Alto 800, at home and she went to Australia, so I can use the car.

I am looking for suggestions for a motorcycle/scooter. Main purpose is to drop/pickup my daughter from School which is about 7kms from my house.

Back in 2003-2009 I used to ride Pulsar 150 in Bangalore, it was such a dream bike and it was so cheap, I bought it for 53k I think, it was the original chrome exhaust l, spokes wheel and round headlamp. I sold it before going to Singapore.

In Singapore, I used to ride imported Pulsar 180 and 200 for a few years before giving up riding as the cost of motorcycle ownership shot up.

Now I really want to relive motorcycle riding. As I have been out of touch with the motorcycle(and car) market, I am totally shocked at the how high the prices have gone.

I am a big Bajaj pulsar fan. I need suggestions which bike should I buy? I don't want to spend a lot of money and if I can get a used Pulsar 220 or an Avenger 220/160 for cheap that would be great.

Since I need to pillion my daughter, I don't want a sporty bike, an Avenger seems like a decent bike or maybe I might even consider cheaper Bajaj Pulsar 125 or other 125cc bikes. Either used(I just found out about Beepkart) or brand new.

I am 45 years old now, so not so revhappy as I was 20 years ago

Thanks in advance for the suggestions!

Here's what BHPian V0rtex had to say in this matter:

How about test-riding all the bikes within your budget to find the one you really love? Try out the Hunter, Honda 350s, and Ronin. Since you don't want a sporty motorcycle, I wouldn't recommend the N160 or NS200, but they are still good bikes. The Honda CB300F is also a great option. If you prefer sticking to the 150cc segment, check out the Yamaha FZ.

Meanwhile, here is BHPian asininite's suggestion:

I'd suggest first defining a max budget and deciding upto where you can stretch your wallets, then shortlist bikes in those segments and go test ride (its free).

For the time being, I'm going to suggest some bikes you can check out.

TVS Raider is a premium feeling commuter with a fun element to it. Being a 125cc it is fuel-efficient (expect 60km/L) and really lightweight but if you expect to do anything other than city commutes it will begin to struggle. Hero Xtreme 125 is an odd-ball pick which I'm recommending sorely due to the presence of ABS, which no other 125cc bike has, and is a lifesaver in case you mash the front brake hard. There is also the Pulsar N125, which is a bit of a sporty 125 with supermoto inspired styling. The seat might be a sore point on that bike however.

For the 160cc class, you can check out the excellent trio of the TVS RTR 160 4v / Hero Xtreme 160 4v and Pulsar N160. All three are excellent bikes with their own little quirks and details, and test riding would get you an understanding of which is the best pick. RTR and Xtreme and sportier, but the RTR has a solid mid-range whereas the Xtreme likes to be revved out. N160 is the more commutery bike of the lot.

TVS RTR 200 and TVS Ronin, Pulsar N250, Honda CB300F are pretty good motorcycles in the next segment. RTR and CB300F will feel sporty, and the Ronin and Pulsar will feel more like a commuter bike.

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