In my 40s & want to buy a commuter bike: What options should I look at

Only bike which I owned before was Bajaj Discovery 125, which served me very well with good balance of looks and performance.

BHPian cool.aquarian recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

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.

Here are my focus areas in the order of priority high to low:

• Between 125 to 160cc engine.
• Mainly to be used for 20-25 min x2 daily office commute and running errands in a metro city.
• Smooth gearbox.
• Comfortable ride with good seat, soft/medium front/rear suspension and weight distribution on handle bar.
• Good safety features like Disk brakes, ABS(dual channel), rear mirror size, horn and bright lights.
• Spare parts should not be issue in next 7-10 years
• Decent tyre profile for grip(not too thin tyres)
• Covered chain (less maintenance)
• Other bells and whistles like digital display, USB, Bluetooth(nice to have)
• Mileage: anything better than 45kmpl
• Budget: less than 1.75L on road

Some options I have in mind so far are Honda SP 125, Unicorn, Suzuki Gixxer, Hero Xtreme 125.

Please help me decide by providing your valuable advice among above or any other model which fits my requirement better.

 Here's what BHPian SaurAswale replied:

Any reason you have not considered and Electric 2-wheeler?

In my opinion, while electric cars still need some time to mature, 2 wheelers/ scooters absolutely make sense. Especially for city use with traffic. On road price is similar to ICE bikes. In 1.5L you can get a decent scooter. Running cost is negligible, requires less attention and maintenance.

Since your commute is 25 mins in a metro city, I am assuming 7-8 km one way or 15 km a day. Anything with 100km range will work. You will need to charge it once a week. Only you have to ensure if you can charge it at your home or office. One of my relative has got an EV scooter for same use and light bill hiked by only 80-100rs, a laughable amount for the utility offered. Additionally, all of them offers decent tech. Keep the discover in case you need something for longer rides.

If you are considering bikes only, Apache RTR 160 is a very strong product. We bought one last year for my brother and we're happy with it. Even you want to go on occasional long rides, there is enough performance and comfort. You can expect a little less mileage than 45, which won't matter much if your running is limited. (Hardly 200rs difference per month for 20km/day)

Best luck!!

Here's what BHPian Ratan Prabhu replied:

TVS Apache RTR 160 4v is the best all rounder in the 1.5L to 1.7L price bracket.
Other than covered chain, it will satisfy all the remaining points.
Also it will be a nice upgrade over your Bajaj Discover 125.

If you want a simpler bike yet fulfil most of the points, check out Hero Xtreme 160R and Yamaha FZ150. However, these 2 bikes will feel underpowered and won't be a substantial upgrade over your current bike considering you intend to use it for 7-10 years.

Here's what BHPian Bane214 replied:

Hi cool.aquarian,

I would suggest you to check out TVS Ronin in addition to your choices.
1. The mid variant would be in your budget. Misses out only on adjustable levers and bluetooth. Also with your limited city usecase, is bluetooth connectivity a mandatory requirement.
2. The suspension tuning on Ronin is on softer side, perfect for city. It has USD front with monoshock in rear.
3. Availability of digital display
4. Has covered chain
5. Little higher engine capacity than you mentioned
6. Bigger profile tyres than all of 125-150cc range bikes

Please do a test ride and have a thorough evaluation. Looking forward to your updates on the search and buying experience.

Here's what BHPian revhappy replied:

There are 3 bikes in 160 segment and you can test ride all 3 and see which one suits you

• Hero Xtreme 160
• TVS Apache RTR 160
• Bajaj Pulsar NS160/N160

Personally I would choose the Duke 200

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