I purchased a Silver CBZ extreme on 7th May 2007. Till today I have completed 2722 Kms to be exact and am going to get the second free servicing done tomorrow.
First something about me, because I believe that the only worth of a review is known when you know about the reviewer.
This is my first bike, I have ridden very few bikes before this one, Pulsar and HH Splendour, those two bikes I rode for 10-20 Kms only. I was not into bikes earlier, but when I had to buy one for me I started reading about them on the net and the reviewes written on this site helped me a lot.
I did not want to buy pulsar because:
It is the most common bike on the roads, every Tom Dick and Harry owns one.
I did not like the looks of Pulsar
It is the most common issue(when the pulsar owners are frank enough to accept) that the gear box is not very smooth.
TVS Apache was out since the start of my search for various issues. The only doubt was between Unicorn and CBZ, and I decided on the latter because of Looks(personal choice) and HH after sales reliability. Also, CBZ Xtreme right now is not a very common bike.
=> when I approached the agent his owner tried his level best to persuade me to buy Pulsar and after that Unicorn, he told me so many issues with CBZ, which when I investigate elsewhere were all wrong, and now since I own the bike I can assure all those issues were made up. The reason his employee told me next day. Bajaj gives highest commission on sale to the agents, Hero Honda gives the least amongst bike makers.
Since purchasing my bike I have become a regular reader of the Bike magazine and bike literature.
The first thing which everyone has already said and is a known fact about HH bikes, They are very smooth and so is this one, the gears slide so easily. Recently the shifting between neutral and 1(or vice versa) was bit rough, but when I got the bike washed at the service center(they also do the oiling that time) there is no problem, I guess coz I was riding it in Bombay monsoon(I loved riding in the rain) for about 50 kms every day(atleast) hence I faced this issue.
Self start is top notch even on cold monsoon mornings it starts on first click.(although ppl advice to use kick also as they say that if you don't use it it might develop issues later, don't know how far that is true, but now I also kick start on some days).
Pick up is also good, I think it is better than Pulsar(have not ridden Unicorn). The bike is very smooth and makes very very less sound while riding, even on higher speeds it is much less than other bikes.
Maneuverability is very good, the bike is always under control. I am a newbie(as it is my first bike) and I have ridden at 90 so many times and never felt out of control. Although the bike is capable of more certainly, I don't yet know how much more, but have not been able to find it out due to lack of proper roads(even highways get jammed sometimes in bombay). And also I don't wanna push my luck during monsoon!
Although I got too ambitious once, used to love taking tilt turns, and once took it at a high speed and the tire slipped a bit and I came back to my senses;-)
Now something which everyone really wants to know, the mileage, guys I will give you the real picture( as far as my bike is considered). I think every one tries to hike this figure for their bikes, I see people writing 50+, well the service center guy says that it actually gives 43-45 KMph.
Added Later: Today I went to another service center for my second servicing and the supervisor there said that he owned one and if you drive smoothly you get 50+. Now I don't know if he was hiking the figure or if it is reality. I do agree though that in the thrill of the pick up I am the first one off the signal:-) and accelerate quite rapidly so that might lower the mileage.
He also said that I should not use the premium petrol(Speed in my case) as it increases the carbon build up in bikes.
Added still later: Guys, (hopefully girls too:-) I've completed 200 more Kms and would like to reiterate that the average that I am getting still hovers around the 48 KM/Lt mark, inspite of riding quite normally I mean without thrilling acceleartion. So I would say that if you are thinking of buying this bike go with the knowledge that you would get 48 KM/Lt. If you get more then I envy and salute you. But I think 50+ is the maximum average you would get and the average average is 48!:). Actually I am happy that I did not get more average after riding normally, coz now I have no incentive to not exploit the pick up and speed of the bike;-).
Also, I know I have already said it too many times, but again wanna say that after 2nd servicing the bike is super smooooth, runs like a dream. If I were in HH I'd use MJ's song in advertising campaign: "Smooth Criminal";-)
I have had the tank filled about 3 times and every time it gave between 47-48 KMph, never more than that. Although I feel it gives more mileage when I use Speed from BP(47-48), once I used the premium petrol of IndianOil and it gave around 44(although I did lot of wheelies that time and once rode on roads filled with water just below the silencer so had to ride in first gear with clutch on and high throttle but still I think the mileage was low)
Also, all the pillion riders on my bike, as soon as they sit they say the seat is really high. I LOVE IT:-) everyone has said it till now, it also feels more comfortable than the seat on Pulsar, also the rear end looks are really good.
Although the shock absorbers at the back are not as good as the front ones, am saying that because when you sit at back the bombay pot holes really hurt your A**:-) I have sat on both seats hence I know as on the rider seat nothing hurts. I dont know how it is on other bikes.
So apart from pillion rider comfort(on pot holes only, as otherwise the seat is quite comfortable and stylish) I dont think I have any issues with the bike at all.
Also the headlight could have been more powerful, but then I will try to get the service center guy to adjust the focus may be that would help.
Anything else anyone wants to know I would be glad to help as I know how valuable the RIGHT information is to anyone planning to buy a bike, and I wont give you a biased view of my bike(as HH is not giving me any commission, so far;-)
Also, I read about the Engine Oil tip in one of the comments on one of the reviews here, if anyone has anymore tips to fine tune the performance of the bike, or any site that lists them I would appreciate if you can write in the comments.
Shubh
PS: You can take a look at the pictures of my bike here: https://picasaweb.google.com/meramail/Bike
