KINETIC, WHERE SERVICE IS TOP !! . Review on Kinetic GF170 Laser

There have been recently 10 reviews by members on the Kinetic GF170 Laser and by re-organising your header from Kinetic-Honda // GF 170 to Kinetic // GF 170 Laser you have deleted all these 10 brilliant reviews.

Do the members have time to re-create their time consuming reviews ?? I had spent 3 hours on mine, since I am not a professional typist. I haven't got the time to type all that up once more.

BUT due to the foresight of Mr. V. Srenivaas, a Mouthshut Member, giving me now (17th September 2004) a lead where to find the missing files on the internet, I was able to recover it from

https://mouthshut.com/readproduct.php?cid=925042670

Look up the above the above website to find the other missing reviews of the Laser 170.

HERE IS MINE:

Title : WHERE SERVICE IS TOP !!!

Review : After almost 12 months of motorcycle research in India, my eyes fell on the Kinetic Laser 170 and it was LOVE AT THE FIRST RIDE. In the previous 12 months I had researched the Indian market for something more fashionable than the technically outdated Enfield Bullet 350. Starting from the 110cc category I have test-driven about every motorcycle in the market, many of them a few times, the Yamaha, Bajaj, Hero Honda, TVS and Kinetic bikes.

I was searching for a reliable bike with excellent handling capabilities that would take me on a trip ’once around India’. It simply needed to be fit for cities, villages, highways, steep mountain slopes and dirt road situations in the Himalayan mountains - that’s in short the field of applications for that most people are still using the Enfield Bullet. And then - when out of town - service and spare parts are also an important issue.

After many months and test-rides my final contender was TVS Fiero F2 - that’s until I took the Laser 170 for a test ride. I approached the factory Kinetic Engineering in Pune with my plans. My major concern was that the Laser 170 was just released in the market - and proper service and spare parts probably difficult to get at more remote places.

I was overwhelmed with KINETIC’S support. As a first gesture of support I received by e-mail a list of authorised distributors, then soon afterwards by courier the company’s confidential Spare Parts Catalogue that usually is only issued to their service centres - along with a Fax number and a contact name to order spare parts from them. Finally Kinetic even volunteered to assemble for me in their factory in Pune a yellow Laser with electric+kick start, as per my knowledge the first Laser with electric start released by them. For a large manufacturer like Kinetic it is a very costly and time consuming exercise to assemble just one bike and deliver it separately - and this without any extra charges except the standard adder for the electric start. The support by Kinetic’s Marketing Department was terrific. THAT IS TOP SERVICE I DID NOT FIND WITH OTHER MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA.

WHY YELLOW COLOUR ?? How many bikes in night reflective yellow colour have you lately seen on India’s roads ?? There are many bikes in blue, black, red and even silver... I fancy things that not everyone has - with yellow my bike sticks ’out of the crowds’. And then the safety aspect at night - highly visible to approaching traffic when parked on the side of the road in the dark...

DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS POWER STEERING IN CARS ?? Please take a Pulsar 150 / 180 or a CBZ for a test ride AND then take the same afternoon (!!) - when the memory is still fresh - a Kinetic Laser for a test ride - you will then know what is ’’power steering’’ in motorcycles. By simply taking the weight of the lamps and fairing off the handle bar, Kinetic have built a bike that handles easy even on rough roads.

The price of the wider handle bar is a larger turning radius BUT on rough roads with luggage (or a pillion) you will appreciate that wider handle bar - you don’t need strong muscles to hold that handle bar and your palms will remain dry as well. I also appreciate the wider crash guard - almost as wide as the handle bar. I further appreciate the double head lamps and the ’’pass switch’’, already frequently in use. I invested another 120 Rs to change the two standard 12V/35W bulbs into halogen - the night road is now brightly lit - no other bike can compete with that. The double rear lights add to safety - more visible and if by chance one bulb fails in the future a second one is there to keep me safe at night on busy highways. And that’s the same with the head lights - I am not stranded in the dark when one bulb fails - the remaining one on its own is as strong as a Fiero F2’s.

MILEAGE: I have travelled a lot through small mountain regions with up and down slopes (some of them steep) and found myself with about 45 km per litre - though I have some doubts that the litre at the petrol pumps here is really 1000 milli-litre. On the open highway travelling continuously at 50 km/h in 5th gear I got a milage of 60km.

I am the proud owner of a yellow Laser with electric start since 4 months and I am already on a long trip ... - once (or twice) around India. The bike has been fitted with custom made luggage racks - and you might see me in your town. With that bike you won’t overlook me in the crowds ...

Pros : TOP SERVICE AND SUPPORT, Great Handling (Power Steering), Strong Engine 15HP/14Nm, 5 gears, wider crash bars, double front and rear lamps, double horns and all electrics supplied through a strong battery (like in a car).

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2,000KM TAMIL NADU TRAVEL FEED BACK (16TH OCTOBER 2004):

Wherever I went with my yellow GF 170 Laser in Tamil Nadu, it was the center point of attraction. At times up to 50 people were standing around my bike, and wherever I parked at least a few people were admiring it, even when I was not present right next to it.

On my Tamil Nadu trip I have travelled up to 340 km (Thanjavur to Tirunelveli) in a single day. Not a little bit of back pain or discomfort. I also travelled on a very poor mountain trek (Valparai (Tamil Nadu) down to Kerala). The road had been more or less washed away by the more than 5,000 mm rain of this monsoon season. Travelling 80% in 1st and 2nd gear I got through, with luggage on the pillion and two big side boxes attached, making 70km distance in 4 hours. I saw a few jeeps, trucks and buses but not a single ordinary 4 wheeler on this route. Compliments to Kinetic for their GF 170 Laser design – one of the sturdiest bikes in the country.