Choosing Bikes in the Indian Market (Second Blood). Review on Twenty Best Bikes

Well, I'm not very sure that the first review was'accepted' by all. Furthermore, the topic was too big to fit in one review. People commented on'biased' review and updated stuff about their bikes. Here's a'toned down' report .We have:-

Mileage Bikes

These are the bikes strictly meant for mileage only and nothing else. This includes Bajaj's CT100, Boxer, Byk & TVS's Centra & Hero Honda's Dawn, CD 100 & Kinetic's Boss & Yamaha's Crux . The logic is simple . go for the bike which gives the best mileage on road in the city. In this category, the Bajaj CT 100 & TVS Centra have the best technology. But given the looks and service of the Bajaj, I think the CT 100 has the edge. Its selling hot cakes right now.

Mileage+ a bit of power

Actually, you shouldn't buy ANY bike in this section and you should go for one slot above or below. The bikes in this category are - Bajaj's Caliber 115, Hero Honda's Spendor+, Passion+, LML's Freedom, Yamaha's Libero and TVS's Victor GL. Okay, okay . these bikes have sold many units . but what's the use? Mileage is NOT fantastic and power is not good either. It is not a pure blend. The next segment is a better blend of power and mileage.

All the bikes here are almost equally good or bad. The Bajaj caliber 115 and Victor GL have slightly better mileage/power than their counterparts and hence have sold more. The Splendor+ and Passion+ are the same Splendor and Passion with new stickering and a few external modifications. The Libero and Freedom are good bikes too but have nothing substantial over the Hoodibaba or Victor.

Mileage+ a byte of power

These are the bikes which students usually prefer. You have the punch and the fuel comes within your pocket money too. The bikes - Ambition 135, Wind 125, Victor GLX, Fazer, Freedom 125 Prima. Performance - The performance rankings are - 1) Wind, Fazer 2) Victor GLX 3) Ambition, Prima. The Ambition has the highest power at 135cc, 11 BHP but loses out on performance since the bike is much heavier than its counterparts. It has only 0.2 BHP more than the Wind/Fazer/Prima but weighs a lot more. Next, Mileage - 1) Victor GLX 2) Ambition, Prima 3) Wind, Fazer.

Handling and gearboxes are good in all bikes. Except that the Fazer & Victor have 4 speed gearboxes and the Ambition, Prima and Wind have 5 speed gearboxes. There's very little differnce between the bikes. So you MUST CHECK them out individually so that you find something that you are looking for specifically such as Price, finance, service, comfort, looks etc.

Futhermore, Bajaj is bring out a new bike in this segment called'Discover' in September 2004. Its a 125cc bike having the DTSi technology and the CT100 technology. Reports claim that it has the power of a Pulsar, ride quality of the Wind and mileage of the Boxer. I can't imagine how this is going to be accomplished.

Power

Many students buy these bikes too. If you ride them really really carefully and slowly, you can get a decent mileage too. But they are not meant to be treated to gently. these are the brash boys. The bikes are - Pulsar 150DTSi, Fiero F2/FX, CBZ*, Graptor, Kinetic Laser. Power - The pulsar and the graptor are equally powerful. The rest of the bikes are a bit slower.

Now, about the Fiero. The Fiero engine and gearbox was originally developed by Suzuki long ago. This was a fantastic bike(the good old fiero). Good power, good mileage and it beat the hell out of the CBZ at that time. But it had only a 4 speed gearbox and looks were sad.

Its handling was bad with pillion at low speeds. All TVS bikes come with TVS tyres that are dreadful. So what TVS did when they broke up with Suzuki was that they used the same engine & gearbox with different chassis and the Fiero F2 was born. They changed the looks again and the Fiero FX was born.This is the ONLY bike in this segment to have a 4 speed gearbox .

Next, Hero Honda used a'' instead of a'+' in this segment with a new stickering and the CBZ was born. Milege? Engine? Gearbox? same I guess. But still, the CBZ has the best handling and gearbox in this segment. The F2 gives the best mileage in this segment. If you consider the Price, Mileage & Performance, its a close call b/w Pulsar 150 DTSi, Fiero F2/FX and Graptor. But wait on . TVS is coming up with a 170cc, 5 geared Fiero(FZ) & Honda(Not Hero Honda) is coming with a 150cc monoshock bike code named'Unicorn' . These bikes are worth waiting for.

Power Exxtreme

If you are looking for a bike in this segment, just buy WHAT YOU WANT. Its impossible to compare a Bullet 535 with a Karisma or a Pulsar 180DTSi with an Elimnator. And the cost of these bikes are so much varying that its very difficult to say anything. But the Karisma and Pulsar 180DTSi can be compared. The Pulsar has better power, acceleration, Top Speed, Mileage, Price. The Karisma has better Handling, Gearbox, Instrumentation, Riding position, Looks. Take your pick.

But consider this, we all live a city. From Point A to Point B in a city considering the traffic, all the bikes here are the same. How often do you speed upto 70 kmph in a city? And even if you go at that speed, it won't be long before you slow down for a pothole or signal.

Only thing is that with a more powerful bike, you'might' reach maximum 10 minutes earlier at your destination but also the probablity of an accident with a powerful bike increases. So if we use our brains, the best bike to buy would be a bike with MAXIMUM mileage and comfort. Isn't it? Think about it.

PLEASE rate this article and also write a comment. I'd like to know what you think. That's all for now. More about biking later .