Xavier
Galvanizer
More than 8 years after my trusty old Hero Honda Ambition was finally showing its age and giving up on me, I finally decided to take the plunge and buy a new bike. I had a budget of Rs. 100k max and simply could not stretch it beyond that. After loads of research and test rides, I zeroed in on these 4 bikes:
TVS Apache RTR 180
Bajaj Avenger 220
Karizma R (The older model)
Bajaj Pulsar 200NS
I have always been a fan of the RTRs and had always thought that it would be the bike for me if I were to upgrade. However, after a couple of test rides, I found out that it wasn't really the right bike for me because of its riding stance (I'm 6 feet/220 pounds) and my daily commuting to office (40+km) in pretty bad traffic on this bike would take a toll on my back.
The Avenger wasn't exactly something that I was looking for, but in terms of riding comfort, it had to be the best amongst the lot. My brother used to own an Eliminator, so I was fairly acquainted with the handling and riding characteristics of this bike. However, I'm not much of a cruiser guy and have never been a fan of the Avenger's looks or its handling in city conditions.
The Karizma R is a trusty old bike which sort of does everything well but does not really excel in anything sans touring. Also, since the design has remained unchanged for almost a decade, I was wary of going for it. In terms of VFM, I simply didn't feel it was the right choice.
Coming to the final choice. I've always been a stronger detractor of the Pulsar family of bikes and never really liked their lack of finesse and handling. My brother had bought the 1st gen P150 way back in 2002 and although it was a beast back then, it's bulkiness was a turn off for me. However, all of this changed when they introduced the Pulsar 200NS in early 2012. This bike excelled at the very same areas where its predecessors severely lacked - Handling and Refinement.
After spending hours (explains my recent inactivity on TE) watching and reading every possible review, I took two separate test rides and simply fell in love. It was a joy to handle on the busy streets of Pune and the power delivery is so linear that you can't help but smile once you're in the 6th gear. It goes effortlessly from 0-100 in less than 10 seconds and has considerably less vibrations than the Apaches and the older Pulsars.
After strong recommendation from close friend Sagar Sheldekar (chief reviewer for Power to the Rider and PowerDrift) -
,
I had fully made up my mind to own this beast. A few hiccups aside, it went smoothly in the end and I got the delivery of my mustard yellow Pulsar 200NS on the 18th of April.
In the next 2 months, I've planned on getting a riding jacket (DSG), a better helmet (LS2), knee guards, and probably a tank bag for planned tours.
So, here's my newest acquisition that I simply can't put down and hope to spend many miles on it along the way.
TVS Apache RTR 180
Bajaj Avenger 220
Karizma R (The older model)
Bajaj Pulsar 200NS
I have always been a fan of the RTRs and had always thought that it would be the bike for me if I were to upgrade. However, after a couple of test rides, I found out that it wasn't really the right bike for me because of its riding stance (I'm 6 feet/220 pounds) and my daily commuting to office (40+km) in pretty bad traffic on this bike would take a toll on my back.
The Avenger wasn't exactly something that I was looking for, but in terms of riding comfort, it had to be the best amongst the lot. My brother used to own an Eliminator, so I was fairly acquainted with the handling and riding characteristics of this bike. However, I'm not much of a cruiser guy and have never been a fan of the Avenger's looks or its handling in city conditions.
The Karizma R is a trusty old bike which sort of does everything well but does not really excel in anything sans touring. Also, since the design has remained unchanged for almost a decade, I was wary of going for it. In terms of VFM, I simply didn't feel it was the right choice.
Coming to the final choice. I've always been a stronger detractor of the Pulsar family of bikes and never really liked their lack of finesse and handling. My brother had bought the 1st gen P150 way back in 2002 and although it was a beast back then, it's bulkiness was a turn off for me. However, all of this changed when they introduced the Pulsar 200NS in early 2012. This bike excelled at the very same areas where its predecessors severely lacked - Handling and Refinement.
After spending hours (explains my recent inactivity on TE) watching and reading every possible review, I took two separate test rides and simply fell in love. It was a joy to handle on the busy streets of Pune and the power delivery is so linear that you can't help but smile once you're in the 6th gear. It goes effortlessly from 0-100 in less than 10 seconds and has considerably less vibrations than the Apaches and the older Pulsars.
After strong recommendation from close friend Sagar Sheldekar (chief reviewer for Power to the Rider and PowerDrift) -
I had fully made up my mind to own this beast. A few hiccups aside, it went smoothly in the end and I got the delivery of my mustard yellow Pulsar 200NS on the 18th of April.
In the next 2 months, I've planned on getting a riding jacket (DSG), a better helmet (LS2), knee guards, and probably a tank bag for planned tours.
So, here's my newest acquisition that I simply can't put down and hope to spend many miles on it along the way.
Yes, if I had the extra 30k, I'd probably go for the Duke but I don't regret my purchase one bit.
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