Hello, I'm considering buying a bike for my daily commute to work. My office is around 25 km away from my house, and the route is a mix of highway and city roads, with occasional patches of rough, pothole-ridden roads. I do not have much experience with geared bikes, as I have been riding gearless scooters for most of my life. My expectation from the bike is that it should offer better safety and ride comfort than the Suzuki Access I currently use. Other factors that matter to me are reliability and a strong after-sales service network. Would an ADV bike be a good consideration, or should I stick to a regular commuter due to my lack of riding experience?

autocar.india

•7h

It is quite unfair to compare a bonafide sporty naked like the Ducati Monster V2 with the relaxed neo-retro that is the Triumph Speed Twin 900 - both also have about a Rs. 4 lakh price difference, so there's also that. If you are looking for a sporty riding experience then the Monster V2 should fit that bill much better than the Triumph, although we are yet to ride the latest Monster so we can't pass a definitive verdict on just how good it is yet. The Triumph Speed Twin 900, on the other hand, is a modern classic with a more relaxed riding position and a heavier, more substantial feel. It is a lovely bike in its own right, but it is not as focused or as sporty as the Monster. Again, these are two very different machines and choosing between them will come down to what sort of a rider you are as well as if you are able to stretch your budget to accomodate the Ducati.

autocar.india

•1h

The options you have shortlisted in the EV space are a great place to start, and if you want a simple, no-nonsense EV, the TVS iQube is one of our top picks in the class. Depending on your daily use case, choose a variant with sufficient battery capacity, keeping some margin for spontaneity and emergencies. If you are still unsure about moving to an electric two-wheeler, in the ICE scooter space, options like the Honda Activa 110 / 125, TVS Jupiter 110 / 125 and Suzuki Access 125 are our top recommendations. These are easy to get on with, lightweight and frugal machines which are practical and reliable to own as well.

autocar.india

•3h

Since you want comfort as a top priority in your next purchase, the two bikes that will deliver that much better than the others in your shortlist are the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 and the 350cc Triumph Scrambler 400 X. The Himalayan is more adept on the highway front, but the Scrambler is the better city bike, so depending on where you spend more time, pick between these two. The TVS Apache RTX 300 is a phenomenally capable bike (especially for the price), but its engine feels a little dull once you spend some time with it. If you are okay with that, then as an overall package, the TVS is quite hard to fault. If you decide you want something more road-biased, then the 350cc Triumph Speed 400 and Honda CB350RS are good options to consider. We'd skip the RE Meteor models because the Super Meteor has stiff rear suspension, and instead of the Meteor, look at the Classic / Bullet if you want more comfort with an old-school relaxed retro vibe. These are all very different machines within a broad price range, so depending on the segment you are looking at specifically, we'd advise you to take test rides of the options above and then make your decision.