I am looking for a bike with a parallel twin engine, and my budget is around ₹4.5 lakh. After researching, I found that two bikes with parallel twin engines have caught my attention. One is the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650, and the other is the Yamaha R3. Which bike should I buy?

Autocar India

•3d

Since you've mentioned that a lot of your usage is inside the city with only occasional highway work, we'd recommend sticking with the 350cc Triumph Scrambler 400 X. The reason being, Scrambler is a lighter machine with better handling and suspension comfort, which will make it easier to ride on a daily basis inside the city. Then there is also the fact that the Dominar - as objectively sorted a bike as it is - cannot match the kerb appeal of the Scrambler, and the Triumph is sure to be a special machine to walk toward in the morning. In case you want to move away from a single-cylinder machine, the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 remains a tried and tested option, and will be lovely on the highway. Do bear in mind that while it can surely wade through the drudgery of city traffic, it will be the machine that demands more effort from the rider to do so. After GST 2.0, the Interceptor has also become a fair deal pricier, so it might not fit in your budget. A test ride of both, as well as determining your budget, should be your next move.

Autocar India

•45m

If your main goal with your machine is to strike poses and look cool on the extremely short spins you make on the weekend, then the Jawa 42 Bobber is a good fit. However, the bike is not practical, it's build quality is still far from the segment benchmark and Classic Legends (parent company of Yezdi, Jawa and BSA) still has a long way to go when it comes to customer satisfaction in terms of service. Considering your short stature, we'd recommend bikes like the RE Hunter 350 and TVS Ronin, which will still give you that Neo retro aesthetic but will not stop short of being good, all-round capable machines at the expense of just looking good. If you decide you want to keep it simple and practical, without spending a lot of cash, a 125cc/160cc bike from brands like TVS, Bajaj, Hero and Honda will be a good choice. This would in fact be our default recommendation considering this is your first bike and you'll need to develop basic motorcycle specific skills like clutch control, smooth gearshifts and throttle control. Evaluate your priorities, take multiple test rides and then make your decision. Also look into each bike's reviews and ownership forums to see which is the most hassle free to live with on a day to day basis. All this will help you make a more informed decision.

Autocar India

•1h

A cruiser will be more manageable for your shorter stature but a roadster (like the RE Hunter 350 and Triumph Speed 400) will be a more capable and comfortable bike. Aside from the RE Meteor 350, there's really no mainstream small capacity cruiser worth considering under Rs 3 lakh. If you want to switch to a roadster, we'd recommend the TVS Ronin because that bike has a low seat height and is still comfortable with its neutral ergonomics and light kerb weight. The 350cc Triumph Speed 400 will be the quickest and most dynamically capable of all three machines listed above. The RE Hunter 350 is a very good all-rounder as long as you have no sporting intentions. A test ride will help you decide whether you're ready to make the switch from a cruiser to a more conventional machine or not.

Autocar India

•3d

Since your priority is road riding and you like to cover more than 1,000 km in a day on your travels, we'd recommend you look at machines like the Honda NX500 and Kawasaki Versys 650. Both offer very good seating comfort, wind protection and smooth twin-cylinder engines that can comfortably sustain triple-digit cruising speeds without intrusive vibrations. While they may look like adventure bikes, both are much more road-focused in the way they ride and behave. They can handle bad roads if needed, but they are not hardcore off-road machines.If you want something that's a little more road-focused and sporty, then the Kawasaki Ninja 650 is also a good option. It has a smooth engine and is very capable at highway cruising speeds, though it will not be as comfortable over very long distances as the NX500 or Versys 650. You will also need to be mindful of the low ground clearance and the expensive alloy wheels over bad roads.Depending on the sort of bike you prefer, make your decision, and before doing so, take a test ride of all three to figure out which one is right for you.

Autocar India

•6d

Bajaj has no intentions of selling the single-cylinder Triumph bikes with 398cc engines in India, and all of the six models come with downsized 349cc motors. However, in two of them (Tracker and Thruxton), the engine makes more peak output, and if you want the maximum performance from an affordable Bajaj-made Triumph. So, we'd recommend choosing between these two. Since you've mentioned you like the Scrambler 400 XC, the Tracker will be a similar machine in terms of ergonomics and comfort. Although, you will lose some off-road capability as a trade-off for better street manners. Your only option if you want to buy a 398cc Triumph Scrambler 400 XC today is to ask your nearby dealers if they have some leftover stock or scour the used market for one.