My budget is around ₹2 lakh, and I want a bike for office commuting of about 25-30 km daily. I am looking for a retro-styled bike with a powerful engine. I want to buy the Hunter 350, but my brother has the same bike, and he wants me to choose something different. I looked at other options - Meteor, Speed 400, T400, Harley Davidson 440, and Honda CB350 - but they are over my budget. The Yamaha XSR’s engine is just 155 cc, and I’m not interested in Jawa, Yezdi, or Classic 350. What other options do I have, or should I wait for a Triumph 350 cc bike?

Autocar India

•1d

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

•1d

Sadly, the Yamaha R3 has been discontinued in India and the company hasn't confirmed if or when the updated model will be coming to our shores. Therefore, the Royal Enfield 650s are your best bet if you want a twin-cylinder experience. Specifically, the Interceptor is a tried and tested product which should be characterful and reasonably comfortable for road usage. Bear in mind that the Interceptor is a heavy bike with its wide engine splaying the Rider's feet out, so if you're on the shorter side of the spectrum, you might struggle to flat foot it. You could also look at the Aprilia Tuono 457 if you want something sporty but still usable on the road. Aprilia's 457cc engine hasn't had the best reputation for reliability though and we'd recommend you tread lightly and make no modifications inside the warranty period on this bike. A test ride will help you figure out which bike is for you.

Autocar India

•1d

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.