I own a Hero Xpulse 200 4V and want to upgrade to a bigger adventure bike. I recently test-rode a 450 and liked its power and ride comfort. Could you suggest other suitable options in this budget, and should I wait until next year to purchase?

Autocar India

•1d

In terms of familiarity, the Harley Davidson X440 will be the logical next step up for you from your Thunderbird 350. With its neutral ergonomics, plush suspension and torquey air/oil-cooled engine, the X440 T will serve your use case well. If you want something with a bit more performance and more commanding ergonomics, then the Triumph Scrambler 400 XC is what you should consider. The Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 will easily be the most comfortable for two-up riding of the bikes you've shortlisted, but its heavy kerb weight could be hard to manage, especially with a pillion onboard in stacatto big-city traffic. We'd recommend you steer clear of the Super Meteor 650 because its laidback riding position and stiff rear shocks will cause you discomfort over bad roads. Take a test ride of the other three with your pillion to see which one you find comfortable before you make your purchase.

Autocar India

•5h

We would recommend you go ahead with the KTM 250 Duke purchase as your first bike. It will be an easier and friendlier machine to learn on. The upcoming 350 Duke will likely be similar in terms of its throttle response and power output to the 390 Duke, which will make it a much faster machine and thus less suited to a beginner.

Autocar India

•3w

Since you're looking at just a small upsize in your tyre sizes, you can go ahead and replace the tyres of your Jupiter with 100-section units from the stock 90-section ones. It will help give you more sure-footed handling as well as a slight improvement in ride quality. The flip side to this change will be that wider tyres will increase rolling resistance, which is going to have a small but noticeable negative impact on fuel efficiency. Another point to bear in mind is that the scooter's steering will feel heavier in general, but especially at slower speeds.