Royal Enfield bikes in India (19)

autocar.india

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If your priority is fuel economy, you're better off with either the Bajaj Pulsar 150 or the TVS Apache RTR 160 4V. These bikes are proven workhorses which will last you a long time and deliver good fuel economy, which will be an important factor in your purchase decision given your near-100km daily commute. If, instead, you want a more premium and polished machine with better performance, build quality, design and ride quality, then the more expensive Royal Enfield Hunter 350 is surely a good option. It all boils down to whether or not you can manage the stretch and what sort of experience you are after.

autocar.india

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Given the fact that you are a beginner, the more affordable, lighter and smaller RE Hunter 350 will be a better fit than the heavier Meteor. Another factor working in the Hunter's favour is that its riding position is very neutral and its suspension is supple, which will make it adept at tackling bad roads without passing on the jolt to the rider's back. The Meteor, with its feet-forward riding position, will transmit more of the road imperfections to your back.

autocar.india

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Since you have an extremely short daily commute where fuel economy won't play a big role & you have a reasonably comfortable budget too, we'd recommend you look at the Royal Enfield Hunter 350. The Hunter is not a large motorcycle and will be easy to manage for someone of average build like yourself, and it has supple suspension as well as neutral ergonomics, which will make it comfortable over bad roads.Take a test ride of the Hunter, and if you find it comfy, go for it.

autocar.india

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Since you already have a Hunter, getting another road-oriented bike will give you largely the same experience and we'd recommend choosing a different form factor to broaden your horizons. From your shortlist, the Kawasaki KLX230 (and the lower seat height & suspension travel 'S' version) will be the best fit for your two-bike garage. In that same vein, we'd also recommend Honda's new XR300L & XR300 Rally because they will have similiar capability as the KLX but are far more affordable and will likely have a small performance edge owing to their larger-capacity motors. Once you're able to test ride the XR300s, pick between these & the KLX for your next purchase.

autocar.india

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The Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 is a fantastic Swiss army knife of a motorcycle and will serve your needs well. It has sublime suspension comfort and its spacious ergonomics are great for carrying two people. Coming from a CB350, its liquid-cooled 452cc engine will also seem like a pretty substantial jump up in terms of performance. We'd wholeheartedly recommend splurging for the cross spoke laced wheels which bring in the convenience of tubeless tyres and even so, you'll be well under your budget. If you want to stick with Honda then we'd advise you to wait for the XR300 models to become available in dealers on a widespread basis (which will take 4-6 months) and then take a test ride of these to see if they are up your alley. Do bear in mind that the Himalayan is a proper adventure bike which means it will have better comfort and capability but will be significantly heavier, whereas the XR300s are focused, lightweight dualsport machines which will be less comfortable in terms of seating.