Royal Enfield Scram 440 Trail

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Of the three bikes you have shortlisted, we would suggest you choose between the Triumph Speed T4 and the Royal Enfield Scram 440. These two will be more comfortable, although the Royal Enfield Guerrilla will give you more performance on the highway. Since you've already owned a Royal Enfield Classic, the latest Royal Enfield Bullet / Classic is also worth taking a good look at because they will offer you good comfort and ride quality - both of which are important to you. You can alternatively also look at the Honda CB350 models because they are comfortable, smooth, well-built and torquey. A test ride of your shortlisted bikes will help you decide which is the best option for you.

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The Royal Enfield Scram 440 is a good choice for your usage, although bear in mind that during tight and technical off-road sections, its near-200 kilo kerb weight will need a lot of caution and skill to work around. As a road bike, it is a comfortable, relaxed and fuss-free companion but if you want the latest features and gadgets, this is not the bike for you. The 350cc Triumph Scrambler 400 X is a good allrounder and is actually a rather good handler despite its 19-in front wheel and dual-purpose tyres. Its engine isn't the most characterful though and the tall 835mm saddle may not work for you if you're a shorter person. These are two of the best made-in-India scrambler machines under Rs 3 lakh and depending on the sort of experience you are after, both will work well.

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You've test ridden many 300-400cc machines and have a good understanding of what you like or dislike in each machine, so that's a good place to start. We still believe that the Himalayan 450 is your best bet because aside from its weight (which you will learn to work around, over time) there are no significant drawbacks here. And this is not a case of settling for a machine with an innate flaw. Instead, riding the Himalayan 450 day in and day out, will automatically make you more cognizant of its weight and you'll start to manage your starts and stops better as well as improve your slow speed balance on the bike, given some time and a little bit of practice.We would also recommend you look at the Scram 440 because while this bike weighs as much as the Himalayan, it is a much shorter machine so its weight doesn't feel top heavy like the Himalayan. It has good highway legs up to 100-110kph and with long travel suspension and neutral ergonomics, it will be a good city commuter and highway mile muncher.Take a test ride of the Himalayan again and see if looking past its weight, is doable for you. Also spend some seat time aboard the Scram before you make a decision.

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Since you liked the Bullet 350 on your test ride, sticking with it for your next purchase would be a good idea. Inside the city, this Royal Enfield bike will return better fuel economy and will be easier to manage than the Himalayan 450, although the latter is unquestionably a more capable motorcycle. Coming to the Himalayan, this machine has a greater spread of abilities than the Bullet but there are trade-offs. Its size and heft may get tiring after a while, especially in staccato city traffic. And like you pointed out, the warmth from its radiator is also noticeable. However, we'd advise you to not write off the Himalayan because of some warm air. Ask yourself if you're willing to put up with this one trait to gain spades of comfort, capability and performance because the Himalayan genuinely has a lot to offer. Since you're browsing through the RE stable already, the Scram 440 is another machine that deserves your attention. It has more performance than the Bullet and its suspension is compliant too, making it a good city companion. Should you want to browse through the catalogue of other brands, Honda's CB350 is an excellent city bike too. With its smooth engine, light clutch action and comfortable seating position, the air-cooled CB makes for a good commuting partner too. A test ride of the Scram and CB350 would be our recommendation so you can make a more informed decision. Also, take another test ride of the Himalayan and pay deliberate attention to the heat you're feeling in traffic before you rule it out.

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The Harley-Davidson X440 that you are considering will be a good upgrade from your Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350 for highway cruising. Do bear in mind that while it will have significantly lower vibrations at 100-120kph, there will still be some vibrations to contend with because this is, after all, a long-stroke, small-capacity, single-cylinder engine. However, they are definitely manageable and shouldn't be a problem. Something else you should also look at, since you are getting into long-distance riding, is the Royal Enfield Scram 440. The Scram has better suspension comfort, more upright ergonomics and is more spacious, which means after mounting luggage you won't feel hemmed into place on the seat. It has a similiar engine to the H-D X440 and can comfortably cruise at 100-110kph, but above that, some vibrations are to be felt. That is par for the course in this category, and almost no single-cylinder bike will be butter smooth at these speeds. If you want an option that's more affordable than these two, the Honda CB350 trio warrants consideration. They will have lower performance than the two 400cc+ bikes we mentioned earlier. But it will be capable of sustaining 100-110kph on the highway while being quite smooth owing to their tall gearing, which actually works in its favour here. We would recommend a thorough test ride of these bikes before you make a decision.