Looking forward to buy a japan bike for below 500000

[Kanishka Jayasanka]

Hey guys, I’m looking forward to buy a japan bike as I’ve sold my bike (Honda trigger).

now I’m looking for a japan bike to buy, something comfortable with long rides, should look cool, and it must give a better gas mileage as well, Hornets and Jade are way over my budget with the current market conditions and it’s not giving a healthy gas mileage. Please recommend me some japan bike models which are suitable for my budget and my requirements 

[AVANTE]

Didn't expect gas mileage and Japanese bikes to be in the same sentence hehe. 

The Honda VTR250 is a good purchase. Descendant of the old Spada/VTZ. Looks like a Ducati Monster 400, does around 30kmpl,comfortable for long trips. Good resale/2nd market value too. 

@Grond had one and he liked it. Trellis frame, lightweight.. Nothing like it for the price. Since you have a good budget, you can afford an EFi version which came after 2009. 

I have ridden a 90's Spada and I loved that V-twin sound and torque, can shift very early and still pull like an elephant. The sportbike posture can be painful for long trips I guess (clip on bars) and parts are getting a bit uncommon for it now. So I can imagine VTR will be more refined. 

Your other choice is a CBR250 single cylinder (they have the Indian version too here). If you're not strict on the jap name, might I suggest A Yamaha FZ25? Indian built but with jap stuff. They're relativity popular here for its class and it's bloody good. Maintenance is easy since it's still air-cooled, but has the solid fuel injection system. I think it's the most affordable, recently new 250 here. The 250s from Suzuki and KTM are still way expensive.

It's refined, solid build, enough low down torque. I almost fell off one. 

 

Edited December 30, 2020 by AVANTE

[Kavvz]

9 hours ago, AVANTE said:

Your other choice is a CBR250 single cylinder (they have the Indian version too here)

I've ridden a CBR150 (borrowed off family for the odd joy ride) but sadly never been able to get my hands on a CBR250....But am intrigued enough to ask: What's the Indian version you speak of above? Is it a Honda that was made in India under license for the Indian market?  (Is the CBR150 we have in SL from India too then?) 

Edited December 30, 2020 by Kavvz

[john cooper]

How about a good CD200?

I am sure they are comfortable for long trips, my father had a 185 when i am very little and later he had multiple 125's, the whole Honda CD family is comfortable i guess. He use to ride the 185 daily from Dela to Rakwana for years. I am sure that's a heck of a ride.

it's way comfortable on top of 185's fuel tank than a back seat of an I*dian motorcycle.

regards,

JC

[AVANTE]

3 hours ago, Kavvz said:

I've ridden a CBR150 (borrowed off family for the odd joy ride) but sadly never been able to get my hands on a CBR250....But am intrigued enough to ask: What's the Indian version you speak of above? Is it a Honda that was made in India under license for the Indian market?  (Is the CBR150 we have in SL from India too then?) 

Ah the 150. A rare bike, must be a ton of giggles to chuck around! Those aren't Indian although they were sold in India, they were Imported from Indonesia/Thailand (which is a popular market for such small capacity sporty scooters and bikes). I've come across a Yamaha R125, how about that for size.

Yes, the CBR250r, it was assembled under license in India and in Thailand. But this version can't hold a candle to the japanese 4 cylinder NC-series fireblades and gullarms of Yesteryear. You should ride one of the oldies bro, smoothest thing ever! (I still consider it almost as smooth as an RX8). Red lines at 18k rpm (20k with limiter removed on old versions). 

As for this new version, Some didn't even know this existed, and I don't blame them. It was replaced by the CBR300 series a few years back. 

 

[Kavvz]

4 hours ago, AVANTE said:

Ah the 150. A rare bike, must be a ton of giggles to chuck around! Those aren't Indian although they were sold in India, they were Imported from Indonesia/Thailand (which is a popular market for such small capacity sporty scooters and bikes). I've come across a Yamaha R125, how about that for size.

Ah! That explains it: I didn't get to ride it too much but I found the bike very awkward and unfortunately, I didn't like it too much. Makes sense, as based on what you say: It sounds like it probably doesn't suit my riding style or it probably needs a bit of familiarization in order to ride it confidently...Plus I fear my reflexes or riding ability isn't what it was, and that the bike is not really a good fit for me. (Too sporty / twitchy for fat blokes with slow reflexes I suppose!)

Quote

Yes, the CBR250r, it was assembled under license in India and in Thailand. But this version can't hold a candle to the japanese 4 cylinder NC-series fireblades and gullarms of Yesteryear. You should ride one of the oldies bro, smoothest thing ever! (I still consider it almost as smooth as an RX8). Red lines at 18k rpm (20k with limiter removed on old versions). 

As for this new version, Some didn't even know this existed, and I don't blame them. It was replaced by the CBR300 series a few years back. 

I've heard so much about the 250 fireblades. Never been on one though...  

 

Edited December 31, 2020 by Kavvz

[Kavvz]

Forgot to ask you before: @AVANTE have you ridden any of the KTM offerings? The KTM Duke125 or Duke200 in particular? Slightly over budget here at 0.6 mil for the Duke125 (also not Japanese) but would be interested to hear your thoughts on it? Never been on one, however the reviews seem to be very complimentary- Would be interested to hear what you thought of it? 

Edited December 31, 2020 by Kavvz

[AVANTE]

10 hours ago, Kavvz said:

Forgot to ask you before: @AVANTE have you ridden any of the KTM offerings? The KTM Duke125 or Duke200 in particular? Slightly over budget here at 0.6 mil for the Duke125 (also not Japanese) but would be interested to hear your thoughts on it? Never been on one, however the reviews seem to be very complimentary- Would be interested to hear what you thought of it? 

Have sat on the saddles of a handful of those orange Austrian hunks of plastics, but never got to ride one haha. I'm not a fan of them tbh, too flashy, radical styling, and ridden by reckless rascals. But I respect the engineering and their racing pedigree.

Personally, the 200s are a better buy because the 125 engines are too stressed. They make too much power for their size and need to be stressed to pull. And there's not much of a price gap if I remember between them. 680+ k for a 125cc is just too much in Lankan terms. Then again it's not a normal 125, it has more options than an average family car (direct injection, aluminum frame, drilled discs, alloys, Bosch ABS brakes, 6-speed gearbox, race computer, underbody side exit exhaust, adjustable suspension, braided brake lines, projector headlights, LED tail lights, TFT display, Bluetooth,and optional soft compound racing tyres). Also 15hp from that 125cc engine equates to 120hp per liter. That's more horsepower per L than a Huracan. 

 

Friend rode an RC200 recently for a week and is going crazy about it. He sold his fireblade recently.. Had a hornet too. 

He says he finds it comfy enough for short trips. Very sharp and agile, says it's like a blade. Which makes sense as its intended use it to be a track weapon, which most KTMs are. There are however 5 gripes:

*Spare parts and servicing is costly. I mean, euro car level costly. A reckless bugger I know crashed his, and to replace the fairings and some cowlings it cost him around 150k. My friend said the bike he rode had some kind of bearing issue (iirc) and was quoted 60-70k to fix it. The Duke 200 and RC 200 share some parts with the Bajaj Pulsar RS200/NS200 since Bajaj and KTM have a joint venture going on (They own 48% of KTM). But even then, David pieris sells those shared parts with the "KTM tax". 

*Reliability: once in a while someone complains about how these things suffer electrical/minor mechanical issues. Old KTMs offroaders during 90s were horrible, newer ones are way better but still not perfect it seems. Also I remember reading how the Dukes/RC are known to overheat in traffic despite being liquid cooled. They have some funny acronyms over the years. KTM: KeepThrowingMoney, KeepTrailerMobile, KickTillMonday, KeepThreeManuals, KillsTheMarriage.

But incase you ever wondered.. KTM stands for Kronreif, Trunkenpolz (founders) Mattighofen (birthplace) 

 

*Ride firmness: These are track oriented, with hard seats and stiff yet well engineered suspension setups. The RC comes with low down clip on handlebars, which doesn't help the situation. So you might feel tired riding them around too much. 

*Resale:   Not so good, even though they hold value these days, they're hard to sell. Even the KTM showroom salesman in Battaramulla once told my cousin to not expect resale when he buys it lol. Also they can be ridden hard and abused so yeah. 

*Sound: They sound similar to the Bajaj three wheeler, which also has a 200cc engine 😂. But the bigger KTMs sound good with their twin layout engines.

Also bro, the 125 and 250 offerings from KTM were Austrian imports. But the recent ones are now Indian too. The lankan import 200 and 390s are assembled in India. But quality assurance is there, and so is the attention to detail. You have to admit, the braided cables, the engine block, the embossed logos, the trellis frame construction, the welds, it's a work of art. Even the speedometer is almost similar to the one on the Xbow track car. You get your key with key code/ID card to identify your bike and scanning it will reveal the service information. 

Cool details like that make ownership worthy. Reminds me of the old Alfas with the flashy Busso V6. 

Edited December 31, 2020 by AVANTE

[Kavvz]

On 12/31/2020 at 9:47 AM, AVANTE said:

*Spare parts and servicing is costly. I mean, euro car level costly. A reckless bugger I know crashed his, and to replace the fairings and some cowlings it cost him around 150k. My friend said the bike he rode had some kind of bearing issue (iirc) and was quoted 60-70k to fix it. The Duke 200 and RC 200 share some parts with the Bajaj Pulsar RS200/NS200 since Bajaj and KTM have a joint venture going on (They own 48% of KTM). But even then, David pieris sells those shared parts with the "KTM tax". 

*Reliability: once in a while someone complains about how these things suffer electrical/minor mechanical issues. Old KTMs offroaders during 90s were horrible, newer ones are way better but still not perfect it seems. Also I remember reading how the Dukes/RC are known to overheat in traffic despite being liquid cooled. They have some funny acronyms over the years. KTM: KeepThrowingMoney, KeepTrailerMobile, KickTillMonday, KeepThreeManuals, KillsTheMarriage.

But incase you ever wondered.. KTM stands for Kronreif, Trunkenpolz (founders) Mattighofen (birthplace) 

 

*Ride firmness: These are track oriented, with hard seats and stiff yet well engineered suspension setups. The RC comes with low down clip on handlebars, which doesn't help the situation. So you might feel tired riding them around too much. 

*Resale:   Not so good, even though they hold value these days, they're hard to sell. Even the KTM showroom salesman in Battaramulla once told my cousin to not expect resale when he buys it lol. Also they can be ridden hard and abused so yeah. 

*Sound: They sound similar to the Bajaj three wheeler, which also has a 200cc engine 😂. But the bigger KTMs sound good with their twin layout engines.

Also bro, the 125 and 250 offerings from KTM were Austrian imports. But the recent ones are now Indian too. The lankan import 200 and 390s are assembled in India. But quality assurance is there, and so is the attention to detail. You have to admit, the braided cables, the engine block, the embossed logos, the trellis frame construction, the welds, it's a work of art. Even the speedometer is almost similar to the one on the Xbow track car. You get your key with key code/ID card to identify your bike and scanning it will reveal the service information. 

Cool details like that make ownership worthy. Reminds me of the old Alfas with the flashy Busso V6. 

Thanks for the great response @AVANTE! Its very informative and it all seems very logical. I do agree that the 200 seems to be the best option among the lower capacity models and I will keep that in mind: Been seeing them around a bit and I am certainly tempted...  

[AVANTE]

2 hours ago, Kavvz said:

Thanks for the great response @AVANTE! Its very informative and it all seems very logical. I do agree that the 200 seems to be the best option among the lower capacity models and I will keep that in mind: Been seeing them around a bit and I am certainly tempted...  

Life's too short to ponder around. Try one out! You might love it. It's fairly easy to ride, just not the best option for doing a Colombo-Anuradhapura tour. 

[Kavvz]

2 hours ago, AVANTE said:

Life's too short to ponder around. Try one out! You might love it. 

True that! Got a car for sale, if that sells, maybe I'll get a little something to cheer myself up.... 😀

[AVANTE]

4 hours ago, Kavvz said:

True that! Got a car for sale, if that sells, maybe I'll get a little something to cheer myself up.... 😀

Nice, do keep us updated! Go for a 2nd hand low mileage (lots of low mileage ones around) Duke 200. Slightly more comfy and a bit more fun to zip around. Not as hard to do U-turns and maintenance as with the RC200 (due to the clip ons and fairings). It's also a bit lighter and less cost than the RC. You're only missing out on a bit of top speed due to the lack of aero, but rest all you have from the RC.