Opinion: Which Motorcycle Should You Buy?

It's a seemingly straightforward enough question, and something which we get to hear, and have to answer, quite frequently, be it on social media, emails, and even friends and acquaintances on the lookout for a new motorcycle. More often than not, the would-be buyer has a budget in mind, a shortlist of motorcycles, and what he or she intends to do with the said bike, or expects from it. We, as automotive journalists, and folks with exposure and experience of a wide range of products, do give our opinion as best as we can, and in an as unbiased and practical manner as we can. Eventually though, it's up to the buyer to decide which motorcycle works best for his or her requirement.

Part of the problem is deciding on what type of motorcycle to buy

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A couple of weekends ago, me and a couple of friends were out riding our motorcycles. After a sumptuous breakfast, as we headed out towards our parked bikes, a gentleman stopped his luxury sedan and stepped out, greeting us. Apparently, he was in the market for a new motorcycle and was having a hard time deciding what bike to buy. We had quite a mix match of different types of motorcycles - me on my Triumph Tiger 800 XC, one friend on his Ducati Diavel, and a third on an Indian Chieftain Dark Horse. The gentleman's requirements were simple - to ride with his friends on weekends, and maybe a few long rides involving a couple of hundred kilometres occasionally. My advice to him was to shortlist a few models and then take a test ride of each bike, to decide what works best for him.

Adventure tourers are big and heavy bikes, but offer superb long distance touring capability with decent handling

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Last night, I bumped into the same gentleman at a new model launch event of a reputed motorcycle brand. This time around, he did have a shortlist of motorcycles he had zeroed in on, to make a buying decision, but he was still undecided. He spoke to several people at the event, and despite several strong recommendations, he was clear about what he didn't want. At least one part of the problem is taken care of, I thought. Speaking to the gentleman for some time, it became clear to me, that it's not just advice he's seeking. He didn't like the way a particular engine configuration or two sounded like; fair enough, I thought. Part of the joys of riding a motorcycle is also the character of the engine, a torquey, rumbly v-twin may be someone's choice, while for someone else, nothing short of a screaming in-line four would do.

Scrambler-styled bikes offer great all-round capability

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The problem, I realised, is not even type of motorcycle, performance, or engine characteristic. The gentleman is from an increasingly upwardly mobile demographic; sort of a born-again biker, who has no real worries about spending any amount on a motorcycle, or about maintenance or running costs. I hope he comes to a decision soon, because I, for one, will not be able to help him decide. And that's when it struck me, that giving motorcycle buying advice isn't really as simple, and understanding the buyer's requirement is even more complex. To me, this particular gentleman's requirement sounded to be more image-driven, to own a relatively unique motorcycle, and of course, to experience the joys of riding one. On the way home, I couldn't help thinking if his would-be new motorcycle will be ridden as often, or would be mostly relegated to the parking lot at home, a year or two later, to end up on the Superbike Classifieds. Now, that would be a real pity.