I haven't been much of an active member, but I joined this forum the day Street 750 was announced. bbably, Desert Tortoise, I have learned a lot from your posts (loved the trailer), and I thank you for that. I will be doing a test ride for the Street 750 on Tuesday, and will put in the booking amount in. By the way, delivery timelines as of yesterday are being quoted at 5-6 months by the dealer.
While I was at the dealership, I started thinking differently.
First, I'm in India, specifically Bangalore. I have been looking for a good bike for a very long time, and I fell in love the concept of long rides on a cruiser. Both me and my brothers love bikes - for the freedom they give - but more on that later.
What I want to do with the bike:
Travel all of South, West Coast, Northern Mountain ranges and the mountain ranges of all of East India. Might skip a bit on the middle of the country (it's kinda boring). What you should know about India, is that in the past 5 years, there has been a huge focus by both Indian and State governments to focus on Road Development. This has led to the travel culture seeping in - leading to more people buying more cars (and roads getting more crowded, sigh), and more avenues for adventures. We are also seeing more entrepreneurs from the city setup farms, homestays, resorts, etc. all over the lush countryside. So good roads (affording more speed), more travel options than before, and a better infrastructure were in place. What was needed was a good tourer for the affluent that would be able to take on India.
What I Need from the Bike:
Despite what I might say about the roads - atleast the highways - we still have many potholes and unscheduled speed breakers in the middle of nowhere coming and surprising you. Speed hence doesn't work well in India. But people still wanted a powerful bike, but it needed to have the following at it's core -
1. Powerful Engine, that would be able to survive the heat in India
2. Powerful Engine, that would be able to survive both the city traffic, be able to cruise on the highways, and be able to navigate dirt paths and bad roads.
3. High Ground Clearance for the pot holes and dirt paths mentioned above
4. 250kms + Range
5. Comfortable for both rider and pillion
Profile of HD India Customers:
Now lets take a step back and understand the customer segment for India for HD. It is different than the typical one abroad. The average motorcycle here sells for a $1,000 (50- 60,000). On Road the SuperLow 883 works out to $14,000 (700,000). To give you a perspective, an Audi A4, being bought by the affluent here costs $60,000 (3,000,000 INR), while the entry level car, Maruti Alto (800cc Engine) costs $7,500 (400,000 INR).
Well, I think that should have given you a view on who in India would buy the HDs. The Night Rod works out to $50K here.
All the HDs (before Street) have two major problems:
1. Low Ground Clearance
2. Aircooled engine that doesn't do well in city traffic
The SuperLow (100mm, which with a chassis upgrade can be extended to 125mm) and the Iron 883 (125mm) are just about good enough. From a price/ cruiser experience - getting the SuperLow to be able to work in India would mean the base price of $14K+another $1K for the chassis upgrade. That is the reason HD was still only doing 350 bikes a quarter for a population of 1.2Billion.
In comes street, and the numbers double, with a 6 month waiting cycle. Even a 600+ number per quarter is tiny compared to the potential in India - but it still is a strong indicator of the hunger here.
The Street fits all my basic criterion - but fails in some
1. Powerful Engine, that would be able to survive the heat in India. 883 delivers around 50 bhp and 70 Nm torque, while the 750 gives 46 BHP and 65 Nm. You can easily get the boost of atleast 5BHP by doing a few performance modifications.
2. Powerful Engine, that would be able to survive both the city traffic, be able to cruise on the highways, and be able to navigate dirt paths and bad roads.
3. High Ground Clearance for the pot holes and dirt paths mentioned above. 145mm
4. 250kms + Range. Easy
5. easy to Navigate in the city.
Fails in:
- 750 is not at all comfortable for the pillion - the seats too small.
- Shoddy workmanship on the plastics
- No Security systems
- Not so good brakes
Really Really expensive options.
There are many who complain that a 750cc should be able to deliver more performance than it actually does. A 250cc can outpace the street 750, and that's what many claim when they compare. People may rebuke that statement and say one is a cruiser, and the other is a race bike. We all know how this discussions going to go, so i'm gonna skip this section.
What do i need to do to the bike to make it perfect for me:
1. Need to find comfortable seats. I find it ridiculous that my brother had a custom seat made for the bullet for 5,000 (and I know he paid a lot), while HD charges me 25,000 for a seat that doesnt add much more comfort.
2. A good engine guard in India - the most expensive kind - won't exceed 5000. HD charges 9K. Ouch. Still, gap isnt too much.
3. V&H exhausts for 20,000. Dealer says that warranty is void even if the dealer themselves install it on the bike. Screaming Eagle Airfilter + Exhaust = 55,000 (could be more)
4. Wind Shield for 25,000. I want to buy this... but am not certain. Hate the fairing on the 750.
5. Saddle bags. No way I am buying those from HD. Withe help of the members on the forum, I'm sure we can all get better ones custom made, even one with an ice-box
6. Sissy bar and backrest - need to take the HD one.
7. Comfortable seat for the pillion rider. People matter more than machines. When people are comfy - they can feel the soul of the machine.
In Summary, Street 750 minus the HD tag is still a good buy because it's a well engineered machine (and the fact that there is no other option in this category yet). Tuesday's my test ride, and most probably i'll book the bike as well. Matt Black would be the color.
Cheers
While I was at the dealership, I started thinking differently.
First, I'm in India, specifically Bangalore. I have been looking for a good bike for a very long time, and I fell in love the concept of long rides on a cruiser. Both me and my brothers love bikes - for the freedom they give - but more on that later.
What I want to do with the bike:
Travel all of South, West Coast, Northern Mountain ranges and the mountain ranges of all of East India. Might skip a bit on the middle of the country (it's kinda boring). What you should know about India, is that in the past 5 years, there has been a huge focus by both Indian and State governments to focus on Road Development. This has led to the travel culture seeping in - leading to more people buying more cars (and roads getting more crowded, sigh), and more avenues for adventures. We are also seeing more entrepreneurs from the city setup farms, homestays, resorts, etc. all over the lush countryside. So good roads (affording more speed), more travel options than before, and a better infrastructure were in place. What was needed was a good tourer for the affluent that would be able to take on India.
What I Need from the Bike:
Despite what I might say about the roads - atleast the highways - we still have many potholes and unscheduled speed breakers in the middle of nowhere coming and surprising you. Speed hence doesn't work well in India. But people still wanted a powerful bike, but it needed to have the following at it's core -
1. Powerful Engine, that would be able to survive the heat in India
2. Powerful Engine, that would be able to survive both the city traffic, be able to cruise on the highways, and be able to navigate dirt paths and bad roads.
3. High Ground Clearance for the pot holes and dirt paths mentioned above
4. 250kms + Range
5. Comfortable for both rider and pillion
Profile of HD India Customers:
Now lets take a step back and understand the customer segment for India for HD. It is different than the typical one abroad. The average motorcycle here sells for a $1,000 (50- 60,000). On Road the SuperLow 883 works out to $14,000 (700,000). To give you a perspective, an Audi A4, being bought by the affluent here costs $60,000 (3,000,000 INR), while the entry level car, Maruti Alto (800cc Engine) costs $7,500 (400,000 INR).
Well, I think that should have given you a view on who in India would buy the HDs. The Night Rod works out to $50K here.
All the HDs (before Street) have two major problems:
1. Low Ground Clearance
2. Aircooled engine that doesn't do well in city traffic
The SuperLow (100mm, which with a chassis upgrade can be extended to 125mm) and the Iron 883 (125mm) are just about good enough. From a price/ cruiser experience - getting the SuperLow to be able to work in India would mean the base price of $14K+another $1K for the chassis upgrade. That is the reason HD was still only doing 350 bikes a quarter for a population of 1.2Billion.
In comes street, and the numbers double, with a 6 month waiting cycle. Even a 600+ number per quarter is tiny compared to the potential in India - but it still is a strong indicator of the hunger here.
The Street fits all my basic criterion - but fails in some
1. Powerful Engine, that would be able to survive the heat in India. 883 delivers around 50 bhp and 70 Nm torque, while the 750 gives 46 BHP and 65 Nm. You can easily get the boost of atleast 5BHP by doing a few performance modifications.
2. Powerful Engine, that would be able to survive both the city traffic, be able to cruise on the highways, and be able to navigate dirt paths and bad roads.
3. High Ground Clearance for the pot holes and dirt paths mentioned above. 145mm
4. 250kms + Range. Easy
5. easy to Navigate in the city.
Fails in:
- 750 is not at all comfortable for the pillion - the seats too small.
- Shoddy workmanship on the plastics
- No Security systems
- Not so good brakes
Really Really expensive options.
There are many who complain that a 750cc should be able to deliver more performance than it actually does. A 250cc can outpace the street 750, and that's what many claim when they compare. People may rebuke that statement and say one is a cruiser, and the other is a race bike. We all know how this discussions going to go, so i'm gonna skip this section.
What do i need to do to the bike to make it perfect for me:
1. Need to find comfortable seats. I find it ridiculous that my brother had a custom seat made for the bullet for 5,000 (and I know he paid a lot), while HD charges me 25,000 for a seat that doesnt add much more comfort.
2. A good engine guard in India - the most expensive kind - won't exceed 5000. HD charges 9K. Ouch. Still, gap isnt too much.
3. V&H exhausts for 20,000. Dealer says that warranty is void even if the dealer themselves install it on the bike. Screaming Eagle Airfilter + Exhaust = 55,000 (could be more)
4. Wind Shield for 25,000. I want to buy this... but am not certain. Hate the fairing on the 750.
5. Saddle bags. No way I am buying those from HD. Withe help of the members on the forum, I'm sure we can all get better ones custom made, even one with an ice-box
6. Sissy bar and backrest - need to take the HD one.
7. Comfortable seat for the pillion rider. People matter more than machines. When people are comfy - they can feel the soul of the machine.
In Summary, Street 750 minus the HD tag is still a good buy because it's a well engineered machine (and the fact that there is no other option in this category yet). Tuesday's my test ride, and most probably i'll book the bike as well. Matt Black would be the color.
Cheers
