2 marks answer : My next bike is a Honda Highness. Named Teesta.
10 marks answer :
Last I left the story with me giving away the keys of my KTM Adventure 390.
Then the leaving the country did not happen. That is another story in itself!
And I was left without a bike. What sacrilege.
Now and then I tried riding San’s Vulcan but I was not happy. The cruiser riding position was not to my liking. Also being a super bike I have to take extra care to park and keep an eye where I park – what if it gets towed or something.
First Stop – Triumph
I started my YouTube research. And it was full of Triumph videos. “Speed” and just released “Scrambler 400”.
I liked the Scrambler specs. It was more closer to Adventure 390. However the height was still a bother. It was only 20mm less than my Adventure 390.
One Saturday morning we went to checkout the Scrambler at Mahadevpura, Whitefield Showroom. Morning I was riding San’s Vulcan for a few chores. I got the test ride vehicle and immediately felt deflated. It was similar to getting on the Adventure 390 – I had to tip toe a bit, and the bike had no soul. Shouldn’t have compared with Vulcan perhaps.
Next time on the road you watch these old 150cc bikes. There will be a zhzhzhzhh kind of sound made by the loose chain. I felt something similar.
Both bikes looked really nice. However the looks did not translate to the ride. Perhaps they should have maintained the test ride vehicle better.
Second Stop – Kawasaki, Whitefield
This is where San gets her Vulcan serviced. They did not have a single test ride vehicle – only the customer’s vehicles. I wanted to look at the Eliminator but they didn’t not have any.
San wanted me to sit on the Ninja 300. I did as per the Hukum but did not like the posture one bit.
Third – Non Stop – Royal Enfield Whitefield
I went back to YouTubing and Team BHP.
Looks like I was spoilt with the Power and Torque of Adventure 390. I should stick to higher CCs and twin cylinders. And San said you shouldn’t downgrade.
Super Meteor 650 CC was poking my eyes. It was less than 5L and looked gorgeous. The YouTube videos I saw did not give me confidence – has got lot of style and oomph but the brake pads getting worn off quickly, some loose bits here and there – etc. are still there with RE. Decided to overlook.
Though it had a cruiser stance – the feet were not as far ahead like Vulcan – I thought let me take a test ride and decide.
We both had gone for a mid-week vazhkai pirachanai chat at a coffee shop ( we sometimes take time out to specifically discuss our work life etc. keeps us sane ) – and return I wanted to stop at RE. However I overshot the shop and we had to take a mega U Turn – the Whitefield traffic flow is the 8th Wonder of the world. We dropped the idea saying let’s come back on weekend. And we never went.
Fourth Stop – Kawasaki Lavelle Road.
I thought – perhaps I should test ride a Ninja 300.
I have felt Kawasaki’s engine – via Vulcan – it is a lovely piece of engineering. It’s a joy to ride a well engineered machine.
Also Ninja 300 falls under Sports Tourer.
Something about my preference : I don’t do office commutes and I hate riding in City. I love the highways and long rides. I still nurse the ambition to do a solo cross country trip. I want the bike to support me there.
The only test ride vehicle they had was for the Ninja 300. It is a 8 year old design, manufactured only in India – for India market – so the price is kept around 3L – and was within my budget. But this bike was poorly maintained.
There was no soul, life, power – nothing. I had to twist the throttle so much to get the bike moving. And I didn’t like the race bike stance one bit.
We did some window shopping. Eliminator looked nice but I felt Vulcan is much better. Ninja 500 was just released – there was one on display. Looked bigger, seat height was ok – but it was touching 8Lakhs + and they didn’t have an Engine guard. Because they do not manufacture in India and it is imported. The accessories are expected by end of year. Imagine getting this and dropping the machine – or you have parked somewhere and some car hits your bike.
I knew I didn’t want any of these bikes.
Fifth and Final Stop – Honda Big Wing
At this point I was a tad bit disappointed. Just wish they made Adventure 390 a little less taller.
However, they cannot – for the purpose of off-roading the ground clearance has to be kept high.
I had read about Honda’s NX 500. Even though I was not planning to get one I thought let me at least get a test ride since we had come to Bangalore city.
They had NX 500 but it had gone for a test ride. Also the Sales rep said waiting time is till Feb 25!
The downer was this was fully imported. So it was north of 7Lakhs.
They had parked a bunch of CB 350s. Including Highness. I decided to give a shot at Highness.
The moment I sat on it I knew – this is it. I did not even had to ride it. The stance height everything was perfect.
The bike felt so light to straddle.
The horn and indicator switches were a bit off. But the speedometer was round and neat.
It was a perfect Bangalore day. Weather was hovering in the 24s, the test ride too me into Cubbon park – a nice long stretch and could touch 5th gear.
The bike was silky smooth. The clutch was very light. Gear changes were like clicking a mouse.
I had made up my mind.
But San wanted me to try the bigger CB 350. I took it for a spin but my mind was made up on the Highness.
Made the payment via UPI the next few days – to a total of 2.8 Lakhs including accessories. Next Saturday went and picked up the bike.
With me is Pavan. He was very knowledgeable and helpful. He explained how Slipper clutch worked.
That’s the story of Teesta!
Why Teesta. When we went to Sikkim we made a promise. We will be back with our bikes and ride them all the way to the source of Teesta.
Her Highness is Green. And so is Teesta.
Hence Teesta!
Some more photos of Teesta and us.
All green 🙂
