The Royal Leap

Launched on November 26th 2013 in India, i finally got my hands on the Royal Enfield continental GT.

When this bike was first displayed at the 2010 auto expo in Delhi, i became its fan just by the looks of it! The bike was launched internationally in the middle of last year and Royal enfield took 6 more months to send it to India. This is the first Indian motorcycle which was launched internationally before it was launched here. 

The bike has been very successful in international markets with Europe its centre of focus.

I totally understand why it is so successful outside, because it is extremely beautiful and relatively cheap than other cafe racers.

The Bike as i mentioned earlier IS very beautiful and probably the most good looking bike you can buy in India under Rs. 4 Lac.

The bike though has been priced at Rs 2.06 Lac(On-road, Indore)

Well priced, I'd say because once you see it even you would say that.

The bike carries the royal enfield's motto of designing modern old bikes like the bullet and the classic bikes. The bike is basically a cafe racer and it surely looks the part. But by not any means does it looks dated and you somehow get the sense that the bike is modern.

When you compare the C-GT to other Royal Enfields you realise that the company has gone to enormous lengths to make this bike look and perform unlike any other enfields. It is totally out of league of the others and broken every benchmark that were set by The Thunderbird 500. 

The bike is very well made but the build could've been better. You can see the welds on the chassis which is not a very welcoming sight for a bike worth Rs. 2 Lac. But still as i said earlier the build quality is at par with other enfields. The bike looks like it has a very dedicated riding position but trust me it ins't and contrary to its looks it is quiet comfortable. 

But trust me looks aren't the only party piece of this enfield. The engine used in this bike is the same fuel injected 500cc unit used on classic 500 and thunderbird 500, but here it is stroked out to 535cc. With more CCs comes more power, exactly 29bhp and 44Nm of torque. These are entry level performance bike figures! But here is the catch- the bike weighs 180 Kgs! The engine is much much better than the 500cc unit. It is much much quicker and happy revving. You can revv it to its 5500 Rpm redline without any lag. The throttle response is also much much better. The Bike also boasts awesome performance with 60kmph coming in 4 seconds and 100kmph in 12 seconds. These are not record shattering figures but still the best of royal enfield. 

The Ride

The bike has very nice suspension setup with a little inclination towards ride than performance. But still this is still no slouch when you show it some corners and is very confidence inspiring in corners even better than the Honda CBR250R. The bike is best handling Royal Enfield ever. It is the same during braking. The bike sheds speed like a child sheds his clothes when he sees a pool.

But all of the performance, braking, power and speed stuff doesn't matter with this bike! The only thing that matters with this bike is the feel and attention you get when you ride this bike. Royal Enfield is probably the only bike maker in India which make bikes that have souls. At this point most you might be thinking that i have gone insane talking about souls in bikes. But no, i am 100% aware of what i am saying. If you look at the spec-sheet of a RE you will realise that its bikes are technologically as advanced as a spoon. Then why do people buy them? Because of the 'feel' REs offer. You can never be sad when you ride a RE. And this is the reason why REs are most. You bond emotionally with REs. And then there is the sound these machines make. The sound is literally an orgasm for ears, same is the case with C-GT. The sound is very different from other REs but still is sweet for the ears. 

Being RE this also has its drawbacks. Not a big list but still there are a couple. Firstly the bike has a very big problem of vibration which starts from around 3000-3200RPm and stays till the end of rev band. The vibration is a very big problem because vibration loosens everything up on a bike which is not exactly built like a Mercedes. Long distance cruises in speeds in excess of 100kmph are hard and will leave your hands numb at the end of the journey, But cafe racers are not exactly built for cruising. The other problems are not major and are only concerned with visible welds and some glitches in painting.

With this bike RE have gone to enormous lengths to make it look, perform and specially feel like a cafe racer and they have certainly achieved what they sought after. So what it is not the best motorcycle, It is no doubt the best RE. And a person who doesn't know what is it like to own a RE will never consider this bike as an option if he/she is looking for performance. Every performance enthusiast will prefer the KTM Duke 390 which is similarly priced but offers much better performance and incorporates state of the art technology, but as i said earlier it is never about performance when you talk about REs. A RE can never give you worldly pleasure like speed and acceleration but what they are capable of only few bikes will do that. They capture your heart. You will buy a KTM duke 390 and when you will be riding it and once in a while you will see this bike in traffic and you will think what a douche! He bought the wrong motorcycle! similarly when the RE rider will see you he will think the same for you. He might be true or he might not be true but i am pretty sure that he loves his motorcycle much more than you ever will.

Buying a bike in this range takes a lot of thinking becaus Rs. 2 lac is not cheap and you probably have worked your ass off to earn it.  so you will make a desicion that makes sense in the head. Most of the decisions you make in life are made by your brain. But once make a decision with heart you will have a sparkling red, beautiful Continental-GT standing in your garage waiting for you.

Welcoming you.

Power To The AAM AADMI

Every time I review an exotic car or bike which is much much away from a common man's reach. This time I break the norm.

This time I've gone for the much accessible TVS Apache RTR 180. Well at rs 90k on road it still is not so cheap but for an enthusiast on a budget this makes a very tempting buy.

The bike has a very controversial design with the devil's eyes headlamps. I, personally like the design very much and think those headlamps are pretty cool. Except those headlamps the bike looks pretty neat with very few cuts and flares. You might as well call it conservative. The bike is available in 3 very conservative colours: black, white and grey.

The bike comes with a lot of equipment for its range and even bikes which are much costlier don't have it!
The instrument panel is very neat with a digital speedometer which also couples up with 2 trip meters, a 0-60kmph timer and a top speed recorder. There is also an analog tachometer. The backlight colour is blue which gives proper visibility in the night. The buttons and switches are of top quality and don't leave you with anything to complain about. The instrument cluster is very neatly surrounded by high quality plastic which has a texture like that of carbon fibre. The fit and finish is very well and build quality is top notch and of levels you don't expect in this price range.

So even before starting it you are already impressed by it. Score 1 for TVS.

Now as soon as you sit on it you you that your legs are very close up to your body. TVS calls it mass centralisation, I call it cramped riding position. The bike is very compact and that further helps your driving abilities in traffic. 

The Engine

So as soon as you thumb the starter a very throaty and deep voice welcomes you and the same voice stays with you till the better part of 9000 RPMs with larger intensity and more frequency added. Then you slot it into first gear with a neat gearshift pedal and you realise the gearshifts are very precise and butter smooth. Then as soon you start riding it in traffic at speeds of 30-40 you realise what a phenomenal engine it is! The engine is a 180 cc single cylinder which produces 17 ps of power but that power is the peak power which you get at 8500 RPM and top speed of 126 kmph  upto which most of the people wont even take it!
But the sweet thing about its engine is its mid range torque which gives you almost instantaneous change of speed and then you realise what a missile this bike is. Most of the bikes deliver their peak torque very close to their peak  power but in apache you get peak torque at just 6500 RPM. Once you get past 3000-3500 RPM you drown in an enormous wave of torque and before you realise you are in speeds in excess of 80kmph. One of the biggest reason to love this bike is the midrange. It is so phenomenal that you get addicted to it and you deliberately ride it below 3000 RPM to experience the midrange.

 But once you get to speed you don't have to worry about it because the you have another big reason to love it: BRAKES

I was wrong above because midrange torque is not the only thing you'll get addicted to. Braking in this bike is another big thing you'll love about it. The brakes are very precise and have very gradual bite. But once you pull the lever as hard as you can then you realise their awesomeness. There is no drama at all! The bike comes to a very rapid halt. The only damage done is to your face which is teared off during the braking. YES the bike stops that quickly. The bite that these brakes offer is tremendous and so addictive that you might find your face teared off more often than you imagined.These are the most confidence inspiring brakes you can get in this price range. Also you have to get used to it because initially you tend to stop much earlier than you thought. The bike also comes with an ABS option which is 5k more than the standard. 

The Ride

The bike rides very well with the suspension setup more inclined towards sportiness than comfort. But it doesn't mean that it is uncomfortable in any way. This is where its cramped riding position comes into play and gives you proper control of bike while taking corners. The bike remains planted all through the corner.The suspension setup hence is very driver friendly and confidence inspiring.

The Cons

The only con that this bike has is the vibration and like the midrange torque the vibration also comes in lumps and spoils the experience. The vibes start just around 4500-5000 RPM and stay with you till the redline. The vibration is very prominent and after a long time it starts killing the machine with the front headlight cluster and all the footrests getting loose and start making noise.But mostly the this bike is used for commuting and so it doesn't affect most of the people.

I don't see a reason for someone having budget of around 80-90k buying any other motorcycle than this!
It is practical, reliable and mostly gives you adrenaline rush at a price that wont burn a hole in your pocket. I am still awestruck by its braking and its midrange grunt. It sounds nice too. It disappoints me that despite all these qualities the bike is mildly successful and though much ahead of the competition it hasn't caught on. But if you give me Rs. 90k I'd get myself one without waiting for a minute and without thinking about any other bike. And my love is not new found for this bike, I've loved it since it was launched and it would be delight if i owned one.

Senselessly it does make sense.

This time I drive THE ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINE. Yes a couple of BMWs and both of them are absolutely perfect for the job they are designed to do.

SO in this post I'll tell you about the cheaper one and save the best for last. So the cheapest BMW - the 1 series. Its not cheap though the basic model without any convenience features costs rs. 31 lakh (on-road indore) . The second variant which I would suggest to go for with all the features except Bi-Xenon headlamps is Rs. 34 Lakh(on-road indore) and The one with Bi-Xenon headlamps for some senseless reason costs Rs.37 lakh(on-road indore). So having dropped the price bomb first I'll now continue with the review.

SO, how Good is the 1 series? Let me tell you one thing that it spits in the face of all the people who say it's priced senselessly and say that the Merc-A class its chief competitor costs less as much as Rs 10 lakh is better buy. The car is an absolute hoot to drive.I've waited all my life to drive a car like this. It is so fun to drive that ever since I've driven it, i cant get over the fact that i don't own one and wont be able to own a 1 series of this generation. Everything on that car is absolutely perfect! The steering despite being electrically assisted gives proper feedback and is very very responsive. The ZF 8 speed automatic gearbox installed in it is globally acknowledged as one the best gearboxes of all time, and it's not just me, everyone in the world of motoring loves it! the gearshifts are smooth and fast despite it being a single clutch transmission. The only thing which would further enhance gearshifts are paddle shifts. But without those also the gearbox is awesome!

The Ride

I cannot Imagine how much thought and research has gone into configuring the suspension of this car!
The ride is Perfect. I believe there is no car with a better ride/stiffness balance than this one. The suspension is an engineering marvel. The ride despite being comfortable, always gives the driver confidence to drive it sportily without any body roll whatsoever! Until driving this car i believed it was impossible to have this sort of suspension setup, its always either sporty or comfortable but somehow this car does both effortlessly!

But the party piece of this car is the engine! I drove the BMW 118D that is the diesel and from being a petrolhead, for me diesel is a satanic fuel. But my thoughts about diesels are now totally changed. The 2 litre turbocharged diesel produce 143Bhp and an ample 320NM of torque. This sort of power is nothing short of astounding for diesels! And despite Being  a diesel it Revvs up to 6000 RPM! YES 6000!! again despite being diesel this one is free revving. Until now i couldn't associate free revving with diesel but this one changes the norm. The engine is also very refined and there is not even the slightest hint of turbo-lag.

The Interiors

The interiors of this car follow typical BMW approach of function over form. Still the interior quality is pretty nice but i feel for a car that costs Rs. 34 lakh more leather could be used.

Overall the car is an extremely tempting buy for an enthusiast. But still this is the car for young generation and it shows. The only thing that stands in the competition is the BMW 3 series. But its not even close to this in terms of the driver friendliness which this car offers. Even I was a big critic of this car because of its pricing but from the time I've driven it I've become a die hard fan of this car and now i realise that pricing is perfect! What more can you expect for a car costing Rs. 34 lakh? This car gives you everything that an enthusiast seeks- rear wheel drive, outstanding ride, marvellous gearbox and a butter smooth engine. Every car has its faults and this one also has some like it isn't as Striking as the BMW 3 series or as beautiful as the Merc A class but once you drive this one you wouldn't mind if this car looked like a HM Ambassador. Literally.

The more I think about this car the more it grows over me and the more it makes me SAD. why sad??
because by the time I will be old enough to buy one the 1 Series will come with front wheel drive. Now i am absolutely sure that BMW will make the front wheel driven car as much fun to drive as this one but it will never be this one! So if you are planning to get one, get one NOW because you might never have a chance to buy a car which is as perfect as this one!

So Ultimately when Its a beemer it always makes sense.