Choosing a bike is so damn difficult...

The Great Dilemma – this is what one faces in choosing which bike to buy, out of a vast portfolio of offerings in the market. But for me, the thing has been worse.

My confusion started with a decision to be made between buying a car or a bike. Must be sounding absurd that why should there be a confusion since both cater to different needs. But my situation has been different. I just needed a vehicle, and had no inclination towards either a car or a bike.

And I got no help whatsoever at home in clearing the air, since Dad said Yes for both. The exact statements being “Ye bhi le sakte ho”, “ Jo lena hai le lo”, etc. :) Lots of constraints went in - like how much I need to travel, when would I shift to Pune, formalities while shifting, financial outflow, etc. etc. Eventually after lot of deliberation and discussion, we boiled down on taking a bike.
But now the Great Dilemma was in front of me. I knew for sure that I would go for 150cc+ segment, but even that has so many models, and each model has a variant. Bajaj Pulsar 150, Bajaj Pulsar 180, TV Apache RTR 160, TVS Apache RTR 180, Hero Honda Hunk, hero Honda CBZ Extreme, Yamaha FZ16. God! Bewildering situation. I decided to go and get the quotations for each, and also the financing options and festival offers, thinking that this might help me. But everywhere I went, things seemed to be identical. The specifications of all vehicles are so similar, that my mind stopped working. Totally blank.

I resorted to the next option – reading reviews. But bloody these reviews, there is no clear stance in the comparisons they make. They give the pros and cons of each, and leave an open ended frame of mind again. Waste of time going through those reviews.

Finally, I thought of asking the people who owned these bikes, and ask them about the performance, maintenance requirements, etc. I probably missed out on the fact that no one says bad about his/her own belongings. That is what happened with me. Everyone gave me a majestic view and vivid description of the attributes of their respective bikes. This exercise again went in vain.

Currently with a few days to go for Diwali, I am in such a fix that have not been able to decide anything. I need mileage, as well as power. I need looks, as well an economical proposition. Arghh. Leaving the choice to my Dad. If someone has suggestions, forward them to him, not me.