Bike prices, specs and EMI, without the showroom spin

Two Bajaj dealers in Pune told me the same thing within a week of each other: the N160 has been selling faster than they can stock it, and a bigger version is coming. Test mules have been photographed near Chakan with a wider rear tyre and a taller tank, which lines up with what I saw on the road in July.

If Bajaj keeps the N160's chassis and simply stretches the engine, that is good news. That bike already turns nicely and does not punish you on broken tarmac. What people actually want is a little more pull in fourth and fifth gear on the highway, and roughly 18 more cc should sort that out.

I have ridden the 210 on gravel in Kumaon and the only real complaint was the engine running out of breath on long climbs with luggage. A 300cc single with the same 21-inch front wheel and the same soft, forgiving suspension would fix that without ruining what makes the bike likeable.

Hero has been showing a 300cc platform at expos for a while now, so this is not a rumour built from nothing. The question is weight. Cross 180 kg and it stops being the bike you can pick up alone on a trail, which is the whole point of an Xpulse.

Royal Enfield has an excellent liquid-cooled 452cc motor sitting in the Himalayan and no reason to keep it there. A scrambler using the same engine with a 19-inch front wheel, shorter suspension and a flat seat is the obvious next move, and camouflaged bikes have been doing rounds in Chennai traffic since spring.

This is the one I would tell a friend to wait for if they are torn between a Classic 350 and a Himalayan. You get the newer engine and six speeds, but you are not lugging around a windscreen and a 21-inch wheel you never use in the city.

The current RTR 310 is quick and well built, but two owners I spoke to at a Hosur meet complained about heat in stop-start traffic and a throttle that felt jumpy in rain mode. TVS has been quietly reworking the fuelling maps, and an updated model with better low-speed manners is expected before the year closes.

Do not expect more power. Expect a bike that behaves properly at 20 km/h in second gear, which honestly matters more for the way most of us ride.