RD Rides

What's in a name, they say? Well if you are trying to trace one's roots, a lot. That said, the all new Tata Sierra is as closely related to the original Sierra as I am to King Cyrus The Great. The OG Sierra was a beast. It was large, it was expensive, it had character, it had attitude, it commanded respect and despite all of that, it had flopped. The ride was busy, the engines were anemic, the 3 door set up was impractical, the glass panels made ac cooling ineffective, the list is long. Over its life cycle, it was such a sales disaster that Tata Motors had to eventually pull the plug on it. That said, after the Safari, if there is one Tata Motors brand that delivers nostalgia by the dollops, it is the Sierra! It was but natural that after resurrecting the Safari moniker, if Tata Motors had to turn to their next big nostalgic brand, it had to be the Sierra. So how Sierra is the new Sierra or should I say, how Land Rover is the new Sierra? Lets find out. If car looks could kill, ...

  TVS Racing has been involved in motorsports since 1982, making it India's first factory racing team. In 2007, they developed the RTR 250 FX, a motorcycle that went on to win 12 national championships in supercross, motocross and rally. In 2015, they developed the TVS 450 Rally and became the 1st Indian manufacturer in the Dakar Rally. With a pedigree like that, when they said they're going to launch an adventure motorcycle, everybody stood up and took notice. So how good is the new TVS RTX 300? Has the decades of rally experience at TVS racing trickled down to technology that we can enjoy on the road? Is it too hardcore for a layman or too soft for the experienced rider? There's only one way to find out! I had seen numerous pictures and videos of the RTX before I visited the showroom but trust me, nothing prepared me for the size of it in person. The tall, rally inspired stance, the bulky looking tank, the long seat extending into the rear rack, the wide tyres, the tall s...

Susegad in Konkani refers to a relaxed, content and fulfilled way of life. It means not taking life too seriously and living in the moment. It means everything that a big city therapist would prescribe you to do when you're burning out and edging on the D word. It's often mistaken as a lazy way of life. It is instead, a mindful way of life.  Why am I talking about being Susegad in a motorcycle review you ask? It is because of the newly launched Royal Enfield Goan Classic 350. A motorcycle that pays homage to the hippy culture that once flourished in extreme North Goa. If you've been to that part of Goa prior to 2020, I'm sure you would've come across chopped up REs with funky colour schemes, being ridden by topless male or bikini clad female expats with wind in their hair and stuff in their pockets. It is this rave culture that RE has decided to pay homage to. Don't believe me? Check out the names of the colours on offer: Shack Black, Trip Teal, Purple Haze and ...

I am impressed. I'm very, very impressed. Fun is not something that we would associate with Royal Enfield motorcycles. Freedom, yes. Adventure, maybe. But fun? Never! Well, not yet that is. Because RE has launched a bombshell of a motorcycle bang in the middle of the 400cc chaos curated by the factories of Bajaj and Hero. Ladies and gentlemen: The Guerrilla 450.  When I rode the Himalayan 450, somehow the motorcycle didn't feel complete. Yes, it handled well, braked well, had good ride quality and all that but it always felt like a sum of parts. That platform never felt like an ADV platform. That's because it wasn't. Now with the Guerrilla and the small tweaks that it brings along, this platform comes to life. This was always a roadster platform and it shines the brightest in the Guerilla iteration. One look at the motorcycle and you cannot help but appreciate the minimalism in design. The LED headlights, the offset speedo console, the flat and wide tank, th...

The Oxford dictionary defines the word "Scramber" as a person who walks over steep, mountainous terrain as a pastime. Back in the early 1900s some British motorcyclists decided to do just that, but on two wheels. For that purpose, they took normal motorcycles and fitted them with bigger suspensions and voila! A whole new genre of motorcycles were born and they were called: the Scramblers! As time went by, motorcycles became increasingly specialised and iterations of the OG Scrambler like the ADVs or the dirt bikes were developed to do what the Scramblers once did. Not too long ago, the legendary British motorcycle brand Triumph launched the Scrambler 1200, resurrecting the iconic design and do it all capabilities of a Scrambler and it became an instant hit amongst adventure seekers and everyday riders alike. Going by the success of the larger Scramblers and the growing demand for affordable, adventure ready motorcycles globally, Triumph dropped another bombshell o...

Long years ago, Royal Enfield made a tryst with destiny and now the time comes when they shall redeem their pledge. Not only on and off road here in India but also at the toughest automotive event in the world: The Dakar Rally!  With that prologue, ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the leanest, the meanest and the most capable Royal Enfield ever made: The Himalayan 450! It's an all new, ground up motorcycle and it shares exactly 0 parts with the older Himalayan 411 that it replaces. What Royal Enfield have thrown at this motorcycle will just blow your mind to tiny bits. It gets liquid cooling, 6 gears, ride by wire throttle, riding modes and a colour TFT display that can cast your mobile screen, including Google Maps! So how does all of this translate to the riding experience of the new Himalayan? Should the competition simply pack their bags and leave already? Moreover, should YOU buy the all new Himalayan and should you buy it NOW? Lets start with the all ...

It's one thing to have a girlfriend, another to make her your wife. When I bought my Jimny in August this year, I had had two test drives of around 5 kms each. Now with over 3500 kms on the clock, I know a lot more about her than before. So here it is. Ownership review of my Jimny Alpha MT, in a question - answer format, completely unbiased (I'll try): 1. Is it overpriced? Ans- Let's tackle the elephant in the room first. Price is what you pay, value is what you get. For the capability and the versatility that this car delivers, there's a lot more value attached to the Jimny than the price it commands. With year end discounts currently available, the deal gets even sweeter. It is the cheapest 5 door, 4*4 car available in India by a big, big margin. Can't beat the value proposition.  2. Is it underpowered?  Ans- Fully stock, yes. With a just basic mod like a throttle controller, it's a day and night difference. Possibly to meet the ever increasing emi...

Seldom in history do you find two cars this similar in intent and yet this different in execution. The Mahindra Thar is the personification of badass.  This is how big bad American off-roaders are made. The unmistakable Jeep styling, the tall stance, the bulging wheel arches, the huge 18 inch wheels and two very, very powerful engine options that make the Thar not only badass but extremely capable both on and off-road. The Jimny, on the other hand, is the personification of minimalism. It's a hermit who carries all his essential belongings with him in a small bundle of cloth. Small body, small tyres, small engine and two decade old gearboxes. All of this to ensure the car remains light on its feet and lives up to the "mountain goat" tag that its predecessor in India, the Gypsy had earned for itself.  In fact, so obsessed were Suzuki engineers with weight savings that they decided to even do away with essentials like bottle holders and cubby holes! Is this even a fair comp...

SUV. The car type that every buyer aspires to buy and the category that every manufacturer wants a piece of the pie of today. The result is quite cringeworthy, honestly. Give a car slightly more ground clearance than a typical sedan or hatchback and voila! You've designed an SUV! What hurts more is that these pseudo SUVs are some of the highest selling car models in the country today. Few SUV buyers even know what the S in the name SUV stands for. It stands for "sport". It means going higher, farther and deeper into terrain that few would dare to even enter. It means discovering new places, making new friends, experiencing new cultures and making new memories. More than anything else, it means freedom. Freedom from being limited by the road conditions or the terrain or the weather while choosing where to travel next. Sadly, very few cars available on a budget in India today can provide you with that freedom and the ones that do, are so one dimensional, they feel out of pl...

The Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650. What a name! In one glance you know it's a cruiser, a 650 twin and more capable than your non super Meteor 350. They could have simply named it the Meteor 650 but that would have been like serving idli without sambhar or dal without tadka or sushi without wasabi. The Super brings the zing in the name and in the way it makes you feel. Nobody does marketing better than Royal Enfield, you gotta give it to them for this one. The styling of the Super Meteor is that of a premium category cruiser. The top end Celestial variant, especially in the red and white paint scheme with its tall windscreen and pillion backrest looks like an Indian motorcycle from a distance. Like an Indian "Super" Chief to be precise. While the lower Astral and Interstellar variants look much like the Harley Davidson Dyna range of motorcycles. It's not a blatant copy like how the Thar - Wrangler relationship is. It's more of a true to the tee cruiser design wher...

The much awaited Jimny was recently showcased at the Nexa showroom, South Bombay. They had made quite an event out of it. There was a live band, compere, snacks and refreshments arranged for the pot bellied, middle aged enthusiasts eagerly awaiting the unveil. After being seated under loud music mostly comprising classic hindi songs (yeh mera dil pyaar ka deewana types) for over an hour, it was getting a bit irritating. The compere tried infusing some energy into the crowd by doing the typical "are you all excited? i can't hear you" drill. Finally, just as I was about to snap and walk out, they obliged and lifted the curtains off the sparkling bright Kinetic Yellow Jimny. My first impression as I saw the Jimny in the flesh was: what is it? Such was the scale of the hype created by Maruti and social media that the one word that came to my mind when I first saw the car was "underwhelming". The Jimny looks way bigger in photos and videos than it does in...