I bought a brand new Shogun from the TVS Suzuki showroom on Bull temple road in Bangalore in 1995. I used it for about five years before selling it to my friend, who continued using it for five more years. In fact during my vacation to India last year, my friends dad was trying to sell it and I was tempted to buy it back. But then since I dont live in Bangalore anymore it would just rust and rot so decided against it.
Getting to the bike topic, It’s an awesome bike with great pickup (acceleration), handling, sound (or noise, whichever u prefer), and looks (dated now). The bike if maintained well, was good for city commute and for longer rides. I once rode to Mysore (one way ~ 150 km) and back in a single day, and made several trips to Nandi hills (~50 km) and had no problems with it. I kept the bike bone stock. Never felt the need for expansion chambers since the bike has ample power with stock pipe. I used to regularly take it to 90-95 kmph and it used to handle great. Mileage greatly depended on the way you rode. It gave me between 28 - 40 kmpl. In general it is a light and powerful and fun bike and those days, with the exception of the rd350, was the quickest vehicle on road.
Going to Nandi hills and the hill climb is the best riding that I did with this bike. For those of you that dont know about Nandi hills, it’s a hill located abt 50-60 km from Bangalore. It has a palace, hotel, temple etc, on the top and also the Tipus drop. Legends say that Tipu used to drop British prisoners from the top of that hill which took the poor slobs into a vertical descent of about 200-300 ft before their body and bones became chutney (minced). Anyways the fun about this ride was none of these things. It was the twisties that get you to the top and with a light and powerful bike these twisting roads are a pleasure. Downhill is a little trickier since it is easy to lose control if you are riding with your engine off. I definitely recommend Nandi hills ride to all bike enthusiasts. You get on Bellary road from Bangalore via mekary circle and take the road towards Nandi hills at Yelhanka. There are also some Dhabas on the way that serve tasty food and beer.
I am currently looking to buy a Yamaha R6 here and while researching bikes, I began remembering the Shogun days in Bangalore and thought I’d write something about it. Also before I forget, I gotto thank this bike from the bottom of my heart because it was a pussymagnet (being honest only 2) those days.