Planning to buy TBTS - Need help from gurus

[harishnayak]

Hi RE Gurus

I'm on the verge of buying a TBTS. The sole reason for me buying a TBTS is the passion for RE & it's history & presence , I chose TBTS as i personally feel it's the best looking ride from the RE stable.

I'm more of a car guy & own 3 cars on which i do rallying and cross country driving both but since i cannot rally with the TBTS so the prime usage of this bike would be to go on long rides with my wife or maybe for the RE meets that keep happening in Delhi & around

There are a few things on my mind for which i would need answers from the experts here.

1) Lot of people discouraged me from buying a TBTS as they say it has lot of technical problems - Considering long rides ( about 1000 km a day kinds ) do you suggest that TBTS can take that kind of a beating?

2) I don't mind pumping as much money as it requires during periodical services however am very skeptical about in-journey breakdowns as that spoils the mood of the trip ( atleast if i'm with my wife )

3) I'm a rugged guy and can overcome breakdowns but am still being cautious

4) Mileage is not a big problem for me as this bike would ONLY be used for long rides and maybe for RE meets and nothing else.

5) One major agenda is to go to Leh on this Bike so hopefully it's well equipped to take the beating.

6) I would keep the bike only for a year or so ( and if i fall in love then forever ) so would like to know the resale after an year. Current on-road price is about 1,10,000 in Delhi.

Although i've read many articles about TBTS but would like to know the answers for the questions above from the experienced lot.

I don't think i would buy any other bike if people here go against this choice but would like to know the pros & cons thoroughly before i take the plunge

[sunilg]

Query approved.

[Starter71_Kish]

Go ahead & pick up the bike..!! It wont let you down if you are using it only for highway riding..!!
More over it is the first bike from RE to be equiped with an UCE..!! Its proven on this bike for the past 3 years & has almost no issues.!!
Cheers.!!

[harishnayak]

Go ahead & pick up the bike..!! It wont let you down if you are using it only for highway riding..!!
More over it is the first bike from RE to be equiped with an UCE..!! Its proven on this bike for the past 3 years & has almost no issues.!!
Cheers.!!

Thanks for the info.

Went to the RE showroom in Jhandewalan extension to check the prices/finance options etc.

My 3 primary questions and would like

Q1 ) What are the finance options - I asked for 1 yr and 2 yrs. The on road price now is 1,14,500 and the finance would be done from a company called " Family credit company" - Has anyone heard of this company? He said it's offering 13.5% which is the lowest for a bullet , kindly confirm if possible.

Q2 ) Delivery - Upon submission of all documents it would take 2 days to process the documents and 1 day for delivery , so 3 days in total - Is this possible ? as i heard that the waiting time is way too much .

Q3 ) Premium number - Said i would get it if i cough up some money. Is there any other way of getting a premium/fancy number?

Now i'm totally excited to make the kill and get the TBTS home , hopefully i should finalize the deal this week. Can someone please help me with the questions above

[harishnayak]

Some additional questions

1. How far can i push the dealer to give me free accessories with it? The response was not too good when asked about discounts so did not check on the accessories.
2. Is it advisable to buy the Leg guard and the rear passenger LG from the showroom or is there a better place to buy them?
3. Planning to buy a Ninja helmet with it , Is there a better looking helmet? My friend is going to US on 31st so i have the option of getting one from the states
4. What are the other things that i should watch out for before i take the plunge? There can be many things that i might be missing out on.

PS - attached is the latest rate list of the bikes

[harishnayak]

Can someone please help me out with the above queries?

[haxor]

Some additional questions

1. How far can i push the dealer to give me free accessories with it? The response was not too good when asked about discounts so did not check on the accessories.Well buying bike is not buying a care where you can ask for accessories from the dealer.I guess you should take the delivery of the bike buy the accessories from accessories shop
   
2. Is it advisable to buy the Leg guard and the rear passenger LG from the showroom or is there a better place to buy them? RE showrooms keep leg guards with them? Better source it from the States as you stated,you'll get better deal there.
3. Planning to buy a Ninja helmet with it , Is there a better looking helmet? My friend is going to US on 31st so i have the option of getting one from the states. It doesnt matter how good a helmet looks,how much safety it provides that is what matters.Source it from States.Have a look at Bikebandit.com
4. What are the other things that i should watch out for before i take the plunge? There can be many things that i might be missing out on.Just search the forum and you'll get to know what things you need to check before taking the delivery of the bike
   

PS - attached is the latest rate list of the bikes

Answers in Bold

[harishnayak]

Hi Friends,

Booked the TBTS yesterday and expecting to get the delivery on 7th April

[harishnayak]

After a lot of contemplation whether i should take the Plunge to tame the Beast or not i took the call and Booked it.

Why Thunderbird ?

Although the entire RE stable is full of mean machines but my personal choice was TBTS due to its looks and the low seating ( not that i'm a short guy - I'm 5'9 )

The new UCE engine with self start and some delicious FE

Why a New One?

Since this was my first foray into the biking/Cruiser Bike world so i wanted a machine which should be single hand driven and should be with the latest technology

Main Objective to buy a TB

Always wanted to get LEH'ed and what's better than to do it on a Bullet

Now come the questions/suggestions

1) Which helmet to buy? Pics to follow - Suggestions needed

2) Leg Guard - Looks & needs to be the best and needs to do what it's meant to do

3) Helmet Lock - Need suggestions

4) Rear Leg Guard - Is it required? I would personally like to go for it.

I'm going to keep the TBTS bone stock as i believe that it's got everything except the things mentioned above

[Starter71_Kish]

Hi Friends,

Booked the TBTS yesterday and expecting to get the delivery on 7th April

Where did you book your bike..??

[harishnayak]

ESS AAR motors in Jhandewalan Extn in New Delhi. Why ? Something wrong?

[harishnayak]

Guys,

As promised i got the delivery on 7th April . Here are some interesting numbers that i would like to share before i go ahead

The receipt number of my Bike - 007
Date of bike purchase - 7th April
Bike number that i've booked -0077
The Bike had done - 7 kms when i was getting the delivery
MY DOB - 7/7 - And that why i took all the pains and pulled all possible strings to get the bike delivered to me on 7th

I was as excited as a baby when i was going to take the delivery of my TBTS and took me about 3 hours to complete all the formalities and learn about the bike etc.

I will share the detailed pictures later however here are few pictures for now
Meter @ 7 kms


PROUD me with my Birdie at delivery


My Ninja 3 G

[Satyamzma]

congrats for your lucky 7 Bike...You look like Abhishek Bacchan

[ashfeb14]

i m ashwin from chennai i ll use my bike for daily use and will trip twice or thrice in a month i m planning to buy tbts through csd(military canteen) i m just 5"7 my question will tbts look gud for a guy of my height and i m a student now so have to consider fuel consumption and maintainability also bulleters please help i took a test drive of electra its good but my parents feel it has old look so they suggest me thunderbird please please help me bhpians i have an alternate ride as karizma zma r(not zmr)