Re: Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

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Servicing time post free servicing period

Hello all!!
I have completed free service period of my RE thunderbird. What is the service time after this period? What is the general frequency? Since I am not following the KMs pattern so I am going by the days pattern. For example I have done my fifth servicing on 29th November '15. When should I service my bike? What is the frequency?

Thanks,

Ritabroto

Seventh Service At Voyage Motors, Udaipur

Today, I rode to Voyage Motors, Udaipur and got my bird serviced in my presence without any prior appointment. M/s Jasbir Singh Gandhi and his son, Jatin Gandhi took personal interest in getting my bird serviced on top priority. Not only that. Mr Jasbir Singh Gandhi test-rode my bird after servicing to confirm that everything was alright. I got back my bird at 2 pm. Blue Bird has already completed 4,150 km of Golden Quadrilateral ride. Now, she is fit as a fiddle to complete the remaining 2 k km.

Re: Seventh Service At Voyage Motors, Udaipur

Sir, Im regularly following your little escapade in your "other" thread, though not a member there. Best of luck to you and God speed..

Re: Seventh Service At Voyage Motors, Udaipur

Those little escapades were the rehearsals for this great escapade! Thanks for the appreciation and wishes, deejayrox.

Re: Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

Hi all,


This is about Matte paint Care, i own a TBT350 Matte/Stone black.


After the second service(3000KMs) when i got the bike back i was shocked to see so many small scratches in the tank that were visible only on close inspection. I argued with the service center guys since it was not there before but they keep telling that it was present Pre-Service itself and since they did water wash its visible now - An answer i was not satisfied with.However, Until that i did not use a microfiber cloth, but a normal old vest cloth only to clean my bike daily. After this encounter i did some research on matte pain care.


So i'm putting together few points i have gathered over my time with this paint,

DON'T:

- Don't wipe dry, Always use a microfiber duster to dust before wiping.
- Don't use general bike wash shampoo as it will make the paint glossier.
- Never Wax, it will again make the bike glossier.
- Don't go for Teflon coating.
- Don't place rough edged luggage on your tank.

DO's:

- Always use microfiber cloth for cleaning matte areas
- Dust it daily, Remove any sticky dusts like bird poop or spilled food items, grease immediately.
- Use water only cleaning for . Remember to dust it before washing it with water.
- After researching i found out window glass cleaner spray can be used with matte paint and is very effective while still maintaining the matte look.(Your Ideas?)
- Use Two buckets of water, one for making the cloth wet another for wash the cloth after wiping.


There are specially formulated liquid for matte paint, Harley got HD Denim Cleaner &another one is Dr. Beasley's.
But These are not available easily in India. So glass Cleaner is the one i use now and have pretty good results.


Please pour in your thoughts ideas on this.

Re: Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

Thanks for this info aziz,

I have my tb5 in black matte as well,
She got scratches on her tank by the bag I took in front while a long drive, well what i do is, mostly, got a big cotton cloth and a bungee net, I keep my tank covered for my daily use, this way i dont have to be worried about her when she is in parking.....

Good idea about glass cleaning liquid... Would try it next time

Re: Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

How often do you guys wash your bikes?

Re: Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

Matte attracts scratches like no other. I got plenty of them on my tank. Also, the sides of the tank has become glossy because of gripping at speeds. I choose to ignore, it's too much pressure to maintain matte texture/color

That glass cleaner idea is new. Will try it. Thanks.

Re: Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

I do it every two weeks !

Re: Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

Hey guys i have seen many a matte thunderbirds opting for tank pads out here in Hyd. that prevents That area of tank from becoming shiny.

Re: Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

I don't think RE is doing a great paint job.
It's too sensitive & gets scratched easily. I have a lighting color.
As regards Stone black it looks fabulous in showroom n new bikes. Invariably it starts shining after a few months.

Bajaj has introduced Matt in avenger. Looks good even after months.

Re: Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

Hi Guys.. I have a pulsar 200ns and I am planning to exchange it with Thunderbird only bcoz of the hard suspension in 200ns. Otherwise i love that bike.

I have found a couple 2013 TBTS 500s but had a few questions before I make the deal as I am new to RE:

1. Are there any known issues/weak points that I should check before buying?

2. Have heard of FI issues for some TBTS 500s. Is that true? If yes, how can that be identified? Is it repairable if something goes wrong?

3. I am hoping that the suspension should be softer than 200ns. Do you second my opinion?

4. The guy that I am planning to buy TBTS doesn't have the original silencer. He has put some after market silencer. Does it have any effect on the engine? I am planning to buy original silencer as soon as I buy. How much does that cost?

Any help would be really appreciated.

Re: Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

My bike is almost a year old and have done 8K kms. No problems so far w.r.t. to FI.

Perhaps the problem that u r refering to is the fuel gauge. It's not accurate to say the least. It's a common problem.

As regards suspension it's on a stiff side. RE have tuned it as per tourer which have stiffer suspension for high speed stability.
In the city it's adequate unless u have roads full of potholes. In that case expect to be bounced around.

Re: Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

Hi Somenath,

I usually wash once every month. But then i ride daily to office and do a long trip once a month. I dry clean daily before starting for the day too. How about you?

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Glad i could help. Please do share your results/views after trying it.