Re: Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

Hi Friends,

My TB500 is one year old and has run for 6000 KM. Do you think, I should not use outside mechanic to get the bike serviced rather incompetent service center who does just washing and engine oil change.

Does anybody know Kumar a bullet mechanic in Bangalore, Singsandra, Hosur Road.

Thanks,
Alok

1. The seat is broad and the sitting posture is perfect.
2. Twin spark, 4 stroke air cooled engine and 500cc for power and pick up.
3. Better options for adding luggage. Rear seat can be removed.
4. 20 Litre fuel tank.
5. Digital meter console with two independent trip meters and LED tail lamps.
6. Head lamp has a projector and halo ring guide.
7. Hazard light featured first time on an Indian motorcycle.

So I took it home and later that evening, a friend of mine helped me in fixing a new chrome crash guard and we went shopping for a nice decent helmet, ropes to tie luggage and riding gloves.The first service was supposed to be done at 500 Kms. I started planning a trip as I wanted to understand the effects of long term riding on my body and also to get an overall feel of my bike and connect with it. So here goes, the complete details of my trip.Coimbatore to Mysore



We stopped at 88 kms in a place called Dhimbam for tea. After some stretching and resting we chatted with the locals for a while. Apparently leopards were spotted and had killed a few men recently. These man eaters were growing in number. I asked if the government took action regarding this menace. I was told that it was a reserved forest area and preference is given to animals and not humans. Humans could relocate if wanted but no animal would be ever harmed. It made sense.We left after tea and decided to stop in another place for breakfast. As we entered Karnataka, we stopped for some pics.





We stopped again and set the backpack right and tightened it and made sure it would not fall again. We sipped on some water, cracked jokes by the hard shoulder and clicked some pics. It was getting hot and we decided to speeden our trip.









Unfortunately, they could not fix the side lock issue. It seems to claim warranty, I would need to surrender the spare key as well. But my spare key lay in the drawer of my table back in Coimbatore. They asked me to get it fixed later and told me the warranty was valid upto 1000 kms. The ignition, petrol tank lock and the side panel lock near the battery compartment all had to be changed. I was a little frustrated and called the showroom guys back in Coimbatore and blasted them. The guy who sold me the bike promised me that they would replace it under warranty and asked me not to worry. I was a little pissed but well, what can you do?Mysore to BangaloreThe next day I woke up at around 7 am and decided to leave by 8:30 am. It was supposed to be a 3 hour journey and the road leading to Bangalore was quite okay. This time I was by myself as my friend was staying back. I packed the luggage and mounted them on the bike, made sure the backpack was well secured and then went to have breakfast. I always opt for idli in the morning because steamed food will not give you tummy problems. Imagine being uncomfortable during a ride. So better to stay safe. I did not click many pictures on the way. Here are some snaps.







I parked my bike in the apartment basement and wanted it to get some good rest. So did I. I spent a day in Bangalore just roaming around, did some shopping and slept well.Bangalore to CoimbatoreThe final phase of my journey. A 372 kms ride home. I started at around 9am from Bangalore city. The usual packing and mounting was done. Took a few quick pictures for the sake of this post.





The final ride home would tell me what other issues the bike would bring. I hoped nothing more would arise and just wanted to make it home safely. I used my headphones and listened to the GPS and made my way out of the city. It took an hour as I was riding real slow. I reached electronic city and touched 100 kmph on the flyover. It vibrated in the beginning, but later set in. I guess I had to push the engine. The max I reached was 110 kmph and decided it would be unsafe if I went further. Paid the fare at the toll gate, moved further, stopped for water break and took some quick pictures.



The ride is a dry stretch, but I rode really fast listening to music. I made only one stop in between for lunch at Salem which was miserable. The food was bad. I drank another litre of water and was surprised I still could not pee. The body was using up all the water. The bike hits 110 kmph very easily. Truly a wonderful experience.I reached Coimbatore at around 3:30 pm. The other problem in the bike was the rear view mirror. They vibrated a lot and were very unstable. The wind kept pushing the mirror front and gave up completely half way. I think the materials are of cheap quality and will get them replaced soon. I wish the Thunderbird came with chrome rear view mirrors. Sadly no.





Overall VerdictPROS

1. The bike is a stunner. The ride quality is pure bliss.
2. The 500cc engine is much more powerful than you think.
3. No back pain, no shoulder pain nor wrist pain.
4. Handling is very good in both highways and city traffic.
5. Head lamp is bright and illuminates the road.
6. Showroom gives you double horn which is very loud and efficient. People and vehicles do move.
7. Very stable on the roads.

CONS

1. Few complaints that I already mentioned above in bold letters (can be fixed).
2. Bike is designed for one person. Pillion rider cannot really sit for long journeys, the rear back rest will hurt your tail bone.
3. Shifting back to neutral is a real pain. Again this can be rectified.
4. Bike is really very heavy. In the event of a puncture, may God be with you.

Topic approved and merged accordingly.

That's a beautiful review @dopamine86 with good pics too. But honestly, for the first 1000 kms, I think you're overspeeding and we don't support that under any condition, but doing so on a new bike is not running it in properly. Do refer to your manual. All the best.

not sure when you bought your TB, i got mine in Nov, 2015....and I am really regretting the fact that I did not wait for Himalayan...is there any one else who is in same state of mind who bought their TB recently and crying when Himalayan was launched!!!!!!

Avoid quoting whole post with so many pictures and text. Have pity on mobile users and otherwise.
You basically quoted 100 lines for your 5 lines of text.

Re: Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

Anybody here who would love to see the himalayan's engine in the thunderbird ??

Its a beautiful engine , much less vibes and revs up like a dream plus the rev limiter is around 8k.

Re: Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

Too much ambitious.

Cheers,
Sanjay

Very true I am using an unlimited plan but still my app was getting stuck so many times when I was reading this article. Moderators please see if something can be done to stop the pictures being reposted when replying.

Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

Anyone can please confirm whether the gear lever should be loose or tight?
My gear lever is pretty loose, the nut on the engine side which prevents gear lever from falling is loose and gear lever has a lateral play. Its not that lever or the nut would fall as the engine prevents it from falling. If i have to tighten it then ill have to remove the left foot peg and then tighten that nut so that lever will be tight and have no lateral movement. I'll be visiting for my first service at Ishna motors in Goregoan(W) and ask then to tighten if need be. An also any views on this service centre would also be aprreciated.

Re: Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

Actually it should neither be loose nor tight.
If the nut which holds the gear lever is full tight, the gear lever will always be free play. It SHOULD be like that. If the nut is very loose, just remove the whole left foot peg and tight the nut with proper Allen Key.

Re: Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

Guys do you have tried anything to reduce vibrations ??
My friend owns a tb500 and although the vibes on his are nothing abnormal, i just want to know if anything can be done to reduce vibrations ?

Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

I didnt understand what will happen if its too tight. Will gear shifting become difficult? The nut which holds the lever is on may be one or two threads. If not for engine body it would have fallen by now. Am asking you guys because service guys will defently not care about it and we cant tell them unless we are sure. Thanks KnG.

Re: Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

OK, if its too tight, there always be a gap which allows the gear lever to play freely. It should be like that.
On Service guys, just want to say that the bike is your so you should take care of it and ask the service guys what to be done. So collect some knowledge of basic troubleshooting and your bike will SMILE ☺ ☺

Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

Ya true we should take care of our bikes and thats why wanted to know how it should be. Thanks for the help KnG. Much appreciated.[emoji4]
And finally i guess i can upload pics and pics of my Dark Knight is on the way once it is serviced.[emoji6]

Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

History:- It was in end of 2013 when the bike buying bug bit me when I had enough balance to buy one. Thunderbird was already in the market and so was duke, and continental GT was around the corner. Being a mariner I didnt had enough resources to explore these bikes and only source was Xbhp. Since the day I saw Thunderbird I was in love with it and it was kind of love at first sight. So never bothered to think about duke which is almost a single seater. Continental GT also didnt caught my attention as the riding posture was little bit forward biased. By March'14 I was near end of my contract and was getting ready to come back home, thats when Harley released Street 750 and it caught my attention with its look. Once I was back home I started reading and watching every reviews about thunderbird and Street. And I was pretty much confused between the two. Whenever I saw these bikes on road I would literally pull over just to admire beauty. But then a month old reviews started coming for street and brakes were major deal breaker for me. This was the time when I started giving exams for my promotion and this was the time when got more and more into superbiking. Two bikes which caught my attention just like thunderbird and street were Triumph Boneville and Kawasaki Z800. Though these two were from different league altoghether I was just glued to it. I was hell bent on buying one these exotics after one more sail. All this while I kept reading every forum on Boneville and Z800. Only problem with Z800 was seat height was bit too high for my dad to ride it.

Present:-Fast forward to Jan' 16 and I was still onboard ship and had enough bank balance to buy boneville or Z800 and still these were only two bikes which I was interested in. Once I came back home in March'16, and decided to visit one of the showrooms to do TD and book the bike, my parents started putting some sense into me about not spending 8 lacs for 2 wheeler but to buy something smaller. My dad adviced me not to go for big capacity straight away. To my surprise I too agreed instantly. The first bike which came to my mind was Thunderbird which being my love at first sight and the only bike with enough capacity to keep me happy and at the same time be non intimidating in terms of power. My dad was against my decision considering history of RE for poor quality of bikes and he suggested me to CBR , G310R and TNT 25. CBR being a decade old design and updated CBR being around the corner I refused it straight away. TNT 25, my mom didn't like its design and even I was skeptical about new company and I didn't had patience to wait for G310R. I showed pics of Thunderbird to my mom and she too instantly fell in love with it and gave me green signal.


Booking and delivery:- With buying thunderbird in my mind I went to Khar RE company store. Just for the sake of it I asked them for TD and boy I was at home instantly. And I took TD with my mom as pillion and she too was happy with ergonomics. I came back to store and paid 5k in cash and booked the bike in Stone on 16th March. I requested them to deliver the bike on 8th April as it was Gudi Padwa that day. The salesman told me it would be difficult but then they would try their best to deliver it. I told the if not on 8th then make sure on 19th, to which they said "19th 100% ho jayega sir". Then the painful wait began and I was asked to call on 28th March to enquire about status of the bike. When I called them the response was poor and I was not satisfied with it, so decided to visit the showroom next day. That time they told me that bike was not yet alloted and he told me complete process of registering the bike and why it would take a whole week for them. Disappointed I told them to deliver atleast by 19th, again they by that day they will surely deliver. And from that day I started calling them everyday to check whether bike was alloted or not. On 7th April evening they told me bike was alloted and I could pay the remaining amount. Since 8th and 9th were holiday I had to make payment on Monday only. So I wired the rest of the amount on Monday and they confirmed receipt of money on Wednesday(13th) only( pretty surprising and irritating). Again 14th and 15th were holiday. On 14th I called them up and told me I had to do PDI before registering the bike. On 15th I was allowed to PDI of two bikes and decide one and they would proceed with billing and registering the bike. And 16th being Saturday registration couldnt be done and by now I was damn sure that bike would not be delivered even on 19th. I called them up on Monday and they said bike was not yet registered, they repeated same thing on Wednesday also, so finally I lost my cool and blasted them and told them that if I dont get bike by Friday I would call up the regional manager for not being lethargic( and mind you I never received a single for anything from them and made point of this too). I was postponing my tour to South waiting for bike since 3 weeks. My mom said lets go it will come when it has to come. So finally we left on Thursday and I was to reach my destination I received call from RE that bike was registered and ready for delivery. Well something worked, I called up my dad and asked him to pick up the bike. So next day he picked up the bike for me, so cant say much about delivery process, but dad said it was smooth and he did final PDI before taking delivery.

Things I like:-

1. Comfortable ergonomics be it for rider or pillion.
2. Superb pick up.( 1st time I rode I was blown away and scared and was wondering what would have happened if I had bought 900cc twin or 800 I4)
3. Extremely beautiful projector headlamp.
4. Stone color looks very pretty.

Things I dont like:-

1. Pretty vibey.
2. Zero interest of RE guys towards customers.


Running In and first service:-Running in was pretty normal with speed maintaining below 50kmph as mentioned in manual. First day I went to drop my dad to his office which is 65kms one side and soon realised that this kind of running in would not work out. So started taking the bike to highway towards Vasai road (35kms one side from home). Everyday while I would return I used to experience huge traffic for almost 3-4 kms and had to leave tarmac and do some light offroading. Boy o boy this bike handles bad roads so well and is so confidence inspiring. I fell in love with every ride. By yesterday I had clocked 480kms in 5 days. So I decided to take it to Ishna motors in Goregoan(W). Being tuesday I thought I could get my bike serviced soon but to my surprise there were around 60 bikes lying in parking lot. There were around 6 bikes from last day and the advisor who made my job card told me that my bike would be attended only after yest's bikes were finished. I told him I would wait take my bike after service. Till lunch time none of the bikes from Tuesday were attended, so after lunch we approached the advisor and pressurised him and he started taking our bikes. He alloted a mechanic and he took the bike to repair bay at 2:30 pm. I had requested them to call me in when they were cleaning the chain, but they forgot. When went to repair bay when my bike was waiting for getting washed, I asked the mechanic whether chain was cleaned, he said yes it was. I was disappointed and sensing this he asked me what was the matter to which I said I wanted to see it. To my surprise he brought the cleaning spray and cleaned chain again to show me. I was happy and left for waiting lounge. At around 3:30pm mech told me work was done and I could pay the bill. Once the bill was paid I took a TD to check issues were sorted or not. My issues for servicing were rear brake bite, gear lever nut was too loose and headlight throw to be adjusted. Yet to check headlight throw but all other issues were addressed. I was pretty happy with the way bike was handled and serviced.


Mods done on bike:-
1. Side pannier in leather finish.
2. Crash guard.
3. Shoe protector for gear lever.

Mods planned for future:-
1. LED headlight unit while retaining the LED ring
2. Saddle bags for long tours
3. LED aux lights
4. More cushy seats, both front and rear seat
5. Higher back rest (something like this:- REZ-2414 HARLEY 750CC PILLION BACKREST IN MATT BLACK or this:- Royal Enfield Zone)
6. Mag wheels with tubeless
7. USB charger.
8. LED blinkers.
Sorry for pretty boring and long write up. Bear with me as this is my first ever attempt to write something. Will attach few more pics as I start taking my Dark Knight to more scenic places.