Received my Snow White Himalayan BS6 (Chiku) yesterday from Sri Velavan Motors in Greams Road.

The delivery was pathetic ! Wouldn't recommend anyone to visit their showroom.
The invoice which was a xerox had many spelling mistakes (name, email id and pincode). The showroom guys couldn't explain the service intervals and he told me to read the manual.

While taking delivery of the bike they hadn't installed the number plate and upon pointing it out, they installed it.
Key handover was done on the road itself. No cake cutting / celebration from dealer side which i dearly expected since i'm getting a bike worth more than 2 lacs.

I had to inquire about the features of the bike and asked them how to open the rear seat compartment, which they didn't mention in the 1st place.
After taking the bike and going on my way to home i found that the right side mirror wasn't adjustable to my liking, so i took a U turn and reached the showroom, where they gave me a class on how "not using mirror is what pro riders do". No wonder some people with Royal Enfield bikes are riding like maniacs nowadays.
After explaining to them how not using a right side mirror could lead to accidents for nearly 3 minutes, they told me to come the next day and get it fixed.
Don't know what other faults i'm going to find out soon.

If any member knows of a good Royal Enfield service center in Chennai, could you please share it with us since i don't plan on taking my Chiku to Velavan Motors service center for my 1st service.

Nothing new I'm used to hearing, RE knows even if they sit cross legged, their bikes would fly off the showrooms(Not generalizing all dealerships, there are some really good ones).

That's why it's always recommend to avoid such things on delivery day when you are excited to get the bike, is to do PPI and PDI before hand 1-2 days prior itself and get everything in place documentation, accessories, setting the bike your liking all a day in advance to make the delivery day joyful and fuss free one.

Also, you have/had the right to refuse delivery by not signing the "Delivery form" if the delivery experience is not upto your satisfaction, such as explaining features of the bike, safe operating instructions, explaining the location of first aid and tool kit usage, breakdown of service intervals and break-in ride instructions. But I think you'd have blindly signed the delivery form earlier itself along with RTO documents in excitement without reading the heading, showroom people are always cunning in these things to make ignorant customers sign everything in-advance to avoid further escalations.

The worse excuse a personnel at showroom can give a potential customer is to forego the basics. RE personnel, for the most are blunt. Believe it or not, you're a door mat once the bike steps out of the showroom -- not every time, but 95% of the time. Your mirrors, the basics can all be found in your owners manual, how to adjust, how to open the rear seat, almost everything that a showroom folk can brief you can be found in the booklet your Chiku was given along. Read it at your pace, get to know the basics and you're all set. As for the mirrors, you can get it adjusted at your friendly mechanic, it's a two minute job. Most basic things like, cleaning, adjusting chain and changing brake pads, engine oil all can be done at your local mechanic itself. Make sure you follow the service interval as RE is notorious to null warranty if the schedule isn't followed.

Good luck, welcome to the RE Thunder!

Cheers!
VJ

firstly, congratulations for your bike. Mostly every RE service centers are the same. Try Rudra motors Anna Nagar. Meet Mr.Binny there, he was very kind and helpful when i gave my Himalayan for first service. *Again, only few in the service center are well experienced and do the work properly. Call and confirm before you go.
cheers : )

Hello all .
Interesting story about dealers and local mechanics .
Here in France , now only the big ones are " authorised dealers" , money matter of course . But they are not necessary better .
I had made the valves checks at 15000 k at the former offcial which is really good and pro.. In fact the exhaust one was a bit too tight . Like all single four stroke . My old OX did the same - at this time ( 180) I was doing the job myself in the middle of Africa.
Madgear, good advices for you : read the manual, even find the service one, a rider should know a minimum .
My very long ride to Caucasian countries through Russia will not be possible soon ......
SO i bought a new bike for tracks in Spain and Morocco maybe ... Himmie is still ready when things would be better
namaste

Thank you guys for your warm wishes. Thanks kp. 1751 for informing me about Rudra Motors, I would definitely check them out.

And Royal Enfield's Business Manager contacted me and apologized after seeing my review on Google Maps, and the Store Manager of Velavan Motors (Greams Road) apologized and assured me that they will improve their services. But i'm not hopeful of it.

Firstly, congratulations on your purchase, and Himalayan is one beauty. The simple, no nonsense, and rustic nature of the bike make me drool even now. In fact, I've already started saving up for a bigger Himalayan in 2-3 years, hope RE launches one, and mind you this is coming from someone who has picked up a Meteor I picked up my Meteor in Venkateshwara bike zone in Pallikaranai. Though I didn't expect any cake cutting/celebration, the guys were courteous enough to walk me through all features, and explain about SVC intervals.

Boy, Velavan motors is on another level, aren't they? If I were you, I would shoot a mail to RE informing the disappointment in the delivery process. Not that things will change, but at least to keep RE folks informed from our end.


I'll keep you posted on how the SVC is in Venkateshwara bike zone soon. Meanwhile, there's a company owned SVC in Kottivakkam, and my guess is they would do a good job.

Cheers!

Quoting my earlier post; I serviced my Meteor in the company owned SVC in Kottivakkam, and the experience was good. I was promptly attended by a technician and the bike was delivered on the committed time. There were lot of fellow RE owners, from long timers to new owners, in the waiting lounge, so stroke some conversations with them, and they affirmed that company owned SVC does a very good job.

Cheers!

Congrats on the new bike, Welcome to Himalayan Tribe. What about the waiting period on your bike? Hearing lots of grievance about long wait for bike from the fellow people who booked new BS6 Himalayan.... Any thoughts on why its getting late? (Knew about production issue because of Covid, but still?!!!)

Hi, it's my first post here, though have been reading the boards here for years.

I was looking for some insights into the delivery process by the RE dealerships.

I recently booked my Himalayan about 2 weeks ago. Due to the prevailing circumstances, it was only possible for me to take the delivery of the bike in the next month. So, while I knew the wait times for the Himalayan have been extensively long, I requested the dealer to see if he can do something to deliver it within 4 weeks. He said there was a way, and he would notify the company, and they will let him know if any of the nearby dealerships had a bike and then that bike would be transferred to him.

Now, two weeks later, he has got the bike. His explanation for this availability is that the company sends bikes in random colors at times, and then some of the colors aren't picked up, so they are available for longer, and hence he was able to get this bike from a nearby dealership.

My main concern here is that I do not want a bike that has been rejected due to performance issues or any other defects. He says the manufacturing of the bike is in early December and after it was delivered it has been in the initial dealership.

I was wondering if anyone here with some inside knowledge can shed some light on if what he says makes sense. Is the process of allotment and delivery of the bikes by RE random at times? Also, is it probable that one of the colors hasn't been in demand for about a month? Also, would you say it is probable that the bike is completely fine and doesnt have issues? Are there any precautions or checks you would suggest I take before taking the delivery?

Season's greetings, and tHanks in advance.

There is pinned Sticky thread in the main forum section called PDI (Pre Delivery Inspection), give it a through read, there are total 4 pages in that thread, go through everything.

Get yourself a checklist for PPI (done before a bike VIN is assigned to your name and before sending the chosen bike to RTO) and PDI (done after RTO process but before taking delivery), either print out or a excel sheet in your Google drive. There are so many pdf's/xsl's available in other forums.
All the things in the checklist are pretty much self explanatory.

And yes, RE is using most of its production line to meet demand of new bikes like the Meteor 350 and Interceptors for export market. They produce Himalayan only in particular slots in a given month. So there is delay in deliveries.

From my ownership experience, RE doesn't allot random bikes. RE books bikes on a customer billing basis. Though, there can be a stock of one or two bikes, those will be allotted to a prospective customer if he opts for the color and what not. If not, the bike stays not booked till it gets booked. If a same dealership has multiple showrooms then sometimes, the backlog can mean, they shuffle and spread the bikes to their other showrooms so that it gets diluted as soon as possible. Brand new bikes won't be rejected for defects as such unless something major and multiple bikes having the same issue is extremely rare.

If you like a color and plan to purchase the bike, make a thorough inspection as detailed in the PDI thread. Basic checks like that I'd recommend, check engine oil level, start the engine, listen for any unnatural sounds, make sure every electrical aspect of the bike works, lights, indicators; make sure there are no MIL lights on on the dash after the engine has fired up, check your tire pressure, brakes, mirrors for looseness. Start off from there. Good luck.

Cheers!
VJ

Thanks a ton for the insight!

So, I had to leave to get the delivery soon after I made the post but fortunately, I was of the same mine about the PDI check. So, I did make sure to try and check everything as thoroughly as possible. There seems to be a small chip on the tank at the bottom border but while mine was a bit more prominent the tanks of all RE bikes in the showroom had similar marks. Also, the metal cover for the radiator seems to be a bit bent but this also I think is minor. I will attach pics.

Now to the more prominent possible issues. There is this white sealant where this wire goes into the engine. I am not sure how appropriate it is to have such an openly visible sealant there and what does it signify. Maybe you folks can help. Also, the engine oil level is significantly higher than the two lines on the hole from where you see the oil level. This was even after the bike had been running for a while. The dealership has been very persistent that there is nothing wrong with it and that the oil isnt too high.

The reading on the odometer was around 4 when I got it, but then I realized that the wire connecting the odometer to the wheel was not connected! this has further raised my suspicion about the handling and history of the bike even though everything else seems to be alright. but who knows, maybe they disconnect the meter for all their bikes?

Now the main issue: I also tried to check the handling of the wheel alignment. And when I try to leave both hands on the bike, it veers strongly to the right. So I think there is a substantial wheel alignment and balancing issue. Do you think it could be anything else? I think this is a major problem as on long rides it would be troublesome, and nevertheless, the alignment and balancing of the bike should be perfect, which in this case given its complete inability to stay straight when left on its own is just not there.

I have the bike with them overnight having discussed getting the wheel balanced tomorrow. I am not very happy that the new bike has to be partially dismantled like this but cant say I am surprised.

Keen to hear what you guys think about the whole situation. Presently I am of the mind that I should just get it and then work on resolving the issues as they present themselves.

Can't say how thankful I am this forum exists, on top of the help and advice, it is just great to be able to share the details of the uphill journey it is to own one of these.

Best

Hey, thanks for the help! I did go through the PDI post and also downloaded the checklist for REs. When checking, I went through all the things mentioned in the post by VJ. However, I can't seem to find anything about the "PPI" neither did I find any excel sheets (I made one of my own from the PDI thread). Maybe I am unable to find it as haven't yet mastered the forum format. I'll keep looking, if you do have a link for an excel sheet or on PPI checks, it would be great if you could send it my way.

This link is one for cars but you can apply most things to bikes aswell https://www.team-bhp.com/advice/pre-...pdi-check-list
The section Before Registration: part covers the PPI aspects, basically it applies before a particular vehicle is assigned to you.

Some dealers allow you pick one bike from their stockyard out of 100's of bikes. You can pick bike with latest Date of Manufacturing of the bike, Date/Brand of tyres.
Also during transit, loading, unloading some bikes might have some damages or scratches, you can reject such bikes during PPI, but once the bike gets assigned your name and sent to RTO registration, you cant do much about rejecting that bike during PDI as the VIN already registered in you RC card apart from replacing parts later on, which will feel bit wired on a brand new bike.

Few other things covered as part of PPI, verifying the Fitness certificate, RTO amount being charged and tally with your states tax slab, Cess amount, to figure out if any hidden Handling charges is being charged and all amounts tally up, also if you buying your own Insurance from outside, negotiate the same get the process initiated.

Ask for PRO-FORMA INVOICE for every last rupee you pay and all adds up etc etc. Hope you'd have gotten a generic idea of PPI.