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Yes.. I thought of writing this review since I was unable to find any when I was hunting for it last year. And Yes I know many a times reading long drawn reviews with a whole lot of story is a pain so I'll keep this to the point as much as possible.
Yes another disclaimer I regularly make is While I may be using Enfield for the last year & I've always liked the bikes for their retro looks I've never been a fan boy of them, I used a Honda Unicorn for almost 10yrs & I was never a fan of Honda either
. But I am a fan of the GT not only from the day I looked at it but each day as the year has passed I've loved it more & more, but that doesn't mean it's all goodie good & I won't call out on what's not so good. Hence I say an honest review. But like I've found over & over, my views are usually a little tangent of what the majority thinks or believes. So this is totally personal & may or maynot apply to your thinking or liking.
16th Jan 2015 was the day I booked my bike after going thru all the phases & stages what most go thru, but I on top had a bucket load of friends & well wishers who advised my for my own good against the GT. So when I did get this bike, most were praising of how the bike looks, seems to be well built but also wished me luck with a pinch of sarcasm. "All that glitters is not gold" they said.
Anyway after I got the bike it was the regular rut, office to home & back thru saki naka traffic, I got a chance to take the bike for a few trips, though not as many as I had imagined I would & quite a few short sunday quickies. I'd say 85% of the time I was in the city commuting which involved some bit of Western Express highway & many on regular jammed roads. I say so to let you know what my interpretations are based on.
- Attention - this is one thing which has never ever faded & possibly won't. Be it parked or while at a signal the one thing this bike gets is attention. From everybody, even ones on KTMs & Kwakers. And yeah chicks too, no matter on what bike they're on they'll be ogling at this bike
. Though I never bought it with that intention but hey I'm not complaining.
- Seating: for the pillion this is very comfortable & provides good space to move around. For the rider the position looks intimidating but I honestly find this very comfortable for highway but again I'm a road-cyclist so for me this position is almost second nature.
- Ride quality - on Smooth roads : like a sweet dream. This bike takes to the tarmac seamlessly.
- on rough roads:- where the surface looks like it's been unfinished: this bike will eat it like hot knife thru butter.
- on undulating & uneven roads:- broken with lots of small pot holes : If you're an atheist you'll wish you believed in god. Yes this bike will try to throw you & will make you remember your gods. It'll transfer the road jerk into your rear end, but before that, you'll feel it in your neck from the handlebar. You'll feel you're riding with welded forks!! Yes it is that bad... so to save yourself some torture you have to brake & snail the section out. But apart from that it's a brilliant rider.
- Handling - Like mentioned above it has some good suspension which gives it good handling on good roads, but this is no bike to scrape your foot pegs on. Yes you can lean in quite a bit more than regular REs but the sheer weight of the bike doesn't give confidence to the weak heart. But with time you learn to manage it. While going uphil it's a pleasure to ride this bike. But while coming down, you'll feel the front end wants to go before you want it to, faster than your comfort. This heavy front end also adds up in traffic & makes it difficult to maneuver. On highway this weighs up perfectly but this does not have the flickability of bikes like Ninja or CBR.
Brakes - The front I feel is one of the best you can buy this side of bike category, excellent feedback and progessive. The rear is the stark opposite of the front!! it brakes no doubt & I've had some pretty close calls where the both brakes worked perfectly But I've locked the rear wheel many times & the bike being front biased has got the rear snaking when the rear wheel locks. But my gripe is feedback & a discerningly tiny rear brake which I've already run thru one set of pads. This is the most pathetic part of this bike.
Issues faced:- Most important part - esp since Enfield have a reputation to keep
- Battery indicator turns on if I keep the headlight on in b2b traffic. But has never resulted in a problem.
- Vibration - the bike's vibration has honestly never been a problem for me. But the vibration causes the Horns to vibrate since the horn mount act like a tuning fork & create a nonsensical metallic sound. I hate it & not found a solution to this.
- Broke a rear spoke not sure how!! my commute road is really bad... had to run from pillar to post to get it. But on the positive... rode with that broken spoke for atleast 150kms!!!.
- Headlight feels as if it's pointed to the sky. The Highbeam is probably to find the aliens!!
Other than this I've never faced any issue at all & I'm disappointed to say the least. None of the parts fallen off, none of the things suddenly stopped working, heck nothing has even rattled. None of what my well wishers said has come true !!! My honda after 10k kms was nothing more than a rattle box.
Mods I'd like to do on this bike: Any help on these would be appreciated.
- Rear Brake upgrade - yet to find something suitable.
- Front forks - yes I'd probably change it for something more pliant & capable to handle the weight of the bike
- Front Fork T - probably make it from CNC
- Exhaust - I've been on a look out for a lighter exhaust for the bike but there's hardly anything on the market which is not grossly loud.
- Better & Bigger mirrors - Well atleast I was able to get this done.... Today don't have a pic now will post later.
- Sprockets - I'd like to have a bigger & a smaller rear sprocket to see how the bike responds.
- Ultimate Mode would be to place in a parallel twin... after all Cafes are supposed to be one with your personal touch.
All said & done I love this bike, for it satisfies the inner retro nerd in me. And the best part is... like my bicycle this seems so simple; I've worked on it many times myself. I've loved this bike for being what it is, simple & barebones. And that's what I love about this.
Yes another disclaimer I regularly make is While I may be using Enfield for the last year & I've always liked the bikes for their retro looks I've never been a fan boy of them, I used a Honda Unicorn for almost 10yrs & I was never a fan of Honda either
. But I am a fan of the GT not only from the day I looked at it but each day as the year has passed I've loved it more & more, but that doesn't mean it's all goodie good & I won't call out on what's not so good. Hence I say an honest review. But like I've found over & over, my views are usually a little tangent of what the majority thinks or believes. So this is totally personal & may or maynot apply to your thinking or liking.16th Jan 2015 was the day I booked my bike after going thru all the phases & stages what most go thru, but I on top had a bucket load of friends & well wishers who advised my for my own good against the GT. So when I did get this bike, most were praising of how the bike looks, seems to be well built but also wished me luck with a pinch of sarcasm. "All that glitters is not gold" they said.
Anyway after I got the bike it was the regular rut, office to home & back thru saki naka traffic, I got a chance to take the bike for a few trips, though not as many as I had imagined I would & quite a few short sunday quickies. I'd say 85% of the time I was in the city commuting which involved some bit of Western Express highway & many on regular jammed roads. I say so to let you know what my interpretations are based on.
- Attention - this is one thing which has never ever faded & possibly won't. Be it parked or while at a signal the one thing this bike gets is attention. From everybody, even ones on KTMs & Kwakers. And yeah chicks too, no matter on what bike they're on they'll be ogling at this bike
. Though I never bought it with that intention but hey I'm not complaining.- Seating: for the pillion this is very comfortable & provides good space to move around. For the rider the position looks intimidating but I honestly find this very comfortable for highway but again I'm a road-cyclist so for me this position is almost second nature.
- Ride quality - on Smooth roads : like a sweet dream. This bike takes to the tarmac seamlessly.
- on rough roads:- where the surface looks like it's been unfinished: this bike will eat it like hot knife thru butter.
- on undulating & uneven roads:- broken with lots of small pot holes : If you're an atheist you'll wish you believed in god. Yes this bike will try to throw you & will make you remember your gods. It'll transfer the road jerk into your rear end, but before that, you'll feel it in your neck from the handlebar. You'll feel you're riding with welded forks!! Yes it is that bad... so to save yourself some torture you have to brake & snail the section out. But apart from that it's a brilliant rider.
- Handling - Like mentioned above it has some good suspension which gives it good handling on good roads, but this is no bike to scrape your foot pegs on. Yes you can lean in quite a bit more than regular REs but the sheer weight of the bike doesn't give confidence to the weak heart. But with time you learn to manage it. While going uphil it's a pleasure to ride this bike. But while coming down, you'll feel the front end wants to go before you want it to, faster than your comfort. This heavy front end also adds up in traffic & makes it difficult to maneuver. On highway this weighs up perfectly but this does not have the flickability of bikes like Ninja or CBR.
Brakes - The front I feel is one of the best you can buy this side of bike category, excellent feedback and progessive. The rear is the stark opposite of the front!! it brakes no doubt & I've had some pretty close calls where the both brakes worked perfectly But I've locked the rear wheel many times & the bike being front biased has got the rear snaking when the rear wheel locks. But my gripe is feedback & a discerningly tiny rear brake which I've already run thru one set of pads. This is the most pathetic part of this bike.
Issues faced:- Most important part - esp since Enfield have a reputation to keep
- Battery indicator turns on if I keep the headlight on in b2b traffic. But has never resulted in a problem.
- Vibration - the bike's vibration has honestly never been a problem for me. But the vibration causes the Horns to vibrate since the horn mount act like a tuning fork & create a nonsensical metallic sound. I hate it & not found a solution to this.
- Broke a rear spoke not sure how!! my commute road is really bad... had to run from pillar to post to get it. But on the positive... rode with that broken spoke for atleast 150kms!!!.
- Headlight feels as if it's pointed to the sky. The Highbeam is probably to find the aliens!!
Other than this I've never faced any issue at all & I'm disappointed to say the least
. None of the parts fallen off, none of the things suddenly stopped working, heck nothing has even rattled. None of what my well wishers said has come true !!! My honda after 10k kms was nothing more than a rattle box. Mods I'd like to do on this bike: Any help on these would be appreciated.
- Rear Brake upgrade - yet to find something suitable.
- Front forks - yes I'd probably change it for something more pliant & capable to handle the weight of the bike
- Front Fork T - probably make it from CNC
- Exhaust - I've been on a look out for a lighter exhaust for the bike but there's hardly anything on the market which is not grossly loud.
- Better & Bigger mirrors - Well atleast I was able to get this done.... Today
don't have a pic now will post later.- Sprockets - I'd like to have a bigger & a smaller rear sprocket to see how the bike responds.
- Ultimate Mode would be to place in a parallel twin... after all Cafes are supposed to be one with your personal touch.
All said & done I love this bike, for it satisfies the inner retro nerd in me. And the best part is... like my bicycle this seems so simple; I've worked on it many times myself. I've loved this bike for being what it is, simple & barebones. And that's what I love about this.
.
Overall Ive had 3 - 4 screws working themselves loose over time.
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