The showroom guys really dont care what you fit on the bike until you claim for warranty. I would say go ahead and fix. And please do let me know where you got that bulb from

Hello and congratulations. The only advice I can give you is follow the run in period/guidlines specified in the manual. Everything is there.

The only thing different I do is use 50-50 combination of electric start and kick start to maintain battery life as Electric starts eats up lot of battery power. Its just my way, others may have varied opinion

6000 Kms and 135 days

Its been quite some time since I visited XBHP again. Life has been very busy and I miss coming back here to read the LEH blogs. How much I missed coming here.

So I decided to write a small review on my 6000 Kms experience.

After 3 services and few obstacles I am enjoying the Thunderbird more than anything else. I want to start with the disappointments.

1. By now I am convinced that every single TBTS on the road has this shoddy manufacturing defect of the rear wheel and mudguard allignment. Its not straight and every TBTS I see on the road I see this same defect. Finally I have come to a conclusion that this is not something worth fighting for with the service center because there is just nothing they can do about it. Correct me If Im wrong.
2. The mudguard design is also its drawback. I can have my pillion's back painted with mud during a rainy day ride. Extra rubber padings below the number plate is essential.
3. This bird really needs rear disk breaks, braking is a nightmare or I can describe as sucidal.
4. 35W head lamps are useless for touring.
5. For the money you pay, more comfortable seating for pillion is expected.
6. Hydraulic tappets can deafen you but can live with it.

Ill go with what I like about this bird now.

1. Every single day, fasinated people look at you, stare at you, wonder and even irriate you with their odd Alien like look. Add to that you fit 2 fog lamps and wear riding gear with tank bags, then you are ofcourse from Mars.
2. Exceptional riding comfort and experience. Acceleration feedback is top notch.
3. All electricals are top standard, enough spare power to add external electricals.
4. There is hardly any plastic on the bike, everything is steel/metal or chrome, its worth every dime you pay.
5. False neutral is almost non existance if you know how to shift gear, listen or feel the tuk-tuk sound, not just the one tuk sound.
6. There is no deadly vibration like I hear some complain.
7. The bass generated by the engine thunders while you roar through the road, which suits the name Thunderbird. Im not a big fan of the loud thumping noise of the old bullet. The low thump added to the loud Bass suits me and I love the sound. It bring peace and when I ride I feel the bike has a soul of its own. That feeling I cannot describe, its unique to a enfield. I now know what the other RE owners described many times.
8. Overall a 4/5 for quality, 5/5 for looks, 5/5 for ride feel, 5/5 for mileage and 4/5 for performance and handling.
9. I get anywhere between 35 and 40 constantly mileage.

More on my experience as I ride more.. Happy riding..

Good review! What all extra electrical modifications have you done? Can you also tell about your maintenance schedule and problems faced so far?

Can you tell me where did you get it? How much did it cost? DO give a review about the lights after getting it installed......Here in Bangalore the svc guys hardly care about any modification with the warrenty in...When i asked the supervisor( Bannergatta road) he said that silencer/horn & lights r exception......Thats when i changed my bikes silencer & horn......

my thunderbird has a small manufacturing defect in the seat, at the time of delivery itself i showed to the showroom person but he told me that show this defect at the time of servicing and somehow it slipped out of my mind at the first service. on second service i mentioned this and to my surprise the service center person told me under warranty only "ENGINE" & "CHASSIS" are covered rest all the parts do not cover. i am in mumbai and don't know how much this is true, but do check my statement at your service center's and let me know.

Quite a few xbhp posts dating back to 2009 quote the price of a NightBreaker as near 350-400 Rs, but forward to present day, I had to pay Rs 900 for a single NB bulb don't know if theres a problem with supply, but I searched most of ranigunj, minister's road in secunderabad, ramkoti bike spare shops behind koti, even tried the car accessories shops scattered here and there, but none stocked quality 60W bulb from Osram or Philips. I had to order it on ebay for Rs 900 as I had no choice. If you are interested, you can try this link on ebay- OSRAM NIGHTBREAKER HEADLIGHT BULB H4 60/55W (BIKES) | eBay . I accepted the absurd amount thinking of it as a gift to my beloved girlfriend blackbird. (unlike real girlfriends if you take good care of her and love her, she will love you back )

Price-Rs 900, Shipping-Rs 190

P.S.- I have installed the bulb and night riding has improved dramatically. Light throw has increased a lot and the color has taken a whitish hue. Now planning to replace the stock incandescent pilot lamp with LED.

Drawbacks-

Points- 1,2,4 Thats exactly what I am facing. Maybe the rear mudguard is bent on every TBTS because, in the chennai plant, where they assemble every RE machine by hand, the guy in charge of fitting the rear mudguard has a skewed eye.

As for the pillion mud spray problem, I guess the rear mudguard design needs to be changed. I have ruined my boss's expensive shirt while giving him a lift on a rainy day, and I think my appraisal is going to hurt for this.

I haven't faced any issue with the rear brake yet, but once I clock enough mileage, my opinion may change. @madelikeagun- I can tell you something, go to the following link- Royal Enfield Zone - Wheel Components for Royal Enfield Bullet, Electra, Machismo, Thunderbird, Standard :: Royal Enfield Zone, New Delhi, India have a look at item no. REZ-663 and tell me what do you think.

Reasons to like the bird-

I have nothing more to add to what you have already said. And the rest is bliss..............

Congrats man for the marriage with the beast, and I am on the same boat as you are because of the fact that I waited close to three years for getting my hands on the bird and it's the first bike i have ever owned.Jjust like madelikeagun said, follow the manual, complete the running in period carefully and while doing it, sit back and enjoy the ride. But the thing I am worried about is that you said you have crossed 600KM in 2 weeks. Even though it sounds silly I must ask, did you remember to take the birdy for it's most important first servicing on completion of 500 Kms ???

Guys one doubt. Does the TBTS have oil leakage problems and how much reliable are the UCE engines? Also can some one elaborate on the maintenance it requires and how much it will cost?

Well that is a generic and tough question. No two machines are equal to 100%, so even if there is good statistics of reliability of a bike, the one you buy, just might have a defect. It's completely up to chance and you should not worry about the numbers. User madelikeagun lost petrol worth Rs 400 the first night be took delivery cause there was dirt in his carburetor, but I didn't encounter such problem. If you indeed have a problem, do what everyone does, fix it in a way that it doesn't occur again. For instance the general impression about the UCE engine is that it is more reliable and lower maintenance hungry than the older cast iron ones. But still you see posts of users who encounter engine related problems like oil leak and I'm not even mentioning the umpteen no of minor problems with electricals or fittings. Personally I don't have any major issue with the engine and whenever I encounter a minor problem, I try to rectify it personally. In my view every RE owner customizes their machine to some degree. It depends on the person, his riding style and the level of care. Don't compare these beasts with jap bikes and expect to have top notch quality controlled products with hassle free experience. If you buy a bull, you marry her and if she is unhappy, you find the root cause and rectify it. That is my humble opinion..........

And for maintenance cost that is variable. Say you have a oil leak and a gasket change fixes it, should cost you within 50 Rs, and for the situation where you are unable to start the bike because the sprag clutch is worn, the price is close to Rs 3500. If you want average figures, a well maintained RE machine which receives regular care( by regular I don't mean just engine oil quality and tightness of the nuts and bolts. I mean comprehensive) should not bother the owner with frequent major maintenance.

Cold starting the engine?

Guys, I am bit confused on starting the Thunderbird in the morning. The manual (which comes with TBTS) recommends using kick start for cold engine, while the manual which comes with Classic 350 (I downloaded from RE Site) recommends use of Electric Start ONLY.
As I understand, both shares same engine then what method one should be using?
The reason I am asking is, I have heard sprag clutch (the mechanism for ES) goes kaput if proper method is not used.
Could the long term user enlighten what method will keep the engine healthy & will not hamper the sprag clutch (it costs somewhere around Rs. 4k if you are out of warranty)?
(JFYI, I have clocked 1000 km so far)

Well yeah. I agree with you. Every machine is different and the rider of a bull enters in a marriage with it. Other than checking for the usual things like functioning of electricals, starting by kicks, dents, scratches, cracks and leakages during delivery, is there anything else that needs to be looked at?

To be short, before taking delivery. check every system of the bike, even if you won't be needing it soon to make sure that the showroom guys are not giving you a defective machines. Also check for rust and if you feel the rusting is extensive, ask them to replace the part. Check all the oil levels, every moving part and try to feel and hear unusual sounds/unusual resistance. Then before taking delivery, take a short ride preferably close to the showroom and in a less crowded road without a helmet and try to hear for any weird sound. Feel for wobble or any other handling related problems. And another thing, the showroom guys like to rev the bike to redline limit. Ask them not to do that. Overall apply common sense and accept the little niggles which you know you can fix yourself or at the service center.

well I have clocked less mileage than you so I really am not an experienced user, but anyways i'll describe my starting drill-

Morning Start or Start after 6-7 hours- Apply choke and use kickstart. Rev for max 30 secs then close choke. Idle for 10 secs and watch rpm. Ride away.

At signal when engine is hot- Use ES but don't keep it pressed for more than 4 secs.

Overall I prefer kickstart over ES whenever possible because of the old school feeling of riding a bull. Also please ensure that your carb is tuned optimally so you never need more than two kicks to start the engine. And set the idle screw to about 1k rpm.