oh yes, that ranigunj mechanic is quite famous.. his name is sudhakar or something and some of my friends said that he does the latest AVL and UCE enfields as well..heard that his shop is located near that helmet world after tank bund..
how old is your bird ? are you experiencing oil leaks or any other issues ?

Just as people don't read chemistry books for cooking, don't take the whole thing in such a serious way that you start taking classes and reading books about it. Biking is not about the technology of the machine or the efficiency of the process, it's about the thrill of speed and the joy of lazy riding on a lonesome highway. If you really want to know more about the enfields, you can buy the UCE engine manual by Pete Snidal. I hear this manual is really good and reportedly you'll be able to maintain your bike completely if you follow it closely. Although the manual is for EFI equipped export models, it does include some details or carbs. You can check here for the manual ( EFI Bullet Service Manual CD )
It costs around 20 pounds.

As you know from my previous post, my Blackbird was almost completely destroyed in the accident. That too when she was only 6 months old. Today I received a call from the svc center guys saying my birdy is repaired completely. Can't wait to bring her back home. Still can't ride her well enough because of the torn ligament in the knee. As for the oil leaks, I have never experienced any major oil leaks, only when I went for long rides, the oil level dropped a bit. Overall my engine is perfect and almost as reliable as jap bikes. Though I don't know what will happen after a few years.

Dude, really sorry to hear about your accident. torn-ligament sounds like a very long term injury. Did you have knee problems prior to accident ? was that purely because of this riding accident. in any case, dont neglect physio.
About reading bike book, its mostly to understand when somebody talks do so and so to your bike. I dont know abcz of it..

A Lot of Miss-Conceptions here in the thread

Hi Guys ...
I have seen a lot of people having a lot of comparison ...

1-> Comparison between Pulsar 220 and Thunderbird which was made 18 yrs old
My Ans :: Dude u need a little bit of common sense here .... The new thunderbird is just AWESOME ....
I own both Pulsar 220 and Thunderbird .... so i know what it is ... Thunderbird is much more fun to ride ... Try to understand the difference between the two bikes ... I hope this is good for you.

2-> About the Mechanic issue.
I am from Bangalore ... and there is a company service center ... go there ... understand one thing ... the new UCE engines are different, and a lot lot better than the old ones ..... and the company service center guys really knows a lot , dont just run after the local mechanics .... u will screw up ur bike ...
3-> The power of the bike
The power of Thunderbird is well enough .... its a cruiser and not a street racer .... People here should know whats the difference between a cruiser and a sports bike .... Cruisers are meant to produce a lot of torque ....

4-> The lights of Thunderbird
Go for Philips Xtreme 60/55 ... thats an awesome one .. no mods needed ...
I am having that ...

5-> Speed at which it can travel
I have traveled a lot with this thunderbird ..... I did ride my bike at 130 ....
I have covered 100km in 1 hr ... u can understand i guess ....

6-> Brakes of thuderbird :
Try adjusting the brake pedal ... a lot of guys never does that, and thus the brake becomes ineffective ...
And try to understand one thing ... to stop any heavy and big bikes, u have to use both the front and the back brakes ..... Any bike, may it be Pulsar220 or Thunderbird ... u need both the brakes to stop it ...
I never had faced any problem with the brakes any time ....


Thunderbird is an awesome bike ... better than Pulsar 220 ... Better than a lot of other bikes ....

K&N E-0900 Royal Enfield Air Filter

Did any one from change there air filter to K&N filter ??
I was thinking of changing it.

And is there any one who took there Thunderbird to Ladakh ... ??

My Point of View

Wow. Last logged in to this site (10-22-2011 at 02:36 AM)! Sorry guys, been very busy. I do come here occasionaly but do not login. I read comments and observe.

I thought I should give a review after 11500 Kms and 10 Months of riding experience. Hope this helps someone.

Well, if you go back to my old posts you will know my up and down experiences with this bird. I have mixed emotions writing this because I have not ridden my bike for over a week and Im missing it dearly. Today I will go to Minister Road service center to collect my bike after 5th service.

Dealer and after sales experience:
My dear friends, if you live in Hyderabad, please avoid Uppal, Royal Engineers at all cost. Even if you have to lift your bike up on a goods autorikshaw and take it to a workshop, dont you take it to the Uppal guys. They are in a simple dictionary word I can describe as useless bunch of dumb dudes. Excuse my language.

I Live near Uppal, however I purchased my bike @ Royal Enfield Ministers Road showroom which is a good 17Kms from my house. You can now guess. Its the best decision I made. My first 3 services was @ Uppal showroom and they half the time dont have engineers to work on the bikes or they dont do what you tell them to do. Well, what can you call them if you have asked them to check fork oil leak, and instead he replaced the drum break shoes, which was absolutely NOT necessary. This was at 8000Kms. Crazy! Anyway, at Uppal workshop they never resolved anything you tell them. They do Oil change, oil filter change, wash the bike and give you. Every other problem is non-existent or they dont have engineers available to fix.

Minister road showroom is receptive and acknowleges or advices about issues and solutions.

Mileage:

Ah! The million dollar question for every one I meet who is curious to know about my bike. From constant calculations, full tank to reserve method. I get a little above 40 in Hyderabad city. Now I use only Shell normal petrol. Some people ask me how can I get 40. I tried calculating and recalculating. It is correct. I mean after filling 8 Litres of petrol and getting 350 on the metre over and over again till reserve, what else shall I say. And If I fill 10 Litres I cross the 420 mark. I have never crossed 90Kmph on my bike and cruise at an average of 60Km in the city. Well you cant go more than that anyway.

I did make sure I never crossed the 50Km/h mark during the entire run-in period. Patience.......? I'm a very impatient man my wife says.

Never tested in Highway yet, but I do travel more than 60Kms every single day uh

Paint:

Using cramster tank bag on my Silver bull. The tank pad scratched the tank and the letter R has come off because the Tank Bag magnets are super powerful. "oyal Enfield" is definetly not cool. Now I have to replace the entire Royal Enfield wordings for 1000 Bucks from the showroom! No way!

Rust:

I have heard about rusting issues on Royal enfield. So I was vigilant about it. The only place I noticed rust was in between the handlebar just below the Key hole. Its kinda in a cozy hiding place.

Front Shock absobers:

The left Shock nut was loose and oozed out the almost entire shock absober oil. I have got the nut and oil replaced. Not a good thing.

Tappet noise:

Hydraulic Tappets. Oh. got used to those loud tappet noise. The engine beat is great. I love the thunder from this Thunderbird. Its a real thunder. Im planning to change silencer to something more classical now that I have crossed the 10K KM mark. IM ready for the change.

Silencer Gasket:

Had to be replaced twice. Once the Silencer Gasket goes Kaput, you get an irritating thump from the front exhaust of engine.

Tyres:

O! M! God! these MRF tyres are the worst things around and a disgrace to the Tyre industry. I want to replace to a Ceat or even better brand. And last week the rear tyre got punctured with a 2 inch nail that destroyed the tubes. I replaced the Tube for 300 Rs and was a nightmare. No Mechanic wants to touch a new model Royal Enfield. They say the mechanics are different and Old bulls are very easy. I should have removed the tyres myself and replaced the tubes, the manual says it how. I finally got my Old friend Honda Mechanic to remove the tyres and replace the tube.

These MRF Tyre grips are the worst and make you feel you will skid and fall down any time. Sorry MRF, these dont work good for me.

Headlamps:

Still riding on the 35W poor halogen lamps. I want to replace the head with with new TBTS HID head set this year end I hope. Thats the plan. These stock lamps serve the purpose, period.

Breaks:

Disk and rear breaks combined, I get satisfactory braking. Front Disk breaks are excellent.

Trip meter:

Remember the first few review I wrote Trip meter was not working? Well the Uppal showroom guys said all Bull's have this issue and its not worth replacing LOL. What a joke!. Anyway, after a few thousand KM's its working now. The Trip meter works absolutely fine. I guess it had its own Run-in Period

Engine:

The heart and soul. A class of its own, amazing, fantastic. It beats along with your heart and feels like god.

I never had major oil leak issues. Sometimes above the spark plug I could see oil leaks, the workshop guys sealed with a grey color glue once.

I have no complaints about the engine.

To be continued...... have to logoff now.

ive read in the other forum abt tyres in the moderator's review of silver thunderbird.one senioe bulleteer suggests-
im about to get a new thunderbird and i want to change tyres.plz suggest various options without changing the rim

Do post it in the tyres thread also

the websites of all manufacturers come with options of various tyres available with them for the oem rim size ; get a review on them by posting in the tyres thread

Guys i'm having some problem with my TBTS, the engine is making some kind of sound while decelerating(Engine Braking) over 2k rpm and some vibrations are also felt . Took it to the svc they just tightened the tank and said everything is okay but the problem was not solved. The sound is something like spring has come out & stuck inside a box. WIll probably take it again tommorow . And my back right footpeg is quiet loose the svc guys said i need to replace it as they cannot tighten it. Plz reply asap regarding my engine.

Odo reading: 12k
Have got it serviced regularly. its been around 2k kms(3 months) since last service

which are the best rear view mirrors for Thunderbird
the original Thunderbird one or Classic Or of Bajaj Avenger or you can suggest any other
it will be good if you guys can tell me the cost also

Avenger's RVM will be best suite for thunderbird. Stock and Classic RVMs are the same. These round ones look good on thunderbird but being round, They don't show a wide view. (just my opinion..) That's why Avenger's chrome RVM with wide view are best replacement.

Thunderbird Headlights

You can use the Philips Xtreme 60/55 ..... thats an awesome one .... i have it in my thunderbird ..... no modifications needed ... buy it from a philips dealer, and it will cost you around 400. If you buy it from other motorcycle shops, then it may cost you around 600 ....
The light is extremely good for highways and for city ..... its enough .. its almost like the HID one ....

Tyre & RIM

I dont know if I should be saying this here or not ....
But changing the tyre and the rim, will cost you around 6000 bucks or may be more ....
And one more point .... i have heard that the Sirac is not available any more, as Govt has banned the selling of tyres without ISI mark ( Sirac does not come with the ISI mark ) ....
So dealers who have the stock, are charging a lot for it now ....

TBCI front and rear tyre

Hi. i want to replace the front and rear tyre of my Thunderbird cast iron (TBCI)(Kick start). its 2003 model and has clocked 24000KMs.
I am looking for a complete makeover and so want to replace the tyres and the rims...i dont know much about tyres but can i up the size of the rear tyre and rim... I am ok if the rear suspension and the suspension arm needs to be replaced ....i will replace everything,,money is not an issue.... but i need meatier tyres at back at-list as meatier as a CBR 250R tyres.... the bike will go for repainting(Rs3000)(silver) by this month end and the engine will be opened and will be sent for chroming(Rs5000). I want to retain spoke rims....no alloyes. please guide me.
Thank you
Barkha