Thanks for adding those, I'm getting old and forgetting .

I was wishing for a comfortable two up riding. Pillion seat looks cramped, worse than my Electra's. And while bungees are nice, what we see in touring REs are mostly poorly crafted luggage carriers, or saddlebags. They should take a cue, for once, from a good manufacturer of touring bikes, and come up with a hard saddle case with in-built mounting options. I would look at the BWM F800GS or R1200GS for an example, even though it's asking for too much.

Thanks for the link man
previously I saw the RE official link , but i dint read the news just saw the technical specification

you aren't asking for much they can provide all the accessories as add-ons... mounting options on the bike could be present in the base model and accessories designed accordingly for simple installment... but yes, i dont see this coming sooner

TBTS 350 or 500 ???

Greetings fellow xhbpians....this is my first ever post....

For the last 7 years i have been nursing the dream of owning my dream machine TBTS350 but i wanted to buy it at my own expense. So after what seemed like ages i finally booked my birdie on 12 December, 1:19 pm at the Bandra Showroom. Ever since that day, the desire to own the bike has only increased and i have been spending every single day scavenging any article or info that is available on 350. And then i came across the news of TBTS500. Hence now i am reconsidering my decision of going for 350 as purchasing a dream machine is something that occurs once and i want it to be perfect. Also i have been advised my many friends to do the same, all the more confirming my latter decision. However i have some doubts when it comes to TBTS500 which are as follows...

1) What would be its mileage?(In this case mileage of CL 500 would suffice)

2) Any idea on when would TBTS500 be available and what would be the waiting period?

3) If i were to purchase TBTS500 i was thinking of replacing the rear discs with drum brakes as found in TBTS350, since i don't indulge in fast rides(never crossed 90) and i am not really comfortable with rear discs. Your opinion on the same?

4) What would be the price of this monster?(I booked the 350 at INR 121620)
Kindly help me on the above queries guys, as i have to chose between the two by May.

TB500 has same engine as of CL 500.
Compare here and you will be clear.
Welcome to Royal Enfield Motorcycles | Motorcycle India
1)Mileage will be less compared to CL 500 as TB 500 weighs more and has a big fat tank
2)In bangalore only CL models have 8-10 months of waiting period, other models have 4 months avg, cant tell anything about it now.
3)I suggest to stick with disc, it has its own advantages, and I am sure it will not have same braking power as front i assume this is the main reason why you want to opt out.
4) CL500 black(basic) on road is 1.5 in bangalore , 1.7-8 perhaps

Thanks for the info mate....so what do you think...should i wait for TBTS500 or stick to the earlier plan of going for 350 !!!

In all probability the Thunderbird 500 shall come with a ahost of accesories from Luggage to exhausts to other stuff as was displayed at the Auto expo 2012. This has been designed as the tourer's delight and definitely shall be one.

worth a dekko.

I have heard that the Thunderbird 500 has been launched in Chennai and Delhi.
Is there any one here who has bought one ??
Can you let us know the difference between the old one and the new one ??

Dude from where do you hear this stuff Can you share your source? Would love to have a word with them.
Do you really think that a flagship product of RE will be launched silently.??

sorry for the wrong info

Yah man you are correct.
Basically one day a Thunderbird 500 came for servicing at the BTM Service center ( bangalore ).
When i asked the service center guy, he said that yah it has been launched in Chennai.
Basically he just made a fuss out of that.
Later called up one friend in the chennai plant and inquired in details.
He said that it has not been launched yet. When i asked him about the thunderbird 500 coming for servicing, he said that that might be a test vehicle that went for the oil change and all. It has not yet been launched.
Sorry for the wrong info guys

What i came to know is that it will be launched in another 2 months may be. Lets keep our fingers crossed.

Today meet a assistant sales manager from the factory.
One good news is Thunderbird 500 will be launched in mid or end of JULY for sure.
And the bad news it will cost around 2 lac ...
He also showed me a couple of pictures of bikes.
One was almost like the classic, but it was really different.
But the pics were awesome. He did not share anything else though.
He came for an inspection , and was also collecting information from the customers.
he was really interested to know customers feedback, and what all the customers think about the bikes.

2 lacs is a bit too much..

Yah thats true ....
But the fact is RE knows that there are no competitors in their field .....
Honda CBR 250R also sells right, and it costs around 2.1 on road or 1.85 on road now.
RE is just utilizing and miss-using its customers ....
I told the ASM the same ... and he said that , its kind of marketing that they wanna do ....

any way Thunderbird 500 is a flagship model for bullet .... so dont expect it ot be cheap, is what he said

I just hate the fact that we bullet riders are getting screwed up, and we are shedding a lot of unnecessary money from our pockets .....
That really is not acceptable ....

The Classic 350/500 is authentic retro/classic styling and stay's true and honest to the classic British bike theme.. and that works like a charm for the Classic 350/500.

But somehow the styling of the Thunderbird never appealed to me. To me the Thunderbird it is neither a true Cruiser (in the Harley Davidson mould) nor a classic/retro bike (like the Bullet/Classic) or a modern bike. The Thunderbird is a confused in its styling.

"Desi Cruiser"..??

Payeng it depends on a person .... if u ask me, then i love the thunderbird for the way it is ....

I don wanna compare harley davidson with Thunderbird ....
Just try to do this to any thunderbird .....
1-> Change the rear tire and put a fat one
2-> Also change the front tire and put a thicker tire ...
Then try to see the bike ....
It will look awesome ... I have seen thunderbird like that ... it looks amazing ....

But dont mind, but people who love sports bike will never like thunderbird , thats very true.

But by the way liked the word 'Desi Cruiser' name :-P ..

once the thunderbird 500 is released go and have a look, i think u will like it