I had my own apprehensions when I decided to got with a RE. Its my first bike and had minimal biking experience prior to it, not to mention my parents were strictly against it. I bought my TBTS in April of this year and I booked it at a time when the CI's had stopped production, Electra 5S and Machismo had also ceased, 6-8 months waiting for CL500 & CL350. Ive always been a drooler for cruisers, not to mention my choices were limited to avenger or TBTS. Been almost 7 months and 6K on the ODO, nothing big than few minor niggles and the absolute pleasure of cruising on a TBTS. I would suggest to you to take a test ride to see if CL350 or TBTS suits you. And about your brother, if you want to own a legend go with RE(the new UCEs are very efficient) or else get yourself a R15 or Pulsar 220 or Karizma.

Its like your brain says go for pulsar as it makes sense in every way but then your heart says classic and the problem with long waiting period is that head slowly start to take over the heart. Now am also seesawing between pulsar and classic. Hope I don't sound fickle-minded here.

The test ride with RE was a whole different story. I inquired in 3 differetn showrooms for a test ride. First one wont let me ride the bike cause it had rained a few hours back on the day I went for the test ride (it was hardly a drizzle by the way). Other two showrooms don't have test ride vehicles.

Also when you said RE is a legend, I keep hearing this from everyone. Just want some clarification on this.

Did you mean RE is a legend as it is the oldest bike manufacturers around or did you mean it as they are best bike manufacturers around, hope you got what I meant.

Please don't get me wrong, I love the RE bikes. Just want to convince myself here that I am making the right choice.


As far as I can see now I have the following choices

1. Forget everything else and wait for the classic (supposed to get it in Feb, but might take longer)

2. Go for the Pulsar, keep the money away for couple of more months pool in some more and buy a second hand RE or may be even, like manasmahajan said, go for classic by next December.

Hope you guys understand my dilemma here, about the heart and the head.

I do not want to discourage or dicredit my beloved RE brand in anyways but their new bikes are really not upto the mark in terms of quality. I feel in a drive to make the bike more lighter and to reduce production cost the materials they re using is just not good/strong enough for the behemoth of a bike that the Bullet is. And the UCE engine has an inherrent clatter unlike the ol CI engine and CI engine'd bulls are no longer available. I ve had a Electra twinspark since may and I am really not happy with it and am Thinking of trading it in for a spanking new R15 and spare my self the hassles of runnin to the SVC or the Mechanic to have the bike setup properly.

People are going to give you different suggestions which is going to confuse you even more. I see yamahatrooper not having such a great experience but on the contrary I am enjoying my TBTS. The new UCEs do have a clatter and low thump but its nullified by a good silencer & after 6K kms I can testify that the clatter has reduced considerably. Now I dont want to cloud your judgement just because I own the bike from that manufacturer. Its your money and your decision.

Its too early to judge as to how long the UCEs are going to last or if its better or worse that the old CI engines. Its definitely low maintenance and apart from a torn head gasket havent had any complaints nor any oil leaks. Its not a fibre/plastic body and you would find welding joints on the bike which are not properly sanded. Quality control is a area of concern. But after having said all that, it has never disappointed me on the road and personally I believe that If I maintain it well, its going to last another generation, unlike any other bikes you can get in the market today.

Then offcourse there are the psychological aspects to it. RE is a brand for everyone to drool on. I dont want to start a war here but you take a certain amount of pride when you say you own a RE than any other bikes and its built for the "roads" in India. May be its not as rugged as the ones you'd get till the 80's but it does its job pretty well.

In my case the choice was easy & simple and I would like you to look at it the same. You have a budget, test ride all the bikes you have shortlisted, eventually you are going to ride it. And then make up your mind. Just my 2 cents...

@Rajiv are you sayin that the Clatter reduced after you changed the silencer pipe and ran about 6k kms.. If so man that give me hope.. I hope my clatter goes down after a goldstar fitment and some running. Otherwise I am getting meself a lot of peace of mind and going to my ever reliable, quality built YAMAHA. Though it bleeds my heart to give away the bullet but that engine clatter makes my heart feel a lot worse.

Well its a general consensus that UCE eventually quietens after the engine properly breaks-in... it does take some time though... I cant say that it has got better because of a different exhaust... I dont use a goldie, I have an original RE short bottle silencer... you can check if its available at the nearest brand store/service center... Whats your ODO reading and how many servicing have you completed ???

My Bike's run 2600 kms and has completed two services.. And in my book that s long enough for an engine to break in bro and if it has not yet i ve run out of patience on it. And the reason it's run so less in the last 8 months is the clatter and the overall feel of the bike is just not fun to ride. Man it feels like a lawn mower and not a bike.

A bit of patience would see ya through, but I understand how annoying it can get. Its all because of the new hydraulic tappets on the UCEs. I happened to highlight the same when I gave my feedback to RE at the brand store. Give aftermarket silencers a thought and see if you can find any which would drown out the rattle till the engine eventually settles in... Whats the mileage you are getting on da electra ???

@rajivnairr - My patience ran out bro, I ended up trading it in for a R15 I got a decent value for it and MSP moto world had a red R15 in stock and everything just feel in place and happened and I rode out with a R15 today. I do miss the Thump a lot but eh the buttery smooth ride home on my new Yammie is soothing the separation. I must say I am heavy hearted but am happy with my decison and on the upside the C500 has a huge waiting period and I guess I can muster up the moolah for one in that time and from what I ve heard the C500 engine is more sorted than the UCE 350.

Hi Guys,

Thanks everyone for sharing your experience and your valuable suggestions regarding my dream bike. After listening to Yamahatrooper and manasmahajan and experiencing the customer response of RE with a never ending waiting period, I have finally done something drastic. Last Friday I went to the RE showroom and asked to be moved to the bottom of the waiting period list and then went and booked myself a P220 (Silver) at the nearest PBK showroom.

So, I guess 2011 will be another year of pulsarmania for me and RE just has to wait for the end of the world.

PS: Hope the Mayan's were wrong about 2012

Cheers!!!

Sure hope they were wrong man..and If RE keep on goin the way they it could be the end of them for sure. Good choice with the P220 you re gonna own a rocket soon. As for me I am dreaming HD

I can understand hydraulics bein used in suspension, brakes, clutch but Hydraulic Tappets/Valves with a crank that is too light to work the valves..wow..What were the RE engineers thinking I fail to understand.

Ha Ha! I guess it's normal! I am experiencing this problem with my three year old bicycle! (going for a new, better one)

I have bought the Thunderbird two days back.
I'm sure you'll enjoy the Classic.
How much is the waiting period?

Sorry bro, could not reply sooner, was busy with things!! Got my 220 4 days back (already completed 400+ km )Absolutely love it man, no complaints so far!! Right now waiting for it to come back from its first service.


Guess you didn't see the previous post brother, I got myself a 220. Congos on your Tbird though.

As far as missing my previous ride goes, I decided to keep my P150 with myself, and am just pampering her like anything. To the point now wifey started showing signs of little jealousy (or may be she is just angry that I am coming late since I got the new bike, woman, can never understand them)

Confused between ThunderBird and Classic 350

Though both have pros and cons I am confused of which one to choose. Classic 350 has better tyre grip and better head lamp. But TBTS has riding comfort, bigger tank and advanced tech specs.


Can anyone suggest me which one to choose as both has the same engine??

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