Apr 13, 2009 06:49 PM
4895 Views
I had always wanted a cruiser bike... since we dont have any true blue affordable cruisers the choice was just two - Thunderbird or Avenger. I liked the Thunderbird, so I went to the local dealer..very smooth talking, had no bike for a test ride ( he had a waitlist, short of inventory etc), promised to bring one to my office, it never came and inspite of calling twice -- nothing happened.
That put me off... I was a prospective buyer ! I tried a friends, it was too heavy for my liking...i do some city riding also...but mainly the I use the bike on sundays just for the feel of it...
Then I went to the Bajaj dealer the difference was stark..they didn't have a bike too.. the sales guy said he had one in his sister show room on the other part of the town. Next day he called me saying the bike has arrived, and as I was in town, I dropped in. He was all help..
The test drive was fine..i liked the different feel, the seating position felt a little odd, since it is very different from the regular bikes..I bought it...as I was driving home I noticed that my right rear view was not angled correctly and I couldn't see traffic, rather it was showing the tarmac near the exhaust. I stopped the bike and tried to angle it up.... no go...it wouldn't budge. anyway, it has an inherent design fault where the reservoir of the brake oil, the angle of turn of the mirror all colludes to point the mirror down.
The mechanic who came to assist me( I was standing there as it was dangerous to ride) told me it cant be fixed...its made like that..I was furious, you pay 75 grand and you are telling me , i cant see the rear traffic! but the sales guy I called pacified me...he said he will get it done...next day he corrected it, they had to grind a corner of the reservoir a little.
Yesterday I had long ride in it in the evening, my first real ride. After the initial seating issue, I find this as comfortable as sitting in a car ! the bike is heavy and so takes the rough strides easily..the headlight is as bright as a car's ! Turning the bike will have to getting used to ... it just feels like you ARE riding a bike. Park it anywhere, it grabs you attention...the only issue of now... a design award should be given to the jerk who put the ignition under the tank ! ! ! must be worlds first bike with this facility...wondering if I can sue over that :)
