Strictly Adults Only!. Review on Bullet ThunderBird

Royal Enfield, The grand daddy of indian two wheelers is back with a thunderous bang. It's called the 'ThunderBird'. The design of bike is based on the 'late' Royal Enfield's Lightning 535, which is sadly now out of production. This bike is bad news for most of the classic bullet enthusiasts all over, because the locations of gear lever and brake pedal are Interchanged. Yes! Moreover, the brake shift pattern is changed too. Aha! It is now the 1 Down - 2,3,4,5 up, oops! sorry I forgot to mention that the gearbox is now 5-speed. Which means you do still do those 100+ speeds but much better confidence and ease. The engine is the Machismo A350, not new, but more powerful than the Standard bullet. Constant Vacuum Carburettor one of the best improvements to the Royal Enfield Bikes. This is the reason I guess, why the 18 BHP engine seems to have much better pickup then ever before (0-60 .. ~6 secs!). Sound is sadly not like the original bullet, that slow dud-dud-dud sound is now missing. None of the new bullets have it anyway. REM says it is because of the new emission and sound norms that they need to meet. Fuel efficiency of 40KMPL for an 18BHP/350cc bike is bloody impressive.

Taking of the Looks (What made me buy this thing without a test ride?). Personally, I haven't seen a better looking bike than this amongst the Indian bikes. 'Eliminator', 'Enticer' exist but don't come close to 'its majesty'. Raised Front, Cruiser Handle bar, Chrome Odometer + tachometer(new) give the Thunderbird a very 'get on top' kinda look. Thunderbird has no major chrome parts, the mud guards and the body all have the same colour. Some hate it. I like it. You no longer find the battery etc visible like the Bullet. Everything is now concealed within the smartly designed Side covers. The Wheels are the same. so are the brakes. There is an option of Front disc brakes, quite effective for a bike this size. The regular brakes have a Brake wear-off indicator. This is a nice addition as we tend to forget change the pad and eventually screw up the brake drums. Another very thoughtful addition is a small first aid kit containing 'Ointment,Bandage,Plaster and some cotton'.

Thunderbird comes with a one-year warranty and 4 free services at a workshop of your choice. Cool. I never had to go to the workshop/garage for things other than basic chain adjustment or a cable problem. There still are minor leakages here and there but not as much as the bullet. Cost 'on road': 73k bare bones. Disc brakes 6K+. On the higher side but the impressive new avatar of bullet is worth it. It is available in 4 colours : Ocean Black (Metallic Dark Blue-Grey Actually), Red,Blue and Silver. Take your pick and 'Escape'. Don't get angry at people following you and asking you about your new passion.

Do check out their website : https://royalenfield.com/thunderbird

Cheerio.

Me.

----- Comment Added on 1-jun-2006-----

Almost 4 years After writing this review and riding the bike.

I find Thunderbird by far the most efficient Cruiser available in India.

Odo Reading: 83000+

Top Speed: 119 KMPH

Avg Mileage : 35 KMPL (Still)

Piston Rings: Unchanged

Changed so far:

3 Rear Tyres.

3 Chain/Sprockets.

2 Clutch Plates Sets

1 Ignition Coil

1 Battery

Service Frequency 3 Times in the last 3 years.

For 4 years and 83K Kms of All Terain Riding and

Almost Zero Maintainance The bike has done fantastic till date.

Never Stopped anywhere.

Over the years, Hundereds of T'Birds have Done India's most

challenging rides in Ladakh/North East and Kashmir2KanyaKumari

Rides with hardly any issues.

So I guess all those who phoo-phooed the bike are humbled.

T'Bird is by far the most efficient cruiser in India.

Cheers

Kj

-------------------