The Bike...ThunderBird... Review on Bullet ThunderBird

*16th October, 2007:

* This review is about the bullet showroom and the bike. I visited two showrooms over last two weeks in Bangalore. When you decide to own a bullet and spend that big amount, almost a lakh you would expect some good treatment from the sales guys!

Well, did I say sales guys somewhere? Sorry, I guess Royal enfield people hardly believe in it. First I went to Teknik Motors in IndiraNagar as it is closer to my house. It is a pretty small shop to be called a showroom. I waited for 15-20 minutes to get some attention of a lady sitting across the counter. Till I had a chance to talk to the lady, I was listening to a customer (probably) shouting over phone to some one in Chennai for his bike not been delivered for a long period after he paid the money! Hmmm... good start to your buying experience :P... So after some time the lady comes and asks what am I looking for. Thunderbird was my response. She tore a piece of paper which had all the bike on road prices printed. You pay in cash or DD and your bike would be delivered in 10-15 days! That's it. Done for selling and she went back. You are not supposed to ask any question! Ha Ha Ha Ha... If it was some other bike than a bullet I would probably have never thought of buying one. But a die hard fan of bullet that I am I thought of giving it another shot :)

So, for the second attempt I decided to check out the Royal Enfield brand showroom in jayanagar. Ok, this looks better from outside, atleast looks like a showroom! When I Entered I had to look for some sales guy (!!!!)... I forgot there would be none. I thought I should reset my expectations. Then a guy came and asked what I am looking for. Thunderbird was my response. You want a test drive, he asked me. Yeah... I was a bit surprised. But then I refused.

I had done that many times. Its time to buy one! So he quickly told me what all documents are required. The waiting period.. 5-6 days. Hmm better than what was told to me at Teknik Motors. So, I returned in evening with all the documents... paid the money through my card (had to about 1600 extra)... and I am supposed to get my bike on Saturday20th Oct. Well I am not very hopeful that they would be able to deliver on that day.... All about setting your expectations correct.

The brand show room is slightly better than Teknik Motors but not great difference anyway. Its just the love for the Bull which keeps me going :)

*18th October:

*:) As expected, The Brand Showroom would not be able to deliver the bike on 20th October. Why? Registeration cannot not be completed by then. But they have offered that I can take delivery of my bike without registeration tomorrow (19th)... Hmmm what am I going to do with the bike without registeration number. Surely, don't want to get into trouble with cops in Bangalore with a unregistered bike. So what choice I have... none actually except to wait till next Wednesday, 24th Oct. Hmmm... The Royal experience with Royal enfield continues...

*27th October:

*So, finally after 12 days of the paying the money, I got the birdie in my hand. Hmm... it took number of phone calls to the showroom to get the bike delivered. But as they say, all well that ends well!

The bike as so many people have said: Awesome!

Didn't drive much today, just brought it home from the showroom... a distance of about 20Kms, but guys and gals, it surely is a head-turner on the road... I felt the respect it has on the road. People do give way to bullet :)

The journey has just begun. Will surely write more as the experience grows... Till then let me keep thumping and I am loving it :).

*10th November:

*Been two weeks since I have been riding this bike and believe me people, this is the best bike I have driven so far. There are some small issues which I believe would be taken care of after first service. Issues like, slight problem in gear change but slowly I have figured out the art of changing gears so actually it is not a problem any more. Done some 400kms, mostly in Bangalore traffic and trust me its a very comfy bike to ride. Average wise I am getting 35kmpl before first servicing in city riding. Starting has not been a problem at all. Just follow the standard process of decompressing before a start and it will start in 1-2 kicks.

Take care of your bike like your kid and it will take care of you :)

*11th May, 2008:

*It has been long that I update this space. Hmm... done some 5000Kms till now in some 6mnths. The bike time and again reinforces the fact that there is nothing like this on Indian Roads. Not even a single breakdown. I have taken it out on bad roads, good roads, in rain, in bad Bangalore traffic, to high speeds. I rode it a speed of 110-115 on Mysore road for quite sometime. The feeling of overtaking high speed cars on highway was awesome. The average I get on highways is around 44 and in city driving of around 40. The braking is awesome at high speeds. It came to a stand still from a speed of 90 in about 10-15meters, which I felt was pretty decent. The clutch and gear shift has also become smooth over a period of time.

I can't stop falling in love with it again and again, day after day... Again I will say, "Take care of your bike like your kid and it will take care of you" :)

24th October, 2009

Two years and I am in love with my bike more than anyone. I have to be with my bike to feel complete. Although I bought a car also last year, but bike still gets more love.

So performance, if I could put that in words! It is just amazing... No issues in engine or gear or clutch. Some oil leak here and there and a speedometer cable break and a break shoe change. That's it for 2 years of continuous riding. Been on really really long rides, minimum being 300kms to longest...mmm some 2000kms! On the other side I do take care of it diligently, biweekly polish has kept it as new, service every 3000kms with oil change has maintained a mileage of 35. But then when you keep a tiger, do you care how much does it eat. So who cares about mileage anyway!

Keep thumping folks!