Good bike but know it well before you buy it. Review on Bullet ThunderBird

I want to share my experience with this bike in nontechnical and practical terms. After waiting for 6 months, I got my bike in May 2013.

At the time of delivery, I saw few scratches on the back rest bar. I was told that these scratches would go off as you use and clean the bike regularly. (?) This was one of the funniest explanations I have ever heard.

I followed all the instructions of safe and slow driving till 1000 kms and first service. As of now, I have driven it for 5000 kms and this is what my experience is:

Few positive points that I want to highlight from this duration are:

1.Bike is very stable and sitting position is comfortable.

2.Knees are positioned very comfortably compared to my previous bike, Pulsor 150.

3.Front disc break is good and effective.

4.Handle position is very comfortable.

5.Very wide and effective headlight in both upper and deeper mode.

6.Back rest is very effective for person sitting behind the rider.

7.Horn is loud and good.

8.Consistent mileage of 38-39 kmpl

Few issues that I witnessed:

1.Disc break on rear wheel is not effective. On more that 5-6 occasions, I almost bumped into the car in front of me although I was traveling at moderate speed of 50-60 kmph. After inspection, I realized that the break might be effective since the wheel was stopping but the tyre was not maintaining the grip on the road. So resolve this issue I tried recommended tyre pressure (or slightly lesser as well) so that major portion of tyre touches the road to create friction when brakes are applied.

In my opinion this also has not helped to improve the situation. In all, the selection of MRF Zapper as the rear tyre is the culprit. The tyre has no grip on road if you are driving more than 40 kmph. If you brake suddenly, the disk break stops the wheel, but due to poor grip of the tyre and momentum gathered by the bike, you would definitely slip, either gracefully or hurting yourself.

2.Rear shock absorbers are hard comparatively. I bought this bike sheer for comfort and hoping that the nitrox shock absorbers would be more effective. Got the setting changed a bit but still they feel hard.

3.Digital fuel indication work most of the time but occasionally it shows much less fuel on gauge than that present in the tank.

4.Within one month, I saw genuine rust on front wheel rim which is supposed to be of stainless steel. I was more surprised since I did not drive bike during actual rains and it was parked in basement most of the times.

5.Within first 2-3 days, I saw oil stains at the bottom of the engine. Took bike to the dealer, who charged Rs 80/-, put one flat metal plate on other side of the engine, where it was supposed to be there (?). But this resolved the issue. He officially charged me for fixing this issue.(?)

6.My front shock absorbers have something like burn marks near headlight which I did not notice while taking the delivery of the bike. I tried everything but I am not able to get rid of them now.

7.When I removed the sit fitted for the main rider, I saw that it was fixed with screw only on one side while on the other side, screw was not there. So if anyone would have pulled it, he could have easily stolen it. Got this fixed at first servicing.

8.Mirrors are good compared to the previous round shaped one. But still at times, you lose sight of vehicles as they pass the blind spot. In my opinion, slightly convex shaped mirrors would have helped a lot.

9.When I had driven around 3000 kms, on one day, while coming home from office my clutch cable broke in the middle of the road. This was my first experience of this type after driving so many bikes. Even for this bike, it was hardly 3000 kms which I had driven by then. I had to call the dealer and request for help. He had to send a person for breakdown and charged me accordingly, but at least helped after 1-1.5 hour.

10.After 3rd service, on next day, I saw that the engine oil was leaking from the bottom screws which are placed to fit the bottom exhaust cap of engine oil compartment. Took it to service center and got it fixed. The issue reoccurred in 10 days. Got it fixed once again by changing a sort of rubber valve sitting on that cap. The issue reoccurred in another 20 days. Got this issue fixed by replacing another rubber valve for the fourth time during final, fourth servicing. I hope it doesn’t reoccur soon.

11.The paint job on the tank is very soft. Scratches can be witnessed easily even with hard polythene bags if kept on tank while driving.

12.Engine oil exhaust pipe (in case of excess) was almost broken in first 2-3 months due to being very tightly tied. Got it replaced in 4th servicing and paid for it.

At the moment, my biggest worry is about the tyre grip and engine oil leak which poses question for me in terms of reliability on long drive since I am driving alone mostly. There are no other tyres available suiting this 120-80 / 18 specification. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. It’s a very good bike to be bought with so many deliberations. So think deep.

Prajakt.