Aug 09, 2014 11:02 PM
169634 Views
(Updated Nov 22, 2014 08:39 PM)
Facts:
KM ridden: 4000KM
Months owned: 5 Months
Model: Classic 350 black
Mileage: 35 KM/litre(Shell petrol)
Experience:
Riding experience was just great, thump is okay, not as cool as old bullets, cured my back pain too. Note that the bike's handlebar causes shoulder pain, in my experience, even a friend of mine got shoulder pain on riding the bike a long distance since the bike's massive weight is transferred to the shoulder to an extent, it causes a repetitive strain injury, which grows with longer use of the bike. I am going to replace the existing handle bar with an Electra's. But man oh man what a price you have to pay for this bike. I do not mean money, its peace of mind. So, here goes as soon as I bought the bike, poor customer care at even company showroom, no manual given and I had come twice to collect it, its no big deal right, I agree. Then, oil started leaking, every night when parked, oil spilled out in tiny drops to form a patch in the shed, took it to service center someone tightened a nut supposedly, still leaking the next day! Went to different service center(Ulsoor, Bangalore), again tightened nut(drain bolt) still leaking, went back and was told "bring it on 1st service we will fix it then", so oil draining in small quantities for 15 days, gets fixed in 1st service(Whew!).
Pause: Total visits to RE= 5
Then guess what, horn not working, went back to showroom, fixed(yay!) that was fast right, stopped working by the time I reached home, took it back immediately same day, answer "Horn switch is gone, need to replace, no stock come back after a week", so rode the bike without a horn for a week. Took it back, still no stock. Went back after a week, and a different mechanic said its a loose contact and fixed it in 10 minutes:`(. Then battery gave up next week completely dead. Went back, "no stock, 1 week" as usual, went to service center 5 times over 2 weeks. Guess some old battery was put up as replacement and it gave out in 1 week, they "charged" the new replacement battery and gave it back saying its all right. Again gone in 2 weeks, am still waiting for new battery hope I get it in the coming Monday! Not to mention the pilot lamp bulb went bust and seats were squeaking for life for a week.
Pause: Total visits to RE= 5+~15= 20
Still problems aren't fixed.
I thought I was just unlucky to have got such a bike, while at the service center today, saw atleast 3 new bikes, 1 thunderbird, 1 classic, 1 Cafe racer(had lost 1.5l oil in 1 week) had lost oil lesser than 1 month old. BIke and battery have been built to fail. Multiple customers complain of battery failing on; just a single day, while I am at service center(1 hour max).
And, how was all the experience at the service center, it is like being at a slum with the service manager shouting lavda, gandu and other tamil horrible words at the workers and even about customers. No accountability of anyone. Worst process and environment at service stations, they are like godowns and low class govt office with rowdy MLAs. Certainly there are good people too, but you take the general picture right.
Verdict: A respectable and comfortable product with pitiful service and poor quality parts(relatively), the competition is very strong but not in the bullet category, hence the pain in the bum. As the number of vehicles sold by RE increases exponentially and service centers remain the same, it is only going to get worse. All RE wants to do is sell more and export more and let the customers go to hell, once sold. My personal advice if you are really gonna go for a RE then go the Electra or normal bullet.
Recently they have changed the key design, logos, dials etc, but have not fixed basic issues like oil leakages, battery failure, service center shortages, poor process at service stations and almost no IT wing I guess, everything manual and multiple other issues.
Visit a Honda service center and observe the difference, was a pleasure owning a Honda Unicorn for 4 years, with almost 0 problems and complete peace of mind, never felt like I had machine, maybe they have raised my expectations a bit, still RE is crap at-least at this point of time. As for me, if it gives me anymore trouble im selling it and going for a Yamaha FZ or CBR 250R, and have a fun experience, at the cost of the thump.