A wonderful riding machine. Review on Royal Enfield Thunderbird

This is just a preliminary review. Done 250+ km's till date. Overall a good bike, excellent handling & power. An all terrain bike whether city road, highway, off road. Can't say about mechanical problems as the bike is new and has used it mainly in city and one small highway trip which included steep hilly area and some off road(night riding). No complaints on the performance till now.

Only drawback that I noticed is that its is very uncomfortable for the pillion rider, rear shockers are hard and the back rest is merely for show. It seems that the earlier TBTS model has a better back rest. My next review will follow soon after around 1000+ km's usage. The best part of this bike is the meter automation, looks of the meter, projection head lamps-very bright.

Overall an 8 on a scale of 10. Hope RE make the necessary changes about the drawbacks in this bike based on reviews written by people.

7th Feb, 2013 – A review after completion of 1200 km’s

Type of riding conditions – Mix(City roads as well as highways) even some rough, very bad road tracks.

I will not talk about visual appeal, drool factor etc because every RE rider/fan knows about it. I am happy with the looks of the bike and do not like to make alterations in exhaust pipe etc. The thump of the bike is fine and any louder it will be a pain. On all parameters the bike is a good performer.

As observed by me:

Pros – Good on Ghats(steep hilly areas). Optimum performance on highways specially when it gains speed / momentum. Not bad in fuel efficiency if power & CC is taken into consideration. Brake efficiency is good enough. Maneuverability in city traffic is good considering the weight factor of approximate 200kg’s but in bumper to bumper traffic slightly difficult to ride. Head lights are fantastic(both low and high beam).

Cons - Digital meter is tricky often giving wrong readings in fuel, service tool flashing etc. Analog meter is ok. Some minor quality issues like paint, engine coating but then it is expected from RE as normal quality issues. Tank is too big, can do with a little smaller one like 16 liters and the pillion back rest is not of sufficient height making it almost useless. Pillion seat is also not comfortable.

All in all The PROS weights over the CONS making it a desirable vehicle.

I am getting good response from the service centre(Brahma Motors, Pune) whenever I need their assistance. I have not found any other major issues till now. This bike is meant for enjoying the ride pleasure and everyone has their own way of doing it. I find it the best way is to cruise on highways etc with reasonable speed(60-80km’s) which serves two purposes. 1. Enjoy the ride 2. Have better control on the vehicle.

Further to the rating I posted in my previous review I will still rate this bike 8 points out of 10 points.

It is a vehicle to possess, cherish, love and enjoy. Meant for men and not for boys. I am sure RE and it’s motorcycles will not loose it’s charm for years to come. We RE fans will always love them. Happy riding. Cheers.

Update - 16 Dec 022 - The vehicle is still with me. Still going strong. No problem as such. I take good care of it so it serves me well. Never faced any major problem except breakage of clutch cable two times in last 10 years. Mileage is still consistent 40+ km /litre on highway runs.