Review of the All new Thunderbird 500

I was waiting for this one and finally i got a chance to ride the latest offering from Royal Enfield the Thunderbird 500. The 1st thing you notice on the bike is the blue lit dials which look modern and classy at the same time and read the speed in both kmph and mph although its not necessary its cool! You get a tachometer which red lines at 5500rpm and a digital display below the speedo to give you the trip meter and average speed and other necessity's. And on pressing the starter the electric motor cranks up the engine and you can hear a deep sounding brutal engine slowly coming to life. The sound is pleasure there is a new thump and i am all in for it. It produces a loud yet subtle note which gets better as you rev the engine hard.

Performance

Since it was an 500cc vehicle i decided to be cautious with it and soon realised the clutch engaged only at the at the end this is not very comfortable in traffic but helps to keep the 500c vehicle under control. After riding it in the city streets for some time i decided to head to open roads what better place than the chennai bypass. Once i hit the bypass i gunned the engine and was surprised with the pick up and the bike pulled cleanly till 120 kmph and had still more than 1000 rpm to the indicated red line but the road was bumpy and it was dark so we decided to call it off and head back. The bike should have a top speed of 140kmph and later on dragging it against a CBR 250r we found that the bike is a tad slower but still in sight of CBR which is surprising for a heavy vehicle such as this. There have been some tweaks in the engine but its minor and overall it should be quite similar to the plant in classic 500.

Handling
Traditionally the scariest part of owning a thubnderbird the bikes were designed to be cruiser hence had long wheel base and heavy weight (comparative to other bikes of the segment) and when chucked into a corner they werent in their comfort zone but all that has changed with the new thunderbird its shorter wheelbase and lighter weight means its nimble and quick and allows you to slip past traffic with ease cornering was not bad too it cornered well even at speed and maintained its composure. The bike has been designed for both cruising and city riding in mind. While the shorter wheelbase and compact dimensions are favorable for the city. The 20l tank up front reminds you to ride further.
The braking is provided by double disc both in front and rear which are fit enough to bring th bike to a stop but ABS is missing which is disappointing.

Mileage
The engine comes with electronic fuel injection which should improve the economy and the 500 mill should return a mileage of around 25 kmpl in city and 28-30 on the highways under normal driving. This is respectable keeping in mind its a 500cc engine.



Ergonomics and Ride

The most important thing of a cruiser and the place where the thunderbird scores i never liked the cruiser feel mostly because you dont have as much control over the bike like the other bikes but the thunderbird comes with perfect arrangement and ensures good rideability and feel of the bike while giving good control. The pillion seat is comfortable as well the only issue being the odd looking small backrest provided for the pillion rider which although does it job looks awkward for a bike of that stature. Also the bike soaks up the terrain really well even in bad roads makes
riding a breeze.

Looks and Build Quality
The looks of the bike at first sight might not be that appealing, but its a completely new design and for the first time RE has paid attention to detail and quality which will soon grow upon you. To start off now the bike comes with a factory fitted projectors which provide good throw at any condition and help in increasing the riders confidence. The tail lamp, indicators are all LED which looks great. The tank lid is offset to the right and looks great while ensuring that tank is filled to brim when on side stand. The leg rests for the rider and pillion are cylindrical with RE stamped on them. The switch's and other plastic bits seem to be of good quality. The logo is embossed on the side and all other bits seem of good quality too.


Verdict
After riding the bike for nearly 200kms it was indeed an incredible experience and the bike is perfect for highway cruising with plenty of fire in its belly and is one hell of a bike to ride no doubt about it and the performance is too good to be true while the handling is a breeze but the flavor of enfield is somewhat missing out and more of a regular bike rather than an ENFIELD! Its nice to see that even royal enfield has gone with the times and are offering new technologies like electronic fuel injection, led tail lamps and so on. All this should ensure wider audience for the bike and owning an enfield shouldnt be as scary as it used to be. Although it might not impress the hardcore RE fans but it should be a hit for the general audience with almost no serious cons it should be one of the best rides from RE stable so far. But beware the bike still loves to leak oil!