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!

Royal Enfield Old vs New

Royal Enfield is one of the cult brands of the motorcycling world and by far the company most revered by bikers atleast as far as India is concerned. It was and is a legendary brand and also now an Indian company owned by Eicher group. The company which was in loses has turned around over the last few years with the launch of new model like Classic with Unit Construction Engine and Twinspark Technology.

But after riding various versions of Enfields dating back to 1972 when the RE created a sensation by launching a diesel version of bullet which is now one of the vintage collector's bike i feel the magic is somehow lost in the modern Enfield's. Yes, the RE's nowadays are giving better mileage, more refined and most of all reliable and easily serviceable with even more power. But the joy of riding a old RE Diesel at just 70 kmph cannot be found when riding a classic at 120 kmph. In the past owning a RE was one hell of a job, the bikes had many issues primary of which was oil leakage from the cast iron casing, also the clutch wires broke frequently and one had to have good knowledge of the bike and always carry spares when hitting the road.
You needed lot of experience and force just to kick start the old bikes and till recently there was no self start and even till date the RE's come with kicker which is a welcome sign as you would not be left stranded in case your battery died. The thump was much more metallic thanks to the cast iron engine and open silencer even thought people are modifying the silencer's it cannot be compared to the old bikes which simply roar down the street. The older bikes were also the kind of bikes which lasted you a life time if maintained properly but although they were not well engineered even for that time but they were all fun to ride and defined personality of the person. The modern bikes however are becoming more of a youth fantasy rather than a bikers desire they are now lighter, faster and nimble and not at all hard to ride which is good but not appealing to a hardcore biker.
I like the Thunderbird from the RE's stable a lot and have ridden almost all versions of it and i feel there is nothing that can beat the first version which required muscle to just get it going and was still powerful enough to hit 120 kmph with a cast iron engine. The bike had its set of problems like false neutrals from the gearbox, complicated clutch wire changing which is a problem when it breaks quite frequently, and the insufficient kicker but still the vibration and the thump will put a smile on your face. The newer thunderbird still captured some of the awesomeness by having one of the longest wheelbases and even longer exhaust but suprisingly the newer thunderbird is even shorter and lighter. The changes are with the modern trend of fuel efficiency and emission norms but that is not why anyone would buy an RE and by making the bikes more rideable they are targeting a wider group of people but losing out on the core bikers. RE still holds a lot of biking trips and they have strong brand marketing.
But if i had to buy an RE i would go for the older one because i feel the pain and cost of maintaining is worth the joy of riding one!

Bajaj Avenger 220 DTSi vs Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350

I had never been a big fan of pulsar and always preferred apache over it and when i got a chance to ride my friends avenger i was skeptical about it. The first thing you notice after you place the key in the odd place under the seat is the loud fuel injected engine roaring to life. Surprisingly, the engine on avenger is very refined and the gear shifts are butter smooth and the bike feels torquey and powerful throughout its rev range. It puts out around 19bhp @ 8400 rpm and 17.5 nm of torque @ 7000 rpm this is 2 less both on power and torque from the P220 mill.

The bike is suited more for riders below 6 feet as for tall riders the seating posture gets a bit awkward with the legs protruding above the tank. The pillion seat is the most comfortable i have found on a bike yet.The avenger is specifically designed to be a cruiser and hence has longer wheelbase, wide seats and a relaxed riding posture which is great on highways but in city conditions makes it slightly hard to navigate in traffic. The best part is it sticks to its cruiser attitude and provides a wide range of cruising speed all the way from 70-110kmph (indicated) it feels very comfortable when pushed it reaches a top speed of 130kmph (indicated) but most of all the bike feels stable as a rock at these speeds mostly because of its long wheel base and low center of gravity. The most asked question in India "Kitne deti hai?" the bike provides a mileage of around 32-33kmpl depending on the riding conditions. The build quality is average and i feel it could have been much better.

All is good with avenger but if all you want is a cruiser then its my opinion that you will be better off with a royal enfield thunderbird 350 which gives you more of a  "feel like god" feeling than avenger can ever aspire too.Yes, it is 10k more expensive but i feel its worth much more than that. The thump of an enfield is sweet music to any biker's ears. In terms of performance also the bike produces tons of torque and i even prefer the high seating arrangement. It can also cruise at similar speeds and even gives better mileage than that of an avenger. The bike is more equipped and you also get a tachometer which is missing in the avenger. But not everyone is die hard fan of enfields and the bike weighs a ton so if you are an inexperienced rider looking for a first bike the enfield might be to huge a call considering it has got a foot more wheel base than the avenger so avenger is a better choice. The enfields have a big issue on reliability compared to avenger and with a 6 month waiting time which is a big turn off for any enthusiast.

But owning an enfield changes a persons lifestyle altogether and such is the effect of the bike which is missing on the avenger but in the Indian market where there is a dearth of cruisers at the bottom end these are the only options and both are arguable in their own right but if it was my choice to choose between these two the enfield it would be it has a legend to it and the bike gives you an attitude and road presence. All this for just 10k more i feel its totally worth it. The waiting period is long but hopefully it should be reduced soon as they are coming up with a new factory at oragadam, chennai. You dont just buy an enfield you buy a life style!!!

Credits- Sandeep Pentakota for his Avenger and inputs for the review!