Just returned back from a 1000 kms, 4-day trip around South Gujarat on my 3-4 months old Thunderbird. I am back from the ’’Gujarat Prelude Trip’’ and you can check our adventures at our website: https://60kph.com/ Click on the Gujarat Exodus Begins ’Track the Ride.’
The bike has been running wonderfully. We rode our bikes at upto 110kph over some of the stretches... however maintained a cruising speed of 80kph. Was very comfortable riding the bike.
There were 14 bikes in the group, none of the bikes gave any problem except for 2 flat tyres throughout the journey in two different bikes (one absolutely new 500cc and the other was 8-year-old 350cc standard). Other bikes just had problems with either the ignition switch or leakages here and there. But nothing major. My bike leaked in few places:
Petrol leakage from the point where the fuel cock is bolted to the tank.
Minor leakage of engine oil from various points.
Fuel leakage from the carburator as soon as I would switch off the engine. I was told that this probably was because of it being over filled. (whatever...??!!!)
The bike gave me a good average of 45-50 kmpl. I am pretty happy with its performance. The ride has definitely helped me in improving my overall riding practices too. I feel I have a better control of the bike now and know it better than before.
Making the decision
I can assure you about ’’the captivating experience’’ of riding a bullet. There are several things I would like to tell you with all due respect to the owners of the older models. Bullet has more of intangible appeal associated with it than the tangible one. One might think that people ride bullet for its power, style, low maintenance, pick up, looks, or anything else. Many people might but the veterans do not.
Some of the veterans would candidly admit that the new engine is definitely more reliable and superior to the older technology but will never approve of it. If you buy anything other than a standard bullet, it will tougher for you to find comradeship with the veterans (unless they are too nice). They will never approve of buying anything other than the standard model. But the story does not finish here..... if you buy a standard there will be a still smaller group of veterans who would despise you for not being able to buy the original ’59 model. So there is no end to it. You are expected to do the same 10 years down the line.
There there are some technical differences too. If you have any idea about computer programming, I would compare the older models with ’’Java’’ (the programming language) and the newer models with ’’VB or .NET’’ (again programming laguages). The newer models are more reliable over small and large rides and and simpler to ride with no scope of complicated fine tuning that was possible in the old machines. Many people are not comfortable with that.
If you have ever ridden an old model ... I would suggest you not to go for the AVL engine because the sound of the engine will always trouble you and you will never be satisfied with your bike. If you are afraid of those veterans laughing on you, the best choice would be to go for a standard. But the technological superiority definitely calls for the newer AVL engine.
I don’t know which bike you used to ride but in those 1 in million situations where you need to make the right decision at the back of your mind about where the brake is and where the gear is.... lol lol..... it can be really crucial.
Selecting between new and old models of Enfield is very similar to your choice of buying a japanese bike and and Enfield. You can’t justify your choice on the basis of technological superiority. Enfield is nowhere even close to these japanese bikes in terms of technology. Similarly the new AVL engine models of Enfield are the future of Enfield, they are technologically superior to their older counterparts. But still you selected to go for an Enfield .... because there is something more to Enfield than those technologically superior japanese bikes. LONGER RUNS, HOWEVER, NOTHING CAN BEAT ENFIELD. This is one bike you can trust will ride for hours absolutely smoothly without complaining.
It is a very stable bike on highways and provides the pleasure of riding too. The stability can be judged from the fact that I we (bike and me) have survived oil spill on a turn. That gives me a lot of confidence about its balance. On sharp turns however the rear wheel seems to be loosing traction at times. That I am told is normal and is not a problem.
Although the bike has decent pickup when required but, I feel, it is not made for short races. It is much more fun to let it speed on its own. (Trust me it does!!) You would not even realize and the bike would be doing 80kmph. It does not require the conscious effort of a 2 stroke bike but you have to be careful. Kick-starting the bike is another issue in itself. Thunderbird (Indian version) still does not has a self-start mechanism. Kick-starting an Enfield is an art in itself. I am still trying to master the art of starting an Enfield. The energy you have to put in is no more than just pressing your foot down but then the decompression has to be right. I still do not understand the process but it is definitely intriguing. Thunderbird has a different engine and a radical gearbox. I would suggest that the riders do not take chance with the roadside mechanics.
I am not sure how many of them will be able to assemble back its gear system once open. Owning this bike is more of a passion than anything else. The value addition is significant in other ways. There is an elite community of Enfield owners and it is good fun riding with them. If you are looking for raw adventure with new likeminded as well as radical people, this could be the bike for you. There are number of clubs run independently and with support of Royal Enfield. The opportunity for adventure definitely exists there. It would definitely not be a TQM bike with Zero defect. But then you have to buy your own toolkit and enjoy tinkiring and learning mroe about the bike slowly. For example oil might start leaking for the oil filter so you might have to put some glue there and tighten the bold or the headlight assembly would start making noise so you might have to loosen a nut over the shockers push the assembly up a bit and tighten the nut back or the spring connecting the tail-light and the rear break might come off and after lot of trying you might realize that it would be better to just leave it like that or one of the (anyways useless) drainage pipes may come off no matter how tightly you inserted it the day before. The best part is when you meet the other Enfield owners and start talking about the bike. It is then you find that some of the things you though are standard and normal are not really so. Like I found that my tank had a dent around the fuel cap which looked like a standard design. But then these are gifts from Enfield which make your bike unique.
I have been able to do a bit more than 2000 kms in about 45 days of riding it but they have definitely been satisfying. The rains in Ahmedabad, this year, have just added to the experience. One should not buy this vehicle if looking for start and stop rides, quick acclerations, too much of fieldwork within the city. You will enjoy it more if you have to do relatively longer rides over the highways.