"I’m an outcast riding into town alone. I got wanderlust branded deeper than the bone" - Megadeth
Anybody getting their hands on this bike cannot resist the temptation of long drives. I always say Thunderbird is not a bullet and it should never be compared with one. TB was a step in a different direction and TBTS is a further step in the same direction. I believe RE had taken feedback from mechanics and other TB users and have genuinely addressed some of the issues like tappet valve sound, oil leaks etc.
Till now I have completed 8000 km in around 4 months, drove non-stop for about 560 km from Bangalore to Cochin, clocked 1210 km in 4 days in a trip to Kasargod/Kannur & have ridden on almost all kinds of terrains other than snow covered mountains ;-) Whether there are roads or NO roads this bike is as comfortable as a limo.
I easily get 35-40kmpl in city and 45-50kmpl on highways. Handling was a bit tough initially but within a month of biking the TBTS turns from cumbersome to a graceful machine may be it gets way too smooth and manageable that you might want to try some stunts on it :-) I cannot comment on reliability since it has only ran for 8000km and may be after I cross 20K mark I might come back here and give my feedback.
Ok, enough of TBTS glorification, talking about some CONs, please note that I am not mentioning the legacy concerns with respect to RE Bikes. Most of the unique features of RE bikes like over priced spare parts, poor servicing, vibrations & certain amount of rusting holds good for TBTS also :-) Other additional special effects which comes with TBTS are.
> Disc Brake assembly problems, it continuously gives a squeaky sound. hopefully it might get fixed with next service.
> TBTS starts panting &coughing once you cross 90kmph, the engine sound changes and I would not suggest you to test the limits of the bike. But once I did go up to 120kmph on the speedometer. :-)
> The bike has a muffled sound hence a Goldie for the rescue. Now it thumps like a Bullet
> Even the halogen lamp is not satisfactory
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Lastly, once you buy this bike you are going to spend all your leaves& weekends on long drives and more long drives and hence inviting wrath from family, friends & girl friends. I say Enfield should start giving a statutory warning with all their bikes, so that they should not be held responsible for any kind of family crisis. Ride safe!
20000 km update
Thanks to pradeep for reminding me about my promise ;-)
> Bike still rolling like a monster
> Chain sproket assembly worn out by 15K km even after regular lubrication, so replaced : that particular service costed me 3500+ :(
> Clutch cable and accelerator still the original ones, regular lubrication done during service
> On an average a paid service costs around 1500bucks for me
> Minor oil leak problems, nothing major
> After changing the silencer and removing muffler I am still facing leakage at the exhaust pipe and silencer pipe joint, still not fixed, still the bike backfires :(
> Tyres are worn out, bike has alignment issues still the stability is rock solid :)
Can’t think of anything else, no matter what I still love this bike, riding her becomes more and more special with each passing mile, take good care of her and she will take care of you when you are on highways ;-)
Totally recommended!!!