[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

I am sorry, you lost me there. Can you please tell me how the back rest affects the handling?

Mate,
The bike has seen some weight reduction.
The following has been taken off to make it a bit more lighter.

1) Saree Guard
2) Rear Foot Rest ()
3) Grab Handles
4) Back Rest

Now with the back rest being removed, rear seems to be more obedient with less of cross winds playing at it.

Sourced the silencer directly from manufacturer and paid 2900 for it, which included the fitment.

[sai_ace]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Ravi Sir,
Did head out for getting the Ciggie Lighter fitted onto my TB 500. Unfortunately they had run out of stock and I was left dry. Whilst checking out their merchandise was able to lay my hands on the latest offering from Wild Boar Silencer. This one was made to be fitted on the TB's.

So far the experience has been pretty good, yes it is loud but then someone mentioned that in India you ought to be loud especially when you are on a 2-wheeler. There has been no difference in the performance of the bike but I think mileage might get affected by atleast a couple of kms for the simple reason as my right hand has become more trigger happy than earlier. The crackle is very clear and has a deep thump to it.

Have attached one photo but please pardon the poor quality as it was shot from my camera in fading light. Removing the rear back-rest seems to have made the bike more twitch-able and flickablity has gone high. Just need to point it in the right direction and a gentle swagger you will be cornering.

Rear suspensions are still a pain in the butt, and am eagerly waiting for the Continental GT Launch. Believe Nov end but not sure on the dates though.

Attachment 1159179

PS: Apologies for using your thread, but am beginning to get lazy to open a new one myself

sorry for the OT. But I think I have seen this very TB without the sissy bar and that superb exhaust on lingarajapuram flyover! what a magnificient sound!


was quite content just following this beauty.

cheers!
sai

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by sai_ace

was quite content just following this beauty.

cheers!
sai

Thanks for the your kind words, small mercies in life would say

[bhasker]

Ravi Sir,

Please post a review on the GPS mount you use on your Thunderbird. It would be very helpful if you could include some photographs and the basic operations on it.

Regards

Originally Posted by bhasker

Please post a review on the GPS mount you use on your Thunderbird.

I used my MapMyIndia GPS with handlebar mount during my Bangalore>Chitradurga>Vani Vilasa Sagara>Bangalore trip on 6 Oct 2013. On the previous night, I fitted the handlebar mount on my Blue Bird's LHS rear-view mirror clamp and managed to break the bolt. But, I got a new bolt costing mere5 from the neighbourhood two-wheeler spare part shop, although not a black one, but it was a perfect fit. I fitted my MapMyIndia navigator on the mount and tested the set-up. It was perfect. During the trip, I did not fit my navigator on the mount as I knew the route very well. When the mount did not have the company of the navigator, it was vibrating and made some rattling noise at speeds beyond 80 kmph. But, I just ignored and continued my ride upto some 100 km before Chitradurga, when I stopped, fitted the navigator on the mount, switched it on and ordered it to take me to Chitradurga fort. Then onwards, the mount did not vibrate and was totally silent. Similarly, while returning from Chitradurga fort, I used the navigator on the mount to guide me to Vani Vilasa Sagara dam. Again, the arrangement worked very well. The only disadvantage was I could not hear the voice guidance of my navigator due to my wearing helmet and wind noise at high speed. But then, visual guidance of the navigator was sufficient to reach the destinations. Similarly, I used the navigator on the mount during my Bangalore-Chennai trip on 17 Oct 2013. The next day, I removed the handlebar mount as it was a nuisance without the accompanying navigator, which acts like a counterweight to avoid unnecessary vibrations and noise. On the whole, I am fully satisfied with the handlebar mount. Here are the details and photographs clicked during the Chitradurga/Vani Vilasa Sagara trip.

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

When the mount did not have the company of the navigator, it was vibrating and made some rattling noise at speeds beyond 80 kmph.

Sir,
Did you try to dampen the mount by using some double sided sticker or small tube pieces? Would say worth a try so that you might not want to remove the mount over and over again. My concern would be that over a prolonged period of removing/refitting the plastics might actually go even worse.

The cost of servicing and maintaining my Blue Bird is just 49 paise per km at 3,990 km.

[bhasker]

Requesting all the owners of the new Thunderbird 350/500 to post the reserve tank capacity and total tank capacity. I have heard from many other onwers that the tank capacity of the Royal Enfield bikes may not be the same as specified in technical sheets. It will not be the same even if it is determined for two Thunderbird 500. I carried out any experiment to determine the reserve capacity and total capacity for my Thunderbird 350 and here are the figures:

TOTAL CAPACITY: 17.93 litres
RESERVE CAPACITY: 3.76 litres (17.93 - 14.17 = 3.76 litres)

Two months ago, while riding I was almost about to hit reserve. Suddenly, my bird starting starving of fuel and I immediately pulled the fuel cock from "ON" to "RES" position. There a was petrol station just 100 mts from the place my bike hit reserve. I got a tankful of petrol. Total quantity of fuel filled was 14.17 litres.

After two weeks, I removed all the remaining petrol from my fuel tank at Shell petrol station and transferred it to a small bottle. Then I again got a tankful of petrol. Total quantity of fuel filled was 17.93 litres.

I was surprised at the figures while filling the petrol both the times. I carried out this experiment with utmost care and precautions in order to note down all the readings and figures correctly(accurately). I parked the bike on centre stand so that that petrol can be filled properly. I asked the guy to put petrol till the point it reaches just 2 inches short of the brim of the tank.

I hope the above observations might be helpful.

Originally Posted by bhasker

Total quantity of fuel filled was 14.17 litres.

Many times, I have filled up tankful upto the brim to an extent of ~14 litres. I have not experimented beyond that. Thunderbird 500 does not have reserve mechanism. When the last bar blinks, the quantity is stated to be 5.5 +/- 0.5 litres, i.e., 5 to 6 litres. Apart from this, there is unusable dead storage of 0.6 litre. Since, my Thunderbird 500 got 14 litres in one fill, it indirectly adds up to 20 litres. Here is the extract from the owner's handbook:

[Prinz_500]

Ravi sir, am a newbie to the community. In fact this is my first post. I had been planning for a TBTS since April 2013 and am a regular to your thread, even before joining the community. Your thread was one of the catalyts for my decision.

Finally booked TBTS 500 Stone Black in Pondicherry in July 2013. Got it delivered in Sept 2013. Now that I have joined the community, I can officially thank you for your influence on my decision

Have been enjoying the ride on my matte bird for over a month now and am absolutely thrilled to own one!

[Majumdarda]

Originally Posted by Prinz_500

Ravi sir, am a newbie to the community. In fact this is my first post. I had been planning for a TBTS since April 2013 and am a regular to your thread, even before joining the community. Your thread was one of the catalyts for my decision.

Finally booked TBTS 500 Stone Black in Pondicherry in July 2013. Got it delivered in Sept 2013. Now that I have joined the community, I can officially thank you for your influence on my decision

Have been enjoying the ride on my matte bird for over a month now and am absolutely thrilled to own one!

Welcome Aboard Prinz_500. We all would like to see some snaps of your Stone Back TBTS and also the initial ownership experience. Please post some as soon as possible. Wish you miles of safe thumping ...

Best regards,

[Prinz_500]

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

Welcome Aboard Prinz_500. We all would like to see some snaps of your Stone Back TBTS and also the initial ownership experience. Please post some as soon as possible. Wish you miles of safe thumping ...

Thanks a lot Majumdarda! Will post my initial ownership experience, with pics, very soon.

Originally Posted by Prinz_500

Finally booked TBTS 500 Stone Black in Pondicherry in July 2013. Got it delivered in Sept 2013.

Congratulations and best wishes, Prinz_500. I wish you millions of miles of smiles with the company of your TB500. Explore and enjoy your bird.

[Prinz_500]

Thank you Ravi sir. My bike completed just 1000 kms. Its been a great riding experience so far. Especially love the 40-60 kmph stroll!

1482 km in less than 25 hours. 67 kmph. 31.7 kmpl.



The story goes like this: I have visited Kanniyakumari, the southernmost tip of the Indian mainland, many times. But, my Blue Bird, aka Thunderbird 500, hadn't. So, the other day, I decided to take her to Kanniyakumari so that she would get conversant with geographical boundaries of India. I cleaned and lubricated the Blue Bird's chain, washed and got her tank filled upto the brim during the last few days.

We [self and Blue Bird] left our Chennai Royapettah home by 4:10 am on 21 November 2013 [Thursday] without caring about the cyclone warnings, depressions, rain forecasts, etc. We reached TVS Bharat Petroleum pump on the Trichy bypass road - my usual place whenever visiting Trichy - at 9 am and the Blue Bird got tankful. Then, it was my turn for my bellyful! We left after sumptuous and tasty breakfast at 10 am and reached Kanniyakumari at 3:40 pm after another refuelling and couple of photographic breaks.



























The original idea was to halt at Kanniyakumari and return home by the next day. I had packed enough dresses, undergarments and other paraphernalia required for a couple of days. But, after reaching Kanniyakumari, I felt that I did not need any rest and had energy, physical fitness and mental alertness to undertake another journey immediately. By chance, if I could not continue my riding any further due to fatigue, I had a lot of staying options en route. So, quickly, I changed my plans, completed my clicking and left Kanniyakumari by 4:40 pm and reached home by 5 am on 22 November 2013 [Friday] after getting drenched in rain at Madurai bypass road and from Acharapakkam to Melmaruvathur.



















Now that the Blue Bird visited the southernmost tip of the Indian mainland with ease, she could visit the other tips in NEW, i.e., north, east and west in the coming years.