[Silverflash]

Hi everybody

My name is Anand, and I live in a joint family of bike nuts. I'm 35 years old, married with no kids yet, and have grown up and lived around bikes almost my whole life. Bullets, Jawa, Yezdi, Fury, Ind Suzuki, Yamaha RX100 and RD 350, KB 100, Pulsar 150 and 180... I've done appreciable miles on them all.

I lived in Gurgaon from 2008 to 2012, and didn't have a bike with me during that time. Bought and drove a car (Hyundai i10) which I still own and use. Moved back to Madras in 2012, and felt the bike itch act up again.

I found Team BHP when looking around for long term ownership reports of the Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500. I ordered the bike on October 6th, currently in the process of creating an ownership thread.

I currently ride my uncle's Harley Davidson Street 750 pretty regularly along with driving my i10, but am looking to meet my touring needs with the Thunderbird 500. Looking forward to it, as well as sharing my experiences with you all and hearing your comments on them.

Cheers
Anand

[a4anurag]

Welcome Anand onboard.

Good to see the list of bikes that you have been chugging miles on. Waiting to see the report on RE TBTS 500. Congrats for the bike though.

Enjoy your stay here and see you around on the forum.

Regards,
Anurag.

[S2!!!]

Hi Silverflash,

Welcome to the forum. There are some pretty neat travelogues on the forum shared by fellow members. It would be great if you too could share your touring experiences with us.

Do go through the rules once before posting.

See you around on the forum.

[fiestarry]

Originally Posted by Silverflash

Hi everybody

My name is Anand and I ordered the bike on October 6th, currently in the process of creating an ownership. Looking forward to it, as well as sharing my experiences with you all and hearing your comments on them.

Cheers
Anand

The TB500 has some amazingly high vibration levels and its quirks may get to you.
The 350 felt like a much better machine in all respects. The 500 has strong pull but the vibes are unpleasant.
A back to back test ride of several km each last week made me form this opinion.

[Silverflash]

Originally Posted by fiestarry

The TB500 has some amazingly high vibration levels and its quirks may get to you.
The 350 felt like a much better machine in all respects. The 500 has strong pull but the vibes are unpleasant.
A back to back test ride of several km each last week made me form this opinion.

I test-rode both the 350 and 500 extensively - different bikes from different showrooms over 4-5 months (over tested, you might say!). Was even able to test-ride them over a day each to feel real world performance.

The 350 just doesn't cut it for me, I'm afraid. Not enough grunt on the highway, and I spend a LOT of time on the highway. Doesn't handle as well as the 500 either around faster curves. As for the vibes, I was pretty comfortable with them. The 500 I test-rode over a day felt really smooth, and actually had less vibes at around 90-100 than the 350 - is it possible that the vibes you felt were due to a badly maintained test vehicle?

I'm currently putting together an ownership thread where I'll discuss this and other factors in my purchase in more detail.

[rajneeesh]

Originally Posted by fiestarry

The TB500 has some amazingly high vibration levels and its quirks may get to you.
The 350 felt like a much better machine in all respects. The 500 has strong pull but the vibes are unpleasant.
A back to back test ride of several km each last week made me form this opinion.

Fiestarry,

Is this your personal experience? At what speed did you face this problem. I have done clost to 8 K clicks on my TBTS 500 in a little under 2 years and have ot fced any issues. Maybe the test ride machine had an issue. Test ride differnt bike and see if your experience is any different.