Team-BHP > Motorbikes


Reply
  Search this Thread
32,824 views
Old 8th July 2013, 23:23   #46
BHPian
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Chennai
Posts: 129
Thanked: 40 Times
My Desert Storm at the yard and details

Happy again I went to the dealer's yard today evening to have a look at the bulllet and here it is
Royal Enfield unveils Chrome and Storm-yard.jpg

A side by side update or comparison of the new 20 litre tank available in the DS
Royal Enfield unveils Chrome and Storm-ds-tank.jpg Royal Enfield unveils Chrome and Storm-cl350-tank.jpg

My bullet's engine details
Royal Enfield unveils Chrome and Storm-engine-sticker.jpg Royal Enfield unveils Chrome and Storm-engine-sticker2.jpg

And my heart details when i first touched it was 200bpm and 100% love for it
narchennai is offline  
Old 15th July 2013, 19:47   #47
BHPian
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Chennai
Posts: 129
Thanked: 40 Times
Waiting period after seeing my Desert Storm

In my previous post I have informed about my Desert Storm arrival and now due to my fancy number preference I have to wait till today to get the RTO approval for number TN 11 D 3366. I paid Rs.2000/- as government fees and Rs.100/- for Flag Day contribution and another Rs.100/- to the cash counter staff for processing this at 4PM today.
And when I was asked to pass on the approved documents to the dealer for registering the bullet on Wednesday (again my preference day) I saw my Desert Storm parked inside the showroom. I felt happy to see it in full light and did some PDI by myself looking for rusts or any sort of damage in the paint finish. Took some snaps with my daughter on it and left the showroom. Happy again because its the first time my daughter had seen the bullet and she like the color.
Royal Enfield unveils Chrome and Storm-img_0464.jpg
Royal Enfield unveils Chrome and Storm-img_0465.jpg
Royal Enfield unveils Chrome and Storm-img_0466.jpg
Royal Enfield unveils Chrome and Storm-img_0467.jpg
narchennai is offline   (3) Thanks
Old 16th July 2013, 13:45   #48
BHPian
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Mumbai
Posts: 39
Thanked: 10 Times
Re: Royal Enfield unveils Chrome and Storm

Do check out the movie "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag". Towards the end, Milkha (Farhan Akhtar) is shown riding a Desert Storm (pic of the same is also on the RE's website).

Thanks,
Manish
manishw is offline  
Old 11th August 2013, 11:17   #49
Senior - BHPian
 
tharian's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: SBC
Posts: 3,978
Thanked: 8,005 Times
Re: Royal Enfield unveils Chrome and Storm

A comparison between the Cast Iron 500 and DS500.

Got hold of a friends 2012 DS to use for a while this morning. It has run 8k kms and has had a fall in between which led to a slight bend in the handle which can be felt on the left left wrist and right biceps.

I have ridden the Classic 500 and the TB500, but for a short distance in traffic and could not actually feel or figure anything. So, I decided to borrow this DS for short spin to compare it with my 96' 500 to know how different it is.
The first thing that hits you is the amount of torque this engine generates to the cast iron and that is in all gears right from the word go. On the cast iron 500, it does have good torque, but that is when compared to the CI350 and the AVL350 and the power on that comes in much after the accelerator is twisted and comes in steps which can be felt and then dies off around 80kmph which makes the UCE500 a fun bike to ride around only because of the torque it produces.
I wanted to check the handling and climbing abilities, so did Nandi hills and to check the top end and cruising ability, hit the expressway to Hyderabad.
The bike I rode had the upswept factory exhaust which has a nice note but nothing to beat the upswept free flow on the CI500. I suppose removing the cat con's in the exhaust system should free up some more power.
Handling ,I felt was better due to the 18 inch wheels. I could follow the line I wanted by making the bike stick to it which is not the case on my 500. If I am over the speed for a curve, I end up going wide and on the DS, I could still get it to stick to the intented line even while entering above the required speed for that curve. The downside to the 18 inches wheels I felt was high speed on bumpy roads was not very confidence inspiring and small ruts could be felt more although it had wider tires. My 500 with skinny rear tires on 19 inch wheels feels the same.
Coming to the highway ability. This is were I was blown off since this is what I always want on my bike for long trips- effortless cruising. Doing 60kmph with this engine is like killing the bike . 80-90 kmph is the sweet spot. The engine feels so effortless like it is just ticking over above idle and on an expressway , it is just perfect. On my 500, the sweet spot is 80kmph and anything above 85kmph is high revs. On the DS, 100kmph is the border line between cruising and high revving. I did check the top end and with the crouched position, it did not go above 123kmph(there is -5 speedo error). Bike is stable at these speeds unless there is a bus ahead which spoils the air flow and induces Speedmans Wobble and you need to let off. On the CI500, hitting 70kmph is effortless just like 90kmph on the DS.
I am not sure if the gear ratio's are the same on the UCE's and the AVL engined bikes which came with 5sp as well. For a change, I did not search for a sixth gear . The torque is well spread that when cruising at 90kmph, a twist is enough to move to 105kmph which it does quickly whereas on the CI , its a struggle to move above 90kmph and take its own sweet time and you will be happy to see a road sloping when in this process.
Downshifting is a breeze so is on the old 4 speed as long as you are at the right revs. This gearbox too has false neutrals and hard shifts when not in the right revs, but not as pronounced as the 4sp. Shifting at higher revs have butter smooth feel to it.
The seat- was a pain the a**. Would defenetly need a replacement during long trips.
Basically, the difference is like a petrol and diesel engined car of the same model. The diesel generates more torque than the petrol and cruises effortlessly with or without load, but has a little more top end . Same is the CI500 and the UCE 500.


After the ride was done, I rode my 500 and it felt like the bike was not moving when accelerating and I thought something was wrong
I am old school and I was happy to ride the old thumper back home for now and will wait for the Conti GT..


Mods-Please excuse the multiple references to speed since that was the only way I could compare the two bikes without a rev counter.

Regards

Some pictures
Attached Thumbnails
Royal Enfield unveils Chrome and Storm-img722.jpg  

Royal Enfield unveils Chrome and Storm-img723.jpg  

Royal Enfield unveils Chrome and Storm-img724.jpg  

Royal Enfield unveils Chrome and Storm-img725.jpg  

Royal Enfield unveils Chrome and Storm-img726.jpg  

tharian is offline   (2) Thanks
Old 12th August 2013, 10:35   #50
Senior - BHPian
 
ebonho's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Pune
Posts: 6,320
Thanked: 9,758 Times
Re: My Desert Storm at the yard and details

Quote:
Originally Posted by narchennai View Post
A side by side update or comparison of the new 20 litre tank available in the DS
Attachment 1107616 Attachment 1107615
Could you please find out and share how much does this 20L tank for the DS retail for? Thanks!
ebonho is offline  
Old 12th August 2013, 17:06   #51
Senior - BHPian
 
ku69rd's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 2,510
Thanked: 1,775 Times
Re: Royal Enfield unveils Chrome and Storm

Wow, RE upsized the petrol tank without anyone's notice? Could not find anything on the web unless my PC is running out of old cache.

It does look good nevertheless and RE must give it as options to end users at the time of booking a bike. Else they must provide a buy-back option as well for new bikes. That should help boost their image as being more customer friendly.
ku69rd is offline  
Old 14th August 2013, 14:06   #52
BHPian
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Mumbai
Posts: 39
Thanked: 10 Times
Re: Royal Enfield unveils Chrome and Storm

Quote:
Originally Posted by ku69rd View Post
Wow, RE upsized the petrol tank without anyone's notice? Could not find anything on the web unless my PC is running out of old cache.

It does look good nevertheless and RE must give it as options to end users at the time of booking a bike. Else they must provide a buy-back option as well for new bikes. That should help boost their image as being more customer friendly.
MK, it has not been updated anywhere on their website. The information is flowing from customers who are getting the new DS500s. I have confirmed the same from my dealer (am getting the delivery next month). The bikes coming from the new factory are basically having the 20 lt fuel tanks.

Regards,
Manish
manishw is offline  
Reply

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks