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-   -   RE Classic Chrome 500 (12,500kms Done):The "Maroon Marauder" THUMP's home!! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/113632-re-classic-chrome-500-12-500kms-done-maroon-marauder-thumps-home-15.html)

Congrats mobike008 on the gleamer!! Albeit its a little late in the day but my research searching for some 500 threads led me to this. My thoughts exactly on some of your observations regarding the 500 being a torque monster compared to the 350. I had owned the first 500s to be launched in India during the 90's and that was not a pleasant ownership. They had a majority of issues and even though I had an inbuilt affection for the RE, sadly I let it go after keeping it for a few years. Time for resurrection has come... Its one the contenders again after the preferred choices of the Ninja 650, HD Superlow/Iron 883, Duke 390 and Aquila Pro 650.

Few queries -
- How does the swept up OE exhaust compare to the one installed by you?
- I was offered the swept up exhausts for the TB too and was quoted that the thump would be exactly the same. Your thoughts on that?
- Any rusting issues? As I have heard from many RE owners regarding the same.
- Any other built issues?
- The crudeness of the bike seems to have reduced to a great extent after the twin spark UCE engine. Your thoughts on that?

Keep updating and enjoying.

Thanks for your kind words. Bullets have become almost (more than half the mark) as contemparary as its competitors like the Pulsars, Splendours etc..in terms of reliability.

Even I was pretty apprehensive of buying a bullet as i didnt want to spend more time at ASC than riding it. Thankfully after 16 months of ownership, I can confidently say that I never visited the ASC except for regular service.

Only two problems faced which according to me are minor irritants :-

1. Rear tyre punctered 3 times till now and each time i changed the tube. Each time a cost of Approx Rs.300. No punctures in last 1000kms

2. Battery died after 6000kms. An expense of Rs.2700

Other than above, the joy of riding a bullet is unparallel

Below is my response to your queries :-

1. Please dont waste your time on the OE upswept exhaust, the thump is marginally better than the oE exhuast which is so soft, you wont even feel your riding a bullet because the trademark thump isnt there. Mine is a custom job and sound is to be heard to be beileved. Its deep, throaty and very bassy. It isnt a shrill or cacophonic sound most other bulleteers bike's sound. A small revv at the signal makes heads turn. A group of 6 bikers in my bullet club have identical silencers on our 500CC's

2. Already answered in first question

3. Zero rusting issues till date. This phenomena is mostly found in Desert Storm which is 100% susceptible to rusting.

4. Zilch issues in built quality. Superb to the core. Built like a gun, goes like a bullet:D

5. I agree the bike is much more refined and majority of the niggles found in UCE engines. However, there is a minor vibration, a bit of harshness once in a while, a little hiccups now and then. Heck, if you dont have these minor issues, then your not riding a bullet

Hope these inputs help

Cheers and goodluck on your decision

What is the tyre pressure that you use ? RE values are 18-28 for solo and 20-30 for pillion. In doubt, use 20-30 (front-back tyres), and not the 25-35 that most fuel stations use as default for two wheelers.

Remember, RE is special ;-)

In my 10 years/60k kms of RE ownership, I have had exactly three punctures, one in city and two on the highways.

Battery death after just 6k kms is fishy. Did you try recharging it ? There could also be an earthing fault, which could lead to such a quick drain.

Shyam

Hi, not sure what tyre pressure you running on. I maintain 26 front and 36 rear.

You would not beileve it. I have always used 35 for rear and 30 for front for the bullet ( irrespective of the bike that I rode and I owned plenty of bikes in my life):D

Iam mostly riding alone. So what is the most ideal air pressure to enjoy the ride and also save it from punctures?

That's fantastic. I have an even better tale to share but, for one of my cars ( Hyundai Santro). Bought it brand new, drove for almost 50K kms and sold it with car never having even a SINGLE puncture clap:

Bike wouldnt start. So got the battery fully charged and then the bike started used it briefly for a day and next day, it wont start again. Changed the battery to a new one and its fine since then

I reckon battery life is pure luck. Some people dont use their bike for days together but, still their battery last much longer whereas i use the bike atleast once in 2-3 days and it died at 6000kms:Frustrati

Hi mobike,

Those pressures you've mentioned are far too high IMO. I ride solo most of the time as well, and I use pressures of 18 for the front and 28 for the rear. Im not a very heavy guy (~75 kgs), so you may want to increase those numbers to 20 (front) and 30 (rear) if you weigh more.

Hope that helps,

Cheers,

-Sam

Hi Mobike. Great write up on your experience of living with the CC 500. The above gave me a few concerns which I wish to ask you about.

1. Great looking exhaust on the bike. Could you tell me where exactly you got that made? An audio file of the sound would be of great help.

2. I have booked a Desert Storm in Feb 2013 (still waiting for RE to call and ask me to collect), you say this model is susceptible to rust. Could you maybe ellaborate a little on that? Maybe the precautions I would have to take in keeping it rust free?

Ive already made my decision to get one and its a bit too late to make a change (RE say the entire booking process will have to be restarted). I am honestly losing patience waiting for them to deliver so changing my booking would be a bad idea at this moment.

Iam 6ft.1inch tall with a big frame and close to 100kgs so I think Iam not too far away in terms of air pressure :D. Maybe a little bit of de-tuning would be better. How about 25 (F) and 32 (Rear)??

Thanks for your comments Fullrevs. I like my vehicles to gleam at every stage of my ownership and I take great pains to maintain them in that gleaming stage at all times

1. I got the exhaust custom made in Hyderabad from the old part of the city where you will find plenty of artisans dedicated to Bullets and Jeeps. I happened to take a ride of a fellow bulleteer bike during a Republic Day Ride of our group and felt this was the perfect silencer that I was looking for. I tested other silencers too but, none impressed me. It costed me Rs.2600 and since the measurement was already with the installer, it was just a 30 minute job

I have already posted the audio/video link of the silencer. Here is the link for same :-

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...ml#post2892243

2. I have see almost every Desert Storm that I came across has rusting issues in following areas
a) Under the Seats
b) Area between handle bar and plastic switches
c) Paint fading near the front headlamps

In comparison the chrome has been a solid color/paint and I have zero rusting or fading issues. There is no real precaution for rusting except keep it away from water or damp areas which is easier said than done.

Iam not sure why other cities have so much problems in delivering a 500cc bike.

In Hyderabad, as mentioned before a Classic 500cc ( Chrome or DS) is ready to be delivered in < 2 months. With some connections it can be brought down to 30 days.

I still think the front tyre pressure is a bit high for solo riding.

I don't know if any other owners have noticed this but i noticed that when the tyre pressure on my C500 is high, the gear shifts feel very notchy and rough. This is very weird because I can't figure out the relationship there. I've noticed this consistently. I remember Randhawa had once mentioned something of this sort on the Classic 500 thread, and dug up that post. Here it is:

I have the same question. Has anyone else noticed similar behavior. If so, any idea what causes this?

The mis-shifts and gear spring-backs could be because of your heel inadvertently actuating the heel-toe shifter because of the bumpy ride.

Possibly, but I'm not talking about mis-shifts or spring backs here. I'm talking about a notchy, jerky, or very loud and rough gear shift.

Everything feels jerky and rough and out of sync on a Bullet with overinflated tyres. Especially when ridden solo. More so on gas shocks (never liked them).

Well, i have been riding most of the time with 35 (R) and 30 (F) set-up and except for a slightly bumpy ride, I never felt any other difficulties

Infact, with above PSI, i feel the bike surges forward better in each gear compared to when the air pressure is lower ( say after 1-2 weeks down the line)

Thanks for your response mobike. That was very useful to me. Ive always known that Matt finish paints are a pain to keep in good shape. A friend of mine (the guy who inspired me to buy one) goes through a lot of struggle to keep the matt paint in good shape. I also hear the guidelines to maintain are quite stringent. Restrictions on types of cloth to use for wiping, soaps, suds and so on.

Bangalore probably has the largest waiting period among all cities I presume. I was told it would take 3 months from Feb but when i went to re-check they said it would be NOV-Early DEC. What a drag!!

How is the seating position for you? I share pretty much the same dimensions with you on height and weight. Has the bike ever felt a lil too short in height whilst riding?

Well, since this is my first bullet. The seating position was perfect as I got used to the bike. But, I will have to confess one thing, for people of our height and weight, the seating is really uncomfortable for long rides

The last 30kms of a 300kms ride will be total agony. I normally do all kinds of gimmick to give comfort to my underside like standing up, shifting in the seat etc.:uncontrol

Having said that and also having taken a ride of INSEARCH's TB-500 for about 40kms and a brief report which i shared a few posts back, Iam quite happy with my decision on purchasing the Classic 500.:thumbs up