[ebonho]

Thar, thanks for the words of appreciation from a fellow Bulleteer (you are always a Bulleteer once you have been a Bulleteer there are no ex-Bulleteers! ).

My suggestion of course would be to go with the 390. In every way imaginable it is a superior bike to the Continental GT.

On the issue of riding with a pillion, neither bike is going to win you husband/boyfriend-of-the-year. Go into that bit of the choice with your eyes open.

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by Thar4x4

Duke 390 Vs Continental GT

1. Long distance tourer with sufficient luggage.

Both fares well here. If you are talking about sub 100kmph cruising then the CGT will satisfy you.

2. Fun bike

Depends on one's definition of the word fun, but still both are fun in their own ways.

3. Pillion friendly for short rides.

Not sure about the CGT's single long seat but it looks promising from pillion's perspective. And the 390's pillion is comfortable enough for short city bursts but not so for long hauls.

4. Should do daily commute in Pune traffic.

The CGT might have an edge here depending on how easily you can live with the heat generated from the 375cc mill of the Duke. If you cannot live with the heat blast directed to your left leg, you might not enjoy the 390 well in traffic!

GT have pillion friendly seat for 4000 K but SA said there are footrest for pillion is that true?

I dont think the CGT is coming with pillion footpegs off the showroom floor. It should be bought as an accessory just like the long seat. Please correct me if I am wrong.

I find duke is performance bike and I might not use its all features as I do not ride very fast. Will not go with 200 as I always like to go with top end.

Please do take a thorough longish test ride before zeroing in for the 390. If you are a fan of gentle and casual throttle response of the Royal Enfields then there are high chances that you may not like the snappy throttle response and engine braking characteristics of the 390 but for some (like me) this is the very definition of the word FUN. But the CGT is impressive and fun in the acceleration, braking and handling departments in its own way. My gut feeling tells me that you will love the CGT more! But do take into consideration the fact that the 390 offers ABS in the same price range.

[VW2010]

Mostly please test drive both. Some of us here own both( RE and 390) and i have had good run with GT as well and we actually love both the bikes and we will take it to the local tea shop in the morning as well as the long haul.

For long haul though KTM390 is becoming my fav for its ease to cruise at high speed which is a little push for the RE. I am taking about similar RPM and speed and you will find the KTM comfortably cruising at 120 with no stress on the rider or the bike.

Dont get me wrong that RE are not capable. They are a different rider all together.

This video is not bad actually for your comparison.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fv2QgHgJLI

The GT if you drive it in the right position is a great long hauler for me. But on a stand up position in traffic its very tedious.

Test ride both and be guaranteed to fall for one. Side note check cbr250 as well

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by VW2010

For long haul though KTM390 is becoming my fav for its ease to cruise at high speed which is a little push for the RE. I am taking about similar RPM and speed and you will find the KTM comfortably cruising at 120 with no stress on the rider or the bike.

Dont get me wrong that RE are not capable. They are a different rider all together.

This is actually the crux. How you want to use your bike and what you want it to do.

Pushing an Enfield, any Enfield, hard, non-stop, for long periods of time, for long distances, is always fraught with danger. Your nerves are always on end, ears alert.

Basically, there is always stress.

With the KTM, the 200 as well as the 390, there is zero stress.

No stress before a ride - for a Bullet guy, the stress (and planning, and purchasing) starts a week before the ride.

No stress into the ride - for a Bullet guy, he always has one part of his mind on his piston, another on his big end, and a third on mental Russian Roulette on what exactly is his oil level at that very particular point in time.

No stress after the ride - for a Bullet guy, the bike is all loose and rough and shaken up. Some TLC seriously called for.

This holds true in various measures for ALL Bullets. And I am not talking about isolated weekend sub 500 km rides here, but multi-day touring.

On an Enfield, you would want to conserve your bike, and be very brave (or silly) to push it beyond 100-110 for any length of time.

On the 390, you could very easily push the same speed to around 140 very peacefully. With very little stress feedback from the motor.

[VW2010]

On an Enfield, you would want to conserve your bike, and be very brave (or silly) to push it beyond 100-110 for any length of time.

On the 390, you could very easily push the same speed to around 140 very peacefully. With very little stress feedback from the motor.

Dr, you just summarized everything that i could say about the difference and its a practical advice. Owning a bullet also comes with a responsibility to take care of it. There is no kidding when i say my elbows are dirty everytime before and after a ride and i am not saying with sadness but i am very proud. I had days when i said your spark plug is wet to friends and they come back with surprise saying how did you know it. You know when you are flooding the engine and you know when your sparks are wet and it comes with that extra effort. And that also makes it a reason why the oldies still still to their machine for they know what they can do and how much they can push it.

You hit the nail to say one needs to be brave or silly to push the bull beyond 100-100 for any length of time. For those who are taking offence our defense is simple. We know when the cam bush is getting powdered or the piston is close to getting seized. Heck we have rode the bike with oil mixed in petrol some days and we have no shame admitting that

The habits with a bull simply flow when you add the 390. I am sure i have tried things from simple chain adjustments to trying to remove the tank and see what the heck is there below it. The biggest advantage of the 390 is that it does 100 at around 6.5 to 7k rpm and that we are taking about 300 lesser RPM before it hits cut off(With another 200 potential rpm without cut off). We are taking about roughly 70% of engine capacity to achieve a cruising speed. Add to that the agility, nimbleness and brilliant wet weather tyres. In your cruise when you hit a rainy patch be assured you are making more time on the 390.

800kms a day is something i always say you are pushing your limits in a bullet and thats me. I prefer to ride it not for the sake of covering kms but to make sure both the man and machine has enough rest.

On the 390 800kms a day is actually not a big deal. On highways out of cities you are invariably over 15-20kmph average over the bullet and that too hardly stressing the bike.

Both are great bikes, but practical purpose points me to 390. We have 500's and we are used to the heat and may be thats why for us heat is never an issue. For the pillion though 390 is a moving induction stove

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by Thar4x4

GT have pillion friendly seat for 4000 K but SA said there are footrest for pillion is that true?

For the CGT you can change the single seat to the one for a pillion for Rs 3500. This comes with the pillion footpegs as well. I managed to get a picture of both the single and dual seat versions of the CGT. The footpegs arent visible though from this angle.

[Thar4x4]

Thanks you guys for detailed information but looks like I am more confused now because of technology and legendary. I think why I liked GT more in TD because the SA gave me key for TD and I did long 2 kms ride solo however Duke SA gave TD just in compound and he was seating as pillion which was very annoying as his legs were almost pushing me.

I have enough time so I will try to have long TD on Duke as this time I do not want to go with wrong choice.

Will keep you guys updated.

[VW2010]

I wish i were close to your place. Would have let you ride my 390. But never will i have come forward if it was my bull. You see the difference here as well

Happy confusion is always better and when you go next time to the KTM show room, tell them you need proper test ride and not these nonsense 1km withing compound test rides.

When he is seated back, just get out of the compound, what can he do, keep pleading "Stop sir".

[ArizonaJim]

Thar4x4

For your long distance touring with luggage (and with or without pillion rider) I do not recommend the GTC .

The GTC's riding position is styled after a cafe racing motorcycle.
Cafe racers, back in the day, made high speed, short races from one place to another.
Low wind resistance, great handling and high speed was the order of the day.
Carrying luggage, passengers and long distance riding in comfort were at the bottom of the priority list.

The Royal Enfield CGT matches all of these requirements except for the high speed.

Don't take that wrong. The CGT can easily cruise at 120 kmph for long distances. It just can't do what the old cafe racers could do and that is to cruise at speeds of 150 kmph or reach top speeds of over 160 kmph.

To achieve the look and low wind resistance the RE CGT uses "rear sets" which position your feet back towards the rear of the motorcycle. It also uses modified "clip on's" for the handlebars. Both of these position you for low wind resistance. They also position you in a rather uncomfortable shape for long distance, hour on hour riding.
I know of people who bought the Royal Enfield CGT and after finding the riding position put a great load on their arms and wrists when their CGT was ridden at low to moderate speeds, they sold their new bike.

The Duke 390 is a nice bike but it isn't really set up for luggage or pillion so it doesn't meet your requirements nearly as well as my recommendation.

The motorcycle that meets all of your requirements is one of the new Unit Construction, 500cc, fuel injected Royal Enfields. Either the 500 Classic with a pillion seat added or a Thunderbird 500 meets all your requirements. (For luggage etc the Thunderbird 500 seat would be my choice.)

These new fuel injected 500's can easily be ridden in a comfortable position for hundreds of kilometers at over 110 kmph for hours on end.
They will not be over-stressed by doing this.

My 2011, 500cc, fuel injected RE has accumulated over 24500 km with an average riding speed of over 80 kmph without any problems at all. These are NOT the Royal Enfields of old and their reliability easily matches any of the other new motorcycles on the market.

Give one a test ride. I'm sure you will be surprised at its comfort, power and speed.

[Thar4x4]

Originally Posted by VW2010

I wish i were close to your place. Would have let you ride my 390. But never will i have come forward if it was my bull. You see the difference here as well

When he is seated back, just get out of the compound, what can he do, keep pleading "Stop sir".

Yes same here when I was owning bullet. But why not same connection with 390? I have same feeling for my all CARs and bikes.

No these showroom people are not that supportive so I have to find other showroom.

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

Thar4x4

For your long distance touring with luggage (and with or without pillion rider) I do not recommend the GTC .

The GTC's riding position is styled after a cafe racing motorcycle.
Cafe racers, back in the day, made high speed, short races from one place to another.
Low wind resistance, great handling and high speed was the order of the day.
Carrying luggage, passengers and long distance riding in comfort were at the bottom of the priority list.

The Royal Enfield CGT matches all of these requirements except for the high speed.

Don't take that wrong. The CGT can easily cruise at 120 kmph for long distances. It just can't do what the old cafe racers could do and that is to cruise at speeds of 150 kmph or reach top speeds of over 160 kmph.

Thanks Jim !

Somehow I found seating position of CGT is comfortable, maybe I have to try it for long distance.

I do not like TB styling and Classic 500 is last option if I do not like anything in market. My close friend own it and I have ridden this bike for long distance so I am totally comfortable with it but just thinking of trying something new.

Lets see how it goes.

[gopalmg]

Originally Posted by tharian

Hi Murali,

Would be great if you could post a detailed report of your Conti here along with few more differences between riding the TB and the Conti since you may the very few who own both.
I too had the same feeling about getting used to the Conti and its riding position.
I am more of a long distance rider than a short distance racer and practically, TB500 has it all for me, but Conti is what I am attracted to due to his advanced features and of course the fact that it is actually an Enfield racer with all the old English looks.

Hi Tharian,

Ok here's a caveat before I try to do what you ask me to - I am mechanically challenged, so instead of trying to say things I know nothing of I will jump straight to the experience.

I ride the GT and my TB 500 on alternate days and the ride is generally is a 10 km ride to my office (one way) and longer rides to Delhi from Gurgaon on weekends. This weekend will be the first time I will run the GT for nearly 150 kms one way. I have been to Leh thrice on my TB, the first two times were on the older TB 350 (pre Twinspark) model, the 3rd trip was on the TB 500.

Over long distances, the TB with its raised handle bars, relaxed riding posture inspires confidence. I am not sure how the GT would be on a long ride, specially on long stretches of unpaved roads. However, having said this my GT has clocked 940 kms and I am impressed by its ability to weave through traffic, it is nimbler than the TB 500 on that score.

The seating style of the GT means less or no excruciating tailbone pain, which is a huge plus over the TB 500. But offsetting this advantage of the GT is the slight stiff neck you get riding it. The riding posture of the GT is such that my head is generally at an unnatural angle which causes stiffness in the neck. Maybe it's because I still haven't cracked the sitting posture.

The GT is higher than the TB 500 (a bit like my old TB 350) which means trying to maneuver it in a packed parking lot is a bit of a pain. The rear set foot pegs hit your calves so when you park, one needs to be a little smarter about the position. I experienced some of these issues with my old TB 350 mostly because of the height. It's the same with the GT plus the added complication is the position.

Now to where the GT scores over the TB 500. The first thing is brakes. While both have front and rear discs, the GT's braking is far sharper.

Then let's come to the gearing: the GT's gear has what these experts call different ratios. I do a lot of shifting but when in each gear you reach the limit and you change you feel a surge of power. In the TB 500, changing gears doesn't give you the same surge. I guess the difference is in the GT you get a kick with the gear change but in the TB 500 changing gear is about, "Oh I have reached 60 let me get into 5th".

I have been trying the weight on the lower back and keeping elbows relaxed posture seating and it works.

The thing I feel though is, the discussion around GT's riding posture is exaggerated - after 10 hours on the bike and some 500 kms later you feel just as tired and shot to pieces on a TB 500 and it won't be any different on the GT. So instead of a hurtful tailbone (that I get on the TB 500), I will probably have a slightly stiff neck. But the trade off is the GT is a lot more fun. On twisty roads you can lean into angles, the bike handles bumps well, it feels well planted on the road and just doesn't feel flimsy at all. For a TB rider, the GT calls for a mind shift.

But it's worth the trouble. I plan to go to McLeodganj (about 550 kms one way) and in between there's a bit of bad roads and twisties and this ride will give me a better idea of the bike. I will add to this post once I do that.

[mkovuri]

I am fifty plus. Biking is not something I do regularly. With that as a backdrop, when I ride for an hour in city on my Bullet 359, I do feel a little tired, not exhausted. That is city riding. When I rode CGT for 110 kms at a stretch which included a lot of city riding before I left the city, I was not tired at all. In fact rearing to do lot more.i had no problems of wrist or back pain. Incidentally,I have a slip disc problem. In summary,I do not think, the CGT gives a riding problem as such due to its riding position. But several of the positive p points mentioned by fellow bullets in 390 favorably do make sense. I have the same dilemma of of I should buy a 390 or CGT. I have not test ridden the 390 yet.

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by mkovuri

...Incidentally,I have a slip disc problem...

As you mentioned about the slip disc problem, I have to remind you that the suspension of the 390 is a lot more stiffer and unforgiving on bad roads and can transfer small bumps and potholes fairly well to the rider. Please do consider this point while purchasing.

[navpreet318]

Buy a CGT. Buy the triple tee of the T500. Install a classic500 handlebar. Bas you're done for touring, city rides and all. Will be a fast nimble and comfy bike with that twindowntube frame for additional rigidity and you can also do Leh on it.

[Thar4x4]

Originally Posted by navpreet318

Buy a CGT. Buy the triple tee of the T500. Install a classic500 handlebar. Bas you're done for touring, city rides and all. Will be a fast nimble and comfy bike with that twindowntube frame for additional rigidity and you can also do Leh on it.

Do you have pictures of this modification, I am very much interested if this is possible as I am sold for CGT however can find some advantages in 390 over CGT as well.

About the engine tuning company have done nice job for CGT compared to Classic 500. I road showroom TD CGT which has clocked 20000 + km and there was zero clutter from engine compared to my friends DS which is just 5000 K old.

Any thoughts over engine tuning ?