[throttlehead]

Test drove the Continental GT yesterday. It sure is a delight to ride. The bike that I was TDing had good numbers on the odo, the engine was run-in so was able to truly experience the full range of the engine. It is a lovely bike, those Pirelli Demons, the Brembo brakes and the Paioli suspensions are a delight. I was able to ride the bike an open stretch of road as well as city traffic so I could get some sense of how the bike would feel on both ends of traffic.

I was looking at this bike as an upgrade from my current bike. I don't fancy the Jap bikes because of the uncomfortable pillion seats, same goes for the Duke 200/390, the Inazuma is blasphemously overpriced. I am weighing my options between an Electra / Classic 3.5/5 / Continental.

It would be my standalone bike, and I wanted to use it for my daily commute on the Western Express Highway in Mumbai, but sadly I really do echo similar feelings that members on this thread have expressed. The bike kills your wrists and palms after a while in stop and go traffic. Maybe I'm getting the sitting position wrong, maybe I'm not in the best shape to ride this sort of a bike, I don't know but it just felt uncomfortable after a while. It is light in RE parlance, but I simply don't know if I can take the strain of riding this everyday in Mumbai traffic.

I then started scouting for modifications that I could do to the GT, raise the handle bar maybe, modify the tank and make it shorter keeping the same handle bars, install C3.5 handlebars with the GT dials and switches, even thought of putting a Bonneville seat! But I haven't come to any solid solutions yet. My heart is set on this bike, but I dread the back aches and the wrist pains that I'll have to endure in my 40+ kms journey in Mumbai's crippling highways.

Will be strongly glued to this thread, I'm sure there will be fellow members who will be in a similar fix, would love to see if someone comes through with a work around for these issues. This is the leanest RE available right now, and it really has a soul to play with.

Side Note
In deep love with the Triumph T100 Black, if only they made it with slightly smaller engines for smaller pockets like ours.

[mkovuri]

Originally Posted by noelravin

... after a short ride sitting in a typical city-riding position both my palms were under a lot of stress because of the acute angle the handle bars have. The handle bars are positioned such as to cafe-race or nothing. Unless you really crouch forward your hands do not feel positioned right. Has anyone else experienced this?

Trying to understand this better. I borrowed the Continental GT for a day. Rode through very heavy traffic of some city roads, before I could move up to highway. Overall I drove for I guess about 4 hours (mostly in city and less outside) with some short breaks. I did up to 110 kmph on the highway, and in 10-20 kmph within city several distances. I did not have any pain in my wrist. Incidentally I am a short person with height 5'4" so I suppose would crouch more to be able to hold handles. It was a great ride, as a matter of fact, and did not have any difficulty riding in a stance very different from my RE Bullet 350 (1962 model - a tall Bullet). Not sure why I did not have the wrist pain. May be you are unconsciously riding holding the handle very tight (which I did during my initial ride).

The other question (or suggestion) to you is, did you try changing the angle of the handles? Since these are clip on type, you should be able to adjust to suit your body. Let me know your overall experience. I am toying with the idea of selling off my Bullet 350 1962 model and get a Continental GT. This will NOT be my everyday bike. I primarily use my bicycle or Skoda Octavia RS to reach the office 16 kms away from home, high traffic.

Mallik Kovuri

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by mkovuri

Trying to understand this better... Overall I drove for I guess about 4 hours (mostly in city and less outside) with some short breaks. I did up to 110 kmph on the highway, and in 10-20 kmph within city several distances. I did not have any pain in my wrist.

Simple answer: If you use your wrist to support the weight of your upper body, it is bound to give an ache at the end of the ride. Your upper body should ideally be supported by your lower back muscles and your arms should be in a slightly bent position and not rod stiff.

@throttlehead, Try this and this may result in some pain in lower back muscles for some days but you will get accustomed to it soon and will find the position to be completely comfortable. I would like to stress the fact that the CGT's position is nowhere as aggressive as an R15 and will take some time to get used to, take my word for it. And no need to modify the handlebar in anyway. It will spoil that awesome handling and braking character of the bike.

[flotsam]

Bad or sad news update from me: Today I cancelled my booking (dated December 2013) for the Continental GT in Goa. The dealer cut Rs 1,000 off the booking amount of Rs 5,000.

[john doe]

Originally Posted by flotsam

Bad or sad news update from me: Today I cancelled my booking (dated December 2013) for the Continental GT in Goa. The dealer cut Rs 1,000 off the booking amount of Rs 5,000.

Did the reviews discourage you from buying the GT?

[flotsam]

Originally Posted by john doe

Did the reviews discourage you from buying the GT?

No, I still love the bike and will buy one some day. The reason I cancelled my booking: I've moved out of Goa, and where I live now, the roads are more like Hero Impulse territory

[neil.jericho]

I took test rides of the Conti GT and both the Thunderbirds at the RE Jayanagar showroom today. The Conti GT certainly struck a very strong chord. After years of riding the R15, the posture on the Conti didnt feel uncomfortable. Maybe a longer ride will bring out its true colours but after two test rides of the bike I think posture shouldnt be a problem. The waiting period for the red one is less than a month and the yellow is 8 weeks. It costs 2 big ones but I'll be damned if it doesnt put a smile on my face every time I take it out.

The test bike of the TB 500 wasnt in great shape. Using the front brake only caused the bike to hop (due to retardation in pulses) and a twist of the wrist resulted in more sound than actual acceleration. The TB 350 was the surprise of the lot. It certainly was the sensible choice by a large margin.

In other notes, the TB 350 has a waiting period of 4 months due to heavy demand. The showroom has the classic bikes in the recently released colours. The classic tan is particularly fetching. The sales person Pramod certainly was helpful and arranged for the test bikes and even adjusted the levers to suit my riding (over tightening the screw on the left side caused it to pop out though!). Overall a very positive experience with the RE staff and the best one yet among my handful of visits to the same store. Hopefully they continue to keep this up.

[tharian]

Is there anyone on the forum who owns a Conti GT who can put up an ownership report?

It would be good to see how far RE has come in terms of reliability and issues compared to their other models.

Thanks

[mkovuri]

In fact, I am interested in knowing if there is a significant population that is buying this vehicle. I rarely get to see someone riding this vehicle. Just one in last couple of months in Hyderabad. I feel it is a very nice bike but not many buyers. But this is true for other two lakh buck bike too. I am also interested in hearing from real user experience. Hope some people respond.
Mallik Kovuri

[tharian]

Originally Posted by mkovuri

In fact, I am interested in knowing if there is a significant population that is buying this vehicle. I rarely get to see someone riding this vehicle. Just one in last couple of months in Hyderabad. I feel it is a very nice bike but not many buyers. But this is true for other two lakh buck bike too. I am also interested in hearing from real user experience. Hope some people respond.
Mallik Kovuri

You won't see many in the future either.

It is a category of bike that is not made for numbers, but a lifestyle vehicle. Something similar in the lines of the TATA Xenon and Mahindra Getaway.

It is a weekend bike and a second or third bike for the person buying it.
It is a good bike with all the upgrades it has and it is priced sensibly compared to the TB500 and the with all the good quality parts on it. It is actually a good buy for someone who does not want to go away from RE.

My only wish is, they make a Bullet with all these parts and frame so it can go cruising.

[ebonho]

Tharian has it spot on. Its appealing to a number of old school Bullet boys who had either sold off their old Bulls or were in the process of selling them off or tooying with the idea of selling them off - and moving or already moved to other bikes, but were reluctant to cut the umblical cord with Royal Enfield.

The reason is simple and its a combination of the bikes and the community. You grow up with the Bulleteer fraternity. Most of your riding buddies are Bulleteers. Sure you have friends who ride other bikes. Sure you are part of all-bike groups and rides. But your roots are still very firmly in the Bullet world. Which lets face it, IS pretty ..... how do I put it ...... "self-sufficient"

Some of us however refuse to sell our old steeds. Some refuse to sell but still have a surviving masochistic streak left that has not yet been purged by all that owning a Bullet involves ...... and so would buy another newer Bullet. And some of us have had enough of the whole Bulet drama (either for now or permanently - that is to be seen as time moves on) and have moved to other forms of motorcycling. Then there are others who had a Bullet long long ago. Old ones, with all their quirks. Sold it - again long long ago. Became domesticated. Life caught up. Wife, kids, job, boss, car, home loan, etc. And have now again gotten the itch to get back on two wheels again.

As it so happened, yesterday 4 of us had a short and sweet rain drenched (we call such rides "wet chaddi" in the local lingo) soaking green and red swollen waterfall cloud enveloped ghat ride out of Pune. The type Pune is famous for. I had to cancel another slightly longer planned ride with an intercity bunch of riders (really nice and cool guys we met on our last ride to Malshej) at the 11th hour due to some family commitments at my end which mandated I be back in Pune by 9 a.m.

Long story short - this ride and group of riders had all the types of Bullet riders I have described above. And bikes as well.

And yes mkovuri at least in Pune we are seeing many Con GTs - both yellow and red. Some with pillion friendly dual seat with couples astrid as well.

Let some of the photos do the talking now ...... enjoy!!!!!



















P.S. Yeah its an apt excuse for posting short ride photos with no particular thread they fit into, and not deserving of the starting of a new thread ...... LOL

P.P.S. The BIG difference of the Con GT over the other Bullets is not the engine but the chassis, swingarm, forks, rear shocks, brakes, and tyres. I would simply play with the foot control position (if neeed - not necessary, if you take the example of the Dukes with upright riding stance and rear set pegs) and plonk on a good normal handlebar to make this into a very neat long distance touring Bullet.

[gopalmg]

My name is Murali and I bought a Yellow Continental GT 3 months back. I read Mallik and Throttlehead's posts with a lot of interest. I ride a TB 500 and the GT is the second bike in my garage. The Continental is huge fun to ride and it's a bike that grows on you, and if you have been used to other RE bikes then you tend to approach it with a bit of hesitation. The initial thought is that it looks too uncomfortable. Even, I had a lot of doubts and in the time between booking and the delivery of my bike - which was some 3 months, they kept multiplying with my other bullet rider friends insisting that it was impractical. But I resisted the urge to cancel the booking and thank goodness I did that. The Continental handles like a dream, the place I live in Gurgaon has mostly dug up roads and the bike is rock solid while taking them on. The styling has people constantly giving me the thumbs up on the road, it grabs eyeballs and admiration like nobody's business. Mallik was right when he said that you need to crack the riding position, after 3 months of riding the only discomfort I have is that my right wrist feels a little strained. That said the GT's seat is comfy, on my TB 500 long riding leaves a numbing pain in my tailbone, thankfully, I don't experience that on my GT. The braking is excellent, the road grip of the Pirelli's are good and the Paoli shockers tend to transmit very little of the bumps to your seat. The only issue I had was after Enfield upgraded the bike's ECU software. It started stalling suddenly but the team from Aman Automobiles - the dealer from whom I bought the bike and Jasmeet, Royal Enfield's Territory Service Manager, immediately rectified the fault which was a malfunction in the Rollover Sensor. Since then the bike has been running trouble free. Would I recommend the bike? The answer is Yes. It takes a little getting used to for people moving from other RE bikes but once you get over the initial adjustment period, you just love it. Every time I ride it, I get a smile on my face. I plan to take it on long rides in the coming weeks and will post the experience. The thing is while the other RE's are like wives, the GT is the hot, exciting girlfriend on the side. I think that sums it up.

[anandjha]

When I first saw this bike at the showroom I just said to myself, 'who the hell would buy it?' Then the night before I saw one struggling like all of us in a maddening traffic jam. And then it found a gap, a leeway. The GT did a Duke and had left the melee far behind. Leaving me amazed at its pick-up and sharp handling.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by gopalmg

My name is Murali and I bought a Yellow Continental GT 3 months back. I read Mallik and Throttlehead's posts with a lot of interest. I ride a TB 500 and the GT is the second bike in my garage. Would I recommend the bike? The answer is Yes. It takes a little getting used to for people moving from other RE bikes but once you get over the initial adjustment period, you just love it. Every time I ride it, I get a smile on my face. I plan to take it on long rides in the coming weeks and will post the experience. The thing is while the other RE's are like wives, the GT is the hot, exciting girlfriend on the side. I think that sums it up.

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.

[Thar4x4]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Tharian has it spot on. Its appealing to a number of old school Bullet boys who had either sold off their old Bulls or were in the process of selling them off or tooying with the idea of selling them off - and moving or already moved to other bikes, but were reluctant to cut the umblical cord with Royal Enfield.

Dear Doc and All,

Very well written and exact the same condition of mine. I was/am avid RE rider and my family have attached bullet word to my profile already . I have done descend rides on my STD 350, have attempted Saddle Sore 1600 on same bullet. However 2 years back a itch started of owning something more cool and fast and I sold the bullet and booked C5 however got crazy and thought that I have lots of responsibilities and I should not take risk of riding so dropped the bike plan and got Thar CRDe for fun ride.

The whole plan failed badly and sold Thar and got Storme in last couple of month, however now I am bikeless and the situation is like hell.

I have started the bike search again and will buy it in 6 month of time. This time budget is up to 2 L and wanted powerful modern bike which will be fun to ride, will do daily commute (can compromise if I really like something) and it will be nice long distance tourer.

Went through all the threads and short-listed Duke 390 and CBR 250. I have not ridden CBR however dropped it because I am not a big fan of fairing and I do not get kick when I look at CBR.

I am in love with Duke looks, had multiple rides of 200/390 however that's all in building compound only as they do not allow it outside. I like overall package and made it a final choice however I went through this thread yesterday the old love of Royal Enfield woke up.

Today had long TD of GT and I liked the ride, as everybody said it looks complicated but it is very easy to ride. Now I have question that what will be right choice for my requirement below with priority.

Duke 390 Vs Continental GT

1. Long distance tourer with sufficient luggage.
2. Fun bike
3. Pillion friendly for short rides.
4. Should do daily commute in Pune traffic.

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

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 help me with your view on this.