[ms001]

Brilliant thread Ravi sir, your detailed ownership log as well as travelogue are very inspiring and i am sure many would be tempted to start biking the RE way after reading this thread.

[nemesis86]

Have been a silent observer of this thread for the past year or so. Never posted any comment here, but have been heavily influenced by all the active members here.

With this influence of yours, I have decided to live my childhood dream. Booked a Thunderbird 500 (Stone) last saturday and made the full payment yesterday.

Today i did a PDI of the bike based on the various inputs from the ownership reports on this forum. I will be getting the bike tomorrow and can't get sleep due to excitement.

Thanks Ravi sir for posting your ownership experience here. I have gone through each and every post of yours; with your posts about the ownership, it feels like I have already owned a thunderbird before.

Originally Posted by ms001

Brilliant thread

Thanks a lot for the appreciation and nice words, ms001.

Originally Posted by nemesis86

Booked a Thunderbird 500 (Stone) last saturday and made the full payment yesterday.

Congratulations and best wishes, nemesis86.

I will be getting the bike tomorrow and can't get sleep due to excitement.

You will have a nice time with your bird. Apart from some teething problems and niggles, my bird is a trustworthy marathon flyer and never it broke down during my mega trips.

[nemesis86]

Surprisingly not many updates on this thread of late, so let me again jump with an issue that I'm facing with my 20 day old bird. Don't know if its an issue but still would need your expert opinions.

I get a weird rattling noise from the tank at close to 2.5K RPM. Spoke with the service center guys an they as usual are saying that everything is fine. Can someone please let me know if this is normal, if not, what's the cause? (which screw to tighten?)

Apart from that, I've clocked 1200 KMs in these 20 days and have had a fantastic experience (Oil leak problems still there though :P)

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by nemesis86

I get a weird rattling noise from the tank at close to 2.5K RPM. )

Hi,

Does the sound come only on the go or are you able to reproduce that sound with the bike on its stand?

[shaikhmimran]

There are two flat metal collars under the tank in the front. Race the bike & let d accelerator go. Hear the sound & if it comes from this part, the collar is touching the tank. Just squeeze the collar hard inwards & you are done. It doesn't happen in showroom as fuel is low. The problem becomes visible only when there is load of fuel. Let us know if that solved the issue. Safe ride.

[nemesis86]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Hi,



Does the sound come only on the go or are you able to reproduce that sound with the bike on its stand?

The sound only comes on the go. Tried to reproduce the same at standstill but to no avail. It increases as I pull the throttle in the 2-2.5k range. As I release the throttle, it remains there for sometime and then dampens off.

Don't know if it's still there at higher speeds as the overall vibrations and engine sound doesn't let me hear it.

[nemesis86]

Hi shaikhmimran,

I tried your suggestion sometime back but it didn't help. What i realized is that the sound doesn't come at a standstill even 3K RPM.

The sound starts at 2K RPM now in every gear and couldn't find the source. Will check with the service centre guys tomorrow as it is too prominent to go un-noticed now.

Thanks!

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by nemesis86

The sound starts at 2K RPM now in every gear and couldn't find the source. Will check with the service centre guys tomorrow as it is too prominent to go un-noticed now.

You can try one thing. While riding the bike and when the rattling(?) sound starts to appear, hold the tank tightly with both your inner thighs and check if the sound stops. If it does, then the sound is definitely from one of the external mounting points.

If this doesn't stop the sound, the sound might be from inside the tank. Most probably from the fuel float. Is your fuel reading correct?

[nemesis86]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

You can try one thing. While riding the bike and when the rattling(?) sound starts to appear, hold the tank tightly with both your inner thighs and check if the sound stops. If it does, then the sound is definitely from one of the external mounting points.

If this doesn't stop the sound, the sound might be from inside the tank. Most probably from the fuel float. Is your fuel reading correct?

Fuel reading is more or less correct (the correctness is a well known fact here).
Holding the tank tightly was the first thing I did, but it looks like its fastened just ok.
I feel the sound comes from the inside of the tank, maybe I'm wrong but will have to check again.

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by nemesis86

Don't know if it's still there at higher speeds as the overall vibrations and engine sound doesn't let me hear it.

Ignore the RPM reading as it could send you off on a red herring.
Suggest you to switch off the Bike when you hear the sound coming again and please do this is more controlled conditions where you have lesser traffic and lit bit of downhill.

If you still experience the sound it could be the speedometer cable or the chain or Wheel Bearings.

Suggest you to triage with lesser valued items instead of getting into the higher valued like the Wheel bearing directly.

All the best but please be careful whilst doing this

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Today, my Blue Bird celebrates her first birthday silently in her hibernation in absentia as I am 350 km away.

Ditto for the second birthday and I was 3,061 km away, driving from Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh to Kaziranga National Park, Assam. There was no connectivity even to wish the Blue Bird on this red-lettered day. Riding Blue Bird long distance - after my return to the HQ - is the only way to alleviate the frayed tempers!

[nemesis86]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Ignore the RPM reading as it could send you off on a red herring.

Suggest you to switch off the Bike when you hear the sound coming again and please do this is more controlled conditions where you have lesser traffic and lit bit of downhill.



If you still experience the sound it could be the speedometer cable or the chain or Wheel Bearings.



Suggest you to triage with lesser valued items instead of getting into the higher valued like the Wheel bearing directly.



All the best but please be careful whilst doing this

Ah! Had I seen your suggestion earlier today, I could have tested this. Was off to Mahabaleshwar today.

Had visited the service centre yesterday and after taking the tank off and tightening all the screws suggested it would be some rubber dampener (whatever we call it) going kaput. Will give the bike again to them on Tuesday to correct this once and for all. If not for them, will have to search a good mechanic in Pune and say a final goodbye to Platiinum Auto.

One more help I need from you guys is regarding the oil leak issue. I could sense minor leakage issues after my first service, however the leakage has increased as my rear rim was dripping in oil today. Already topped up with 1L of oil while in Mahabaleshwar. What I wanted to know is if there's an issue with the oil seal, will I be liable to pay for the consumables?

From what I clearly remember and saw, the service guy had sealed the screws in the bottom during the first service. Also the leaked oil is majorly seen over the chain, main stand and the team rim.

@Ravi Sir,
Good to see you back and extremely sorry to hijack your thread with these issues.

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Ditto for the second birthday

Congratulations Chief on the second year of ownership, you would want to summarize your experiences including the pain points as well?

Would be very keen to read your share.

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Congratulations Chief on the second year of ownership

Thanks a lot for the wishes and nice words, MK.

you would want to summarize your experiences including the pain points as well?

Sure. I would do a SWOT analysis and present it here after my return to the HQ. Right now, I am at Ginger Hotels, Bhubaneswar and will be checking out by this afternoon for my last leg of drive to Chennai.