[samarth.bhatia]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

I'm surprised your fuel pump was faulty. I have heard of several cases of the wiring harness not being fully connected, and a case of the fuel pump relay not being plugged in but I think yours is the first case I've heard of an actual failure.

Hi Jim,

The pump was indeed faulty, and I'm quite surprised by this too.
Initial inspection seemed to point to a problem with one of the two black relays, but the clicking was a result of a loose terminal connection at the battery (and no, it definitely wasn't a sparking sound).

The pump failure was observed after the battery was re-connected.

Today the electrical fault with battery not charging was discovered to be an OPEN PLASTIC CONNECTOR. Do you believe that? Who opened it? And for what joy?

Originally Posted by abirnale

H I mean those LEDS, Chargers etc. Are they fitted with proper fuses, optional switches that would help cut them off when you don't want them? Can you throw some light on how they are connected and wired?

Rest assured, things will be sorted out positively for you. And you are going to have many more happy (s)miles on your bike

Hey,

The LEDs have an inline 10A fuse. Both the charger & LEDs are connected with ignition, and the LEDs have a separate switch as fell to toggle on/off.
The ignition is the master switch for both, so when it's off, the charger and LEDs are also off.
The problem with battery low voltage was a disconnected plastic connector coming from the alternator. No idea how it got disconnected.

Sam

[abirnale]

Originally Posted by samarth.bhatia

Today the electrical fault with battery not charging was discovered to be an OPEN PLASTIC CONNECTOR.
....
The problem with battery low voltage was a disconnected plastic connector coming from the alternator. No idea how it got disconnected.

Great to know Sam that there isn't major issue! Me thinks this is the service engineer who overlooked the things! It may be just during service they did not check well! Again, RE people is the issue and not machine

[Icarus_Deft]

Originally Posted by samarth.bhatia

Here are some images showing effectiveness of the LED bars.

No lights
Attachment 1252300


Low Beam Only
Attachment 1252301


High Beam Only
Attachment 1252302


Low beam + High beam
Attachment 1252303


LED bar only
Attachment 1252304


LED bar + Low beam
Attachment 1252305


And here's the link to the video: https://plus.google.com/u/1/photos/1...52975137791939

Ouch! This is one bright LED. Wouldn't it hurt the oncoming traffic? Just see if you can kind of mellow it down :-)


Sent from my iPhone using Team-BHP

[samarth.bhatia]

Originally Posted by Icarus_Deft

Ouch! This is one bright LED

Hi,

The evident brightness and angles in the picture are different from the real life scenario. The lights are positioned lower than the high beam level of stock headlamps, and just a bit higher than low beam.
They do not bother on-coming traffic.

Sam

[girimajiananth]

Originally Posted by samarth.bhatia

These are 10Wx2 = 20W each side.. Totally 40W of power, all in spot configuration. The throw is such that I don't have any need for the stock headlamp - these are about 3 times the brightness.
I have the same pair of lamps on my chevy Beat as well.
They are on a testing cycle for now.

Can you please share more information on this one ? Do you need a separate battery with higher wattage ? I ride a CBZ xtreme and the light throw sucks , I might find this useful . Is there a particular brand you recommend ?

[samarth.bhatia]

Originally Posted by girimajiananth

Can you please share more information on this one ? Do you need a separate battery with higher wattage ? I ride a CBZ xtreme and the light throw sucks , I might find this useful . Is there a particular brand you recommend ?

You don't need a separate battery. These LEDs take 20Wx2 = 40W of total power. Your Karizma headlamp must be having either a 35W or a 55W rated bulb. As long as you don't use both the LEDs and the Headlamp together, the load on the battery will be well within limits.

If you want to use headlamp & LEDs together, you can consider similar lamps in 10W rating, so total load would again not be too high.

Cheers,
Sam

[girimajiananth]

Originally Posted by samarth.bhatia

If you want to use headlamp & LEDs together, you can consider similar lamps in 10W rating, so total load would again not be too high.

Sam

Thanks , I think my xtreme has 35w candle . I might consider 2X10W just to keep the load within the limits. How much will these cost ?

[mustang 99]

Dear Samarth,
Loved your thread on Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500, it portrays the exact emotions and thought process I went through, as you described. I am not a person who buys stuff on impulse and usually research my product extensively.So after a lot of debate about old school classic vs contemporary modern bike and a lot of visits to various brand showrooms I finally chose Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500. I booked from the company showroom in Saket on 25.5.2014 with a promise that it will be delivered within one month but did not get delivery even after one and half month , so I shot a letter to the feedback email provided. The response was swift, company store manager Mr Kamal Pandey called same day that a bike is allotted. Armed with a PDI check list I visited the showroom and did a through check. Mr Kamal Pandey was with me and seemed to be a very helpful and knowledgeable person. Fortunately did not find anything amiss. Delivery process was simple with me being explained all features, switches, service intervals etc. Since then I have ridden the bike for about 400 km without any glitch (touchwood). Now 1st service is coming up hence wondering which service center will be best in South Delhi.
For now my journey into biking world in pictures.

[samarth.bhatia]

Originally Posted by mustang 99

Dear Samarth,

Hi!
Thank you for your kind words.
Welcome to the RE owners club - this Saturday Kamal is inviting the Saket Group to meet up at Barista - you should join in.
He manages an FB group for organizing these get togethers - you could ask him to add you in on that.

Good to know RE responded well once you sent out the email.

Wishing you a wonderful ownership, and congratulations!

Cheers,
Sam

[mustang 99]

Originally Posted by samarth.bhatia

Hi!
Thank you for your kind words.
Welcome to the RE owners club - this Saturday Kamal is inviting the Saket Group to meet up at Barista - you should join in.
He manages an FB group for organizing these get togethers - you could ask him to add you in on that.

Good to know RE responded well once you sent out the email.

Wishing you a wonderful ownership, and congratulations!

Cheers,
Sam

Got my first service done today at South Delhi Motorcycles. Was busy hence could not join.
They changed oil and oil filter today. Some noise from petrol tank when engine running at high RPM which was sorted out, a metal leaf on the frame was touching the tank.

[JASMEET MATTOO]

Just came across this thread of yours Samarth and I believe its never too late to congratulate anyone.

Many Congrats on your amazing acquisition and wish you happy and safe driving for many more miles to come.

You got nice pictures coupled with great narration there. Royal Enfield is a great looking bike - a sure shot head turner. On top of it its a very comfortable ride.

I sold mine in 2006 when I bought my first car as it was not getting used much but I really miss her now.

Have fun with your TB buddy.

[samarth.bhatia]

Originally Posted by mustang 99

Some noise from petrol tank when engine running at high RPM which was sorted out, a metal leaf on the frame was touching the tank.

Hope the problem has been sorted out properly.

Originally Posted by JASMEET MATTOO

I sold mine in 2006 when I bought my first car as it was not getting used much but I really miss her now.

Have fun with your TB buddy.

Thank you Jasmeet.
Hope to see you back to riding soon

__________


UPDATE on my Thunderbird Ownership:

The bike has now completed 9,000 kms, with the last couple of hundreds coming in during my Delhi - Chail - Delhi ride a couple of days back. Fourth (and last) free service was completed just yesterday.
The main problem faced has been severe engine oil consumption. I topped up the oil before the trip, and 800 odd kms later, the service technician found just a couple of hundred mls (out of about 2.75 litres) while draining out the old oil.
There is new oil in the engine now, and I have been requested to check the level 10 days from the service to see if it reduces - in case it does, they will be doing a thorough inspection to find the root cause.

Apart from that, the gear change lever has become pretty sticky - on shifting up, the level takes maybe 2 seconds at times to return back to normal position - it may be a problem in its spring back mechanism. Lets see.

Front disc brake pads have been replaced, as I felt the brakes had faded during the small himalayan ride. They have much better bite after the replacement.

Lot of accessories have been added, with a GIVI rear pannier and the windshield taking prime spots. The front seat cushion was replaced a few months back with a larger one, and some leg guarg tool bags have been added too. Also, there is a new mobile charging point (has both USB and 12V female points). Puncture repair liquid SLIME has been filled in front & rear tubes, to help fix puncture in most situations. I have been using a Scala Rider bluetooth headset (a few generations old, bought used from a fellow BHPian). Works well for the most part - and somehow BT works for the calls, but media/music play requires the AUX wire.

The bike is performing well, with the vibrations knocking off loose nuts/bolts/screws every once in a while.. I have started to get used to tightening them before long rides

Average fuel consumption in city is consistently around 28 to 30.5 kmpl, while out on open highways/hills mixed use is about 32 kmpl.

Here are a couple of pics from the Chail trip:

[mustang 99]

Dear samarth, my T.B has completed 2000 km got my 2nd service done. Mods done so far NGK spark plugs , wild bore silencer. Just love the exhaust note . Only issue that I face is that when I suddenly cut off the throttle there is a pop sound like missing or backfire occasionally. Just wondering if you faced any thing similar after installing wild boar silencer.

[Silverflash]

Hi Samarth

I recently booked a RE TB500, and your thread was really helpful when it came to understanding long-term ownership issues with the bike. Thanks, and happy riding!

Warm Regards
Anand

[Tgo]

Originally Posted by mustang 99

Dear samarth, my T.B has completed 2000 km got my 2nd service done. Mods done so far NGK spark plugs , wild bore silencer. Just love the exhaust note . Only issue that I face is that when I suddenly cut off the throttle there is a pop sound like missing or backfire occasionally. Just wondering if you faced any thing similar after installing wild boar silencer.

Popping in the exhaust happens when the exhaust path has a few openings from where fresh (oxygen rich) air can enter and get combusted again. This opening is usually at the joint where the bend pipe meets the muffler or in some bikes there are pipes from intake side to exhaust side supplying fresh air to the exhaust (only to meet pollution control norms), such bikes pop a lot.

Try to make the joint where the wild boar muffler joins the bend pipe
(Under the right footrest) Leak Proof. You will need to remove the muffler, apply a neat layer of silicone (high temperature resistant type or use exhaust sealant) on the outside edge of the bend pipe near the joint and on the inside of the muffler where it will slide over the bend pipe. make sure any cut-outs are also filled in. re-install the clamp properly and firmly. Even after this if you have popping then your muffler is pulling in air from somewhere else.