[taneja799]

Hello dear friends,

I own a thunderbird 350 since Sept beginning, i wish to say that I enjoy riding on it very much but the only glitch of owning it that too in Delhi is that you never get regular opportunity to ride the bike very often because of the space constrains every where in this city.
But still every time i ride on it gives me the feeling of being a king on road ( unless u see a HD or triumph rider on road, which in delhi is getting common ).
Now coming to the main topic, i.e. TYRES. First of all i never really wanted to change the original tyres of my RE TB350 or may be not now or till atleast ruining them forever. But a recent Puncture experience of a fellow owner of TB350 has turned my head around to go for the Tubeless tyres.
That fellow had a puncture in rear tyre and when he went to the puncture repair shops no one was ready to make the repair as rear tyre with disc brakes was difficult to remove and they asked every time to bring the tyre removed from else where only then they would do the repair.

I am not sure whether the same experience is common with every TB owner but still towing a RE TB with hands to the puncture shop itself feels spine breaking like.

So any suggestions for tubeless tyres for TB 350. Pirelli and Michelin are foreign brand and MRF is the local brand which also seems fine.
But experienced owner suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks

[farhadtarapore]

Hi,
Can someone please tell me where I can get tubeless michelin or pirelli tyres for my thunderbird in Mumbai ?
Tried searching online, but no luck.

[bblost]

Originally Posted by taneja799

I am not sure whether the same experience is common with every TB owner but still towing a RE TB with hands to the puncture shop itself feels spine breaking like.

Thanks

Learn how to do it yourself.
I take less than 5 mins to remove the rear tire from my (drum brake) 03 Thunderbird.

If you have no choice but to push the bike, learn how to push the bike with the engine on and gear engaged. Once when I was trapped without the spanner, I simply walked beside the bike and used the engine to push the bike. Needs a lot of wrist control and patience but its doable when nothing else works.

[farhadtarapore]

Originally Posted by bblost

Learn how to do it yourself.
I take less than 5 mins to remove the rear tire from my (drum brake) 03 Thunderbird.

If you have no choice but to push the bike, learn how to push the bike with the engine on and gear engaged. Once when I was trapped without the spanner, I simply walked beside the bike and used the engine to push the bike. Needs a lot of wrist control and patience but its doable when nothing else works.

With drum brake, it is easy. With disc brake it took more than 20 minutes to remove even by an experienced mechanic. Little more time to put it back.

So no. Tubeless it is

[Ry_der]

Originally Posted by farhadtarapore

With drum brake, it is easy. With disc brake it took more than 20 minutes to remove even by an experienced mechanic. Little more time to put it back.

So no. Tubeless it is

I also own a TBTS 350 2012( Projector type) model. The bike has done around 44K kms. I really have nightmares about tyre punctures now and then. Thankfully, there have been no punctures in the last 2 years.

But in May 2014 the rear tyre of my bull got punctured and I had to visit 4-5 repair shops to get it repaired. All except one of them simply refused to repair bluntly. I offered them double of the amount for repairing, still nobody agreed. At last at 9.00 PM I visited a mechanic who used to repair tractor tyres, offered him ₹100 per puncture, then the tyre got repaired.

The whole experience made me realize the value of tubeless tyres. I had almost purchased a pair of alloys and tubeless tyres for my bull but at the time of fitting the rear alloy was leaking some air. The showroom guy advised me to put a tube inside it
( He thought I was upgrading for looks and he had just that one pair of alloys for TBTS). I just asked him to refix the original wheels and took off.

Dropped the idea of alloys and added one more prayer to my routine viz. "Dear lord, break my nose for my mistakes but no puncture in the rear tyre".

[farhadtarapore]

Originally Posted by Ry_der

I also own a TBTS 350 2012( Projector type) model. The bike has done around 44K kms. I really have nightmares about tyre punctures now and then. Thankfully, there have been no punctures in the last 2 years.

But in May 2014 the rear tyre of my bull got punctured and I had to visit 4-5 repair shops to get it repaired. All except one of them simply refused to repair bluntly. I offered them double of the amount for repairing, still nobody agreed. At last at 9.00 PM I visited a mechanic who used to repair tractor tyres, offered him ₹100 per puncture, then the tyre got repaired.

The whole experience made me realize the value of tubeless tyres. I had almost purchased a pair of alloys and tubeless tyres for my bull but at the time of fitting the rear alloy was leaking some air. The showroom guy advised me to put a tube inside it
( He thought I was upgrading for looks and he had just that one pair of alloys for TBTS). I just asked him to refix the original wheels and took off.

Dropped the idea of alloys and added one more prayer to my routine viz. "Dear lord, break my nose for my mistakes but no puncture in the rear tyre".

Exactly. Pity that RE refuses to acknowledge or do anything a about the problem. High time they moved into 2017; it's not 1930 anymore.

[Ry_der]

Originally Posted by farhadtarapore

Exactly. Pity that RE refuses to acknowledge or do anything a about the problem. High time they moved into 2017; it's not 1930 anymore.

I agree.

Some DIYs I wish to share

1. A veteran mechanic once told me that if you get a puncture in the middle of nowhere, you can still ride the bike for a 10-15 KMs. The trick is to remove the bottom ring of air filling nozzle and push the whole nozzle inside the rim. Once the nozzle is in, the bike is good to ride for a short distance without damaging the tube. I have tried this many times on my bikes without an issue but still try it at your own risk. Better to use it as the last measure.

2. I have heared some horror stories about the alloy wheels on RE bikes including one in which a rider was stranded in laddakh because of a broken alloy. You can not go offroading on alloys. So I searched the internet and found this

The pros and cons :
Pros:

Cost. All you need is sealant, a tubeless-type valve, patience, and elbow grease.

Easier flat repairs with tire plugs.

Reduced rotating mass and less heat build up from friction.

Cons:
May not work on all rims.

Not all tube-type rims have a safety bead, which can cause safety and sealing issues.

Adjusting spoke tension can cause leaks.

Tubeless tires are harder to seat against the rim.

[MohanBabu.P]

I need suggestions what will be the impact w.r.t vehicle dynamics, legal rules etc., if we Replace tyres Royal Enfield Thunderbird with tubeless tires. Any suggestions for good tubeless tires which are well compatible to Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350 CC Bike manufactured in 2017?