[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by BigBrad

Hey Neil, I think I spotted Captain. We waved at each other, a while back at Kalamassery, hope it's you (yellow KA regn GT535, Shark helmet were the giveaways).

Hi BigBrad, yes that was indeed me! I had seen your car some time before with the very subtle TBHP sticker but then thought I had lost you in the traffic. I was on my way back from a solo ride to Vazhachal Falls. In fact I was also on my way to check out the 650 twins, expecting that the initial rush was over Test rides are expected to start in the coming week, the test ride bikes have arrived in the godown and they are awaiting RTO paperwork. Let me know if you are going to check out the bikes.

The GT taking a breather somewhere between Vazhachal falls & Athirappilly falls

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Net net, there was no status update on delivery or on additional parts changed which was very disappointing. And I lost time (a few hours total) and money (two Ola rides). And to make things worse their company service missed what could have led to a dangerous situation, thank goodness they blundered in changing the side stand and I didnt head out with a non functioning rear brake (admittedly one I use very less). But they are going out of their way to ship the part in at the earliest and charging it to me at the lower amount. They have clawed back some small goodwill but it looks as though the positive after sales service experience party was too good to last .

I finally collected my bike from the company service centre on the 24th of November after they confirmed that all the work was done. I thought it would be a simple and quick pick up but there was some issue with their central server so they were unable to generate the bill on time. Also strangely they wanted a cash payment and gave some reasons that didnt make sense to me. The total amount came to Rs 11,722. I told my SA that I would send him my email details and requested him to forward the bill to me.


One immediate difference that I felt after collecting the bike was the positive front end feel. With the new disc, one finger braking was once again possible. Now Im not comparing it with the sublime Brembo M50s on the Street Triple RS that offer probably the best one finger braking in the world (at least its the best that I have ever experienced in 16 years of riding) but for a Royal Enfield, it is pretty impressive to say the least. Sure I could have continued riding with the old front disc for thousands of kilometers more but the brake feel now is well worth the price. Also replacing the front fork oil seems have made a noticeable and appreciable difference as well.


One problem I noticed a few days later was that the headlight alignment had gotten completely messed up during the service. The headlight now pointed upwards and provided little to no lighting for the area in front of the bike and instead the low beam was aligned at where the high beam used to be. I got quite a few people flashing their car's lights at me when I was on the low beam since they thought I was the smart guy riding around town while using the high beam!


Also when I filled in air while riding to Vazhachal falls, I found that the air pressure in both tires was ridiculously high. Royal Enfield specifies tire pressures of 20 and 30 PSI respectively for the OEM Pirelli Sport Demon tires. The tires were inflated to 30 and 44 PSI respectively! If you recall, I had removed the old Ceat tires and swapped them for the PSDs a day before I gave the bike for service. I was amazed at how the RE technicians over inflated the tires. Later in the day, I dropped in the same SVC to collect the bill and also mentioned to the SA who was there that the tire pressures were all wrong. It was only then that I learnt that the company SVC in Cochin didnt have the infrastructure to check and fill air pressure! That's astounding and to be honest, quite scary as well.


Anyways, I finally collected the service bill, the details are below

The service discount was applicable on this amount and hence the amount I paid is less than the total you see here. Overall, thumbs in the middle rating this time for the service experience. I am yet to change the engine oil at the neighbourhood FNG. So far the bike has done 4150 kms on the Motul 300V and its holding up well so far, hence I might take a call on this in another 1000 kms or so.

Mileage: I had topped up the bike on the way to Vazhachal falls. Distance covered : 116.1 kms. Petrol consumed : 5.37 litres. Mileage: 21.62 kmpl. Mileage since day 1 stands at 27.43 kmpl.

[pramodkumar]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Attachment 1824874

I am pretty certain that the bike doesn't need 1 liter of Fork oil, could you check the owners manual and confirm?

Pramod

[Rocky_Balboa]

Originally Posted by pramodkumar

I am pretty certain that the bike doesn't need 1 liter of Fork oil, could you check the owners manual and confirm?

Pramod

I remember the manual saying its 430ml per leg.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by pramodkumar

I am pretty certain that the bike doesn't need 1 liter of Fork oil, could you check the owners manual and confirm?

Pramod

BHPian Rocky Balboa is 100% correct on this, it is 430 ml indeed. Even I too was surprised by the volume required.

[neil.jericho]

I did a solo ride to Vazhachal falls over the weekend. I was in no hurry to get there and so maintained a leisurely pace through the ride. I even took the scenic airport - seaport route while going and returned through the regular route as I wanted to stop by at the service centre and then made a pit stop at St Mary's motors to check on the seat swap possibility.


This was probably the slowest that I have ridden on the excellent Chalakudy - Athirapilly / Vazhachal stretch but it was a lovely ride nonetheless as there was very few vehicles and the road as well as weather conditions were excellent.

The silver Interceptor or the yellow GT 535, hmmm

[neil.jericho]

Here is part two of the look back at the past 4 years of my Continental GT ownership. The pictures are mostly in chronological order.

No, that isnt a Domino's delivery agent at Krishnagiri dam


All lined up after polishing off a lovely round of podi dosas and strong coffee at Shoolagiri


Try and spot the GT in this one. The not so fancy lane outside the store in Vijayapura that makes heavenly dosas.


Running in a motorcycle was never so much fun!


On the way to Vijayapura with my better half for more of those mouth wateringly delicious dosas.


The fact that the GT is hidden behind a garbage bin is entirely coincidental!


Mama mia! What a view.


This sadly, is what a dried up lake bed looks like.


Curves, curves and more curves. The GT just loves these winding roads.


It isnt too shabby on these long (occasionally monotonous) stretches heading to Kolar.


A rare photo of me with the bike, picture courtesy TBhpian shaikhimran.


Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the most bulbuous of them all?


The lovely roads of Tamil Nadu are very enticing indeed.


Following TBhpian shaikhimran's lead proved to be the GT's undoing. Its never been this stuck before. Or since.


Once again, those sweet Tamil Nadu roads are very inviting.


Its time for a change of scene. This time, on the way to Cochin as I shifted base.


The GT takes a breather as my wife and I do as well on the way back from Athirappilly falls.


Breakfast stop on the way to Vazhchal falls.


When you want to book the Interceptor 650 but you forget what's already in your garage

[Red Liner]

Superb snaps. That's nani hotel in vijayapura. I think I'll visit it this Saturday. Yum!

[neil.jericho]

I havent had too much time to go on any reasonably long rides recently and so I was awaiting the opportunity to step out out of city, even if it was only for a shortish ride. This past weekend, I did a quick evening ride to Cherai beach which is just 30 kms away but took about an hour to get there. Cherai beach is one place that you really should visit if you are in Cochin, I didnt spend too much time there but it was lovely as always. There was relatively less traffic while going there (since everyone was already at the beach waiting for the sunset!) and this made for an easy ride but the return was a little more chaotic.

I felt the headlight alignment was ever so slightly off and it didnt help that the road wasnt all that well lit as compared to some of the other parts of the city. I pulled over and did a rough visual test with the bike less than 10 feet from a wall for the low beam and high beam. The headlight throw does look tilted!


I must add that after the last service, the bike's headlight was tilted at such an angle that it was illuminating the top of the metro pillars here in Cochin. On low beam I had to get them to readjust it after which it is in the current condition. I need to do some more checks in the night and get this adjusted.

Low Beam


High Beam

Mileage : I had noticed that there were a couple of Essar bunks on Vypin island and wanted to try out how they were as I had very good experiences with the Essar bunks in Bangalore and Tamil Nadu. I topped up the bike on the return from Cherai Beach at Elankkunnapuzha (try saying that quickly 5 times in a row!). Distance covered : 195.6 kms. Petrol consumed : 5.52 litres. Mileage: 35.43 kmpl. Mileage since day 1 stands at 27.49 kmpl.

[_raviShankar_]

Did you get a chance to test ride the new Continental GT 650 ? It would be great to know your perspective on the new machine.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by _raviShankar_

Did you get a chance to test ride the new Continental GT 650 ? It would be great to know your perspective on the new machine.

Not yet raviShankar, Ive been waiting for the test ride bikes from St Mary's Motors (Cochin), which is the showroom closest to me, for a while now. Even today, I dropped in there for a test ride of both the 650s but rather disappointingly, the bikes are still on temporary registration and they said that I would only be allowed a short loop near the showroom. On top of that, a sales advisor would be sitting as a pillion rider.


The explanation given to me was that there were some delays in getting the loan paperwork for the test ride bikes and hence the temporary registration status hasnt changed from last week when I had checked with them. I politely declined the test ride in these conditions as it would be of little use to me in terms of garnering a solid first impression. Given how many weeks it has been since the bikes were unveiled, St Mary's Motors unfortunately does seem to be dropping the ball!

[adrian]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

BHPian Rocky Balboa is 100% correct on this, it is 430 ml indeed. Even I too was surprised by the volume required.

Attachment 1824893

The dimensions of the fork appears similar to that of Bullet 350 which requires 195 ml per leg. 430 ml per leg would that front end ever dip on hard braking ?!!

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by adrian

The dimensions of the fork appears similar to that of Bullet 350 which requires 195 ml per leg. 430 ml per leg would that front end ever dip on hard braking ?!!

Continental GT has 41mm Forks, a Bullet 350/500 has 35mm forks.

FZ16 has 41mm forks and require 460 ml of fork oil.

[_raviShankar_]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Not yet raviShankar, Ive been waiting for the test ride bikes from St Mary's Motors (Cochin), which is the showroom closest to me, for a while now. Even today, I dropped in there for a test ride of both the 650s but rather disappointingly, the bikes are still on temporary registration and they said that I would only be allowed a short loop near the showroom. On top of that, a sales advisor would be sitting as a pillion rider.


The explanation given to me was that there were some delays in getting the loan paperwork for the test ride bikes and hence the temporary registration status hasnt changed from last week when I had checked with them. I politely declined the test ride in these conditions as it would be of little use to me in terms of garnering a solid first impression. Given how many weeks it has been since the bikes were unveiled, St Mary's Motors unfortunately does seem to be dropping the ball!

I am also trying to get hold of a test drive here in Trivandrum. So far no luck. Sivaji motors have said that they will be conducting a campaign test drive soon. Will try the cochin brand store this weekend for a test drive.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by _raviShankar_

I am also trying to get hold of a test drive here in Trivandrum. So far no luck. Sivaji motors have said that they will be conducting a campaign test drive soon. Will try the cochin brand store this weekend for a test drive.

Do PM me your plans if you are visiting on Saturday, I was also planning on heading there. Hopefully no issues with getting test rides at the company showroom.


On that note, yesterday I saw one potential customer test riding one of the twins near the St Mary's showroom with sales advisor sitting behind. In those narrow roads where only first and second gear riding is possible, I am not sure how much the bike's capabilities can be rightly showcased. And so much for them telling me on Wednesday that the paperwork was almost done and there was a good chance it would all be sorted out by Thursday, i.e. yesterday!