[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Neil,

Was the windscreen scratched during the fall or is it safe?
Its a nice move from RE to have the complete set but for the customer it will be a tad expensive.

The Givi sticker which I was too lazy to remove (refer missing centre stripe for further examples of above mentioned laziness) seems to have been blessed with a few scratches. Hopefully the scratches are only on the sticker. Otherwise it looked to be in good shape, I'll take a closer look today evening.

I've noticed the attention grabbing mutant powers of my bike seem to have increased substantially after the addition of the Givi windscreen.

[gopalmg]

Hey @neil.jericho glad to know you and your bike are fully healed. I didn't know about the Service Centres opening an hour earlier. That's good news. By the way RE offers an annual AMC for about Rs. 2000 and it includes 4 services and 10% off on spares and 15% off on labour charges. To add to your point on customer focus, my friend who owns a GT got his handlebar replaced free of cost. His left handlebar weight had come off and he went to the service centre to replace the weight where he was informed that the technician had removed the handle the incorrect way and Enfield had since sent out directions on how to remove the handle. Enfield has since instructed the service centres to replace the incorrectly handled handlebars free!

[neil.jericho]

As someone who probably has OCD when it comes to constantly checking the rear view mirrors, I was having a torrid time with the absence of the left side mirror. Fortunately the company SVC in Banarghetta Road had it in stock for a very reasonable (?) Rs 231. The part number is 585040/A. With both mirrors in place, all is right with the world again.


While talking to the guy at the spares counter he was asking me if I wanted the silver one or the black one when I asked him for the mirror. I initially thought there was a different set of silver coloured ones before figuring out that he meant the bar end ones which cost Rs 4,000 for the pair. Now that would be one expensive replacement!

Originally Posted by gopalmg

Hey @neil.jericho glad to know you and your bike are fully healed. I didn't know about the Service Centres opening an hour earlier. That's good news. By the way RE offers an annual AMC for about Rs. 2000 and it includes 4 services and 10% off on spares and 15% off on labour charges. To add to your point on customer focus, my friend who owns a GT got his handlebar replaced free of cost. His left handlebar weight had come off and he went to the service centre to replace the weight where he was informed that the technician had removed the handle the incorrect way and Enfield had since sent out directions on how to remove the handle. Enfield has since instructed the service centres to replace the incorrectly handled handlebars free!

Hi gopalmg, I dont know if all SVCs open an hour early. I have so far only gone to the company SVC here in Bangalore where this is the case. I never knew about this annual AMC, nobody has mentioned it to me in any of my visits to the showroom or the SVCs. I will ask them about it the next time I drop in there. Good to hear of yet another example of excellent customer service from Royal Enfield.

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

. Now that would be one expensive replacement!

.

Glad that you are back up and running on your CGT.

4000 is quite a lot of money, but are they practical? Have never used them at all.

[arulpeem]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

4000 is quite a lot of money, but are they practical? Have never used them at all.

When I wear a half face helmet they are good and the view is more than adequate. But with a full face helmet it is a bother; the chin guard hides the mirror and because of that I have to lower my head to view the mirror. This for me is a botheration when I am overtaking on the highways. At speeds more than 90 Kmph unlike the standard mirrors which vibrate badly these give a very clear and steady image. That is why I mount the standard mirrors too when I use the full face helmets.

Neil: It is good to have you back on the road.

[sumithb]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

4000 is quite a lot of money, but are they practical? Have never used them at all.

The bar end mirrors are certainly not cheap, however they are of excellent quality and impeccably finished. They have some quoting (faint bluish tint at day time) that reduces glare at night (its very effective), also the reflection remains stable at 90 KMPH (haven't gone beyond this as I am still in the 2K KM burin-in). There certainly is a learning curve in using the mirrors.

[gopalmg]

He meant the bar end ones which cost Rs 4,000 for the pair. Now that would be one expensive replacement!



The bar end mirrors are good. Haven't tried them with a full face helmet like Arulpreem but the cut glare in the night, look sexy and most importantly don't vibrate.

[neil.jericho]

Now I am not the sorts that walks into an automobile showroom every chance I get but I couldnt pass up the opportunity to visit a multi brand bike showroom here in Doha over the weekend. The good folks at Al Fardan Motorcycles were nice enough to let me photograph the range of Ducati, KTM, BMW, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and Triumph bikes in the showroom. So while the Continental GT has been a great partner in crime over the last several months, I cant help but wonder what next?


In terms of strongly pulling at the heart strings, it was Ducati that walked away with the crown. The one bike I couldnt stop checking out was the 1199 Panigale S in stealth matt black. Oh my, the detailing on that is just fantastic.


There were a few bikes parked outside as well which I have shared at the end.

[Sojogator]

Wow !!!

Forget about wishing such a showroom down here, I wish there was an auto expo this good.

Such Lookers !

[jvm_1986]

Wow!! What a showroom. Even casual visitors will end up getting purchase ideas.
Thanks for the excellent snaps.

[neil.jericho]

Confusion, confusion, confusion. Something manageable like the compact Ducati Scrambler? Something bat bleep crazy KTM 1290 Super Duke? Something as wallet busting as the 1199 Panigale? Something different like the BMW GS? Something that is a perfect every day bike like the Triumph Street Triple? Could it be that practicality was slowly starting to convert my super bike dreams? All these questions kept bouncing around in my head as left Al Fardan Motorcycles and were on our way to the Losail International Circuit in Doha. Or Lusail if that is how you like it.

All these questions, however, got answered in that one moment when we opened the doors of our car and the raucous, ear splitting, goosebump inducing manic sound of bikes racing down the long straight in Losail just left us stunned. And this was while we were still in the empty parking lot. A sportsbike is what its got to be next! Losail is quite the experience for any biker. We were there to attend the last round of the Qatar Superbike Championship (QSBK) and got to catch a few qualifying laps before the riders pitted in. It was to be but the calm before the storm. Almost all of them wheelied their way out of the pitlane to do a few warm up laps before the actual race.

A Lotus outside the paddock parking


Entry Turnstiles




Position indicator


Safety Cars


Looooong straight

Despite not knowing any of the riders or the machines, it was quite exciting to watch the riders battle it out and slipstream their way ahead down the long Losail straight. Within a few laps we were able to gauge which riders were quick and who were struggling to match the pace. The grid comprised of both super bike and super sports and 15 deafness inciting and grin widening laps later we cheered the winners on the podium and slowly said goodbye to the wonderful circuit. Too bad my camera lens wasnt able to catch the bikes as they sped past.

A few days later we visited the local Honda dealer and I used the opportunity to check out the bikes section. They had a CBR1000RR, a few 750s, some CBR 300s (nice looking bikes really) and the Unicorn and some smaller offerings. I really dont know how to explain it but the Honda bikes just didnt do anything for me. No soul stirring. No look at me glitz and glamour. No oomph. Just sensible bikes. I wasnt even inspired enough to click more than one picture.

I was looking forward to visiting the Kawasaki showroom in Al Wakrah since they had a good selection of helmets and riding gear as well (posted about it in the riding gear thread). Only on reaching there did I realize that they had more MV Augustas than Kawasakis and that is a good thing in my books. The Brutale looked great up close and I must say they did give the Ducati a good run for the money in the outright desirability stakes. They had a handful of Huskys as well though it wasnt really my thing. The Z800 got the thumbs up from the better half. They also had a red ER6N (good colour for the bike), a 2013 W800 that looked sweet, a couple of Concurs and one old gen Versys.

I was talking to the guy at the showroom about the Royal Enfield Continental GT (well this is an ownership thread after all) and he was asking about the power displacement and how the experience is. He was suggesting that I look to be the right age to buy a Harley Davidson which had us then talking about the Street 750 and its pros and cons. He was very interested to hear that the Street 750 has some rough edges since he himself rides a V Rod and he loves the stability of his bike. I mentioned that RE is coming out with a higher displacement engine and he was sure that if they can release it in Qatar priced below the HDs they would have a sales success on their hands. Apparently the showroom that who actually had the rights to sell RE in Doha was doing fairly well but they then had to move to another owner and due to some issues they arent currently selling REs in Doha.


Temptations all around but the more I think about it, the more I feel that right now the Continental GT is the perfect bike for me. As for what is next - Something manageable like the compact Ducati Scrambler? Something bat bleep crazy KTM 1290 Super Duke? Something as wallet busting as the 1199 Panigale? Confusion. Confusion. Confusion.

[B O V]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Something as wallet busting as the 1199 Panigale? Confusion. Confusion. Confusion.

Well, if you plan to get em in the emirates itself why not get the 1199.

Until certain situations arose and I got my ass landed in India I was plannin on gettin on of those (hypermotard) meself.

For India I think you'd (atleast for me) need something that draws lesser eyes and is a bit more liveable with on a day to day basis. Sweet pictures though, wonder if the w800 will find its way to India.

A small question, My friend is gettin me a biltwell helmet (on his person) and I was wondering if that might be an issue on our side at the Indian customs

I vividly remember them askin me such questions about the trimmer I bought during my last trip.

Regards,

BOV

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by B O V

Well, if you plan to get em in the emirates itself why not get the 1199.

Until certain situations arose and I got my ass landed in India I was plannin on gettin on of those (hypermotard) meself.

For India I think you'd (atleast for me) need something that draws lesser eyes and is a bit more liveable with on a day to day basis. Sweet pictures though, wonder if the w800 will find its way to India.

A small question, My friend is gettin me a biltwell helmet (on his person) and I was wondering if that might be an issue on our side at the Indian customs

I was on a personal visit to Doha for a week so the showroom visits were more of a recon mission for when I eventually do move abroad on work. My logical side is slowly gravitating towards the sensibility and two up comfort of bikes like the CB1100 and XJR1300 so I did spend some time checking out the practical special edition W800 (needed a pillion grab ring). Just the right amount of discreet though it did appear dwarfed next to the Concurs and Versys. Interestingly enough, on FB the showroom is now offering 5000 QAR off, a free AGV K3, a free jacket and gloves and first service for the same 2 year old W800. Talk about a sweet deal.


I had no issues with the customs in Cochin, they just waved me through and collected the form without checking anything. My folks had brought my KBC helmet from the US a few years ago and they too didnt have any issues with the customs guys. Just make sure no price tags and bills are around.

[neil.jericho]

It sure felt wonderful to be back in the saddle and out on the highways for a Sunday morning group ride bereft of traffic. We covered 316 kms in total on our ride to Yelagiri but the return was taxing as the constant vibes did make matters very uncomfortable for my rear. For long distance riding, the sweet spot seems to be just around the ton mark. The higher you go the more uncomfortable the vibes get. Stable and composed it always remains though.


The Givi windscreen is doing a great job of making long distance riding less tiring as it ensures effective wind deflection. My new Nolan helmet that I purchased from AutoQueen though has turned out to be noisier than I expected. Now it is much lighter than the HJC CL 17 and comes with a sun visor as well but the tradeoff seems to be increased wind noise at around the century mark. I will share more detailed feedback on the helmet in a week or two.

Mileage : With my longer than expected recovery time, it took me over a month to get through the last tank full of petrol with in city riding before I filled up at Shell on the day before the ride. Total distance covered - 223.3 kms. Total petrol consumed - 9.4 litres. Total mileage - 23.76 kmpl.


I noticed that I was the only one who had to tank up at A2B Krishnagiri on our return from Yelagiri in a ride that comprised of R15s, a Z800, a TB500 and a CBR250. I was confident of making it back to the city but didnt want to take a risk as I had been heavy on the throttle and I dont think I can push the heavy weight beyond a few meters. Total distance - 250.8 kms. Total petrol consumed - 8.53 litres. Total mileage - 29.4 kmpl. The total mileage since day I is 26.71 kmpl which I can happily live with.


Since I've rarely done any rides with a pillion after getting the rear grab rail, Ive switched back to the more comfortable single seat which has admittedly taken up the styling by a few notches. And finally, a picture of me lurking in the shadows while the bike steals the spotlight (or about as much as it could, given that it was parked right behind the mighty Z800).

[sumithb]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

It sure felt wonderful to be back in the saddle and out on the highways for a Sunday morning group ride bereft of traffic.

Good to see you back on the saddle Neil!

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

The Givi windscreen is doing a great job of making long distance riding less tiring as it ensures effective wind deflection.

I am contemplating purchasing it, however since I would need to ship it to India its gonna cost a bomb. You think it would be worth it at 8K?

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Since I've rarely done any rides with a pillion after getting the rear grab rail, Ive switched back to the more comfortable single seat which has admittedly taken up the styling by a few notches.

The single is my default choice as well. I find it far more comfortable than the double.