[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by gigatech2006

Btw, I'm undecided between the Himalayan and the CGT. I liked both, for various reasons and that's why I'm undecided.

Originally Posted by gigatech2006

So, the more I compare, the more I get confused. My daily commute is around 60kms (up & down). Can you or the members here give me some definitive points that will guide me here - planning to book one by end of September. Need to choose wisely.

Thanks in advance!

Gigatech, thank you for your words of appreciation. The Continental GT versus Himalayan discussion is one that I have had many times with so many different people and honestly there is no clear cut answer. It is easy to slot this into a typical heart (Continental GT) vs head (Himalayan) battle but there is a lot more to it than that. Some feedback on both bikes from my side.

1. If you enjoy sporty riding, the Continental GT will leave you a very happy man indeed. You dont need to ride it at it's extremes all the time to enjoy the engine's grunt, sorted handling and great grip from the Pirellis. I havent ridden a Himalayan through anything close to resembling hair pin bends but I would say its safe to assume that the Continental GT takes this round.

2. A lot of people talk about service intervals being spaced out to 10K kms on the Himalayan but personally I dont know of any engine oil that I would safely use with such long intervals. This could be a typical case of half information from my side though. The Royal Enfield service experience has been good in my case, I do know that not everyone shares my positiveness on this front. If the experience with the service centre isnt up to the mark, drop a note to their customer care and see how proactive they are in ensuring the problem is resolved to your satisfaction.

3. In terms of being a "Do It All bike", the Himalayan is the easy choice. Comfortable seating, good ground clearance, easy to navigate in traffic and deteriorating urban roads, fantastic for off roading conditions, the list goes on. The Continental GT in comparison isnt the best bike if its only for city usage. The heavy weight and committed riding position put a lot of pressure on your wrists and can take a toll on the fun factor if you are do primarily city riding in choc-a-block traffic. Yes, you can get a double seat and pillion foot pegs but the single seat is far more comfortable.


Look at your usage patterns and decide which one ticks the most boxes and hopefully tugs at your heart as well. Solely on the basis of the 60 km commute of yours, I would say that the Himalayan does seem like the straightforward choice. If you are willing to sacrifice some of that practicality for a fabulous looking bike with great components and a sweet engine, the Continental GT it is.


Do keep us updated on your buying decision.

[neil.jericho]

It's been quite a while since I last updated this ownership thread and that's primarily because my bike was at my mechanic's place for several weeks to fix a couple of issues. Now before you go shake your head thinking "Why am I not surprised given that it's a Royal Enfield", do read on.


Despite the last KTM handlebar angle correction (which definitely made things better), I still had a niggling doubt in my mind that it was off ever so slightly. So I took it to Raymond's garage to see if it was just my mind playing tricks on me or if something was actually wrong. After removing the KTM handlebar and checking it thoroughly, he found that the bar actually wasnt perfect with the two bends in the middle certainly not matching each other. Add the slight adjustments done to the left side to set the alignment (detailed in post 341) and the end result was that when the handlebar was placed against a flat wooden board with one end falling on the board correctly, the other end stuck out by more than the width of my thumb! So it turned out that I wasnt imagining the issue after all.

One end placed flat ....


.... and the other end sticking out by more than a sore thumb!

I wonder how such a part passed the KTM QC check! Anyways we dumped the faulty handlebar and got a new KTM one instead hoping that this would sort things out once and for all. While picking up the bike though, Raymond mentioned that there seemed to be a slight alignment issue between the tires which hinted at a potential rear swing arm bend. The new handlebar was a welcome relief and a short ride to Vijayapura the following weekend with the group of Team BHP bikers was a good opportunity for me to check for this potential wheel alignment issue that I hadn’t noticed earlier.


The location of our destination was most likely picked from one of Ajay’s wonderful blog posts (read more here - https://ajayananth.wordpress.com/201...e-2nd-edition/ ) and the dosas were in a word, heavenly! Quite probably the best dosas that I have ever had in my life. The ride also gave me a chance to get a closer look at Mashblue’s Honda CBR650F and the positive experiences that he shared on the after sales service were quite heartening to say the least. At least one manufacturer seems to be getting it right when it comes to big bikes in the Indian market. If I do upgrade to a big bike in India, the CBR650F will be a strong contender for sure and Honda’s competitors could learn a thing or two from them on how to keep customers happy.

Pictures do not do this justice


Or for that matter, this either!

Back to the Continental GT and with the new handlebar, I felt as though I was riding with a very slight left tilt to ensure it tracks on a straight line and the moment I ‘straightened up’, the bike was pulling slightly to the right. Added_Flavour who was following me on his CBR250 noticed this as well and mentioned it when we pulled over at a signal. If my memory serves me correctly, he also had said that he saw that the two wheels weren’t exactly aligned when viewed from behind. So it was back to Raymond’s garage after the ride where I shared my feedback and Added_Flavour’s observations. Raymond suggested we strip the bike and get the chassis sent to Christ the King which is the oldest and most reputed place in Bangalore for ‘fixing’ swing arm bends (or at least to the extent that it is fixable). Initially there was some delay in getting the bike sent over as one of his guys was on leave for a couple of weeks and then once the bike was back I was out of town for a couple of weeks. They confirmed that there was a slight bend in the rear swing arm which they had addressed and after assembling the bike, Raymond also said that it was back to normal.


Now for the life of me I cant figure out how my bike ended up with this rear swing arm issue, maybe it’s been there ever since my fall near a year and a half ago and I didn’t realize it till now. Maybe its just more noticeable with the higher handlebars. Maybe it got dropped in the parking lot (which doesn’t really make too much sense because the bike should have shown some other visible damage as well). Maybe transporting it to the track and back for the two track days in those trucks might have played a role. Maybe a combination of two or more of these factors. Who knows?


I was glad to collect the bike and got a little time to potter around town midweek before joining the Team BHP guys for a short ride through Sulibela, Hosapete, Vijayapura (for another round of those mouthwatering dosas), Hebbal and then back to the city. After meeting up with everyone at the ITI Gate, we set off on the short but lovely ride through mostly well tarred roads and the fresh dosas were so tasty that I just had to have two of them.

Best. Dosas. Ever.

We also stopped to click a few pictures on the way back before hitting the main highway. The ride was scenic and the company as always was excellent. I must mention the attention that n_aditya’s Bonnie was getting all throughout the ride, the sound that his aftermarket exhaust makes had everyone turning their heads in new found rapt attention.

All lined up

The Continental GT was in top form – no high revving while maintaining a good pace with the suspension tiding over the few rough patches we encountered on the way. I felt as though I was leaning ever so slightly to the left and checked with unk9ja who was riding behind me on his D390 but he confirmed that everything was perfectly normal. So I guess my mind was playing tricks on me this time!


The bike still needs a proper once over of all the nuts and bolts to ensure everything is tightened just right. Also some of the wiring on the left side has done an over under of the chassis instead of getting routed below the tank so that needs to be redone. The front brakes need bleeding and seem to have lost their sharp feel. Other than that, the bike appears to be back in business and with all the tamasha of the handlebars and rear swing arm finally behind me I hope that I can complete a few more memorable rides before my annual Christmas break. The funny thing is that I did the conversion to the higher handlebar thinking that I will be doing a lot more riding this year but instead my limited usage has become even more limited since then! Funny are the ways of this world.


What better way to close than with a few pictures of a modified Continental GT from my favorite Royal Enfield showroom - Tendance Roadster.

Sigh!

[neil.jericho]

With the handlebar and alignment issues sorted out, it finally looked as though everything was set for smooth sailing but there was one little twist in the tale that took its time to reveal itself. After a few days of commuting to work, I realised that there was a rattling sound coming from the twin pods and after a little poking and prodding behind the visor I found that the left side of the clamp which held the speedo console was actually rusted and had broken. Sigh! All part of the Royal Enfield ownership experience...

Notice the paint peeling and the crack

Anyways, I had suggested to Raymond that we knock off a couple of millimeters from both sides of the clamp to keep a gap between the console and the Givi windscreen which touch at the base of the speedo. Over time this has left a bit of a sore spot on the visor. Thanks to some good old fashioned human laziness, it took a couple of days for the welder to get round to actually starting the work but I wanted to sort everything out (tightening, rerouting of the wiring and the welding) before the planned weekend breakfast ride and so I got all the pending work finished by Friday.


While we waited for everyone at the meeting spot of our ride, we were treated to the fabulous sounding Akrapovic-ed CBR650R which made waking up early morning completely worth it. And this was before the ride had even started! Man_of_steel and I were fortunate enough to catch the incredulous look on the face of a elderly gentleman was shocked by the sound of the bike. The bikes for the ride consisted of a few N650s, a N250, a CBR650R, a CBR250, a Bonnie, a D390 and the Continental GT. The ride with the guys from the Team BHP group was quite refreshing and we were not complaining one bit about the surprising lack of traffic. I guess the usuals were too busy standing in line at their banks and ATMs!

Unfortunately we didnt click a picture of the whole group all lined up

After a good breakfast, half of us turned back while the rest of the group carried on as part of their planned overnight ride. We tanked up once we entered Bangalore and said our goodbyes before splitting up. Yet another wonderful short weekend ride.

Ok, so maybe the CD100SS wasnt part of our group...

Mileage: Ive had very little in terms of expenses on the fuel front over the past couple of months since my bike was benched for quite a bit. The tank up that I did 2 weeks ago gave me a mileage of 21.46 kmpl and that saw a lot of in city riding. After a few days of commuting and the weekend breakfast ride that saw some relatively high speeds, I ended up filling up with Shell's premium petrol. Distance covered - 238.9 kms. Petrol consumed - 9.47 litres. Mileage - 25.23 kmpl. Mileage since day 1 stands at 27.1 kmpl. So far Ive done around 50 kms on the premium fuel from Shell and I havent noticed any difference so I probably will go back to the regular stuff.

[neil.jericho]

The Anchetty loop has easily been among the top must experience motorcycle rides for those in Bangalore but as we realized this last Sunday, all good things never really last. We started off later than planned from our meeting point at the junction of NICE Road and Kanakapura Road which meant that we had a bit of traffic to navigate through before enjoying empty roads. After breakfast at our regular joint in Kanakapura, we hit the Anchetty loop but where we once had absolutely smooth tarmac for miles on end, we encountered a lot of small potholes and bumps instead. During my last visit to my mechanic’s place, I had got the rear suspension stiffened as I wanted to understand how well the Paioli suspension coped in different conditions under various settings. The numerous little bumps experienced on the Sunday ride showed that the rear suspension settings were a little uncomfortable and I will now experiment with something in between the stock and the current one.

Pictures from our ride (the last two courtesy IronH4WK)

Honestly, the road conditions weren’t that bad really but it take the focus away from the virtually endless cornering and reduces ride speeds as well. It definitely is an enjoyable experience for those who are riding through the Anchetty loop for the first time but for those who have seen it when the road conditions were at their best, this was a big step down. After several breaks, we eventually made our way back to the highway leading into Bangalore and said our farewells just after crossing over into Karnataka.


The bike has also just crossed 13000 kms and some of my recent observations on the Continental GT are below
- The tank is deceptively large. On multiple occasions, Ive had pump attendants ask me whether they should stop filling as they felt the tank was almost full but after I would tell them to keep going, they would be surprised to see another 2 litres get added quite easily.
- Having done just over 1000 kms since the switch, I can confidently say that the Motul 300V has been a very good engine oil so far. The bike is smoother than before and it isn’t leaking any more oil than what it was earlier (something which 300V users had suggested I look out for). If you can get it at a discount, like I did, the 300V is an absolute no brainer.
- Is it just me or is the bike getting more silent as months go by? On highway rides, I can scarcely hear the engine above the wind noise and in city riding conditions, the sound is quite meek when compared to its Royal Enfield brethren.
- Despite being bled recently, the brakes seem to have lost just that final bit of sharpness. I rely on the front for most of my braking so that probably contributes to slightly higher wear than what most other users will experience. I will get the pads checked at the next service which I plan on doing once it hits the 15000 km mark.


Mileage: I tanked up at Shell with their regular petrol just before we started the Anchetty loop ride. Distance covered : 101.3 kms, most of them in peak city traffic conditions. Petrol consumed : 5.41 litres. Mileage : 18.72 kmpl which is my new lowest figure.

I tanked up at the Essar petrol pump in Koramangala on my way back from the Sunday ride. Distance covered : 181 kms. Petrol consumed : 5.08 litres. Mileage : 35.63 kmpl which is much better than usual. Mileage since day 1 continues to stand at 27.1 kmpl.

[neil.jericho]

I received 3 SMSs yesterday from Royal Enfield that listed out new workshops (I assume these mean service centers) in the following locations
1. Koramangala Motors (near Jyoti Nivas College) - 8970872555 / 7026603624
2. S R Motors (Near Ambedkar College), Nagarbhavi - 9071340000 / 9071713240
3. Whitefield Motors (near Narayana Multispeciality Hospital) - 9108990860 / 9108990864
The Koramangala one is pretty close to where I stay so I will give it a shot when the time comes for the 15K service.


Kudos to Royal Enfield for opening up more SVCs. Remember though, quality always wins over quantity, my friend has had consistently bad experiences with the RE after sales service in Trivandrum (read more here http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/fo...er-2014-a.html ) so RE has quite some way to go.

[neil.jericho]

I was leafing through the November issue of Motorcycle Sport & Leisure that I had picked up on a recent trip and the long term review of the Continental GT caught my eye. Interestingly the author mentions that he noticed the Pirelli Sport Demons were tramlining on grooves or on the raised white lines of British roads. Also the article goes on to say that as per a little RE birdie, the similarly sized Avons dont do that but the Pirellis are what come from the factory because they are thicker and less likely to get punctured in Indian conditions.


Funny that because in my experience, the Pirelli tires are not able to manage Indian conditions all that well and as a result developed cracks quite early on. Fellow TBHPian arulpeem faced a similar issue with his Continental GT. I did a little digging around and found that Xbhpians deville_56 and hareshjethwani also had tire troubles with the latter getting the rear replaced under warranty after it started cracking. There's one more case that I knew of but cant recall right now.


5 owners facing the exact same issue with PSDs doesnt necessarily mean that all owners will but if that's the situation with the relatively harder Pirellis, I wonder what life will be like with the Avons! I know they were supposed to land on Indian shores last year and I was keen to give them a shot with the earlier limited availability of PSDs. I dont think I will go down that route now.


Here's a photo from our recent ride cause this thread can never have enough pictures of the Continental GT.

Mileage : I did hardly any riding in December since I had travelled for work and then the ever welcome year end holidays were upon us. I tanked up in Shell Bypanahalli earlier this month before our weekend ride to Krishnagiri. Distance covered : 202.8 kms, most of them in the worst of Bangalore's traffic commute to Whitefield. Petrol consumed : 9.78 litres. Mileage : A rather low 20.74 kmpl.

I did about after 65 kms in the same terribly trying commute along with 200 kms of blissful highway riding to Krishnagiri. Distance covered : 267.5 kms. Petrol consumed : 9.94 litres. Mileage : 26.9 kmpl. This time I fuelled up at Shell Mahadevpura. Mileage since day 1 stands at 26.97 kmpl.

[neil.jericho]

With a shade of 13,600 on the odometer, the bike is starting to feel like it needs a service to get a couple of things sorted out and be in tip top shape. In no particular order


- The brakes : Despite getting them bled recently, the front braking has gone back to feeling 'spongy' at best. It does it's job no doubt but that ability to stop on a dime has gone missing somewhere along the way. Ive again started using a lot more of the rear brake, especially in my city commute, over the last couple of months and they like to gently coax the bike to a stop rather than instructing it to halt immediately. I strongly suspect the pads at the rear might have to be changed at the next service.


- The engine : I just emptied 400 ml of engine oil into the bike after seeing how much it was leaking while being unused. There's a bit of investigating to be done as this seems to be quite abnormal. And to think I used to give my Pulsar 150 (the original one) flak for its build quality!


- The gearbox : Finding neutral these days is becoming tougher than finding a manager in an IT company who will guarantee you a good year end bonus. Even with my A* boots I just cant shift from 1st to neutral unless I switch off my bike. I'm not sure if anything can be done about it though but it's worth checking with the service centre.


As I mentioned in my last post, when I do use the bike for the office commute, the terrible traffic is a major buzzkill. Recently I spent a total of 3 hours just commuting to and from work and while returning in the late evening, I was switching off the bike at Bangalore's infamously long signals. The bike had some trouble starting a couple of times and then finally refused to start which I think could be because of the overheating (cant think of another scientific explanation). I pushed it to the side and after a few minutes tried my luck and fortunately it started without a hitch. The problem hasn't reappeared since. Any ideas on what could have been the issue?


As far as the riding experience goes though, other than the minor flaws listed earlier and the one instance of refusing to start up, the Continental GT is proving to be a really good package. Our recent ride to Krishnagiri was testament to this with the bike behaving just perfectly. Here are more pictures cause well we all need a little more Continental GT in our lives.

[ArizonaJim]

It sounds like your brake pads, both front and rear might need replacing. Also, there should be no spongeness so a proper bleeding is needed.

As for changing the pads, like tyres, the ones that have a high grip tend to wear out faster than the ones that use the harder compounds that last a long time but grip rather poorly.
Pads that have a high grip wear out faster.
Also, much of the life of brake pads depends on how they are used. Gentle braking causes less wear on the pads than hard braking does.

I'm not sure why you needed to add 400 ml of oil to the engine.
I must have missed it but, are there any major leaks causing oil to accumulate under the motorcycle or covering large areas of the engine? If so, have your mechanic address the leak.
If there is no visible leak, you should not need to add any oil assuming the oil was filled to the proper level at the last oil change.

As for the neutral problem, have you checked the distance the clutch lever moves freely before resistance is felt?
There should be only 2 to 3 mm between the lever and the stop when the clutch lever is pulled using one finger to move it.

I am betting you find a much larger distance.

If so, the problem is the lever is not moving the clutch enough to disengage the engine from the transmission.

Adjusting the clutch is a simple 5 minute job which I have described in several of my posts.

Here is a link to one of them:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...ml#post3796930

[neil.jericho]

A friend of mine who owns a RE Himalayan has had his eyes on the Continental GT for quite some time and was on the verge of buying one until he was told by the RE showroom folks that production of the current model has been temporarily discontinued. This is because they are launching the updated bike in a couple of months that should be both BSIV compliant and include ABS as well. That's very welcome news indeed. The million dollar question is, will it come with the bigger engine as well?


My better half and I did a short breakfast ride to Shoolagiri over the weekend. Despite starting much later than usual, the visibility was torrid to say the least and the temperature had dipped substantially after we left the city limits. Our speeds were steady and between 80 - 85 kmph which I felt helped keep vibrations down and made the ride quite a comfortable one. My wife though, who has probably been a motorcycle pillion for less than a dozen rides, felt otherwise and mentioned that the combination of the seating and vibrations (which she is not used to) were uncomfortable. If we do end up doing longer rides, I will probably explore the option of gel seats as I find the double seat lacking in comfort when compared to the stock single seat.


After topping up in Shoolagiri, we returned back while maintaining the same steady speeds and managed to cover the 60 odds kms without having the fuel gauge drop by a single bar. Not bad at all.


I received an SMS from Royal Enfield today "Automated Mobile Service van for your Royal Enfield at your place. Call Company Store, Bangalore on 9342555583, 7816020240". Now that is a very smart move from RE, hope they are able to provide quality service through this new and very convenient avenue. If anyone does avail of this service, please do share your feedback on the same.


Mileage : With 70% in city riding and the rest being the one way trip to Shoolagiri, the mileage was a little lower than what I thought it would be. Distance covered : 214.5 kms. Petrol consumed : 9.63 litres. Mileage : 22.67 kmpl which brings the mileage since day 1 to 26.88 kmpl.

[mshooli]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

A friend of mine who owns a RE Himalayan has had his eyes on the Continental GT for quite some time and was on the verge of buying one until he was told by the RE showroom folks that production of the current model has been temporarily discontinued. This is because they are launching the updated bike in a couple of months that should be both BSIV compliant and include ABS as well.

I had called up CVS motors today to enquire about the GT as I am planning to buy one now. I was told that they are accepting bookings and there is a 2 month waiting period. When I asked them about any new models in March/April time frame, they said there are not aware of any changes and expect nothing to happen

Neil, at which showroom did your friend enquire ?

[R-Six]

Originally Posted by mshooli

I was told that they are accepting bookings and there is a 2 month waiting period.

I went to the RE showroom to check the CGT and they were ready to take the booking. The waiting period they quoted me was around 1 month, but that too depending on when we are booking the bike.

The SA whom I was talking to, mentioned that RE normally takes the final order list from the dealers around 20th of every month and those orders are fulfilled in the next month's batch they receive from the factory. Not sure how true this statement is as I went on the 18th and they probably wanted me to put my money down ASAP

On another note, has anyone seen a bike in their new shade (GT Green) in flesh? I'm more inclined towards picking up the green one as I already owned multiple bikes / cars in red. If anyone of you has seen one, can you please share how does it look in flesh?

Cheers
R-Six

[neil.jericho]

My friend was told by the dealership that the new RE Continental GT will be a 650cc that is BS4 compliant and will have ABS. Expected on the road price in Bombay will be around Rs 3.5 lacs.

Originally Posted by mshooli

I had called up CVS motors today to enquire about the GT as I am planning to buy one now. I was told that they are accepting bookings and there is a 2 month waiting period. When I asked them about any new models in March/April time frame, they said there are not aware of any changes and expect nothing to happen

Neil, at which showroom did your friend enquire ?

My friend is enquiring with a dealership in Bombay, dot know which exact one though.

Originally Posted by R-Six

I went to the RE showroom to check the CGT and they were ready to take the booking. The waiting period they quoted me was around 1 month, but that too depending on when we are booking the bike.

The SA whom I was talking to, mentioned that RE normally takes the final order list from the dealers around 20th of every month and those orders are fulfilled in the next month's batch they receive from the factory. Not sure how true this statement is as I went on the 18th and they probably wanted me to put my money down ASAP

On another note, has anyone seen a bike in their new shade (GT Green) in flesh? I'm more inclined towards picking up the green one as I already owned multiple bikes / cars in red. If anyone of you has seen one, can you please share how does it look in flesh?

Cheers
R-Six

I feel that the green colour that the Continental GT comes in is subtle and yet sublime. It is not a stand out colour when compared to the yellow or the red colour options of the Continental GT. That plus the unobtrusive exhaust note will mean that not too many people are likely going to notice the bike in traffic or in parking lots. Those who do notice it though are likely to be impressed.

[R-Six]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

not too many people are likely going to notice the bike in traffic or in parking lots.

That is exactly my thoughts are. I did not want it to scream for attention anytime I'm waiting at a traffic signal or at a parking spot. Also, less attention also means, chances of folks fiddling around with your bike and its switches is minimal as well.

Anyway, looks like I was able to find a showroom that has a green one that I can check out in flesh. Planning to give them a visit next weekend.

Thanks for those pointers, though.

Cheers!
R-six

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

I'm not sure why you needed to add 400 ml of oil to the engine.
I must have missed it but, are there any major leaks causing oil to accumulate under the motorcycle or covering large areas of the engine? If so, have your mechanic address the leak.
If there is no visible leak, you should not need to add any oil assuming the oil was filled to the proper level at the last oil change.

Thanks for that informative post ArizonaJim. The oil leak on the right side of the engine is quite noticeable. Im not sure how much the Motul fully synthetic engine oil has to do with it though, the 300V is not reputed to be the best choice for such motorcycles. I finally got around to taking a few pictures last weekend while giving the bike a proper wash.

I was dismayed to find that the rubber pipes are again cracking and will most certainly have to be replaced immediately. There is no real excuse for such poor quality components on a motorcycle priced at this level. Today I realized that the breather pipe (which has been replaced once before) had almost completely broken off at the end.

The first pipe


A closer look at the worn out pipe


The second pipe


A closer look at that as well


The breather pipe that rather quickly threw in the towel

Sigh! All part of the Royal Enfield ownership experience .... It's off to the Royal Enfield service centre tomorrow for the 15,000 km service.

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Sigh! All part of the Royal Enfield ownership experience .... It's off to the Royal Enfield service centre tomorrow for the 15,000 km service.

People have been "sighing" on RE India for ever. I've heard this since 1969 from my Dad/Uncles/Their Friends etc. Heard the same from my peers and now am hearing it from the next generation as well.

At least RE is consistent on that



Best Regards & Ride Safe

Ram