[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Here is a short and pretty basic clip of a ride through one of Cochin's nicest stretches - the Queen's walkway.

Good to see these "newer" parts of Kochi. "Newer" in the sense these parts were not in existence in early 1990s when I was a resident there.

Drove through there early this year whilst visiting Kochi. Good its being maintained well as can be seen in your video

Best Regards & Ride Safe

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

Good to see these "newer" parts of Kochi. "Newer" in the sense these parts were not in existence in early 1990s when I was a resident there.

Drove through there early this year whilst visiting Kochi. Good its being maintained well as can be seen in your video

Best Regards & Ride Safe

Ram, that small side of Cochin has certainly seen a massive change as compared to 20, much less 30 years ago. At the start of the video, I was getting off the Goshree bridge that connects the mainland to Bolgatty island. As far as I remember, work on the Goshree bridges started only in 2001, though it feels like I have to really think hard to go back a life before it! Prior to the bridges coming up, we had to avail the boat services to go to Bolgatty, Vallarpadam or Vypeen. Now the Goshree bridges connect one to the next and has made life so much easier for everyone.

The walkway was commissioned later to spruce up and modernize that stretch of waterfront thanks to the initiative by our then MLA and now MP, Hibi Eden. It is a very popular area for families as well as youngsters and the lack of traffic (except for the office crowd going and coming back from work) certainly helps makes it a very nice stretch to ride past. I have noticed that sometimes the local scooter enthusiast or Yamaha two stroke enthusiast groups have a meet up there and it is always a pleasant sight indeed.

Of course, the huge apartment complexes that are coming up right along side the road will drastically change the usage pattern and traffic conditions there in the years to come. And then, we will look back at this time when it used to empty and well maintained, with a great degree of fondness. Till that happens though, I will enjoy pottering past it a couple of times every month on my motorcycles, while stopping for the occasional picture and refreshing few minutes staring at the sea!

Speaking of pictures, I am signing off with an old, and unrelated, picture of the Continental GT 535, since this thread can never frankly, never have enough pictures.

[neil.jericho]

With the front tire puncture out of the way, I had gone to the Republic of Bikers store on KK road to get the Royal Enfield Continental GT 535 serviced. As I had mentioned earlier in the thread, there were a few things to be done and I had dropped off all the parts with them earlier (or so I thought!). RoB is in the process of expanding and fully setting up it's service bays and they have a full time mechanic with them who has previously worked in both the Royal Enfield and Jawa company service centers.


The bike getting wheeled into the Republic of Bikers garage

List of things done
The first thing that got done was the replacement of the clamp to hold up the clocks. Regular readers of this ownership thread will remember that when the Givi windscreen got installed on the Continental GT 535 several years ago, the bottom of the clocks was touching the screen. To optimize the setup, the clamp was shortened a bit, then welded back and painted at Raymond's garage in Bangalore. This weld had gotten weak over time, thanks to the vibes and there was a bit of rust as well, all of which combined to weaken the clamp. Once it was replaced, it was good to see the clocks back up in their original position and in a convenient line of sight.

The oil was then drained and replaced with another round of Shell Advance Ultra 15W50 fully synthetic engine oil. The mechanic even mentioned that he has only seen Bangalore based riders opt for Shell engine oil, the riders here in Cochin, are more in favour of the Motul (and in more recent times, Liqui Moly) oils. The bike had done a tad over 3300 kms since the previous oil change 18 months ago. I had procured the Shell oil during an Amazon sale last year and I am using it on both my bikes now. For it's price, it is a good buy for sure, but it does leave the engine a little less smooth than the fully synthetic Motul 300V which is a lot more expensive. In terms of value though, the Shell is really up there.


3300 km run oil being drained out

Next up was checking the chain tightness, there was some sound while riding, that was caused by the chain slackness and it was adjusted accordingly.

The air filter was taken out to be replaced but it was so clean (thanks to the fresh, fresh air in Cochin!) that he just tried dusting it slightly and said it looked as good as new and that we dont need to replace it.

Planned but not executed work
I wanted to refit the auxiliary lights back on GT 535 but it turned out that I had forgotten to leave the lights with RoB. So I will have to go back to them for that another day. The mechanic did a brief ride of the bike and suggested that we just check the cone set as well. I had planned to get the front fork oil changed (especially after reading Jaggu's Tiger thread!) and since it would take some time I had planned to go there this week and get it done. So the cone set work and fork oil work were planned for round 2. However, I had a niggling suspicion in my head that I had got it done at least once and so I came home and skimmed through this ownership thread. What I realized was that I had got the front fork oil checked and filled up, not just once but twice, the last time being less than 2 years ago.

All things considered, I am greatly thankful to myself for maintaining this thread with sufficient details so that forgetful old me, can avoid duplicate motorcycle related expenditure that would have otherwise happened thanks to my poor memory All that money saved is money that goes into the Interceptor fund errr is money earned.

Anyways the work that is pending to be done in round two is
- adding replacement grips, Faisal the owner of RoB had shown me the ones on his Bullet (in the background in the first picture) and suggested them as a good option since he has used them for quite some time.
- checking the cone set.
- replacing the few pipes and tubes that are starting to crack once again.
- fixing the auxiliary lights back. I will replace the old switch with one from Mad Dog.
- replacing the rear tube with a new one, its running on borrowed time. I might even get it done by the guy near my house as it would be easier to do so when I get some free time.

Overall experience
The entire work took a few hours time and I sat and chatted with the mechanic while he was doing everything. I was quite impressed by his patience and dedication to doing things patiently and properly. Overall I paid Rs 300 for the labour which I felt was very reasonable.


Parked alongside some interesting motorcycles

As I had mentioned a few posts ago, I was looking for a place to get the Continental GT535 serviced regularly in Cochin. I dont need to look any further than RoB to take care of my bike going forward. The owner is a fellow motorcycling enthusiast and the mechanic is very patient and does all the work the right way. I would say RoB is an easy recommendation if you are looking at getting your bike serviced at an independent garage in Cochin. It gets the full two thumbs up rating from my side.

[varmaips]

Todays ride took me to bhadbada dam in bhopal.

[neil.jericho]

It has been almost a month since my last update on this thread and that is down to the Covid pandemic and the inclement weather. I dont often leave home and if I do, I usually end up taking my Triumph Street Triple 675 or, as is most often the case, the car, which meant that the Royal Enfield Continental GT 535 wasnt really wheeled out for the last few weeks. With the continuous rise in Covid cases, even leisure motorcycling has had to largely come to a halt, such is the world that we live in.

Anyways, with the benefit of additional time on my hands, I have been watching a lot of Dave Moss content on Youtube and learning more on the oft overlooked topic of motorcycle suspension. With my Triple having an adjustable rear Ohlins shock that I keep fiddling with to improve the different parameters, thereby directly impacting the riding experience, I am becoming a little more aware of the shortcomings of the Royal Enfield Continental GT 535's suspension and wonder what a more premium setup would do to the overall experience. However, given that it is a five year old bike with ahem, adequate performance, investing in a proper suspension setup will likely not make sense due to the law of diminishing returns, so I suppose it makes sense to live with the current setup as it is.

With some clear skies above, I decided to head out with the often overlooked Continental GT 535 and I managed to find a few sections where the roads opened up briefly and allowed the bike to really get going. The torque on the GT 535 does mean that it is a lot of fun in such scenarios. I realized that the clocks do need to be tightened a bit, though they appeared to have been fitted perfectly on the replacement clamp, they make an almighty racket when the bike got going in the upper ranges of it's low revving nature.

The bike has clocked a shade under 26,200 kms and for now, the bikes and I, are relegated to city runs. With the rise in the containment zones and case counts, I dont know how often there will be updates to this thread in the coming months. Stay safe everyone.

[StallionAmit]

Hi guys I got a GT 535, however the Speedometer console assembly needs full replacement as the current one is not working.
Need help with any stockist which have one, as I am unable to get one in Delhi.
Thanks Amit.

Mod Note - i = I. Please capitalize, punctuate where necessary. Thanks.

[neil.jericho]

Thanks to the heavy rains in the last few weeks, there really havent been many opportunities to wheel the bike out for a short ride around town. I made a quick pit stop at the Republic of Bikers store to get the rattling checked, it was down to a loose nut and they tightened it in a couple of minutes.

This thread needs more pictures!

The insurance renewal on both my motorcycles was due for the end of this month and I decided to go through Coverfox as usual. It recommended New India Assurance for both the Royal Enfield Continental GT 535 and the Triumph Street Triple 675. The recommended IDV for my bike was Rs 93,081 which is what I left it as. The breakup of the total payment of Rs 3,031 is below.

Own Damage - Rs 230
Third Party Premium - Rs 2,323
GST - Rs 460
Total - Rs 3,013

The personal accident (PA) policy which you have to have one of, for the sum insured of Rs 15,00,000 is through Bharti Axa and this is the default option on the Coverfox portal. The breakup of it is below

Premium - Rs 325
GST - Rs 58.5
Total - Rs 383.5

The Coverfox portal provides you and emails you with a separate document for this PA policy. The coverage details for this are below.

I've been discussing the topic of insurance renewals with some bikers in Cochin and they have said that they are getting quotes cheaper than Policy Bazaar and Cover Fox from their local agents recently. Maybe this is due to the Covid effect and the agents cutting down on their margins to win business that would otherwise be lost? Anyway, I thought it was prudent to share this with readers so that it might help them get a better deal when it is time for them to renew their vehicle insurance.

Signing off with a short video of a relaxed ride through the Container Terminal road.

Riding through Cochin

[neil.jericho]

I happened to visit Republic of Bikers the other day and the topic of the long pending service items on the Royal Enfield Continental GT 535 came up. I have been putting some of this off due to the Covid pandemic and given that things are not really getting better, now is as good a time as any to get the work completed. First things first, the bike had to get the PUC renewed and unfortunately, the emission checking place that I regularly go to has shut down, most likely due to Covid, as the proprietor was an elderly gentleman. So I had to take the bike to a new place where it got done quite quickly. The total cost of the PUC is Rs 80 for a motorcycle, I believe it is now a standard rate across Kerala.

On the Royal Enfield Continental GT 535 Owners Group on whatsapp, a couple of owners recently mentioned that the headlight unit of the old Royal Enfield Thunderbird was a direct fit and it cost only Rs 800. It had a multi reflector and a clear glass on it, which is just what I wanted. The newer versions of the Royal Enfield 650 twins come with a similar (I dont believe they are the same) setup but that costs Rs 2,100. I had enquired about the 650's clear glass headlight setup at JR and Sons but the high price had put me off. The much lower price point of the old Thunderbird unit though was something interesting. Faizal from RoB mentioned that he is running the same setup on his Bullet 500 and the output is much better than stock. So that was item number one on the list of things to be replaced.

Time to say goodbye to this retro look

The OEM grip has been wearing out primarily due to the palm protection on the Dainese full gauntlet gloves that I use every time I ride the bike. Faizal's suggestion was that of the Bullet, again a setup that he is running on his bike and which I had seen earlier. That was item number two.

See how the end of this has started wearing out

The frequently cracking breather hose was item number three and I also just wanted them to check the rear light which had a history of eventually giving up the ghost. I took the bike in to RoB today to get the work done, I had also planned to get the tires replaced as they are 2015 manufactured and I prefer to keep a 5 year timeline for the tires on my bikes. I have hardly done a few thousand kilometers on this set of Pirelli Sport Demons though and they are holding up very well but it is safer to change them. In fact, prior to the arrival of the Covid pandemic, I had planned for a pretty long ride during the middle of this year and thought that it would give me the opportunity to make full use of the tires before scrapping them around this time. Well, man proposes, God disposes.

The mechanic opening up the headlight after removing the Givi windscreen


Quite a tangled mess inside


He noticed this new oil leak on the left side !

We decided that it was better to open it up and seal it again properly rather than leave it unattended and face the consequences later.

The tank removed and all I can see is the dust under it!


Opened up, the first time that I was seeing the insides of the Continental GT 535's engine


View from the other side, that is a nasty mess

The mechanic did a good job of cleaning up the parts and putting the seal and setting it again. The work took some time but he did it quite patiently and meticulously, which is what I like seeing. Here is the breather cable that was on its way out and had to be replaced.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Now coming to the grips, I am not sure of the technical terms of what was what, so I will just use layman's terms to describe what was done to my rather limited understanding. The accelerator cable is a twin setup and the right side handlebar grip is actually a dual layered unit. So the outer unit was carefully sliced and removed while the underlying unit still remained on the handlebar. Now the inner unit of the new Bullet grip was broken and removed and the outer unit of the new Bullet grip was slid onto the old inner unit of the OEM grip. I hope that made sense! Now once this was attached, the mechanic felt that the accelerator cable was not pulling or returning (it was one of these, I dont recall now) properly so he had recommended that the cable be changed as well. He also routed the accelerator cable from its OEM setup to one that was a little more accessible and this has meant that it sticks out a more at the front but its all the same to me.

Now, the one thing that was left for this first leg of the work to be done was fitting the old Thunderbird's reflector and glass unit in the holder with the OEM wiring routed behind it. This turned out to be a lot easier said than done and the wiring has turned a little hard over time so the mechanic had to be rather gentle with it and coax it through the limited space. He had to do some slight modification to the wiring as well. Anyways, this took a very long time because he was to doing it properly. Finally he managed to get the unit closed but we realized that headlight was tilted slightly upwards because the screw at the base was hitting the number plate. We decided to stop there for now as it was well beyond our lunch time and the work will continue tomorrow in the return leg.

Problematic screw

The couple of things to address tomorrow are the above mentioned issue and the swapping of tires to Timsun's TS 659 at the front and TS 660 at the rear. The TS 660 in particular, was highly recommended and the TS 659 was the logical match for it at the front. I decided to stick to the OEM sizes of 100 / 90 - 18 at the front and the 130 / 70 - 18 at the rear. While trying to read up on Timsun's options for the 650 twins, this very useful post from my buddy Snehal Shekar popped up and validated my decision to go in for the pair. Apparently there is no possibility of getting 2020 stock and the latest ones are from 2019 which is fair, I guess.

One thing I noticed is that the rear mud flap is a little crooked though everything else is perfectly aligned. Now that needs to be just checked during the tire swap tomorrow.

The last thing on my shopping list is a replacement for this front brake reservoir cap which is quite scuffed up.

Apparently it isnt available with the parts distributors and I had dropped an enquiry on the Royal Enfield website. Let me see if I get a call back from them on this. This black one would look rather swell as compared to the silver one.

On a final note, speaking of things looking good in black, now, my patient wait begins for motorcycle ownership thread bar setter, KarthikK to change his mind and agree to sell me those very black Royal Enfield touring mirrors at a very good price. They do look terribly out of place as they are totally black and can potentially ruin the look of his otherwise very attractive Interceptor 650

[surjaonwheelz]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

I happened to visit Republic of Bikers the other day and the topic of the long pending service items on the Royal Enfield Continental GT 535 came up. I have been putting some of this off due to the Covid pandemic and given that things are not really getting better, now is as good a time as any to get the work completed.

The newer versions of the Royal Enfield 650 twins come with a similar (I dont believe they are the same) setup but that costs Rs 2,100. I had enquired about the 650's clear glass headlight setup at JR and Sons but the high price had put me off. The much lower price point of the old Thunderbird unit though was something interesting. Faizal from RoB mentioned that he is running the same setup on his Bullet 500 and the output is much better than stock. So that was item number one on the list of things to be replaced.

Now, the one thing that was left for this first leg of the work to be done was fitting the old Thunderbird's reflector and glass unit in the holder with the OEM wiring routed behind it. This turned out to be a lot easier said than done and the wiring has turned a little hard over time so the mechanic had to be rather gentle with it and coax it through the limited space. He had to do some slight modification to the wiring as well.
The couple of things to address tomorrow are the above mentioned issue and the swapping of tires to Timsun's TS 659 at the front and TS 660 at the rear.

TB has the HID setup, right? Would like to see the final output. Looking forward to pictures after the wiring mess is cleared and the oil marks are cleaned. 650 twins are becoming a good source for GT535 owners.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

TB has the HID setup, right? Would like to see the final output. Looking forward to pictures after the wiring mess is cleared and the oil marks are cleaned. 650 twins are becoming a good source for GT535 owners.

Haha even when I was told the Thunderbird setup is a straight fit, I too was a bit confused as my mind went to the more recent model under the Thunderbird name. But the part that is required is from the older Thunderbird, probably from around 2008 or so.

Actually the 650 twins share a lot of parts with the Continental GT 535 but the latter never really took off and there isnt a proper GT 535 forum or multiple ownership threads on the internet with a lot of details and work arounds. I believe mine is the only active long term ownership thread for the bike anywhere on the interwebs so I try to keep my posts detailed to help other owners. The thing is, a lot of the solutions by Continental GT 535 owners remain on the national whatsapp group and there isnt a platform for it to get shared with everyone. Im sure some of the alternatives and solutions will be applicable to the 650 twins as well but they remain hidden away.

But that said, the 650 twins have been a roaring sales success and as I said earlier, Ive been hoping for more Indian and international vendors to develop custom parts that I can piggyback on for my bike It also helps that the 650 owners are fairly active on the forum and the details can help us owners of the older Continental GT 535. Win win, I say!

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Haha even when I was told the Thunderbird setup is a straight fit, I too was a bit confused as my mind went to the more recent model under the Thunderbird name. But the part that is required is from the older Thunderbird, probably from around 2008 or so.

If you are looking into a normal sealed unit, you can try the ones used by Tata Ace (old model), has the best spread. have always observed, the ones from the Commercial vehicles have the best spread.
PS- I had one made by Autopal on my Classic 500, was way better than the stock ones.

[neil.jericho]

Today was part two of my Republic of Bikers visit to finish off the pending work on my Royal Enfield Continental GT 535. First on the agenda, was the headlight adjustment to ensure that it was level and not tilted, which is how we left it yesterday to the paucity of time. The front number plate was removed and the headlight was adjusted properly and though the mechanic and I discussed the option of drilling a small hole in the number plate to keep the headlight in place, we eventually didnt need to do so as everything fit well. So the number plate was fixed back and it is a little more visible now that before, which I suppose is a good thing after all.

The rear mudguard was checked and we narrowed down the cause of the visual slanting in it, to the final black extension. This was adjusted and finally, we left it as best we could. The mechanic suggested that we could go ahead and do this properly by removing the whole thing and checking the holes and enlarging them, if required to get things to perfection. Since it is only a visual aspect and not important, I promised him that we will do it at a later date but what I really appreciated was that he was willing to put in the time for things to be done perfectly. This is just the sort of mechanic that you hope to find!

Finally, Faizal took the bike to get the tires changed to the Timsuns and he was back within 40 minutes with the bike sporting brand new tires. That certainly was the fastest tire swap in my history of motorcycle ownership! I had asked for both the tubes to be replaced by Ceat tubes which are quite hardy and are perfectly suited to Indian roads in my experience. The front tube was replaced a month or so ago at a local puncture shop with some unknown brand and the tire change guy had told Faizal that it was fine and there was no need to change it so soon. For the rear tube, they put an Avis tube (I believe that is the name, Faizal showed me a picture and this was the first that I was hearing of the company) that is made in India but was meant for the bigger rear tire and not a 100 / 90 - 18 tube at the back. This was a lot more expensive that the Ceat tube but is said to be of a better quality and will last longer as per the tire installer. Lets see how it holds up.

I have covered 50 kms post the change today and I am very impressed. I will share some thoughts on the decision making process and detailed feedback once I cross at least a 100 kms and get a chance to put them through their paces in different road conditions.

Here is a closer look at the front tire


Here is the highly recommended rear tire from Timsun

I have also attached a close up view of the headlight unit from the old Thunderbird. To be honest, it was supposed to be the same size as that of the Continental GT (7 inches) but visually it does seem to be a tiny bit smaller than the old one. I never compared the old OEM headlight unit and the new one side by side. The gap between the headlight unit and the visor seems to have increased a little as compared to earlier, to the untrained eye though, it will never be noticed. The Himalayan's headlight is also a multi reflector unit with a clear glass but again, that costs Rs 2,400 or so and it didnt make any financial sense to go for that.

Yesterday when the mechanic had checked the accelerator cable, he found that it was not moving properly and this prompted him to recommend changing the cable. Now this (and maybe even the chunkier grip?) simple replacement meant that riding the motorcycle has become a lot more fun. It is almost like the bike has found a long lost hop in it's step and a simple twist of the wrist accelerates the bikes forward like a young, fresh off the factory line Royal Enfield motorcycle. The old cable probably degraded and / or got restricted slowly and I did not realize that it had happened over time. However, within the first minute or so of hopping on the bike, I was able to notice the difference in the throttle response.

Here are a few pictures from today evening.

Overall the breakup of the expenses is below
Headlight assembly - Rs 802
Gasket kit - Rs 97
Throttle cable assembly - Rs 450
PAV hose - Rs 209
Thunderbird grip - Rs 205
Labour - Rs 800
(Unrelated to the motorcycle, I had also bought a mask at the store) - Rs 150

The total cost of the parts and the labour came to Rs 2,713. Considering that the total labour came to between 5 - 6 hours in total, the charges are quite reasonable and the quality of the work was absolutely top notch.

For the tire swap, the breakup of the expenses is below
Timsun TS 659A - Rs 4,800
Timsun TS 660 - Rs 7,100
Avis tube - Rs 550
Fitting charge - Rs 250

The total cost for the tire swap came to Rs 12,500.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the mechanic knows his stuff and does everything extremely meticulously with zero shortcuts while not wasting time or getting distracted. Those who are based out of God's own country will be well aware that finding such a grounded mechanic is extremely difficult! He was quite frank in telling me that working on the Continental GT 535 was more challenging than working on the more common Bullet and Himalayan motorcycles and often explained the work that he was doing, while he was doing it. Overall, my experience with Republic of Bikers was very good once again and I will not hesitate in recommending them for any motorcycle service related work if you are in Cochin. They earn a well deserved 10 / 10 rating from me.

[krish3]

Hi Neil. Thanks for maintaining and updating this thread frequently. I'm actually considering the GT 650. The only issue I have is with the tubed tyres.

Did you try fitting out alloys and tubeless on your GT 535?

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by krish3

Hi Neil. Thanks for maintaining and updating this thread frequently. I'm actually considering the GT 650. The only issue I have is with the tubed tyres.

Did you try fitting out alloys and tubeless on your GT 535?

krish3, I had decided to wait for the official alloys from Royal Enfield and didnt want to try out the aftermarket options that have questionable build quality with not much by the way of safety. The option of Royal Enfield alloys on the Interceptor and GT650 have been long rumoured but are rather frustratingly, still nowhere in sight. They only saving grace is that the alloys are already available for the Bullet and Thunderbird (and Meteor) series, so next in line should be the 650s.

If you really like the GT650, you could consider the option of getting it now and enjoying the bike and then upgrading to the alloys whenever they come out. I believe the Bullet ones retail for Rs 10,000 so the price should likely be the same for the 650s.

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

If you are looking into a normal sealed unit, you can try the ones used by Tata Ace (old model), has the best spread. have always observed, the ones from the Commercial vehicles have the best spread.
PS- I had one made by Autopal on my Classic 500, was way better than the stock ones.

Thanks, this is very useful. I will share it with the other owners on the Whatsapp group.

[neil.jericho]

Ever since the start of the Covid pandemic, I havent really chosen to do any motorcycle rides and I havent even stepped out of town, to be honest. But all this sitting at home for months on end while watching motorcycle videos on youtube and browsing Olx for my next motorcycle were scant substitutes for being able to actually enjoy a simple, unfiltered motorcycle ride.

So with not much prior planning, I set the alarm for 6 AM, woke up and set out for a quick solo ride to Athirapally, which is the best offering that we get when it comes to cornering bliss in this part of the country. Fortunately, the traffic was very sparse on NH47 and the lovely serpentine road leading up to the Athirapally checkpost was devoid of traffic for most sections. All of this meant that I thoroughly enjoyed hustling the Continental GT 535 through the corners and S bends at an ahem, very good clip. With the new Timsun tires on, the bike had an almost new found agility in it's arsenal and the enhanced throttle response, thanks to the brand new accelerator cable, added to the fun quotient to make it a most memorable ride. Throw in the long gap between the last proper ride and today's ride to Athirapally, and it combined for what is probably one of my top 5 all time rides. When I reached the Athirapally checkpost though, I found that it was closed to the public and I decided to take the chilled out approach for the return ride to Cochin while stopping for plenty of pictures.

The Athirapally falls in the distance, this is the closest that one can get to it in these times


Another quick picture stop


Not much force in the waterflow here

I must make special mention of the really good job done by the Timsun tires that were put on the bike a few days ago. Ive done a couple of hundred kilometers on them and across different types of road conditions including smooth highways, undulating highways, potholed city roads, work in progress roads that are a dangerous mix of gravel and sand, broken roads forgotten by the authorities and just about everything else in between. I will post a more detailed look on the tires in a few days.

Here is a picture of the front tire


And one of the rear tire


Here it is side by side with that of the Triumph while a ResQTec unit connected to the Continental GT 535 helps inflate air in the Street Triple 675

Of course, such a near perfect ride would have a wrinkle of some sort, and that came in the form of the clocks which started vibrating mildly at some RPMs and then eventually worked itself loose on the right side. I suspected that the bolt probably became loose once again and needed tightening so I dropped in at Republic of Bikers later to get it double checked. Unfortunately, that is when we realized that both bolts on the underside of the main clamp on the right side had snapped with the vibrations that are a permanent companion to my (occasionally) enthusiastic riding. So the clamp will need to be removed, taken to the lathe, drilled out and the bike will need newer and better quality bolts to be used. Sigh! All part of the Royal Enfield ownership experience ....

Clocks leaning slightly to one side


An underside view of the central clamp

Honestly though, I was prepared for the occasional misstep such as this when I purchased the motorcycle, so its not something that has caught me off guard or totally come out of the blue. If fact, despite the minor niggles and hiccups, the bike has actually thrown up less issues that I originally anticipated so in that respect, it is all good. With the newer 650 twins, even these minor niggles dont even seem to be part and parcel of the ownership experience, so Royal Enfield certainly have upped their game in the quality department.

Back to the Continental GT 535, today's ride once again helped show that this bike was meant for cornering. Yes, one can enjoy the torque or its precise braking (the best on any Royal Enfield manufactured till then?) but the bike is in its element when you are gunning it in the twisties. Long highway rides may not be all that fun but if google maps is showing you a squiggly line to your favourite destination, the Continental GT 535 can be a very fun motorcycle to have in your garage.

Signing off with a final picture (ironically with a straight road!) because this thread can never have enough photographs

Mileage: I topped up in the morning at the IOCL pump in Oongam, Trichur which is where we motorcyclists usually stopped for breakfast on such rides, of course this was in the pre Covid era. Distance covered : 199.5 kms. Petrol consumed : 7.29 litres. Mileage: 27.37 kmpl which is par for course.

Later in the day, I filled up at the usual BPCL pump on Kaloor Kadavanthra road which is my go to pump for all my vehicles. Distance covered : 134.5 kms. Petrol consumed : 3.67 litres. Mileage:36.65 kmpl which is a very nice to see and proves that the bike can be frugal in the hands of a more controlled motorcyclist than me.

Mileage since day 1 inches up to 27.91 kmpl.