[Srikji]

Congrats Karavadi143! TB is certainly a head turner. I too am considering buying a TB350 (after multiple debates with myself finally decided to go for TB over Classic and Electra). I am finding it difficult to decide between the matte black and the blue TB. The matte black looks anyday better my only concern is the maintenance around it. Abirnale's post is very comforting: provided maintenance is low after paint protection I will go for stone black over blue.

[karavadi143]

Thanks Srikji. Agree with you-Matte or Stone black is definitely the best color In Thunderbird. Just needs a bit of extra care compared to other colors, but a couple of points here - The quality of paint is good, will not give trouble soon. Also saves a lot of money on shampoo as well ☺

[Srikji]

The folks at Legend Motors, Chennai suggested going for paint protection. Are you sure its not needed? I am booking a TB 350 this coming weekend. I do have time till I get my hands on the bull but curious to know these things before hand! Other things I am deliberating on: the leather tool kit looks good stand alone need to figure out if I would need it and how it would look on the bike. Any suggestions on silencers? I am looking for something that has a bullet and a cruiser feel to it! Are there any HD "hear-alike" silencers around?

[kishoryk]

Hi karavadi143,

I am also planning to go for TB350. How has been your ownership experience so far? Your bike performance, service support, etc.?
Appreciate you sharing your detailed buying experience at the start of this thread.

Regards,
Kishor

[sudeep11787]

Hi
I have booked a classic 350 some time back. But, loved the stability and riding posture of thunderbird. How is the ownership experience so far?

Any major issues?

[taneja799]

Hello everyone,

I have been reading a lot about the TB350 over and over here and at other sites as well.
I was planning to buy a bike and took test ride of Honda CB hornet where I felt the bike similar to unicorn as the engine was also the same.
Then I test rode of Bajaj avenger as many suggested me to go for it, I rode the avenger 220 street and cruiser and felt the comfort a cruiser bike holds, I was certainly impressed by it and way better than the CB hornet. Now as i am a 6 feet tall person the avenger's height did not suit me although the ride was good.
Then came the Thunderbird 350, the test ride i took was in my head for almost 2-3 days. Comfort, feeling, torque, looks...all were great and hence i just booked the bike.

Now questions arising in my head since the delivery is yet to be made and booking can be reverted,
1. It wud be my first bike ever (I have no biking experience). Its a big bird..is it ok to fly big at my first ride.
2. The bike itself seems to have multiple issues regarding maintenance as i have read about it. Engine oil leak, instrument console problems, unfriendly sounds from bike engine at times, tappet replacement, chain replacement, etc costing too much every year.
3. Now I wud be using the bike mostly for city commuting to & fro my home and office (Max 15 Kms overall), and since it is a cruiser bike, is their any major problem using it in city traffic.
4. Also as i see that many bikes slip a lot on roads, and i wud not like to slip on this heavy bike, what precaution can be taken to avoid slippage of bike? Better grip tyres may be wider. Also does the Crash guard really help in avoiding injuries..?

[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by taneja799

Then came the Thunderbird 350, the test ride i took was in my head for almost 2-3 days. Comfort, feeling, torque, looks...all were great and hence i just booked the bike.

Now questions arising in my head since the delivery is yet to be made and booking can be reverted,
1. It wud be my first bike ever (I have no biking experience). Its a big bird..is it ok to fly big at my first ride.

Taneja mate it just looks big and intimidating, you will also be surprised the way it transforms once on the move. There is nothing wrong with buying a first big bike. My first bike was a Bullet CI 350.

2. The bike itself seems to have multiple issues regarding maintenance as i have read about it. Engine oil leak, instrument console problems, unfriendly sounds from bike engine at times, tappet replacement, chain replacement, etc costing too much every year.

Mate RE bikes now comes with 2 year free service warranty. The issues mentioned on various forums depends from owner to owner. I haven't faced any issues mentioned above so far and neither have people in my riding circle. Yes the IC is a bit vague but have heard RE has worked on it. Other than this the engine is an old school pushrod type so there will be sounds peculiar to a big single pushrod engine.

3. Now I wud be using the bike mostly for city commuting to & fro my home and office (Max 15 Kms overall), and since it is a cruiser bike, is their any major problem using it in city traffic.

Honestly if you are going to use it primarily for city commuting then the RE Electra is a better choice than Tbird. I am not saying Tbird cannot do commuting but it feels at home on the highways. I will request you to test ride the Electra once and then decide. If you don't like the looks of Electra then CL series is your option. I would've suggested you the Himalayan but it is a completely different bike and wont suit your requirements.

4. Also as i see that many bikes slip a lot on roads, and i wud not like to slip on this heavy bike, what precaution can be taken to avoid slippage of bike? Better grip tyres may be wider. Also does the Crash guard really help in avoiding injuries..?

Mate the Tbird is a nose heavy bike and pitches (nose dives) while braking hard if one is using only the front brake. The absence of ABS makes it even more scary if the tyres lock up. I follow a combination braking ratio of 6(front):4(rear). A front crash guard would be adequate to save both the bike(side panel) and the rider in case of a minor crash.

Happy choosing.

[HONESTabdul]

Congrats karavadi143, Going for the same bike here in west bengal. One thing i want to ask you. Did you look into the process of removing the rear tyre? With the rear disc it can be too tricky for local puncture repair guys.

[deepeshh]

Hi! Today I booked my TB 350 in Lightning colour. Had planned "Stone" colour initially but then decided otherwise as RE does not provide warranty for this colour. The SA said it was powder coating and not paint and hence any scratches is not removable.

Lightning emits different shades based on the light and was the next best to Stone in my opinion. Delivery has been promised on Wed. Eager to be part of RE gang.

I test rode both 350 & 500 back to back. Well the 500 definitely has that initial surge and pickup compared to 350 and was really tempted to go for the same. But since my usage is strictly limited to town decided for 350. Moreover I was skeptical about the FI issues with the 500 and setteled for 350.

[deepeshh]

I laid hands on my TB350 on Oct 5th 2016 and have clocked 350 km so far. Still being in the running in period have not explored her potential to the fullest.

Regarding the bike, yes its definitely a head turner and I having changed my handle bar to a wider one gives me a Royal superior riding stance.

I did have a minor niggle of an annoying squeaking sound creeping from the front area while accelerating. This was identified to be some loose component behind the headlight dome and has been rectified at the ASS. The throw of my headlamp was very close by and was finding it difficult to ride in the night. Though I got the headlight dome lifted, it seems the range for upping the headlight is very minimal as confirmed by the SA. Surprised to see this on a cruiser bike.

Over all pretty satisfied with the bike while my short stint with her. It seems the fuel gauge is not accurate as also mentioned by lots of other TB customers as the bars keeps fluctuating and doesn't seem to be accurate and both the meters do vibrate a lot.

I found the build quality of TB to be a tad better than any other RE bikes and the vibration levels are definitely lesser compared to the Classic. Suspension is slightly to the stiffer side and not to my liking as it unsettles your riding posture the moment you fall into a pot hole or cross a speed breaker at a reasonable speed.

[kmortha]

Hello all,
Mine is a TB 350 as well, in the stone black.
Got it on July 18, 2016 and clocked 40,000 KM so far.

The matte finish on the bike, is kind of wearing off. Also, the tank acquired quite a few scratches due to my knee guards. And now the tank shined.

What would be the best, that you would suggest, way to get the matte finish done.

[kmortha]

Originally Posted by HONESTabdul

Congrats karavadi143, Going for the same bike here in west bengal. One thing i want to ask you. Did you look into the process of removing the rear tyre? With the rear disc it can be too tricky for local puncture repair guys.

You can do it yourself too, with the help of a friend.
But you got to be careful with the discs and the disc pads. And never to press the breaks, while working on it. And, check for bubbles in the break oil tubes.

[HONESTabdul]

Can anyone tell me if I can switch to alloy rims for my Tbird. This is because I wish to change to tubeless tyres. If I change the rims and switch the nozzles can I use the existing tyres as tubeless ones?

[R-Six]

Originally Posted by HONESTabdul

Can anyone tell me if I can switch to alloy rims for my Tbird.

I have seen plently of folks running on alloys on the Thunderbird. So I'm sure there is no harm in switching into alloys.

Originally Posted by HONESTabdul

This is because I wish to change to tubeless tyres. If I change the rims and switch the nozzles can I use the existing tyres as tubeless ones?

Not sure how this would work on a bike. I had done a similiar stuff on our Safari back in 2015 when I had an unfotunate side wall cut during my Munnar trip. The puncture guy put the spare tyre (Tube type) on the alloy without the tube and used some chemical / solution to seal the edges. Worked flawlessly.

Hope this helps.

R-Six

[kishoryk]

Hello,

I would like to share my experiences so far on my TB 350 (not a full-fledged ownership report - that I plan to do before/after 1st service):

I am half a month into riding on my new TB 350. Some positive and not so positive aspects:

First Positive aspects of my experience:
- Vibrations that everyone complained about seem to vanish as the days go by. Nope - I am not getting used to it. For a fact, the level of vibrations from Day 1 to now have significantly reduced.

- Pick-up/acceleration is getting better. I am more confident and the engine is responsive to opening up the throttle. (Although I am trying hard to be <= 60 Kmph, one just two occasions, I had to rev it up to overtake).

- The sweet spot seems to be between 55 and 60. It really feels smooth at this speed.

- Finally, my solution for doc storage (since I saw many complaining about this) is the battery compartment itself. If you can nicely fold the papers (I hope, it’s just the insurance, manual, and maybe one more paper? and put them on the battery itself. Use an elastic band to keep it in place (I hope this is not required but just in case). Wrap them in a plastic cover and nothing is going to happen. It’s easy to retrieve with just opening the lock compared to toolbox space.

- I saw several people complaining about wrong fuel indicator on the digital display. But so far, I have not seen any misbehaviour of this sort.

Not so positive:
- I do have this major problem of gears not being consistent. Stuck gears between 1-N-2. 3 out of 5 times, the gears do not switch smoothly (sounds like an auto rick gear change). 3rd, 4th and 5th are smooth - noiseless and instant. (just to note, I have been driving a bike/car for 20+ years now and quite comfortable with various brands - so I believe, I am not doing any fundamental mistake unless I am missing anything specific to an RE). Guess, there is some used-to-do thing like someone said develop that bond. Nevertheless, the gearbox, I feel is not robust enough.

- knocking effect. Happens at speeds between 30–45. If I shift to lower gear, it feels like, it’s pulling hard, suggesting me to move into higher gear. But when I do move to a higher gear, I can feel that knocking effect in terms of sound (and sometimes drive as well).

- This always-on head-light is really irritating with Bangalore type high stop-and-start traffic. Engine kill switch is almost redundant because any way you have to turn off the key, in the fear of draining the battery. When we have this DRL type LED ring is there, I am not sure what logic exist to have the head light on - all the time. At least it should turn on when the engine is running not on battery. This must be simple to implement?

- Finally, the manual says, there is a side-stand indicator, hazard light button and parking light indicator but none of that exists. There is a cable running from side stand but I don’t know what is that for. It does not have any effect at all. Also, there are only two buttons on the console (on the handle-bar). There is no third button for “Hazard” for both-indicators to blink. There are no more indicators on the right console than the battery, petrol, Neutral and the two turn indications. Am I short-changed? I don’t know. (These indicators can be brighter - especially the Neutral one for easy readability. Under bright sun, it may not be that visible).

All this apart - I do enjoy driving my new TB. It’s awesome experience, no doubt.