[Ry_der]

I've been a TBTS 350 owner since 2012(Mine is one of the first batches of projector type). The reason why I chose it over any other bike in the segment is purely logical. The reasons are listed below.

1. Depreciation:- The bike is IMO, depreciation less. I had a pulsar 150 during 2007-12, it depreciated exponentially. The IDV as per insurance policy was around ₹30K but it could fetch me only a paltry sum of 13K. But in Enfields well maintained examples normally fetch ~ ₹100K for any production year model.

2. Maintenance: Fellow riders may envy but yes, I am spending appx 10₹/Day since last 4 years(after the free services ended). The routine service is being carried out every 11 months(₹1500). Rest ₹2K are spent during the year for any faulty part replacement. The key is to never leave your bike at the disposal of the A.S.S. I switched to local mechanics to avoid arguments with A.S.S. guys who dont allow customers in service bay. FYI I revv my bike close to 4K RPM. My pulsar was with me for appx 90K KMS and during those 5 years I'd spent close to ₹80K only on maintenance(Engine work-3 times). Major replacements done in TBTS 350 are Battery(Exide@2.3K₹), Front Shock oil seal(@₹1.1K), and Chain sprockets sets replaced at 19K KMS(@₹2K). My bike may look dirty to onlookers but its always in geat shape mechanically(Selective laziness). Going strong at ~45K KMs with the factory fitted MRF ZAPPERs(Rear tyre due for replacement this summer).

3. Styling: Some like it, some not. I love it.

4. On road presence:- HUGE. More dominating than the CBR 150s, R15s and Pulsars for sure.

5. Handling: I use the bike for city commuting(Office, supermarket) and the city is Ahmedabad. My wife likes my biceps BTW credits to the hard clutch. Initially it may pain but after 10-15 days you will not notice. I've ridden my fare share of JAPS and other indian models but the TBTS is the winner IMO. You will stop overspeeding after a few heart in mouth incidents. Under hard braking the bike maintain its posture but the rear fish tails. I get fish tailed daily but never had any accident.

So, Yes the Royal Enfield can be a logical choice if you know its limits and a good mechanic(Stay away from A.S.S). Two of my major replacements were caused by some dumbo A.S.S. mechanic , one of whom forget to topup water in the battery for 3 services(the bike ran for a year and half without water and yes I literally had a blast in the bettery.) & Another was kind enough to tighten the chain too much just to increase "Pickup". Sand of Rajasthan eats up the Chain-Sprockets very quickly.

P.S. Dont look for reason to own one, the RE will secure its place once you start living with it. Others may be the girlfriends, but these are the wifes.They tend to be moody sometimes but still they are called 'Ardhangini'.

[KushKaun]

The traffic was dense; I was at the start of the line waiting for the red to turn into green. The buzzing noise of all the exhaust notes and sky was filled with the smoke of the said exhausts. The red turns into green, the honking starts, I depress the clutch and press the ignition button.
Attempt 1: The bike says, “Wait, I will start.”
Attempt 2: “Didn’t I tell you, I will start, bloody wait.”
The honking behind me starts intensifying, the tension in me starts intensifying, I slot the gear into neutral, push it beside to give away and voila it starts.



Image taken from external source. Not clicked me. For that one week I had the bike I was so into riding it that I didn't take a pic of it.

‘Dug, dug, dug, dugdugdug…..’ the Enfield starts and I move ahead.
And with every meter we move, the Enfield profusely apologizes for the traffic humiliation, and hence starts the confusing ride.
My fascination with the Enfields started when my friend bought a brand new thunder bird during my college days. The comfort, the pickup it had (when compared to my 125 cc bike) and the sound that resonated with teenage dreams.

However, the reality of owning an Enfield was far-fetched owing to the high CC engine and of course vitamin M. With passing time, clouds, political powers and multiple bikes the desire of owing an Enfield died down. The emergence of faster and more agile bikes dominating the market and frequent bashing over the unreliability and slow pace of the Enfield kept me away from owning the expensive piece of equipment that does not go beyond 80 KMPH with happiness.

I bought my self a Bajaj Avenger for comfort rides and also because it was half the cost of the Enfield Thunder Bird. There were shares of good and bad with the avenger and not able to ride another Enfield, incessant online bashing and the fact that the not able to buy one for very long pushed the desire away from it.

3 years later, my friend who returned permanently from the USA bought himself a 5-year-old Thunderbird 350 CC for just Rs. 90k with alloy wheels, graphics, modified exhaust and just 10k km on the odo.

Now, comes the magical part, he lends me his bike for a week just because I pestered him that I got bored of riding the Avenger and wanted a change.
And then started the confusing ride.

Coming from the short avenger where you feel like you travel parallel to the road, a hop on the saddle of the Thunderbird felt like I climbed on to a bull (now I understood why the Enfield is called a Bull) and then settled on a seat that was made to pamper masculine men.

The 20-liter wide fuel tank made my two legs face Kabul and Kathmandu respectively, the tall handle bars made you ready to face the traffic chaos, the weight on your shoulders and legs makes you realize the responsibility that you need to move and finally the kick that always works starts the life in the Enfield and in you.

Dug dug dug dug…the bike sings at idle as if it is clearing its throat for a beautiful song that it sings as you encourage it with the throttle response. Slot the 1st gear and the bull responds with thud acknowledging the fact that you dared to tame it.

Release the clutch and twist the accelerator with love and caution. Mind you this is not a machine that likes to be twisted, it excepts you to treat her with respect and portray gentleman behavior.

So, twist the accelerator the RPM needle moves steadily up to 2k RPM when the bike gently asks for a gear change to and then moving on to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th when the legendary vibrations start beyond near 3k RPM and you feel like up shifting to the 5th gear to ease the vibrations. This is where the Enfield bugs you.


Let’s go back a little to the 3rd gear. You see the best thing about Enfield is the way it can be ridden in the lower RPM’s like a charm up to 65-70 KMPH which is at most you do in the city roads. Once you hit the open tarmac and the itch to travel a little faster say around 85-100 KMPH that’s when the confusion with the engine dynamics get the better out of you.

In my personal experience the vibrations that crept in at around 3k RPM pushed me to shift early and I shifted to 5th gear at around 70 KMPH, though the bike rose up in speed steadily the vibrations also rose. I thought this is how Enfields behave and choose to ignore it and instead enjoyed it.
However, one fine day I raised the RPM in the 4th gear up to 4k and then shifted to the 5th and surprise surprise the vibrations that occurred when I was close to 3k RPM reduced by a good margin and I was able to push and ride the bull with pride at 100 KMPH until a real bull made its entry on the tarmac.
The reason why I call the ride on the Enfield a confusing ride is because:

• It makes you love it by the way it handles and the feel it gives you when you ride it at sedate speeds.
• The way it moves to 65KMPH at a mere 2.5K RPM.
• The way it gives you a commanding riding position and a feel of domination (not with speed as the Dominar gives)
• The way it refuses to self-start in crucial times like when the red turns into green
• The way it vibrates at some RPM and also does not vibrate at another time at the same RPM.
• The way it gives you reasons to not like it but at the same time gives you experiences to love it.
• The way it makes you believe that you will never get bored of this machine irrespective of its flaws.

A confusing ride indeed, I gave the bike back to him after a week usage and when I hopped back on my avenger, I felt as if I fell from a mountain peak to a valley, the 190 kilo to 155 kilo transformation made me laugh hysterically and almost loose balance. I was back on my Avy doing the daily routine. The slow rise of RPM gave way to quick twist to throttle to move the bike ahead, the wide tank gave way to a narrow tank, the imposing riding position gave way to riding parallel to the road level.

Did I miss the ride on the Enfield Thunderbird? I don’t know. May be this vacation with the bull was just a vacation and the routine is what is right for me or may be this vacation is like a soul trip for me that helps me make a change in my choices only time will tell.

Till then…dug dug dug…

[ACM]

Very well written. Yep this what it all is. But Do test ride the Java and the 650 Interceptor as well and then share how you feel. I felt the vibrating unreliable versions of RE were not for me. The 650 though is another thing but for the ergonomics.

Riding the Java will tell you if it was the Dug Dug and vibrations that you loved or just the true classic nature of a bygone time.

[KushKaun]

Yes sir, although I liked Jawa for its looks, the low seat and the riding position is a no no for me coming from avenger and the twins are too expensive for my bank balance and also mileage is not in my bracket. But, as they say Enfield's are not machines but an emotion. Have to see how far my mind will be controlled by my heart and vice versa.

[Ajaybiz]

As few are still in their own world and consider RE Bullet is the best and biggest bike they can have, it's true adventure bike, it can cruise, it can go to Ladakh and come back in one piece, it has got the thump, it has the road presence etc.
Come on give me a break, ride something called real bike to come out of your Bullet Trance.
Google search image of re bullet against ducati multistrada

[Roy.S]

Originally Posted by Ajaybiz

it can cruise, it can go to Ladakh and come back in one piece

I rode my CL500 hard from Ooty to Mysore couple of weeks ago and one of the horns fell off. Last year I lost the battery cover and part of the battery harness when I hit a rough section of highway at 80kmph.
Also, after some aggressive engine braking coming down the ghats, the gearbox feels like it will need some attention.
But I still love that rusty bucket of bolts!
With all the choices available now, though, it makes little sense to buy the classic 500/350.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by condor

Any suggestions, please let me know. The places can be either Bangalore, or Hyd or Bombay.

There are multiple well known mechanics in each of these cities who can get his job done easily.

He will need a mechanic to dismantle the parts, and to replace other stuff like bushes etc which will need replacement due to their once removed from their housings.

One place I can recommend is Manjunatha Service Centre near Navrang Talkies in Bangalore.

Originally Posted by Ajaybiz

As few are still in their own world and consider RE Bullet is the best and biggest bike they can have, it's true adventure bike, it can cruise, it can go to Ladakh and come back in one piece,

Even a CT 100 can do that, the bullet 350 is, just like a lot of other stuff we lust after, an symbolic representation of the "Raj", that is all.

Originally Posted by Ajaybiz

it has got the thump, it has the road presence etc.

Debatable, with so many of them around the road presence is hugely diluted, the thump, well that has become an irritant with super loud silencers everywhere.[/quote]

Originally Posted by Roy.S

With all the choices available now, though, it makes little sense to buy the classic 500/350.

True that, however, for someone who hasn't experienced it, the 350 still holds aspirational value.

[KkVaidya]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Even a CT 100 can do that, the bullet 350 is, just like a lot of other stuff we lust after, an symbolic representation of the "Raj", that is all.

Debatable, with so many of them around the road presence is hugely diluted, the thump, well that has become an irritant with super loud silencers everywhere.
True that, however, for someone who hasn't experienced it, the 350 still holds aspirational value.

Fully agree with your views. A vehicle only has a presence when people rarely see it. It is all psychological - Even a Bajaj Pulsar will have value if you see it once a fortnight. If you see a vehicle everyday on the roads in dozens, people stop turning heads to it.
While Eicher may have turned around the brand as far as topline/bottomline is concerned - they lost the whole charm in between.