[adrian]

Don't know if it is the appropriate thread. Bajaj Trolls RE.
Time to wake up and reply Royal Enfield !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU_6JYmLXQE

Earlier it was all about brotherhood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGqPQCfXIPA

Disclaimer : Don't take me as a Royal Enfield fanboy. I own a Bullet and I love it. But I hate the company for what it does to the customers.

[v12]

This is a very insulting ad - Bajaj shouldn't have done such an ad. I wonder what triggered this ad.... probably their recent partnership with Triumph to challenge RE Bullet in the classic segment. The brotherhood ad was amazing; why couldn't they do something in similar lines. Waiting for RE's response now.

[Britishbangers]

Guys,

I don't think the add was aimed at RE, look further, it could be the heavy weight cruiser plodders, that can't handle corners, low power to weight ratios and have a nice excuse to turn petrol into sound.

Just my 2 paise...

BB

[adrian]

Originally Posted by Britishbangers

Guys,

I don't think the add was aimed at RE, look further, it could be the heavy weight cruiser plodders, that can't handle corners, low power to weight ratios and have a nice excuse to turn petrol into sound.

Just my 2 paise...

BB

Then my friend, they shouldn't have used the legendary "THUMP" of the cast iron Bullet as a backdrop to their babble.

[sriramv.iyer]

This ad was squarely aimed at RE and they totally deserve it, in my opinion. (Total giveaway was the thump sound in the background)

RE is a company selling bikes purely because of brand. I am sure there will come a time when they can't milk it further. It has been decades since launch, but still they cannot produce a bike that doesn't leak. (A friend of mine picked up a Classic 350 despite warnings, and then gave up in a year and sold it off since he couldn't 'maintain' it) - Why wait for 6 months and then sell it after a year? A 500cc bike that shudders at 100 kmph and reasonably vibrates at 80 kmph?

Keep the retro look, put in some really powerful and smooth engines, put in some ABS / FI and then we'll talk.

Don't want to digress further from the 750cc discussion.

[adrian]

Originally Posted by sriramv.iyer

This ad was squarely aimed at RE and they totally deserve it, in my opinion. (Total giveaway was the thump sound in the background)

RE is a company selling bikes purely because of brand.
Don't want to digress further from the 750cc discussion.

True. RE deserves this mockery. But unfortunately, the advertisement was aimed at the riders. And what ever Bajaj does (even if they FLG) they cannot break the cult background that RE riders have made.

The advertisement is like a man with no legs making fun of one with a limp.
What has Bajaj to be proud of (of course they had the Bajaj Chetak and the KB 100 RTZ, both of which are history)? Motorcycles with engine capacity incremented by 20cc which has more number of spark plugs than wheel spokes and that shreds themselves in one year ?

And yes, lets continue on the Twin cylinder and see if RE bring 2x trouble to their loyal customers

[The Great]

Originally Posted by sriramv.iyer

RE is a company selling bikes purely because of brand.

Agreed !

Originally Posted by sriramv.iyer

Keep the retro look, put in some really powerful and smooth engines, put in some ABS / FI and then we'll talk.

This is exactly what they are trying with the 750, isn't it.
Hopefully fingers crossed.

[payeng]

Originally Posted by v12

This is a very insulting ad - Bajaj shouldn't have done such an ad. I wonder what triggered this ad.... probably their recent partnership with Triumph to fhanlkenge RE Bullet in the classic segment. The brotherhood ad was amazing....why couldn't they do something in similar lines. Waiting for RE's response now.

Life's come full circle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84f4Labix8c

[adrian]

Sweet revenge from the riders and a clean one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCje1ztAkjM

[howler]

Originally Posted by adrian

Sweet revenge from the riders and a clean one.

-----

lol ! That's cute . Dyou know how or why Enfield's are associated with kings / royalty in india only, very curious to know? I can't imagine any of the maharajas sweating over starting a leaky Enfield , or being overtaken by the general public while he waits for his ride to cool down.
No offence meant btw , just trying to get answers to this odd question !

On another note, does anyone know if this twin also be offered on the Himalayan ?

[jaganpec2002]

Originally Posted by sriramv.iyer

This ad was squarely aimed at RE and they totally deserve it, in my opinion. (Total giveaway was the thump sound in the background)

RE is a company selling bikes purely because of brand. I am sure there will come a time when they can't milk it further. It has been decades since launch, but still they cannot produce a bike that doesn't leak. (A friend of mine picked up a Classic 350 despite warnings, and then gave up in a year and sold it off since he couldn't 'maintain' it) - Why wait for 6 months and then sell it after a year? A 500cc bike that shudders at 100 kmph and reasonably vibrates at 80 kmph?

Keep the retro look, put in some really powerful and smooth engines, put in some ABS / FI and then we'll talk.

Agreed. I own a Classic Chrome and have driven 45K KM in 4 years. The comfortable cruising speed is 80-100 and beyond that it vibrates like hell. Braking is very average. I agree with the advert too that it doesn't corner well. There is always oil seepage and the Service centre said it will be there nothing can be done. If not used for a while battery drains. Pushing it in case of a puncture is a tedious affair. All agreed.

But still there is some better feeling when you drive it. Only a person who loves driving and travelling can relate to it. May be it is like riding on an elephant - ROYAL . Whether through ghats or on the open highway, whenever I drove on trips I got thumbs up from the people on the roads. Wherever we stayed we are referred as "Bulleters" and get special attention and numerous enquiries about our trip and what we are planning to do and ample suggestions about the route and the places to visit. It does make a difference.

I booked on 2011 Dec for the bullet and they quoted 8 months waiting period. 14 months later I had to buy a bike as I was getting married and shortlisted on Yamaha FZ and Suzuki GS as I had a budget of around 80-90K on road. Ruled out Karizma, Duke 200 (Duke 390 was not released then) as they were expensive. It is then I got a call from the RE dealer that they have received my bike and if I am still interested I can take delivery and the OTR is 1.77L. I didnt even think twice, next day paid the full amount and the day after took delivery. So many scoldings at home like I lost my mind for spending 1.77L on a two-wheeler. But still I didn't care.

When on a open highway do I feel underpowered? - Yes everytime.
Wish I had a better engine so that I can cruise easily at 120KMPH - Yes everytime.
Did bikes like Dominar/Mojo/Duke 390 cross my mind for an upgrade - Yes everytime.
Will I put my money on them if I ever decide to upgrade - Not a chance.

Owning a Bullet is similar to iphone(Not necesserialy as reliable and efficient as an iphone). You have loads of Android advertisments on how good and how better they are compared to an iphone but still "If you don't have an iPhone, well, you don't have an iPhone".

They are certain things that pull your heartstrings. Bullet is one such thing.

Will there be oil seepage in 750CC RE? - Hell Yes
Are brakes going to be average? - Hell Yes
Are lights going to be average? - Hell Yes
Vibrations going to the there? - Hell Yes
Will I upgrade to it? - HELL YEAH.

It is not rational, not justifiable and doesnt make sense either. But I just dont care.

"If you don't have a Bullet, well, you don't have a Bullet"

[Ry_der]

Originally Posted by jaganpec2002

"If you don't have a Bullet, well, you don't have a Bullet"

Your whole post is summarized in the above lines. REs may be unreliable, impracticle, niggle prone but the satisfaction of owning one can not be described in words. Its more like a kid, who needs attention, throws tantrums but you only love it back.

You dont want anyone else to ride your bull with/without your permission. My TBTS will complete 5 years this october, still I dont feel comfortable lending it to anyone.

My pulsar 150 DTS-i UG III was sold in scrap (Giving 12KMPL) within 5 years of purchase but this beauty is going strong since the day I brought it home.


I think this is what an RE does to you. After pampering it with all your love, money and time, you get emotionally attached to your bike.

Its not a machine you own, but a kid you nurture.

Keep thumping !!

[Crankpin]

Originally Posted by sriramv.iyer

This ad was squarely aimed at RE and they totally deserve it, in my opinion. (Total giveaway was the thump sound in the background)

RE is a company selling bikes purely because of brand. I am sure there will come a time when they can't milk it further. It has been decades since launch, but still they cannot produce a bike that doesn't leak. (A friend of mine picked up a Classic 350 despite warnings, and then gave up in a year and sold it off since he couldn't 'maintain' it) - Why wait for 6 months and then sell it after a year?

Well said... I too had picked up a Bajaj Duke 200 in 2015 and finally gave up after using it for 11 months. It wasn't the affordability that was the problem but the fact that I had to keep taking the Duke to the service centre almost every month.

First, the fork oil-seals leaked..twice. Then came the coolant leak from 2 or maybe 3 joints. Then the shifter return spring broke off and a lot had to be opened up to replace that. By the time I had it for about 11 months, both the MRF tyres had almost squared off and the chain sprocket was in its grave.

The bike as such was good fun for office commuting with a great gas mileage too but poor parts, zero quality-control and manufacturing defects, I guess, spoilt it. I feel both Enfield and Bajaj are pretty similar and both need to vastly improve their quality levels and part fitments. RE especially.

Let's see how the new twin from RE would be.

[adrian]

Originally Posted by howler

I can't imagine any of the maharajas sweating over starting a leaky Enfield , or being overtaken by the general public while he waits for his ride to cool down.
No offence meant btw , just trying to get answers to this odd question !

No offense taken. Just some points (from within our forum) for you to ponder.

1.We have all types of Bullets in this forum - CI , AVL, UCE.
2.We have literate riders- not just fanboys of RE and they will call a spade a spade. (Ebonho, Ravi Sir, Tharian etc)
3.Please go through the thread of Ravi Sir (TB-500) - UCE engine - Hassle free.
4.Please go through Tharian's thead (Electra 350) - CI engine - Hassle free.

While a Bullet has niggles associated with it (I agree that there shouldn't be any compared to the price we pay) every other brand with new technology isn't niggle free. It has it's own share to give a sleepless night to the owner.

Your remarks on the rider sweating out to kick start the Bullet and waiting for his ride to cool down is not true even with older models.

A well maintained Bullet starts with the first kick and never over heats.

Ask any Bullet owner in this forum or run a poll and you will get the answer.

The problem is not with the motorcycle. It lies with the after sale service. They do no corrective action to your motorcycle during service, which results in parts failing prematurely.


We have 9 Bullets in our ride group. We have CIs and UCE. They not fast like a KTM. But they have taken us to remote places and have never let us down. And yes we do a proper preventive maintenance in our Bullets .

So sweat live a slave in the maintenance session and ride like a king in the travelling session !

Edit : OK I missed your why it is treated royal question - Please go through the Why Bullet thread and you will find the answer. I remember one member sharing his experience on his security guard at the Office reserving a particular place of the parking lot for his Bullet. May be we will have to ask that security guard as to why he thinks that the Bullet is special when compared to others.

[GTO]

Mod Note : Video ad posts moved to a new thread. Thanks for sharing, Adrian!