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Old 8th March 2018, 12:05   #46
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Re: Royal Enfield launches Thunderbird 350X & 500X in India

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Originally Posted by Gordon View Post
Well that's how it is. Whether you like it or not, the sales are at its high. There is always someone who would love it in a new avatar.

It's really strange that the Classic 350 itself outsells the Dominar by 45 times! Seems in Dec 2017, Dominar sales number was about 1000 while the Classic 350 was 48000!
I will have to agree. 48000 people could see something I couldn't.
At this rate C350 will out sell XL moped and CB Shine in 2-3 years time.

Last edited by suhaas307 : 26th April 2018 at 16:59. Reason: Trimmed quoted post for improved readability
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Old 10th March 2018, 19:53   #47
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Re: Royal Enfield launches Thunderbird 350X & 500X in India

No doubt that T-bird X looks great, but I feel it is good for city rides only. I experienced both T-bird 500 and T-bird X today and found T-bird 500 more comfortable and definitely will be my pick for long rides.
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Old 30th March 2018, 00:52   #48
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Re: Royal Enfield launches Thunderbird 350X & 500X in India

Reality check from Motorbeam -

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Old 30th March 2018, 08:48   #49
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Re: Royal Enfield launches Thunderbird 350X & 500X in India

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Reality check from Motorbeam -
I dont know what the exception was? It is clearly the same bike with alloy wheels and different paint scheme.
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Old 30th March 2018, 09:42   #50
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Re: Royal Enfield launches Thunderbird 350X & 500X in India

It might be my thoughts only... but Enfield has done good job with the front end, but the pillion end looks like an after thought or most probably "Cost Efficient" design.

Somehow it just doesn't gel well. I expect the tail to carry the design and pattern till the fag end of rear mudguard.
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Old 3rd April 2018, 13:51   #51
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Re: Royal Enfield launches Thunderbird 350X & 500X in India

My colleague wanted to book the TB 350X and we enquired with 3-4 showrooms in chennai on the immediate availability. All showrooms have quoted 90 days as the waiting period.

Should I perceive this as the demand for the vehicle or limited supply?

One thing I must say- despite this being more of cosmetic changes, it does definitely make heads turn!!!
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Old 3rd April 2018, 15:49   #52
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Re: Royal Enfield launches Thunderbird 350X & 500X in India

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All showrooms have quoted 90 days as the waiting period.
90 days waiting period is standard for all models except Classic 350. This is generally what they quote all customers. If you're lucky you can get it earlier, just that you need to be persistent with the dealer.

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Should I perceive this as the demand for the vehicle or limited supply?
Capacity constraints are the reason. They're running on full capacity from most of the reports I hear.
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Old 3rd April 2018, 18:29   #53
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Re: Royal Enfield launches Thunderbird 350X & 500X in India

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My colleague wanted to book the TB 350X and we enquired with 3-4 showrooms in chennai on the immediate availability. All showrooms have quoted 90 days as the waiting period.

Try in a few more showrooms. I had booked the 500x 2 weeks back, but on enquiring further i was able to find a dealer in Hyderabad who could give it within a day. Picked up my drifter blue tbt 500x drifter blue yesterday
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Old 26th April 2018, 16:04   #54
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I'm kind of in between the Thunderbird 350X and the Dominar 400. The Dominar seems like the bike you can have fun riding and the 350X feels like the bike you can have fun while riding it. I find the D400 very engaging and it requires some attention whereas the 350X is a lot more forgiving of a rider's mistakes. At first I found the vibrations annoying but after riding it for a bit It wasn't a deal breaker anymore and felt like the bike's way of expressing itself. I think the 350X seems to have a bit more character and the D400 seems like it may get lost in the crowd. It's features and speed vs character and simplicity.

What do you guys think would be a good first bike to own between the two in terms of a trouble fee ownership experience?
My main use would be in Mumbai traffic and I hope to go on rides time and again.

Last edited by TheQuarterMile : 26th April 2018 at 16:13.
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Old 27th April 2018, 12:02   #55
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Re: Royal Enfield launches Thunderbird 350X & 500X in India

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Originally Posted by TheQuarterMile View Post

What do you guys think would be a good first bike to own between the two in terms of a trouble fee ownership experience?
My main use would be in Mumbai traffic and I hope to go on rides time and again.
I'd pick the 350x. Mainly because it doesn't get as heated as the Dominar would get. The only thing I don't like about it is the lack of ABS.
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Old 27th April 2018, 13:46   #56
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Re: Royal Enfield launches Thunderbird 350X & 500X in India

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Originally Posted by TheQuarterMile View Post

What do you guys think would be a good first bike to own between the two in terms of a trouble fee ownership experience?
My main use would be in Mumbai traffic and I hope to go on rides time and again.
I test rode the 350 X for a friend who wants to get back into biking after a 3 year hiatus. He has been pretty confused between the Dominar and the Himalayan. Since the 350 X is also in the same range we decided to check it out.

First impressions were that this bike is an attention magnet. I will agree that where my midnight blue Dominar easily gets lost in the crowd, the 350 X will definitely stand out. When it comes to feel, I was absolutely shaken to bits by the 350 X. Even at city speeds of upto 50 kmph the bike was threatening to throw me off. Not exaggerating this at all. If you are ok with those then I dont think there are any issues. Just for comparison, I have also test ridden the standard Tbird 350 and the 500 and they do not vibrate this bad. Perhaps there was some issue with the TR bike. Let me also point out at this juncture that between my Father and I we have owned 5 Bullets.

Anyway, the price the dealer quoted was about Rs 1.75 Lakhs. I had paid Rs 1.72 lakhs for the Dominar and when it comes to tireless riding, both my friend and I agreed that for this kind of money, he was not willing to live with the sort of refinement the RE offers.

I wont mince words, but as soon as I was back on the saddle of my Dominar I was happy that I put money down on it. Honestly, I like the fact that it doesnt get a lot of unwanted attention and that is why I chose the colour closest to black (one year back). I also love the surge in acceleration and the highway speeds the Dominar is capable of, but thats just me.

In bumper to bumper traffic the heat is definitely more in the Dominar but even in office formals, I find it just tolerable.

Last edited by Vikram8891 : 27th April 2018 at 13:48.
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Old 27th April 2018, 14:43   #57
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Thanks for the feedback guys. I know I have to overlook a lot of flaws if I decide to go for the 350X but I don't know just how many. I have heard stories of the instrument cluster fogging up, rusting issues, fuel gauge issues, oil leaks, and weired sounds, etc. Are these issues still present and common in new generation RE motorcycles?

What is holding me back from getting a Thunderbird 350X is I don't know what exactly I'm getting into. I was struck by the aura of the bike when I first laid eyes on it. Is ABS really that important on a bike like the 350X? It's a total Mind vs. Heart situation for me. Reason the Dominar is even an option for me is because it's more bike for the money but isn't biking a matter of the heart?
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Old 27th April 2018, 15:55   #58
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Re: Royal Enfield launches Thunderbird 350X & 500X in India

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Originally Posted by TheQuarterMile View Post
Reason the Dominar is even an option for me is because it's more bike for the money but isn't biking a matter of the heart?
It absolutely is a matter of the heart. Please take back to back test rides again. Try to arrange a longer one by talking to the concerned executives in the respective showrooms. Bajaj is a bit stingy in giving long test rides but they should relent once you drop the hint that you are considering an RE. I am personally in love with the GT, though it has been discontinued for now. I almost bought it 2 years ago. It pulled at my heart strings like crazy, so I know where you are coming from

I have had a potentially life altering accident due to lack of ABS in my previous bike which is one of the reasons that ABS was a priority for me. I was just doing 50 KMPH and still managed to lock my tyres under panic braking. I have heard that skilled riders rarely need it, but in my case, despite riding for over 15 years, I feel if you can you should get an ABS equipped bike. Its better to have and not need than to need and not have.
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Old 27th April 2018, 22:23   #59
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Re: Royal Enfield launches Thunderbird 350X & 500X in India

For those who doubt how efficient can ABS be - feel free to whack anyone who says ABS works only above 150 kmph & tell them you know ABS can be a life saver even @ 20 kmph.
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Old 28th April 2018, 00:58   #60
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Re: Royal Enfield launches Thunderbird 350X & 500X in India

Isn't the ABS variant supposed to launch next month anyways? So why even have a discussion about skipping it!

ABS defenitely is the way to go.
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