[SCORPION]

Originally Posted by jpcoolguy

UML plans to launch a entry level adventure bike bucking their trend of cruisers, albeit based on the same 223 cc engine from Renegade series.

Are these guys still selling bikes in India? Hardly seen UM bikes on the road. Only seen them in the local dealer's service centre cum stockyard in Coimbatore. Fit and finish was mostly just satisfactory. Something like RE with ugly wires hanging out.

They have shut down the dealership and the service centre a long time ago. Almost as soon as they opened here. Had completely forgotten about them until this thread popped up again. Thought they had shut shop in India.

[marcussantiago]

At least here in Delhi, I'm seeing UMs on the road more frequently, usually the Renegade Commando.

I've ridden the Commando Sport S quite a bit. It's surprisingly nimble and flickable for a big and longish cruiser. On paper it's as heavy as an Enfield but you really don't notice it when riding, as compared to an Enfield.

I can't say the same for the other more common Commando model as I've only taken a brief test ride of that model.

One of the stranger quirks of the bike was that it delivers peak torque and HP at the same rev range (I think at something like 4000 rpm), which is a tad high for an engine for a classic cruiser kind of setup. Still, if you like the Avenger and don't want to buy an Enfield, then buying a UM is absolutely a no-brainer.

The throttle is really smooth and relaxed, maybe even too much so for some. Vibrations only set in beyond 80 kmh.

As far as criticisms about the fit and finish, I remember the first UMs to come out were harshly criticized, and were pretty darn ugly too. By the time I visited their showroom (around this time last year) I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had addressed most of those criticisms.

As for the Sport S model, another surprise quirk is that it has white LED running lights below the tank that also blink along with the corresponding indicators. Very attention-grabbing and an excellent feature for safety, and that too comes standard. I found the ride to be a little less comfortable than the bike makes you assume. Ergonomics were less than perfect for long rides, but that could be attributed to my shorter arms (I'm a fairly short dude) and probably fixable with a few simple mods.

Another fun quirk: All UMs come with a USB port for phone charging as standard. It's a neat feature and I'm surprised no one else offers it. Very handy!

At any rate, I respect UM for their courage in trying to establish a midsize cruiser in India. They're certainly braver than say, Honda, who openly admit that all they want to do is sell scooters in India because it's safe, while selling all their excellent bikes everywhere else but here.

If you buy a UM, be prepared to grab a LOT of attention. I rode the Sport S for a month and found myself holding impromptu press conferences and interviews at parking lots when all I wanted to do was put on my helmet and ride home, LOL.

[jpcoolguy]

Originally Posted by SCORPION

Are these guys still selling bikes in India? Hardly seen UM bikes on the road. Only seen them in the local dealer's service centre cum stockyard in Coimbatore. Fit and finish was mostly just satisfactory. Something like RE with ugly wires hanging out.

Yes, however the sales are dwindling and on a downward trend.

The below is the sales of UML bikes during the month of Aug 2018 and you can see the negative growth when compared to last year, Aug 2017 (Source: Autopunditz).

[ACM]

I test drove a UM commando Mojave a few days back.

Gear Shift is unsure, and the bike doesn't pull well in second gear after going over a speed-bump implying lots of gear changes and search for neutral.

Looks good and has good ground clearance but again does not seem to like U Turns.

Quality improvements are needed and fast.

The Thane Ghodbunder Road UM showroom has either shut down or is getting renovated since a long while.

[ringoism]

Here in Aizawl the showroom looked to be closed down when I rode past it today. There was a phone number taped on the shutter, presumably for the sake of existing owners who need to avail of spare parts, etc. Very unfortunate as they had sold a fair number here, and there must've been a large investment in the very attractive displays / signage, accessories, etc (even would put the BMW showroom to shame). And I really wouldn't have minded buying another of their pretty cool, decent quality T-shirts...

As I wrote earlier, I really enjoyed riding the Commando and think it had great potential. I wonder what UM management's plans are at this point - as of early '18 they were still planning for big investments in India. I would hope they might yet recover and thrive, so not putting a nail in the coffin here, but:

At least two lessons to be learned:

1) Quality: There is a saying: "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well". The Indian vehicle buyer at this point in history is very discriminating about things like component and paint quality. Admittedly the UM's I saw in the showroom here two years back exhibited just about every paint problem possible: "orange peel", runs/sags, even broken pinstriping tape that had been clear-coated right over. I also had mentioned the seriously low-grade turn indicators, tail-light unit, plastic covers everywhere, etc. On an entry-level Bajaj possibly it could be tolerated, but not on something at this price-point. A previous post below suggests these issues were resolved after awhile, but early ones never should've been delivered from the factory like that - these were the test-samples and initial showroom units by which everyone was going to scrutinize the newcomer. Enfield's QC was atrocious earlier, but they slowly began to improve when the masses demanded it; UM stepped into an established market with fit and finish way below the mark at around the same price-point... it just wasn't going to work for most people. Same goes for the gear-changer: Old Enfields? Really bad (at least once worn-in); New Enfield? Smooth and hard to miss a gear in it. UM as a newcomer? Also very substandard, especially in comparison to what seemed a rather decent powerplant otherwise. "The Devil's in the details".

2) There is another saying: "You can fool some of the people all the time, all of the people some of the time, but never all the people all the time". In this "Information Age" it was probably just not right to try and excessively push the "American origin" thing, because obviously it was never a significant brand there (well, maybe in South/Central America (not the U.S.A.) - but there the Stars and Stripes kinda represent the Evil Empire!).

Granted these days things have become a little fluid/flexible (is an iPhone "American" because it's designed in the U.S., or "Chinese" because it's manufactured there? And why do we care?), granted the "spirit" of the UM seems clearly classic American and they did apparently have their design studio in Florida... but still, considering Indian consumers' utter contempt for anything on two wheels that might possibly be Chinese, they needed to work out a better game-plan here. Fake, heavily Photoshop'ed photos of the bikes supposedly out in the remote Himalayan ranges, etc, really didn't help things either. Intelligent, educated people who'd buy a bike in this range are pretty able to discern between reality and hype.

But inexplicably on that note: How in this same environment Indian marketing departments still insist on bikes being smattered with inane stickers like "Stunt Ready" and "#be-a-racer" is quite beyond me... On an entry-level machines for the uneducated, maybe - but on brands as internationally respected and storied as KTM and Aprilia... what gives??? Just tacky, and betrays a lack of reality/integrity as much as anything UM was guilty of...

So finally have to conclude: the UM may not have had a single Chinese bone in its body, but for lack of any better info, it has been assumed... and just the thought of anything Chinese traveling down the road here seems anathema to any respectable Indian...

...except in certain border areas, where countless examples like this one fill the streets - yeah, on the Indian side - they can't be all THAT bad:



Now if the powers-that-be would let 'em, at this rs30,000 price-point the Chinese just might fly here...

And if UM ultimately folds, that's about what I expect to pay for my clean, pre-owned Renegade Commando (orange, please) within a couple years - it'll be a complete steal at that rate; just gotta find out where they REALLY come from so I can order my spares when needed.

-Eric