Back in December 2020, I had taken my Royal Enfield Continental GT 535 to Motonerdz in Trivandrum, for its long pending fork oil change. It was an excellent service experience and I was very happy that I had taken my bike to the experts, to get the work done to my satisfaction.
Here is the link to that experience.
Meanwhile, I had prepared a list of things to be done on my Triumph Street Triple 675, and it was a no-brainer to take the bike to Motonerdz for this pending work. Since getting all of this done would take a few days, I had left the motorcycle with them and picked it up at a later date.
Below is the summary of work that I had listed
1. Paint alloys and side panels
2. Install Barkbusters Aero GP Lever guards
3. Install Pyramid Plastics fender extender
4. Paint triple clamp
5. Replace Osram Night Breaker headlights
6. Replace coolant
7. Tighten foundation bolts
8. Reduce preload
9. Install new seat cover layer
10. Paint swingarm spools
11. Install Domino grips
In case you are wondering why these were required, here is a short explanation on each of them.
1. Paint alloys and side panels
When I bought the Triumph Street Triple 675 in black, I loved it for being super stealthy and its ability to blend in anywhere, just like a regular motorcycle would. But after 2 and a half years of owning the bike, I started feeling the need for subtle visual modifications that were classy and yet, understated.
Back in black
My first thought was to go with gold alloys, but that has become too common these days. After a lot of research and discussions with the Motonerdz team, I finalized on the metallic blue that is found on the alloys of the current Suzuki GSXR1000. This would not be easy to pull off. But if anyone could do it, it had to be Motonerdz.
2. Install Barkbusters Aero GP Lever guards
After seeing some of the crazy motorcyclists here in Cochin, getting lever guards was slowly becoming a necessity. Motonerdz procured this for me. It is currently available on the Bike N Biker website.
3. Install Pyramid Plastics fender extender
After changing the tires to Pirellis in September 2020, I found that the radiator was getting a lot of slush thrown on it from the front tire. I was starting to get tired of cleaning the dirt that was caked on the radiator guard every week and this slush could also disrupt the flow of air. Thanks to the inputs from fellow Triumph Street Triple owners, I ordered the fender extender from Custom Elements and got it delivered to Motonerdz.
Link to the Custom Elements site.
4. Paint triple clamp
Since the alloys were getting painted to that dark mettallic blue, the OEM grey triple clamp would look terribly out of place. Painting this black to match the handlebars would achieve visual symmetry.
Plain grey 5. Replace Osram Night Breaker headlights
The stock headlights on the Triumph Street Triple 675 are nothing to write home about. I had changed them to Osram Night Breakers soon after purchasing the motorcycle and they were a big improvement over the stock headlights. Many riders here have shifted completely to Nighteye LEDs and I purchased the same product from Amazon. This particular pair is well suited to the reflectors of the Street Triple and the cutoff is good. But the white light can get washed out in certain conditions. The only real solution was to get proper aux lights installed but with the current MVD checking, it was not a sensible option. So the next best option was to use the LEDs or a combination of the Osram Night Breaker and LED, to get the best of both worlds. I asked Motonerdz to install the LED bulb on the right side and then check the performance in the real world. The next step was to install the LED on the left side and have the Osram Night Breaker on the right. The third option was to have both as the LEDs.
6. Replace coolant
Frequent readers of the Motorbikes section of this forum, will know of my technical difficulties with the local Triumph dealership. They introduced a heating issue in my motorcycle and were unable to identify it, despite me pointing it out to them repeatedly. Trusted biker friends of mine had suggested that I go with Engine Ice instead of Motul Motocool but at that time, only Motul's coolant was available.
Link to the final update of my long saga. The Motul Motocool fixed the heating issues with my bike but I wanted to switch to Engine Ice to see if the heat management could be bettered, considering our sweltering Kerala summers.
7. Tighten foundation bolts
The bike had redeveloped some annoying vibes from 4,000 RPM onwards. I had pointed out the prominent vibrations to the Triumph service team at the time of service in September, it had been rectified but it had slowly returned within the span of a few hundred kilometers.
8. Reduce preload
This was a simple job. I had got the rear stiffened up after the service, to learn how the bike behaved with this change. But with the stiffer rear, I couldnt achieve a very comfortable setting, even with the fully adjustable Ohlins suspension. So, it was basically undoing the simple change which I had made earlier.
9. Install new seat cover layer
There was a small tear on the rear seat. Im not sure how it happened. Leaving it unchecked was not the best solution, so I asked Motornerdz to get a nice seat cover installed.
10. Paint swingarm spools
These were orange in colour and since the alloys were being painted in blue, I wanted them to match that. Motonerdz did inform me that it would be difficult to achieve a long lasting paint finish on this, which I was fine with.
11. Install Domino grips
I was looking for high quality aftermarket grips to help improve the riding experience and I got good feedback on Domino grips from fellow Triumph owners. Motornerdz and I tried sourcing the right set but we were unable to get it in India.
Now, for the end results. Motonerdz absolutely nailed the colour and the paint finish on the wheels and the side panels. The painted triple clamp has really changed the view from the saddle as well. I know that it wasnt easy to get the right paint colour and the depth of the paint, it definitely took the Motornerdz team quite some effort to achieve the perfect results. Overall, it looks like an OEM paintjob and the difference that it has made on the looks of the bike is just amazing! Call me biased, but I absolutely love the final results.
Coming to the headlights, the team found that having the Osram Night Breaker on the right (
when seated on the bike) and the LED on the left (
away from incoming traffic) offered the right lighting conditions for our roads. I am riding with this setup and am quite happy with it. The bike is also a lot smoother now with the tightening of the foundation bolts and that has made long distance riding a lot easier. The seat cover is quite grippy and definitely is of a better quality than I expected.
The Engine Ice lived up to its reputation and it keeps the bike cooler for longer. The Motul Motocool is a undoubtedly a very good product but the Engine Ice is a half step above it.
To summarize, let me just update the points that I had listed in my last experience with Motonerdz
- Well trained and meticulous team of technicians. They have hands on experience with different motorcycles (
premium to litre class) and know their technical ins and outs and helped address any doubts that I had. The experience with other big bikes helps them identify issues that owners may not be aware of / have gotten accustomed to.
- Good supervision by the management.
- Required tools are all available, I have found that some of the local FNGs in Cochin do not have the necessary tools when needed, which can get a bit disconcerting and might result in some work being left undone.
- Right processes being followed. No shortcuts or jugaads anywhere. What was done was done correctly and by the book.
- Spacious premises with enough ramps for multiple bikes.
- They go the extra mile to achieve the results that the customer expects.
- Clear timelines and excellent communication before, during and after the work.
- It is a garage for enthusiasts that is run by enthusiasts.