Team-BHP - Royal Enfield TBTS 500 Unveiled. EDIT: Now Launched !!!

My personal view is i like it. It looks a bit too modern to please the die hard RE fans, but for someone who is looking at a proper long distance cruiser on a budget, i think this fits the bill perfectly. Those who want a shiny bullet with chrome all over, there is always the RE 500 Classic. For a long distance cruiser this is a dream come true. Cruiser handle bars, 20 L fuel tank, Blacked out engine easier to clean than chrome, rear discs and a 500cc engine that wont be strained cruising at 100kmph.

RE have done the classic very well, and if RE wants to diversify their product portfolio a bit then there is no harm in do so.

Respect! :)

IMHO this bike is lot better keeping in mind that the price tag of below 2 lacs, this is purely a good desi version of HD Iron 883 which is costing around 7.2 lacs OTR, this looks quite similar to it and it gives a feel that RE mindset is changing with new dimensions of introducing Ds & Chrome and now TB with this new look.
Kudos to RE :)

Looks okayish. Would have loved it to be a bit shorter in height, with meatier tyres. Am mighty glad about the rear disc. Knowing REs history of adding the rattling effect, and solid vibrations, personally I would stay away from TB500, unless the rattles are taken care off. Have had enough of it.

And I have a doubt. Does the read disc eliminate fishtailing when braking hard? My TB350 fishtails a lot. I have fallen down couple of times because of this.

Cheers!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freewheelin_KD (Post 2635854)

Yup, the fork diameter is now 41 mm which is quite thick. For reference you can check out FZ16/Fazer's forks which are of the same size.

Good info bro. That's a big welcome change finally - not just for new Bulleteers, but many old ones too. 43 (ala the KTM Duke ones made by the same company - Endurance) would have been better still for a bike of this heft.

T500 looks good in pictures, however the overal proportions of the larger tank, changed seating position can only be judged if seen in real.

RE is moving towards the right direction, its time that they created few products for the junta who does not care about the RE history or the bullet beat (no offense meant, i was just referring to someone who wish to spend < 2 lakhs on a good looking bike with no brand preference).
I particularly liked the Brand accessories, LED tail lamp and the die-cast grab rail behind the rear seat! way to go RE!

While, that was a really good move by RE, I expect atleast new projector head lamp and rear disc to find its way to C350/500 models, atleast as optional kit. Agreed that classic looks should be retained but not at the cost of safety.
IMHO, I liked the existing TBTS 350 instrument cluster in comparison to this new one; new one looks very bland and half baked.

Well, mixed emotions for me on this release. Certainly like the rear disc and the larger fuel tank capacity. But IMNSHO, the headlight looks way out of sync. Not that we don't need better lights on the T-bird. And the footrests - what will we guys do who love standing on the footrests when riding over bad roads and sudden bumps on the road :)

And err, doesn't the silencer look way old-school?

And yes, love the LED tail lamps also. Now to get those onto my Thunderbird.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkaile (Post 2635559)

Gave me back fond memories of my 1st Bullet 500 which was incidentally the 1st 500 in North India too that I owned in my college days.

One remembrance of the back breaking starting issue in winters swooshed the fond memories... Hope everything's change now with the new engine et al.

The Back breaking winter mornings do continue on the newer generation REs too. My hardly 1 year old TBTS has been giving me these nightmares every night this winter, as I spend approximately 30 kicks on firing up the mill. If someone is thinking why do I spend time kick-starting my new gen TBTS, then please read on...RE have continued their legacy of putting in horrible quality spares, the battery in this particular case has died down before covering 10k on the odo and hardly a year being completed next month. And as usual, the RE guys do not have a new battery set or for that matter any proper frequently to be changed spares. So, I need to wait for a couple of more days to get my ride fitted with a new battery and hopefully end my nightmares of how to start it the next morning.

Just hoping RE delivers on better quality components if they truely want to become a World Class manufacturer, since they already export a lot of bikes, and I think they are looking to export this particular launch of theirs in good volumes. All the best for the All new and updated TBTS 500. And I hope the digital console, the headlights and the LED tail lamps are on offer for the TBTS 350 as fitments too.

Its beautiful in its own way!

To me, the tank is the highlight and I absolutely love it. They have designed it in such a way that upright look is maintained AND they have brought the lower end closer to the engine (instead of TB350 tank which is just an upright CLassic tank). Anyway, the looks are subjective and what matters is that they have some new features and they have central locking clap:

Reference pic: