[ebonho]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

+1 to that Doc, I have the same thing on my mind. Rather than the pricing I would be more worried on the fuelling and the map. If it means that I would have change the ECU as well then it will get murderously expensive.
Probably any bikes that get totalled i know what to look first for scavenging

Not only the ECU. Could be a bigger throttle body as well, though I doubt that seeing as its only a bump of 35 cc. The Lightning 535 piston was completely different (forged, flat top, higher compression, way better rings) to the fomed cast piston of the 500 (which notoriously used to come apart at the oil ring groove). In this case I think its just a bigger piston. Also, am not sure how the different curve and timing would react to a different big end. All trial and error like everything RE. Bottom line, nothing is impossible, and bigger changes than this have been done regularly by junta for an extra 5 kmph from their Bullets.

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Not only the ECU. Could be a bigger throttle body as well, though I doubt that seeing as its only a bump of 35 cc.

Doubt if they would bump the throttle body but let me spend some time in the RE Showroom tomorrow. Will try to lay my hands on their service manual and see if there is any difference. Probably checking with their Part Number might also give away the story.

[Majumdarda]

Brahma Motors over here in Pune has one for display purpose. Not too sure if they have any available for test ride as well.

They have placed the Motorcycle on a rear wheel stand and therefore it is looking more sporty.

By the way, is rear wheel stand available across counters? I have asked at some of the shops that I know, but it is not available.

[uday.ere]

The yellow GTC looks awesome or is it because we have been fed a diet of Red until now and so something different looks better?

Autocar has a gallery of the yellow shade.

source of pics: http://www.autocarindia.com/auto-gal...ry-366072.aspx

[DKG]

Checked out the Continetal GT and test rode it. Here are my impressions :

What I liked:

Looks to die for, the bike looks gorgeous from any angle

Sharper feel to the suspension and ride, should be fun to corner hard and enjoy on twisties.

Engine marginally more responsive than the 500.

The front brake has a definite bite that is not there on the 500. The demo rear brake was buggered in a day's extensive demos so I rode it with just the front brake.

The price. Great VFM at this price point. RE have a winner

What I didn't like:

Tacky substandard finish. The frame looked cheap in poorly painted gloss black. They could have used matt black to mask weld imperfections.

The silver painted fork header plate and handle bar pedestals look tacky. Why couldn't RE have give a simple brushed aluminium touch to all the bits and pieces it painted silver?

The rear view mirrors look like they were borrowed from a toy car.

The seat and the rear cowl look like a hurriedly put together piece to complete the cafe racer look. It should, in my opinion, extend to where the tubular frame loops across the rear fender. Since the exposed frame is poorly finished i immediately wanted the seat and cowl to cover it, visually speaking.

RE needs to use the sub 90k Vespa as reference for detailing. That scooter is a masterpiece in detailing. The paintwork on the Vespa will put many a luxury car to shame and the detailing and tiny bits and pieces are flawless in finish and how they are made to stand out.

The engine on the demo had been buggered in the day's demos and had developed a connecting rod sound by the time i rode it. Total turn off as I have a 500 which doesn't make that noise.

Don't get me wrong. I love RE's and love the ride and finish of my 500. I wanted the Continental to be a jewel. I am proud of RE for taking this bold step to offer just the right kind of bike for us hard core enthusiasts. I was ready to buy it looking at the pictures and visuals of the bike in magazines and videos.

That day as I left the showroom I told myself. Why not buy the Continental GT and even before riding it its first mile, strip the bike completely and carry out extensive detailing and then enjoy it for what it really should have been. A stunning machine with detailing to die for. Hmmmm someday when i have more time i just might do that !

[avisidhu]

All the imperfections aside, buggers surely know how to make an ad around a product. Just the ad alone makes you want to buy one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QKTBdigs5M

Originally Posted by akshay4587

Took the baby out for a spin today .....

So Akshay, planning to replace your chrome? Do you think the price difference is justified as compared to Chrome?

[man_of_steel]

You have lost it Mr. Sid! you have lost it completely. It is not a bad thing to promote your brand. Promote it over the others with your brand's strong points, Not with statements like these.

PS: I am not a big Harley fan, but still found his last statement offensive as a bike enthusiast!

Source: Dont know the actual news paper on which this interview appeared. Got the snapshot via a friend.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

Attachment 1172781

You have lost it Mr. Sid! you have lost it completely. It is not a bad thing to promote your brand. Promote it over the others with your brand's strong points, Not with statements like these.

PS: I am not a big Harley fan, but still found his last statement offensive as a bike enthusiast!

Source: Dont know the actual news paper on which this interview appeared. Got the snapshot via a friend.

As I said earlier. He is fed some of this crap by those around and under him.

[gearbox]

Originally Posted by ebonho

As I said earlier. He is fed some of this crap by those around and under him.

Possible, However he is the MD of RE and should speak responsibly. Just because Harley' or Triumph' are not as indianised (Not made in India as RE's are) does not make their enthusiasts Poser'.

This is sheer disrespect to people who have their loyalties towards other motorcycles. RE should rather work on making better quality motorcycles than talk about such stuff.

The GT looks great though. But then it may not be a very comfortable one to ride long distances.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by gearbox

Possible, However he is the MD of RE and should speak responsibly. Just because Harley' or Triumph' are not as indianised (Not made in India as RE's are) does not make their enthusiasts Poser'.

This is sheer disrespect to people who have their loyalties towards other motorcycles. RE should rather work on making better quality motorcycles than talk about such stuff.

The GT looks great though. But then it may not be a very comfortable one to ride long distances.

I agree with you and man of steel. It was a shocking statement.

Man of steel, can you share what he has to say about KTM (that part is not visible in the photo you have shared)? I would be really interested to read his take on the single biggest bite of the pie he used to call his own.

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Man of steel, can you share what he has to say about KTM (that part is not visible in the photo you have shared)?

Doc,
I am also searching for an online version of this interview. As of now, I am having only this pic shared by a friend! Even I am interested in his views on KTM.

[ebonho]

Good to know that like me and many old time Bulleteers, Sid too is (justifiably) frustrated at full crouch, long downhill, and the speedo not even nudging 90 mph ......

Some exerpts from the Zigwheels interview with Adil Jal Darukhanawalla (ADJ) -

AJD: Tell me one thing, you have done a wonderful job here if I may say so, but do think - not as Siddharth Lal the big name and the big suit from Royal Enfield but if you had to think as Siddharth Lal the rider, do you think you would have wanted something a little bit more than this on this bike. I am not going on into multi cylinder mega machine or such but I am talking about the bike you know.

SL: Yes you can say that, when we were riding yesterday, you were riding right next to me, you saw that on the motorway when we were going down towards Brighton, I had my head all the way down, belly on the tank and we were going downhill and I was up to almost 90 miles an hour, but then of course you know the ton is the ultimate. We want to do a ton on this, so in this avatar as it is today you know it’s not going to push a ton but we are aiming for it.

AJD: But actually speaking do you think that whatever you have done so far is about doing it or deriving the enjoyment coming towards the ton.

SL: There you have nailed it, it’s the challenge as well. So we have taken this bike as a starting point, it’s a platform, a canvas, for people to actually work more on it and we want to make the sort of bikes that are engaging, that call out to you, they want to talk to you, you want to work on them and they are very mechanical and they are very simple in that manner so that you can go round that way, you can actually work the bits and bobs. Its tactile, it’s fun, so once you have Continental GT platform and if you are a tinkerer you are going to take it, make it lighter, add a few more parts, make it high performance and you are going to try and hit a ton, and that’s the fun thing.

It’s not coming to you on a platter and you have to extract that by working at it. If you get a 180 horsepower bike the bike is always overpowering and it’s the person who is always going to be the limiting factor. On this bike in different circumstances it’s the bike that is the limiting factor, in some circumstances it’s the person, in some situations it’s the terrain, so there is an equal balance of all three rather than one of them taking over the show.

http://www.zigwheels.com/news-featur...-motors/17233/

So basically Sid is saying the same thing I did ..... RE will make a bike that looks fast.

Its up to the customer to actually make it fast.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by ebonho

SL: There you have nailed it, it’s the challenge as well. So we have taken this bike as a starting point, it’s a platform, a canvas, for people to actually work more on it and we want to make the sort of bikes that are engaging, that call out to you, they want to talk to you, you want to work on them and they are very mechanical and they are very simple in that manner so that you can go round that way, you can actually work the bits and bobs. Its tactile, it’s fun, so once you have Continental GT platform and if you are a tinkerer you are going to take it, make it lighter, add a few more parts, make it high performance and you are going to try and hit a ton, and that’s the fun thing.

In other words, buy something that isn't a canvas or a platform but a real bike.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

In other words, buy something that isn't a canvas or a platform but a real bike.

Or do the same on a canvas/platform which you bought 10 years ago from them at 25% of the price of the current canvas/platform and get even more satisfaction in the bargain.

There were 500cc singles the Brits made more than half a century ago that did the ton.

I am wondering why its difficult for RE to manage that today in 2013 with today's technology and machining and materials, with expense incurred on R&D on two (3 if you count their inital Swiss venture with Fritz Egli) engine platforms, that too both outside the country (Austria and UK), and prices skyrocketing.

Surely I cannot be the only one who is asking this question?

[prakash_ajp]

Guys, I can understand all your frustrations and I share most of that too. I had always wanted to own a 'bullet' and about two years back I bought a Thunder bird. Even at that time, I didn't have much choice in that price range. But it's obvious things will not always remain the same. The market is changing rapidly but for some reason people at Eicher are not recognizing the need for a change.

One of my neighbors was a senior engineer in the design team of Eicher and he quit because there wasn't much scope for a design engineer. He used to tell me how the design team used to crave for good work but the management would always tell them to take it easy and just ask them to do some work here and there.

If they think they can just live on past glory, they will soon realize how blind they were. I can't believe they are doing this, they were here before everyone else, still making good money, but not enough foresight.