[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by B O V

Congrats on gettin hitched,Neil!All the best!

Yeah even I noticed that new showroom,but I thought it was a brand apparel shop.It was closed when I went by there a couple days ago.Looks pretty darn good.So they do put aftermarket exhausts on new enfields.I was wondering about that cos I was at J.R and Sons,and saw a couple of spankin-new-off-the-shelf enfields there with aftermarket exhausts.Lotta people seem to be buying those short loud ones.Hella loud.

Regards

BOV

Thank you for the wishes B O V. The store is well worth a visit for Royal Enfield fans who are passing by, it is good to see the company invest in such a well designed store (though I did find the far corner oddly laid out). They were setting up the SVC a couple of shops away near the Burgeria outlet. On the exhausts, one of the senior sales members said that since they were new, they would want to take some time to streamline deliveries and service before getting into installation of after market exhausts.


With Kerala's insane speed regulations, I wonder how people enjoy motoring in the state! I recently drove towards Trivandrum and was shocked by the number of speed guns along the way. Royal Enfield products make perfect sense for Kerala, anyways you cant ride quickly as per the government so why buy a fast bike


Funnily enough, on the highways my wife and I heard a couple of really loud bikes and I kept thinking they were HDs but turned out to be REs with after market exhausts but when I pointed out a HD Street 750 in Allepey, my wife said "That cant be a Harley ...." both because it looked to small and didnt sound like a HD!

Originally Posted by arulpeem

Hi Neil, Congratulations on your wedding and wish you both happy and memorable rides with your Continental GT.

Thank you for your kind wishes arulpeem, looking foward to touring with my better half.

[AnkurS]

Neil, many congratulations and wish you both a happy married life.
I chanced upon a yellow GT around mid-day at Domlur yesterday - it was my first time seeing the bike and it is indeed a head turner, especially in that shade of yellow! Guessing it couldn't have been you, but if it by an unlikely chance was, you looked great on it too buddy Hope you have many thousands of happy miles with your beloved steed.
Cheers.

[Ricci]

Congrats on your wedding, wish you both (or should that be triad? ) a long and happy time together! Plans to take your new bride on a honeymoon ride ?

[neil.jericho]

The colour theme for my cousin's wedding was yellow and this led to an impromptu photoshoot of my newly married cousin and her husband with the Captain after they stepped out of church yesterday. Wait, what? 2 Continental GT themed wedding photoshoots in a family in less than a month? Act quickly, Royal Enfield, and release the Continental GT in another colour before the next wedding in our family! (Ok, enough of laughing after reading act quickly and Royal Enfield in the same sentence).


In other news, I finally spotted another yellow Continental GT on Bangalore's roads today and I must say the bike is quite a looker in its single seat avatar. I could see people turning around and giving it a long look as the bike passed by. The owner was even using hand signals instead of the bike's indicators which is something I havent seen in ages! May the tribe increase (of Continental GT owners that is, not hand signalers).

Originally Posted by AnkurS

Neil, many congratulations and wish you both a happy married life.
I chanced upon a yellow GT around mid-day at Domlur yesterday - it was my first time seeing the bike and it is indeed a head turner, especially in that shade of yellow! Guessing it couldn't have been you, but if it by an unlikely chance was, you looked great on it too buddy Hope you have many thousands of happy miles with your beloved steed.
Cheers.

Thanks a lot, AnkurS. Yes, that certainly was me riding to Domlur the other day.

Originally Posted by Ricci

Congrats on your wedding, wish you both (or should that be triad? ) a long and happy time together! Plans to take your new bride on a honeymoon ride ?

Thanks Ricci, that certainly is the plan (at least in my head). She's spent nearly zero time on a motorcycle so all in due time.

[neil.jericho]

With the full 2000 km run-in finally completed, it was finally time to see what the Continental GT was capable of given a wide open road. On a lovely Sunday morning with a TBHP riding group that consisted of 3 Duke 390s, an R15 (incidentally this is my old R15 that my close buddy has bought from me) and a TB500, we certainly had a whole lot of fun. More details of the ride are here with pictures as well http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...ml#post3626796

Pricing twins leading different lives

First impressions now that I have started exploring the potential of the bike are that it can cruise comfortably at 100 - 105 kmph without feeling stressed. I tried to maintain speeds varying between 110 - 120 kmph and while this is quite possible, I was a lot more comfortable keeping it at around the 100 kmph mark. The top speed I hit on an empty highway with no traffic or villagers in sight was 126 kmph and the bike didnt really feel like it would've done a lot more. Windblast was obviously a factor as speeds increased and I should probably pick up the Givi windscreen from the UK if someone is coming down soon.

Givi windscreen

A proper half fairing like the one below would be even better but I cant find too many details on the internet. I managed to get a front picture of a yellow GT with a Rickman fairing.

Too big?

This is a side view of a similar fairing by a customer of Midlands Royal Enfield.

Niggles: That slight squeaking noise is back, it isnt too loud but its there. It's not too annoying and I can live with it for now but it certainly calls for another visit to the SVC.


Mileage : In city running of 111.6 kms consumed 4.63 litres of Shell's best fuel for an average of 24.1 kmpl. The Sunday morning ride helped improve things a bit though I expected it to cross the 30 kmpl mark. A total of 287 kms with most of it being done as part of the ride resulted in a mileage of 28.67 kmpl. I probably should do a Sunday morning ride on arrow straight roads with no turns (or as everyone jokes, I should just follow the Harley group) and a strongly regulated right wrist to get it beyond the 30 kmpl mark.

[B O V]

Dunno if you've read this one.

http://www.bikeexif.com/royal-enfield-continental-gt

Have you found an aftermarket exhaust yet?

Regards

BOV

[Snehal Sekhar]

Congratulations Neil! That was my original choice when I planned to book a bike until HD brought out their Street 750. Now I've plonked my 30K on booking the Street 750.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by B O V

Dunno if you've read this one.

http://www.bikeexif.com/royal-enfield-continental-gt

I found this a couple of days ago but refrained from posting about it as I was looking up the French Royal Enfield dealer Tendance Roadster. They have quite a few nice accessories on their webpage (you might be interested) but their facebook page is definitely worth checking out. They seem to organize a few events and track days and thankfully have put up great photos on FB. Now that is how a dealer needs to engage with his customers. Here are a few track day pictures.

For those who havent seen the drool inducing Royal Enfield Continental GT Vitesse kit - it consists of a reshaped Norton fairing, clip ons, stainless mounting spider, screws and the transparent bubble. All for a very cool $ 1,000. That is Rs 62,000 for which you and I can get ourselves a proper commuter bike instead. If you think the price is too high, feast your eyes on the pictures and let your heart do the judging instead.

Just. Beautiful.


Even. More. Beautiful.


Drool. Inducing.


Jaw. Dropping.

Note the optional exhaust on the black one which they have for an additional 350 Euros. I sure cant afford the $ 1000 kit but what I can do is spend more time looking at pictures of the bike and dream. Isn't that what motorcycles do best? Make dreamers out of men who dont think with their heart.


I am so in love with the black bike that I just have to add another set of pictures only of it.

Up until very recently I would have set my laptop wallpaper with that of a litre class sportsbike or a super car. Now though, I wouldnt have anything else but the picture below.

Originally Posted by B O V

Have you found an aftermarket exhaust yet?
Regards

BOV

I had it on my wish list for this year but after one long ride, I am planning on getting a Givi windscreen first. The problem is that there is so little ownership feedback on after market exhausts for the bike that it seems like a bit of a gamble to pick up one right now.

Originally Posted by Snehal Sekhar

Congratulations Neil! That was my original choice when I planned to book a bike until HD brought out their Street 750. Now I've plonked my 30K on booking the Street 750.

Thank you Snehhal Sekhar. Looking forward to your ownership experience with the Street 750.

[B O V]

Since you're in Bangalore,I suppose there are guys who make custom exhausts after doing flow analysis?Maybe you could get one made,I'm very curious so as to how a gt sounds without the restrictive exhaust.

Pardon the noob question,is black on the gt offered in India?

Regards

BOV

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by B O V

Since you're in Bangalore,I suppose there are guys who make custom exhausts after doing flow analysis?Maybe you could get one made,I'm very curious so as to how a gt sounds without the restrictive exhaust.

Pardon the noob question,is black on the gt offered in India?

Regards

BOV

I am sure that I will be able to find someone to do it but I wouldnt take a risk with an unproven product. The market is just too nascent in India right now and I dont want my bike to become a guinea pig. A few years ago, India's biking scene with buzzing with the availability of big bore kits and exhausts from a well known name. After the hype and initial excitement wore down, long term reliability proved to be the downfall of the well earned reputation. Some of my friends put in their hard earned money into it and were quite unhappy to say the least. There's a fascinating 100+ page thread on xbhp that was an eye opener for me.

And no RE unfortunately doesnt offer the Continental GT in black though it does look smashing. Sigh!

[neil.jericho]

After getting back to Sunday morning biking, I was determined not to lose the initial momentum and I joined barcalad on a quick ride to Krishnagiri dam yesterday. More details on the ride are here http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...ml#post3630836


Here are some more pictures from the ride. barcalad says that the following one is worthy of being framed and put up in a coffee shop. I must say I agree!

Notice the fishermen in their boat?


So much awesomeness in one photo. Had to share again

Ride Impressions - Once the traffic thinned out, it was a nice fast ride that both of us really enjoyed. The bike does pull really nicely from 100 kmph and was very composed throughout. On a nice empty stretch of the highway with no traffic whatsoever, I saw the needle hover extremely close to the one forty mark. From what I have heard and read, above 100 kmph a Royal Enfield starts behaving like a wild bull that is trying to throw off the daring cowboy at the Sunday rodeo. That is until you learn to respect it's limits and stick to a nice 90 kmph - 100 kmph rhythm. On the Continental GT though, you will find none of that. It remains a paragon of steadiness at high speeds and inspires great confidence. Braking is excellent, the engine's grunt will leave you with a mile long smile and you aren't really left with the question - is this Royal Enfield worth the money it demands? There was one thing that I didnt particularly like though.

Mileage - With a city - highway split of 27% - 73%, I got an average of only 27.18 kmpl after filling up at Shell on my way back from the ride. Given that the majority of the riding was on the highways, I felt that the bike should've hit the 30 kmpl mark and decided to do a mileage run to see how much I could eke out of the fuel thirsty engine.

Mileage Run - A mileage run is something I used to do pretty frequently when I owned the R15. Basically for one entire tank full of petrol, I ride with the gentlest of acceleration, smooth braking, carry momentum where possible and maintain a top speed of not more than 80 kmph to see how efficient the engine was if I ride with the self control of a monk. I rode on the highway to Hyderabad today with a nice and smooth riding style and tanked up on the way back at Shell.

Here are a couple of pictures from the ride today.

Mileage - Total distance : 180 kms. Total consumption : 4.01 litres. Average consumption : 44.94 kmpl That's right, 44.94 kmpl, that is no typing mistake. So not only does the bike look like a star, it also has frugality built into its DNA if you ride it like it isnt meant to be ridden.


On my next mileage run, I will try and hit the 50 kmpl mark though I will rely on losing weight (mine not the bike's), a top speed of 65 kmph and a prayer to the biking gods to ensure I have the world's most frugal Continental GT!

In my next update - the probable reason behind the bike's improved grin inducing acceleration. Stay tuned folks and till then ride safe.

[barcalad]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

After getting back to Sunday morning biking, I was determined not to lose the initial momentum and I joined barcalad on a quick ride to Krishnagiri dam yesterday........

Here are some more pictures from the ride. barcalad says that the following one is worthy of being framed and put up in a coffee shop. I must say I agree!

Ride Impressions - Once the traffic thinned out, it was a nice fast ride that both of us really enjoyed. The bike does pull really nicely from 100 kmph and was very composed throughout. On a nice empty stretch of the highway with no traffic whatsoever, I saw the needle hover extremely close to the one forty mark. From what I have heard and read, above 100 kmph a Royal Enfield starts behaving like a wild bull that is trying to throw off the daring cowboy at the Sunday rodeo. That is until you learn to respect it's limits and stick to a nice 90 kmph - 100 kmph rhythm. On the Continental GT though, you will find none of that. It remains a paragon of steadiness at high speeds and inspires great confidence. Braking is excellent, the engine's grunt will leave you with a mile long smile and you aren't really left with the question - is this Royal Enfield worth the money it demands? There was one thing that I didnt particularly like though.


Here are a couple of pictures from the ride today.

That has to go down as one of the finest RE pictures, I've seen. The masculinity and stance of the bike is too much to handle in this one!

After riding alongside the Captain, my perceptions towards the Continental GT have considerably changed. To begin with, it looks beautiful even when illuminated with yellow headlights in the dark. The stance is amazing, one doesn't need to do much aerobics to set the wheels running.
Coming to the main part, apart from my sudden bursts which occurred due to too much biking nirvana (talking about the early morning crimson sun beams showering on us), I always saw you in my RVM. And boy, does it look intimidating on the RVM with the headlamps on! A noob can easily panic and think of it as a 48 or a Bonnie, such is the front profile. I was really happy to see that finally there's a RE which doesn't shy away from doing high speeds. And looking at your confidence, I could conclude that there was literally no wobbling or nervous vibrations.
Now, the best part. The exhaust. I'm mesmerized by it. A couple of times I intentionally let you take the lead so that I could listen to it properly. And it's beautiful. A few tempo beats higher than that of the C500, it takes you my storm when one changes the gear from 5th to 4th to say, overtake a vehicle. It sounded amazing, even with my helmet and single earpiece on. The exhaust gives you enough warning shots about the torque figures of the Continental GT.

'Ride today'. Someone is on a roll here, eh? Happy miles, mate!

[neil.jericho]

Royal Enfield have built themselves a reputation of making motorcycles that have the unfortunate habit of periodically dropping bits and pieces along the way. Almost every Indian biker knows someone who owns a Royal Enfield and has gone through the ownership ritual of having to search for missing bits on our roads. But with production commencing at the modern new manufacturing plant surely all this would come to an end. Right? Right?


I was washing the bike when I noticed that something seemed to have worked itself loose on the right side of the engine. On closer inspection it was the metal part which had the RE logo on it that was supposed to be screwed onto the engine. I have marked the offending bits with arrows below.

Here is the inside view of the metal part which basically unscrewed itself over time. I suspect all the high speed riding caused it to get loose and it would have eventually fallen off the bike had I not seen it.

Inside view

So yes, everyone who snickered at my decision to buying a Continental GT over other notable options, now have justifiable reason to snicker louder than ever. As for me, I should'nt be surprised. Here is what happened to me a year and a half ago between Tso Moriri and Sarchu while on a biking trip through the Himalayas.

"Soon after our break, we heard a rattling noise from the silencer and I confidently explained to my pillion that it was a stone that had worked itself into the end of the silencer. She was sure I was wrong and wanted us to pull over and check before proceeding. It’s a good thing I listened as it turned out that she was right (well there always is a first time for everything) and we found that the the screw that held the silencer and the frame of the bike together had fallen off leaving the former swinging up and down and banging into the footpegs. Our mechanic suggested that we take it off to avoid any further mechanical damage while conveniently forgetting to mention the massive loss of hearing that we would end up suffering over the next few days.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sumithb]

Hi Neil,

Do you mind posting a close-up picture of the upper part of your fuel tank. I am interested in looking at the finishing of the fuel tank crimp near the handle.

I have booked Yellow Continental GT, the dealer has offered me a bike. While doing a PDI I noticed that the finishing at the upper tank crimp was a bit lacking. I could make out the uneven crimp/weld on this bike, where as on another red model he had for delivery it was smooth. Other than this everything else on the bike looked good. The dealer said such things happen with RE sometimes

I have asked him to hold-on for couple of days. Would appreciate your help to make up my mind

[motorpsycho]

Attachment 1330838

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

With the full 2000 km run-in finally completed, it was finally time to see what the Continental GT was capable of given a wide open road. On a lovely Sunday morning with a TBHP riding group that consisted of 3 Duke 390s, an R15 (incidentally this is my old R15 that my close buddy has bought from me) and a TB500, we certainly had a whole lot of fun. More details of the ride are here with pictures as well http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...ml#post3626796

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

I should just follow the Harley group) and a strongly regulated right wrist to get it beyond the 30 kmpl mark.

Classic Fiber can probably make a cowl like that.

Classic Fiber


Adding link to his Half Fairing album