[KPR]

Originally Posted by Hamza123

One year update

So the big boy completed one year of ownership.

Congratulations.

Originally Posted by Hamza123

As with all people who buy Enfield i plan to visit the mountains up north. If and when that trip materializes I plan to get a pair of aux lights fit. Have shortlisted a few and will decide after doing a bit more research.
Besides that I may get a bs3 light switch installed to keep the headlight shut during the day.

Following. I've plans this year to either Spiti or Leh in my bird. Waiting for vaccine doses preferably from Serum to reach my place.

[ManneAtWheelz]

Originally Posted by KPR

I've plans this year to either Spiti or Leh in my bird. Waiting for vaccine doses preferably from Serum to reach my place.

I say, plan the trip and move on as we can't really predict by when vaccination reaches to every one but again it is upto your choice in the end.

[Hamza123]

The big bird continues chugging along impressing me more and more with every passing kilometer. Nothing new to report.
Attaching a picture when I was out on a late night stroll with the Mrs. She actually prefers the sedate nature of the Thunderbird than the pacey ride of the Ninja

[Hamza123]

So finally the bike encountered its first real "problem". More to do with a human error than the bike itself.
I was on my way home in the evening and the bike needed to be fueled up. The Thunderbird from day 1 has been fuelled at this petrol bunk near my place. That day the light above the filling station was malfunctioning and was dark so the attendant without realizing filled the bike upto the brim. ( I usually fill about half an inch below) almost to the point of overflow. I did not think much about it paid up and left.
After about 10 kms the bike started jerking. As if its running out of fuel ( when the tank was to the brim!!) . It stalled one kilometer away from home. After 3 to 4 attempts ( it generally starts in half a crank even after being shut for over a week) it started and reached home. I had read about this issue with bs4 bikes and the remedy was to open the fuel cap and fit back. Did that and went home.
Next day same thing. 10 kms fine. Just when I thought the problem was gone it started behaving the same as last evening. And I was in a remote area in the middle of the day with no cell phone signal. I stopped in a shaded area opened the fuel lid and waited for 10 mins. The petrol level had not dropped at all. Fired the bike up and took a longish 30 kms route home. No problem till I reached home and the fuel level had dropped a little. No problems after that.
Was a bit shaken up especially when the bike has run flawlessly for the last 14 months.
Will have it checked in the next service again and will have to be more attentive when filling fuel !!
Should be crossing the 7k mark soon. Until next time! Cheers

[Hamza123]

Hi all
The bike today crossed the 7000 mark ! As always going smooth. (Knock on wood!!)
Had been on the lookout for a classy tank pad for the bike since a long time. One day by chance came across an Instagram account name Raw and Rugged. Found their products very interesting and ordered one from them . They not only lived up to my expectations but surpassed them !! They matched the tank pad to my seat all the way down to the thread colour! Truly impressed!

[Hamza123]

So finally took the plunge and got the BS3 switch conversion done. The person who did the conversion made sure that none of the original wires were cut and the entire process is completely reversable.

The drl design. I still think this is one of the better executed and well thought out drl and looks way better than the rest from Enfield



The switch. It looks identical to the bs4 except the Center switch. The parking light always stays on hence the two clicks switch on the low beam



A nice short ride to Mastani lake with the mrs

[Hamza123]

Been a while since I updated this thread and there have been a couple of updates since

I finally had an oil leakage. So that finally made me feel like an Enfield owner
Traced it down to a busted o ring and solved.
Completed 10000kms on the odo. Hopefully many more to come.
Also with the Ninja sold, the thunderbird performs dual duties of weekend leisure rides as well as city commuting. Did a couple of lovely monsoon rides. One as long as almost 400 kms to Mumbai and back in pouring rain

Cheers for now.

[KPR]

It has been more than a year I drove any other bike. So yesterday I got an opportunity to drive a Yamaha FZ BS6 model. I had thought FZx could be a nice cruiser that is practical for grocery runs and bit long commutes with which one bike garage is possible. FZ engine struggles past 70 kmph speed and sustaining it at 80 kmph is a task. But after driving that modern Japanese FZ engine my love for TB has only grown. Maybe I was too tempted with comfortable seating position of FZx . Also there's no point in buying a classic or Meteor or H'ness when things are under control with TB500. Attaching a photograph that I took today morning. @Hamza123 sorry for hijacking your ownership thread.

[Hamza123]

Since the bike had completed 10000kms and was ready for its next service I decided to give it outside Enfield to Hyperion Superbikes where I was servicing my Ninja and overall had a great experience.
Here is what l I got done.
1. Change over to full synthetic oil. Has been a great experience as the bike is now even more smooth and runs much cooler.
2. Changed the fork oil to liqui moly 10w fork oil. Much better damping.
3. Changed the front brake pads.
4. Changed the horn to a double horn unit. Since I will be using the bike for my weekend rides as well so a better horn on the highways would be great.
5. Changed the front brake pads
6. Changed the main stand. Don't know how but the previous one was completely bent out of shape

Overall the results have been great. The bike runs much much cooler after switch over to synthetic oil and slightly smoother as well. Also the front end dive is non existent under braking after the switch to heavier fork oil.

For me the only sore point in almost 2 years of ownership have been the brakes. They are just not confident inspiring for such a big and heavy bikes. I have seen steel braided lines for the Thunderbird online and I might try those out next.
People have always wondered why I went in for the Thunderbird when it was about to be discontinued and also when the interceptor was available just for a little more. Sometimes I wonder too to be honest. But a late evening ride home on the big Thunderbird in sheer comfort unhurried lazy acceleration from the big single pushrod engine is just something that one has to experience in life. Maybe and only maybe then can we explain why we ride these big heavy dumbells ��

Till next time.

a solo ride to the outskirts after work

[Akshay6988]

Originally Posted by Hamza123

It does reduce the vibration of the speedo upto 90 percent. I have even inserted thick rubber in between the speedo and the top part of the fork so I have next to no vibrations from the speedo. Absolutely holding up well after a year of use.

Hello Hamza123, thank you for this detailed ownership report, as I found the exact solution for this very problem !
Well, I am not the one facing the problem, but my friend who owns a 2016 make Thunderbird 350. The speedometer clamp on his bike has broken twice this year ! He uses the bike, well let's say, a bit enthusiastically, even on city roads I have managed to click picture of the broken clamp



You can see the clamp is broken where it attaches to the handle bar (we didn't see any rust though)
My friend is thinking of sticking some sort of thick foam material to reduce the vibration, but I'm not sure it'll hold given the headlights heat. Could you please share photos of your setup ? What type of thick rubber have you inserted below the speedometer console ?
Or any other solutions would be really helpful !

[IOBIWANKENOBI]

Hello Hamza and Team,

Thank you so much for writing such an informative post on your experience with the Legendary Thunderbird 500cc.

I have been wanting to buy an RE ever since I was a kid, and its not a unique dream, Every middle class family guys wants to own an RE no matter the model. Even my father always wanted to buy ever since he saw it.

I have been searching for a good RE thunderbird 350 cc since 2 months, and I have been reading so many blogs on this website that I was sure that I am going to buy a thunderbird. I came across few old models on thinderbird 2011 and 2012 models and they were in good condition. I was negotiating with few sellers who were firm with the prices. And I was stubborn on getting the old model only.

The one fine day my friend told me if you are considering thunderbird why not go for an upper model of 500 cc, And I thought why not just research and see if its in my budget to buy a preowned TB500. I was searching on OLX and there were very less number of TB500 avail and that too in bad condition with prices on peak. I kept looking and one day I found one good TB500 on olx and fixed a meeting to visit and check the bike. I listed everything which needs to be checked and made sure I checked everything before talking about money. I was satisfied with the bike and negotiated a bit. The seller agreed and I got home my self earned RE TB500 home. I got the service done as a precaution and everything was set.

I took my bike out and went for a ride and I cannot tell you how it felt. I have always rode scooters and bikes that too below 200 cc and max I have tried is a RE Classic 350 that too borrowed from a friend.

This 500cc machine is crazy. So powerful and smooth on road.

These are the pictures of my bike after service and wash.



Look at the happiness on my face.



Thank you everyone for guiding me to buy my first RE TB500.

[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by IOBIWANKENOBI

Look at the happiness on my face.

Thank you everyone for guiding me to buy my first RE TB500.

Congrats mate on getting the ultra rare RE Tbird500. My Tbird500 is now close to 10 years old and is holding up really well.

A few observations:

• I am not sure which brand/type of fork gaiters the previous owner installed on your Tbird500. It looks warped and out of shape. If planning on installing a new one, then consider the Himalayan LS410 fork gaiters. These are a direct fit.
  
• The exhaust bend pipe looks black/corroded, not sure if the previous owner had installed those hideous exhaust pipe wraps. You can keep it as is, but do not cover it again with exhaust wraps.

The Tbird500 is a fantastic mile muncher, provided you ride it within the parameters of its limits. You will really enjoy the torque surge when you twist the throttle. Braking is a little tricky as the front seems to slip under hard braking, to overcome this, practice combination braking with 70 (front):30 (rear). Also maintain proper tyre pressure, as petrol pump guys tend to overfill air. Front is 20 psi and rear is 30 psi (if riding without pillion). Considering it is a big single, the engine might get hot while idling for long periods in traffic.

[IOBIWANKENOBI]

Hi Navin,

Thank you so much for the tips. I will surely follow them and maintain my bike in the best condition.

I will soon change the fork gaiters to the suggested ones, and about the bend pipe, the previous owner might have seen some rust painted it with black spray which got burnt with the heat of the pipe. Any tips on how to remove the paint and the rust. I know it cant go back to the shiny bend pipe but anything helps.

Thanks.

[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by IOBIWANKENOBI

I will soon change the fork gaiters to the suggested ones, and about the bend pipe, the previous owner might have seen some rust painted it with black spray which got burnt with the heat of the pipe. Any tips on how to remove the paint and the rust. I know it cant go back to the shiny bend pipe but anything helps.

Regarding the bend pipe, there are two options to make it look aesthetically good. The cheaper option is to go for a good quality high heat resistant paint (Nippon and Rust-o-leam with matte finish are two brands that come to mind). The application is fairly simple where the surface needs to be prepared by cleaning and degreasing it followed by spraying high heat resistant primer and then followed by high heat resistant spray paint.

The more expensive option is to go for hard chroming or normal chrome plating the bend pipe, this is a chemical process and involves an expert who is professional in doing such jobs. I am not sure if the internals of the bend pipe needs to be checked (in terms of catalytic converter) before undergoing hard chroming or normal chrome plating.