[Abhishek3001]

Originally Posted by kozhissery

My tire of RE TB500 is almost 5 years old.

I would like to change the tires to a slick one. What are the best tires available for Thunderbird 500 which are very grippy (both wet and dry)?

Tyres generally have a life of about 5 years irrespective of the tread wear, after five years the rubber dries out , becomes hard and less grippy.
Changing the tyre for a new one would resolve your grip issues.
Also, get the rear swing arm bushing checked because a worn out swing arm bushing can also cause vauge handling.

Do not get a slick tyre. If by slick tyres you mean the ones with no tread on them. As far as I know they aren't street legal. They are intended for use on closed track and dry conditions only, they are not suited for wet conditions.

[kozhissery]

Originally Posted by Abhishek3001

Tyres generally have a life of about 5 years irrespective of the tread wear, after five years the rubber dries out , becomes hard and less grippy.
Changing the tyre for a new one would resolve your grip issues.
Also, get the rear swing arm bushing checked because a worn out swing arm bushing can also cause vauge handling.

Do not get a slick tyre. If by slick tyres you mean the ones with no tread on them. As far as I know they aren't street legal. They are intended for use on closed track and dry conditions only, they are not suited for wet conditions.

Thank you.
So which tire do you suggest (which has lots of grips).

[Abhishek3001]

Originally Posted by kozhissery

So which tire do you suggest (which has lots of grips).

I've been satisfied with the stock 120/80-18 MRF Zapper tyre on the rear, however, I did find it a tad bit lacking in grip on wet dirty roads.
After the stock rear tyre wore out, I changed it to a 110/90-18 Michelin Sirac street. It's performance on-road in dry conditions has been on par with the stock tyres but it is better on dirt roads.
The Michelin's tread is focused of a mixed on/off-road usage as compared to the more street biased stock tyre. Since, the tread pattern is more aggressive on the Michelin, it prodeces an audible humming noise at speeds of 80 KM/H and above.
As far a performance in the rains is concerned, the stock was fine and I've only had the Michelin since December 2017, so, cannot comment until the monsoons arrive.

In the front, my stock 90/90-19 MRF Zapper is still going strong with no complaints.

So, my suggestion would be to go for the MRF Zappers front and rear, but if you want to experiment there are plenty of options available.

Cheers

[kozhissery]

Originally Posted by Abhishek3001

So, my suggestion would be to go for the MRF Zappers front and rear, but if you want to experiment there are plenty of options available.

Cheers

Thanks you Abhishek3001.

Why I'm so concerned about the grip levels?
Two weeks back me and a cousin of mine happened to go to Rameshwaram (the roads are awesome). He was on Z800 and me on TB500.
While cruising just below 100 or so (with these tires I tend not to go above 90), we encountered an unmarked hump where we had to stomp on the brakes. The bike started to fishtail and tires locked/skidded , but there was nothing to be scared as I had anticipated the lack of grip. Z800 stopped without breaking a sweat. I know that it should not be compared, still felt that if tires were better I could have stopped more easily as it was just manageable speed.
The second point was while returning there was a bit of drizzle and I felt that bike is not steady (seems to lose grip).
So decided to change the tires, thought to get better tires. If nothing else then Zapper for sure.

[Abhishek3001]

Originally Posted by kozhissery

So decided to change the tires, thought to get better tires. If nothing else then Zapper for sure.

A fresh set of zappers well be a lot better than a 5 year old set at stopping.
Yes, you really cannot compare a Z800 with a Thunderbird. The Z's tyres must be of a really soft compound (lasting around only 10K kms) and costing north of 20K for a pair. Also coupled with the better tyres, the Z also has better brakes and possibly ABS and traction control.

As far as stopping ability goes, irrespective of the kind of tyres you buy, you can try practicing hard braking. This helped me alot when I had just started riding. You need to find a empty stretch of road or a large closed parking lot would be ideal and practice braking. Start by applying the brakes normally and with each pass increase the magnitude of braking untill you find that sweet spot when the wheel just starts to lock up/ skid. Repeat this untill you can consistently get the bike to stop without skidding.
So, when the next time you encounter an emergency situation instead of locking the wheels you can stop safely.
A word of caution, I am not a professional nor have I undergone training of any sort. This routine helped me and it may or may not help you.

Cheers,
Ride safe

[escape velocity]

The bike has done about 10,300 Kms. Please help me with my query.

[wangdu]

Originally Posted by escape velocity

The bike has done about 10,300 Kms. Please help me with my query.

you might want to check on websites such as OBV etc while also inquire at local garages. Assuming it to be in "good" condition as you say and with life on tires I would start with 80k (that due to low Kms on your ODO else 70k). It also depends on the general demand of type of vehicles in the given city. My friend recently purchased 2014 classic for 84k here in NCR.

[dass]

my 3 month old TB350, which has run around 600kms so far lunges forward with a loud noise the first time I slot it into the first gear whenever I use it. After the first time and the bike has run for a while, the gear slotting is normal and smooth and the bike doesn't lunge forward. I had complained about it during the first service, but I don't think they did anything. My second service is almost due now and hence looking for some expert opinion to tell them what exactly needs to be done to fix this.

[ArizonaJim]

The reason for the lunge and the loud noise is, the multiple wet plate clutch disks in the clutch tend to stick to the driven disks after the motorcycle has sit overnight. This results in the clutch behaving like it was fully engaged even though you have pulled the clutch lever. This causes the lurch.

If your model has a kick starter lever you can reduce this lurching by doing the following before you start the engine.

• Swing the lever out so it is accessible.

• Pull the clutch lever in to disengage the clutch.

• Press down on the kick starter lever with your foot like you were trying to start the engine.
(As you press the lever down it usually feels like it is rotating the crankshaft, which it is. With a little more foot pressure and movement you will feel the resistance of the piston compressing the air in the cylinder. With more foot pressure, suddenly the lever will freely swing down to the bottom of its stroke. You have now loosened the clutch plates from one another.)

• Release the clutch lever and swing the kick starter back to its normal position. Then, proceed to start the engine, shift the transmission into 1st gear and be on your way.

Often, even after doing this, moving the shift lever into 1st gear will still produce a clunk.
This is normal behavior for a transmission that uses "dogs" (protrusions) on its gears to engage with slots in the neighboring gear.

Although the sound is somewhat disturbing, the gears are designed to withstand the sudden engagement so don't worry about it.

Ride safe and enjoy!

[sajjt]

Guys I bought a 350X TBTS yesterday. It came as single horn with dual horn harness which was tied to the frame. The owners manual says its dual horn. Is it the showroom guys playing dirty or is it standard to be with a single horn? Even if its a single horn setup, they should give a high tone but mine is a low tone. Showroom guy told me its coming in single horn and customers are upgrading it to dual. Just want to make sure before writing this to RE.

[sajjt]

Sorry some how the pictures doesn't come through

I will try to post it from my laptop

[locusjag]

Hi All,

At 3 months and merely 2100 km, the rear brake shoe (I think) has worn away on my Electra. I applied the brakes a couple of times recently and the rear brake felt like I was rubbing an iron rod over a serrated metal surface. It didn't give out any noise as such, I just felt it on my foot via the rear brake lever.

Is it the brake shoe indeed, that's worn?

I am guilty of over-using the rear brake. I think I don't feel confident enough yet to use the front brake a lot whereas I now see advice on this forum to apply braking with a front to rear split of 60:40.

[nirvanaguy19]

Any specific things to check in terms of PDI for a R.E. Planning to pick up the Thunderbird 500x soon.

[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by sajjt

Guys I bought a 350X TBTS yesterday. It came as single horn with dual horn harness which was tied to the frame. The owners manual says its dual horn. Is it the showroom guys playing dirty or is it standard to be with a single horn? Even if its a single horn setup, they should give a high tone but mine is a low tone. Showroom guy told me its coming in single horn and customers are upgrading it to dual. Just want to make sure before writing this to RE.

Mate first of all congrats on your new TBTS 350X. Well on the RE website it shows a dual horn setup on the Thunderbird X 350 and 500cc and since your owner manual shows the same I believe the dealer might be trying to pull a fast one on you. When I bought my Tbird500 way back in 2014 it did come with dual horn setup from the factory.

Originally Posted by locusjag

Hi All,

At 3 months and merely 2100 km, the rear brake shoe (I think) has worn away on my Electra. I applied the brakes a couple of times recently and the rear brake felt like I was rubbing an iron rod over a serrated metal surface. It didn't give out any noise as such, I just felt it on my foot via the rear brake lever.

Such noise from the drum brakes also come when the bike has been standing stationary for long, especially in wet and rain. But with riding for some km's it fades away. The rear drum brake shoe will wear out fast if you use it as your only primary bike. Due to their make they fade faster as witnessed by me in my old CI models, although I am not sure about the new UCE's. As a practice I change my old CI models' rear drum brake shoes every 5000-6000 km's as they are not very expensive and cheaper to replace while regular servicing.

Is it the brake shoe indeed, that's worn?

If it were dirt or moisture inside the brake shoe then it would get displaced with regular riding. But if it persists then do get it checked. If the brake shoes are worn then replace it but if there is dirt accumulated inside then simply get it rubbed and cleaned.

I am guilty of over-using the rear brake. I think I don't feel confident enough yet to use the front brake a lot whereas I now see advice on this forum to apply braking with a front to rear split of 60:40.

That's right I for one use this 60:40 front to rear brake ratio. But there are many who also use 70:30 or 80:20 front to rear brake ratio. You can use any of these depending on your riding style and comfort.

Originally Posted by nirvanaguy19

Any specific things to check in terms of PDI for a R.E. Planning to pick up the Thunderbird 500x soon.

There is a comprehensive PDI list for RE motorcycles on various threads on this thread. You need to search.

[dass]

Originally Posted by sajjt

Guys I bought a 350X TBTS yesterday. It came as single horn with dual horn harness which was tied to the frame.

Mine also came with single horn, Brought it in Jan 2018. I was told based on pollution control board ruling, all 2018 bikes will come with single horn and they can be upgraded as an accessory. I never bothered, as I do not believe in using the horn much either ways.