[bhasker]

Gentlemen,

I own a Thunderbird 350 (July 2013). For the past few months, I have been feeling that the effectiveness of my front disc brakes has reduced. As per my knowledge, the reason could be that disc pads may be worn (Not really sure). I wish to inspect the disc pads. But the problem is that, no mechanic is interested to do it for a customer(just inspection; they consider it a waste of time). I wish to open the brake assembly by myself and check it.

Hence, kindly requesting you to post any video/procedure/links for opening the front brake assembly. Please provide guidance on the same.

[ArizonaJim]

bhasker:

You do not have to open the brake assembly to inspect the thickness of the disk brake pad material on the front brake.

First, get a flashlight (electric torch?) to light up the area that needs to be looked at.

Then, turn the handlebars fully to the right. This will expose the rear of the brake caliper to view.

Shining the light at the upper rear area of the caliper so that it illuminates the interior of the caliper, you will be able to see the outside diameter of the disk and the brake pads on both sides of it.

Closest to the disk is the brake pad material and slightly further away from the disk you will be able to see the steel "backing plates". The steel backing plates are 3.17mm (.125") thick. I am sure your brake pad material will be thicker than mine was when I replaced the brake pads on my G5 but as a reference, mine measured 3.8mm (.150") after 12100 km and I use my front brake as my main brake. I am also usually stopping from my typical riding speed of 72.6 kmph (45 mph) so you see, these pads were not babied.

Why did I replace mine?
I was ordering a new front tire from my dealer and decided, "what the hey!" Why not throw in a new set of front brake pads?
In hindsight, the original pads could have easily gone another 9000 km before they would need replacing.

As for the effectiveness of your front brake goes, has your mechanic been washing the brakes with diesel fuel or paraffin (kerosene)? That happened to another BHP member during one of his services and of course, it severely reduced the braking efficiency of the pads.

Also, over time just the motor oil that's on many paved roads can accumulate on the disk and lightly contaminate the brake pads.
It might be useful for you to place the motorcycle on the center stand and have someone push the rear down so the front wheel is in the air.
Then, spinning the tyre by hand, pour some 90% rubbing alcohol on both sides of the disk.
This will carry the alcohol into the area of the pads and remove any accumulated oil from them.

[gearbox]

So after riding my electra for over 1600kms, I made a few technical "how to" videos. Thought would share them over here for anyone who might find use from these.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9bU...LkWK1aB9nQM5gA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUW5...LkWK1aB9nQM5gA

and here's a video I made of my bullet right after I got it Just sharing for fun and yes, the music on this video is done by me, Guitar played by me and the Drums programmed as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhdU...LkWK1aB9nQM5gA

[live&ride]

Every year almost I face the problem of wiring in my TB350 AVL. I have to ride 21km one way whenever I commute to and from work and getting the lack of power, misfiring due to wiring is a major irritant. Any preventive or reactive how to do videos or gyaan from this fora on this?

[Stanher]

@all,
Have had this desire of buying a classic 350cc (some day!) I happened to know of one in "Battle Green" colour but the RE website says that this is not available in India!?
Is this true? If not, can it be ordered in this colour option?

Originally Posted by Stanher

@all,
Have had this desire of buying a classic 350cc (some day!) I happened to know of one in "Battle Green" colour but the RE website says that this is not available in India!?
Is this true? If not, can it be ordered in this colour option?

The battle green colour is for military uses only and hence not available in India. I've heard of three ways of people getting over this problem:
1. Get it painted;
2. Get it imported from Nepal or something;
3. Find some contact in military and maybe they issue it for you (not sure about this one)

[carizma]

AFAIK Classic Battle Green comes only in 500 cc option, that to only for the export market.

[B O V]

Originally Posted by Stanher

@all,
Have had this desire of buying a classic 350cc (some day!) I happened to know of one in "Battle Green" colour but the RE website says that this is not available in India!?
Is this true? If not, can it be ordered in this colour option?

Apparently not.Actually there are a few shades of green that do not fall within the army green colour but will achieve the desired effect.Although to our cops I suppose any green is military green and hence an excuse to rob you of some monies.

I've noticed a couple bulls with matte dark greenish paintjobs going around without any hassles.

Or you can get it wrapped in the colour of your choice.And remove it if it is required

Does anyone here have any information pertaining to whitewalls? I don't think white walled tyres are available in the kinda tyre sizes on RE's.Any thoughts on painting them white?Is there any particular type of paint that should be used on rubber surfaces?

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by Stanher

@all,
Have had this desire of buying a classic 350cc (some day!) I happened to know of one in "Battle Green" colour but the RE website says that this is not available in India!?
Is this true? If not, can it be ordered in this colour option?

Even though I knew the answer, I had written to RE regarding this a couple of years ago. They confirmed that it is due to the military reason that they cannot sell the bike in that colour in our markets but are free to do so overseas. I have seen a few old bikes that have been repainted in the military green colour but I dont think its worth the hassle of dealing with cops who will have all the right reasons to pull you over.

[drjanakpatel]

I have 1 year old TBTS500. After the last service whenever I use autostart to start the bike the engine light comes on for a second or two. This does not happen when I use kick start. I asked the service centre guys about it. They said it could be due to discharged battery. But even after getting my battery charged the problem persists. There are no other signs of weak battery. I want to know the possible causes and solutions before I visit the service centre again. Is this something serious? Please enlighten me. Thanks.

[ArizonaJim]

With the various combinations of fuel systems sold in India I don't know if your motorcycle is fuel injected or if it has a carburetor.

I know for certain the fuel injected models all have a engine check light that always comes on when the ignition key is first turned on.


This light remains on while the ECU (Engine Control Unit) boots up and checks the status of all of the sensors. After the check, if everything is OK, the light goes out. If there is a problem, it will stay lit.
This check light thing on the fuel injected engines does its thing if the engine is kick started or started with the electric starter motor.

As for military paint jobs on vehicles in the USA there are no restrictions.
I even knew a guy who painted his Hummer (military style 4X drive that can be owned by anyone here) a full modern Camo just like the military does.
On a hunting trip he took the camo worked so well it took him a half of a day to find his camp and vehicle when he returned from his morning trek.

[drjanakpatel]

Mine is a fuel injection type. I start the bike after the light has gone out. Now when I press the electric start switch the engine light comes on. There is no problem with the bike in starting or performance.

[rjstyles69]

Guys I have a 2004 Electra 4s and the rear tire needs to be changed. Can one of the RE veterans here, let me know what's the best tire and at what price ?

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

Guys I have a 2004 Electra 4s and the rear tire needs to be changed. Can one of the RE veterans here, let me know what's the best tire and at what price ?

Though I am no RE owner (about to get a DS500 though) in my experience I found Ceat to be one of the best tyres available.I have mostly seen majority of the RE owners go for Ceat.

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

I even knew a guy who painted his Hummer (military style 4X drive that can be owned by anyone here) a full modern Camo just like the military does.
On a hunting trip he took the camo worked so well it took him a half of a day to find his camp and vehicle when he returned from his morning trek.

Thats a camo color scheme done right!

Originally Posted by drjanakpatel

Mine is a fuel injection type. I start the bike after the light has gone out. Now when I press the electric start switch the engine light comes on. There is no problem with the bike in starting or performance.

Most probably it might be failure of one of the sensors. Bike may continue to run fine, but get the error code diagnosed from SVC immediately.

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

Guys I have a 2004 Electra 4s and the rear tire needs to be changed. Can one of the RE veterans here, let me know what's the best tire and at what price ?

The stock 3.5 MRF Nylogrip is good enough. There is another model from Dunlop (Model name is JAP IIRC). These two were priced just below 2k the last time I checked.

You may also consider Birla (ROADMAXX BT R44) Or Ceat Secura (3.50-19 will be hard to get) Or MRF Meteor(Around 2.8k).

As per my experience, the MRF Nylogrip/Dunlop is excellent if you are not looking for good cornering performance. Meteor was also good for the short while I used it but have heard a lot of bad stories about its wet grip.