I have recently purchased this 2024 updated Classic 350 Medallion Bronze for myself, so the excitement for a road trip was but natural.

BHPian Fr0nx23 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Greetings to all.

This is my first long post, I am sharing the first long ride on my 2024 updated classic 350 Medallion Bronze:

It was 2nd October, 2024 and being a holiday, I suggested a destination a ride to a new temple 90 Km from Vizag. Sri Anantha Venkateswara Swamy Vari Devalayam Vaikunta Giri, Vizianagaram.

Came to know that the temple is at a higher altitude than Tirumala and recently consecrated in April 2024.

I have recently purchased this 2024 updated Classic 350 Medallion Bronze for myself, so the excitement for a road trip was but natural. Because of it's commanding presence, I decided to call it "Lord Commander". (Pardon me if it sounds silly :-)

It was all rewarding to say the least.

As divine is the darshan of Lord Venkateswara, the views once you reach the ghat section are so stunning especially at day break. The temple I am told is built at one of the highest in AP, the wind, the mist, the drop in temperature and cool weather at the temple is worth*the*journey.

We started at 4:45am in the morning with my ODO somwhere upwards of 200km.

We were 5 people on 3 REs. One 2022 Classic Reborn Gun Metal Grey, One recently purchased Meteor and me on my Lord Commander.

I along with others wore Jeans and T-shirts and shoes, I was wearing my trekking shoes which I felt are sturdy for the occasion. I did not wear a jacket as the weather here is on the warmer side but later realised a jacket should have been more comfortable against the strong head wind and jacket sleeves could saved me from a mild sun tan.

I was wearing the standard helmet that RE gives complimentary with the motorcylce. The head wind was strong and gushing in between my face and ears. However it was not un-bearable. We had planned to reach the ghat section at sunrise, but realised we did not even reach the ghat section and it crossed 530am and the sun was up.

It was a highway till most of the journey till the ghat section so no traffic and we had a steady speed of 60-70.

I was a bit sceptical of crossing 60 during break in period, but it was getting late and my buddies were zooming ahead in anticipation of witnessing the sunrise. So I also increased my speed to 70 and occasional 70-80.

When we entered the ghat section, it was a sight to behold with huge green mountains in the mist of clouds and we could not contain our excitement looking at them.

We started climbing the ghat road. I was riding with a pillion and felt the ride so stable and planted due to weight of the pillion. (Must mention here that I am of a small stature 5'4 height and around 60kgs wieght).

The ghat road is beautiful and has lot of steep winding curves. As it was early in the morning, there was only the occasional village auto or vehicles coming down and I was very careful to maneuver the classic.

I recall my recent experience (May end 2024) of riding a red rented hunter in the hills of Kasol-Malana and I did not face any difficulty in maneuvering the bike on high turns on rough roads etc.

But I have to say here, as a short person who has braved the decision to purchase the bigger classic, the handling of the 195kg machine was excellent and extraordinary I felt. But I was cautious during the climbing on the turns and occasionally put my foot down for balance. That's when my pillion friend told me never to put my feet down while climbing on winding roads as I could loose balance.

My biggest fear is to have a fall on the classic.
Even though Shumi of motorinc in one of his FAQs has called it a well behaved Labrador, I still respect it as much as a Rottweiler :-)

To sum up the climb, I would say it was challenging for me on turns. At the first view point, my pillion suggested he get down and I rode the rest of the ghat section single rider. I felt lighter and was more comfortable.

Once we reached the top, we parked our motorcycles at the entrance of the temple and immersed ourselves in the great views and the strong winds passing in the temple verandas and offering our namaskarms to the deity.

The darshan of the Lord Venkteswara was very satisfying and once it was over, the weather started changing and it became cloudier and windy and that's when I regretted not getting a jacket or raincoat.

However it did not rain and we started our descent. It was a pleasure to the soul to view the greenery and the hills amidst which we were cruising down.

The turns on the descent also made me careful not to twist the throttle too much as the motorcycle veered more than intended on turns and was mindful of the risk of skidding or loosing control of the motorcycle beyond the boundary of the road.

Also I learnt not to use the front brake while turning as the motorcycle could fall and I do not have that much strength to hold it while falling.

On the way down, we stopped at a small stream of water and took pictures.

Once we reached the bottom of the hill, all the cool weather had vanished and it was humid like an oven at 10:15 am when we stopped for breakfast.

From there on the ride back to the city was hot and humid and the usual day time traffic had begun.

We again stopped for a cold drink and reached back to our homes at around 12pm.

Attaching a few pics from the ride.

Looking forward to more such enjoyable rides in the future with my "Lord Commander"

I hope you enjoyed reading a post from a newbie.
Thank you.

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I asked the dealership about the tubeless spoke wheels for the 650s as well as for the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450.

BHPian ex-innova-guy recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

I had some work in Dahisar today, and while returning, I decided to drop by at RE Palladium Automotive in Borivali West. I wanted to take a test ride for both the Interceptor 650 and the GT 650. They only had the GT 650 available for the TR. Gave my license, and they were quick to give me the bike. It was parked outside, and a bird had marked its territory on it. The SA quickly brought a cloth and cleaned it before giving me the keys. The TR was for around 3-4 km.

As soon as you sit on the bike, you notice how committed the riding position is. Coming from a Classic 350, the foot pegs catch you off guard. Coming from a heel-toe shifter, even the toe shifter took me a minute or two to get adjusted. Had to press the ignition button very hard to turn it on, and this was when the bike had just below 4000 km on the Odo. You feel its weight while manoeuvring, but it is point-and-shoot on the go. The less we talk about Pillion Comfort, the better it is. I had nice arms, especially a triceps workout, after this brief TR. All in all, I loved it. The adrenaline rush was so intense while opening the throttle in a couple of gears, and that’s all I could ask for.

Have to give a proper wash to my bike.

Took a quotation for the same colour Dux Deluxe (important later) from the dealer and went onto RE Voyage Motors Kandivali West.

The customer experience was 10x better here. Even though Palladium Automotive had no customers, they seemed least interested. Even after the TR, I had to ask them to give me a quotation.

Voyage Motors had both bikes available for TR. SA Aniruddha noted my license details and gave me the keys to Interceptor first. Coming from the Classic 350, I immediately felt at home on the Interceptor. The foot pegs and riding position felt very comfortable. Somehow the adrenaline rush wasn’t felt on this and the brakes severely lacked bite; maybe because this had more than 13000 km on the Odo and most importantly because I am biased towards the GT 650.

I could never get a back-to-back TR of both bikes, and luckily I managed to get one today. The adrenaline rush is just too strong while on the GT 650, and since I had taken a brief TR earlier, the toe shifter wasn’t much of a problem this time around. Loved the whole experience and came back grinning.

I asked my SA Aniruddha to give me a quotation for the GT 650 in Rocker Red since to my surprise the Dux Deluxe colour has been discontinued for almost a year. Imagine the surprise I got since I just got the same colour quotation less than an hour ago!

I also casually asked about my fantasy (tubeless spoke wheels), and he mentioned that it wouldn’t be coming. Alas, I asked him if they had received the Tubeless spoke wheels for the Himalayan 450, but he replied that they are available only in the international markets. Had to tell him that RE indeed had launched it here in India when another senior SA stepped in to cover up and mention that they had not been briefed about the same.

Thank you for your suggestions and reading.

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The updated Classic 350 is available in five variants and new colour schemes.

After unveiling the 2024 Classic 350 last month, Royal Enfield has now announced its launch in India. The updated Classic 350 is available in five variants with prices starting at Rs 1,99,500 (ex-showroom).

The 2024 Classic 350 gets an LED headlamp, pilot lamps, turn indicators, and tail lamp. It has adjustable levers for the clutch and brake and comes with a USB charger and Tripper Navigation.

Mechanically, the 2024 Classic 350 is identical to the outgoing version. It is powered by a 349cc, single-cylinder engine that produces 20.2 BHP @ 6,100 rpm and 27 Nm @ 4,000 rpm. The engine is mated to a 5-speed gearbox.

The suspension setup is also unchanged and features a telescopic fork at the front and dual rear shock absorbers. Braking is handled by 300 mm and 270 mm discs at the front and rear, respectively, supported by dual-channel ABS.

The 2024 Classic 350 is available in new colour schemes - Jodhpur Blue, Madras Red, Emerald, Commando Sand, Brown, and Stealth.

2024 Royal Enfield Classic 350 ex-showroom prices:

• Heritage - Rs 1,99,500
• Heritage Premium - Rs 2,04,000
• Signals - Rs 2,16,000
• Dark - Rs 2,25,000
• Chrome - Rs 2,30,000

Prices for the updated Classic 350 will be announced on September 1, 2024.

Royal Enfield has taken the wraps off the 2024 edition of the Classic 350. The bike will be launched on September 1.

Royal Enfield has introduced several updates to the Classic 350 for the 2024 model year. The bike now gets an LED headlamp, pilot lamps, turn indicators, and tail lamp. It has adjustable clutch and brake levers and comes with a USB charger. The Stealth and Emerald variants get Tripper navigation as standard.

Mechanically, the 2024 Classic 350 is identical to the outgoing version. It is powered by a 349cc, single-cylinder engine that produces 20.2 BHP @ 6,100 rpm and 27 Nm @ 4,000 rpm. The engine is mated to a 5-speed gearbox.

The suspension setup is also unchanged and features a telescopic fork at the front and dual rear shock absorbers. Braking is handled by 300 mm and 270 mm discs at the front and rear, respectively.

The 2024 Classic 350 is available in new colour schemes - Jodhpur Blue, Madras Red, Emerald, Commando Sand, Brown, and Stealth.

The updated Royal Enfield Classic 350 will be launched on August 12.

Royal Enfield is gearing up to launch the updated Classic 350. According to media reports, it will be offered in five variants: Heritage, Heritage Premium, Signals, Dark and Classic Chrome.

The updated Classic 350 is expected to get LED lighting all around. All variants will be equipped with an LED headlight, pilot lamps and an LED taillight. The Dark and Classic Chrome variants will get LED turn indicators as standard, along with adjustable levers.

The updated Classic 350 is also expected to get a USB-C charger and a gear-position indicator across all variants. Alloy wheels and tubeless tyres though, will only be offered on the Dark variant.

The Classic 350 will be powered by the familiar 349cc single-cylinder engine. It produces 20.2 BHP @ 6,100 rpm and 27 Nm @ 4,000 rpm and is paired with a 5-speed gearbox. The bike will come in multiple variants, with single and dual-channel ABS.

The updated Royal Enfield Classic 350 will be launched on August 12.

Source: Autocar Pro

The Classic 350 competes with the Honda CB350, Jawa 42, Yezdi Roadster, and the Harley-Davidson X440

Having launched the Guerrilla 450, Royal Enfield is now gearing up to introduce the updated version of the Classic 350 in India. It will be launched on August 12.

The 2024 Classic 350 is expected to be offered in fresh new colour schemes. Besides cosmetic updates, the bike could get an LED headlamp with pilot lamps and an LED taillight. It might also get updated switchgear similar to other models in the brand’s line-up.

The Classic 350 will be powered by the familiar 349cc, single-cylinder engine. This engine produces 20.2 BHP @ 6,100 rpm and 27 Nm @ 4,000 rpm and is paired with a 5-speed gearbox. The bike will come in multiple variants, with single and dual-channel ABS.

The Classic 350 competes with the Honda CB350, Jawa 42, Yezdi Roadster, and the Harley-Davidson X440 in the Indian market.

Considering I was going to be a repeat customer (bought a Himalayan 450) I feel there is tremendous scope for improvement

BHPian anurag344 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I tried selling my MY 2021 Classic 350 (Reborn) using the "Reown" website.

Entering details is easy and you are assigned a relationship manager. A motorcycle inspection is then scheduled and they send a person (who seems to be not an RE employee but a dealer) to take a look at the vehicle and the papers. The process is quite well-oiled till this point.

However, they made an offer of 1.38L which I felt was quite low so I asked them how they arrived at this number. According to them, the valuation is only considering the 'original' ex-showroom price (and the depreciation on it). So the insurance, extended warranty, road tax, accessories etc. have no value !!

I gave strongly worded feedback to the Reown contact that this is a misleading venture and a waste of customer's time. He then asked me what my expectation was and I told him something closer to 1.85L. The next day I got another offer of 1.6L from them (1.55L cash and 5K voucher for RE accessories) which I would have accepted but I had decided by this time to give the bike to a friend.

The whole reason I was going with Reown was to avoid the hassle of negotiating and dealing with dealers and individuals. But this whole episode reeked of the same lowballing which I wanted to avoid in the first place.

Considering I was going to be a repeat customer (bought a Himalayan 450) I feel there is tremendous scope for improvement in this program. Compare this to my car-buying experience. I drove my Maruti Swift to the Kia showroom on the day of full payment and the selling price was adjusted in the invoice.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The updated Classic 350 will be mechanically identical to the outgoing model.

According to a media report, Royal Enfield is working on an updated version of the Classic 350, and it could be launched as early as next month.

The Classic 350 is expected to be offered in multiple variants, with the lower variant getting a rear drum brake. The bike could get an LED headlamp with pilot lamps as standard and an LED taillight.

The updated Classic 350 will be mechanically identical to the outgoing model. It will be powered by the same 349cc single-cylinder air-cooled engine. This engine produces 20.2 BHP @ 6,100 rpm and 27 Nm @ 4,000 rpm and is paired with a 5-speed gearbox.

The Classic 350 has been facing some serious competition from rivals like Honda, Triumph, Harley-Davidson and Classic Legends. The latest update will certainly help keep the product fresh.

Source: Autocar India

For this ride down from IIT Mandi to the Royal Enfield Regional Office Cochin, we covered around 4000 km in 13 days.

BHPian sohanbala recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

A bit of backstory

I believe there are certain milestones in one's life as one pursues their passion for anything. This thread is about how a motorcycle made me meet friends who became family, taught me lessons that I still carry forward in life and inspired me in ways that fuel me every day.

On the 2nd of May 2024, me along with my friend Vasisht, commenced a 13-day ride from Himachal Pradesh to Kerala. Both of us met a year back as batch mates during the start of our MBA program at the Indian Institute of Technology - Mandi.

I still recall the initial few days of induction at campus, our program being a one-of-a-kind course with an MBA in Data Science and AI, most of us remained puzzled during the first few weeks of class. During the very first day itself, my Mallu senses kicked in as I saw Vasisht join in for class, and I was right, both of us not only belonged to Kerala, but it turned out that we stayed a few hours away back home.

That being said Vasisht with his background in electrical engineering and me with mine in physics, eventually started making sense out of all the coding and machine learning sessions. Once the heat from Python and ML started settling in, soon our conversation started diverting and both of us came to a common topic "Motorcycles and Royal Enfield".

My father used to work with brands like HM and Royal Enfield, I grew up listening to his stories about Enfield India, and later stories from our family friends who were on the board of Enfield Madras, stories on how Enfield came to India and how British engineers were sent to inspect and support during initial days of Madras Motorcycles.

Even with all the good stories my father was always a bit upset when Enfield was losing popularity in India during the early 2000s, yet he was positive after the Eicher group took over Enfield, and yes, things did change for the better.

I still remember his wide-open smile when the Classic was launched in 2009. He used to describe to me news articles about Royal Enfields' new Oragadam plant and their expansion plans. Since then the name Siddhartha Lal has remained in my mind, my father used to describe how Mr Lal is reviving the entire brand in India. I was still 16 and clueless about even how to ride a motorcycle. However, with broadband internet being more accessible, I sure did follow every news on Royal Enfield and the new plant.

Fast Forward to 2015

It's my final year in college and for the last 2 years, I've been working part-time with all kinds of jobs I can find in my free time, all for just one goal. Be able to afford my first motorcycle before college ends.

I learned how to ride on my elder brother's Yamaha RX 135, ever since then I've been in love with simple, fun, motorcycles. Sadly this taste didn't give me many options for my first bike, I was left with very limited choices back then, I used to go and check every brand store, to see if there was something I liked, one fine day I randomly came across a yellow bee-like motorcycle buzzing by my side. And that was a Royal Enfield Continental GT 535.

I was absolutely taken for a joy ride when I started looking up the internet, as I read more about cafe racers, the history and of course, names like Harris Performance who was behind the 535. I instantly started falling in love with the Continental GT 535, and within the next 2 months I got myself a brand new Continental GT 535 Black in 2015.

Since then something beautiful happened, being very keen on my motorcycle to all its nicks and bits, I was quite frequent at the service center, even for the slightest of my concerns, I was bugging the service managers and technicians, not only did they help me every time, but very soon they all turned as good friends.

Rockers REunited

Hardly a year passed since I got my GT535, I was so puzzled seeing very few 535s on roads in my city, close to none I'd say.

One day I came across another 535 customer at the Service center, we spoke for a few minutes, exchanged numbers and left, little did I know that this was the start of something epic. We kept meeting occasionally and started riding together for short city meets or an evening coffee, one day it just crossed my mind, "Why not start a community exclusive for the RE CGT535 in our hometown", with just 2 of us on board this seemed quite a task, from that very day we started chasing every 535s we see on road, Service Center, be it anywhere, and started asking them to join the group. After the first 4 months, we gained 10 members from my own city. With 10 members in hand, we approached our dealer with the club idea, who happily connected us to the rides team of Royal Enfield Kerala. With their support, we were able to onboard more 535s, within a year Rockers REunited was a statewide community with more than 800 members and monthly meetups across the state.

It was during this time that I saw people of different age groups, different backgrounds and cultures bond faster with you than your own classmates.

One of those many weekend meetups with Rockers REunited, circa 2017

January 2024

Post COVID Rockers REunited became a bit sluggish, still we managed to kick things back by adding micro chapters in Brazil and France.

8 years have flown by, a lot has changed, after 4 years of work life, I decided to pursue my PG in Management, being a person who loved anything technical, I was quite sure that this is where my interests would align, and I joined IIT Mandi, for my MBA in Data Science and AI.

After the first few weeks itself, our batch started preparing for the summer internship programs ahead. Some of us took up a few data-centered projects online, and very soon I hit my first major question.

While everyone seemed happy being in analyst roles, my question was "How can one be a good data-driven manager unless you know what happens on the floor and from where all the data comes from".

I shared this thought with Vasisht and it didn't take much time for him to agree on the same. With that in mind and with the love for motoring, Royal Enfield was an obvious choice to go for, having gone from a near closure two decades back to becoming an iconic profitable brand in home ground and global markets is quite a feat.

The next question was whether to try for strategy-related roles in RE Chennai HQ or Kerala Regional Office.

I have always believed in starting from the fundamentals, besides that, getting to learn from your own home market where we can relate more would be an added advantage, hence we decided to try for Kerala Regional Office, RO being located in Cochin, 6 hrs away from our hometown, many folks suggested it won't be a good decision since Chennai was just 11 Hrs away, however, I still believe we made the right choice. We know our own market and customer dynamics to a large extent, this would allow us to relate and even explore the market more easily. Besides being an auto head, what's better than knowing your own auto market better

I reached out to a few of my contacts in RE Chennai (all people who I met as a customer and turned out as friends). They totally supported the idea and helped us onboard swiftly.

April 2024

3 months flew by, we were due to start our internships in another 3 weeks, with over 10 products in the middleweight segment constituting 93.8% market share, we were certain to learn a lot from Royal Enfields customer experience, dealership network and business aspects. Once we know what's happening on the ground we can figure out how we can make things even better.

One evening we were discussing this with my batch-mates. It was at this point Vasisht floated the idea, he looked at me and said "It will take 6 days to send our bike from home to Delhi ". I knew what he intended by this, I could already see an All India Ride to Kerala brewing in his head.

This was the time the whole of North was experiencing intense heatwaves. The whole night I sat wondering if such a ride would be possible, riding 2 bikes across the country sounded too much for me, but the thought of being able to stop at all Royal Enfield dealerships along the way, getting to experience the regional differences and probably gather some data about the regional market and individual trends, was quite a lucrative idea.

At 3 in the morning, Vasisht knocked at my hostel room, I was still awake checking distance and possible routes. I told him the shortest route itself would be 6-7 days of riding, which I'm uncertain of doing in this heat. He smiled and said, my classic 350 will be sent from home tomorrow by train, we can ride in turns with one bike so that it's less stressful in this heat. I just said "OK".

May 2nd 2024

2 days back we went to Chandigarh picked up the motorcycle and brought it to Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. With a quick ride plan in hand, we ordered most of our essentials including a tent and riding gear to be delivered to our friends in Delhi, so that we could pick them up on the way. The motorcycle also needed a full fluid change and checkup before we started. Anyway, we decided to start off on a clear noon, with the bag secured and our spirits high.

With the IIT Mandi Campus in the background, we decided to take a stop at Rishi Markandeya temple near the IIT campus in Kamand.

Vasisht being his usual poser self for pictures.

Local folklore relates the story of how Shiva protected Markandeya from the clutches of death, personified as Yama.

We started down to Mandi town which is 21 Kms away, the nearest Royal Enfield SC also happens to be there. We reached the dealership, Riverpool Royal Enfield by around 4PM, I had no hopes of getting the bike serviced and checked that day since we were too late and didn't even have a booking made, anyway we met the service manager and explained our ride plan, and to our surprise, he instantly took the bike in for service and assured us to finish everything within 3 hrs.

As we waited we met motorists from all over the world, solo riders and some in groups, all of them stopping here for a final check before they entered Manali, and all of them had the same destination "Leh".

As we were talking to them, the service advisor explained how Royal Enfield has a support team station just an hour away from the last motorable road in India, and has a region-specific program where riders can inform RE about their Ride Plan to Leh and a RE local representative will assist them with route information and ride technical throughout their ride.

We spent the next hour at the dealership checking out the bikes and just observing pointers while making notes on various customer aspects.

With that being said we made some good friends there, they wished us Good luck for the ride and left us with happy waves.

Mandi to Chandigarh

We kicked off back to the roads, with Chandigarh planned as our first stop, so far we have made no hotel bookings or any route plans made, so we decided we'll chart things once we reach Delhi. We rang up our classmate Vidit, who gladly invited us to stop over at his home in Chandigarh.

Thanks to the elevation and longer days, despite of being 6 pm, we had some daylight as we left for Chandigarh which is 3.5 Hrs away.

Nothing like Ghar ka Khana, thanks to Vidit and his family, we finally had some good home food after our months of mess food.

We decided to have a quick night drive around the city after dinner. I would have loved to attach more pictures from Rose Garden and Boat Club, unfortunately, the night pics I took don't do any justice to how beautiful this city is.

Chandigarh to Delhi

We started off a bit early, to avoid the super sunny morning. We waved goodbye to Vidit's family and rode straight to Delhi.

Though it was just 250 Kms to Delhi, some unexpected congestion on the road slowed us up. By now the heat has started to take a toll on us, after being in the comfortable Himachal climate for too long, this was too much to handle.

Here's one picture from the three water breaks we had until we reached Delhi.

From an average of 10 Celsius at Himachal, all the way up to 37 celsius in Delhi was quite a jump. We decided to stay the night with some friends in Delhi, and plan up what next.

So far, as per the heat maps, taking any of the coastal roads would be a very bad idea, the ongoing elections were another concern. We decided to take the middle route as per the following.

Delhi-Agra-Jhansi-Jabalpur-Hyderabad-Bangalore-Mysore-Kerala

Delhi to Agra

We left Delhi by morning 8AM,

While maps showed a 4Hr Ride, it took us almost 6 to reach with 2 breaks in between, the heat kept growing Intense, we just wanted to reach Agra somehow, where our friend Pratyush lives. We decided to stay there for the night do some sightseeing the next day and leave the day after to Jhansi.

We reached Agra by noon, got lost twice in an ally, and lost the bike keys once, but sorted it in between. Somehow we reached our friend's home by 3PM. After freshening up at Pratyush's home, we finished a dealer visit nearby.

Next day morning, we treated ourselves to some Agra Bedai

And then we headed straight to the Taj.

After 2 Hrs of roaming, we definitely knew we had to get back and sort things for Jhansi tomorrow.

Me and Vasisht, we were literally telling each other, "Finally we made this ride happen".

Evening we visited another RE Service center nearby, got the chain cleaned and lubed.

Agra to Jhansi

We packed our bags and started early to Jhansi, by now Vasisht has become an expert in securing the bag.

With the heat building, we were taking breaks every hour and strictly adhered to no rides from 11AM-3PM

A quick stop at Jhansi Fort

I reached out to a friend, whom I had not met in 13 years, I knew he had recently posted and Jhansi and upon contacting him, he happily made arrangements for our stay at Jhansi.

Despite being late, it was incredible to catch up with an old friend after 13 long years. How I wish we had more time in Jhansi, now with the heat building up intensely, we had to start riding early.

Jhansi to Jabalpur

We've been having sugarcane juice and water breaks alternatively, throughout the ride.

After an early breakfast we decided to ride straight to Jabalpur, Col.Lee who I fondly remember from Rockers REunited stayed at Jabalpur, he was riding with us on his GT535 when he was posted in Kerala, the last time we met was in 2017, we decided to catch up that evening and it was a sheer delight to meet a fellow rider after ages.

Not only did Col.Lee meet us, but he called in a few of his usual riding friends in Jabalpur to meet, it was fun listening to all of their riding stories and experiences with different REs like the Himalayan and Meteor.

Next day we spent some time checking the local dealership, we also had the throttle cable replacement done at an RE SC.

So far, at every RE Service Center, when we mentioned we are riding, they have given us priority tags and made sure we had a seamless experience without having to wait much

Jabalpur to Hyderabad

We were running short of time, I had to get to Bangalore by the 12th for a meeting. We decided to ride straight to Hyderabad, on our way we stopped to put up a tent and rest for a while, BAM!

There was a sudden gust of sand, we literally had to run for shelter. To top things up, it started raining, and while all the bags had rain covers, getting our rain jackets from the bag was a task we did not even want to attempt.

We parked in for around an hour for the rains to settle in and then we resumed.

Came across this beautiful field as we were riding down.

By around 8 PM, we reached Adialabad, with no good stays nearby our location we decided to tent up that night.

Rise and Shine, wasn't really the most comfortable sleep, but I did sleep.

We stopped again at 2 dealerships on the way, just casually checking out, and of course, made some wonderful friends there.

After another 5-hour ride, we finally reached Hyderabad

There's this wonderful feeling when you travel for so many days and finally, you end up in a place you're familiar with.

First thing in the evening, we headed straight for some tea at Niloufer

Always been a fan of their tea and bun, finally, we called it a night after meeting several old friends from college and school at CyberCity

Hyderabad to Bengaluru

We decided to do this 600Km stretch without many stops, after leaving early morning from Hyderabad, we took our lunch break en route.

Sometime before entering Bengaluru we stopped at this spot, camped around and took a break.

Bengaluru always felt like a second home from Kerala, with most of our friends and batch mates around, we got 2 full days of rest in Bengaluru, giving us ample time for dealer visits and catching up with many good old friends.

Bengaluru to Kerala

It's been 10 days since we left Mandi, without losing much more time, we left early morning straight to Mysore, stopped at Payana Museum and entered Kerala through Bandipur.

Such an amazing sight to see this after spending so many days on the move.

We spent the night in Calicut Kerala, and moved to Cochin Regional Office the next day morning to meet our manager.

Finally at the Royal Enfield Regional Office Cochin

13 Days across India, covering 11 states and with visits at 23 Royal Enfield stores along the way, this ride down from IIT Mandi to Royal Enfield Regional Office Cochin was purely propelled by passion, the changes we noticed across the country in customer interests, experience and perception is sure to help us during our time with Royal Enfield.

I would like to thank all our friends, family and beloved brotherhood of riders for all the support. Finally a "Thankyou" to the amazing team at Royal Enfield for supporting me as a manufacturer while a customer and now as a mentor while we steer our career.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I will be primarily riding the bike on broken/potholed roads of Bangalore and occasional highway tours of 100-300 kms.

BHPian MDED recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Dear Fellow BHPians,

Preface:

I recently sold my RE Classic 350 2017 model with 40,000 kms on the ODO for a decent price. The main reason for selling the Classic was "vibrations". In Bangalore traffic, the vibrations at slow speeds and at high speeds were causing pain and numbness in the right hand. The bike had done around 38000 kms on the ODO and was maintained in mint condition (I have always kept my bikes in mint condition, right from Passion Pro-2009, to Unicorn-2017). I was able to fetch a good price on OLX and sold the same. To be on the safe side, I filled the sale documents online on the VAHAN portal got the signature from the buyer uploaded all the signed documents online, made an appointment for document submission at RTO, and ensured that the new buyer submitted the same at the concerned RTO. Within 2 days of the sale, RTO approved the ownership transfer, and on mPARIVAHAN the new owner's name reflected.

The conundrum:

Prior to selling my classic 350, I had taken Test Rides of Speed 400 and CB 350 RS. I did not consider any other bike, as I am 35 plus and don't like the naked (fiber) bikes and prefer retro style relaxed riding posture bikes. Hence, kept only these two bikes for my active consideration.

The paper specs of Speed 400 vis-a-vis CB 350 RS appeared more tilted in favour of Speed 400, however, I am unable to decide which bike it should be. In the meantime, I approached Keerthi Triumph for a quotation. Their quotation included Incidental, Logistics, Transportation, and registration service charges of Rs.4,824/-. I inquired with the SA and he informed me that these charges have to be paid. I reasoned with him mentioning that these are illegal charges and as per Honourable SC and HC of Delhi order, dealers are barred from charging the same. However, he and his management held their ground with regard to levy of this charge. I also obtained a quote from another Triumph dealer (KHIVRAJ) and their charge was Rs.6,383/-. Khivraj said they won't discuss these charges and it has to be paid.

To validate/counter their claim with regards to these charges, I obtained quotations from Hyderabad, Goa, and New Delhi dealers and all of them mentioned "Handling Charges" of Rs.1500/-.

After having made up my mind that it has to be Speed 400, I wrote to Triumph India customer care, and the escalation was sent to Keerthi. The senior official from Keerthi said he will waive off the charges partially and like other dealers will charge Rs.1500 for handling.

I am still aghast at the attitude of the dealers, wherein despite court rulings they are still collecting handling charges illegally. To find out whether Honda also charges this, I reached out to aBigWing dealer in Bangalore and in their quote, no such charge was mentioned.

Considering the overall fracas created by Triumph, I am still in two minds about whether to go ahead with Speed 400 or go for CB 350 RS.

What I like:

Speed 400:

• Low-end grunt and torque
• Excellent suspension and clutch
• Feels like an upgrade from Classic 350

Honda CB 350 RS:

• Brand value in India and its engine reliability
• Seat and the way it looks
• The exhaust note

What I don't like:

Speed 400:

• Heat from the engine/radiator are
• Soft seats
• Dealer attitude

Honda CB 350 RS:

• Doesn't feel like an upgrade from Classic
• Silly front mudguard, which is of no use
• Rusting reported by owners

Hence, requesting the learned forum members to help me in choosing from the above bikes. I will be primarily riding the bike on broken/potholed roads of Bangalore and occasional highway tours of 100-300 kms.

NOTE: Please do not pay any handling/logistic charges for any vehicle which you propose to buy.

If you have read it to the end, I sincerely thank you for your time.

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