Reviews of Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350

Style

definitely , thunderbird 350 is not that capable as its bigger sibling thunderbird 500 .

But still the new re tb350 copies the look of tb500 and gives a great style statement.

Engine performance, fuel economy and gearbox

i have a thunderbird350 and have bought it on may , 2014 . The engine performance is good .

The average it gives is about 36 kmpl . Gearbox coulb be catchy could fell into the wrong gears .

Royal enfield needs to imporve on this .

Ride quality & handling

riding quality is best among all other re companions .

Final words

despite of some cons , it's worth a buy .

Areas of improvement

gearbox and handling .

Pros

style statement , digital meters , cruiser feel

cons

handling could be better

Style i am 53 years, 6 foot 2" and ths style of thunderbird 350 suits my profile.

Engine performance, fuel economy and gearbox overall easy to ride and steady at around 80 km / hour. Not meant for beyond that speed.

Ride quality & handling easy to ride and handle.

Final words i thought a lot before i purchased a new thunderbird 350 at my age of 53 years with 6 foot 2" height and i have not been biking since my : yezdi " days, 25 years ago. I am certainly enjoying riding my new thunderbird 350 and its a steady , easy to ride cruiser.

Areas of improvement wish, it had a little bit of more torque.

Pros

excellent riding , steady handling, stylish and solid track record ..

Cons

wish it had more power ...

The buying experience was a bliss.As it's no surprise that at this price range,an indian consumer has a default mindset...To go for a royal enfield.Same was the case with me.But me being a bike enthusiast was always and still am sceptical about the brand solely because of the fact that they do not want to add features to the bike.I agree...People buy a royal enfield for the cult following it has and the sheer road presence,still....Adding a little more value would make the bike even a better value proposition.

Coming to the bike itself...I chose the thunderbird because the classic was too much of a cliché...Add to the fact that for a little premium over the classic 350...The end user will get a rear disc, projector headlamp,bigger tank and a fuel gauge(which is useless to be true...Never gives the exact reading).The thunderbird is also preferable for people of a relatively low height because the saddle height is relatively lower when compared to other royal enfield without compensating much on the ground clearance.

The service experience till now has been average to be precise but it was anything but bad.The people at the showroom and the service center are very cooperative and work like professionals.

Pros-

1.Torque...Lots of it....-Now because the bike has a larger bore,there is ample amount of torque available on the bike.This helps a lot because it does not require frequent gear changes.A lot of people might disagree with me on this but that's what i have experienced as of yet

2.Looks -....The bike looks like a proper cruiser and grabs eyeballs wherever i go...It has more chrome than google :p.....It's been almost 3 years now that i've owned this bike.But the bike still has got its charm and road presence

3.Suits every rider despite height variation- now this is a very big advantage of owning a thunderbird.Because of the low saddle height and the adjustable handlebars....The bike can accommodate rider of varying heights.It also makes the bike a proper cruiser and is helpful in long rides

cons-

1.Royal enfield skimping on features-adding little features especially abs is a must nowadays.For a bike which costs over a lakh and weighs close to 200 kgs ....A proper dual channel abs system must be provided.Royal enfield have introduced abs in the bikes they sell abroad...I hope they bring it here asap

2 because of the weight and the large handlebars,it's very tough to maneuver the bike in traffic and through gaps

3.Quality issues- royal enfields sure do come up with their own set of glitches.The decompressor which is now inside the uc engine still makes the typical irritating sound which is common in all royal enfields.It can be fixed by just fixing up the spring coil inside the engine but apparently the service guys don't know about it or they have been told not to open up the engine unless it's very important.The fuel gauge is just for the show.Doenst work.And proper brake pads are required

About the Reviewer

Firstly, royal enfield thunderbird is not a sports bike where people expects high pickup and mileage.

Riding experience -

I am driving this bike from last 2 years. And review is after 10000kms.

It is so comfortable even after driving 700km in a day i was not feeling tired.

Pros -

1. Killing looks

2. Built - iron body

3. Comfort - seating posture is good enough

4. Mileage - 33 in city , 38-39 on highway 300km in 7.6 litre petrol

5. Pillion comfort - has back rest

6. Led head lamp and tail lamp

7. Side stand indicator

8. Digital clock

9. Analogue speedometer

10. Rpm indicator

11. Pass switch

12. Disk brakes

13. Vehicle stability is good on highways due to heaviness

14. Smooth clutch

15. Fuel tank of 20l

16. Tyre - mrf tyres

17. Cloth guard at rear tyre

18. Maintenance cost - approx. 300rs

per quarter for servicing - 2000/pa

19. Silencer is of good quality with awesome noise free sound.

20. Handle is comfortable too.

21. Air valve in tyres are of good quality and not even punctured once in 10000kms. Due to proper air pressure maintained in tyres.

Cons -

1. Vibrations on the handle

2. Rear disk brake is not upto the mark and acts like drum brakes.

3. Rear tyre drags sometimes

4. Gear box stucks sometimes and make noise

5. Head lamp is not too powerful - 55w only not good for highways

About the Reviewer

Style best in it's style. Uncomparable.

Engine performance, fuel economy and gearbox good enough. Gear box will be hard for normal bike riders where we have soft gears.

Ride quality & handling ride quality is awesome. But rear disk suddenly fails sometimes, which is a risk for life. Not able to get the solution for it.

Final words except that break issue, i am not worried of anything.

Areas of improvement designing the fuel tank in some more fashions. Rear disk surely has the scope for improving a lot.

Pros

comfortable ride

cons

rear disk failures

I bought my royal enfield thunderbird from showroom ,after took try on every model of enfield. I choose thunderbird because...1.The most comfortable bike in all enfields. 2 the most stylish of all models in enfield.3 maintenance is very reasonable.4 balancing u cant imagine.5 easy to ride and control.

About the Reviewer

When i looking for a bike i didn't really have much options to look for. I didn't really like low seating of avenger and high seating of pulsar 200 ns, no duke was not considered as it was a wild horse not exactly comfortable. The updated thunderbird 350 was recently launched that time in 2013 was the most updated and modern looking bike in the royal enfield Indian line-up. Loved the looks when saw it first time, big bold black fuel tank, a rear 120 mm tyre, rear disc brakes, digital - analogue instrument cluster , and an overall tank like looking solid motorcycle really grabbed attention on road.

Buying experience was all good except for the fact that dealership staff don't really respect you, kept me waiting for at least 2 hours before even starting the process for delivery. At that time( mid 2013) this bike had the least waiting period of just 20 days and hence buying experience was just fine no hassle ,the price was introductory and very less from what it is now.

Riding experience: the first time i rode this bike, whoa i said, so cool really cool. Unlike the bulky tank like appearance riding was really easy. I was easily able to ride it back home with a pillion in delhi traffic that to in evening on a average weekday. Highway rides were even more comfortable as you didn't have to stop for nothing since tank capacity is massive 19 liters. Sometimes it felt tiring in bumper to bumper traffic, riding on clutch.

Looks: no doubt about the looks. For a highway cruising machine it's best in this budget.

Performance: sometimes the power feels adequate sometimes not. For daily commute day to day traffic you will feel the power and torque all right even with a pillion on-board. Otherwise on highways it is less, as you reach the speed of 80 kmph, really harsh vibrations kick in and you will not feel like riding above that. Even if you do take it above 80 engine starts to get strained with lack of air, mileage decreases sharply to 20 - 22 kmpl. Brakes are just ok, the re provided brake pads just burn out too quickly. You feel need the of abs on rainy days and emergency situations as when braked hard without proper procedure the wheels will get locked and skid, and a skidding mass of 250kgs (with rider) is no good.

Now talking about the quality, there are few bits that are below standard. For example the buttons on the instrument cluster will become useless within few months and they cannot be replaced individually, the whole cluster needs to be replaced which costs about 6000 inr. Another glitch there is in the fuel tank fuel reading sensor and needs to be replaced often. The oil seals on front forks can give up anytime and that's really problematic. Got the front fork oil seals replaced and forks filled about 6 times in 4 years that too when i do only highway rides and daily commute and no off roading. Since the company doesn't provide tubeless tyres that's also a negative, when you get a punctured tyre dragging around a 200kg mass and looking for someone willing to fix it is no easy task. Always need to keep a extra clutch wire as the clutch wire can give up anytime without any reason or the quality must be so bad, though replacing it is easy. The lights are really really good no doubt about that.

Service and maintenance.: most of the periodic services can be done yourself after free services and warranty are over to keep the costs low. Just do as mentioned in service manual and there are a lot of videos available for basic service and maintenance. Oil filter and oil change is easy, use good quality synthetic oil if don't want to do it frequently. If somethings broken get it repaired or changed on re service centre only. At the time when i bought the bike not all service centres were good as the mechanics were not well trained and taught about the bike. And services cost around 2500 inr every 3 months or 2500kms. Changing to tubeless tyres is must.

Lastly to summarise the pros and cons

Pros: 1. Fun to ride till 80kmph with good 40 kmpl mileage

2. Built quality solid

3. Rear disc brakes

4. Fuel gauge

5. Comfortable seating position

6. Nice lights

7. Big fuel tank with 19l capacity

Cons:

1. Tube tyres

2. No abs

3. Bad quality of parts like fork oil seals

4. Bad quality spark clutch bearing

5. Vibrations above 80kmph

6. Bad quality switch gear on instrument cluster

7. Incompetent staff on many dealerships

About the Reviewer

Buy only if: 1) you want to show off and can't afford harley. 2) want powerful ride (although many other bikes are available with more power than this)3) size (the only advantage over every bike)4) you love driving (about 50km/day average running)Don't buy b'coz :1) very high maintenance cost after 2 years.2) lack of service good centres (and if you find one they are there to cheat you every time)3) no serious quality check (if you are lucky, you will get a bike which will ride for more than 50k km without any breakdown. But, if not you will get your engine opened even after 10k km)4) spare parts are way too costly (just a meter panel on tb350 costs more than rs. 6000)5) daily average driving is less than 20 km and bike stands idle for more than 10 days at one stretch (believe me this bike is not a fan of standing idle)And the list for not buying goes on...I have written this review after riding my bike for 4 years and spending around 60k during these years. :-(Good luck.

About the Reviewer

Style looks like real bull only.

Engine performance, fuel economy and gearbox perfomance is good,fuel economy and gear box need to improve.

Ride quality & handling comfort is really superb while comparing to classic 350.

Final words in my one month experience i think my bull was right choice for me.

Areas of improvement gear box and clutch.

Pros

i bought my bull last month,i have only driven 750km.I am really impressed with the perfomance.

Cons

clutch and gear box need to be improve.

Style

definitely , thunderbird 350 is not that capable as its bigger sibling thunderbird 500 .

But still the new re tb350 copies the look of tb500 and gives a great style statement.

Engine performance, fuel economy and gearbox

i have a thunderbird350 and have bought it on may , 2014 . The engine performance is good .

The average it gives is about 36 kmpl . Gearbox coulb be catchy could fell into the wrong gears .

Royal enfield needs to imporve on this .

Ride quality & handling

riding quality is best among all other re companions .

Final words

despite of some cons , it's worth a buy .

Areas of improvement

gearbox and handling .

Pros

style statement , digital meters , cruiser feel

cons

handling could be better

Style i am 53 years, 6 foot 2" and ths style of thunderbird 350 suits my profile.

Engine performance, fuel economy and gearbox overall easy to ride and steady at around 80 km / hour. Not meant for beyond that speed.

Ride quality & handling easy to ride and handle.

Final words i thought a lot before i purchased a new thunderbird 350 at my age of 53 years with 6 foot 2" height and i have not been biking since my : yezdi " days, 25 years ago. I am certainly enjoying riding my new thunderbird 350 and its a steady , easy to ride cruiser.

Areas of improvement wish, it had a little bit of more torque.

Pros

excellent riding , steady handling, stylish and solid track record ..

Cons

wish it had more power ...

The buying experience was a bliss.As it's no surprise that at this price range,an indian consumer has a default mindset...To go for a royal enfield.Same was the case with me.But me being a bike enthusiast was always and still am sceptical about the brand solely because of the fact that they do not want to add features to the bike.I agree...People buy a royal enfield for the cult following it has and the sheer road presence,still....Adding a little more value would make the bike even a better value proposition.

Coming to the bike itself...I chose the thunderbird because the classic was too much of a cliché...Add to the fact that for a little premium over the classic 350...The end user will get a rear disc, projector headlamp,bigger tank and a fuel gauge(which is useless to be true...Never gives the exact reading).The thunderbird is also preferable for people of a relatively low height because the saddle height is relatively lower when compared to other royal enfield without compensating much on the ground clearance.

The service experience till now has been average to be precise but it was anything but bad.The people at the showroom and the service center are very cooperative and work like professionals.

Pros-

1.Torque...Lots of it....-Now because the bike has a larger bore,there is ample amount of torque available on the bike.This helps a lot because it does not require frequent gear changes.A lot of people might disagree with me on this but that's what i have experienced as of yet

2.Looks -....The bike looks like a proper cruiser and grabs eyeballs wherever i go...It has more chrome than google :p.....It's been almost 3 years now that i've owned this bike.But the bike still has got its charm and road presence

3.Suits every rider despite height variation- now this is a very big advantage of owning a thunderbird.Because of the low saddle height and the adjustable handlebars....The bike can accommodate rider of varying heights.It also makes the bike a proper cruiser and is helpful in long rides

cons-

1.Royal enfield skimping on features-adding little features especially abs is a must nowadays.For a bike which costs over a lakh and weighs close to 200 kgs ....A proper dual channel abs system must be provided.Royal enfield have introduced abs in the bikes they sell abroad...I hope they bring it here asap

2 because of the weight and the large handlebars,it's very tough to maneuver the bike in traffic and through gaps

3.Quality issues- royal enfields sure do come up with their own set of glitches.The decompressor which is now inside the uc engine still makes the typical irritating sound which is common in all royal enfields.It can be fixed by just fixing up the spring coil inside the engine but apparently the service guys don't know about it or they have been told not to open up the engine unless it's very important.The fuel gauge is just for the show.Doenst work.And proper brake pads are required

About the Reviewer

Firstly, royal enfield thunderbird is not a sports bike where people expects high pickup and mileage.

Riding experience -

I am driving this bike from last 2 years. And review is after 10000kms.

It is so comfortable even after driving 700km in a day i was not feeling tired.

Pros -

1. Killing looks

2. Built - iron body

3. Comfort - seating posture is good enough

4. Mileage - 33 in city , 38-39 on highway 300km in 7.6 litre petrol

5. Pillion comfort - has back rest

6. Led head lamp and tail lamp

7. Side stand indicator

8. Digital clock

9. Analogue speedometer

10. Rpm indicator

11. Pass switch

12. Disk brakes

13. Vehicle stability is good on highways due to heaviness

14. Smooth clutch

15. Fuel tank of 20l

16. Tyre - mrf tyres

17. Cloth guard at rear tyre

18. Maintenance cost - approx. 300rs

per quarter for servicing - 2000/pa

19. Silencer is of good quality with awesome noise free sound.

20. Handle is comfortable too.

21. Air valve in tyres are of good quality and not even punctured once in 10000kms. Due to proper air pressure maintained in tyres.

Cons -

1. Vibrations on the handle

2. Rear disk brake is not upto the mark and acts like drum brakes.

3. Rear tyre drags sometimes

4. Gear box stucks sometimes and make noise

5. Head lamp is not too powerful - 55w only not good for highways

About the Reviewer

Style best in it's style. Uncomparable.

Engine performance, fuel economy and gearbox good enough. Gear box will be hard for normal bike riders where we have soft gears.

Ride quality & handling ride quality is awesome. But rear disk suddenly fails sometimes, which is a risk for life. Not able to get the solution for it.

Final words except that break issue, i am not worried of anything.

Areas of improvement designing the fuel tank in some more fashions. Rear disk surely has the scope for improving a lot.

Pros

comfortable ride

cons

rear disk failures

I bought my royal enfield thunderbird from showroom ,after took try on every model of enfield. I choose thunderbird because...1.The most comfortable bike in all enfields. 2 the most stylish of all models in enfield.3 maintenance is very reasonable.4 balancing u cant imagine.5 easy to ride and control.

About the Reviewer

When i looking for a bike i didn't really have much options to look for. I didn't really like low seating of avenger and high seating of pulsar 200 ns, no duke was not considered as it was a wild horse not exactly comfortable. The updated thunderbird 350 was recently launched that time in 2013 was the most updated and modern looking bike in the royal enfield Indian line-up. Loved the looks when saw it first time, big bold black fuel tank, a rear 120 mm tyre, rear disc brakes, digital - analogue instrument cluster , and an overall tank like looking solid motorcycle really grabbed attention on road.

Buying experience was all good except for the fact that dealership staff don't really respect you, kept me waiting for at least 2 hours before even starting the process for delivery. At that time( mid 2013) this bike had the least waiting period of just 20 days and hence buying experience was just fine no hassle ,the price was introductory and very less from what it is now.

Riding experience: the first time i rode this bike, whoa i said, so cool really cool. Unlike the bulky tank like appearance riding was really easy. I was easily able to ride it back home with a pillion in delhi traffic that to in evening on a average weekday. Highway rides were even more comfortable as you didn't have to stop for nothing since tank capacity is massive 19 liters. Sometimes it felt tiring in bumper to bumper traffic, riding on clutch.

Looks: no doubt about the looks. For a highway cruising machine it's best in this budget.

Performance: sometimes the power feels adequate sometimes not. For daily commute day to day traffic you will feel the power and torque all right even with a pillion on-board. Otherwise on highways it is less, as you reach the speed of 80 kmph, really harsh vibrations kick in and you will not feel like riding above that. Even if you do take it above 80 engine starts to get strained with lack of air, mileage decreases sharply to 20 - 22 kmpl. Brakes are just ok, the re provided brake pads just burn out too quickly. You feel need the of abs on rainy days and emergency situations as when braked hard without proper procedure the wheels will get locked and skid, and a skidding mass of 250kgs (with rider) is no good.

Now talking about the quality, there are few bits that are below standard. For example the buttons on the instrument cluster will become useless within few months and they cannot be replaced individually, the whole cluster needs to be replaced which costs about 6000 inr. Another glitch there is in the fuel tank fuel reading sensor and needs to be replaced often. The oil seals on front forks can give up anytime and that's really problematic. Got the front fork oil seals replaced and forks filled about 6 times in 4 years that too when i do only highway rides and daily commute and no off roading. Since the company doesn't provide tubeless tyres that's also a negative, when you get a punctured tyre dragging around a 200kg mass and looking for someone willing to fix it is no easy task. Always need to keep a extra clutch wire as the clutch wire can give up anytime without any reason or the quality must be so bad, though replacing it is easy. The lights are really really good no doubt about that.

Service and maintenance.: most of the periodic services can be done yourself after free services and warranty are over to keep the costs low. Just do as mentioned in service manual and there are a lot of videos available for basic service and maintenance. Oil filter and oil change is easy, use good quality synthetic oil if don't want to do it frequently. If somethings broken get it repaired or changed on re service centre only. At the time when i bought the bike not all service centres were good as the mechanics were not well trained and taught about the bike. And services cost around 2500 inr every 3 months or 2500kms. Changing to tubeless tyres is must.

Lastly to summarise the pros and cons

Pros: 1. Fun to ride till 80kmph with good 40 kmpl mileage

2. Built quality solid

3. Rear disc brakes

4. Fuel gauge

5. Comfortable seating position

6. Nice lights

7. Big fuel tank with 19l capacity

Cons:

1. Tube tyres

2. No abs

3. Bad quality of parts like fork oil seals

4. Bad quality spark clutch bearing

5. Vibrations above 80kmph

6. Bad quality switch gear on instrument cluster

7. Incompetent staff on many dealerships

About the Reviewer

Buy only if: 1) you want to show off and can't afford harley. 2) want powerful ride (although many other bikes are available with more power than this)3) size (the only advantage over every bike)4) you love driving (about 50km/day average running)Don't buy b'coz :1) very high maintenance cost after 2 years.2) lack of service good centres (and if you find one they are there to cheat you every time)3) no serious quality check (if you are lucky, you will get a bike which will ride for more than 50k km without any breakdown. But, if not you will get your engine opened even after 10k km)4) spare parts are way too costly (just a meter panel on tb350 costs more than rs. 6000)5) daily average driving is less than 20 km and bike stands idle for more than 10 days at one stretch (believe me this bike is not a fan of standing idle)And the list for not buying goes on...I have written this review after riding my bike for 4 years and spending around 60k during these years. :-(Good luck.

About the Reviewer

Style looks like real bull only.

Engine performance, fuel economy and gearbox perfomance is good,fuel economy and gear box need to improve.

Ride quality & handling comfort is really superb while comparing to classic 350.

Final words in my one month experience i think my bull was right choice for me.

Areas of improvement gear box and clutch.

Pros

i bought my bull last month,i have only driven 750km.I am really impressed with the perfomance.

Cons

clutch and gear box need to be improve.

Style

definitely , thunderbird 350 is not that capable as its bigger sibling thunderbird 500 .

But still the new re tb350 copies the look of tb500 and gives a great style statement.

Engine performance, fuel economy and gearbox

i have a thunderbird350 and have bought it on may , 2014 . The engine performance is good .

The average it gives is about 36 kmpl . Gearbox coulb be catchy could fell into the wrong gears .

Royal enfield needs to imporve on this .

Ride quality & handling

riding quality is best among all other re companions .

Final words

despite of some cons , it's worth a buy .

Areas of improvement

gearbox and handling .

Pros

style statement , digital meters , cruiser feel

cons

handling could be better

Style i am 53 years, 6 foot 2" and ths style of thunderbird 350 suits my profile.

Engine performance, fuel economy and gearbox overall easy to ride and steady at around 80 km / hour. Not meant for beyond that speed.

Ride quality & handling easy to ride and handle.

Final words i thought a lot before i purchased a new thunderbird 350 at my age of 53 years with 6 foot 2" height and i have not been biking since my : yezdi " days, 25 years ago. I am certainly enjoying riding my new thunderbird 350 and its a steady , easy to ride cruiser.

Areas of improvement wish, it had a little bit of more torque.

Pros

excellent riding , steady handling, stylish and solid track record ..

Cons

wish it had more power ...

The buying experience was a bliss.As it's no surprise that at this price range,an indian consumer has a default mindset...To go for a royal enfield.Same was the case with me.But me being a bike enthusiast was always and still am sceptical about the brand solely because of the fact that they do not want to add features to the bike.I agree...People buy a royal enfield for the cult following it has and the sheer road presence,still....Adding a little more value would make the bike even a better value proposition.

Coming to the bike itself...I chose the thunderbird because the classic was too much of a cliché...Add to the fact that for a little premium over the classic 350...The end user will get a rear disc, projector headlamp,bigger tank and a fuel gauge(which is useless to be true...Never gives the exact reading).The thunderbird is also preferable for people of a relatively low height because the saddle height is relatively lower when compared to other royal enfield without compensating much on the ground clearance.

The service experience till now has been average to be precise but it was anything but bad.The people at the showroom and the service center are very cooperative and work like professionals.

Pros-

1.Torque...Lots of it....-Now because the bike has a larger bore,there is ample amount of torque available on the bike.This helps a lot because it does not require frequent gear changes.A lot of people might disagree with me on this but that's what i have experienced as of yet

2.Looks -....The bike looks like a proper cruiser and grabs eyeballs wherever i go...It has more chrome than google :p.....It's been almost 3 years now that i've owned this bike.But the bike still has got its charm and road presence

3.Suits every rider despite height variation- now this is a very big advantage of owning a thunderbird.Because of the low saddle height and the adjustable handlebars....The bike can accommodate rider of varying heights.It also makes the bike a proper cruiser and is helpful in long rides

cons-

1.Royal enfield skimping on features-adding little features especially abs is a must nowadays.For a bike which costs over a lakh and weighs close to 200 kgs ....A proper dual channel abs system must be provided.Royal enfield have introduced abs in the bikes they sell abroad...I hope they bring it here asap

2 because of the weight and the large handlebars,it's very tough to maneuver the bike in traffic and through gaps

3.Quality issues- royal enfields sure do come up with their own set of glitches.The decompressor which is now inside the uc engine still makes the typical irritating sound which is common in all royal enfields.It can be fixed by just fixing up the spring coil inside the engine but apparently the service guys don't know about it or they have been told not to open up the engine unless it's very important.The fuel gauge is just for the show.Doenst work.And proper brake pads are required

About the Reviewer

Firstly, royal enfield thunderbird is not a sports bike where people expects high pickup and mileage.

Riding experience -

I am driving this bike from last 2 years. And review is after 10000kms.

It is so comfortable even after driving 700km in a day i was not feeling tired.

Pros -

1. Killing looks

2. Built - iron body

3. Comfort - seating posture is good enough

4. Mileage - 33 in city , 38-39 on highway 300km in 7.6 litre petrol

5. Pillion comfort - has back rest

6. Led head lamp and tail lamp

7. Side stand indicator

8. Digital clock

9. Analogue speedometer

10. Rpm indicator

11. Pass switch

12. Disk brakes

13. Vehicle stability is good on highways due to heaviness

14. Smooth clutch

15. Fuel tank of 20l

16. Tyre - mrf tyres

17. Cloth guard at rear tyre

18. Maintenance cost - approx. 300rs

per quarter for servicing - 2000/pa

19. Silencer is of good quality with awesome noise free sound.

20. Handle is comfortable too.

21. Air valve in tyres are of good quality and not even punctured once in 10000kms. Due to proper air pressure maintained in tyres.

Cons -

1. Vibrations on the handle

2. Rear disk brake is not upto the mark and acts like drum brakes.

3. Rear tyre drags sometimes

4. Gear box stucks sometimes and make noise

5. Head lamp is not too powerful - 55w only not good for highways

About the Reviewer

Style best in it's style. Uncomparable.

Engine performance, fuel economy and gearbox good enough. Gear box will be hard for normal bike riders where we have soft gears.

Ride quality & handling ride quality is awesome. But rear disk suddenly fails sometimes, which is a risk for life. Not able to get the solution for it.

Final words except that break issue, i am not worried of anything.

Areas of improvement designing the fuel tank in some more fashions. Rear disk surely has the scope for improving a lot.

Pros

comfortable ride

cons

rear disk failures

I bought my royal enfield thunderbird from showroom ,after took try on every model of enfield. I choose thunderbird because...1.The most comfortable bike in all enfields. 2 the most stylish of all models in enfield.3 maintenance is very reasonable.4 balancing u cant imagine.5 easy to ride and control.

About the Reviewer

When i looking for a bike i didn't really have much options to look for. I didn't really like low seating of avenger and high seating of pulsar 200 ns, no duke was not considered as it was a wild horse not exactly comfortable. The updated thunderbird 350 was recently launched that time in 2013 was the most updated and modern looking bike in the royal enfield Indian line-up. Loved the looks when saw it first time, big bold black fuel tank, a rear 120 mm tyre, rear disc brakes, digital - analogue instrument cluster , and an overall tank like looking solid motorcycle really grabbed attention on road.

Buying experience was all good except for the fact that dealership staff don't really respect you, kept me waiting for at least 2 hours before even starting the process for delivery. At that time( mid 2013) this bike had the least waiting period of just 20 days and hence buying experience was just fine no hassle ,the price was introductory and very less from what it is now.

Riding experience: the first time i rode this bike, whoa i said, so cool really cool. Unlike the bulky tank like appearance riding was really easy. I was easily able to ride it back home with a pillion in delhi traffic that to in evening on a average weekday. Highway rides were even more comfortable as you didn't have to stop for nothing since tank capacity is massive 19 liters. Sometimes it felt tiring in bumper to bumper traffic, riding on clutch.

Looks: no doubt about the looks. For a highway cruising machine it's best in this budget.

Performance: sometimes the power feels adequate sometimes not. For daily commute day to day traffic you will feel the power and torque all right even with a pillion on-board. Otherwise on highways it is less, as you reach the speed of 80 kmph, really harsh vibrations kick in and you will not feel like riding above that. Even if you do take it above 80 engine starts to get strained with lack of air, mileage decreases sharply to 20 - 22 kmpl. Brakes are just ok, the re provided brake pads just burn out too quickly. You feel need the of abs on rainy days and emergency situations as when braked hard without proper procedure the wheels will get locked and skid, and a skidding mass of 250kgs (with rider) is no good.

Now talking about the quality, there are few bits that are below standard. For example the buttons on the instrument cluster will become useless within few months and they cannot be replaced individually, the whole cluster needs to be replaced which costs about 6000 inr. Another glitch there is in the fuel tank fuel reading sensor and needs to be replaced often. The oil seals on front forks can give up anytime and that's really problematic. Got the front fork oil seals replaced and forks filled about 6 times in 4 years that too when i do only highway rides and daily commute and no off roading. Since the company doesn't provide tubeless tyres that's also a negative, when you get a punctured tyre dragging around a 200kg mass and looking for someone willing to fix it is no easy task. Always need to keep a extra clutch wire as the clutch wire can give up anytime without any reason or the quality must be so bad, though replacing it is easy. The lights are really really good no doubt about that.

Service and maintenance.: most of the periodic services can be done yourself after free services and warranty are over to keep the costs low. Just do as mentioned in service manual and there are a lot of videos available for basic service and maintenance. Oil filter and oil change is easy, use good quality synthetic oil if don't want to do it frequently. If somethings broken get it repaired or changed on re service centre only. At the time when i bought the bike not all service centres were good as the mechanics were not well trained and taught about the bike. And services cost around 2500 inr every 3 months or 2500kms. Changing to tubeless tyres is must.

Lastly to summarise the pros and cons

Pros: 1. Fun to ride till 80kmph with good 40 kmpl mileage

2. Built quality solid

3. Rear disc brakes

4. Fuel gauge

5. Comfortable seating position

6. Nice lights

7. Big fuel tank with 19l capacity

Cons:

1. Tube tyres

2. No abs

3. Bad quality of parts like fork oil seals

4. Bad quality spark clutch bearing

5. Vibrations above 80kmph

6. Bad quality switch gear on instrument cluster

7. Incompetent staff on many dealerships

About the Reviewer

Buy only if: 1) you want to show off and can't afford harley. 2) want powerful ride (although many other bikes are available with more power than this)3) size (the only advantage over every bike)4) you love driving (about 50km/day average running)Don't buy b'coz :1) very high maintenance cost after 2 years.2) lack of service good centres (and if you find one they are there to cheat you every time)3) no serious quality check (if you are lucky, you will get a bike which will ride for more than 50k km without any breakdown. But, if not you will get your engine opened even after 10k km)4) spare parts are way too costly (just a meter panel on tb350 costs more than rs. 6000)5) daily average driving is less than 20 km and bike stands idle for more than 10 days at one stretch (believe me this bike is not a fan of standing idle)And the list for not buying goes on...I have written this review after riding my bike for 4 years and spending around 60k during these years. :-(Good luck.

About the Reviewer

Style looks like real bull only.

Engine performance, fuel economy and gearbox perfomance is good,fuel economy and gear box need to improve.

Ride quality & handling comfort is really superb while comparing to classic 350.

Final words in my one month experience i think my bull was right choice for me.

Areas of improvement gear box and clutch.

Pros

i bought my bull last month,i have only driven 750km.I am really impressed with the perfomance.

Cons

clutch and gear box need to be improve.