Thread Starter
#1
Hi TAI,
I have always wished and hoped to create an ownership review although I was not ready enough to take care of my Vehicles like my fellow petrol heads here, But finally here I am.
This dates back to August 2022 when I felt I can finally afford a bike by my own earning and started looking in the market for options
Options :
FZS 3.0 DLX
Pulsar N series
MT15
TVS Raider
TVS Ronin
Hunter 350 ( Wild card entry )
The final choice :
Now this might seem a lot of bikes from not exactly the same price segment or bike category but there were a lot of factors and thoughts going on such as initial price, Average and service cost. Comfort for Pillion and especially my mother who seldomly travels with me on a two wheeler. I was almost finalized for FZS 3.0 Because of a well rounded package in terms of looks, Average, Brand reliability and having extensively used an FZS back in the day, But then TVS launched ronin, Comfortable, Pretty good engine although a bit low on height considering I am 6 ft, although who knew RE was about to launch a bike that would turn out to be Bike of the year and when I came to know about it I was head over heels... Alloy wheels, Dual Disc, ABS, Same reliable torquey engine on a relatively smaller and lighter bike sounded perfect and without any test drive as such I started making some calls to get the bike earliest with the best financing options and there was a bike ready that instant but it was just too quick to arrange funds for down payment and it was not the color I was looking for, So had a glass of water and let it go. By first week September got all the finance approvals, dealer decided and so on and finally received a SMS stating * NAME * Congratulations on booking your royal Enfield, Just like any Childs dream of owning or riding a bullet, this was one of the most emotional moment and I finally felt, I reached an achievement. Now fast forward 2 months later, Being busy in work and life although waiting daily excitedly got a call, The showroom has got their lot of bikes as Diwali is approaching, You can collect your bike. As I was not available for a couple of days, Transferred the down payment as demanded " I want the bike tomorrow ",tp which I was received a "Yes"
The " D Day "
November 10 2023
Woke up early could contain the excitement, Got a call from them stating visit at 2 pm to collect the bike, Reached the showroom and there she was, Hunter 350 dapper white looking as perfect as possible, Did some PDI and came the rest of my family following. Did the unveiling of the bike with my mother ( Once an owner and rider of the older Yezdi and Bullets herself) , The smile and happiness on her face could be my most proud moment. The first start of the bike and the ride bike home along with my mother, Ahh the thumps, Smooth and powerful engine, I booked this bike without any test drive because of the brand and the features available and the first ride was a great surprise for me.
The Rides :
Had multiple rides since got the bike, My bike clocked 100km the first 24 hours and 1500km + before the initial 30 days. The ride was quite stiff and bumpy at the very start but seems a very comfortable suspension at the current day. The ghats and curves are handled really well because of the stiff suspension and the wide 140mm section tyres. The engine and bike runs really well uptil 100kmph effortlessly. Coming to the mileage, the bike is returning a fairly stable 30kmpl for the entire year and a bit more when have frequent highway trips. Long ride during monsoon clearly means a pattern on your back by the sprinkles from the rear tyre, The seat was not at all safe or comfortable before the back rest was fitted.
The service experience :
Since from the first service my experience has been a bit hit or miss. I reached the ASC 45 days as per manual although the KM crossed the 1500 km mark and my first service was lapsed. The first service included Oil change, Tappet settings and the basics, Due to the lapse my first service was counted as the second so that means I lost 1 free service that was provided but the action taken on the bike is as per KM and age. The second service was a breeze with the cost total up to something 200/-ish, As nooil change was required and I reject the Chain clean and lube as I carry along my own motul kit. The third service, This is where things went for a downfall, The usual store manager was not available as he went for holidays. My bike faced an issue where the Brakes would not apply neither front or back due to Front brakes pads being depleted and something wrong with rear brake which I was not sure about. Now as its time for usual service and potential threat for driving I reach the ASC
and Inform them that I will be dropping the bike tomorrow morning will you be able to return by evening to which I receive an affirmation, Reached ASC which is away from where I live and has a toll plaza in the route at 9 am and to my suprise no one is available, had to wait till 10:30 am before someone actually opened the ASC, they took my bike and my first request was to please place the battery on charge as my bike is facing issue when cranking, Now waiting till 5:30 pm and recieving an SMS that your bike would be ready by 6, Reached the ASC only to see the bike was standing in the exact place and position where left, Battery not placed on charge, Oil not changed no work done at all and I was told we were just about to call you, Call me when ? After the time you had informed via TXT, Gave them a chance as per previous experience and told will be visiting tomorrow, Fast forward next day. Oil changed but battery not yet connected to charging, Rear brakes not working and recieved an accusation that the Master Cylinder got damaged because I poured some Dot 3 oil, " No sir I have not, The brakes suddenly stopped working in middle of the road had to request a mechanic to have to look where he bled the brakes and he clearly used dot 4 because I double checked " anyway its fine, Change it .. We cannot because part not available and you will need to leave bike for 1 more day. Which I could not has had an urgent work trip to go to. I signed a form and took the bike without rear brakes, Next day back from trip got my bike back to the ASC. got the cylinder connected by evening but then they ruined the ABS of the bike which has not yet been repaired by the ASC, I was stated we wont be accepting any bikes up until after diwali, so let us see how that goes.
Accessories and Care:
Since I have got the bike I make sure to lube the chains every 500-700km, Mostly after a jet wash first
Every 3 months I have applied a self coating of Ceramic coating, Gives a excellent shine to the pretty Dapper white
Got the Slider kind of leg guard for the Bike, Pretty strong and adds a good look to the bike
An aftermarket back rest, Got a good deal off of flipkart, Its a year now and its holding pretty well
A louder horn because as a person who seldomly uses horn the horn was very weak when actually required.
A sidebox from studds. Now this box has been frowned upon by a few friends but for me on the other hand, It is very practical and actually looks good on the bile.
That's it folks, If you have made it till here that's a real honor for me and Kindly ignore my choice of words, Grammar and Typos as this is the first ever time I was able to write an ownership review
Thanks
I have always wished and hoped to create an ownership review although I was not ready enough to take care of my Vehicles like my fellow petrol heads here, But finally here I am.
This dates back to August 2022 when I felt I can finally afford a bike by my own earning and started looking in the market for options
Options :
FZS 3.0 DLX
Pulsar N series
MT15
TVS Raider
TVS Ronin
Hunter 350 ( Wild card entry )
The final choice :
Now this might seem a lot of bikes from not exactly the same price segment or bike category but there were a lot of factors and thoughts going on such as initial price, Average and service cost. Comfort for Pillion and especially my mother who seldomly travels with me on a two wheeler. I was almost finalized for FZS 3.0 Because of a well rounded package in terms of looks, Average, Brand reliability and having extensively used an FZS back in the day, But then TVS launched ronin, Comfortable, Pretty good engine although a bit low on height considering I am 6 ft, although who knew RE was about to launch a bike that would turn out to be Bike of the year and when I came to know about it I was head over heels... Alloy wheels, Dual Disc, ABS, Same reliable torquey engine on a relatively smaller and lighter bike sounded perfect and without any test drive as such I started making some calls to get the bike earliest with the best financing options and there was a bike ready that instant but it was just too quick to arrange funds for down payment and it was not the color I was looking for, So had a glass of water and let it go. By first week September got all the finance approvals, dealer decided and so on and finally received a SMS stating * NAME * Congratulations on booking your royal Enfield, Just like any Childs dream of owning or riding a bullet, this was one of the most emotional moment and I finally felt, I reached an achievement. Now fast forward 2 months later, Being busy in work and life although waiting daily excitedly got a call, The showroom has got their lot of bikes as Diwali is approaching, You can collect your bike. As I was not available for a couple of days, Transferred the down payment as demanded " I want the bike tomorrow ",tp which I was received a "Yes"
The " D Day "
November 10 2023
Woke up early could contain the excitement, Got a call from them stating visit at 2 pm to collect the bike, Reached the showroom and there she was, Hunter 350 dapper white looking as perfect as possible, Did some PDI and came the rest of my family following. Did the unveiling of the bike with my mother ( Once an owner and rider of the older Yezdi and Bullets herself) , The smile and happiness on her face could be my most proud moment. The first start of the bike and the ride bike home along with my mother, Ahh the thumps, Smooth and powerful engine, I booked this bike without any test drive because of the brand and the features available and the first ride was a great surprise for me.
The Rides :
Had multiple rides since got the bike, My bike clocked 100km the first 24 hours and 1500km + before the initial 30 days. The ride was quite stiff and bumpy at the very start but seems a very comfortable suspension at the current day. The ghats and curves are handled really well because of the stiff suspension and the wide 140mm section tyres. The engine and bike runs really well uptil 100kmph effortlessly. Coming to the mileage, the bike is returning a fairly stable 30kmpl for the entire year and a bit more when have frequent highway trips. Long ride during monsoon clearly means a pattern on your back by the sprinkles from the rear tyre, The seat was not at all safe or comfortable before the back rest was fitted.
The service experience :
Since from the first service my experience has been a bit hit or miss. I reached the ASC 45 days as per manual although the KM crossed the 1500 km mark and my first service was lapsed. The first service included Oil change, Tappet settings and the basics, Due to the lapse my first service was counted as the second so that means I lost 1 free service that was provided but the action taken on the bike is as per KM and age. The second service was a breeze with the cost total up to something 200/-ish, As nooil change was required and I reject the Chain clean and lube as I carry along my own motul kit. The third service, This is where things went for a downfall, The usual store manager was not available as he went for holidays. My bike faced an issue where the Brakes would not apply neither front or back due to Front brakes pads being depleted and something wrong with rear brake which I was not sure about. Now as its time for usual service and potential threat for driving I reach the ASC
and Inform them that I will be dropping the bike tomorrow morning will you be able to return by evening to which I receive an affirmation, Reached ASC which is away from where I live and has a toll plaza in the route at 9 am and to my suprise no one is available, had to wait till 10:30 am before someone actually opened the ASC, they took my bike and my first request was to please place the battery on charge as my bike is facing issue when cranking, Now waiting till 5:30 pm and recieving an SMS that your bike would be ready by 6, Reached the ASC only to see the bike was standing in the exact place and position where left, Battery not placed on charge, Oil not changed no work done at all and I was told we were just about to call you, Call me when ? After the time you had informed via TXT, Gave them a chance as per previous experience and told will be visiting tomorrow, Fast forward next day. Oil changed but battery not yet connected to charging, Rear brakes not working and recieved an accusation that the Master Cylinder got damaged because I poured some Dot 3 oil, " No sir I have not, The brakes suddenly stopped working in middle of the road had to request a mechanic to have to look where he bled the brakes and he clearly used dot 4 because I double checked " anyway its fine, Change it .. We cannot because part not available and you will need to leave bike for 1 more day. Which I could not has had an urgent work trip to go to. I signed a form and took the bike without rear brakes, Next day back from trip got my bike back to the ASC. got the cylinder connected by evening but then they ruined the ABS of the bike which has not yet been repaired by the ASC, I was stated we wont be accepting any bikes up until after diwali, so let us see how that goes.
Accessories and Care:
Since I have got the bike I make sure to lube the chains every 500-700km, Mostly after a jet wash first
Every 3 months I have applied a self coating of Ceramic coating, Gives a excellent shine to the pretty Dapper white
Got the Slider kind of leg guard for the Bike, Pretty strong and adds a good look to the bike
An aftermarket back rest, Got a good deal off of flipkart, Its a year now and its holding pretty well
A louder horn because as a person who seldomly uses horn the horn was very weak when actually required.
A sidebox from studds. Now this box has been frowned upon by a few friends but for me on the other hand, It is very practical and actually looks good on the bile.
That's it folks, If you have made it till here that's a real honor for me and Kindly ignore my choice of words, Grammar and Typos as this is the first ever time I was able to write an ownership review
Thanks
