Royal Enfield are getting up to date and I am loving it!
Thunderbird
So, I saw the new Thunderbird 500 on the road a few weeks ago. My God ! They have done a fabulous job on the bike. Not only does it look amazing, they have also upgraded the technology quite a bit.
The headlights with the projector in the middle, the rear lights with LEDs and the hazard light function makes it quite hip. I am quite green with envy for those features, will try to figure out how to get them incorporated in to my Classic 500.
Read a few reviews of the bike and uniformly everyone has good things to say about it.
Zigwheels review – I think this one was the most detailed of the lot.
The one thing that I found a little unexpected and possibly a disappointment was the sound of the bike. The new silencer is shaped completely differently and the bike has more of a roar, no thump.
I mean, seriously guys, this is a brand which needs a thump.
If I were in the market for a 500, the lack of thump would really make me reconsider. So far, I am happy with my Classic 500. I will be even more happy when I can improve the light hardware of my bike. J
Now, if they can get their distribution sorted and get the waiting period down it would be superb
Accessories
Finally, finally Royal Enfield have woken up to the fact that there are fans like us who might actually spend money on Royal Enfield branded stuff. They have made available Tees and Polos for the merchandise section, a bit steep I would say but as long as the quality is right there should be takers.
More interestingly they have brought in some serious riding gear. Jackets, boots and eyewear all made for touring. The jackets are not too bad, though I do find them expensive, but when I look at comparable ones on amazon they are in the ballpark. I have not actually used any of the stuff so only have web images to compare but the RE stuff does seem quite good. The Nylon riding jacket at 7K INR is quite decent and the riding boots at 5.5 K are pretty neat too.
I think there is a lot more they can do in the accessory department but finally there is hope.
Link to the accessory section on their site
Personally, this jacket is my favorite.
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Café Racer
Lastly, the next big thing I am waiting for this year is the café racer.
The bike looks amazing, though I am pretty certain it will be priced above the Classic 500 but it seems to be specced higher too with an engine of 535 CC and BHP of 35+.
That’s all folks !
Hope this one was of use to someone out there or at least an interesting post. Hoping to go on a medium long ride shortly, will post details about that too.
Till then, keep riding and keep safe !
Disclaimer: None of the images here is mine, the RE website is the source for the Tbird and jacket images and the news articles are the source for the cafe racer images.
Two Wheels to Move the Soul 
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