15K Kms on my Royal Enfield classic Chrome 500

     It has been a long time since I wrote about my motorcycle drive, The Royal Enfield Classic 500. The last thing I wrote was about the feeling after riding 500Kms. The thing is it took very little time to reach that mile stone. However, the present mile stone of 15K Kms has taken a very, very long time considering the amount of distances and places bikers cover in their journey. But, the drive still feels fresh and every day the drive is new. The adrenaline rush is still the same. The grunt on the bike is still the same. 

     The lockdown gave me the opportunity to drive the bike like I would have dreamt of driving in the Himalayas. Working for a company which cannot afford a lockdown, gave me the opportunity of taking the beast to the sea, and boy, did I take him to the sea, I took him to the ocean. It was like I wasted 20 odd years by waiting on the bike. Waiting on the reason that the bike is so bulky, so heavy. What a journey it has been. I never felt so comfortable on any bike I have driven to date. Even on bikes which are supposed to be comfortable, I have been the opposite. There is a joy when I drive the bike which cannot be expressed, explained. 

     In my (very) younger days, I always thought that going "fast" is what is biking about. Oh, boy, was I wrong. Cruising at a constant speed is what is biking about. It is more about the journey than the destination. Yes, I can hear you, the bottom line is all it matters. But, whenever anybody wants to reason out the causes for the bottom line, then you always try to remember the journey, However, alas, you dont remember much, because all your efforts were on the destination. 

     Newton's laws of motions have been now constrained to the things visible to the naked eye and comprehensible to the naked eye. And when that man told that "Eveybody moves(likes to move) in a straight line and in uniform motion", he knew what he was talking about. There is a certain joy in cruising, There is a certain joy in constant velocity. There is a certain joy in not creating an opposing force, there is a joy in blending. The joy of driving.... 

     The bike is as good as it was bought. It has the same sheen in its chrome finish. In fact the company has now brought the same chrome finish for its 350cc lines of bikes, which was exclusive to the 500cc for all these years. A fresh wash and the bike starts gleaming. It is like it is grinning with its mouth wide open, ear to ear. It is like an invitation to start a new journey. It is like there is no end. It is like you can make the same journey, provided you decide that what matters is the journey and not the destination. It is like.....

First 500 Kms on a Royal Enfield Classic chrome 500

1. The weight is well balanced with a very low CG
2. The seat height is OK. Can be reduced, if  possible with foot rests placed a little ahead, Might be a design disaster but can be tried?
3. The handle bar should be rotated a bit towards the driver's side to allow a little slack in the arms. On sitting at the sweet position on the front seat, the arms are fully stretched out.
4. Vehicle steering lock on the side adds to the retro feel of the bike. I remember the same setup on my old bicycle.
5. The look of the tires is good and road grip is good on asphalted roads(Not yet driven on any muddy roads)
6. The cables positioning and routing can be looked into. They are too naked to my liking. Yes it does add to the retro look, but this is one aspect which can be given a modern touch
7. The front brakes are good. The rear brake's travel is too high(To be reduce by adjusting). The seat height, the front foot rest pedal and the brake lever travel and positioning do not match. The sitting posture is totally disturbed when I try to brake hard as I have to move forward on my seat.
8. Waiting for fuel pump to start, on every ignition switch off and start, is a negative in heavy traffic. Be ready for a lot of honking if you wait for the last second before turning on the ignition key.
9. The feel you get the moment you turn the throttle to put the traffic behind you is in-expressible.
10. The sound of he horn is appropriate though I have used it only once in the first 500 Kms.
11. Mileage is approx 30 Km/litre driven only in city conditions(smooth rides in the morning with heavy traffic driving in the evening)
12. Have a good watch with vibration resistance. Be careful with your smart watches.
13. Nothing can beat the comfort of an open face helmet on a bullet. Yes lots of dust attack your face, but, a pair of aviators can be the ultimate style statement, which will also protect your eyes(Go for glasses which can be used both in the day and night). Couple these two accessories with a good cotton jacket(Not the ones they sell at RE with all the nylon nets and all, you are not a formula 1 racer, well if you are then you are on the wrong blog...he he...) and of course good pair of boots(Again don't overdo it), Liberation.........
14. The petrol reserve indicator is finicky. It gets switched on at occasional intervals when you brake all of a sudden which makes all the fuel in the tank to move to one side. It is a good indicator when your bike is exactly on a horizontal surface. Whatever be careful with the quantity of fuel and the distance you have travelled. Better to keep a record.
15. The default lengthy muffler is good, but, I am a fan of the swept back silencer(Which is still the photo of the classic 500 on the official website)
16. The rear view mirrors, my God, are a tragedy. They vibrate like crazy. In the night, a two wheeler behind you will appear like a four wheeler.
17. The engine and the muffler heats up quite quick. Be careful with your leg wear.
18. PLEASE dont change the default mufflers. The city is already polluted with sound and exhaust, please don't add to it. RIDE the bullet, don't SHOW it.
19. No grip bar on the right. Very bad design considering Indian women's pillion etiquette.
20. No hook for hanging a cover or a bag. It is criminal to not provide one. All the bikes have one.
21. Remember the tires are not tubeless ones.
22. Don't give it for a wash to your local cleaning fellow, There is a great possibility that you might damage few wires.