Thunderbird Twinspark

A Review on Royal Enfield Thunderbird Twinspark - TBTS

If you are on a long drive you are to be on a Thunderbird, Its real magical. I be on drives on different bikes, but on a Thunderbird alias TBTS as its lovingly called, the feel has always been different.

May be in city its bit tough or say you should get used to it, but I have seen a lot of this cruiser on road both in Chennai & Bangalore cities. So passion for a cruiser should be making it easier for its lovers to drive it in city.

I will put some experiences and a review in detail including a couple of videos, See if this bull is for you...

Lets Start with the Engine, Thunderbird Twinspark runs on a Unit Construction Engine (UCE), Thunderbird was the first bike to showcase this engine. The Engine is way ahead in Technology compared to the Cast Iron Engine (CI Engine), the engine and the gearbox components all are put in single case and this produces more power since there would be only a near zero power loss in transmission. This engine is more reliable and will cost you very less on the maintenance part too. Unlike the CI Engine, you can drive at 90 kmph continuously and take rest when you want and not the bikes convenience. This Engine helps you with a better mileage compared to its predecessors, have heard of mileage in the range of 40 - 45kmpl, which is very impressive. You will surely miss the Thumb, but after market silencers would help you on that.

Engine Spec:  4 Stroke, Single Cylinder, Twinspark Engine with a displacement of 346cc. The max power is 19.8 bhp @ 5,250 rpm and the Max torque 28 NM@ 4000rpm.

 Electricals: 12 Volt - DC System along with 12 Volt, 14Ah battery gives Thunderbird Twinspark a solid electrical support. The headlamp defining 35/35 W, halaogen is not great for night driving, a better definitin like 60 W/ 55 W as stock would have been highly appreciated since the battery can support this load. Anyways Thunderbird has a independent headlamp assembly so an upgrade on headlight, be it to bulb or the holder or both along with the dome will not be a very hard task and also the 12v DC System and the stock battery will support your upgrade to a considerable extend.


Suspension, Tyres & Brakes:  The front suspension is Telescopic with 130 mm travel and the rear is fitted with 5 step adjustable gas filled shock abosorbers, from this you can read the commitment of Royal Enfield towards moving to the current standards of Comforting.  The front Tyre is of the size 3.25 x 19" and and the rear tyre is of the size 3.50 x 19", the variation in width will give you better drive feel and as always you won't see a round profile tyres as you see on Classic series. Even though a round profile tyre would be better to use in city, anyways a cruiser is to cruise and if needed you always have after market options but limited because of the 19"size. On brakes, the front tyre is fitted with a decent 280mm disc with two piston Calipers and the rear is fiited with a 153mm drum brake, while most part of the braking load is transferred to the front and the definition fo the front disc is strong enough to perform but the better rear brake would have produced more effective braking complimenting the front disc. As you all know even the tyre quality also plays a very important role in braking, so a more effective rear brake along with better quality tyres would make the thunderbird more awesome.

Seats & Handlebar: The seat is low snug and the handle bar is highrise, a typical cruiser combination. On highways you will always fight with your friend for the driver seat, since the comfort levels of the driver seat is great, not that the rear seat is not comfy, even the rear seat is good but the driver seat is comething you can call par excellence. The seat is of step up type, and the rear seat will be at a higher level than the front, so even your partner will feel the air on face that anybody will love. The handle bar is a bit similar to Butterfly Handlebar but not exactly the same, on higways you would enjoy the handlebar more, in city it feels a bit tough but I see a good number of Thunderbird's fly in Chennai & Bangalore cities, so it might be a matter of getting used too. If needed can consider s RD 350 Handlebar as an after market option, have heard it improvises.

Styling: The low snug seat with a high rise handlebar stalled on 19"wheels standing stylishly bold and tall will make many turn their heads for you.... That statement should tell you about its style.



To Make it Better:  The first and foremost I would say is a need for more powerful headlamp atleast a 60W/55W instead of the current 35w/35W. The next on line is the rear disk brake or a more effective braking system. These options if not as standard part at the least should be provided as optional features. If I'm not asking for more I would request RE to make a city version of Thunderbird with round profile tyres and a better handlebar for City driving. Last but not the least I would love to have Dark Bown & Maroon Shades added to the colour card for that matter on their entire range of products.

My Verdit: The bike is technically for people who are more on Highways but I don't stop here. Thunderbird is taken more by heart and I believe that a guy who want's to buy a Thunderbird, should go for it and he would get used to it even in cities thats what I have learnt seeing so many birds on Bangalore and Chennai Cities.

On Road Price of Royal Enfield Thunderbird is Approximately Rs. 1,25, 000 (Chennai, June 2012)