The 350 cc beast

I had long time wanted to own a thunderbird and still want to. But I was a bit apprehensive if I could be comfortable riding it. I read a few reviews and that gave me the confidence that its as easy as riding any 100 cc bike. This travelogue is all about my experience with the 350 cc beast. I took a Royal Enfield Thunderbird (KA 01 Y 3346) from the showroom for an experience ride. I decided to really experience it… I took it for a long 700 kms ride, all the way home (my home is in Kalpakkam, 70 kms to the south of Chennai) from Bangalore and back.
14 Jan ’06; 3:50 am. The journey starts. I decided to go via Hoskote – Kolar – Chitoor – Vellore – Kancheepuram – Chengalpattu – Kalpakkam. It took almost 40 minutes to reach the string bridge on the old madras road; there was more than expected traffic at that time also. By that time, I had got my hands on maneuvering the thunderbird.

I had gone past Hoskote and on my way towards Kolar. Mist all the way, crawling towards Bangalore, had reduced the visibility to just ten to fifteen feet. Speed dropped to a mere 60 kmph from an average 90 kmph. I find all the vehicles crawling their way on the highway. This lasted for around ten to twelve kilometers. The highway as such was not very wide; looked like a state highway. Might be; I am not sure.

I had done almost 120 kms in slightly more than an hour and a half. I thought I would have a break. I had a sip of hot tea just to refresh myself. I learnt I was quite close to the Karnataka – Andra Pradesh border check post. I continued my journey…

The dawn was so beautiful; the tender orange rays spread across the cloud of beds with mountains and lush green fields and pastures on the foreground. The sun rose; raised and said a good morning to me. By the time, I was on my Chitoor – Vellore bypass road.

As I said earlier the road was just okay. There were quite a few potholes and few bad sections too. But the gas filled shock absorbers fitted onto the thunderbird makes them literally virtual. You could only see the potholes; but don’t get to feel them. I was impressed.

The powerhouse encases a single cylinder 346 cc four-stroke petrol engine. Designed to perform and it simply performs. Just to check out the power of the vehicle, I tried this; although not a good practice to do. I brought the vehicle to halt and tried moving the vehicle in fifth gear. It did it effortlessly. That was amazing. I could also feel the power of the vehicle in fourth gear; quickly ramps up from a mere 60 to 100 kmph, which any other bike wouldn’t even be any close. I could feel the power being unleashed when I squeeze in through the traffic. Awesome performance!

I was in the outskirts of Kancheepuram; about an hour and a half from my home. I had already done my 250 kms. The time was 8 am. I had another break. Continuing, I had to pass through the Kancheepuram town and market. As it was festival (Pongal) time, I could see lot of people out on the market purchasing sugarcanes and turmeric plants. Riding at 20 kmph was also pretty comfortable; its quite stable and I could maneuver with much ease.

I reached home at around 10 am, right on time for breakfast :-). That brought down my average speed to just 50 kmph. I was maintaining an average of 80 kmph in my first half. As the day begins, vehicular movement increases and lots of brakes and breaks brought down the average speed.
15 Jan ’06; 3 pm. I thought I’d start my way back. I was in Kancheepuram in just an hour. I had a tea break and continued my journey. I laid my route through NH 4. I had to take this to get to Chitoor. The road was just fantastic. Excellent work done by the National Highways Authority of India. Six lane solid road wants you to cruise all the way along. My all time high on my way home was 110 kmph and I couldn’t maintain riding at 110. Now, my new all time high was 120 kmph. As the needle touches 120, I could feel the start of wobbling. So, I got settled to 105 – 110 kmph.

The junction has come where I had to take a deviation to Chitoor. The amazingly laid road didn’t let me pull off the road. I decided to take an alternate route to Bangalore and continued to cruise on the highway. The road king (to be read as thunderbird) on such roads gives you a real riding experience. I felt for myself on why did I come on that sick road on my way home.

So, this route goes likes this: Kalpakkam – Chengalpattu – Kancheepuram – Vellore – Ambur – Vaniyambadi – Krishnagiri – Hosur – Bangalore.

The trip meter read 160; I had done half my distance; watch ticked 6 pm. It was a beautiful twilight. I should say I am lucky. On my way home (travelling west to east), I could see the beautiful sunrise. On my way back to Bangalore (traveling E to W), I could see the sunset behind the clouds and mountains; saying goodbye for the day. I had another break just to stretch out my arms and legs for few minutes. I was in Ambur.

A couple of things scared me on this highway. I witnessed a government bus giving a gentle kiss at the back of an ambassador, leaving mild dents. Another incident I saw was an ambassador at 45 degrees on the wrong side with one front wheel with no tyres and the same side rear wheel missing the wheel itself; just the shaft was there. It seemed like he had been coming on the opposite side; lost control; ran over the median and ended up wheels running ahead of the vehicle. I became extra cautious; speedometer started reading 80 – 90 kmph.

By the time I reached Vaniyambadi, the roads started to deteriorate. I was a bit upset, as I didn’t know how long it would go on like this. Nevertheless, I had my thunderbird giving me only a gentle feel of the bad roads. I suddenly saw a railway gate being lowered and sadly I was just in time; I was the first vehicle to be stopped for the signal. A couple of minutes passed. I could see a goods train. It crossed. I was happy, thinking that was a pretty quick. But to my dismay, I am not seeing the gates being raised, neither the operator taking any initiative. Then another train (Guwhati – Ernakulam express) came crawling; thinking and rethinking whether to cross the signal or not. Finally, it made its way out of the road. I started my engine and still the gates weren’t lifted. I am having another break here. After 4 – 5 minutes, a train just sped away, no clues on what train it was, must be a super fast express ;-).

The fuel tank indicator fell below quarter and was close to reserve. I just topped up with a few litres of petrol. As I crossed Vaniyambadi, I could see the excellent roads were back. Probably, I missed some bypass, if any, and hence ended up with bad roads and railway signals.

Then, it was all cruising and negotiating with the traffic, seeking way and giving way. The NH seems to come to an end. Boards read, “Toll plaza 500 metres ahead”. It was Krishnagiri, just 90 kms from Bangalore. I had my final break at around 8 pm. Clicked this picture then.
One more advantage I could see in having chosen this route was I could reach home earlier, avoiding all the bustling city traffic I would have had if I had come the way I had gone home.

It was 694 kms in all. Kudos to the Royal Enfield Thunderbird; didn’t give any problems and co-operated well for my riding styles. It was a safe, but exciting experience.