Absolutely loving this bike and 10/10 would still recommend it to anyone with a similar budget.
BHPian Krankkster recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Fresh updates on my bike, I got the first paid service done on last Thursday (5th Oct, 2023, @6757kms ODO, @Bigwing Chennai North, Ambattur). Opted for the AMC 2yr plan (PFB).
This plan is a good value and seems to save costs no matter how I look at it. I’ve been called back to office for 5 days in a week now (starting Oct 1st) and I’m hereby expecting a daily commute of minimum 100kms, This would cover a minimum of 2000kms in a month just to office and back. As stated by my service person, this plan would remove the paid service cost of 1100 and would additionally discount parts by 5% and services by 20% for upto 2 services in a year. That would be 4 services (2 per year) waived off plus part/service discount for this in 2 years.
I gave my bike at the dealership a bit later than usual @12pm on Thursday, I got my bike back @11pm on Friday.
Some changes to my original review:
Sometime during mid-late April, a few weeks after my original review, my bike’s handlebar became extremely tight and lethargic. It refused to turn with ease. I personally think this might be due to metal expansion (tight tolerances) in high temperature environments during the hot South-Indian summers.
I didn’t use my bike much during the summer and kept delaying a fix for this. Sometime during May-June I went back to the dealership and got the cone set loosened a bit. I had not faced any wobbling up until this point.
This is where the real trouble starts, when between 50-90kmph speed, I started observing a slight wobble when I let go of the throttle and relax during deceleration (not the handlebar, I’m not a S.Q.U.I.D.). I again kept delaying a fix for this as it wasn’t very physically bothersome when held relatively firm.
Although this issue was rare, it started bothering me mentally, I didn’t want to face the death wobble because I’m a relatively noob driver and wouldn’t want to test my theory unless if absolutely necessary.
On visiting the dealership on yet another random Thursday few months back, I managed to get a senior technician to check out the issue (luckily, it was midday after lunch, and they had a relatively lesser number of bikes to service at that point). We rode for a distance of 10-12kms, and he finally acknowledged the issue on observing it himself.
He was initially lecturing me on how we shouldn’t let go of the handlebar ever and claimed that I was leaving my hands without seeing me ride (I wasn’t, he acknowledged the same after observing it himself). He’s probably seen way too many riders leaving their hands and complaining about the wobble.
Although this is my first bike and I’m a relatively low experience rider, when decelerating, everyone has to let go of the throttle, this naturally weakens your grip unless if I’m completely wrong somehow (I don’t think so ). We went back to the dealership; they “fixed” & returned my bike saying they’ve tightened the cone set and filled my tyre saying the low pressure (22psi) was also probably causing this issue. (I filled it a couple of days back before this, I don’t think it was that low, they probably have an analog meter).
The issue has relatively subsided, but it was still there.
I mentioned all these points during this last service. Aforementioned senior tech. (can speak & understand Telugu) was also present, he updated the service personnel with the events as mentioned above in Tamil (since I don’t speak Tamil yet, I’m both surprised & glad that he remembered after more than 2 months).
They said they’ll check the issue out and promised a fix.
In addition to the usual fix, I’ve requested for a front sprocket cleaning. They originally told me that this cleaning happens once every 10-15k kms only and that it’s not really recommended for my current running. I had a plastic bag stuck in the rear sprocket few months back and wanted them to check the front as well just in case. On mentioning this, he quickly noted it down in the to-do list.
The bike was relatively dirty (compared to all the other bikes pending service) when I gave it to them and got it back brand new after a polishing. I was taken aback by how smooth my bike felt on the way back home (3kms). I don’t think it felt this smooth throughout my entire 1.5 years ownership.
I covered a distance of 110kms total since the service and I absolutely adore the way this machine rides now. I have no idea what magic was performed on my machine but it feels buttery smooth. I had no idea what I was missing on, up until this point. I’m extremely happy with this service. I haven’t noticed this much of a difference in any of the first three free services.
The wobble however, although extremely minute, is still present. I’ve lost hope of any fix for this. I’m just going to keep holding the handlebar the way I’ve held it till date and just stop worrying about it.
Absolutely loving this bike and 10/10 would still recommend it to anyone with a similar budget. I’m planning on test-riding the Speed 400 soon just to add my perspective on how a noob perceives a vehicle faster than his own.
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