Long Term Review of Royal Enfield Thunderbird

Hey!! I seem to be enjoying writing reviews. January 2006 will mark the 2nd anniversary of my bike. So I thought a review would do nicely. This bike(Zapeedo) has been my constant companion for almost 2 years now and enjoys a special place in my life. It never fails to start at the first(or maybe second or maybe third) kick in the morning. I simply love the thumping and smooth ride. Anyways I would now list the pros and cons of the bike which have come to light during these 2 years and 21000 kms..
Pros:-

  1. Great Pickup:- It’s faster than most indian “sports” bikes available inspite of the heavy weight(180kgs). Incredible pulling power even at speeds above 80.
  2. Great Top-Speed:- I have personally touched a little over 120 kmph on the Nagpur-Kamptee road but could feel that the bike had a little more power left to go even faster.
  3. Extremely smooth:- At speeds of 50, this bike feels very smooth and stable. Even at speeds above 100, the bike feels well balanced. No gust of wind can shake this bike.
  4. Great looks.
  5. Extremely cheap spare parts:-The clutch plate of the Thunderbird costs around 400 and that of the CBZ costs around 1300.
  6. Extremely simple engine design.
  7. Good handling:- Though not like the standard 350, the thunderbird corners great on even the most slippery roads.
  8. Great feel:- No other bike can replace the thumping feeling of the enfield.

Cons:-

  1. Below Average service:- The service centers refused to repeatedly acknowledge noise in my cam and tappets which led to my cam problem. Instead they keep pestering me to buy accessories like a windshield etc.
  2. Handling:- After a certain degree of cornering, the low footpegs touch the road though I think this can be corrected. Please remember that I am talking very low cornering.
  3. Pushrods based Engine:- Though, the thunderbird is never expected to reach rpms above 4500 rpm(At a speed of 100 kmph, the rpm in 5th gear is 4000 rpm), the pushroad system provides certain difficulties in the form of tappet noise and subsequent adjustments.
  4. Design drawbacks:- I think these are design problems that the decompressor cable breaks at a certain point every time where the cable bends sharply. Today was the 5th time in 2 years and starting without the decompressor is a pain in the arse.

One month review of O2 XPhone II

It’s more than a month I have been using my new phone. So I thought it’s time I wrote a fair review about it. Following are the pros and cons of this smartphone.

Pros.:-

  1. Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition
  2. 64 Mb integrated storage
  3. 32 Mb Ram
  4. Mini-SD card support upto 4 gb
  5. Fast processor
  6. Large and very clear display with exceptional clarity
  7. Speakerphone
  8. Sleek and suave
  9. Keypad Light Sensor
  10. Long battery life
  11. Above average camera quality
  12. Runs .exe files and installs software directly out of .cab files
  13. Bluetooth/Infrared Connectivity
  14. Great Multimedia Album with zoom in videos
  15. Great mp3 quality in Windows Media Player 9 and other applications.
  16. Mirror on back for self-portrait
  17. Great t9 dictionary with intuitive suggestions while typing.
  18. Good volume
  19. Wma/wav ringtones

Cons.:-

  1. File explorer software has to be downloaded from official website.
  2. Maybe hard to use for newbies.
  3. Lack of mp3 ringtones(Can be rectified by 3rd party software)
  4. Sub megapixel camera
  5. Office apps not bundled
  6. Windows Media Player 10 not present
  7. Memory Card not hot swappable

My favorite Songs

Well, This is my list of favorite songs as of 27/12/2005. Please remember that this list is volatile and the songs are arranged in no particular order and I have avoided multiple songs of the same artist so that the list doesnt get too long
1. I can’t tell you why – Eagles
2. One – Metallica
3. You shook me all night long – AC/DC
4. It must have been love – Roxette
5. How deep is your love – The Bee Gees
6. Every breath you take – Police
7. Blind – Korn
8. Something in the way – Nirvana
9. Back to you – Bryan Adams
10.Always – Bon Jovi

Studies Block!!

I am suffering from a severe case of studies block!!! I cannot study anymore.. Cannot sit at the table for more than 10 minutes without my thoughts being distracted somewhere else. I have got 7 exams in 10 days and I am gonna get screwed real hard…. I am going down big time…

Bye Bye GPRS!!

I am getting my GPRS deactivated tonight. Firstly it’s too much of a distraction making me flunk my study time and sit on the internet doing nothing. Secondly, my balance is now just 20 bucks and if I don’t stop now, I will be left without incoming calls. Anyways, this is a nice pic I got of my and my roommate’s bike together. The silver one is mine, the black one is my roommates. Both are Royal Enfield 350 cc bikes. Anyways, trying to download all I can today to cope for my lack of internet conenctivity for the next month. Posted by Picasa

Hello!


Just downloaded and installed a great google software called Hello!(beta of course) It’s basically a way to share your pictures with others. It’s a file sharing solution, messenger bundled into one. Anyways, the reason I got this software was to easily upload photos to my blog. I was desperate to try it out so I upload the comic pic. Anyways, it would be better if google integrated Google Talk with Hello! It would make a great product and would surely beat yahoo and msn(wonder why MSN still doesn’t support offline messaging support). Be back with some new posts and photos. Posted by Picasa

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog!!! Since the version 2 of my blog was hacked by someone named faisal(I am coming for revenge), I have decided that maintaining my own domain was too much of a hassle. So I decided to join my friend grooveguru on blogspot. Let’s hope my luck with blogspot will be better than in v.1 and v.2!!

Earth bound misfit, I