Sometime back, I got a chance to ride my uncle’s RE Standard 350 for couple of months. After riding this bike, I had decided that my next bike would be an RE one and Standard in particular.
Recently when I planned to buy this bike (after pestering my parents) I realised that the production of Standard has been stopped and sales have stopped in Karnataka. But the Classic 500 caught my eye. Thought the bike was not available for TD at the showroom when I went, the sales guy explained me with all the features of this bike. It sounded very interesting. I came back home and did a bit of research on this bike. The reviews were great, everyone complimenting the looks and UCE engine.
I had the photo of this bike as my wallpaper and everytime I saw the pic I wanted to own one asap.
I wanted to take a TD of the bike before booking. I went to my friend who owns this bike, to take a TD. I was full joshed up to ride this new machine from RE.
I sat on the bike thinking the feel would be similar to Standard. But it wasn’t. This bike is low. I took the bike for a small ride. It didnt impress me much. The riding position disappointed me, the RE thump was missing (very obvious because of new engine), and I couldnt feel I was riding an RE bike. It didnt give the majestic feel of riding as compared to Standard. I understand that the technology used in CL is far superior than the one used in Standard, but still CL let me down.