Continued.......
Titled:
The Book of Enfield Riders.....
Paul's Story:
I decided at the end of March 2019 that I wanted something 'modern old'
New, reliable, Quirky yet good looking.
I decided on the Royal Enfield Continental GT 535 in Red (the best colour in my eyes.)
A really beautiful looking Cafe racer style caught my eye.... I wanted one of these!
I searched but in the end decided...buy new for peace of mind!
Picked it up from the Dealer, shiny and brand spanking new.
The last time I bought a new bike was 1975 a Suzuki A100M.
Anyway.....
Rode the bike home, my now pride and joy, it was gleaming.
Running-in I was told 20-30mph for the first 2000 miles.
What a laugh I said, l will probably never run it in while I own it.
2000 mile to me was a lifetime.
Went out for my first ride.....it felt cyclists were overtaking me.....
I noticed that the engine developed a rattle with 57 mile on the clock.
Took it back to the dealer....
Oh yes it has, nothing serious they said and promptly video'd it to send to Royal Enfield UK.
A week later I got a message from the dealer.
Can you bring the bike in, Enfield uk say you may have a blocked oil port in the cylinderhead.
Head was removed and all flushed out.
A week later I collected it back....'all sorted now' and road tested.Any problems get back to us.
Rode it home and rang the dealer......
It still rattles!
We'll contact Enfield uk again they said.
A week later the dealer rang me.....
'Enfield uk say it needs a new cylinderhead and it will be sent direct from India to us, probably take 2-3 weeks. carry-on using the bike, it will be fine!
I continued to run the bike in as told.
Now approx 280 miles on the clock.
Head arrived and the bike went in again to the dealer.
Ready in 3 days for you to collect. They rang me 'it's ready'
Went to pick it up........
I asked 'what's been done ?'..........
New cylinderhead fitted, oilways flushed out and new oil fitted.
Oh.... the fuel injection transfer flange was cracked when we removed the head....one on order, we'll let you know when it arrives but it's still ok to use it.....?
Road tested by us (the owners) and the mechanic, it's spot-on now and rides like a dream.
I rode off...... it was Friday and we were going to a 40s event.
It still Rattled!
Monday morning I loaded the Bike into the van and took it back!
Hi Paul, how's the bike doing.....
It Rattles still I said and nothing has changed!
Dealer quoted..... 'it's not a kettle from Argos you can keeping taking back you know! we've spent enough time on this bike and not prepared to spend anymore time on it at our expense......!
No it's £5000 of my hard earned money I said bluntly!!!
He also quoted 'they all rattle'
........wot!
Do you want to book it back in? they said?
NO! I want my money back!!!!!
They quoted the Argos Kettle line again.....
Under the Consumer Rights Act of 2015 I said.......
He stopped me dead........
You'll get a check in the post by Saturday!
I gave them all the paperwork, got a receipt, jumped in the van and rode-off.
The cheque arrived minus the OTR fee.
I purchased a Triumph Thruxton 900 the following Saturday.
Apologies if I've bored you!
But true.
I actually loved the bike for what it was and would buy another, but not one that 'Rattles' !!!!!
I've now got an 'old school' Bullet.
Hoping you enjoyed reading my story.
Dealers eh.......?
Regards,
Paul
email (option): eastwood007@ntlworld.com
'we've spent enough time on this bike and not prepared to spend anymore time on it at our expense......!'...
My pal got told exactly that when he took his 'still under warranty' £23000 Harley back for the fourth time with a deteriorating finish... They also suggested he had misused the bike because he'd taken it out in the rain...
Another friend with a Triumph Rocket 3 had to have a new rear wheel and steering yokes whilst still under warranty due to the lacquer lifting off the base material and his clutch thrust bearing went after 16,000 miles....
I won't mention the gearbox failure on a brand new BMW 1200...Oh, I did!...It seems even new bikes have problems sometimes!..(Ducati?..Lets not go there at all.)...
If my experience of the Technicians? at a Harley dealer is typical then getting anything repaired properly is going to be a challenge...After they spent nearly an hour trying to fit a wheel bearing I got them to bring the wheel out of the workshop for me to look at...It took about 15 seconds to realise the idiot had the wrong wheel bearing which was wider than the original....That was why it wouldn't go all the way in...The problem for me was the Harley bearing is fitted into a blind hole and you need the Harley tool to get them out (great design)...I didn't have that so headed to the dealer for them to carry out a 'simple' job for me...Ian:laughing:
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com
I own several Harleys. My 2009 Fatboy is totally chromed out. Even the swing arm. Not a bit of deterioration on anything. It has 36,000 miles. My 2013 XL1200C Sportster With 3300 miles has chrome popping off the wheels. The chrome quality Is not there. The paint on both bikes is outstanding. I do keep them polished and waxed. I also wipe off the moisture that forms when the temperature changes. I believe that dew caused a lot of finish problems. My neighbor has a Harley VRod and the chrome is totally gone off the wheels. It is ugly. The finish sucks on his bike. He is embarrassed to be seem on it.
It is had to beat the ride of a Fatboy with a windshield and backrest the interstates. I used the Sportster for blasting around town. I did Stage one with Rush 2” slipons. The pipes are extremely loud, but the engine really came alive. I am adding some torque inserts. They will dampen down some of the noise.
The Fatboy is a stage 2 with Rush 1.75” and much quieter until you go full throttle.
email (option): cbhaws@verizon.net
Here’s mine,
Last of the pre unit Indian bikes. I’ve had it about four years now, great bike with a few modern features (not brakes :astonished: )
A photo from camping last year,
Loved it!!
email (option): gino_kerekes@yahooooo.co.uk
And you all think Indian made girder forks are bad ?
https://news.maxabout.com/bikes/royal-enfield/royal-enfield-himalayan-chassis-breaks/
The article and video about the Royal Enfield Himalayan breaking in two is pretty shocking!
I have owned several Royal Enfields - two were British made, one was India made. When I first got the India made Bullet, a 1999 year model, I liked it very much, but the gear change linkage on the left was the type that had been used to convert what was originally designed as a right side change box, and it was dreadful. It was so Heath-Robinson like that I was amazed anyone had dared to market it. So I went out and got a used Enfield (British made) gearbox and gave it a scrub, inside and out, and returned the bike to right hand side shifting. Perfect! The 60 year old gearbox was just fine.
It was then that I started to do some comparisons. The alloy on the India made crankcase and gearbox case was clearly of coarser texture. It was certainly of poor quality as studs would strip out of their holes with regularity -- which had never happened on the British made castings. Recutting the threads was like cutting into cheese. Moreover, a major problem was the wiring. The headlight never gave more than a yellowish glow -- something I discovered was a very common and almost unfixable fault with this model.
In the end the exhaust valve started throwing oil into the exhaust and I got rid of it because I couldn't face fixing it again. Yes, I'd had the head off and checked everything and been generally disappointed at the poor quality of the valve gear.
My previous Enfield had been a 1958 Model G (350cc) and had given no such problems as these I've described.
I had thought of scrapping the engine and wiring entirely and replacing them with vintage Enfield items, but by then I was out of love with the project.
Those years of the 90s were rough years for quality control with India Enfields. I had thought they'd improved since then, but it doesn't look like it.
email (option): allanmatchless@yahoo.com
My mates 350 Injun bullet let go of the big end assembly just after 16000 miles, mind you he gave the poor old thing some stick but it was still well serviced with regular oil changes.Now rebuilt with a alpha big end all seems well. Some people are saying the video in my last post was fake but look at the headstock and down tubes, the tube sections look like something you find in retail shelf racking I certainly would not trust it.
Any older Indian Enfield single will be troublesome in my experience and there is a thriving market for updated parts to improve them...As for the Himalayan it certainly seems to have a serious design weakness which they'll have to rectify quickly if they want the model to survive....I believe early examples had some clutch problems as well...
I've a friend who bought a 650 twin last year and to date he's very happy with that...As noted in my initial post I've got no real complaints and had no substantial problems with my 'C5' unit single as yet and I'm basing my comments on my experiences with that...It's certainly a very different bike to the pre unit models....Ian
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com
Sadly I have now put mine up for sale.
New project, funds required sadly.
Until next time...... I will search for another one day.
'Old school' boys bike, great fun these, sound great, as good as the old Brit Bikes did!
Happy day's......:slightly_smiling_face:
email (option): eastwood007@ntlworld.com