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-   -   My 1st Bull: Classic 500 Desert Storm (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/120782-my-1st-bull-classic-500-desert-storm-6.html)

Hi Everyone,
I've been a keen reader of this forum, thought I'll share my experience with the DS, having made some mods recently.
Got my DS (Maverick) in Nov 2013, clocked 8000km so far with a couple of Bangalore - Chennai trips being the longest ive done.
Mods:
1. Seats: Pillion seat replaced with wider and softer seat - definite improvement in comfort. Reshaped rider seat. Got this done in Rao Seat covers, Shivaji Nagar. Total Rs.3000 odd
2. Exhaust: Wildboar. Tried the others, preferred the bassier thump of WB. Cost ~2500
3. Handlebar: Rajdoot, picked it up from Sandhya Automobiles, JC Road, Rs.300. Wider, taller, allowing for a more upright posture. No more bending forward to reach out. Great comfort on both intra city and long runs.
4. Filter: K&N, ~ 3800, Had to remove the filter cover to keep this one in place, may not be the right model, feel duped by the shop! Anyways, definite improvement in pick up.
5. ECU: Race dynamics Powertronic. Replaced stock ECU yesterday - this is the trigger for my posting in this forum. Cost Rs.13000, picked it up from the RD office in Koramangala. Went for a ride this morning to test the maps, came back impressed with the improved low end pick up, lesser vibrations and bassier thump. Tried maps 2 and 3 - with 2 being better low end pick up, 3 was better between 70 to 100 kms
Will share pics and further experience shortly.

A word of warning if your DS (Maverick) is like the C5 Desert Storm that is imported to the USA.

The C5 contains its air filter in a black plastic air box which has a plastic cover.

The airflow into the engine enters the inside of the airfilter thru a hole from the back side of the box.

It then travels thru the filter paper media into the area of the box that surrounds the OEM air filter.

From this area, the air is drawn off thru a port in the side which leads via a rubber hose to the fuel injector (or carburetor) and into the engine.

If your filter system is like this (and I'm sure it is), with the air box cover removed, dirty air from the outside will pour into the engine directly thru the opening the cover was meant to seal. In other words, the K&N filter is doing nothing and dirty air is being used by the engine. :Shockked:

You can verify this by looking into the cover-less air box at the front, where the engine inlet tube is connected.
If you see the large hole that feeds the engine inlet tube, so does the dirty air your motorcycle passes thru while you are riding.
Remove the K&N filter, replace it with a OEM paper filter and replace the filter box cover.

(That fine dirt by the way is as abrasive as any grinding wheel and it will rapidly wear out the piston rings and valve guides.)

For what it's worth, I tried a K&N filter that was made specifically for the Royal Enfield UCE powered motorcycle. It did fit into the airbox and allow the airbox cover to be used as it was designed.

The K&N filter (with the cover in place) greatly reduced my fuel economy and engine power at all speeds. Because of this, my expensive K&N filter is sitting on a shelf in my storage room and I am happily using the original Royal Enfield paper air filter.
With this OEM filter my fuel economy and the engine power has returned. :)

Congrats on your desert storm. Can you please share some pictures of your bull with below mods? Iam especially interested in the following :-

1. Front and Rear seats

2. Handle bar

3. K&N Filter. Do you really see marked improvement or its just a feeling? Also whats the duration you clean the air filter?

I too have the RD powertronics on my Classic Chrome 500 and been using it from last 1.5 years and quite satisfied with the output

you can read about it here :-

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...eam-bhp-4.html

with the air box cover removed, dirty air from the outside will pour into the engine directly thru the opening the cover was meant to seal. In other words, the K&N filter is doing nothing and dirty air is being used by the engine.


Thank you Arizona Jim, you're right on. I was worried about this and shelved my K&N kit for a good 6 months now, used it for a week i guess. However, i did notice an improvement in performance with KnN.
I installed it again this Sunday to check the impact with ECU mod.stupid:
I will switch to stock immediately!:Frustrati

Can you put in a pic of the bike with the mods done?

How is the matte paint quality? I have booked a DS 500 and a service centre guy told me that matte finish paints from RE are not of good quality.

How has your experience been?

Thanks in advance.

I am owning DS for past 3 months and I must say paint quality is neither the best nor the worst. However it is quite delicate and unlike other paint schemes it looks like there is only a single paint coat RE has applied. As with the case with all matte finish, you need to watch out for sharp objects, even small nut can chip off the paint in your bike especially the tank section.
But with all its cons, DesertStorm is one color which certainly stands out in the crowd and definitely you will put up a broad smile in your face. :)

I recently did a solo trip of around 3200 kms from Pune to Jaisalmer, Thar Desert and the Little Rann of Kutch over 7 days.

The link to the travelogue: [ Link ]

Hi... it's a very informative thread and loved to go through your travelogues... Congrats!!!

I am also a proud owner of Desert Storm and did Tour of Nepal, 2014 organised by Royal Enfield.

I wanted to know which engine oil you are using, Mineral or synthetric, it's specifications and change intervals? My bike has done approx 5000 kms and i changed the oil at 500km & 3000 kms - oil which was company recommended. I am searching for better alternatives.

I don't use my bike in city much. It will mostly be run on highways at high speeds.

Thanks...

Hi Devrishi,

I have been using Mineral Oil, Motul 300v every 2500-3000 kms so far. However a lot of bhpians have switched to synthetic oil and have seen noticeable difference in smoothness. I am also toying up with the idea of switching to synthetic oil in the next service.

Please let me know if you do so. I will also update this thread if I go for a change.

Regards,
Arunabh

Hi Arunabh, I think 300v is full synthetic:).

Oops I mean Motul 3000.

How good is the Shell Helix?

I am sure your not one of them but when I hear people say, "I am searching for better alternatives.", I've found that many of them are really are saying, "I'm looking for something cheaper that will still work."

Royal Enfield states in my UCE Owners Manual that I should be using a Semi-Synthetic oil that meets JASO MA (or the newer MA1 or MA1).

I interpret this to mean that a Semi-Synthetic oil is the base line or bottom level of the acceptable oils. A full Synthetic oil is a (large) step up from the Semi-Synthetic oils so using one in place of the recommended oil is a step in the right direction.
IMO, using a regular mineral oil, even one that meets the JASO specifications is a step down in protection for the Royal Enfield engine.

I should mention that the old Iron Barrel and AVL powered Royal Enfields were designed to use the less expensive mineral based oils but even with them, upgrading the engine oil to a Semi-Synthetic or full Synthetic oil will offer better engine protection, especially from heat.

To my way of thinking, buying a top quality motor oil for a air cooled engine is cheap insurance. :)

Shell Helix is for cars. I guess Motul is the the best as far as I know.

2 years and 8 months, 30000 Km Update:

The Desert Storm is probably Royal Enfield's best looking motorcycle IMO. It still attracts dollops of attention wherever it goes. It has overwhelmed me with its abilities to handle various terrains and has made me fallen for it over and over, again and again.

Absolutely zero problems anywhere. Royal Enfields are pretty reliable machines I believe, on the contrary of what most people assume. Sure there has been minor oil leaking issues, clutch plate going kaput in peak traffic, the saddle isn't really comfortable over longish rides and the pillion seat is seriously a joke as far as comfort is concerned, but the 30000 kms that I have clocked with this Indian sweetheart has just concreted my faith in the reliability of this motorcycle.

Some time later this year I am planning to ride it to Marsimik La, and I am sure I will have a lot of riding stories to tell.

For now sharing a few pictures that I have clicked on my previous many rides: