[arjithin]

I recently became a proud owner of a Royal Enfield Standard 500 and this is the story of how I got my beauty and I plan to share my experience with all of you through this thread.

• I am not a good story teller. I will keep my points short and sweet
• You may find cribbing about RE sales and service in the initial part, thats because I mean it and they have lot of opportunities to improve. You can skip the delivery experience and first service sections if not interested.
• I don't like naming of my vehicles, so will refer to the bike as STD500 always.
• As of today I covered 560 km in 3 weeks and first service is completed.

History:

I started driving Royal Enfield from 1993 at the age of 13. That was the time we got our first Royal Enfield. My mother won second prize of National Savings certificate lucky draw at national level. Prize options were a computer or bullet deluxe or Rs 30000 in cash. My father wanted computer, but I wanted the bike. Finally we chose the bike; a sparkling blue Bullet deluxe with regn no KL 01 D 278.

Here is a photo of my father in our first bull, immediately after we received it. In the background you can our old Yezdi CL250.



I took the bullet to college with me, then later to Hyderabad when I got a job there and finally to Bangalore when I relocated here 2005.
During sometime in 2002, I got the engine work done, applied chrome all again and painted it in light green. In between got it re registered in Hyd with a regn no AP 10 AB 7766. I travelled all across south India in this vehicle

Here is a photo from 2002 and later in 2006




I then planned to relocate to USA for long term and I wanted to retain this bike with my father, but father didn’t want to as he had some knee problems and couldnt kick start it anymore. Finally sold it to a colleague in 2007 (The only decision in my life so far which I regret - More on this later)

Some parting shots


Fast forward to 2012 - Back to India. Booked a classic 350 black from US itself and got it in hand after a total waiting period of 13 months. Took delivery on my birthday last year with a very good regn number - KA 03 XX 0303

Here is my ex CL350

Used that bike for 2 months/2000 km and somehow I was not getting connected to that one. That’s the time Royal Enfield launched the Standard 500. It matched my requirements perfectly

1. The old look and style
2. Single seat - I am 6'2" and in the classic 350, I was always sitting in between the two split seats in my CL350. A single seat with some additional form to increase the seat height by 2 inches is perfect for me.
3. Wider tires
4. Disc brake
5. 55w headlamps
6. Gas filled shock absorbers
7. A different color - Green - Something to stand out of black/maroon classic crowd (no offence meant to anyone). And it’s very similar to my old bull's color
8. The STD 350 has many of these features missing, but STD 500 perfectly fitted my requirements. I was in a dilemma as its a 500cc instead of 350 cc and finally decided to buy one and sell the classic 350

Put an ad in Olx for the classic 350, within 6 hrs, the bike is sold. Made a bit of profit as well due to the high waiting period

Then came the shock. RE is not planning to launch in Bangalore in the first phase. So started the wait. Got a Suzuki GS150R in the mean time for office commute. On October 11th 2013, RE launched the bike in Bangalore and I was the first to book at Brand showroom. On Dec 19th, got a call that my bike is ready for delivery. I transferred the money (1.64L onroard) online to block the bike (VIN decoding showed it as a Dec 2013 made bike). I was going out of town for Christmas vacation, hence opted for delivery on Jan 3rd. Mine was the first one to be allocated in Bangalore and third one distributed in Bangalore.

Delivery experience @ RE Brand showroom, Jayanagar

I asked for a PDI before the bike goes for registration and they agreed. They got the bike on 2nd Jan evening for my inspection and the first thing I noticed was that it was hit from the back during transportation. Rear number plate was bent, rear reflector was dislocated and RE people didn’t notice in their PDI. Raised to many people and finally got a word that it will be repainted before delivery on 3rd Jan

Another point I noticed was the way RE showroom staff handle the brand new bike. They accelerate the bike like a sports bike during test drives, the rev the engine to very high rpm etc etc. The instruction manual clearly states not to do these stuff and the support staff is doing it when the engine has run hardly 4-5 km. The whole purpose of keeping the speed below 50kmph and providing guidance on all gears till first service is to keep the rpms low, but its not applicable for RE staff.

I was asked to come by 5 PM on Jan 3rd to collect the bike. In short, the delivery experience was a disaster. One delivery person - 6 bikes to be delivered @ 5PM. Everyone pushing others to get a spot, Registration was not done, insurance not done, nobody was speaking to customers on whats the procedure etc etc. After a lot of arguments I took the bike home at 8 PM without registration. I didn’t want to keep the bike 2 days in the crowded showroom and get it scratched again. I was promised registration on 6th Jan so that I can drive it.

At home did a closer inspection and found the handle bar and one of the engine mount nuts are loose. I tightened them myself. (for classic 350, it was the right side engine cover nuts that were loose making oil to leak). Again lack of PDI quality

When I purchased my CL350 from Teknik motors, they gave me a feedback form, showed me their PDI checklist etc; but there was none at Brand showroom. May be someone is filling it on behalf of me with all positive values and sending it to RE head office.

Jan 6th came and went, but registration didn’t happen. Finally it happened on 9th. I was so happy finally to take my STD500 to public road. Went to the dealership in the evening to collect the tax paid receipt and then came the other news – This being the first batch of STD500, they don’t have the instruction manuals in stock; I need to go there again to collect it.

I was told there will be 3L of petrol in the tank at the time of delivery. The PDI list from RE shows 5L. but in reality there was <2L in it. Bike was on reserve as I was driving out of showroom instead of mains. Asked about this to the delivery person Ravi, and he gave contradicting answers indicating some malpractices there.

Reached home and the first thing I did was to shoot a strongly worded email to Praveen who is the showroom manager with all these details. He immediately called me back and said that they do have instruction manual in stock and offered me to send it via courier which he promptly did.

Got the registration number as KA 05 JC 2443 on Jan 10th.

So in a nut shell, it was a very pathetic experience , Probably a Govt office will do much better.

First impressions:

Since I am not new to Res, I felt completely comfortable driving the bike. Only difference I realized was the Electra handle. Somehow I didn’t realize in my test drive and research. I am a fan of the old Standard’s handle and will change it pretty soon.

The torque is impressive. For eg, I am on a flyover climbing it in 5th gear; a twist of the accelerator will make the bike surge ahead and gain speed.
I can comfortably drive the bike in 5th gear at 50kmph without lugging. This was not possible in my CL350. Not sure if its because of the higher torque or heavier flywheel.

Seats are hard, but I think I am getting adjusted to that.

I doubt if rear suspension works at all. My back feels every uneven surface when the rear wheel is on it. Need to understand if something need to be corrected there.

The bike is stunner. Every day I get at least one enquiry from someone in traffic signals. One day I took the bike to Sandhya automobiles in JC road for buying the crash guard and every customer of theirs came down for a closer inspection. One of the brand new CL500 owners said he should have purchased a STD500. Everyone wanted to know where they can purchase the rear grab handle. Hope I get some exclusivity for at least 1 year. The green color shines in the sun.

I am getting a mileage of 38kmpl consistently. I need choke for cold start, otherwise there are no problems. I am not sure if such a lean burn affects the engine life.


Problems observed

1. There was a chic chic sound from the top of engine at 40kmph+ speeds when accelerating. After first service this sound is gone.
2. During cold start, after a minute of warm up, engage the first gear and bike will jerk or jump forward with full clutch engaged. This issue still remains after first service. One advice I got from a friend of mine was to change a gear before starting the bike. I am yet to to check that method.
3. At 10-20kmph speed in first or second gear, I hear a ‘oooooo’ sound whem accelerator is released and clutch is NOT engaged. Once clutch is pressed, this sound completely vanishes. This is most notable when engine is cold. This issue still remains after first service.
4. When decelerating in 4th or 5th gear without accelerator ( eg approaching red signal or a flyover ramp down), I hear missing beats from silencer. The frequency of missing beats increased after the carb tuning during first service
5. Mileage – as mentioned earlier, I am not sure what is the impact of lean burn. I will report the updated numbers shortly. Bike wont start without using Choke in the morning. This issue still remains after first service.
6. Side stand recline is more than normal. Need to find how to reduce it. Service center claims its normal.
7. Rear brakes – The service center adjusted my rear brake and now I can feel some vibration from the rear side till 20-25kmph.
8. Some of the wires are scratching the tank, so need to tie them down
9. Mirrors – it’s a joke. I can see only my hand and that too a shaky hand
10. The Bullet 500 sticker is already half peeled after the first service wash. DIdnt notice it while taking delivery
    

Modification/Accessories

1. Installed a crash guard from Sandhya automobile – Rs 800
2. Installed Philips Bluevision H4 headlamp bulbs instead of stock H4 bulbs. Rs 450. Worth every penny. Good increase in illumination and looks. Did it myself
3. LED bulbs in pilot lamp – Rs 40. Not any major change in terms of illumination, but goes with the looks of headlight.
4. One more hook type handle in the rear left nut of the seat – Rs 100 - To keep the grocery bags hooked without touching the utility box. This location is just right because the bags rest on the sari guard.
   
5. Handle bar grips – Rs 100 – prefer a thicker grip.

Modifications planned

1. A petrol tap with key – Heard that those aftermakert ones are prone to leak in hot sun. Need your suggestions
2. Change the pilot/parking lamp inside the headlight cluster to a whitish one.
3. No wider mirrors are available – so planning to get the current mirrors cut and extend by 2 inches and then chrome plate.
4. Change to Classic handle bar
5. Seat cover with 2 inches of cushion
6. An extra handle lock or a cable lock – Saw some scary videos of a thief stealing a classic in <2 minutes
7. A pair of LED fog lights after warranty period
8. A silencer which will provide a sound as close to the original std 350’s meaty thump after warranty period. Need your suggestions and its pros and cons. I don’t want those loud ones.

First service experience @ RE brand service center, BTM

How I wish if I didn’t go there!! I wonder how RE can still keep sales even after such a pathetic sales/service experiences. Went there 8:30 AM after getting confirmation on previous day about myself waiting while the bike getting serviced. Explained all the issues mentioned above to service advisor and surprisingly he didn’t ask a single question requesting details. He noted down them in a cryptic way in the job card and moved on to next customer. Guess his priority was to get the waiting customers attended. They started working on the bike at 10 AM and a junior person (from looks) was assigned to the servicing of the bike.

I was watching him perform engine oil change from the customer lounge and as expected he started the engine to drain the last drops of oil. Rushed to the bike and switched it off. Then had a detailed conversation with another Service advisor about this. They claim that starting the bike to drain the oil and running up to 1 minute is normal. He claimed that this is the normal process they follow for all the bikes. I asked him if this is in their standard procedure or training manual and he couldn’t answer.

See the picture of oil filter (?). Was my bike running with all these debris?


Then I started asking the mechanic what is he doing to fix my complaints, and to my horror that poor guy hardly understands any language other than Kannada and Tamil. Now you can imagine the fate of my complaints which were noted down in 2-3 English words which the mechanic couldn’t understand. He was doing just the regular service.

So I spent time again telling the second service advisor about my issues. He kept on promising that he will get it done, but I didn’t see him going and talking to the mechanic even a single time. Pretty soon I realized that his way of working is just shouting and if somebody picked up that shouting, then that work is done.

There were two other staff who will be checking facebook every 10 minutes in the office computer. Almost 80% of the mechanics are enjoying the time in the floor, not working. It took 2 mechanics almost 70 minutes to finish the servicing of my bike. There was a third one on and off helping them. Oil change, brake adjustment, clutch adjustment, plug cleaning and checking the lights are all what they did during the 70 mts. What an efficiency !!!

But I should say there are few individuals who are hard working. For eg, another mechanic – he alone finished the first service of an Electra (delivered along with mine from the showroom) in 35 minutes and moved to washing. The washing guys are very fast. The tire/wheel guy is fast. Basically 80% of the RE uniformed people, probably the least efficient in that lot. Guess they may be salaried where as the non uniformed people are paid for the work they do.

Finally at 12:30, got the bike ready after washing. My SA was nowhere at sight, so I just paid the bill (Rs 918) and drove off. No explanation of the work done, no test drives, no questions. The second SA I contacted shouted from a distance that they tuned the carb.

Guys need suggestion on better service center in South/East Bangalore.

My experience was pretty much same when I gave my classic 350 for service there in March 2013. Thought I will do one more check and turned out to be no different. Intentionally I am not naming the SAs as this is a public forum.

I will keep updating this thread.

Finally here are some photos of the bike.

[Thar4x4]

Originally Posted by arjithin

I recently became a proud owner of a Royal Enfield Standard 500 and this is the story of how I got my beauty and I plan to share my experience with all of you through this thread.

Congratulations !

Wow ! Second Bullet 500 on forum.

Disappointed to hear your purchase as well as service experience at brand showroom. Now forget about it and enjoy your new bullet.

Thanks,
Vishal

[mints21]

Very well written and no doubt you have been able to detail everything threadbare. Since, you have been driving the bullet for years now, I would also like to request you to draw a comparison of the then Bullet with the one available today.

Further, I am upset to hear the loss of that fancy number you took 03xx0303. This is a very rare combination and must be in great demand. I am also a number freak and in my case I would get the number allocated from the RTO first and then buy a vehicle. Today all my cars, mobiles have a similar number pattern. To me it feels a like a loss, may be because I am passionate about the numbers.

This bullet of yours seems to have a temporary number. Will you be trying your luck again on fancy number. I will wait to hear from you.

Best wishes and wish you miles and miles of comfortable and safe ride for years to come.

[SidVenugopal]

Congratulations on your bike! Hope you have many a great mile on your bullet!

[Majumdarda]

[quote=arjithin;3353880]I recently became a proud owner of a Royal Enfield Standard 500 ...
Problems observed

...Mirrors – it’s a joke. I can see only my hand and that too a shaky hand

The Bullet 500 sticker is already half peeled after the first service wash. DIdnt notice it while taking delivery

Modification/Accessories

1. One more hook type handle in the rear left nut of the seat – Rs 100 - To keep the grocery bags hooked without touching the utility box. This location is just right because the bags rest on the sari guard.

I will keep updating this thread.
quote]


Congratulations arjithin and welcome to the club. In fact we share the same Forest Green color as well. I hope Vishal also joins us soon (if he has booked till date ) I took the delivery of Amun-Ra in October and you being the second one from this forum. A hearty congratulations to you brother.

With regards to the problems that you have mentioned, yes off course they are present, but then you get used to it and it no longer bothers you on rides. For example the Mirrors. "I can see only my hand and that too a shaky hand". My way of explaining this effect was more related to earthquakes. I think that there is one rectangle chrome RVM (from the after market), as I have seen it fitted to many Classics over here, but not too sure how much will the visibility factor improve.

The RE stickers had started to peel off from the left hand side of my petrol tank (just a small gap though) right after the first servicing, therefore I make sure to instruct them not to apply pressure on the stickers. infact home washing is best if you love the color and the shine as the soap they use is only good for clothes.

The hook type handle that you have fixed at the rear is very innovative for carrying grocery bags and to have it rested on the foot rest. Thank you very much for your inputs on this. Let me search if this option is available in Pune.

Another B500 is enthusiast will also join us pretty soon from Mumbai, (Ved). unfortunately he has not been able to get the access but he is a regular reader of this forum and also a genuine B500 enthusiast as we frequently discuss on B500 related topics.

A small request to you would be to please keep this thread updated so that we all can share our views on our common interests.

Wishing you miles of happy thumping

[adrian]

@arjithin : Congratulations on the new Bullet buddy and wish you miles of hassle free riding experience.
Regarding the mileage of your bullet, you are not supposed to set the carburetor that lean on a new bike. Check with the RE service that they have not set the carburetor lean by mistake. Why I am saying mistake is that the RE mechanics still refer to the fuel screw as air screw ! and they swear that screwing it out (anti clockwise) makes the A/F ration lean and they lovingly set your carburetor screw turned in so that you run rich during the breaking in period !! The reality lies the other way. Turning it out makes the mixture rich and turning it in make the machine lean and the machine ending up running lean during the initial period.
When I took delivery of my bike, I knew nothing about bikes and was happy to get a mileage of 50kpl during the first 500Kms. I had to use choke in the morning and had to kick and kick and kick to get the machine to life. It was during the Ist service that they rectified this problem and by the time my bullet was sounding like a skeleton in a tin roof.
One more thing that the service person overlook is the cam gear backlash. The are supposed to adjust backlash if any during the first service. They had not done it on my bullet and after 15000Kms on the odo I learned the hard way that now the only option I have is to get a new set of cam wheels @ Rs.4000/- (as quoted by the parts dealer) to effectively set the cam gear backlash to nil.
Just keep this in mind and demand an explanation from the service team if your machine is making sounds it is not supposed to do.
regards adrian

[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by arjithin

I recently became a proud owner of a Royal Enfield Standard 500 and this is the story of how I got my beauty and I plan to share my experience with all of you through this thread.

Congrats on your acquisition. I say acquisition instead of a purchase as we all understand the pain of waiting for a Bullet.

I own a C5 and I am pleasantly surprised with the mileage you are getting. I do not think I have got over 30 anytime, precise reason why driving my car to work works out economical than my Bullet.
Love the Green Bullet you got. Only issue I have seen so far in sticking with such color is that they fade away pretty fast. I guess it's more to do with maintenance rather than the actual color property.

Congrats once again!

[thumpingheart]

Hey congrats on your beautiful Bullet 500. The only bike, after the Continental GT of course, that I lust after from the current RE lineup. Its just disheartening to see the lack of care and apathy of RE showroom staff towards customers as well as the bikes.

Hope you enjoy many miles and years on your new bull. The green looks smashing . Cheers.

[bulletboy76]

Hi arjithin,

Congratulations on the purchase!

Regarding your problem faced -
"2.During cold start, after a minute of warm up, engage the first gear and bike will jerk or jump forward with full clutch engaged. This issue still remains after first service. One advice I got from a friend of mine was to change a gear before starting the bike. I am yet to check that method."

I was facing a similar problem in STD350 UCE about a year back. My mechanic told me that this happens because in morning hours (when you are starting the bullet after many hours), the oil is accumulated in sump located at engine's bottom. It takes some time for the oil pump to distribute the oil at all required places.

Simple solution he told me to follow is -
1. Use choke in cold-starts
2. Let the bike idle on choke for around 1 - 1.5 minutes on the SIDE STAND (not the main stand)
3. Un-do the choke, and let is idle for 1 minute more and then you can start your regular ride.
I must admit that the problem I was facing is completely gone since I started following the above routine.


On change of silencer - I would suggest that you hold on for at least 2000 km (i.e. till first 3 services). You may try Short Bottle silencer a.k.a. Indore Silencer. I find it adequate and to my taste!

Cheers and happy thumping!

[arjithin]

Thank you everyone for your wishes.

Originally Posted by Thar4x4

Congratulations !

Thanks,
Vishal

Thanks Vishal. When are you getting yours??

Originally Posted by mints21

you have been driving the bullet for years now, I would also like to request you to draw a comparison of the then Bullet with the one available today.

Further, I am upset to hear the loss of that fancy number you took 03xx0303. This is a very rare combination and must be in great demand.

This bullet of yours seems to have a temporary number. Will you be trying your luck again on fancy number. I will wait to hear from you.

The primary difference is smoothness of the ride. The engine of the older REs are much smoother/quieter, where as the new ones make a lot of noise. My father gave this example last week - (He rode a bullet after 8+ years) - "Earlier everyone knows a bullet is coming because of its thump, now everyone knows its because of its engine noise"

Second is the increased reliability. The new engines are much more reliable due to its all in one construction.

I too like to have good numbers. Yes, the KA03xx0303 was a good number indeed. Unfortunately we cannot keep a number here in KA. I checked with the registration person of RE Brandshowroom and he quoted Rs 5000 for any choice and upwards for better choices. I didnt feel that's necessary and what I got is KA 05JC 2443. (I got the 0303 for Rs 1800, 7766 for free, and KL 11G 25 for Rs 500)

Originally Posted by SidVenugopal

Congratulations on your bike! Hope you have many a great mile on your bullet!

Thank you SidVenugopal

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

Congratulations arjithin and welcome to the club.

I think that there is one rectangle chrome RVM (from the after market), as I have seen it fitted to many Classics over here, but not too sure how much will the visibility factor improve.

A small request to you would be to please keep this thread updated so that we all can share our views on our common interests.

Thank you Majumdarda. I follow your ownership thread closely.
I somehow dont like the rectangular mirrors. Since I cant see anything other than my hand, the earthquake effect is not big. First priority to see something from the rear and then I will look into the vibrations. I am considering two options now
1. Cut the current mirrors and extend it by2-3 inches at a workshop, chrome it again
2. Put a small blind spot mirror inside the main mirror. I've ordered one from ebay and will update the results soon. If this doesnt work out, I will then go for option 1.

Sure I will keep this thread upto date.

What is the mileage figures you are getting now?

Originally Posted by adrian

@arjithin : Congratulations on the new Bullet buddy and wish you miles of hassle free riding experience.
Regarding the mileage of your bullet, you are not supposed to set the carburetor that lean on a new bike.
One more thing that the service person overlook is the cam gear backlash. The are supposed to adjust backlash if any during the first service.

Thank you Adrian. I was very worried on the mileage part. The RE brandshowroom service center was surprised that someone is asking them to reduce the mileage and in the tuning process they screwed it up. I called Sooraj who the service center manager and he kept on assuring that 35-38 is normal for a Bullet 500 and he knows 2 other bikes with 35+ mileage and that they dont change any factory setting of carb during the first service. I took my bike to Teknik motors, Sarjapur road to have a quick tune up and I think they did a good job. The bike feels much smoother now and engine noise has come down. Morning starts are much easier now. I am yet to measure the mileage. WIll update it soon. They also told me that the plug gap was on the higher side.

Question: My understanding of lean burn is that it will cause a white color deposit in plug, but my bike had dark plug with some carbon deposits with just 70 km of driving after first service. Is that normal or because of the incorrect plug gap?

Originally Posted by pratyush6

Congrats on your acquisition.

Thank you. I agree that its difficult to maintain the color.

Originally Posted by thumpingheart

Hey congrats on your beautiful Bullet 500. The only bike, after the Continental GT of course, that I lust after from the current RE lineup. Its just disheartening to see the lack of care and apathy of RE showroom staff towards customers as well as the bikes.

Hope you enjoy many miles and years on your new bull. The green looks smashing . Cheers.

Thank you.

Originally Posted by bulletboy76

Hi arjithin,

Congratulations on the purchase!

Simple solution he told me to follow is -
1. Use choke in cold-starts
2. Let the bike idle on choke for around 1 - 1.5 minutes on the SIDE STAND (not the main stand)
3. Un-do the choke, and let is idle for 1 minute more and then you can start your regular ride.
I must admit that the problem I was facing is completely gone since I started following the above routine.


On change of silencer - I would suggest that you hold on for at least 2000 km (i.e. till first 3 services). You may try Short Bottle silencer a.k.a. Indore Silencer. I find it adequate and to my taste!

Cheers and happy thumping!

Thank you. Somehow I missed the above suggestion. Will try that from tomorrow onwards.
I dont plan to change the silencer now, may be after 1 year. But need suggestions on which silencer is closest to the original cast iron engines meaty thump. Will an original Electra short bottle silencer be a good choice?

------------

Bike has covered 670km as of today. Some of my questions are not answered yet, hence posting it again below. Please provide your suggestions

1. At 10-20kmph speed in first or second gear, I hear a ‘oooooo’ sound when accelerator is released and clutch is NOT engaged. Once clutch is pressed, this sound completely vanishes. This is most notable when engine is cold. This issue still remains after first service. Should I be worried? Cant reproduce this issue at service center because the engine is hot by the time I reach service center

2. Side stand recline is more than normal. Need to find how to reduce it. Service center claims its normal. - Noticed that the side stand is supposed to be perpendicular to the bike when engaged, but mine rests at a 10 degree angle towards the front. This could be reason for the higher recline.

3. I doubt if rear suspension works at all. My back feels every uneven surface when the rear wheel is on it. I dont see the rear suspension moving at all while I cross a hump; the jolt is directly transferred to my back.

4. A petrol tap with key – Heard that those aftermarket ones are prone to leak in hot sun. Need your suggestions.

[Majumdarda]

Good morning,
My office's browser does not allow me to quote, so I am updating as follows :-

What is the mileage figures you are getting now

At the moment I have covered 42** kilometers and I usually drive within the 60-70 range. In the bumper to bumper Pune traffic I get anything around 35 kmpl. On highways it increases but have not calculated till date. Might be 40s.

Will an original Electra short bottle silencer be a good choice

Off course its a good choice from what I have heard from other eperienced riders. This one will give u a good bass and a distinct thump, but it becomes prominent with the deposition of carbon, or prolonged usage.

At 10-20kmph speed in first or second gear, I hear a ‘oooooo’ sound when accelerator is released and clutch is NOT engaged. Once clutch is pressed, this sound completely vanishes. This is most notable when engine is cold. This issue still remains after first service. Should I be worried? Cant reproduce this issue at service center because the engine is hot by the time I reach service center

Please put this type of query in the royal enfield query section. I am sure someone out there will be reading it to provide you with an update. As far as I have observed, I did not notice any such thing with Amun-Ra.

Side stand recline is more than normal. Need to find how to reduce it. Service center claims its normal. - Noticed that the side stand is supposed to be perpendicular to the bike when engaged, but mine rests at a 10 degree angle towards the front. This could be reason for the higher recline.

I am not sure if RE sticks to a particular angle with the SSs. I have observed two stock classics of my friends, and both have different angle of inclination. For Pulsar, I know there is a small portruding metal to which the stand gets fixed to which can be moved (with pressure) to adjust the angle. Please check if there is any such thing. Also at the SC, probably there would be other B500s standing, care to have a look over there as well.

I doubt if rear suspension works at all. My back feels every uneven surface when the rear wheel is on it. I dont see the rear suspension moving at all while I cross a hump; the jolt is directly transferred to my back.

Thankfully mine is working perfectly fine. Did you check the shock absorber setting rings ? (those little engravings they have on the Shock absorbers which can be adjusted depending upon the rider and the terrain). Are they at the extreme end? You can have it adjusted manually with a long screw driver.

A petrol tap with key – Heard that those aftermarket ones are prone to leak in hot sun. Need your suggestions.

Please pass on the details to me too.

Ride safe and Best regards,

[adrian]

Originally Posted by arjithin

Question: My understanding of lean burn is that it will cause a white color deposit in plug, but my bike had dark plug with some carbon deposits with just 70 km of driving after first service. Is that normal or because of the incorrect plug gap?

It might be like that because of the plug gap.The increase in plug gap demands for strong current across the electrodes to get a healthy spark which might not be possible always and results in slight misfires which leaves deposits.
To tune the carburetor in the UCEs using the plug reference methods would make you go nuts What I have personally found is that the base ring remains clean unless you are overly rich or having ignition problems. If you are lean, the central electrode insulator is bone white. If you are spot on the tuning, then there is a brown ring at the base of the insulator which starts to expand towards the tip the richer you go. I must admit that I am to this date not able to get a brownish plug although once I was lucky enough to get water droplets out of the exhaust which was around 6.5 turns on the fuel screw where the company recommends 3.5 +/- 1 turn. It is either grey or black and no chocolate brown. Well now I have asked the plugs to go to hell and is concentrating on the deceleration time and decel popping sounds to get the tuning right. I leave the fuel screw where the exhaust sound is clean and the bike does not pop on deceleration. And yes I can drag race with a pulsar !
Note : I took the Bullet for more that two times for tuning with the RE service and each time they set it to 3.5 and 4.5 turns of the fuel screw and exclaimed that this was perfect for my machine. But sadly then I was getting a hanging idle, a hot engine and popping through the exhaust and I reverted back to the setting of 5.5. So as a bottom line, more often I had wished that I had gone for an EFI Bullet instead of frying my brains over the carburetor
regards adrian

[adrian]

@ Arjithin/ Majumdarda : Just out of sheer curiosity, what is the purpose of the part in the new carburetor version Bullet 500 that is marked in the picture.


regards adrian

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

Good morning,

I am not sure if RE sticks to a particular angle with the SSs. I have observed two stock classics of my friends, and both have different angle of inclination. For Pulsar, I know there is a small portruding metal to which the stand gets fixed to which can be moved (with pressure) to adjust the angle. Please check if there is any such thing. Also at the SC, probably there would be other B500s standing, care to have a look over there as well.

I've checked some other ones. The incline varies. See this picture of how much extra incline is there in mine. I checked the stand in detail, but cannot find any adjustment options. Thinking of putting a bolt or metal piece on the other side to prevent it crossing the 90 degree position



The shock absorbers are in the middle position. Once rod with a pillion, and it was going up and down perfectly. May be I have to make it softer. Will check with SC next time.

Originally Posted by adrian

@ Arjithin/ Majumdarda : Just out of sheer curiosity, what is the purpose of the part in the new carburetor version Bullet 500 that is marked in the picture.

I am not sure what it is. I will checkout tomorrow and update.

I covered around 900 km now. Some more updates
1. The sound at 10-20km in 1/2nd gear is still there. Some mechanics from SC and another garage rode the bike and they didnt find anything different. So it could be me because of my first time with 500cc engine.

2. Jerk while engaging first gear during cold start - I found a way myself. While the engine is idling ,press and release clutch 4 times and then engage first gear. This is trick is working now. I could feel the hardness of clutch the first time I am pressing compared to the second time.

A strange incident happened last week. I was on a parking lot and was negotiating a tight turn to take the bike out. Since the engine was cold, it stalled. I tried to start the engine using self start and pressing clutch fully in first gear; as soon as self start switch is pressed, the bike rolled to the front and hit a parked bike even though the clutch was fully pressed. Didn't happen afterwards after changing to neutral.

About the tuning issue - Got the bike tuned in Teknik motors and it was much smoother. Mileage increased to 42-43. This weekend met NazirKaka and we met at 'Art of motorcycles'. Those guys adjusted the carb again. Lets see how this works out.

Now some photos.

Here is the Philips blue-vision in action. See the difference in light color compared to the pilot lamp inside the headlight assembly.



Here are the blind spot mirror attached pics. The visibility of rear (upto 20-30 ft or blind spots) improved very much from zero, but the visibility of something far away took a hit. Since the bike is going to spend most of its life in Bangalore traffic, I think its OK. The ideal position should be on the outer middle section of the mirror instead of the bottom side , will change it once I get some double sided tape. I was expecting a bit smaller blind spot mirrors, but that's fine. Vibrations has got less impact on these mirrors.




Picture with Disc brake lock put on.


put one tie to keep those cables rubbing the petrol tank


Now some photos of the bike

[Majumdarda]

The rubber that you have attached at the end of the exhaust, is that for visual appeal or does it play any role in generating some amount of thump from the stock silencers?