[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by msrsooraj

I have a 2014 classic 350 with slightly more than 10k km in the odometer. I don't ride my bike hard and I am sure I take very good care of her. My concerns are that every time I shift from to the 2nd gear from the first, it produces a painfully loud THUD!!! Is this something that's common with every other Enfields os should I be worried?

As from your description regarding the ''thud" sound that you hear upon downshifting could be due to incorrect 'speed : gear' matching.

Approximately at what speeds are you at when you downshift from 2nd to 1st?

As with my experience in riding/driving the downshift from 2nd to 1st needs speeds between 5-10kmph for it to shift correctly and smoothly.

Do try downshifting at the above mentioned speeds to observe the recurrence of the ''thud". If you do get it then I am afraid it could be the clutch adjustment or the gear shifter in the gearbox needs a check.

[ArizonaJim]

Originally Posted by msrsooraj

I have a 2014 classic 350 with slightly more than 10k km in the odometer. I don't ride my bike hard and I am sure I take very good care of her. My concerns are that every time I shift to the 2nd gear from the first, it produces a painfully loud THUD!!! Is this something that's common with every other Enfields os should I be worried? I ofter press down the clutch, wait for 2 seconds so that the engine speed becomes really slow, and then shift to the 2nd gear so that the same does not happen. Its not like i'm making it do something its not supposed to be doing. I'm only shifting it to the 2nd gear. I don't rev it too hard either. I always keep the revs to moderate unless absolutely required. The engine oil and stuffs are new and i only recently got it serviced. The guy at the service center told me that its something only time can solve, the more you ride the better it gets he says. So, any thoughts?

A large part of the THUNK is due to the fact that when you shift gears, the gears slide sideways so that projections on the side of the gears will engage or disengage with slots or notches in the other gears that are rotating at a different speed.
If the gear driven by the clutch is moving at close to the same speed as the gear that will be driving the rear chain they will slide together without a sound. If they are moving at greatly different speeds a loud CLUNK will be heard.

The primary idea is, while the clutch lever is pulled in to shift the gears, you need to adjust the engine speed to match the new speed it will be running at when the new gears are fully engaged and the clutch is released.

If you are shifting to the next higher gear ratio like 1st to 2nd, the engine speed will need to slow down a bit.
If you are down shifting, say from 3rd to 2nd gear, the engine speed will need to be increased to match its new speed in the different gear.

Again, with the clutch lever pulled in, adjust the engine speed to match the new speed while you are shifting.

One thing that can make shifts more difficult or loud is a mis-adjusted clutch.
With this in mind, I would advise that you to check the adjustment of the clutch lever and cable.

You will be checking for the amount of free movement at the lever.

Looking at the area where the hand clutch lever stops on the support, use one finger and move the lever as if you were applying the clutch, until it stops.

Measure the gap that has opened between the lever and the support. It should be 2 to 3 mm.

If it is more or less than that value the clutch cable needs to be adjusted.
(This is not uncommon. Although it may have been correctly adjusted by the factory a new cable will stretch a bit when it is first used. The stretched cable will not fully release the clutch until it is readjusted to the correct setting.)

Adjusting the cable** is an easy task if you have a 12mm wrench (spanner).
Looking on the left side of the engine you will see the clutch cable attached to the sidecover by two 12mm hexagon nuts which straddle the cast in boss.

To adjust the cable to reduce the free movement gap at the lever, loosen the nut nearest to the rear of the motorcycle about 3/4 of a turn with the top of the nut will be turning toward you.
With this accomplished, turn the forward nut about 1/4 of a turn so that the top of the nut is moving towards you.

Now, snug up the rear nut and recheck the gap at the hand lever to see if it is within the 2-3 mm value.
If it is, tighten the rear hex nut. If it is not, loosen the rear nut (top towards you) and adjust the forward nut until the gap is correct. Then tighten the rear nut.

** I hope all of you who know about mechanical things (and I know there are many of you here), understand that my intentions when I write the instructions like this. It is my wish to make it possible for anyone to understand them. (Yes, even those who call a hammer, "a pounder"). I don't mean for my instructions to sound like I am talking down to you because that is not my intent.

If I knew that all of you were well versed in doing mechanical things my descriptions would be greatly different, but when I see so many of you on the forum who are afraid to change your own oil I must assume that those people will appreciate and be able to use my simply worded advice.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

** I hope all of you who know about mechanical things (and I know there are many of you here), understand that my intentions when I write the instructions like this. It is my wish to make it possible for anyone to understand them. (Yes, even those who call a hammer, "a pounder"). I don't mean for my instructions to sound like I am talking down to you because that is not my intent.

If I knew that all of you were well versed in doing mechanical things my descriptions would be greatly different, but when I see so many of you on the forum who are afraid to change your own oil I must assume that those people will appreciate and be able to use my simply worded advice.

Interesting post Jim, and on the button. Its more a cultural thing with us than technical.

Manual and even skilled labor being really cheap in this part of the world compared to yours, I find this holds true in most things in life, not just speific to motorcycle maintenance.

We can afford to have house help, to cook and clean and wash and mend and iron and babysit for us, and it provides employment to millions.

We can afford masons and plumbers and electricians and gardeners and technicians to work on our TVs, ACs, fridges, washing machines, dish washers, and other home apppliances. And that too provides employment to millions.

Similarly we can afford to ay mechanics to work on our bikes and cars and skilled experienced technicians to wire our wheels, and buff and solder and weld and drill and sleeve and tap and machine for us. And that too provides employment to millions.

So yes, technically, in terms of doing things with our own hands, the lay common Indian is way way behind a lay common American in doing things. I have seen this in so many different ways. I have an American work coleague (well he's Belgian actually, but now American) who is actually building his own log cabin on a patch of forest land that he and his wife have bought. He is doing it all by hand, all with specialized machines that he has either bought or rented. Very little does he actually farm out - like cutting and clearing away the huge trees to clear part of the land. Other than that, most of the concrete work and the actual wood construction he is doing himself. I find that amazing. He says it is pretty common, because most of them (you) would not be able to afford to hire specialist skilled labor to do the work.

Similarly I have an Indian doctor friend who now lives in Melbourne, Australia, and his garage can put a lot of very high end fancy professional Indian workshops to shame with the kind of equipment and specialized tools and machines he has. Some of which only very high end specialized workshops would have, few and far in between in a city here. And he has trained himself to use each and every one of them, and does, and works mostly completely on his own bikes. He knows more about electricals and head porting than I have sen a lot of "experts" here know. And he is a full time practicing anesthesiologist. He is amazed at what certain skilled jobs cost us here in India. Like lacing a wheel, which we take for granted and pay less than 3-4 dollars for! Or a CNC job. Or an oil change.

So its cultural and borne out of necessity I feel. I for one have slowly over years lst the conditioned "Indian" fear of picking up tools and working on my own bike. But as off now that's just and mostly the Bullet. In comparison, there is little I can or would be able to do on my KTM.

Oh and also, I enjoy reading your posts and have never really felt you to be talking down to anyone here. Please keep it coming!

[rki2007]

Hi friends I am planning to get my TBTS 350 serviced by a FNG in Bangalore.

I have zeroed on Motul 15-50W technosynthese oil for my bike. Is this the best or is there something else that I need to look into?

Suggestions are welcome..

[chetans]

Facing engine noise issue with 350 classic RE which has done 1.6K running.
This happened today - all of a sudden. The engine is now giving load tik tik sound - even when its idling.
Google mostly pointed to engine oil change. but i am not sure.

Can anyone share some info, tips on this issue?

am planning to take it to service center tomorrow.

PS: this is exactly the sound that i am referring:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmxRGWLysvk

[msrsooraj]

Originally Posted by Rsen

A loose chain will also cause clanking sounds when shifting through gears especially the lower ones.

Hope this helps.

I have made sure that the chain is tight enough. So maybe i should get the clutch checked. And these days I shift from the 1st gear to the neutral, wait, then shift to the 2nd gear. So that the sound does not occur (much).

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

If I knew that all of you were well versed in doing mechanical things my descriptions would be greatly different, but when I see so many of you on the forum who are afraid to change your own oil I must assume that those people will appreciate and be able to use my simply worded advice.

Hey thanks.. I appreciate it. I am sure many of us do, maybe except for a few people who actually know what they're doing.

Originally Posted by a4anurag

As from your description regarding the ''thud" sound that you hear upon downshifting could be due to incorrect 'speed : gear' matching.

Downshifting is not really the problem. The sound occurs when i upshift from 1st to the 2nd gear. I shift up at about 10-20 kmph.

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[Rsen]

Originally Posted by msrsooraj

Downshifting is not really the problem. The sound occurs when i upshift from 1st to the 2nd gear. I shift up at about 10-20 kmph.

Definitely sounds like the clutch.

Do you get the sound when you shift to 1st from neutral while stationary ?
Is the sound there all the time or only when cold / hot ?

[msrsooraj]

Originally Posted by Rsen

Definitely sounds like the clutch.

Do you get the sound when you shift to 1st from neutral while stationary ?
Is the sound there all the time or only when cold / hot ?

When shifting from 1s to neutral, not at all. If if shift from 1st to neutral, wait for a second and then shift to 2nd gear, the sound's rather low.
And like you inquired, the sound is severe when the engine is really hot. I mean, like after 10 or 20 minutes of city riding. All the other gears are rather fine.

[rki2007]

Hi friends,

My long time wish of getting my TBTS 350 serviced under my supervision happened yesterday. In between for your information, my bull has done 6.5k kms in 13 months.

I could find out a reasonable mechanic in Bangalore who can work on bulls and got my bike serviced. I procured all spares from RE service center.

Things worked on:

1. Liquid gun reloaded - Honestly speaking the RE guys are mad. 6K frequency is too long. I would prefer to change the engine oil every 3k kms. At 3k kms itself the old oil looked tar black. I can't imagine 6k kms on it!!

2. Air filter replaced - I don't know whether it was required but I intended to do so. Attached are the pics. Can someone tell me what should be the frequency to change the air filter? Was it the right time, I changed the air filter?

3. Oil filter replaced

4. Carburetor cleaned and tuned

5. Chain lubrication done

6. Petrol leak smell - Not yet diagnosed as to what is the correct reason. But for the time being there is no such smell. I will update this in few days.

7. Accelerator cable adjustment with pick up tuning.

8. Clutch free play adjustment

9. Rear disk brake oil level check - It seems to be fine for the time being. I am planning to top up the oil after 1000 kms. Will TVS brake oil be fine for this. If yes, what would be the specifications for the same?

10. Front disk oil level is fine. So nothing changed. But I remember the service center guys telling me that every 6000 kms the front disk oil has to be replenished. If that is the case, my bike has done 6.5k kms. Can someone suggest me what has to be done now?

11.Suspension adjustment to the last level - As suggested by ArizonaJim, I have adjusted the suspension to the last level for optimum comfort. I will update regarding the ride comfort in a day or two after riding considerable kilometers on the new set up.

12.Gear shifting problem solved. At least for few thousand kms, this will not crop up.

13. A neat full wash done.

The bike is all new now..

[drdeepudev]

I too have a 6 month old, 16,500km run thunderbird 350. What I does is, change the oil and oil filter every 3000kms, clean and lube the chain at 500 - 700 km, adjust clutch at 3000 km. I have replaced air filter at 9000 km, clutch was reworked / cleaned / refitted at around 10,000 km owing to thud thud sound while shifting gears especially 1st and 2nd. It is much better after that. Replaced exhaust under warranty due to rust, replaced chain lock due to chain sound ( not sure whether its called chain lock). Now there is no sound as such. For lubing the chain I use Tvs tru spray.

[chetans]

Originally Posted by chetans

Facing engine noise issue with 350 classic RE which has done 1.6K running.
This happened today - all of a sudden. The engine is now giving load tik tik sound - even when its idling.
Google mostly pointed to engine oil change. but i am not sure.

On the very next day, that sound had stopped.

[tharian]

I have been using a 5sp Electra TCI, on and off .

It is a Cast Iron and for some reason, it is very rev happy for a 350 CI.
It runs a stock jet , but has a old type filter box which is bottomless and the cylindrical filter inside.

The issue is that , on starting the bike, the firing misses, quit a bit that every alternate fire is a miss and this happens mainly when engine is cold and when the throttle is opened slightly. If I roll open the throttle slightly and keep at that position, it keeps misfiring until the engine dies. But if I whack open it to high revs, it does not miss., but it still gasps when whacked open suddenly.

Starting the engine was an issue on this bike earlier, but has become better now and starts with one kick on choke, not otherwise.

The thing is, no one is able to figure out the issue because there is no misfiring when the engine has warmed up after riding a couple of kms. It does occur, but very less compared to the cold engine.

If it was the ignition system, then the missing should happen always and not just on cold engine. The bike has had the PAV removed as well and it was running a K&N conical with a free flow exhaust probably just a year after it was purchased and this issue has been present since.

I checked the air screw on the intake manifold and it was closed fully. I am guessing it is an air screw adjustment that needs to be done on the carb.

[ArizonaJim]

My guess would be the spark plug is fouled and should be replaced.

I believe your motorcycle uses a Bosch BP7ES.
I have had problems with my Bosch spark plug and am currently using a NGK.

Replacement spark plugs for your motorcycle are
Autolite #62
Champion RN6YC or N7YC
Denso W22EPR11
Honda 98079
NGK BPR7ES

There may be platinum or iridium tipped spark plugs with similar numbers but IMO, putting one of these highly expensive spark plugs in a old fashioned motorcycle engine is like putting a McDonald's hamburger in a gold foil wrapper.
It looks good and costs a lot but it doesn't add a thing to the flavor.

[drdeepudev]

Hello all, I have a doubt regarding front fork oil. Last day when I went to the service centre for general check up before One Ride, the mechanic advised me to replace / change front fork oil. My thunderbird 350 has run 17300 km till date within 6 months of purchase. But, I cannot find any leaks from anywhere. Any thoughts?

[arulpeem]

Originally Posted by drdeepudev

But, I cannot find any leaks from anywhere. Any thoughts?

The oil is subjected to constant pressure and temperature variation during riding. This results in viscosity changes over a period that changes the damping characteristics. In your case you clocked good mileage and that is probably the reason for the suggestion to change the fork oil. Moreover this shouldn't cost much.