[vijay_k]

Hi All,

Can some one please suggest me a good chain cleaning liquid for regularly cleaning the chain without removing it from a CL350.

I have gone through many forums and threads, some suggest Kerosine/Diesel spray, some suggest WD 40 and some suggest Motul or Wurth chain cleaning spray. I am confused on what to use.

Regards,
Vijay

[drdeepudev]

Hello vijay,
What I does is, clean the chain with kerosene and a used toothbrush while the thunderbird is switched off and in centrestand. Wipe it dry with a cotton cloth and lube it. I use TVS Tru spray. A Tvs branded chainlube. I had used diamond chain spray which I didnt feel is much good. Wurth is not available in my town. Try spray is available from Tvs dealership, if they have it in stock. I make sure to clean and lube at intervals between 500-700km and the chain has survived till 18,000km as of now.

But, the problem I face with this particular spray is, it splatters a lot and the rear wheel will be full of oil, dirt / grime. Also, I heard good reviews about 3M chain cleaner and lube.

Edit: Sorry, I went a bit overboard as the question was specifically on chain cleaner. I'm not sure whether cleaners are available with Tvs. But, I'm sure about 3M stuff.

[PRADEEP KUMAR]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

Try the horn without turning on the engine. If it is sounding weak or no horn at all then battery is drained.

On another note, revving for 2 minutes will not charge back the battery even with a healthy alternator. Take her out for a ride and keep the RPM on the higher side on lower gear.

Hi,
Thanks for inputs ,things are back to normal.
And i noticed that the ride has become very smooth post first service.
Really loved the drive this morning,comparable to my Safari stome.
Await the glasswool goldstar from sans now.
cheers

[petrolhead_neel]

Originally Posted by vijay_k

Hi All,

Can some one please suggest me a good chain cleaning liquid for regularly cleaning the chain without removing it from a CL350.

I have gone through many forums and threads, some suggest Kerosene/Diesel spray, some suggest WD 40 and some suggest Motul or Wurth chain cleaning spray. I am confused on what to use.

Regards,
Vijay

Hello,
My dad owns a CL350 too. On her last service, we decided to buy her a chain lube. On enquiring the RE team, we were given two choices. Both were Wurth products. One costed some odd 400 bucks while the other one's MRP was Rs. 2350. On asking the difference, the worker told us that the cheaper one would not even last 250 kms. But the latter would last a thousand kms. We chose the latter one and applied it on that day itself. Its nearly 1K kms now and recently we felt that we need to reapply the lube. Satisfied with the product. The product name is Wurth saBesto.

Surprisingly, RE uses the cheaper one for the services.

neil.jericho style: 'All part of the Royal Enfield experience, I keep telling me'

Cheers,
Neel

[ArizonaJim]

Originally Posted by vijay_k

Hi All,

Can some one please suggest me a good chain cleaning liquid for regularly cleaning the chain without removing it from a CL350.

I have gone through many forums and threads, some suggest Kerosine/Diesel spray, some suggest WD 40 and some suggest Motul or Wurth chain cleaning spray. I am confused on what to use.

Regards,
Vijay

Any of the chain cleaning fluids you mention will do the job of cleaning the chain.
DO NOT use petrol (gasoline), acetone, MEK, Lacquer thinner or similar solvents. (They are much too aggressive and they are flammable.)

After cleaning the chain be sure to use a good chain lubricant to re-lube the chain. The cleaning will have removed much of the old lubricant and the chain must be lubricated or it will self destruct within 1000 km.

Good chain lubricants will go on thin so they can penetrate into all of the metal to metal interfaces. Once allowed some time to dry, they will thicken so they will not get thrown off of the moving chain and sprockets. (Well, some of it always does but most of it stays where it belongs).

While your cleaning the chain, notice the amount of looseness it has.
With the motorcycle resting on the center stand, you should be able to easily move the middle area (between the sprockets) of the lower span of chain up and down 35-50 mm (total movement).

With the motorcycle resting on its side stand and with both wheels supporting the weight of the motorcycle, you should be able to easily move this same area of the chain up and down 25-35 mm (total movement).

If the looseness of the chain is greater or less than the above values, the chain should be adjusted.

Several words of warning.
DO NOT CLEAN OR LUBRICATE THE CHAIN WHILE THE ENGINE IS RUNNING.

DO NOT ALLOW THE CLEANING RAG TO BECOME ENTRAPPED BY THE SPROCKET.

KEEP YOUR FINGERS WELL CLEAR OF THE AREA WHERE THE CHAIN MEETS THE SPROCKETS.

DON'T THROW THE DIRTY RAG IN WITH THE HOUSEHOLD DIRTY CLOTHS. YOUR "SIGNIFICANT OTHER" WILL POUND KNOTS ON YOUR HEAD.

[vijay_k]

Thank you all for your valuable inputs.

Will buy Motul Chain Clean and Motul Chain Lube as its easily available in Bangalore and also have read good reviews about this product.

Regards,
Vijay

[rki2007]

Originally Posted by Rsen

There is one more thing. Do you ride with more that 7-8 litres of fuel ? Sometimes the fuel tank cap leaks and is aggravated by the sloshing fuel inside..

You are right. I finally found out the reason for the petrol smell. It is indeed from the petrol tank cap, to be very specific, it is from the key hole. Now how do I get this sorted out?

[Rsen]

Originally Posted by rki2007

You are right. I finally found out the reason for the petrol smell. It is indeed from the petrol tank cap, to be very specific, it is from the key hole. Now how do I get this sorted out?

If you open the cap, you will notice a black rubber annular ring around the key hole assembly on the inside. This is the culprit. The rubber ring should be a tight fit. There should be no free play. Replacing this should work.
My bike has the same issue and keeps on coming back every now and then. I guess its one of those typical irritating issues of the bullet. I just make sure I dont fill her up to the brim and if I do, make sure not to put it on the side stand.

[Siddy]

Hi Team,

Need some advice on the following. My Bullet 500 (UCE) 3 months old has been making an odd knocking sound since I got it. This sound is different from the usual tick ticks I took the bike to RE A.S.S last week and the SA said it's the rocker arm bearing that's making the noise & said he would fix it in the next service. The sound actually comes when I accelerate under load or accelerate hard & then vanishes as the bike picks up some speed. Moreover the sound is not so bothersome too. Now, I am rather skeptical about a RE mechanic opening the head of a new bike for something that I can live with. What do you guys think? Should I go ahead and let him fix this? or should I just ignore the sound and continue? Would the bearing eventually fail if I don't fix it?

Regards,
Sid

[adrian]

Originally Posted by rki2007

You are right. I finally found out the reason for the petrol smell. It is indeed from the petrol tank cap, to be very specific, it is from the key hole. Now how do I get this sorted out?

The Bullets have a vented fuel tank with an air vent in the fuel cap. So a bit of fuel smell is OK especially after the motorcycle is parked under the Sun.

Originally Posted by Siddy

Hi Team,

Need some advice on the following. My Bullet 500 (UCE) 3 months old has been making an odd knocking sound since I got it. This sound is different from the usual tick ticks I took the bike to RE A.S.S last week and the SA said it's the rocker arm bearing that's making the noise & said he would fix it in the next service. The sound actually comes when I accelerate under load or accelerate hard & then vanishes as the bike picks up some speed. Moreover the sound is not so bothersome too. Now, I am rather skeptical about a RE mechanic opening the head of a new bike for something that I can live with. What do you guys think? Should I go ahead and let him fix this? or should I just ignore the sound and continue? Would the bearing eventually fail if I don't fix it?

Regards,
Sid

AFAIK there is no bearing in the rocker arm. You are getting the knocking sound under hard acceleration because from the factory, they always set the pilot circuit of the carburetor lean. Don't ever let the guy touch your rocker covers.
regards adrian

[Siddy]

Originally Posted by adrian

AFAIK there is no bearing in the rocker arm. You are getting the knocking sound under hard acceleration because from the factory, they always set the pilot circuit of the carburetor lean. Don't ever let the guy touch your rocker covers.
regards adrian

Wow! no bearings Thanks for the reply Adrian.
I actually played with the fuel percentage and gave at least 1 full turn to the mixture screw making it rich, still no relief. Any idea what could be wrong? Am I doing this wrong? Is this the pilot circuit I am playing with? Please advice I am completely lost. The knock sounds like its from the top front side, near the exhaust head cover.

Regards,
Sid

[adrian]

Originally Posted by Siddy

I actually played with the fuel percentage and gave at least 1 full turn to the mixture screw making it rich, still no relief. Any idea what could be wrong? Am I doing this wrong? Is this the pilot circuit I am playing with? Please advice I am completely lost. The knock sounds like its from the top front side, near the exhaust head cover.
Regards,
Sid

The golden rule when experimenting with the fuel screw of a carburetor : Always turn the screw (be it clockwise or counterclockwise) by 1/4 turns at a time and check the engine response.

The correct procedure to properly tune the pilot circuit would be :

1. Bring the motorcycle to operating temperature by riding for a couple of kilometers.

2. Use the idle setting screws to raise the engine rpm to around 1200.

3. Gently screw in the fuel screw ( In my standard 350 UCE it is clockwise) and open it back (counterclockwise) in 1/8 increments giving a 2 second interval between each turn for the engine to respond to the change in AFR. Using force while seating the fuel screw will cause the needle like end of the fuel screw to break off.

4. While so, you will observe that the rpm rises constantly and at one point becomes stable. Further unscrewing the fuel screw will not increase the rpm.

Set the fuel screw at this point and bring the rpm down to around 850 with the idle set screw.

If your adjustments are correct you will observe the following

1. The motorcycle will start on the first kick without giving throttle
2. The carburetor float bowl will be cold to touch
3. If it is a humid day, you will get water droplets from the exhaust
4. On turning the throttle, the engine response will be crisp without any gasps or hiccups. It may also be noted that if you flick open the throttle, the engine may momentarily gasp as the Royal Enfields are not armed with a fuel pump in their carburetor.
5. During the rides there will not be any exhaust backfire or spit out through the carburetor.

As to the screw you are tampering with, kindly post a picture
regards adrian

[Siddy]

Originally Posted by adrian

As to the screw you are tampering with, kindly post a picture
regards adrian

Thanks for the great info Adrian. I did play with carb and the sound has dampened but not completely gone. But there is a noticable difference. I played with the brass screw which I am sure is the AF mixture screw. Biggest difference I noticed was the throttle response. Earlier the bike used to kinda die for a fraction of a second and regain consciousness when I accelerated The bike feels peppier now when I move from zero! There is absolutely no lag now.

Gonna fine tune my skills now! Thanks again mate.

[rki2007]

I am tired of getting things sorted out in my TBTS 350. One more issue has crept in.

Recently I had my bike serviced from a Bullet Mechanic. I had the issue of the rear wheel not freely rotating. I mean it was hard to rotate the wheel from a stationary position. I felt like a bit of brakes were applied to the wheel or may be due to lack of oil, the wheel was not freely moving.

The Mechanic just sprayed some oil onto the disk and for some time, it was fine and now again after few hundred kms, the wheel noise and free movement has become a problem. Also when I apply the rear brake, there comes a noise which is quiet irritating.

What can I do to get this sorted out?

Experts, please help. Thanks in advance.

[drdeepudev]

Originally Posted by rki2007

Recently I had my bike serviced from a Bullet Mechanic. I had the issue of the rear wheel not freely rotating. I mean it was hard to rotate the wheel from a stationary position.
The Mechanic just sprayed some oil onto the disk and for some time, it was fine and now again after few hundred kms, the wheel noise and free movement has become a problem. Also when I apply the rear brake, there comes a noise which is quiet irritating.

What can I do to get this sorted out?

Experts, please help. Thanks in advance.

I too had faced the same issue. That time,the culprit was overtight chain. Check the chain first. If its too tight, loosening it will rectify the complaint.

You mentioned that the mechanic applied oil in the disk. Just curious to know. Did he apply that in the brake disc?

I assume you have the new bird with disc brakes. Dirt/ grime in the brake pads can also cause the noise while breaking. Cleaning those should help. Dirt can also cause the wheel to not rotate properly. Also make sure the brake pads are not worn out.

These are my few initial thoughts. If every thing is normal will have to think of other causes.