[The_Mad_Hatter]

Originally Posted by Karthik Chandra

RE Experts,

I'm planning to buy the Classic 500. I would want to know the maintenance costs as I heard stories of brake pad, clutch wire replacements and the likes once every 2-3 months. One guy who owns the Classic 350 also confirmed this. How much of a concern is this, if true?

Just want to now how much would it cost to run and maintain Classic 500. I just need an heads up on what to expect before I take the plunge.

Thanks in advance

Well, it depends on how you ride your bike. IMO, if anyone has to replace their brake pads and clutch cable that frequently, they must be really trashing the bike. On my Machismo 350, I've only replaced the cables and brake pads once over 41000 km in 8 years (with a 3-year hiatus from using the bike).

Usually, as long as you service the bike within the recommended service intervals, follow the standard run-in procedure for the engine, and refrain from brutalizing your bike, everything should be fine.

[ArizonaJim]

Originally Posted by Karthik Chandra

RE Experts,

I'm planning to buy the Classic 500. I would want to know the maintenance costs as I heard stories of brake pad, clutch wire replacements and the likes once every 2-3 months. One guy who owns the Classic 350 also confirmed this. How much of a concern is this, if true?

Just want to now how much would it cost to run and maintain Classic 500. I just need an heads up on what to expect before I take the plunge.

Thanks in advance

Based on my experiance with a Royal Enfield 500, I must totally disagree with the suggestion that the brake pads/shoes or clutch cable should need replacing that often.

At 13480 miles (21,742 km), I replaced the front brake pads, not that it needed them but just because I had a pair of them on hand.
The original pads still had about 40% of the material left so, doing a bit of calculation says they would have truly needed replacing around 22,500 miles (36,290 km).
I should mention that I do my stopping with about 80 percent front brake and 20 percent rear brake providing the stopping power.
I also ride rather spiritedly averaging about 45 mph (72 kmph).

The rear brake shoes still look to have at least 80 percent of their life left so I don't bother thinking about replacing them.

As for the clutch cable, I have never needed to replace mine so, it has worked perfectly for over 5 years and 20,000 miles (32,200 km).
I do lubricate the inner cable using a light weight motor oil, doing this chore roughly every 1,000 miles (1,600 km).

Buy the Classic 500 and treat it nicely and it will serve you well for years.

[farhadtarapore]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

Buy the Classic 500 and treat it nicely and it will serve you well for years.

Driving and traffic conditions in most cities in India are vastly different. My accelerator cable broke at 4700kms. Clutch cable was quite rusted and snapped at 5200kms.

Currently bike is at 5800kms.

[payeng]

At couple of years back, I thought that I would like to get a Royal Enfield at some point in my life.

Not anymore. Reason, looks like I might have to spend a considerable amount of time looking after/caring for the bike.
Had the patience and time a couple of years back. Not anymore.

I would rather concentrate of the ride experience than worry about the maintenance.

I know - Different Folks, Different Strokes. But times have changed and so should Royal Enfiled

[Karthik Chandra]

Originally Posted by The_Mad_Hatter

Usually, as long as you service the bike within the recommended service intervals, follow the standard run-in procedure for the engine, and refrain from brutalizing your bike, everything should be fine.

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

Based on my experiance with a Royal Enfield 500, I must totally disagree with the suggestion that the brake pads/shoes or clutch cable should need replacing that often.

Buy the Classic 500 and treat it nicely and it will serve you well for years.

Thank guys for the heads up

Originally Posted by farhadtarapore

Driving and traffic conditions in most cities in India are vastly different. My accelerator cable broke at 4700kms. Clutch cable was quite rusted and snapped at 5200kms.

Currently bike is at 5800kms.

Originally Posted by payeng

I would rather concentrate of the ride experience than worry about the maintenance.

I know - Different Folks, Different Strokes. But times have changed and so should Royal Enfiled

There seems to be divided opinions when it comes to RE, anyways I'll keep note of what you guys have shared.

Thanks

[Karthik Chandra]

Hi Guys,

I'm super excited to announce that I've booked a Classic 500 . I would want to know what all to look out for during PDI. Also if anyone can share the PDI checklist for bikes, it'll be helpful.

Thanks in advance

[raghu.t.k]

Originally Posted by Karthik Chandra

Hi Guys,

I'm super excited to announce that I've booked a Classic 500 . I would want to know what all to look out for during PDI. Also if anyone can share the PDI checklist for bikes, it'll be helpful.

Thanks in advance

While you go through the regular checklist, pls ensure that you check all the indicators are working. Mainly the fuel and check engine. I took my classic 500 with a faulty fuel indicator. All went hunky dory till the fuel ran out and I was stranded. I then had to push the bike for nearly a KM.

Ideally they could have used a bi-colour led, green when fuel levels are normal, red for low fuel. Or still better a separate fuel gauge

[farhadtarapore]

Hi,
I have noticed since last week that there seems to be some issue with the clutch. Even when I press it fully, I don't think it is disengaging the engine properly. I had stopped the bike in 1st gear, then pressed in the clutch and used the self-start, the bike started moving forward slowly (in jerks) while engine was cranking. Of course, bike didn't start. Had to put it in neutral and then start it. But I feel that the starting issues with my bike could be due to a faulty clutch sensor or switch or something that detects the clutch is fully pressed? Can this issue cause my clutch plates to wear out? How do I fix this myself?

[adrian]

Originally Posted by farhadtarapore

Hi,
I have noticed since last week that there seems to be some issue with the clutch. Even when I press it fully, I don't think it is disengaging the engine properly. I had stopped the bike in 1st gear, then pressed in the clutch and used the self-start, the bike started moving forward slowly (in jerks) while engine was cranking. Of course, bike didn't start. Had to put it in neutral and then start it. But I feel that the starting issues with my bike could be due to a faulty clutch sensor or switch or something that detects the clutch is fully pressed? Can this issue cause my clutch plates to wear out? How do I fix this myself?

Adjust the clutch cable free play and you will be fine. There are many videos in You tube and detailed post in Team-BHP as well.

[LazyGunner]

Originally Posted by adrian

Most probably the clutch plates might not have disengaged properly (Cold climate- thick oil-sticky clutch plates). If that was the case, what you heard is the dogs in the gear grinding against one another. Always make a habit of freeing the clutch plates by pulling in the clutch lever and using the kicker till the plates free themselves. Start the motorcycle only after that. It will prevent the motorcycle from grinding into gear and keep yourself from spending for costly repairs.

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

Could be the sound from sprag clutch slipping. Check if the sound is appearing only while using the electric starter.

[EDIT] Just noticed that the sound is coming when you engage the first gear and not while cranking. Sorry for that! Try disengaging the clutch as Adrian suggested and check if the clutch is adjusted properly.

I have observed this sound in my classic 350 sometimes too. Although, it has disappeared nowadays. Everything is perfectly fine when I start and engage the first gear. When I release the clutch lever a little, the loud noise comes and the engine shuts off. If I try to start again, it works fine as if nothing happened. It happened when I was at the workshop and I asked the mechanic what is it, he said that the sound is from Sprag clutch.

Can someone please guide me to an article/guide about the significance of 'Sprag Clutch' and how it works?

Thanks!

[ArizonaJim]

The sprag clutch and the engine clutch are totally different things. The only thing that is common to both is they both transmit rotary power from one place to another place.

The engine clutch transmits power thru it or it slips and transmits no power depending on the position of the clutch lever.

The engine has a chain that transmits power from the crankshaft to the engine clutch.
The power rotates the clutch, usually at about 1/2 of the engine speed.

Depending on the position of the clutch grip lever, this power either stops at the clutch (lever pulled towards the hand grip) or, it transmits the power to the gears in the transmission.

The sprag clutch also transmits rotary power but in one direction only and in the case of the Royal Enfield, the sprag clutch is located on the engine crankshaft.
It is driven by the electric starter motor thru a series of gears.

If a sprag clutch is turned in one direction it locks and transmits the power to the crankshaft. If the crankshaft is rotating faster than the sprag clutch, the clutch releases and no power is transmitted thru it.

Putting it a different way, when the electric starter motor is energized and it starts to run it rotates the gears that drive the sprag clutch.
If the engine is not running, the sprag clutch locks up and rotates the crankshaft to start the engine.
When the engine starts, the crankshaft begins rotating faster than the sprag clutch so the clutch unlocks and allows the crankshaft to continue to rotate while it comes to a stop (after the user releases the starter button and the starter motor stops running).

Getting into the way a sprag clutch works, there is an outer, driven ring, a bunch of elongated steel "sprags" and an inner ring.

If the outer ring begins rotating the sprags become tilted and because they are longer than the distance between the outer and inner rings, they wedge between the inner and outer ring. This transmits the power thru the clutch.

If the inner ring is rotating faster than the outer ring, the sprags rotate slightly and rather than wedging in place they tend to lay flat and just lightly skid on the inner ring allowing it to rotate freely.

While were discussing sprag clutches, one could ask, what happens if the inner ring rotates in the wrong direction? Will the sprags become wedged between the inner and outer ring and cause the clutch to "lock up"?

The answer is yes.
If the inner ring rotates backwards, the clutch will lock up and transmit the backwards movement of the crankshaft to the starter gears and starter motor.

The shock of this happening can be great enough to shatter the hardened steel sprags, ruining the clutch and depositing bits of hardened steel sprags throughout the engine.

Engine "kickbacks" that happen when the engine is being turned off and the crankshaft reversing direction due to the piston compressing the air/fuel in the cylinder just before the engine totally stops running caused the ruination of many of the sprag clutches on older Royal Enfields with electric starter motors.
That is why the recommended way of "killing" the older electric start Royal Enfields is to apply the compression release and only turning off the ignition key after the engine has stopped running.

To get around this problem, when Royal Enfield redesigned the engine to the newer UCE style, they installed an auto-decompression device. It releases most of the engine compression to prevent "kick back" due to compression as the engine is coming to a halt.

This feature protects the sprag clutch while the owner simply turns off the ignition switch and the engine stops running.

If the sprag clutch is defective, it will not transmit power from the electric starter motor to the crankshaft.

If you hit the electric starter motor button to start the motorcycle, a defective sprag clutch will cause the electric motor to accelerate to full speed but the engine won't rotate at all.

Before anyone freaks out, if this happens on a very cold day, it is possible the thickened engine oil that is coating the sprags is not allowing the sprags to rotate and lock up.
(This has happened several times to me after the motorcycle sit overnight at temperatures below freezing (0° C).)
The answer to this is to stop pushing the start button and let the motor stop running. Then, try it again.

If the engine oil is warm or hot and the electric starter motor runs without turning the engine crankshaft (No choof...choof...choof), a bad sprag clutch is the first thing to suspect.

[msrsooraj]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

Several owners in the US have changed their drive sprockets to the next larger size.

This was done by most to make the engine run at a (roughly) 6 percent lower speed which they say improves vibration and sound when riding at speeds above 105 km/hr. Of course, they lost a bit of acceleration speed but with the high torque of the 500cc engine they say the loss isn't very noticeable.

Hello Jim,

This is something I have been meaning to do in my 2014 Classic 350. Is this a simple swap where I buy and install the Bullet 350's chain-set instead of the Classic 350's? Will the bigger front sprocket fit in classic or is there a difference?

I have also heard that both the swing arms are different. Is that something i should keep in mind while changing the sprocket?

[ArizonaJim]

I must confess, I don't know if the engine final drive sprocket size (tooth count) on the 350 Classic or 350 Bullet.

Without this knowledge, I can't say if the two models use the same or different sprockets.

I do see that the wheel base for both of these models is the same 1370 mm so I rather doubt that there is a difference in the rear swing arm length.

They do use different rear tyre sizes and they have a different rim size.
The Bullet uses a 3.25" X 19" tyre. The Classic uses a 110/90-18 tyre.

Looking at the outside diameter of these two tyres shows a difference of only 1.34 percent so my guess is, both motorcycles are using the same sprocket.

The best way to find out the true answer is to ask a good Royal Enfield mechanic who is very familiar with both models, "What is the tooth count for the engine output drive sprocket?"
If the number of teeth is the same there would be nothing to gain by swapping the part.

[GrayBerry]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

GrayBerry

I don't think that the backfiring thru the carb has anything to do with your

---

IMO, work in the lower half of the engine should not be needed.

Good luck.

Dear Team and Jim,

Here are the updates from my bike.

1. Measured the piston and bore - Piston had clearly lost material, close to 0.3 mm under size.

2. Bore was pretty good, however there was material at the top and end of the bore (unused area by piston)

3. Got new piston - Box said it was 0.25 mm over sized. The piston was that of Thunderbird.

4. Got the bore brushed to fit the piston, was great to see the piston slide slowly along the bore in a thin film of oil.

5. Got the head clean, replaced the poppet valves and seals. Yes, got them lapped for good seal.

6. Assembled all parts with the help of a friend.

Now there is a new problem:
As my original carburetor had issues (as per a dumb mechanic), I had replaced it with a 500 cc carburetor. I was unhappy with the performance. The motorcycle worked, but with hell lot of vibration. - By the way this is pre engine build.

Now I have switched to the original carburetor and looks like couple of ports are blocked. The bike starts with choke, but switches off when choke is closed.

Can anyone suggest a good carburetor cleaning solution. This helper friend of mine is suggesting to immerse the carburetor in Diesel over night.
Found a 3M product on web - see picture - Any suggestions?

Thank you,
Venky

One more Question:
Oil that flows to the exhaust side of head has a better flow rate, almost 3 times more than that on the carburetor slide, is it designed that way or is my tube choked?

[balenopower]

hello RE fanatics. Im nearing the 11k mark on my 2014 Bullet 500. The bike has just done a 2000 km roadtrip from Mumbai to Jammu without any issues. Is there anything i need to replace to get checked in the next service? There aren't any oil stains or any issues with the bike as of now and i would like to keep it that way. Just wanted to know, as a precautionary measure, do i need to check or change anything.