[gearbox]

Originally Posted by mshooli

Did you book the Electra 350 or Classic 350 ? Because 6-8 months for an Electra is a bit surprising to me. 2 months back when I went to book my Desert Storm, I was told that the waiting period for Electra 350 was around 2-3 months and Classic 350 was close to a year. Desert Storm waiting period was 6 months but now with the new plant opening up and its focus being on the Desert Storm plus new TB, he has told me that the waiting period could come down to 4 months possibly.

I booked an Electra 350, I was clearly told that the wait would be about 6-8 months, Teknik Motors, Indiranagar.

Can you check with the source you checked 2 months back? if its still the case, I would book it with the dealer who quoted 2-3 months rather than wait here for 6-8 months. would highly appreciate if you could let me know please.

[SuperSlick]

Hi Guys! Right now I'm in the middle of running in period (towards 500 Kms) for my Electra 350 TwinSpark. Can anyone let me know much mileage one can expect during these initial 500 Kms?

Also, another question regarding the oil level. Does the initial running in period consume more oil? When I bought it i could see the oil level indicating in the middle, but now after riding for about 275 Kms, it is very less and I can hardly see it at the minimum level. I check this after riding it for about 15-20 minutes and have not seen a single drop leaking. Please let me know!

[adrian]

Originally Posted by SuperSlick

Hi Guys! Right now I'm in the middle of running in period (towards 500 Kms) for my Electra 350 TwinSpark. Can anyone let me know much mileage one can expect during these initial 500 Kms?

Also, another question regarding the oil level. Does the initial running in period consume more oil? When I bought it i could see the oil level indicating in the middle, but now after riding for about 275 Kms, it is very less and I can hardly see it at the minimum level. I check this after riding it for about 15-20 minutes and have not seen a single drop leaking. Please let me know!

Hi SuperSlick, if your bullet is tuned in the right manner from the RE service (ie, slightly rich for running in period), then you should be getting around 36 to 40 kpl.
Regarding the oil level, after 15 minutes of riding, park the bike in the center stand on a level ground. Wait for about 10 minutes for the oil to drain back to the sump and then check the oil level at the sight glass. If the oil level is in between the minimum and maximum lines on the sight glass of oil window or is slightly over the max line, then it is ok. But if the oil level is below the minimum line, definitely take the bike to the service.
regards adrian

[gearbox]

Originally Posted by SuperSlick

Hi Guys! Right now I'm in the middle of running in period (towards 500 Kms) for my Electra 350 TwinSpark. Can anyone let me know much mileage one can expect during these initial 500 Kms?

Also, another question regarding the oil level. Does the initial running in period consume more oil? When I bought it i could see the oil level indicating in the middle, but now after riding for about 275 Kms, it is very less and I can hardly see it at the minimum level. I check this after riding it for about 15-20 minutes and have not seen a single drop leaking. Please let me know!

First off, I would suggest you to run in the bike for atleast 3000kms. It is really important that you run it in for 3k or so.
Check this article written by Mr Nandan from Nandanmotors, he is an expert with bullets and has mentioned why a long run in should be done.
http://www.cybersteering.com/cruise/...t/running.html

Mileage if low at the moment should get better with service if all other things are well within the engine and the bike.

A colleague has an Electra 350 and he gets about 40kmpl now after running in the bull for 3k kms.

For the oil levels, you may want to maybe check the oil sump to see if the oil matter is getting stuck there, I mean if its getting thicker and sticking down there. Also look carefully everywhere around the engine area to find out for any leakages. Check the exhaust pipe to see if you find any oily substance, that is another place where the oil can get out of the engine system. That would mean the piston rings may be worn out or not properly in place and are letting the oil out at the time of exhaust stroke.

I am not a bullet expert however these things should/can be checked to figure out the low oil levels.

[gearbox]

Someone is selling his Electra 350 booking coupon, the bull is due for delivery in about 30 days or so. What would be the issues i will come across if i bought the coupon from him and pay the dealer to deliver the bull to me.

From what i have been told.
1) The bull will not be registered on my name and will only be registered to the person who booked it, Is this correct? No workaround available to get it registered on my name?
2) If the above point has no workaround, and If i become the 2nd owner of the bull, I was told warranty would be void, Is that true?
3) What other issues/problems that I may come across?

[rki2007]

Originally Posted by gearbox

Someone is selling his Electra 350 booking coupon, the bull is due for delivery in about 30 days or so. What would be the issues i will come across if i bought the coupon from him and pay the dealer to deliver the bull to me.

From what i have been told.
1) The bull will not be registered on my name and will only be registered to the person who booked it, Is this correct? No workaround available to get it registered on my name?
2) If the above point has no workaround, and If i become the 2nd owner of the bull, I was told warranty would be void, Is that true?
3) What other issues/problems that I may come across?

Answers:

1) True that the person in whose name the bike was booked will be the registered owner. You will have to transfer the ownership in your name later through filing the papers with RTO. You will be the second owner and also the value of the bike will come down due to more than one ownership. This may not be very true in the case of RE bulls which have a tremendous resale value.

2)Warranty is for the bike and not for anything connected with the ownership. You have the right to transfer/sell the bike to anyone any number of times. It has got nothing to do with the warranty.

3)I don't see any other problems connected with this.

[gearbox]

Originally Posted by rki2007

Answers:

1) True that the person in whose name the bike was booked will be the registered owner. You will have to transfer the ownership in your name later through filing the papers with RTO. You will be the second owner and also the value of the bike will come down due to more than one ownership. This may not be very true in the case of RE bulls which have a tremendous resale value.

2)Warranty is for the bike and not for anything connected with the ownership. You have the right to transfer/sell the bike to anyone any number of times. It has got nothing to do with the warranty.

3)I don't see any other problems connected with this.

Hey Thank You for the inputs. I have also been wondering when a friend told me about the warranty would not apply if i get the vehicle transferred onto my name from the person who originally booked it. This helps a ton really. Highly appreciate your inputs.

I don't care about the resale value as such since I will not be selling it off soon.

So i guess i can go and get the booking coupon and get my bull ASAP.

[SuperSlick]

Thanks a lot Adrian and Gearbox for your responses. Regarding the mileage I specifically didn't mention if I am getting a low or a high mileage to know what's the general opinion .

I somehow feel I am getting high mileage because since my first fill of 4.4 Liters of unleaded petrol, I have still not hit the reserve. I had filled up when the bike had just 25 Kms on the Odo and it was in reserve then (but not sure how much petrol was in the tank before the fill up) and till now it has run for 250 Kms. The speeds have been between 55-60 Kms in 5th gear, 90% on open roads without much traffic. No high RPM shifts, no lugging.

On the oil level part, I'll try to wait for 10 mins as suggested and wait for the oil to collect and settle down. I checked it when on the center stand immediately after completing the 15-20 minute ride. But I suppose I should be able to see at least some oil even when it's not warmed up, isn't it?

[gearbox]

Originally Posted by SuperSlick

Thanks a lot Adrian and Gearbox for your responses. Regarding the mileage I specifically didn't mention if I am getting a low or a high mileage to know what's the general opinion .

I somehow feel I am getting high mileage because since my first fill of 4.4 Liters of unleaded petrol, I have still not hit the reserve. I had filled up when the bike had just 25 Kms on the Odo and it was in reserve then (but not sure how much petrol was in the tank before the fill up) and till now it has run for 250 Kms. The speeds have been between 55-60 Kms in 5th gear, 90% on open roads without much traffic. No high RPM shifts, no lugging.

On the oil level part, I'll try to wait for 10 mins as suggested and wait for the oil to collect and settle down. I checked it when on the center stand immediately after completing the 15-20 minute ride. But I suppose I should be able to see at least some oil even when it's not warmed up, isn't it?

If after going though the warming up method, you still don't see the proper levels, it could be that the engine has very less oil level, maybe not filled up properly or something. You may want to remove the oil into a clean vessel and measure it up or take it to the service center to get that done, just to be sure and safe. Running the engine with low oil levels is not a good idea.

[ArizonaJim]

@SuperSlick

The oil level is always visible in my 500cc UCE RE's sight window, even after a very short ride as long as I park the motorcycle on the centerstand right after riding.

If, after a ride I first park the motorcycle using the side stand there is no oil visible in the sight window. After parking it this way if I then place it on the centerstand, a very low level barely covering the bottom of the sight window will appear.
This is because much of the oil was drained into the left hand engine cover and until the engine is started it will remain there.
This will do no damage and once the engine has started it almost immediately returns the excess oil in the sidecover to the main oil sump.

If you place your motorcycle on the centerstand after even a short ride you should see the oil in the sight window at least half way up the glass.
If you don't, it is a simple matter to add some of the recommended oil until it does.

To do this, first place the motorcycle on its center stand on a level place.
If it was sitting on the side stand before you begin, put it on the center stand and start the engine and let it run for at least 30 seconds. Then shut it off.
Remove the oil plug on the right hand side cover. Do not allow any dirt to contact the plug. Remember, cleanliness is absolutely needed.
Using a funnel in the oil fill hole to prevent spilling add a small amount of oil. This will often cause the oil level in the sight window to rise rapidly so when it does, stop pouring the oil.
Wait for at least 10 seconds for the added oil to make its way into the sump. This will cause the level in the sight window to drop.
When it does, add a little more oil and again, wait.

Continue to do this until the oil level reaches half way between the low and the high marks and doesn't drop after waiting 10 seconds, remove the funnel, replace the oil plug and take it for a ride knowing that everything is as it should be.

If you accidentally add oil until it reaches the top of the sight window no great harm will be done but try to keep the oil level slightly below the top.
Also remember to use a motorcycle oil made for 4 stroke engines that meet the JASO MA requirements. Some automotive oils can damage the wet clutch used in the Royal Enfield.

[SuperSlick]

Thanks Gearbox and ArizonaJim! The bike is always parked on the center stand and I can see the oil level just above the min level indicator (difficult to spot it), when the engine is cold. Today, after the short ride and parking it up on the center stand, I checked the level after around 10-15 minutes as suggested by Adrian in one the previous posts. The oil level definitely is not in the middle but just barely above the minum level. I am 211 Kms short of the 500 Kms as of today so confused whether to top up the oil or wait for the first service when the dealer would replace the oil and top it up.

On the other hand, I hope adding oil of a different company (If not Motul but Castrol, Shell, etc.) with same grades as suggested by RE would not cause any harm?

[gearbox]

Originally Posted by SuperSlick

Thanks Gearbox and ArizonaJim! The bike is always parked on the center stand and I can see the oil level just above the min level indicator (difficult to spot it), when the engine is cold. Today, after the short ride and parking it up on the center stand, I checked the level after around 10-15 minutes as suggested by Adrian in one the previous posts. The oil level definitely is not in the middle but just barely above the minum level. I am 211 Kms short of the 500 Kms as of today so confused whether to top up the oil or wait for the first service when the dealer would replace the oil and top it up.

On the other hand, I hope adding oil of a different company (If not Motul but Castrol, Shell, etc.) with same grades as suggested by RE would not cause any harm?

Please check with the dealer and try to find out the details of the oil that was used, since the engine is still in the run in period, using it any further without proper oil levels would cause more harm than adding oil from another brand. You may want to drain out all the oil the engine has at the moment and fill it up afresh. That would certainly not do any harm.
Please ensure you are using the same oil specified in the manual, and you should be good.

[ArizonaJim]

SuperSlick:
IMO, as long as the oil level is above the minimum level indicator when the motorcycle is parked on the center stand, everything is fine.

If the motorcycle were mine with only 211 km to go before the oil and oil filter are scheduled to be changed I would not replace the existing oil.
Doing so would be a waste of money and oil.

It is very important to have the 500km oil and filter change done though.
There will be a large number of fine metal chips and slivers caught by the two magnets, the pump inlet screen (filter) and the cartridge oil filter which will be removed during that change.

These metal fragments are the result of the many moving parts such as the piston rings and cylinder bore and the gears wearing in to one another and as the "break in" period continues, their number will diminish and everything will run more smoothly.

Happy riding and remember as your motoring along, Trust no one. They aren't looking for you and they don't see you.

[gearbox]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

SuperSlick:
IMO, as long as the oil level is above the minimum level indicator when the motorcycle is parked on the center stand, everything is fine.

If the motorcycle were mine with only 211 km to go before the oil and oil filter are scheduled to be changed I would not replace the existing oil.
Doing so would be a waste of money and oil.

It is very important to have the 500km oil and filter change done though.
There will be a large number of fine metal chips and slivers caught by the two magnets, the pump inlet screen (filter) and the cartridge oil filter which will be removed during that change.

These metal fragments are the result of the many moving parts such as the piston rings and cylinder bore and the gears wearing in to one another and as the "break in" period continues, their number will diminish and everything will run more smoothly.

Happy riding and remember as your motoring along, Trust no one. They aren't looking for you and they don't see you.

@ArizonaJim - Out of curiosity, would draining the existing oil and replacing with fresh oil at this juncture cause any harm to the breaking in process?

I ask this since I will also be owning an RE soon, and I do not quite understand why you said not to fill up the oil in Superslick's bull even though it is running at lower than desired levels.

The reason I mentioned in my post to drain and fill up is, since the run in is a critical period for the engine, low oil would mean wear and tear within the engine if there is not enough oil to lubricate the parts and could also cause more damage and cost well more than what a can of oil would cost, IMO.

[SuperSlick]

Originally Posted by gearbox

Please check with the dealer and try to find out the details of the oil that was used, since the engine is still in the run in period, using it any further without proper oil levels would cause more harm than adding oil from another brand. You may want to drain out all the oil the engine has at the moment and fill it up afresh. That would certainly not do any harm.
Please ensure you are using the same oil specified in the manual, and you should be good.

Well, i'll try to find that out if I can. I think the dealer told it was Motul 4T 15W50, but I am not very sure. For now i'll try to get close to the 500 Kms mark ASAP without any top up or total refil done.

BTW, missed out to congratulate on your Electra! Hope you get to enjoy it soon!

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

SuperSlick:
IMO, as long as the oil level is above the minimum level indicator when the motorcycle is parked on the center stand, everything is fine.

If the motorcycle were mine with only 211 km to go before the oil and oil filter are scheduled to be changed I would not replace the existing oil.
Doing so would be a waste of money and oil.

It is very important to have the 500km oil and filter change done though.
There will be a large number of fine metal chips and slivers caught by the two magnets, the pump inlet screen (filter) and the cartridge oil filter which will be removed during that change.

These metal fragments are the result of the many moving parts such as the piston rings and cylinder bore and the gears wearing in to one another and as the "break in" period continues, their number will diminish and everything will run more smoothly.

Happy riding and remember as your motoring along, Trust no one. They aren't looking for you and they don't see you.

Thanks again ArizonaJim. I too feel that I can continue for the remaining 200 Kms. Just caught up in this catch 22 situation; wanting to ensure the bike goes through a proper running-in without any issues! Well, on the 'Trust no one' I agree with that because no two Bullets are same and only you know your bike better. But some guidence is required at times!