[navin_v8]

It's not really the heat from the engine that causes the electrolyte to evaporate. It's just the fact that the hot air during the summer heats up the entire motorcycle including the battery fluid.[/quote]

Hi Jim my brand new motorcycle barely 3 weeks old the RE Thunderbird 500 EFi broke down in the middle of the road. The battery icon started flashing on the instrument cluster but by the time I could react the bike went kaput. While taking help from the RE mechanic on the phone who asked me to check the fuse I noticed that the battery had become super hot. Is this why the battery icon was flashing on the instrument cluster? what can be the cause of this issue, as the bike is just 3 weeks old and run for just 280 Kms under my watchful riding of not exceeding 50 KMPH and not going above 2000 RPM as per owners manual for the first 500 kms.

The bike is now with the RE authorized service centre and they are diagnosing the issue but haven't given me a concrete reply as yet. Could you help me know why this happened? Thanks in advance.

[bj96]

Originally Posted by navin_v8

...the battery had become super hot...

Battery turning very hot is a sign of over charging and/or fluid loss (also due to overcharging) in the battery. Need to check Alternator/RR output.

-BJ

[ArizonaJim]

navin_v8:

I agree with bj96.

The overheating could also be due to the dealer not properly filling the battery before fitting it to the motorcycle. (I'm assuming the battery is not installed by the factory based on the RE's shipped to the USA.)

Many lead/acid batteries are shipped from the maker with no electrolite in the cells. I think that is done for safety purposes. Just prior to installing one of these batteries the 6 cells are supposed to be filled and the battery should then be put on a charger. All of this takes time so it is not always done as it should be.

In any case, as your battery overheated IMO it should be replaced by the dealer. The mechanic should also go thru all of the electrical circuits to determine the reason for the blown fuse. This could range from a short circuit to just a poorly made fuse.

By the way. The ground wires on a Royal Enfield has two ground wires attached to the negative battery terminal. Both wires are attached to the one connector and the attachment is covered by a cast rubber cover.

The heavy (thick) black ground wire supplies the negative (-) current to the starter motor and motorcycle frame. The smaller black ground wire supplies the negative current to the wiring harness.
This smaller black wire has been known to break where it attaches to the metal terminal connector or, the connector itself has been known to fail from vibration.
Because the area is covered by the rubber cover, the break is not obvious.

If anyone's RE suddenly stops running and powered things like the headlight fail to operate, the fuses are the first thing to check followed by a deeper investigation into this wiring harness ground wire.

Hope they find the source of your problem, replace the battery and send you down the road with a RE that is as reliable as mine has been.

[navin_v8]

Hey Jim, thanks for the reply mate. The fuses were all ok, it was only the battery that overheated maybe due to overcharging, faulty wiring, rectifier-regulator fault, etc. The bike is now with the RE authorized service centre and they have so far diagnosed the issue as a "faulty battery". I have told them clearly that rather than telling me it is the fault of the battery try to check all other parts like alternator, rectifier regulator unit, wiring, etc. as the battery is a maintainence free battery that comes sealed from the factory. I dont want to be stranded again with a brand new battery where the problem is not of the battery in the first place.

The bike has been in the workshop since monday, and so far I have only heard that it was a battery issue, I awaiting a correct diagnosis from them to pin point the issue. I will update once I hear from RE.

[adrian]

Hi friends and experts : My Standard UCE 350 has a minor exhaust leak at the heads and yesterday I decided to replace the exhaust gasket. Halfway through the work I found out that the exhaust studs on which the flange bolts tighten are bend outwards (God knows how it came pre-bend from the factory) and hence the flange in not getting released from the studs. Being afraid in the first place to use force on the stud which is fixed on the cylinder head, I re-assembled the whole thing. The exhaust flange will come off only if the exhaust studs are straight. Now the questions :
1.Any idea how to straighten the studs ?
2. Is it OK to pry it straight using a socket

OT: Just sharing my experience with the speedometer !
Was riding around and heard a rat a tat sound. Scared like hell I pulled the motorcycle to the curb and on further inspection found the speedo pinion drive destroyed. Disconnected the speedometer cable and continued the journey to the workshop uneventful. On reaching there I found out that the speedometer had conked of at 18k kms and had to replace it with a brand new one. Now comes the interesting part - on installation of the new speedometer, I found that the old one was showing -10 kms during the ride and that means I was running +10 kms on the limit during my running in and also +10km in speed limitation areas (I am damn lucky not to get any speed tickets during these 4 years). Now that I have met the infamous speedometer ghost of the Bullet, I would say that the first thing to check on getting delivery of a new bullet would be to check for speedometer error using a GPS phone or something like that.
regards adrian

[Majumdarda]

Hello all,
My Bullet [Amun-Ra] has completed approx 11500 kilometers till date and as I would be heading for Goa soon, hence was thinking of completing the Fifth Servicing before that.

As per the Owner's Manual, following things are supposed to be replaced at 12k

> Engine Oil Filter Paper Element
> Rubber Hose : Air filter to Carburetor.
> Rubber Hose : Adapter
> Air filter element
> Brake Fluid [Disk Brake] [Dot 3 or Dot 4, as per manual]

I am ok with the above replacements. Apart from these, I wish to replace the spark plugs too. Please advise if all this is required and good for Bullet's overall health.

WQR8DC
UR6DC

Slight problems which I have faced recently are as follows :-

1 > Sudden loss of Braking power with the Front Disks.

I have observed at times that the front disks needs to be pressed considerably more to have the bite. (the feeling is as if there is nothing on the lever for that fraction of a second) But then if I release the lever, and press it back again, the brakes seems to be back to normal with the bite as required. Now it might be that the lever pressure was not adequate, but then in some emergencies if this happens, its a blunder. This has happened with me sometimes and as I do not drive aggressively, its of less concern. But this issue is definitely there and its some thing I would request experts to advise. I have observed that there is no leaks in the brake hose pipe and that the fluid level seems to be adequate. Will replacing brake fluid solve this issue? Which DOT rating should I be going for?

2 > Sudden loose of power.

The feeling is the same when your bike is about to go to reserve, only that you know that reserve is not expected. Also the loss of power seems momentarily and then with slight knocking its back again. My Pulsar experience suggests that the issue might be with the air filter being dirty but I am not too sure. Looking at the filter I guess its OK, but there is nothing one to can do to clean at home. Also I think I had read somewhere that there might be issue with the rubber hose between the Air filter and the Carburetor. Please advise what could be the possible reason for this sudden loss of power. I do not drive in places where there is too much of debris flying around, but I guess city roads are playing some roles.

3 > ES feature of Bullet.

Thankfully this has been resolved and the culprit was the air fuel mixture not being properly setup. Thank you for guiding me on this and helping me to get it resolved.

Please help with your valuable suggestions so that I can head for the servicing at the earliest.

Kind regards,

Bikramjit.

[B O V]

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

Sudden loss of Braking power with the Front Disks.

Sudden loss of power.

Seems like the loss of braking power and it returning upon pumping is due to the presence of air in your braking system.Somehow air is gettin into your system.so that will need checking too.I think.When did you last change your brake fluid?

The loss of power(similar feeling as you've mentioned)happened in my case due to my ignition coil being faulty.Does it happen at any particular modes of throttle operation,or is it random?

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

Slight problems which I have faced recently are as follows :-

1 > Sudden loss of Braking power with the Front Disks.

I have observed at times that the front disks needs to be pressed considerably more to have the bite. (the feeling is as if there is nothing on the lever for that fraction of a second) But then if I release the lever, and press it back again, the brakes seems to be back to normal with the bite as required. Now it might be that the lever pressure was not adequate, but then in some emergencies if this happens, its a blunder. This has happened with me sometimes and as I do not drive aggressively, its of less concern. But this issue is definitely there and its some thing I would request experts to advise. I have observed that there is no leaks in the brake hose pipe and that the fluid level seems to be adequate. Will replacing brake fluid solve this issue? Which DOT rating should I be going for?

I think the piston of the master cylinder has gone kaput. IIRC, there is a rubber sleeve with the cylinder and that might have busted. Please check and replace if required. If this is the case, you will have to replace the fluid. I am not sure which grade comes prefilled on the B500. But you can drain everything and go for DOT4. Also, ask SVC guys to bleed the system properly.

...Looking at the filter I guess its OK, but there is nothing one to can do to clean at home. Also I think I had read somewhere that there might be issue with the rubber hose between the Air filter and the Carburetor. Please advise what could be the possible reason for this sudden loss of power. I do not drive in places where there is too much of debris flying around, but I guess city roads are playing some roles.

Just removing the filter and tapping it to the ground can clear up the choking to an extend. And it is good to do this every 1000kms or so. And the power loss you are mentioning here is the misfire I guess. Many thing can be the cause for this. From a dirty filter, to water in fuel tank, to a busted carb float, to the infamous issue of fuel cap plugging the top of the fuel tank and not allowing petrol to flow to the carb, along with the points you mentioned.

And replacing the sparkplug is a good part of preventive maintenance.

[adrian]

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

Hello all,


2 > Sudden loose of power.

The feeling is the same when your bike is about to go to reserve, only that you know that reserve is not expected. Also the loss of power seems momentarily and then with slight knocking its back again.




Bikramjit.

Dear friend,
1. How much is your fuel screw setting ?
2. Is the idle rpm of your bullet adjusted as per specifications ? (Looks like the auto decomp is kicking in as you are hearing knocks)
3. What is the throttle range in which you are experiencing this mis fire ?

As for the rubber boot that connects the air box to the carburetor, there is no need to replace it unless it has developed cracks in it. You can use a silicone lubricant spray to recondition the rubber and use it like brand new. To clean the air filter, as man_ of_ steel suggested, you can tap it on a hard surface and also use compressed air to blow out the debris from inside to the outside direction. If you don't have access to compressed air, a foot operated air pump would also do the job to a great extend.
regards adrian

[Majumdarda]

Originally Posted by B O V

Seems like the loss of braking power and it returning upon pumping is due to the presence of air in your braking system.Somehow air is gettin into your system.so that will need checking too.I think.When did you last change your brake fluid?

The loss of power(similar feeling as you've mentioned)happened in my case due to my ignition coil being faulty.Does it happen at any particular modes of throttle operation,or is it random?

I am quite surprised as how that can be the case as there have been no instances when the Brakes were touched, I mean no front wheel change/ replacement or leaks which might cause air to get into the channel, by accidental brake lever press. Also this is very seldom, so kinda fishy. I have not changed the brake fluid at all as there have been no requirements in the past.

I do not remember any specific speed or gear when this happened. It was quite random and then picked up speed too. Occured a few times, but I did not see any simillarity in these.

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

I think the piston of the master cylinder has gone kaput. IIRC, there is a rubber sleeve with the cylinder and that might have busted. Please check and replace if required. If this is the case, you will have to replace the fluid. I am not sure which grade comes prefilled on the B500. But you can drain everything and go for DOT4. Also, ask SVC guys to bleed the system properly.


Just removing the filter and tapping it to the ground can clear up the choking to an extend. And it is good to do this every 1000kms or so. And the power loss you are mentioning here is the misfire I guess. Many thing can be the cause for this. From a dirty filter, to water in fuel tank, to a busted carb float, to the infamous issue of fuel cap plugging the top of the fuel tank and not allowing petrol to flow to the carb, along with the points you mentioned.

And replacing the sparkplug is a good part of preventive maintenance.

"piston of the master cylinder", now this seems to be some serious stuff and I have no ideas where to look for this and how to identify if its kaput or not. Also, if possible, what is the damage to the pocket we are talking about ? Service Center guys, as we all know, will never look for some thing we ask them, unless I myself know what I am asking them to look at.

With regards to bleeding, I intend to do it on my own as these guys will only top up with anything (with little concern if it had Dot 3 or 4 earlier. Their probable statement would be, "this is the best one sir, it will work wonders". I have seen a couple of ways on the U-tube and these seems to be easy enough but am quite shaky to be frank. Please help me with some novice video links if available.

Originally Posted by adrian

Dear friend,
1. How much is your fuel screw setting ?
2. Is the idle rpm of your bullet adjusted as per specifications ? (Looks like the auto decomp is kicking in as you are hearing knocks)
3. What is the throttle range in which you are experiencing this mis fire ?

As for the rubber boot that connects the air box to the carburetor, there is no need to replace it unless it has developed cracks in it. You can use a silicone lubricant spray to recondition the rubber and use it like brand new. To clean the air filter, as man_ of_ steel suggested, you can tap it on a hard surface and also use compressed air to blow out the debris from inside to the outside direction. If you don't have access to compressed air, a foot operated air pump would also do the job to a great extend.
regards adrian

Adrian, hahaha nice points you have asked me to check and I sincerely wish to be able to answer you. If you are referring to the fuel being allowed to reach the engine, then I have not observed any issues in that. How I know this? Well this problem of sudden loss of power has come up post 10K and its not that repeated (thankfully). As far as I can remember, the throttle range will be between 50-60 kmph.

There has been no cracks in the host. You are referring to some silicone lubricant spray. Do you have any specific one in mind? Please share make and price.

Kind regards,

Bikramjit.

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

I am quite surprised as how that can be the case as there have been no instances when the Brakes were touched, I mean no front wheel change/ replacement or leaks which might cause air to get into the channel, by accidental brake lever press.

Air in brake fluid is a common phenomenon. A wheel change or brake overhaul need not be the only cause of it.

"piston of the master cylinder", now this seems to be some serious stuff and I have no ideas where to look for this and how to identify if its kaput or not. Also, if possible, what is the damage to the pocket we are talking about ?

Its not a very serious issue, but can be one if left unattended as the brake may not be functional in emergency situation. The master cylinder and piston is situated just next to the brake fluid reservoir. The SVC guys will be able to spot the problem if you can reproduce the issue in front of them. Sorry, I do'nt remember the price, my friend's CL350 had the same issue, your issue seems similar.



Image Source: Wikipedia

[B O V]

I am quite surprised as how that can be the case as there have been no instances when the Brakes were touched, I mean no front wheel change/ replacement or leaks which might cause air to get into the channel, by accidental brake lever press. Also this is very seldom, so kinda fishy.

Like ManofSteel said,it is not necessary that any wheel change be the reason.Leaks are quite common.

Sometimes a leak in the system will manifest itself, not only in air entering, but in fluid leaving,so here the leak is obvious(did you notice any leaks). Air being thinner than brake fluid, can sometimes enter leaky places that are still too tight for fluid to exit. Thus air can sometimes enter without any fluid leaks.

If you are going to do a DIY job.Be very very careful so as to not get any fluid on your painted bits(Ruins paint).Although I think you can trust the svc to do an ok job at this.

Also,if the fellows at Royal Enfield SVC try to sell you some nonsense about the issue requiring that you change the entire disc brake setup.Do not heed them.As far as I know the RE set up uses pricol master cylinders,similar set ups are found on other motorcycles too.So yeah you can just put that in.Should work fine.

[adrian]

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

If you are referring to the fuel being allowed to reach the engine, then I have not observed any issues in that. How I know this? Well this problem of sudden loss of power has come up post 10K and its not that repeated (thankfully).

Somewhere from your earlier posts, I remember reading of your ES problem being rectified by adjusting AF ratio and that was the reason of my question which is currently irrelevant (unless this mis fire occurs if you re-open the throttle after leaving it) as the mis fire is happening at high rpms.

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

As far as I can remember, the throttle range will be between 50-60 kmph.

By throttle range, it doesn't mean speed, it means at what position you are holding the throttle open. In speeds 50-60 kms (again depends in which gear your are), in a 500cc motorcycle, normally you may be from 1/4th to 1/2 and among the various fuel passages in the carburetor, it will be the needle jet that will be metering the AF ratio. Yours could be a simple problem of a sticky piston assembly in the carburetor or it could be a high float level causing low fuel level in the float bowl causing fuel deprivation at high rpms.

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

There has been no cracks in the host. You are referring to some silicone lubricant spray. Do you have any specific one in mind? Please share make and price.

You can use cyco silicone spray lubricant which costs around Rs.350/-

And more part nos for your Amun Ra


regards adrian

[adrian]

Originally Posted by adrian

Hi friends and experts : My Standard UCE 350 has a minor exhaust leak at the heads and yesterday I decided to replace the exhaust gasket. Halfway through the work I found out that the exhaust studs on which the flange bolts tighten are bend outwards (God knows how it came pre-bend from the factory) and hence the flange in not getting released from the studs. Being afraid in the first place to use force on the stud which is fixed on the cylinder head, I re-assembled the whole thing. The exhaust flange will come off only if the exhaust studs are straight. Now the questions :
1.Any idea how to straighten the studs ?
2. Is it OK to pry it straight using a socket

Sorry to post back to back and quote my quote , but then I am desperate.
Can any Bullet gurus give their views and advice on the problem
regards adrian

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by adrian

Sorry to post back to back and quote my quote , but then I am desperate.

Adrian, I have never experienced it. But I tried to do some reading on it. Check if the below link is of any use.

http://roadstarclinic.com/content/view/229/1/1/3/

From below thread, I could gather that the studs are indeed replaceable. So you wont screw up that bad even if the straightening goes bad!

http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/fo...?topic=19009.0

Those locknuts would not come off the studs, but the studs would still unscrew themselves out of the head. I can try locktite on them, but I've used heat before on red locktite, and it doesn't take much to melt it. That connection is about the hottest place on the engine. If I can find some longer studs, I could use a split lock washer under the nut, and that might put enough tension on the whole thing to keep it from coming loose.

PS: Ignore if its not of help!