[dheepak10]

Any idea on when the Cafe racer concept displayed at the autoexpo would be launched?

[BIG SARAN]

Not before mid 2013. But you never know with RE, they have been toying with the idea of launching the Cafe Racer for the last 3 years or so I guess.

[anupkrverma]

The cafe racer displayed have an altogether different chassis.
I bet RE displayed it without even going for testing it in real life conditions. If they are serious with the product than they well do at least a full year of testing as they did with TBTS500. Cafe racer is based on a fast bike concept and speed is what that has haunted RE products for quite a while. I hope they come out better this time.

[anupkrverma]

All C5 owners.
There was twitching in my DS at speed above 50 km. And I was not able to find the reason.
On close inspection I found the rear wheel not aligned. The teeth of the two cams were not set in equal. I set it equal and the problem became worse. More twitching and the lane changing was nervous.

Then I adopted the following method of rear wheel alignment. Ignored the cam teeth and measured the distance of the rim. and tightened the bolts.
Look at the way unequal teeth of the cam.
The twitching is all gone. No shaking till speed 110. Rock stable. Airpressure 25 front 30 rear. Front was a bit bouncy at high speeds though.
I believe the swing arm is at fault with the C5.

[ArizonaJim]

Invader

Some thoughts about your questions

Need Help:
1. My bike front fork vibrates quite a bit and even with a mild revving i hear a 'khat khat' noise; I have inspected the entire fork inch by inch but i did not find anything loose; no metal to metal contact - got it immediately checked by the service centre guys however they could not notice it!! - any thoughts are welcome as I wish to head back to the service centre once again and I can request the technicial to focus on your inouts.

Sorry but without hearing the noise I can't be of much help.
As you say this happens with mild revving is it possible that you are simply hearing the engine noise?
You might try holding your hand next to the exhaust outlet on the cylinder head with the engine running. Of course you don't want to touch the exhaust pipe but you are looking for a exhaust leak in this area which would be felt as temporary blasts of hot air. If you feel these blasts, take your bike to the dealer and have him fix it.

2. Unlike diesel turbo cars can I switch-off the bike's engine immediately after a long ride OR is it advisible to idle the engine for few sec before we switch it off?

There is no need to give the engine a cooling off period after you've finished riding. Do not "rev up" the engine just before shutting it off.
It is recommended that you just let the engine idle for a few seconds and then turn off the key.

3. Have read it in another thread in TBHP about the merits of a Diamond crash bar vs a Airfly - like the design of the Airfly however have read that this might lock the legs of the rider during certain accidents - please share your thoughts.

In the event of a crash there is a chance of the bar trapping the riders legs with either style of bar.
There is also a chance that the motorcycle will fall on your leg and trap it between the bike and the moving tarmac.

Although there are some who disagree with me, my method of lessening the damage is to kick hard "straight up" off of the pegs with both feet at the same time.
As the bike hits the ground both of my feet are above the seat which prevents possibly trapping my leg under the motorcycle or between the motorcycle and the bent crash bar.

In 48 years of riding I've only had to do this 5 times and it has prevented serious damage to my legs each time.


4. Have read / hear / seen about handlebar anti-vibration kits (handlebar weights); has anybody used them; any reviews about thier effectiveness?

I am not sure about yours but my G5 has weights in the ends of the bars.
There are heavier ones available and some people think the added weight helps to reduce the vibration.
Some of these weights have provisions for mounting bar end mirrors which can give the rider a better view of the area behind them.
The mirrors do add some width to the handle bars and glancing down to see them means your eyes are not on the traffic directly ahead for a few seconds. Not everyone likes this.

[anupkrverma]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

It will need a lot of presence of mind.

Very good advice. We should always check the switching time from RVM to traffic ahead before going for fancy mirrors. May be the difference between life and death.

[ArizonaJim]

"It will need a lot of presence of mind."
--------------
This is true but just riding a motorcycle requires a lot of presence of mind at all times if the rider wants to avoid getting hurt.

The person who tends to turn off their mind and just steers the vehicle while they are driving should stick to automobiles. (Unfortunately, there are a lot of them who do just that.)

Actually, when in a panic situation I've never had a problem with remembering to kick off of my bike.
I guess it is because deep in the depths of my mind I realize that this is a 150-200 kg. hunk of metal traveling at 30-60 kmph that can do a lot of damage to me if it falls on me or crashes into me so my first thought is to get away from it.

[adrian]

Hi everyone : I am planning to do a plug chop in my 350cc machine. Is it ok to remove the sparkplug from a hot engine or should I wait for the engine to cool down. What if I ride the bike WOT, cut the engine, let the bike cool down and then read the plug ? Please advise
Regards Adrian

[SRDESAI3]

Originally Posted by GreaseMonk

I had the same problem.

1. Ensure that the mirror stalks are turned to the same angle with respect to the handle.
2. If you are unable to turn the actual mirror beyond a certain point, rotate it and it should become more adjustable in the desired direction.

thanks greasemonk didnt really get what you meant but have rotated them and got it done from the RE guy but not much change..my right side mirror is now okay and have a clear view but the left one still needs to be adjusted..its frustrating to know that ur one side is blind..trying trying..will let you know once i get it done..the side handle mirrors are ideal in such case..will continue looking for one..its available outside and know the website but too costly and no way of getting them here either. So have ot make do until i get it right

[SRDESAI3]

i have a August 2010 classic 500 and I got the remapping of the ECU done yesterday. SInce then the bike has lost some torque in my opinion but the overall delivery of power in each gear has become more smooth. However on speeds above 80 now i feel more vibrations than it did earlier..any one who has any experience similar to this please advise. cause i intend riding mostly on highways and if at 100 it had vibrations then there seems to be something wrong.or is there any other reason for this..help

[SRDESAI3]

Originally Posted by iron.head

Hi Srdesai

I am in touch with Randhawa and you can post your query here and I will get back with his response on it. I recommend you to go through the entire thread as almost everything has been answered already.

I have been following this thread and thanks to the huge PHD done by Randhawa and shared here that i do not have many queries as most of the questions he has answered. although this new development of vibrations at high speed post ECU remapping needs to be advised upon. so will appreciate if anyone can throw any light on this issue. also if you have his contacts please share with his permission ofcourse.

[Invader]

Thanks ArizonaJim for your valuable inputs.

With regard to the front fork sound - I have fixed it!! thankfully it was nothing unusual from the engine

This weekend I was fixing my crash guard and I requested the technician to tighten all the nuts he can lay his hands on; to our suprise, all the nuts around the front mud guard were loose and we had to tighten them all the way. This has fixed this sound and the current harmonics are more or less in a sine-curve. The music system on wheels is now ready for its first 500Km service in less than 20kms. Will the request the service engineers to tighten all the bolts once again!!

Pardon me if I do not sound like a typical bulleter; sometime soon I wish to explore installing powerflex suspension bushes to all the metal to metal contact bolt/nut areas, engine mount (do RE Classic has one?). What are your thoughts on this one? My contribution to my ride as it matures in my hand is to eradicate as many unnecessary vibrations as possible.

Cheers

[iron.head]

Originally Posted by SRDESAI3

I have been following this thread and thanks to the huge PHD done by Randhawa and shared here that i do not have many queries as most of the questions he has answered. although this new development of vibrations at high speed post ECU remapping needs to be advised upon. so will appreciate if anyone can throw any light on this issue. also if you have his contacts please share with his permission ofcourse.

Vibrations will reduce as you keep on adding kms to the odo.

If you are referring to the high speed instability issue, I must tell you that I have a C5 which has the updated ecu, changed front forks offset and upgraded swingarm and still it has the high speed instability. High speed instability is not just due to the swingarm but many other things which Randhawa has mentioned in the post below. If you still face instability after ensuring the correctness of the things he has mentioned below then you will have to upgrade the plastic swing arm bushes to metallic bushes from the CI bulls.

Originally Posted by Randhawa

@AC- To get rid of wobble, you will have to follow through certain steps.

1. Get the oil in the forks checked and fill it up to 170ml or 195ml in each fork. 170 if you ride on quite rough roads and 195 if you ride it on smooth roads, it will also take care of front diving on hard braking.
2. Get the front T-cone bearings greased and properly adjusted.
3. Check the rear tyre and rim for run out. Rear tyre on our C5 has some issue with run out from factory and replacing them is only the way out.
The rear tyre has now been replaced with a fatter one and might not need replacement.
4. Replace the standard swing arm bushes with the CI bushes for better stability. The swing has now been modified and this mod might not be needed.
5. Or grease the swing arm bushes and align the swing arm properly.
6. Align the swing arm with top mounts of shock absorber.
7. Loosen up the chassis to engine bolts. Rev the engine and let it idle for 10 seconds. Repeat this step 4 times. On 4th time let it idle for a minute. Tighten the bolts.

That should take care of instability for good. The reason behind all of above steps is because even minor miss adjustment on any of the parts will cause the wobble but we are not sure what is causing it unless you do step by step tune up.

Yes I am talking about the white plastic ones. Yes you can turn them at any lathe but if you want to use any metal then it has to be only bronze. I'll suggest you the CI bushes then anything else. Straight fit with very little grinding.

[Rennjit]

Originally Posted by anupkrverma

... Then I adopted the following method of rear wheel alignment. Ignored the cam teeth and measured the distance of the rim. ...
... I believe the swing arm is at fault with the C5.

i really couldn't help doubting the accuracy of this measurement method, you might have been lucky to get proper alignment with a twig & marker pen. See the cam moves the wheel by ~1+0.5 mm max per notch, no better way to adjust. Now the wheel here is centered to swing arm which hopefully lines up with frame & front wheel; that is on the assumption that the swing arm is symmetric. Btw, what makes you think the swing arm is at fault?

I'm yet to come across a trusty method for wheel alignment so did similar but in a different scheme posted here.

[SRDESAI3]

Originally Posted by iron.head

Vibrations will reduce as you keep on adding kms to the odo.

If you are referring to the high speed instability issue, I must tell you that I have a C5 which has the updated ecu, changed front forks offset and upgraded swingarm and still it has the high speed instability. High speed instability is not just due to the swingarm but many other things which Randhawa has mentioned in the post below. If you still face instability after ensuring the correctness of the things he has mentioned below then you will have to upgrade the plastic swing arm bushes to metallic bushes from the CI bulls.

No i did not refer to the instability issue which is common with cl 5. i have about 4.5k on the odo and i meant the vibrations shuddering at high speeds which was nonexistent earlier. i could easily go upto 110 without even feeling it and the bike somehow felt rock solid. but now at 80 plus it starts to shudder making one wonder whether anymore power is left or otherwise. hope you get what i am trying to say. its not instability or fishtailing which is an inherent problem. but this shuddering has started after remapping only. please advise.