[bhasma]

Originally Posted by bhasma

I had my first puncture today.Got it done and on coming back home,I noticed the brake light was glowing continuously.I know some others have faced this issue as well.Whats the cause and solution?

I had been riding in the rain for a couple of hours.
So what brought about the problem,the rain or the rear tyre puncture repair?

Originally Posted by Randhawa

@Bhasma- Unless your rear hub was removed for taking out the tyre which is highly unlikely then it can not be the case. Rain, yes could be but again ideally it should not cause the issues.

Only thing which could cause the brake light on all the time could be either a earthing problem/short circuit or brake switch gone bad(there are two, front/rear).

Or the springs on the rear switch too tight.

To find out the culprit, have a look at the rear brake light switch and disconnect the wire connection from the connecter. Turn the key to ignition and if the brake light is still on then you need to inspect further and nothing wrong with the rear brake light switch.

Second part is to check the front brake switch. If by removing the rear brake switch connector , light stay on then you need to check the front switch. For that remove the front headlight dome by unscrewing the top screw on the headlight. Trace the wire of the front brake switch to the connector inside the dome and disconnect it. Now again check if the brake light is on, if its off then you know the brake switch is faulty.


Its also possible that the front pin of the front brake switch is stuck, have a look if its not jammed in.

Apart from all of the above there is nothing to it.

I realised my stupidity.Nothing was wrong with the motorcycle.I had been riding in fog and had turned on my parking lights.I didn't know that it turns the rear light on too.

[Randhawa]

You made me scratch my brains and write about the phantom problem of yours. Hmmm sweet very sweet of you

[japneet_b]

Originally Posted by EssYouWe

Hi Japneet

The new breed of REs, the ones running the UCE engines, is quite reliable when compared with the old CIs.
But on the same page, I would advise you not to expect levels comparable to the Jap bikes.
But yes, on the whole things have gotten a lot more easier. The C5s, especially Randhawa's, have had a lot of teething problems. But then, most of them are running on the road quite alright.
My own CL350 has been a breeze to maintain. Does not demand too much time at all! I invariably end up spending more time with it than I need to.

So don't worry too much, go pick one up. Cheers!

thanks for the reply ...most probably will get it on 10th of aug.

cheers

[virtualhemant]

Randhwa,

So I cleaned the chain with kerosene and lubed it with Motul chain lube. Believe me the bike now runs smooth like butter. I never thought that it will make so much diff.
However, I still fill that the noise that I Mentioned earlier still exists. It's when I ride in traffic mostly in first gear. Primary reason that I can think of is loose chain. Now the question is how much is too much?

According to manual it says keep bike on Center stand and adjust the chain slackness to 25mm to 30mm. And I believe them because I have used the same method for all of my bikes earlier.

But According to my Mech, he takes the bike out of Main stand and ask two people to sit on it and then check if the slack is correct. I asked him what if I ride solo> the chain will be too much loose and he said this is the correct way to adjust slack. I am confused.

[bradhey]

Originally Posted by virtualhemant

Randhwa,

So I cleaned the chain with kerosene and lubed it with Motul chain lube. Believe me the bike now runs smooth like butter. I never thought that it will make so much diff.
However, I still fill that the noise that I Mentioned earlier still exists. It's when I ride in traffic mostly in first gear. Primary reason that I can think of is loose chain. Now the question is how much is too much?

According to manual it says keep bike on Center stand and adjust the chain slackness to 25mm to 30mm. And I believe them because I have used the same method for all of my bikes earlier.

But According to my Mech, he takes the bike out of Main stand and ask two people to sit on it and then check if the slack is correct. I asked him what if I ride solo> the chain will be too much loose and he said this is the correct way to adjust slack. I am confused.

Believe me you, your mech is dead right. This is the best way to remove slack from your bike's chains. Make two people sit (without centre stand) and remove all excessive slack from the chain. This method has been suggested by Nandan from Bangalore (a well known bullet guru).

In fact my mechanic advocates tightening the primary chain much the same way, with full payload on the bike (say if you are going to Ladakh) and then tightening the primary and secondry both. This does not put pressure on your bike's transmission system, and does not leave it too loose either. Ride Safe.

[virtualhemant]

Originally Posted by bradhey

Believe me you, your mech is dead right. This is the best way to remove slack from your bike's chains. Make two people sit (without centre stand) and remove all excessive slack from the chain. This method has been suggested by Nandan from Bangalore (a well known bullet guru).

In fact my mechanic advocates tightening the primary chain much the same way, with full payload on the bike (say if you are going to Ladakh) and then tightening the primary and secondry both. This does not put pressure on your bike's transmission system, and does not leave it too loose either. Ride Safe.

But what if I ride solo? Isn't the above method create too much slack for a solo rider?
Just gone through the nandan's website. http://www.nandanmotors.com/adj_drivechain.html

I think he said to keep upto 2mm to 5mm slack with two people on the bike. Mine is 20mm to 25mm after two people. Please advice.

[Randhawa]

@Hemant- The way RE mechanic has removed the slack is the right way to do it.

Yeah I know how much difference a clean and lubed chain makes thats why I suggested you to clean it with the kerosene before applying lube. Regarding the noise you mentioned, do you hear it on deceleration only?

When you get the chain tightened, usually in a weeks time it gets a bit loose. But its not to much, it hits the black protector on RH side of the swing arm and not the swing arm itself. Its normal and no need to worry. Still you can check the slackness it should be between 25mm to 30mm while on center stand.

[virtualhemant]

Originally Posted by Randhawa

@Hemant- The way RE mechanic has removed the slack is the right way to do it.

Yeah I know how much difference a clean and lubed chain makes thats why I suggested you to clean it with the kerosene before applying lube. Regarding the noise you mentioned, do you hear it on deceleration only?

When you get the chain tightened, usually in a weeks time it gets a bit loose. But its not to much, it hits the black protector on RH side of the swing arm and not the swing arm itself. Its normal and no need to worry. Still you can check the slackness it should be between 25mm to 30mm while on center stand.

I hear the noise when I give sudden accelaration with half of clutch is released. I might be hitting the spot where the clutch should be released completly. I would figure but I never faced this in my riding earlier.

Still how much slack should be there while two people sitting on it? I want the perfect adjustment so just wondering.

[Randhawa]

@Hemant -By your description it sounds like the chain. Please do one simple test, Roll your bike backwards in neutral and see if you feel any resistance in the rear wheel or crunching kind of noise from the rear sprocket and chain.

IF you want to be precise then adjust the chain while on center stand and slack should not be more then 25-30mm. Now with two blokes sitting on it then do a another simple test. Its called pull off test, so basically you pull the chain from the rear of the sprocket and max play between the sprocket(base of the teeth) and chain should not exceed 5mm. I think this will give you much clearer picture.

In brief the chain should have max play 25-30mm while on center stand.
With two lads and off the center stand, pull off test should have results less then 5mm.

[virtualhemant]

Originally Posted by Randhawa

@Hemant -By your description it sounds like the chain. Please do one simple test, Roll your bike backwards in neutral and see if you feel any resistance in the rear wheel or crunching kind of noise from the rear sprocket and chain.

IF you want to be precise then adjust the chain while on center stand and slack should not be more then 25-30mm. Now with two blokes sitting on it then do a another simple test. Its called pull off test, so basically you pull the chain from the rear of the sprocket and max play between the sprocket(base of the teeth) and chain should not exceed 5mm. I think this will give you much clearer picture.

In brief the chain should have max play 25-30mm while on center stand.
With two lads and off the center stand, pull off test should have results less then 5mm.

Just checked the slackness.
Bike on Center stand: Slackness between 30mm-40mm (Checked at diff. chain location)
Two guys on bike without stand: Slackness between 25mm-30mm (Checked at diff. chain location)
Tried Pull off method, was not able to pull chain over rear sproket. So not even a 1mm

[Randhawa]

So you have 10mm more play then required. You should check the slackness only from the middle of the chain between two sprockets.

You mean you tried to pull the chain off the sprocket ?

[virtualhemant]

Originally Posted by Randhawa

So you have 10mm more play then required. You should check the slackness only from the middle of the chain between two sprockets.

You mean you tried to pull the chain off the sprocket ?

Yes I checked in middle, but checked it several times by rotating rear wheel.
Yes, I pulled the chain off the sprocket from behind.

[Randhawa]

Just remove that extra 10mm on top of 30mm and you should have it just the way it should.

[nasirkaka]

@ Randhawa:

Hey, i got the Horn Relay wiring done today for my C5.

I have a pair of Hella horn (combination of high and low tone). The specifications are 12 V, 5 Amp each.

RE suggests to use a maximum of 12V and 2.5 amp for the horn.

Now if i use the Hella Pair, it would draw 10 amps combined. Not sure if thats ok, even with the relay.

So i was thinking of using just one from the Hella pair (the low frequency one), via relay. I am ok with just one horn as the sound it makes is adequate. also it would draw only 5 amps through the relay.
Now is that ok, or will it put negative impact on the battery / electrical circuit, blown fuse, etc the the C5 is full of electric guzzling gizmos such as the ECU, the FI, the sensors, etc.

your thoughts please.

[Randhawa]

I have full faith in C5 electrical department. I have repeatedly asked R&D RE guys about putting extra horns and Aux lights and I always got an answer saying you can put any horn and two more lights. Still it will work flawlessly because it has quite a beefy alternator and Relay&Rectifier unit. I think 220W is good enough with an 14Amp battery.

Only thing you have to take care off is to use a good quality relay (Bosch/Hella) and take positive direct from the battery. So that you do not cause any serious fluctuation to the ECU current. The sensors hardly draws any serious current, only thing which draws more current is the lights,fuel pump, ES and a bit for ECU/sensors.

The reason RE has specified amp rating for the horn is due to the present wiring capabilities and voltage sensitive ECU(taking into consideration that some owners might put a big horn without a relay on the same wiring).

But just for the sake if it, I am installing the Ammeter. In the process of making the mounting for the meter. That will help me keeping an eye on the charging before I venture out putting Aux lights.


Are you sure the amp rating on your Hella horn is 5amp each and not combined?