[nasirkaka]

@Nasir- welcome back Did you got the air filter cleaned?

Opps, Do we have to clean the K&N that frequently? i thought it was to be cleaned and charged at 5000kms. Did open the airbox and found it to be quite clean and dust free. The Scotch tape is been doing a good job.

Just loved it when it kept bouncing off the rev limiter

Did not get this point. Please explain.

@Nasir- can you feel any grooves formed on the disc rotor? Can you post a picture of the rotor please.

There are minute grooves / marks on the rotor. Nothing deep or unusual. Will have a re-look and share a pic also.



Hey, with all the improvements coming on the newer versions, like the new crank, i am tempted to sell my bike and book a new one. Personally i am not a big fan of the vibrations from the bike, and would love to go for the new crank. knowing that would be a major task, and considering other improvements, would it make sense to sell the bike and book a new and improved one? or may be RE should start an exchange policy. Get you old bike, and take a new one, by paying very little extra amount. Wishful thinking.. more like daydreaming. he he!!


Me too waiting for the revelation of the suspense about the C5 engine.


@ Cooded:

I can verywell understand your plight, especially this being your first enfield bike. Most of us have gone through similar frustration of ownership experience of C5. Randhawa was frustrated to an extent that he wanted to call a press conference and burn his C5 in public. Overtime, we learn to either live with it. In the process, we learn bits about the machine, the issues, and how to sort them out. In doing so, threads like this keeps the positive energy flowing. the bike teaches us patience, and after about 10000 kms, you would know your bike enough to talk to each-other. Things wouldn't be so frustrating then.

[virtualhemant]

Originally Posted by cooded

@Nasir: Well apparently the rear wheel bearings were faulty. Got them replaced and the noise is gone.

@Randhawa. Now heres where i made a terrible mistake. In my quest to make my bike problem free i ended up showing atleast 3 mechanics in my city. 2 were authorized and the third one has an extensive experience in the older REs. Now i got the 1st servicing done at one of the authorized service center. And then someone suggested me the other authorized service center. The guy there convinced me that i had minor tune up problems in my bike and he got the chain cover opened and the chrome part of the engine just under the petrol tank. I think he tightened the autodecomp on the timing gears and he put back the covers again. Nothing has changed in my bike except for the addition of one more noise from the engine. I should have stuck to only one mechanic for atleast the 1st 4 servicings.


Ok...here is a general thought. this is my first Enfield and the reason why i bought one was because i wanted to experience good amount of thrust pushing me and high speeds that i can only dream of on any of the other bikes in the Indian market. I ended up spending 1.5l for the same and here are my thoughts:
1. No peace of mind since the day i bought her.Primarily because i invested such a heavy amount from my 1st job and here i am investing more money and time to get my "BRAND NEW BIKE" trouble free.
2. Terrible terrrible machining. Build quality is very poor.Feels like RE is still using machines which they found in the ruins of Harappa and Mohenjodaro.
3.I get a feeling that RE thinks that they are doing a favour by producing a bike in 1,5l and that the customer should be paying them much more.
4. RE has no bench mark that i can compare my bike to and be satisfied and have a peaceful sleep.
5. With such never ending problems i am going to be of the opinion soon enough that RE looks good parked in other people's garage and not yours.
6. Yes i am very frustrated, irritated..etc. It hurts so bad to know that my bike has problems and that i am unable to solve them and to top all that the mechanics, the dealers, throw bull**** at you day in and day out when those are the only people u can trust.It hurts to hear noises coming out of my bikes engine with every beat and i know that they are killing her slowly.I only wish for a trouble free bike for atleast the 1st six months.How difficult is that for RE to deliver?
7.To sum it up i am having a very painful experience with RE right now.I have a feeling that this will be my last RE unless some angel comes along and changes everything. I just cant see my bike suffer and with RE that is going to be difficult.
8. In any case i just cant give up on my bike, i am going to do whatever it takes to fix her right. Please do help me out.

Call me, I have PM my number to you.

[Randhawa]

@codded- I hear you man, I hear you loud and clear. I was in your boots when I bought the bike and I wish no one should go through it. But the day will come when you will be competent enough to diagnose most of the issues on your bike. Although it will take time and patience.

The mechanic should have not touched the tappet covers as there isn't anything there to adjust unless he thought the rocker cowl was loose or he wanted to see if they were getting enough oil.

Most probably he tried to adjust the weight on your exhaust cam, which again you should have not gone ahead and let him fiddle with it unless he had some training from RE on UCE engine. My mechanic who always do the work on my bike was trained in Chennai for a month and quite good at what he does.

I had earlier advised you to wait and finish your running in first before you jump to conclusions and start messing with it. UCE does takes it's own time to settle down and you should wait for 2-3k before you let anyone open it up again. You will end up with more noises then you could ever dream off.

My honest advise is to keep riding and panic only if there is some serious issues related to the engine. Do catch up with Hemant and discuss out your issues. More opinions are far better then just your own with not much of technical insight.


@Nasir- considering the dusty environment in India, I recommend changing the OEM filter every 6k and if you have K&N then cleaning it every 1500km. Reason behind the short interval for cleaning K&N is that its a completely washable and oiled filter. I mean once you clean the filter, it's supposed to be oiled a bit and the new K&N filters do come with oil supplied by k&N for the said purpose. If the filter has oil on its surface then it would attract dust which will stick to it and lower its performance. Resulting in poor pickup and a bit lower fuel consumption.

Check this video of how the rev limit sound-starts at 36seconds..

YouTube - Supra hitting rev limiter

I was enjoying the same when my bike was hitting the 5500rpm every second, considering its a bullet and they are not supposed to do that. It felt very sweet.

Dont get tempted just yet for a new one. Some things have been improved and some are actually getting worse. RE is working on couple of improvement in the engine and there is one thing which I am highly concerned. Just bare with me and you shall know it soon. It might be a big thing for some but for me it's something I had in mind when I went for C5 and it proved itself to me.

Go to any RE dealer and if they have the new C5 in c green colour then just observe the paint shade on rear half of the frame. You will be stunned to see how much difference there is. Its like faded c green which was dipped in lime compared to rest of the paint on the tank or side boxes. Also see the chrome on the engine side covers, even my dull side covers were more shinny then the new ones. By the way do check out my previous post on my bling bling.

Just wait at least an year before you even think of trading in your bull with a new one. Anyway now the booking in my city has come down to 15 days so waiting game is all in the past to get a new one now.

If I were you and knew when the much needed upgraded parts started arriving, I would squeeze the beans out of my bike till it chokes and then simply go for a re-built with better parts.

[EssYouWe]

+1 to that bit of advice.

Don't let folks mess with your engine. It is fairly low-maintenance. You don't need to open most of the parts as there is little that one can do to them.
Also, the UCE takes time to settle down. It might sound like your Bull is dying, but you need to just ride right and address the major noises.
Don't lose faith, the Classic 500 is probably the most exciting Indian bike right now.

@Sanjeet
Took it out for a ride after a month, and the clutch seems hard again. Thinking of replacing the cable, I have one lying around I think.

Anything major due at the 1 year mark (regarding the service)?

Cheers

[cooded]

@Randhawa,EssYouWe and everyone : Thanks for the advice. I should not have let him open the cover. All he did was cleaned some part and fixed it again. I was a little desperate i guess. I had a long chat with Hemant on the phone. He did manage to calm me down quite a bit and i would like to thank him for that bit. Well..the good part is i am learning to keep patience and making new friends online and offline(i mean literally...i was asked for my phone number at a traffic signal once by another unknown C5 owner and we managed to exchange it within 20 secs)...which is worth a hell lot more than 1.5lakhs (priceless).

Okay...coming back to my bike again(i hope i am not bugging you guys a lot with "MY" bike)...i have recorded the engine sound for you guys to analyze.The points i have noticed are:
1. When i start the engine there is particular noise. It also comes up when i rev the engine. It comes up continuously when i am riding in the fourth gear.
2. At the end of the clip...from 00:53 secs..till the end...if you hear with a lot of attention you will be able to hear a sound. Let me describe it to u how it sounds to me...imagine a hollow metal cylinder or a sphere.If you put a small piece of metal inside that hollow cylinder or sphere and shake it then you will hear a sound of metal hitting against metal. Hence my notion of something being loose inside the engine and doing rounds of the entire engine.


After having a long chat on the phone with Hemant, i am going to ignore all sounds till the second service,(finally....) unless something serious comes up. Well...i hope this will be my last post with an attachment of my engines sound before the 2nd service.


I would like to thank all the gurus for helping me out and i really appreciate it. The day i fix my bike , i am gonna throw a huge party for u guys...

[EssYouWe]

Oh God!

I don't know if you have been through the early pages of my thread, but this was exactly what had caused a sleepless week.

I used to call it the road roller sound.

It is basically the light alloy valve train making its presence felt. It is a normal sound, absolutely no issues. Comes and goes on its own. However, at 5.5k kms I rarely ever hear it. It used to drive me nuts during the first month or so. I can not even begin to count the number of hours Sanjeet spent consoling me. :P

Please don't let it worry you. I assure you that this particular noise is perfectly fine and absolutely nothing to worry about.

Also, I know its none of my business to say this, but try dealing with your bike yourself. Don't depend on mechs too much. If you stay within rational limits, you can't do much harm to it.

I am not very sure about the first sound you were talking about. I get the feeling that the bike is idling higher than it should. But my comparison is with a 350, so do wait for the others to pour in their suggestions on this.

The engine takes its own sweet time to settle down bro. Just be patient.

Wish you many happy miles.

Godspeed.

[Randhawa]

@Achint- Change the clutch wire as mine broke at 5k so don't take any chances. If you get the time then get the T cone set greased and try to ride her a bit now. Or your Exide could drain and you will have to resort to kick start. Get the tyres re-fitted after cleaning and oiling on inside race. Helps them get off easily when you get a puncture next time and keep away from side rust on inside of the rim.

@cooded- Dont forget to send some rolls from Foodies, I miss it way too much. Let me listen to the file and report back later.

[EssYouWe]

Originally Posted by Randhawa

@Achint- Change the clutch wire as mine broke at 5k so don't take any chances. If you get the time then get the T cone set greased and try to ride her a bit now. Or your Exide could drain and you will have to resort to kick start. Get the tyres re-fitted after cleaning and oiling on inside race. Helps them get off easily when you get a puncture next time and keep away from side rust on inside of the rim.

Please don't talk of punctures. Its really cold here, that is the last thing I want. Remember those all rubber tyres we used to get on kiddy cycles? Can't we have that for the Bull?

This has been worrying me for a while now... it no longer self starts first thing in the morning. I guess I need to tune it up again. :(

[Randhawa]

@Achint-Oh crap, cant listen to the file. With what did you played the file?

Punctures and cold hey Use the choke in the mornings yaar, should be alright then.

[EssYouWe]

Arey I use the choke. Still doesn't work. :(
Can't be idling tune either, right? Any thoughts?

Download it, and then Unrar it using WinRAR. This should leave you with an mp3. Or better, send me your mail id... I'll just e-mail it to you.

[cooded]

Originally Posted by Randhawa

@Achint- Change the clutch wire as mine broke at 5k so don't take any chances. If you get the time then get the T cone set greased and try to ride her a bit now. Or your Exide could drain and you will have to resort to kick start. Get the tyres re-fitted after cleaning and oiling on inside race. Helps them get off easily when you get a puncture next time and keep away from side rust on inside of the rim.

@cooded- Dont forget to send some rolls from Foodies, I miss it way too much. Let me listen to the file and report back later.

@Randhawa: With the amount of info and your experience that you have shared on this forum and the help that you have given to newbies like me, i wouldnt mind buying out the entire Foodies.

[ricky_1605]

I have been following this thread quietly, though i don't have a UCE engine but now i just wish there was such a dedicated thread for my 2002 Thunderbird too
Keep up the good work to share this knowledge. Will be of great use if someday i buy a C5 .

[nasirkaka]

@ Randhawa:

Will surely check, clean and recharge the air filter. Anything for the bikes good health.

Hey, whats this with the paint difference on the rear half of the frame one the newer teal green colour? have they modified something and repainted some part of the frame? The engine side covers for the initial lot were buffed to achieve a mirror finish, and were NOT chrome plated. Are the new one PLATED? I guess, plating would always shine more and last longer then buffing.

The REV Limiter sounds scary.

Exchanging the present bike for a new one was just a drifting thought. We all have invested enough time and effort in our bikes to let it go easily. recently, I have been reading on the Honda CBR 250, slated for launch in 4 months time. Price speculated at less than 1.5L, i must say i am getting tempted. Will wait and watch more on that.

Hey, i am currently on the upswept exhaust. Recently, some amount of exhaust gases have started to leak from the bent pipe and upswept joint. I tried hard to fit a thin can tin, but am not able to do so. Its become too tight mate fully. I also treid tightening the small bolt under the joinery to close the gap, still not much help. Is there any other way out?
I have a feeling that if the exhaust gases leak from the joinery of the bent pipe and upswept, the bike tends to jerk a bit while moving (lets say while de-accelerating followed by acceletrating or running on constant speed of around 40-50kmph). Could this be possible. Its just my feel, and i have no reasons to back the same. Do share your inputs.

[Randhawa]

Originally Posted by cooded

@Randhawa: i wouldnt mind buying out the entire Foodies.

I'll keep that in mind.

@Ricky- Hopefully you will join us sooner or later

@Nasri-Frame is just one piece and they haven't done any modifications. I myself can't understand how only half of the frame is of different colour. I will try to get a picture and post.

I had updated a while ago about the engine side cover on newer ones were like chrome plated and now they seem to have gone worse. They are like neither buffed or plated.

I am getting tempted too but booth of these bike are miles apart and in different league. Cant compare. Although keep in mind if these things get involved in an accident, just the front fibreglass frame will cost more then 30k and its not covered under insurance claim as its fibreglass and not plastic.

I know what you mean about the jhatkas but this has nothing to do with it. Its an electric thing and I am still scratching my brains to figure out if its the ecu or the ignition coil. You can use some araldite, leave it overnight and it will be completely sealed. But taking it off wont be easy once you want to change the exhaust again. If anything else comes into my mind then I'll let you know. Meanwhile try again with a tin strip or preferably from a coke can this time. Use a bit of lubrication to slide it in. Should help.

[nasirkaka]

I am getting tempted too but booth of these bike are miles apart and in different league. Cant compare. Although keep in mind if these things get involved in an accident, just the front fibreglass frame will cost more then 30k and its not covered under insurance claim as its fibreglass and not plastic.

Totally understand your point. I was NOT looking at replacing the C5, but fantasizing about having both in the stable. The CBR250 for city and the C5 for the highway or depending on the mood.
Am sure will get a beating from wifey when she hears of this proposal, considering we just got a baby girl, and are still staying in a rented place, with almost no bank-balance.

I know what you mean about the jhatkas but this has nothing to do with it. Its an electric thing and I am still scratching my brains to figure out if its the ecu or the ignition coil. You can use some araldite, leave it overnight and it will be completely sealed. But taking it off wont be easy once you want to change the exhaust again. If anything else comes into my mind then I'll let you know. Meanwhile try again with a tin strip or preferably from a coke can this time. Use a bit of lubrication to slide it in. Should help.

Oh, ok. Somehow, i felt that whenever the exhaust joinery was well sealed, there were no "jhataas". May be jut my imagination, or a co-incidence.
Araldite would be really difficult to break (speaking out of past experience). Have seen people apply M-Seal, which is preety good as a sealant withstanding the high exhaust temperatures. Hey, will silicon gel help or melt? Will try the coke can tin this time, and during daylight.