Random musings (really!) of a new B5 owner...

[busmec]

I have a B5 my tank striping and tank badges are aligned pretty good with each other ,but my seat was misaligned I had to adjust my seat. I have a slight vibration when riding nothing that not normal for a single cylinder bike, but my engine is on noisy side. Other than that my B5 rides & handles great . My dealer took care of any issues I had with my bike , RE is very good at taking care of any problems that pop up. You know if you compare the tank side pictures  of badges & striping I'd have to say you got bad placement of both the pinstripes & the badge on right side.

[mattsz]

The C5 you rode with 400 miles on it wasn't broken in, either.  It'll take a thousand miles before the shaking is noticeably less. But the c5 should've let you know that yours is OK. Have patience, the good stuff is still coming!
Bare

Bare-

I am doing my best - and I am patient.  All my riding for the moment is on smaller roads, 55 mph tops, and I have lots of new friends keeping an eye on me.

No stalking, I promise!!!

[gremlin]

Mattsz-

From one B5 owner to another, all I can say is be patient ...... 2500 miles later, the bike is a completely different machine.  It runs so much smoother that I can't even believe it is the same bike I started with.

+1 on the powerplant comments.

As for the fit & finish ......  it seems they are consistently setup.  I have ALL the exact same issues with my B5 .....  Including the tank badging alignments !

[Kevin Mahoney]

Some years ago when I did a "ground up" restoration of a Triumph the hardest part of the whole thing was duplicating the inconsistencies of the hand pinstripes. Celebrate the diversity on your bike!!! You will live longer.

[mattsz]

Kevin-

Inconsistencies that don't effect the operation of the bike are something that I can live with.  I never get tired of watching the guy painting the tank stripes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9wUc8rpBhc

But I wonder who drilled the holes for the badge?

However, my front fender is chewing the paint off the fork covers.  I'm thinking that this is not something I want to live with.  Where do we draw the line?  Depends on who you are, I guess.  I'm waiting to hear from my dealer about the fork problem...

[Kevin Mahoney]

Your dealer is your best bet. I looked at the badge and it is further out of whack than I would accept. You can bend the fender no problem but I would get that attended to as well by the dealer. Who is your dealer?

[mattsz]

Your dealer is your best bet. I looked at the badge and it is further out of whack than I would accept. You can bend the fender no problem but I would get that attended to as well by the dealer. Who is your dealer?

That's a telling statement, Kevin.

Dan D'Arcy, Allpower Powersports, Granby Mass. - the only dealer anywhere nearby with the B5 I wanted.  This is the super-nice guy who met me halfway with the bike.

As I mentioned, the problem is that they're 5 highway hours away from me (more like 6-1/2 hours at "break-in" speeds on back roads ), so I can't just cruise across town and drop it off.  I have notified him of both of these issues, but it's a holiday weekend so I don't expect any response for another day or two...

There are closer dealers (closest is 2 hours away), but I have no relationship with them, as they didn't have and couldn't get the bike I wanted.

Is there any history of or precedent for "you guys" dealing directly with an owner on these issues, without getting a dealer involved?  I want the bike to be right, but the personal time and cost of getting the bike to and from the dealer may not be worth it...

[gremlin]

Your dealer is your best bet. I looked at the badge and it is further out of whack than I would accept. You can bend the fender no problem but I would get that attended to as well by the dealer. Who is your dealer?

I'll pile on this thread ...... mine appears to be even further out of alignment.  Marty in Minneapolis delivered this one.

[tooseevee]

I'll pile on this thread ...... mine appears to be even further out of alignment.  Marty in Minneapolis delivered this one.

              I hate to say this, but that's just awful! What's happening with the fit & finish of these tanks? And this is just my own personal opinion also (overall I have the highest praise for how these bikes are put together mechanically AND cosmetically), but not only does it seem from what's being posted that these badges are put on by spiders on LSD, but I don't think that's a good looking badge at all. To my eye, it's really cheesy & looks tinny & doesn't belong on what overall is a really fine looking machine. 

[Kevin Mahoney]

Is the badge a different one than has been on Bullets for the past 55 years? To my knowledge they have all looked the same since about 1955. (not talking about alignment), but how good they do or don't look

[tooseevee]

Is the badge a different one than has been on Bullets for the past 55 years? To my knowledge they have all looked the same since about 1955. (not talking about alignment), but how good they do or don't look

           It's just my opinion. It don't mean nuthin' to nobody but me 

            Maybe it's the photograph, but I just don't care for the look of it. I'm no purist & I just like the look of the gold lettering on my '08 Classic better. Maybe it's just the off-kilter fitting in Gremlin's picture (& the lighting) that's throwing me. Who knows? Like I said, it don't mean nuthin' what I think.   

[foggy95]

I looked at and was very interested in the B5 when it first appeared over here (Phila dealer) late last year. At the time, he also had a maroon/chrome C5 on the floor and I was undecided. But the misalignment of the tank badge / gold pinstripe of the B5 put me off it. Pretty nit-picking, I know, but things like that bother me....

Ended up waiting til Spring and buying my C5 black/chrome Special from another dealership which opened up closer to home, so I have that misaligned tank badge to thank!

Just added: it seems it is ALWAYS the RIGHT hand side of the tank that has the B5 badge overlapping the pinstripe..... wonder why.....

[sparklow]

Some points from another new B5 owner -

1) I love this bike so far, the look of the bike sold me.
2) Sure enough on the right side of the tank the badges on mine also overlap the pinstriping!
3) I love the funky B5 badges, they have the authentic India touch which works for me.
4) With mine I got two keys, an owner's manual, and a can of black spray paint. If I was supposed to get anything else the dealer owes me.

[Arizoni]

According to my UCE owners manual he owes you a speedometer cable, a clutch cable and a new inner tube for your tire (p. 54) in addition to a owners manual if you didn't get one.

[GlennF]

The badges on my bike overlap the pinstripe on one side. I kinda like it that way.

I did replace the Bollywood badges with some heavy brass ones though.

Is the badge a different one than has been on Bullets for the past 55 years? To my knowledge they have all looked the same since about 1955. (not talking about alignment), but how good they do or don't look

Kevin

I suspect the Indian badges were always the way they are, but the original British badges from 1955 were a similar shape but heavy and chromed.