So what do you think is the weakest point on UCE bikes?

[motomataya]

When you are servicing you cables, by far the most important thing to watch for is making sure the barrels are free to rotate. Old rusty cables can break inside the sheathing, but they almost always break at the lever because the barrels don't rotate causing the cable to bend everytime it is used.

[mattsz]

+1 on the battery cable ends.  I got stranded... well, ok, stuck... wellllll, ok, inconvenienced, for about 10 minutes... when my negative terminal broke.  Because of reading about it on this forum, I knew where to look and was back on the road pretty quickly (Strongest point on UCE bikes?  This forum!).  Enough of us know about, and have had this problem, along with side stand switch faults, I would hope that the factory would be getting word and maybe doing something about it.

I wish the front fender were a bit narrower in the middle on Classics. If the dealer installs them correctly they are not a problem but if they do not they scratch the fork covers.   ...While ideally nothing would ever go wrong when problems do occur they generally show up pretty quickly well within the warranty period.

I guess I am not the only one experiencing this problem - too bad, 'cause it sounds like it could be avoided at the dealer end.  Some of you may not be surprised to hear that CMW is VERY interested in getting this problem fixed for me...

[Arizoni]

While we're talking about things that could be improved (and maybe it already has), the fuel level float should not dissolve like my G5's float did.

As I mentioned in my previous discussion about this,

http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/index.php/topic,7829.msg168800.html#msg168800
 I can get along without relying on the warning light but the crappy 10% ethanol gasoline they sell in my area has been around for a long time so it's something the Indians could have designed the float to withstand.

[Royalista]

Why didn't I think of it?

I'm on the third low fuel sensor. First went tudelu after 9000km, second after 5000km. This one is still young.
Yes, definitely they could be improved. If we must have another light on the dash, let it be functional.

[kammersangerin]

You all are making me think I was bosch in the head for getting one of these things. Never had any bike have this many things go wrong, and though the Vespa needed something replaced under warranty, since then not a tweak of trouble. I realize my 240 Volvo has really really spoiled me, but I simply don't have time to muck about too much on a bike. Though I take care of my things, it's there to ride, not to spend every weekend playing with. Volvo has finally reached the point of needing some TLC, and it's just time I don't have.

[JVS]

^ Don't be scared 

For me, it's there to ride, admire and work on basically every day...even though there's nothing wrong with it, lol

[GlennF]

The issues with UCE bikes are annoyances, they are not things that lead to an engine self destructing.

One common annoyance is the side-stand switch fouling spark plugs. Many people just disconnect it.

[Arizoni]

@ kammersangerin

It's not that any of these things will prevent you from riding.  They are just little quirks that could and should be addressed by Royal Enfield.

As for reliability, my 2011, G5 has never failed to start or to get me to any place I wanted to go in over 8500 miles of riding.
This includes several 400 mile trips from 1200 feet elevation to over 8000 feet elevation at highway speeds of over 65 mph.  Riding on these trips took me from over 108 degrees F to 40 degrees F with an overnight cold soak temperature of 28 degrees F.

I've also ridden in 112 degree F temperatures in stop and go traffic during the summer without any signs of overheating. (Yes the engine was very hot but it didn't miss a lick.)

I'm sure it is possible to do on a Vespa but I sure wouldn't even dream of such a trip riding one of them.

[Kevin Mahoney]

I don't think it is ethanol that is giving you problems with your fuel sensor float. We do not see this as a problem (it is a problem for you but it is not something we see enough to be concerned). We have ethanol in varying degrees all over the country now especially in summer and all of the time in MN. As Scooter Bob used to say (I am paraphrasing and leaving out some words he might have used), there isn't much gasoline in gasoline anymore. His contention is that it is mostly other chemicals. I beieve him because he could name them and explain  why they were there but then I believed my ex-wife too.  I think that the garbage that gets put in gasoline now can cause this sort of trouble. We see it sometimes with the paint inside the neck of the tank and it can vary widely by part of the country and season. We also know that gasoline does not even last a month or two in some cases. In my day it would last the better part of a year if not more. As an experiment and to make me a believer we got some Aviation gasoline from out local airport. It has very little in it except a small amount of lead. After that it is not too special other than the octane which is not directly germane to this example. Av gas will evaporate quickly from the floor like gas back in the day did, it will clean parts like carburetor gum and it will last several years in a fuel tank. One float maybe a bad float, more than one I would look elsewhere. An interesting sidenote on the low fuel sensor. When you remove a bad one you will mostly likely find that the float is fine and that when you operate it manually it works fine. The problem is a very low level of magnetism that the tank carries that can fool the float. Also the reason for the low fuel warning system is because the fuel pump used fuel to cool itself and it wants to tell you to keep it covered and that you are running low.

[GA-DK]

My biggist complaint, after the light gage wiring that burns before the fuse blows, is the crankcase that holds most of the oil when the drain plug is removed.  Throwing the bike over your shoulder and burping it like a baby will remove a bit more, but not all.  And that is out of the question when you have a sidecar like mine.  A few very small holes, 1/16 inch or so, in strategic spots, would let the oil drain to the bottom of the crankcase, but would still allowing pooling around the primary chain, etc. as it does now.  The oil pump puts out enough that a very small drain hole between different parts of the engine would not matter.  It would allow hot oil to drain completely from the engine so it could be replaced with clean oil.  This is something the factory should have addressed before now.  GA-DK

[Kevin Mahoney]

I won't swear to it but I think this was done a while ago with a drain hole on the shelf that retained the oil.

[gremlin]

.........the crankcase that holds most of the oil when the drain plug is removed..... 

+1  my 2011 B5 even with burping only takes 1.7 litres to fill it back up.

[tooseevee]

On my bike the auto decompress has recently failed making it difficult to kickstart.

            Sorry to butt in on the UCE forum, but I have a question. I have an '08 AVL Classic & I never use the electric start. I also never use the decompressor. Under any and all conditions, I kick it once or twice & it's running. What am I doing wrong?

           Or is it EFI & electric fuel pumps that make the difference?

[Royalista]

            Sorry to butt in on the UCE forum, but I have a question. I have an '08 AVL Classic & I never use the electric start. I also never use the decompressor. Under any and all conditions, I kick it once or twice & it's running. What am I doing wrong?

           Or is it EFI & electric fuel pumps that make the difference?

Haven't a clue what you're doing wrong. Mine starts first kick anytime, whatever the weather conditions are. It is an EFI Electra. Probably I'm no good either. 

[JesterNT]

I would say the Sprag Clutch!  I've replaced it once and it looks like just a few thousand miles later I'm going to have have to do it again.  I just want to kick it some times!!!! No really it's an 09 so it has no kick start, I have to clutch-push-leap then hold on for the lurching start.  I'm told it's entertaining to watch  Anyone have a part number for the newer/stronger Japanese made sprag?  I think I recall reading about??? Not the Stieber one.