UCE pricing announcement

[Kevin Mahoney]

Monty - There are pictures of the new bikes in this forum, another place is here
www.bulletclassic.com

At present very few of the current mods will work on the new bikes. Having said that, it is only a matter of time before we figure out what works and what doesn't. Over time there will be kits that are specific to the UCE engines. I don't belive for a minute at least on this side of the pond, that owners will leave theire new UcE's stock. That is totally Un-American. I would guess taht there is a lot more to be gotten from this engine. It was built for 35-40 hp and I am told that you can crank it up that high with no compormise in reliability.
  The biggest question will be in what volume they sell. The more of them that are out there the more sense it makes to spend money developing kits etc.

[exiledcarper]

If the new motor was built to produce 35-40bhp, does this mean it's going to appear in other applications , or is it solely intended for R.E?

[prof_stack]

Kevin, will the UCE transmission be the same as that on the AVL?  Or has it been improved to handle the increased HP? 

I like what's happening with RE now.  I hope production keeps up with demand.

[ace.cafe]

Kevin, will the UCE transmission be the same as that on the AVL?  Or has it been improved to handle the increased HP? 

I like what's happening with RE now.  I hope production keeps up with demand.

I can't comment on your question to Kevin about the UCE, but the 5-speed gearbox in the AVL and Classics can handle 50hp as they are right now.

[REpozer]

UNIT CONSTRUCTION (UC) means that the engine and gearbox are combined in one casing, whereas previous engines had a separate gearbox, while Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) replaces the traditional carburettor.  Power is increased to 27.5 BHP in standard form with 41.3 Nm of torque at 4000rpm.

[Kevin Mahoney]

The UCE will only be seen in Royal Enfield applications. Remember this is a long stroke single push rod engine. While it's character fits RE perfectly, most other European or Asian companies prefer high revving Overhead Cam engines.
 
The transmission is plenty strong as Ace has pointed out. It uses most of the same parts as the current 5 speed, but is housed within the engine casing and not in a separate box as is the case currently.

My point is that most of our customers can't leave well enough alone so I expect to see quite a bit of "hot-rodding" done to these.

[meilaushi]

I really fancy the UCE Classic, but am I alone in thinking the price is a bit too rich for a middleweight single, produced in a third world economy?  The much stronger US Dollar doesn't seem to have been reflected in the price to me.  I would have thought around 5 grand would have been about right, but i expect I'll be proven totally wrong.
  6 and a half-ish?  I would like one, but it's too rich for me.

I look at the latest Jap bikes and the stuff Victory builds over here, and the Euro bikes and just about all of 'em appear to me to be plasticized-assticized exercizes in 'who can do more wierd'--kinda like the never-ending changes in women's clothes, hemlines, and hairstyles that try to hide to dress the basic stuff underneath.  To be able to buy an honest bike that looks like a bike, and whose only pretensions to 'style' are such things as fenders that do what they really ought, and a nice looking teardrop gas tank and an engine that lets you see it's an engine without all kinds of crud stuck on it and around it... for my money, 6 grand is a grand price.  Sure, I wish the UCE were gonna be cheaper so I could buy one for each day of the week...  but what the heck... having just one lets ya ride real honest style every day.  I'll spring for a C-5 when it comes... only I do wish it'll have a kick start (more honesty??? mayhap?)    Just my HO.

[ace.cafe]

I really fancy the UCE Classic, but am I alone in thinking the price is a bit too rich for a middleweight single, produced in a third world economy?  The much stronger US Dollar doesn't seem to have been reflected in the price to me.  I would have thought around 5 grand would have been about right, but i expect I'll be proven totally wrong.
  6 and a half-ish?  I would like one, but it's too rich for me.

I look at the latest Jap bikes and the stuff Victory builds over here, and the Euro bikes and just about all of 'em appear to me to be plasticized-assticized exercizes in 'who can do more wierd'--kinda like the never-ending changes in women's clothes, hemlines, and hairstyles that try to hide to dress the basic stuff underneath.  To be able to buy an honest bike that looks like a bike, and whose only pretensions to 'style' are such things as fenders that do what they really ought, and a nice looking teardrop gas tank and an engine that lets you see it's an engine without all kinds of crud stuck on it and around it... for my money, 6 grand is a grand price.  Sure, I wish the UCE were gonna be cheaper so I could buy one for each day of the week...  but what the heck... having just one lets ya ride real honest style every day.  I'll spring for a C-5 when it comes... only I do wish it'll have a kick start (more honesty??? mayhap?)    Just my HO.

I agree.
I'm sick and tired of all the motorcycle "oddball styling exercises" too.
I find most of the current motorcycle selections to be radically ugly.
It could be that the current "retro-fad" is actually a market segment that's sick of the stupid looking new "plastic fantastics", and wants something approximating a relatively "normal motorcycle".

[Eamon]

I agree.
I'm sick and tired of all the motorcycle "oddball styling exercises" too.
I find most of the current motorcycle selections to be radically ugly.
It could be that the current "retro-fad" is actually a market segment that's sick of the stupid looking new "plastic fantastics", and wants something approximating a relatively "normal motorcycle".

Yes, and this points to something that bugs me.  Why is it "retro" to have a bike that simply doesn't have a bunch of ugly plastic body parts added on or a weird shaped gas tank?     As you say, it's simply what a "normal motorcycle" should look like. 

Eamon

[Chasfield]

Hear, hear.

And why do other manufacturers only make "Adventure" style bikes for people with 48 inch legs?

It's a shame, because those top heavy bikes often have engine configurations (twins, big singles) which would be of interest to Bullet enthusiasts.

If only they would wrap a normal looking roadster around some of those motors. Never mind at, least RE are doing it right.

[Cabo Cruz]

Colleagues, there is precious little to add to your insightfull comments.  So, I will simply state that an RE looks, smells and runs like a motorcycle should.

[PaulF]

Ahh, we happy few. We band of traditionalists. Without getting into too much "thread drift", I almost didn't buy my AVL because it came dangerously close to being too radical a departure from tradition.

I also gave a serious look to the Bonneville, only to be apalled that it's a seriously short-stroke motor. Totally un-British-like and makes little power until screaming like any Japanese crotch cannon.

And I agree with the assessments of today's bikes. The Victory Vision looks like a Picasso on wheels. How many panels do you have to remove to serivce that thing? That is, if you can service it.

[The Garbone]

Now if I can just get the wife to start driving the RE, that way I can justify the second machine...

[Chasfield]

And I agree with the assessments of today's bikes. The Victory Vision looks like a Picasso on wheels. How many panels do you have to remove to service that thing? That is, if you can service it.

Plastic, fantastic! That bike would be a strong contender for the most-expensive-damage-arising-from-the-most-trivial-impact award. Reckon five grand might just cover the damage if it fell off its side-stand.

[bob bezin]

last summer i could"nt even get on my sons 650 honda single. it just fell over. and then he says it is"nt really good off road.