First Day with my C5

[Rusty]

Well it’s arrived, firstly some decent pics

http://i421.photobucket.com/albums/pp296/Rusty854/C5/IMG_3290.jpg
http://i421.photobucket.com/albums/pp296/Rusty854/C5/IMG_3291.jpg
http://i421.photobucket.com/albums/pp296/Rusty854/C5/IMG_3292.jpg
http://i421.photobucket.com/albums/pp296/Rusty854/C5/IMG_3293.jpg
http://i421.photobucket.com/albums/pp296/Rusty854/C5/IMG_3294.jpg
http://i421.photobucket.com/albums/pp296/Rusty854/C5/IMG_3295.jpg

I’ve just had one of the most enjoyable days motorcycling I can remember. All at 40mph tops but along some great country roads.

I picked up the bike this morning with a plan to do about 100 miles today and change the oil when I got home (glad I did, more of that later). Running in consisted of 20 mile stints with a ciggie/burger break to let the engine cool and then off again.

It’s an absolute joy to ride, it felt harsh and tight when I left the dealer but even during a 100 mile session it loosened up noticeably and by the end of the day it was a lot smoother and just wanted to rev, I didn’t let it though.

After a fairly heavy T’Bird the Enfield is great fun when spirited cornering is called for, it just goes where you point it with no drama. Because of my slow speed I was reluctant to use the brakes at roundabouts so had a few ‘oh sh*t’ moments but a little more lean and round we went, oh the rear brake pedal touches down quite easily BTW.

Build quality is ‘quaint’ I’d say, start to look closely at some details and you wonder who taught Rajit to weld. The use of silver paint to cover welds where two chromed components have been joined is amusing, chrome the components, then weld, then paint over the weld. Does anyone sell copper grease (or any grease for that matter) in India? I’ve had to grease the pad retaining pins and grubscrews and will be pulling the wheel spindles tomorrow. Also 3rd to 4th can be tricky, I noticed this on the dealer’s demo bike, just need to be positive with the gear change.

I’m being a bit unfair I guess, it’s easy to find fault with the bike if you really want to but I think that’s missing the point, it’s such a blast to ride you can forgive it almost anything.

The oil and filter change at 100 miles;

What came out was black with that metallic sheen which usually means you’ll be stripping the engine in the near future. Both magnetic plugs had a mushroom of swarf on them and the gauze filter had trapped some worringly large debris but thankfully nothing metallic. I would STRONGLY advise any new EFI owners to change the oil and filter way before 300 miles. If I’d have known what was coming out of my engine I would have done it at 50, I’ll be doing it again at 200.

All in all a great day and I’m dead pleased with the bike. The day was summed up by the mother of a young child at my third burger stop. There was number of sportsbikes there and as I pulled up to order a cheeseburger she said to her daughter “oooh look there’s a real one”

I hope she was talking about the bike.

[r80rt]

It sounds like you had a fun day of it, thanks for the advice about an early oil change, I can't wait got my C5 to get here!

[r80rt]

The picts are great!

[Eamon]

Wow, that is a fantastic looking bike!  I am liking the new red color more and more.  Congratulations!

Eamon

[t120rbullet]

Good looking bike there.
I wouldn't worry about a little "metallic sheen" in the oil. As the bike gets more broken in it will become less and less.
I changed the oil in mine when it came out of the crate. And again at 300 miles and now I'm coming up to 600 and I'll change it again.
After that I'll do it at 1000 and every 1000 after that.
The 300 mile change was not that bad as far as swarf goes.
Air cooled motors are tough on oil and the black color after 100 miles should be expected.
 
As far as the Jewish Chrome (silver paint) goes old habits are hard to break and they have been doing that for a long time.

What kind of tires are they using on that bike? I see in your pics that they are Avon's but I cant see which one.

I know what you mean about being unfair finding fault with the bike. I love my Enfields so much I tend to overlook quite a bit. But on the other hand only once did I have to push one home and it's debatable that it was the bikes fault more than mine.

They had a saying about the older Enfields,
Always ill, never terminal.

Enjoy,
CJ

[UK-Classics]

Rusty - Cheers for your picture & update on yeaterdays activities. Very useful info.
I like the C5 very much & after close inspection the 'quaintness' sort of gripes me a little. I was disappointed by the welding & a few other quality points you would have hoped they may have addressed before sticking a 'premium' pricetag on it. 

What do you think of the flimsy spring/switch assembly for the footbrake? There are also some exposed electics that I thought may cause issues after prolonged bad weather.

Anyway - besides these hopefully minor issues I like the bike & will hopefully be getting one myself - I just wish they would get some of these things sorted for us fussy brits & yanks!

[skippy]

Rusty that bike of yours looks awsome in red, Yes your right regarding the build quality being quaint when I gave my new electra it's first good clean last August I was a bit put off when I gave the bike a good going over and found a few components not quite up to scratch but luckily these were only minor items, sorted out a few odds and ends but I enjoy the bike so much in time I just forgot about the other niggles.

[JamesC5]

Gorgeous bike Rusty!

Ah so it's not just me that found 3-4 tricky. I try to be quite positive with the changes in general on the C5 but still going 3-4 seems to result in the gear not engaging a bit too often.

I agree on the faults regarding build quality. I don't mind quirks and what not, but let's face it, the cost of the Bullets today versus previous years are much much higher than a few years ago, I think the quality of workmanship should also see an increase with the price.

For the UCE I've read that changing your own oil voids warranty? is this right? Also I just had a ganders at the warranty section of my manual and was shocked at this:

5. Cost of Consumables like, fuel, Oils etc, Labour, Shipping Charges of replacement parts for any warranty replacement are chargeable to the customer.

So am I right in thinking that I have to basically pay for all work done to my bike except from the actual cost of the faulty part?? That's crazy!

[Rusty]

The way I looked at the whole Enfield ownership thing was that the bike offers a riding experience that nothing else does. The engine is really key to this, had it been a ‘no flywheel’ XT500 type 500 single I wouldn’t have bought one.

I’d looked at enough REs to know that the build quality wouldn’t be great and there’s no doubt that £4.5k will buy you something that’s much better put together but it’ll be a sewing machine in line four or parallel twin, I didn’t want that.

Having said that the C5 is clearly aimed at a new market rather than existing Enfield owners and if they’re going to succeed Enfield need to sharpen up a few things. New owners who haven’t had the benefit of keeping an iron barrel or AVL going won’t put up with these foibles, they’ll expect reliability and quality of a level to justify the price tag.

As regards the oil change/warranty I was told by my dealer that it’s one year parts and labour then one year parts only. This contradicts the handbook but it is possible that the UK importers, Watsonian, take a pragmatic view and beef up the warranty. I can’t imagine them selling many bikes if owners had to contribute towards the cost of repairs in the first year.

The oil change? Well I’m glad I did it and I’m still convinced that 300 miles until the first change is too long. Again I think the supplying dealer will influence whether or not the warranty still applies, if a common sense approach is adopted there shouldn’t be a problem but if in any doubt take it to your dealer (easier said than done in the US I bet).

[Alaroyal]

Anyway - besides these hopefully minor issues I like the bike & will hopefully be getting one myself - I just wish they would get some of these things sorted for us fussy brits & yanks!

Some good points made in these comments about the fact that this bike is, when you look at it objectively, a new offering with a very premium price tag.  And, after all, it was MADE for us fussy Brits and Yanks, and that puts us in a position to complain if it doesn't meet OUR standards. 

I was gonna get one, probably a red G5, but I believe I'll wait a model year and let others be the "test bed" to sort out problems, and if that hasn't happened, by then, well, I don't have to have one.  I'll just finish putting my Electra to where I think it should have been before it left the factory.

I wish Suzuki would make a retro look model of the Savage 650 (excuse me, "Bouvelard S40"). Then I could have a look that I like, with a bike that has better power, almost without doubt far better reliability, less routine maintenance, and a belt drive, and at least 1,000 dollars less money.  You can get an S40 right now for $1500 less, and a new retro model surely couldn't cost more than 500 more than a standard.

Plus, I wouldn't feel the need to fuss with it as much.  Of course, some like to wrench, and if they do, that's fine for them, but there's a difference in working on a machine because you WANT to, and because you NEED to.

I remember the old adage about Brit bikes with Lucas electrics "ride all you like, but be home by night". That didn't happen by accident.  I enjoy riding something better than working on it, I have since I started in 1961.

I think there is a lesson here, and that is, if you want to move to a different level, and compete on a more world wide stage, you better pick up the pace.  Hundai (and others) learned that, maybe RE needs to, also.

What about farming out maybe 100 of these machines to RE owners, in the UK and the US, who ride A LOT, free of charge for 6 months. The owners would agree, up front, to perform, on their own, NOTHING other than routine maintenance, after which time the factory rounds up all the bikes and complaints, and then solves the problems at the factory level.  The bikes could then be sold for a fair price.

There's a lot to be said for getting in the game.

[abe]

My new background photo on my computer, thanks!

Sweet ride....
abe

[Kevin Mahoney]

A couple of comments
1. Because the transmission is integral with the engine when it gets it's first miles on it microscopic (some not so microscopic) particles get knocked off the gears. For the most part this is what you find in the metal screen and magnets. Much like a Ducatti. It clears up pretty quickly. Most get trapped here before it goes to the filter.  One thing that was stressed to us in training is that at every service this filter should be checked.
2. Some of the welds in the early production bikes on the frame could be called a bit unsightly. The biggest probelm is that the frame is painted and everything jumps out at you. The designer of the bike told me yesterday that he is a villain as far as the production guys go because of the colored frame. Very easy to nick etc. when assembling. The welds on later production bikes look quite a bit better, Both are strong, but because of the paint they really stand out. They are now tack welding them at the original frame manufacturer and then taking them to a new place that has robotics for finishing. Whenever a product goes from design and testing to mass production there are always challenges. Also remember this is still basically a hand made bike.
3. As far as the warranty goes, forget the book.. I can't speak for the other countries around the world but in the US it is two years parts and labor - period. I pay the warranty myself so if it blows up in my face so be it. I do not expect that to be the case.
4. The brake switch "wire connection" confused me also, but the designer told me that he did it on purpose in keeping with the period. This young Indian knows more about the gestalt of Brit bikes from any era than anyone I have ever met. He is designing some bikes that look more British than the originals did.
5. We are very aware that one can buy a good jap bike for less than the Royal Enfield. However they just don't have the cool factor, not one of them,. After riding one I would dare say that those comparisons end. I am very prejudice of course, but the there is nothing like a long stroke, pushrod single, especially with the traditionally heavy flywheels. After riding Iron barrels and Lean Burns for years the increase in power and especially torque is quite noticeable. It will really be interesting as speed parts get developed for the engine. In the US there are still the Lean-Burn bikes available  this year as well as the G-5 both of which are less expensive alternatives. With the G-5 you give up nothing in terms of performance or technology etc.
6. Like all Royal Enfields these bikes need to be meticulously prepared by the dealer and detailed. so that the new owner is not the test rider. The entire key to satisfaction with the Royal Enfield is the dealer. We have gone to great lengths to train our dealers individually in the US for the new product. We hope it all translates into a good experience for the customers.
7. We expect the reliability to be outstanding. Quite a few of these bikes were running around the world at the hands of consumers before they went in to production, Most all reliability issues were designed out of the powerplant. On the other hand is issues arise the engineers at the factory are standing by to implement fixes.
8. I would reserve judgement until you've actually ridden one. Only then will you know if it does anything for you .

[JamesC5]

Thanks for the info Kevin. Hopefully the warranty in the UK is the same. The fit and finish of the bike is ok, I think it could be of a higher standard with the higher price points, but as long as the machine is reliable then that will make up for any inflated price in the long run.

So does changing the oil yourself void warranty?

James

[ace.cafe]

Maybe it's just me, but it seems that when it gets down to deciding if you think the "welds don't look quality enough for the price", you're looking for some reason to not buy the bike, not reasons for why you want one.

And as far at the almost $7k price tag, I think it's a pretty low price, in terms of motorcycles prices.

I was actually glad to see the prices go up some, because I'm tired of people looking at the Bullet like it's some "cheap transportation bike" and not giving it due respect for what it is. And I think the comparisons against some other cheaper "commuter-econo bikes" are not valid comparisons, unless you have no partiality to the Enfield, and look at it as some "consumer utility" with no regard to its individuality and appeal.
The bottom line is that there's no other bike that comes close to the RE, for what the RE is offering. Sure, there might be cheaper bikes out there if plain vanilla is all you're looking for.

[The Garbone]

I bought my RE for the oddity factor to be sure,  I think the UCE bikes maintain that well.  In the end I think it will remain a niche bike similar to a Guzzi or Aprilla.  A good machine with smaller market share.  To be honest, a lot of folks think its a really retro Harley..