awasay

hi xbhpians
guess I've been asking alot of questions recently and here is another one for you guys..
Some where around in the corner of my heart I have a feeling and want to own an Royal Enfield oneday but the only thing that stops me from doing so is whether I will be able to maintain it well or not.
I have been owning a 4stroke bike for about 6years with spending very less time maintaining it even then it runs well but REs are different.
What I want to know here is how different is RE's maintenance compared to 4 stroke bikes what are the major areas of concern and what are the safety measures to be taken .
Suggestions and tips required guys
Thanks..

P.S:- If some could point out what are the parts that wore easily and cost of spares as well it would be helpful in making my decision..

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Aryan

Topic Approved.

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ravisanjeevk

Royal Enfield is a very simple machine but people have been misguided that maintainace is very costly and bike is not reliable.

Most of the repairs on your Royal Enfield can be carried out yourself but it will take time for you to acquire the knowledge in Royal Enfield Maintainance.

I own a Karizma, CD 100 and a Royal Enfield but the maintainance is more or less the same.
You will enjoy a Royal Enfield if you like opening the Engine and exploring them.

Few days back my petrol tank started leaking all of a sudden. All I had to do to get this fixed was spend Rs 50. How ?
My tank started leaking when I was in the traffic. Stopped the leak by putting M Seal which was a temp fix. Came home drained the tank completely with the help of pipe and can to store the fuel. Removed the bolt/nut which are securing the tank. One is in the front and the other one is near the front seat. Once removed keep the tank lid open in the sun for 24hours to dry the tank completely. Took the tank to a near by GAs Welding shop who welded the hole and checked the tank for pores. He certified the tank was good to carry fuel again. All it took is Rs 30 Labour and 20 Rs for Auto.

If you are willing to do these kind of small repair yourself than Royal Enfield is the Bike for you. Again you don't need to be Engg or techie to do all thse stuff
CHeck this link

I'm preparing a checklist for Royal Enfield Maintainance and will publish here in the next few days. Again this is with my experience with the Royal Enfield Bikes.

I

Sarvajit

So you are comparing it with your Fiero F2? They are totally different vehicles man. The Enfield owners will be able to throw more light on this.
If you do like one, go for it, you'll learn how to maintain it if you have the passion!

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awasay

yes sir I know they are totally different I am not comparing
What I want to know is about RE's maintenance . I don't have any one owning it in my circle so thought of asking it here.
Specially the basics
May be in about 2 months time if I stay here definitely I would like to own one.

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jayprashanth

Awasay,

Stay away from older Enfields if you are a Student with a shoestring allowance.

If you can spend money, maintenance can always be taken care of the by the bullet mechs.

RE is a high maintenance motorcycle. Quality, on most RE motorcycles, even brand new, is patchy to say the least. So, be prepared to spend a little time tending to your motorcycle, new or old.

If you want a fill it-shut it-forget it kind of a ride, simply stay away for the time being.

Otherwise, if you can tolerate minor/major niggles(depending on your luck) and ride on simply for the real pleasure of motorcycling, welcome to the world of bullets.

Cheers,

Jay

awasay

yes I am a student and I cant spend a lot of money or time on my ride. Once or twice a month is ok but spending all my weekends repairing my ride is not possible for me.

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desideep

Students keep away from the bullet cause it takes time and money to keep a old one(i mean the CI not the AVl)

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Grease Monk

I will have to agree with jayprashant. Its really up to your luck. Those enfield owners who say that enfields being unreliable is a incorrect stereotype are themselves making generalizations about enfields. Some are good, some are lemons. Some who get lemons have the luck of having a great mechanic who correctly identify the root issue and rectify it.

If you are mechanically inclined, I would say definitely buy it as a second bike since its beautiful simplicity will gently guide you into automotive engineering.

Edit: Oh yes, one more thing. It also depends how you tend to ride. Constantly pushing it makes things go bad sooner. Ill be chugging along trouble free for a month until I go for a ride with my friends. I end up on the side of the road just trying to keep up with them, and the following weeks will be hell until I take it to the mechanic.

If you tend to ride a lot with friends who are not afraid of the throttle, be warned that things may go wrong...unless you got a real gem.

awasay

If at all I would buy I would definitely buy a new one I am inclined towards thunderbird TS. But still things are not final it would be about in 2 months time.

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