Classic 500 is worth buying

I am 5.8" and 65 kg. I have bought my bike last year in June and have clocked 17700 km since then and have had no issues while riding (43 years but very fit). Most of the riding has been on tours including 3000km. in Rajasthan and a recent 3000km, 16 day tour of Ladakh besides many short and mediam trips near Delhi. Besides one glitch during early days I have had no issue. The bike requires attention, I regularly lubricate joints, clean chain and in general keep it clean and well serviced at regular intervals.

There have been been plenty of improvements since the bike came including battery, stability issues, finish besides others. I did a lot of research before buying it and last year has been the most exciting of my life. I would heavily recommend the bike as there is no alternative in this price bracket. As for the TB500 it has bigger fuel tank (helpful on tours) and is a nice bike but since RE is not known for moving quickly it is anybodies guess when it will be released. Classic has a more vintage look which appeals to a lot of people (single seater gets a lot of looks) and TB500 the cruiser (more comfort on highways). It is generally better to wait for about 6 months after the bike is released since the initial kinks are sorted out during that period and you know what to expect - though the bike looks good, so it is your call.

Hope that was helpful.

Rajesh
P.S: Check the best thread at The Royal Enfield 500 Classic thread! - Team-BHP for a lot more.

Objective Man:

Thank bro,

Ill keep that in mind, ive never cleaned the FI unit, can i do it myself ? I change the oil around 5k, use semi synth. Maybe ill switch back to mineral and reduce the change interval. Do let me know.

Cheers,
Al.

Guys,

Im at cochin now, does anyone know a good mechanic in and around cochin to work on a c500 ??

CBR 250 is not all agressive riding position mate!! Agressive position is of R15 and GT250r. But when you feel the back pain then TBTS would be more comfortable for your back. CBR has good touring position if that is also a problem then my suggestion would be TBTS more than CL500, because of comfort level.
But you will surely miss the handling, stability, Speed confidence, braking in CL500 or TBTS as compare to CBR250 which you did till now. If you ride RE in 80-100kmph then it's not at all a problem, Problem starts from post 100kmph.

Hi Aditya,

First of all CBR250R has not that much aggressive riding position when compared to R15. Even some R15 owners feels like a commuter riding stance when shifted to CBR250R. I have done a GQ ride on CBR250R and found very comfortable with the position. But first of all some people or all make take some time to get used to the riding stance when switching from a normal/commuter-ish riding stance. that's obvious, it will take certain period(for me it took around 1-2 months) to get used to the riding position(earlier my bikes where RX100 and FZ16).
About CL500. I have never ridden it so can't comment anything about it. Once I met a guy with CBR250R who previously owner a CL500. I asked the reason for selling the CL500. He said CL500 has very high vibrations which will cause your hands to starts paining. After few months of ownership his wrist started developing some serious pain and he could hardly pick any weights. Doctor said about problem(sorry don't remember the name, something called canal) has started occurring. so he sold of the bike.

P.S: This may be his case only. that doesn't mean no one can like with CL500. Its a case which I know, others may vary. Just to share with you. Nothing offensive for CL500 owners.

Build quality

Bought mine from Cochin. Have finished 3 months and about 900 kms. The vibration story is true, but quick adjustment of the throttle when that happens can overcome it. My crash guard from the dealer did not survive even one month. It looks so bad when you drive around a month old bike with rusted crash guards. I am also not sure with this quality whether it will really do any guarding in a crash. Secondly, the handlebar clamp started rusting after the second month. Don't think of some extreme exposure situation. My bike is in the company of two more of my other bikes kept in a car porch itself. Now if I drive in the night with the lights on, after some time the self-start doesn't work. I took it to the service centre last week and upon reaching there after driving for around 40 minutes which is the distance from my home, you should have heard the response. No mechanics are free ...please bring it on any Saturday. No checking even. I wonder how they treat you if you were on a roadtrip. Fascination to frustration...

Guys,i'm looking for a 2nd hand Bullet 350 standard or Electra from Tiruvalla or anywhere near..if anyone knows anyone going to sell any Bullet or if anyone interested in selling their Bullet pls do contact me frm FB or call: 9847035705

Manoj,

I got mine from cochin too. I faced a similar prob with my bike, they figured out tht my rear brake switch was faulty, and has screwed my battery up. The switch isnt in stock and they've asked me to come with a new battery in a week. Once ur warranty period is over, the service will pretty much be non existent. Try n sort out all the issues before that. Your battery should be under warranty too. So get it fixed.

Al.

+1. C500 is not anyway near to what TBTS offers in terms of touring comforts. Especially with the stock seats, it is horrible to do even 1 hour at a single stretch. 80-100 is c500's sweet spot, and you dont complain anything at all including vibrations.

There is a mechanic in Angamally,near Kothakulangara temple...its on highway itself..Forgot his name and don't know whether he deals with CL500..

Got my bulls 1st free service last weekend and it costed me 885 bucks. If that's the free service cost, I wonder what will be the cost of paid services Anyway, bike has become smoother along with the gear shifts that are more positive now. Chain lube was all over the exhaust and rear rim when came home so spent 30minutes cleaning it. Tappet noise has increased a bit. All in all, loving the bike and the feel it gives everytime I take it out. Just keep the bike at 40 in 5th and twist the throttle. The tractor like pulling power & sound is just so sweet. Don't remember how many times I've done it

Guys, need some advice on running in the CL500. I got the 1st service done when bike had done only 350kms. Now, recommended speed as per the manual after 1st service is 80-90kmph but I am confused if I should actually expose the engine to these speeds since it hasn't done even 500kms. However, I have started riding at 70 and keep varying the speed still but need to clear my doubt about proper running in.

Can any of you Classic owners enlighten me as to the diameter of the stop/tail light on this bike in mm's?

I'm on the look out for some doner parts for a project.

Thanks

Desert Storm K&N modification

hey! i have been with my Desert storm for last 3 months & done around 2500 KM. Will be going for the second service tomorrow, planning to shift to Semi Synthetic oil.
Few mods done are:
1. Handle Bar changes to RD 350.
2. Seat Height changed and foam density changed to softer one.

Want to install K&N filter(in box type) now. Read about piston expansion hence got a free flow exhaust (punjab) fitted, will be getting filter installed after 500km of running in. Post installation of exhaust i am facing a unique problem of back blast.

Does this adversely effect the engine ?

if yes will a half filled Goldstar be a better option or as a mechanic suggested remove some filling from the stock silencer.

Thanks in advance

New royal enfield classic 500

All,

I'm a new member and got my CL500 delivered last week. So excited.

Looking for some good accessories in bangalore, any suggestions welcome. Heading towards jc road in bangalore.

Will post some pics soon.