[tharian]

So I can happily confirm after ten days that it was the CDI unit that was faulty. The bike started in the second kick everytime and misfiring on the first kick can be eliminated if I give one solid kick. But on a cold engine, the first turn over, misses.

I have been using it to office on and off as well as for short errands. The power has definitely reduced and I doubt it is because of the engine as it reduced after the CDI replacement.
I am get to check for the RE part for the CDI.

Because of this issue and the parts that were replaced during trial and error, other niggles cropped up like the new stator which is making a whirring noise now once it gets warmed up, the tappets have become noisy at idle speed due to leaving the engine idling once for more than an hour and it overheated. And the gear up shifts have become hard as one of the parts that connects the gear lever to the gearbox had broken when I had tied the kicker lever to the neutral finder when the kicker spring broke due to all the kicking. That part was replaced and I suspect I have to adjust the clutch play now.

The bike is due for service in sometime and all these small issues should be fixed then. For now, it continues to chug along.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by tharian

Here you go. It was in the bikes manual.

If its not much trouble could you share all the pictures pertaining to the Electra's wiring diagram, I tried to find it for a fellow enthusiast but got confused due to the wide variations available online.

Thanks in Advance,
A.P.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

If its not much trouble could you share all the pictures pertaining to the Electra's wiring diagram, I tried to find it for a fellow enthusiast but got confused due to the wide variations available online.

Thanks in Advance,
A.P.

These are all of them from the manual that I have for the models as mentioned on the top of the pages.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by tharian

These are all of them from the manual that I have for the models as mentioned on the top of the pages.

Thanks a lot!

Would be of help to many others as well.

Cheers!
A.P.

[tharian]

Since the lockdown, there is nothing much to update. Bike has been running fine for short grocery shopping trips. WFH and no where to go has actually reduced the already low running to even less.
Since I skipped last year's annual service, I need to give it earlier this year as the engine has become noisy.
With the starting issue that I faced for a long time and finally resolved by the replacing the CDI unit, lot of other parts got replaced to figure out the issue. One if it was the coil which has become noisy probably because I didn't replace the magneto with it. I have it and will get it replaced with the pick up coil during the service which means the bike will have a completely new ignition system starting from the magneto to the ignition key.

Today was a significant day for the bike since I took my 8 month old daughter on my 18 year old bike for the first time and needless to say, she wanted more.

Bike has run 1,22,300 kms
Got this customized key chain made recently too;

[warrioraks]

Originally Posted by tharian

Since the lockdown, there is nothing much to update. Bike has been running fine for short grocery shopping trips. WFH and no where to go has actually reduced the already low running to even less.
Since I skipped last year's annual service, I need to give it earlier this year as the engine has become noisy.

Tharian - Any idea for a reliable online marketplace to source spare parts for Electra? My bike is due for service but I am wary of going to a service center because of the current situation. Just need the usual suspects - Oil and air filter, brake pads, few cables, spark plugs.
Normally I go for Amazon but in this case, I am unable to find products with good reviews.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

Any idea for a reliable online marketplace to source spare parts for Electra?

The below is a reliable online retailer for spares of RE, Hero and TVS.

www.thesparescompany.com

During the previous floods we'd ordered spares and other than a slight delay faced due flooding we got the parts without any issues.

Regards,
A.P.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

Tharian - Any idea for a reliable online marketplace to source spare parts for Electra? My bike is due for service but I am wary of going to a service center because of the current situation. Just need the usual suspects - Oil and air filter, brake pads, few cables, spark plugs.
Normally I go for Amazon but in this case, I am unable to find products with good reviews.

I normally buy the parts from a known shop and thankfully had stocked up in Feb.
I tried Amazon just once for the air filter and they sent the wrong one so didn't try after that.

Anyway Ashwin has given a link.

[tharian]

Update-

As the Covid situation continues, the bike just sees weekly grocery shopping runs. The Odo hardly moved and is yet to hit 1,23k kms.

Last week I took it for a unplanned evening ride of around 75 kms. The bike was running fine, but the roughness was showing since I skipped the last years service. I will be giving it for the annual service next week, this time to a different place, Indimotard. As always, there are no major issues apart from a fork oil leak and few parts that I want to replace and have the parts for. It was purchased when I was trying to figure out the starting issue which was resolved with the CDI unit being replaced, namely the magneto and pick up coil.
A genuine CDI unit still is hard to come by. I actually went during a local lock down to Jc road with a part number for the unit which unfortunately was not a match or faulty. The part number does match with the one given in the manual on this thread;
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attac...-catalogue.pdf

For now, the SWISS CDI unit works fine except for the kick backs at times.

The bike runs just fine otherwise. It has been 18 years now.

[tharian]

Completed the annual service after skipping last year. The bike had seen just 3,800 kms in 20 months which included couple of long rides.

There was a fork oil leak and a head leak on the engine which shows only on long rides or when I ride in a higher speed for a long duration.

Thankfully it was not the head gasket, instead the nut was loose which was the same cause of a oil leak on one of the valve covers last year. I was surprised that the seals have lasted so long. The rear brake shoes were replaced as well although I didn't find any reduction in braking effect before.
The air intake rubber hoses were replaced as they were torn.

The bike feels good after the oil change and it doesn't feel like it is growing old. I always feel the same after every service and the Odo stands at 1,22,500 kms.
I've also started using STP moto booster petrol additive since last few refills as the carb hasn't been stripped and cleaned in many years.

Took it for a short spin to check if everything was good. Will try a do a long ride sometime soon too as the last one was in December.

The service was done at my usual friendly mech for many years and not Indimotard which I wanted to try. It didn't make sense because of the distance and also due to it being a multi brand garage.

[tharian]

Last weekend was the 18th year completed since I purchased this bike. I try and do a ride every year to celebrate that on the same day or weekend near it.

Yesterday, I got a chance to do that and a ride after almost 9 months. With the lockdown and a baby at home, getting time for myself was getting difficult. Made time yesterday and decided to head out although it was afternoon by then. As I wanted to get back before dark, I decided not to venture out too far and fixed on a route that will get me back before nightfall. Except for one stretch, it was a route I had done earlier by car.

There was no sign of rain when I left around 3p, but since I was headed out of the city, there was no point checking the forecast either. As luck would have it, when I was on Old Madras road heading towards Hoskote, I just missed a heavy downpour and was happy that only my jeans got wet from the wet road. More on rain later.

The bike was serviced few weeks back with fresh oil and new brake pads and I was itching to do a ride especially since the starting issue was sorted too. As always, it performed well and with fresh oil, I was able to keep a higher speed than earlier due to the smoothness. Must say, the engine is still eager at this age and delivers as well. I was able to cruise at 75 kmph which was the sweet spot. The head gasket leak turned out to be a loose nut on the head which was tightened during the service and didn't show any oil leak after the ride.
Power has reduced and is noticeable when I'm in 4th gear and have to accelerate from around 40 kmph after slowing down. Through the gears, the engine still feels good. I've been using an Iftex additive as well as LM oil additive which seems to be working especially on the highway.

Coming back to the rains, I was pressure washed thrice in three hours and 170 kms which was a first. I didn't bother stopping and taking shelter since looking at the clouds, I knew it's going to rain on and off. The good thing about the outskirts or open area is that you can see the skies for miles around. It's been a while since I rode in the rains out on the highway and I enjoyed it although towards the end I was soaked completely. It was like a washing machine cycle. Rain, dry roads and no rain and getting partially dried and then again rain.
Because of my shriveled finger, I was unable to unlock my phone and just managed one picture before the heavy rains started. The route taken was Blore-Hoskote-Chintamani-Chikkaballapur-Blore. Total distance was 170 kms.
The stretch between Chintamani and Chikkaballapur was good with lot of greenery and hills around and good paved roads with less traffic, but the huge number of stray dogs on the road made it a bit annoying.

By the time I was nearing home, it had already finished raining heavily and I missed my fourth pressure wash in the process.

Probably since it has been a while or since I rode in the rains or both, it was a good ride and the bike performed well. No oil leaks, no unwanted noise, no oil smoke.

Odo stands at 1,22,750 kms.

[tharian]

Finally, the bike crossed 1,23,000 kms.

It's been painfully slow this year with just one short ride couple of months back. But then, the bike seems to be not liking speeds above 70 kmph anymore. I have a feeling the engine is finally giving up. It did have a seizure type of feeling few weeks ago when I was giving it the beans on Airport Road.

This evening, I took it for a short ride of around 50 kms on the highway and with the cool weather, the engine felt nice and torquey in city. Once I hit the highway and did speeds around 75-80 kmph for a while, it started feeling out of breath and vibe. All this with fresh oil which was filled less than 500 kms ago. Guess not using the bike frequently has an effect too.

[tharian]

It's been 5 months since I updated this thread.

The bike has run 1,23,500 kms which means I have run just 500 kms in the last 5 months and that too was because, I did couple of short rides on the outskirts of the city.
I have been using it once a week since last few weeks for around 15-16 kms and that is when I noticed couple of weeks ago that something was not right. The engine was overheating, had irregular idling and the bend pipe was turning blue slightly. Today, when I took it out I could heard the intake noise as well and I knew that one of the rubber pipes connecting the air filter to the carb was torn. I did check them last week and couldn't feel any tear and was wondering if someone fiddled with the idle screw since everything else felt fine. I assumed the pipe was replaced in the last service last year, but looks like it wasn't.
Headed to my mech since I was passing by his place and when he checked the air filter to resonator box rubber pipe, it was torn at multiple places. No wonder it sounded like I had an open filter. Replaced it and the all is well again. I don't remember when it was replaced last, but this was the worst it has got torn and I was surprised since the bike is hardly used in the last year.

[tharian]

It took 8 months for the bike to cover 1000 kms. Painfully slow because of only using it for short distances.

Crossed 1,24,000 kms yesterday on a ride to Mysore and back. I have been waiting to do a ride and the weather has been playing spoilsport this whole month and yesterday was my last chance for a ride and decided to head to Mysore since I haven't done that stretch in few years. It was ride I used to do almost thrice a year at one point since my mechanic back then was based in Mysore.

I left home only by midday and took the usual 3 hours to reach Mysore with all the traffic and roadworks. Was pleasantly surprised with the 6 laning work going on all throughout the stretch and the missing speedbreakers. I didn't want to return the same route since traffic was increasing and with all the deviations, I would end up riding in the dark. Instead took the Mysore ring road and cut off towards Malvalli which was a good decision. This was again a route I hadn't visited in many years and the last I went on it, the roads were bad with road widening work going on. Thankfully all the way from Mysore to Bangalore outskirts, the roads were perfect with no much much traffic, except when approaching Bangalore and I was able to do good time upto Kanakapura after which it slowed down because of roadworks and traffic. The rains were playing hiding for most of the ride and I was following the rains at some parts since I could see it in a distance and the roads were wet. It was only after I got inside Bangalore that I got drenched in rain.

Rode a total of 300 kms and the bike was running perfect like always. The Mysore road via Maddur is always a charged up situation while in the car or on a bike because of how many drive, but with the road widened to 6 lanes in many places, I was able to keep a good speed which was the usual 65-75kmph and at some stretches pushed it 85 kmph. Didn't even try giving it full throttle and push further since on the way, I could feel the engine struggling on climbs when I was above 60. It felt like the engine was loosing power for a millisec now and then and I think it is signs of seizure. It has happened before, but on this trip it happened few times after which I took it easy till Mysore.

On the return, it didnt't show up although the speeds were similar which was good because the route on the way back was perfect for riding which was a single lane highway with lots of curves and straights with fields and hills all around. So much so that a Interceptor rider who was riding in the opposite direction overcooked a curve and was heading straight towards me and thankfully I wasn't closer or faster than what I was.
The head gasket started a slight leak like in my other rides because of the constant riding. Will have to get it replaced in the next service since it was replaced around a lakh kms back if I remember.

Got back home after 7 hours drenched, with some heavy traffic and bad roads towards the end, but thankfully it wasn't dark yet until I got inside the city which was when it started raining as well.

It was a ride after close to a year and worth it like always.

Odo stands at 1,24,200 kms.

Pictures taken between Malvalli and Kanakapura. The roads were like this all the way from Mysore upto Bangalore outskirts.

[tharian]

Did a short ride of 100 kms on occasion of the bike turning 19 years today. I had some time in the evening and decided to head out to the usual highway which is the nearest for me, towards Kolar. Did around 50kms one way and turned around.

On the way I was doing around 65-70 kmph and then got annoyed by some Honda and Suzuki scooters that were comfortably overtaking me and decided to let her rip. The road was relatively free and I went WoT for around 3 kms without realising I covered that many kms. I was waiting for something to blow or seize, but there was absolutely no hiccup in that continuous open throttle for at least a minute and i think this was the first time rode WoT for this long on this bike.

I managed to hit some 85 kmph on a level stretch and then another 10 added to that on a long down slope. I was surprised that the bike could still do those speeds on an engine that is still on it's original parts. Decided to cool off after that and stopped for some pictures next to a small pond and then returned home keeping speeds below 60.

Surprisingly there was no excess head gasket leak either after that blast.

Bike has run 1,24,500 kms and the only break down was the chain link broke off last month, half a km from home when I went grocery shopping and I pushed the bike back home. Again, didn't leave me stranded in a difficult place.