[dinu2506]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

However I hear that this is no longer operational and they have shut down. At the same time, I tried looking up some company reports and see that they had their last AGM in September 2018. So Im not sure if you will be able to reach them and try for a warranty replacement.

I'm not even trying for a warranty claim. Will just drop back the stock ones. My hands are itching for some DIY

[dinu2506]

Originally Posted by dinu2506

I'm not even trying for a warranty claim. Will just drop back the stock ones. My hands are itching for some DIY

Dropped back the stock shocks. Weekend well spent on the DIY

[neil.jericho]

As strange as it may sound, the current battery on the GT 535 seems to have found a new lease of life and the bike now starts at the second or third kick even without the choke being used. That said, I doubt I'll take too much of a risk with it and will move to a replacement battery next month.


One area that is continuously a mild annoyance is the current valves on the tires. I've noticed that the air filling units in most pumps in our city are older one that have those long necks which make it near impossible for filling air into these tires. So I've decided to use the ResqTech unit that I have at home to fill air instead. There are no issues with the neck and since Im using the same unit every week, I dont have to worry about calibration mismatches associated with filling air in different petrol pumps. If Im doing long rides, I carry the ResqTech unit with me to be on the safe side. Also, I found that the Essar pumps (which are quite new when compared to the traditional ones) have these nifty units which should easily fit bikes with spokes and hence can be a good plan B.

Mileage : Its been several weeks since I last filled fuel on the GT 535 and the bike has mainly been used for pottering around town. I prefer BPCL pumps these days, Ive had no bad experiences with them so far. Distance covered : 233.3 kms. Petrol consumed : 8.04 litres. Mileage: 29.02 kmpl. Mileage since day 1 inches up to 27.62 kmpl. The average mileage over the last 10 tank top ups has been 31.16 kmpl which is a pleasant surprise. More so when the mileage of my other bike is nearly half of it.

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

One area that is continuously a mild annoyance is the current valves on the tires. I've noticed that the air filling units in most pumps in our city are older one that have those long necks which make it near impossible for filling air into these tires.

Neil,

I think I have posted this before on some other thread in TBHP itself I think

Carry one of these in your bike or with your riding kit.




They are easily available from many of the online stores. Doesn't cost much. It solves the problem of "long necked fillers".

Best Regards & Ride Safe

Ram

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by dinu2506

Dropped back the stock shocks. Weekend well spent on the DIY

Dinu2506, how does your motorcycle ride now that you have gone back to the OEM shocks. Is the difference pronounced? If you had to, would you go with the Paioli shocks again?

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

Neil,

I think I have posted this before on some other thread in TBHP itself I think

Carry one of these in your bike or with your riding kit.

Attachment 1861396


They are easily available from many of the online stores. Doesn't cost much. It solves the problem of "long necked fillers".

Best Regards & Ride Safe

Ram

Thanks Ram, this is a great suggestion indeed.

[neil.jericho]

With the oppressive heat in Kerala these days, heading out for a full day ride over the weekends is quite risky and frankly, not worth it. It isnt like the North Indian summers where you dread going out but here, before you know it you are dehydrated and exhausted. Fortunately, it does becomes a lot cooler in the evenings so rides to nearby beaches becomes quite an appealing proposition. On my way back from Mararikulam beach a couple of months ago, I had noticed another little beach with an old signboard but never made note of it. However when the opportunity to ride arose this weekend, I decided to head out in the evening and explore that unknown beach.


It took me about an hour to get there and I was happy to note that the parking area was completely deserted. There was just one small tent of a stall selling soda where the gentlemen from the area congregate to talk. Other than that the beach was completely empty and extremely beautiful. No tourists, no locals trying to hustle you, no stray dogs, nothing. Just what I needed!

The ride back was very pleasant and overall it was a nice and relaxing evening ride. Now to open google maps and find more such places like this which are off everyone's radar.

Now that I have done a few thousand kms on my Triumph Street Triple and gotten spoilt by picture perfect fuelling, Im increasingly noticing the on off throttle response on the Continental GT 535, especially at lower gears, isnt really smooth and could do with some tweaking. My test rides of the Royal Enfield 650 twins further reinforced this feeling while also showing how well Royal Enfield has nailed the fuelling on the 650 twins. This isnt a big issue and is certainly not not a deal breaker but at the same time, I feel that a Powertronic unit can help sort this out and also improve low to mid range performance of the GT 535 considerably. Unfortunately Powertronic doesnt seem to have a distributor in Cochin so I'll have to see how I can work this out logistically.

[dinu2506]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Dinu2506, how does your motorcycle ride now that you have gone back to the OEM shocks. Is the difference pronounced? If you had to, would you go with the Paioli shocks again?

The ride is pretty much the same on the OEM shocks, its running at the softest settings which is firm enough. There is a bit of loss on the GC, though not as bad as I thought, just need to be a bit more slow and easy on those badly designed speed breakers. Going back to Paioli, definitely no, since they gave up on me in 10000km which is sad. The prices are also steep so I would not want to go back to them as I'm able to live with the stock GC,

[neil.jericho]

After weeks of warnings about the summer heat and how we should avoid stepping out during mid day if possible, it's now time to receive warnings about the incoming cyclone Fani and the accompanying thunderstorms and gusty winds! At this rate, I will have to give up motorcycling as a passionate hobby.

Anyways since the temperature has dropped by a few degrees in the last few days, I finally decided to head out for a short ride today morning. The battery has gotten over its mid life crisis and the motorcycle starts on the first or second kick these days even after a preceding period of masterly inactivity. My initial plan was to head to the mesmerizing twisties of Athirapally and since traffic was quite light, I could adopt a a quick and aggressive riding style when the roads opened up, especially in the twisties.

And the one thing that was on my mind was that in these conditions, the bike was fun. Its heavy, has only 29 BHP, doesnt have tubeless tires, has enough vibes to keep you tingling on long rides while keeping the Royal Enfield faithful happy and didnt sell enough in numbers to ensure a successful run. The Royal Enfield Continental GT 535 will end up being a forgotten motorcycle to most, its legacy will certainly be overshadowed by the Himalayan and the 650 twins. And the GT 650 will certainly see a lot more owners than the GT 535. But that doesnt take away from the fact that at one time, this was the best engineered motorcycle that Royal Enfield had built. Not that that is saying much really.....

Coming back to my point, the reason you are probably reading this, is because you, like me, and many others on this forum, love motorcycling. Some enjoy ten tenthing motorcycles through corners and hitting every apex perfectly, some love chugging along all day at a leisurely pace, some want to get slushy and dirty and even have a few falls for a few good laughs, some find weekly serenity in riding to a nearby breakfast spot every Sunday morning. The common denominator is that we point is that we love our motorcycles and flawed or not, if the bike in your garage is fun and makes you smile, you have what you need. Its so easy to get carried away by specifications on paper and our preconceived notions (remember how 110% of KTM owners ride rashly or Hondas are boring motorcycles!) that we often forget what it's all actually about.

Ultimately, after some very hard riding, I decided to turn back and boy oh boy, the return journey was hardly any fun. Besides the painful traffic, I was acutely aware of the fact that the single seat needs more padding, the Shell fully synthetic engine oil doesnt do enough to eliminate the viberrrrrr character that Motul's 300V does and seeing Himalayans whizz past me made me wonder whether that would be a good choice for a next bike. And then I would find myself at the front of the traffic lines, waiting for the red light to turn green before dropping the bike into first and taking off like a cat on a hot tin roof with a mile wide grin on my face. And just like that everything would be right in my world of motorcycling, again!

Mileage : Sometime last week, I topped up the bike at the usual BPCL pump on KK road. Distance covered : 147.2 kms. Petrol consumed : 5.36 litres. Mileage: 27.46 kmpl. Mileage since day 1 stays at 27.62 kmpl.

[neil.jericho]

The slow march to the 24,000 mark continues. The rains from cyclone Fani seem to be putting a damp squib on my weekend ride plans so far, hopefully the weather situation improves. Anyways it was time to swap the keys to my bikes so I gave the Continental GT a nice chain clean and chain lube session before parking it for a few days.

Imagine if the colours of the motorcycles were swapped ....

The latest character building exercise from the GT comes in the form of the failing rubber sheath from the kick starter. Why cant Royal Enfield find suppliers who can manufacture rubber parts that dont wear out so easily? I'm someone who has relied on the kick start in the last year or so since my riding has come down a lot. Hence the actual usage of the kick starter has been very low though the motorcycle is 4 and a half years old. Sigh! All part of the Royal Enfield experience.....

Mileage : I topped up the bike at the the BPCL pump on SA road, Ive realized I tend to stick to BPCL for filling my vehicles in Cochin. I should experiment with some of the other large pumps and see if there is any improvement in the mileage figures. The good news is that I spotted a Reliance pump coming up on the national highway though it is much before one reaches Cochin. Shell, Essar and Reliance pumps are the ones I have come to trust the most followed by BPCL. Unfortunately there is no Shell petrol pump in Kerala, Essar is slowly coming in (I had one meh experience in Kerala in the recent past where I expected better mileage) and Reliance looks to be starting its innings now in Kerala. Distance covered : 141.3 kms of mostly quite hard riding for say 65% of the ride and bad traffic for the rest of the ride. Petrol consumed : 4.67 litres. Mileage: 30.26 kmpl which is very impressive considering I was really gunning it quite a bit when I had the opportunity. Mileage since day 1 inches up to 27.63 kmpl. That is quite wallet pleasing because I also topped up my Street Triple today at the same pump and found its mileage in city riding was exactly half that figure!

[neil.jericho]

I was slowly riding through the mean streets of Cochin yesterday, which being a Sunday were blissfully empty, when I felt the rear suspension was bottoming out a little more than expected. Now this was a surprise since I recently replaced the rear suspension after one of the OEM Paioli shock absorbers started leaking. This on my bike which has been ridden with no pillion for 99.9% of the time. While carefully checking the bike, I was dismayed to find that the often reported chassis weld giveaway problem was starting to creep its way onto my bike. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

The problem is only on the right side and looks to just be starting. I've seen a few other owners on the Continental GT group have had the entire welding joint snap. With the first generation Himalayan, many users had chassis issues plaguing them pretty soon and so the company took corrective action. With the Continental GT 535 though, it looks as though the poor chassis welding has caused problems for several owners a few years in. Some folks have suggested that I get it welded and sell the bike. Others have suggested I get the joint welded and carry on riding but I dont want to take a risk. I would rather replace the entire chassis and be on the safe side. I believe some owners have got the chassis replaced for free from the company service centres. I'll approach the company SVC in Edapally in a couple of days time and see if they can cover this under goodwill warranty.

This is deeply disappointing to say the least. I harboured aspirations of doing a multi day trip to the nearby states in the coming months on the Continental GT 535 but with the recent issues of the suspension leaking and now this, Im not too sure I want to have this reliability cross hanging over my head.

[ashwinprakas]

Solid reasons why you shouldn't get a new chassis.

1. This being a QC issue makes it senseless to get a replacement chassis.

2. The part of the chassis is not a stressed member from where I see things and it snapping isn't reason enough for the suspensions to bottom out, as they do not even seen connected.

3. Any welder worth his salt can do a better lasting job that what RE seems to have done, hence it makes more sense to disassemble the motorcycle and show some TLC to the chassis with the help of a reputed mechanic, I'd suggest you reach out to the guys at Flying Machine, haven't been there but have heard really good things about how the owner runs the shop from Jerson(From BikeMoksha) and I'm quite impressed.

Reinforce every nook and corner and paint the chassis pink if it inspires confidence. Would cost less that a new chassis but would be leagues better than a brand spanking new one.

Now it's pretty sad to see this happen to motorcycle that's still within the warranty mileage(30k kms), but then everything happens for good, or so we must hope, because I know someone who lost everything he ever wanted when the chassis of his motorcycle cracked while riding.

Regards,
A.P

[Suresh Stephen]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Solid reasons why you shouldn't get a new chassis.

1. This being a QC issue makes it senseless to get a replacement chassis.


Now it's pretty sad to see this happen to motorcycle that's still within the warranty mileage(30k kms), but then everything happens for good, or so we must hope, because I know someone who lost everything he ever wanted when the chassis of his motorcycle cracked while riding.

Regards,
A.P

I agree with Ashwin. It shows lack of quality of the weld. fortunately it is not a stressed member. Better strip the chassis and inspect all the welds.If you have access for a Dye penetrant check, It may be ideal if all the welds are checked for cracks.The rust at the joint indicates that there was a crack and it has grown now. Don't try welding as it is. Remove the piece, Clean it thoroughly and re weld it. It is not worth changing the chassis. What is the guarantee of the welds in the new chassis also

[ArizonaJim]

I agree with those who are pointing out that this should not be a big concern as the crack is on a non-critical part. Re-welding the failed joint should not be an issue and can be done by any good welder.


As for rewelding a cracked joint, even on a highly stressed area, that too is quite possible with good results.


The weld on the frame right behind the lower right engine mount bolt on my 2011 UCE cracked. Although this is in a very highly stressed area, I had the joint re-welded and after riding for over 10,000 miles (16130 km) it has shown no further sign of a problem.
The photo shows the crack before having it re-welded.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Solid reasons why you shouldn't get a new chassis.

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

I agree with those who are pointing out that this should not be a big concern as the crack is on a non-critical part. Re-welding the failed joint should not be an issue and can be done by any good welder.

Originally Posted by Suresh Stephen

I agree with Ashwin. It shows lack of quality of the weld. fortunately it is not a stressed member.

Thanks for all your inputs guys. After reading your posts, a few weeks ago, I took the motorcycle to the company SVC at Edapally which wasnt too far away and showed it to the service advisor. Incidentally it happened to be the same chap who I dealt with for last time's service and he was quite helpful to me then.

He suggested not to re-weld it as there have been cases of customers going in for welding which turned out to be improper (not surprising really, quality work isn't always guaranteed in our state though the skilled talent is there, but that's a discussion for another time) and would give way on a later ride, leading to more problems for the owners. IIRC, the same had happened to another GT owner in another city. I appreciate the fact that the SA was keeping my safety and well being in mind and suggesting a chassis replacement (hopefully with better welds!) instead of taking the easy route that could be problematic down the road. We spoke about how Royal Enfield has replaced the chassis in similar cases on a goodwill basis. The service advisor said he would do his best to get this done but did give me a heads up that it would take 2 weeks at least for the chassis to come from the factory once approvals were in place. Fortunately I was aware of this as a fellow GT owner had experienced the same timelines earlier for the same problem.

The SA was unwell for a week and on leave and hence I was unable to reach him on the phone. After that I spoke to him a couple of times. A few days ago, he confirmed that the company has sent the approval for replacement of the chassis under goodwill basis. They have now placed an order for the chassis in their order management system and the 2 week clock should have started.

Now this many weeks to get an approval email might seem strange to some but I got to learn through someone else that RE's annual reshuffle of its staff happened in the same time frame and as a result the service head of the company SVC had changed. The approval had gone to his email ID and the SA had to follow up with the new service head. Since I do not commute on the Continental GT and have a second motorcycle, I am not inconvenienced by the slight delay but your mileage may vary.

Overall, a big thumbs up to Royal Enfield for agreeing to replace the chassis on a goodwill basis and thanks to my friendly SA for helping get the necessary approvals.

What good is this thread without any pictures? So here is my bike trying to blend in with other commuters but failing miserably to do so.

Keralites sure do love black two wheelers and ironically, white cars.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Overall, a big thumbs up to Royal Enfield for agreeing to replace the chassis on a goodwill basis and thanks to my friendly SA for helping get the necessary approvals.

My friendly service advisor informed me yesterday that the new chassis had arrived and that they will soon start work on dismantling the motorcycle and replacing the old chassis. The bike should be ready in a few days time. This certainly is exciting news!

The only issue, and this is a minor one, is that they will not fit the auxiliary LED lights that I had on my bike since they have been given instructions from the company not to work with after market modifications. Some of you may remember my earlier service experience where I learnt that the company had advised dealerships not to accept engine oil being brought in by customers. I later got to learn that this is because it eats into their after sales and consequentially, profit margins.

This is a blessing in disguise because the clamp down on vehicle modifications by the MVD has been in full flow in the last few months and these lights would have been an attention magnet for the MVD officers if I was stopped. I had brought my other motorcycle back to stock due to the MVD clampdown and had parked the thought of getting this bike back to stock as well. Now the only modification on the Continental GT 535 is the Givi screen. Fortunately, these screens (mostly Himalayan ones that find their way onto most bikes) dont seem to be on the radar of the MVD officials.