[Aditya]

Here's some good news for those looking to buy a new Royal Enfield motorcycle. The Chennai-based company is offering a warranty of 2 years or 20,000 km on all the bikes that it sells from January 1, 2015.

Royal Enfield bikes used to come with a 1 year / 10,000 km warranty till now with no option to extend. The company's products, while having a cult following, weren't exactly known for their quality or reliability. The step to introduce the new warranty scheme will certainly help the company in building goodwill and trust among potential customers, which could, in turn, provide a boost to the company's sales. That said, Royal Enfield is still not offering any option of purchasing a further extended warranty.

Royal Enfield is one of India's oldest motorcycle manufacturers and is now a part of the Eicher Group.

[GTO]

Great move, especially for a make that isn't the last word in quality. Going by forum threads, Enfields are known for niggles & poor workmanship. The odds of something going wrong in the 2nd year (with higher running, wear & tear) are more than in the 1st year.

I've always believed that the warranty shows how confident the manufacturer is about its own product quality. However, in this case, I'll make an exception . Think it's competitive pressures as Triumph & Harley both offer 2 year warranty coverage.

Enfield's 20,000 kms cap pales in comparison, but I'm guessing that covers 90% of its owners.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Aditya

That said, Royal Enfield is still not offering any option of purchasing a further extended warranty.

And that should show the kind of confidence the insurance companies have on the brand. The premium qouted by the third party for the warranty might be too prohibitive to offer to the customer. Would have been better for the brand if they absorbed some of that cost and offered the extended warranty to the customer as an option. Better brand satisfaction as and when issue happens, and not much of a loss for the company as well. The third party would be left to bleed for major repairs - but I dont think majority of the customers would use their bikes as much as to make them suffer loses.

There were rumours that Hero wont be the same anymore when Honda split ways. One of the techniques used by them to counter this thought process was to introduce a 5 year warranty on all their products. High time RE started thinking along similar lines!

[supremeBaleno]

Extending from 1-year to 2-years was long overdue. Atleast better late than never.
However, the 20K km cap is too less. Most commuter bikes offer 2years / 40K km warranty IIRC (Hero has gone to 5 year warranty, which shows the confidence they have in their product).

[desideep]

Extending the warranty is a good move, Thanks RE.

But I am sure that still most of the buyers who already own a RE will end up chucking it away the first day and go to their trusted good old friendly Kaka jee (Favourite mechanic, Kaka jee is my favourite).

SUPREMEBALENO Bhai, RE will not be able to cater to the demands of the warranty claimers if they increase it so much. The number of times RE bikes break is just way too high, that is why every other bike on road is a HERO or a Bajaj or anything else but RE.

Non relevant : I have sold my RE but I do miss it for the Character of the bike.

[supremeBaleno]

@desideep, I understand. Have quite a few RE lovers in my group of friends and know the issues they have experienced (fuel-pump failure in an RE500 just days after the 1-year warranty expired, which would cost 14K to replace).

BTW, I think warranty is like insurance - you want it, but don't want to be in a situation that you need to use it. Basically a reflection of a manufacturer's confidence in their product.

[Tgo]

I did write to RE about increasing the duration and mileage of the pathetic standard warranty they had on offer earlier. I would like to believe someone listened to me, but as GTO said its more due to pressure arising from other manufacturers offering a better warranty package.

It really has to be seen how much good this brings about for the customers because parts to be replaced under warranty are usually never available off the shelf, the have to be ordered and arrive after 3-4 weeks, as is told..

Another twist to the issue is that you now have no other way out but to get your bike serviced at their service centers as they will be keeping record. A visit to Kaka jee would possibly mean a voided warranty. Service centers now-a-days are so jam packed that you have to leave the bike for a day even for a regular service. To top it up the bikes with free service vouchers are given priority and are the ones that can be dropped off and picked up the same day. Forget the 90 minute service now, its just a marketing gimmick.

A 40,000 km 3 year package is what I would have liked. Especially when they are equipped with wiring and ECUs that kaka jee cannot handle anymore.

[ArizonaJim]

As I mentioned on a similar topic here, the company that imports the Royal Enfield into the US has given a 2 year warranty on all of the UCE powered motorcycles since they were first offered in 2009.

IMO, far too many of the Indian people equate Royal Enfield with the pre-UCE versions which were notorious for their need for repairs. This is understandable because of the long history Royal Enfield has had in India however it is totally unfair to include the new models.

Are there still niggles with the new Royal Enfields? Of course there are.
Any time a company builds over 140,000 machines per year, some flaws will get thru a companies quality inspections.
On the UCE powered models these niggles are usually small cosmetic things and it is unusual for major problems to occur.
If they do, the 2 year warranty will cover the needed repairs.

I don't know if Royal Enfield India is making the 2 year warranty transferable. In the US, it is not. It only applies to the original owner.

[schakravarthy]

Is there any change in their policy of withdrawing the warranty cover in the case of an ownership change within the warranty period? That's a really stupid and discriminatory rule, in my opinion. After all, they offer the warranty for their bike, not the owner!

[drdeepudev]

If yes, a great move by Royal Enfield.
Took delivery of a Thunderbird 350 on October 3rd 2014. By 26th January 2015 I clocked 10,000 km and the warranty got over. That is by 3.5 months the warranty is over. True to the word, RE being famous for rust, my thunderbird is showing signs of rusting in the exhaust and the rear shock absorbers. There is cam wheel sound (as said by a mechanic specializing in RE) and the clutch is bad. While starting the bike in 1st gear, even if the clutch is pulled, the bike jumps. Also, when kept in center stand, and even if the clutch is totally pulled, the wheel spins. (im not sure whether it is normal.) I visited RE showroom for getting this corrected around 3 times and it was not rectified.

More over RE pushed me an AMC for rs 1500. It does not give any extended warranty, but 4 services will be labour free.

[adrian]

Originally Posted by drdeepudev

There is cam wheel sound (as said by a mechanic specializing in RE) and the clutch is bad. While starting the bike in 1st gear, even if the clutch is pulled, the bike jumps. Also, when kept in center stand, and even if the clutch is totally pulled, the wheel spins. (im not sure whether it is normal.) I visited RE showroom for getting this corrected around 3 times and it was not rectified.
.

Hi drdeepudev,
RE ASS never adjust the cam wheel lash even though the manual prescribes a cam wheel adjustment at 500 kms in the odo. You will have to wring their necks to get the job done during the warranty period. On the other hand they will readily take up the job once the warranty period is over.

Regarding the clutch, check the free play of the clutch cable as 2-3mm at the lever end. If the clutch play is perfect, then it could be warped clutch plates. Don't worry that you didn't get it changed in the warranty period because during the warranty period all your complaints will be falling in deaf ears They will do umpteen number of clutch cable adjustments till you feel disheartened and decides to live with the problem.
Regarding the wheel spin in central stand, the wheel spins even in neutral gear with a live engine and is normal. The jump when slotting to first gear may also be due to a high set idle speed. If it is only for the first time during a ride, try de-clutching the motorcycle by pulling in the clutch lever and kicking till the clutch plates are freed before starting the motorcycle.
regards adrian

[Wanderers]

Hi Aditya,

Its really good news and gives us the confidence & trust on a brand.
I hope it has not increased the price further.

One question keep hitting me on bikes, do people use warranty period for any claim or free repairs like we do on cars ?

While I looked for extended warranty in cars, when we bought Enfield, never really cared except that it was there and we took it as no great stuff.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

Any time a company builds over 140,000 machines per year, some flaws will get thru a companies quality inspections.

Not really. Hero MotoCorp sells 12million bikes/scooters annually, in comparison to which, the 1.4lakh Bullets made annually pales into insignificance. Same with Bajaj and other players.
If such high-volume players don't have flaws slipping through QA, see no reason why RE should. There is a lot more broken there than just shoddy QA.

RE really needs to pull their act together. Or maybe not, since their clientele either thinks that niggles are normal or are ready to ignore them due to the love of the brand/experience.

[ArizonaJim]

Originally Posted by schakravarthy

Is there any change in their policy of withdrawing the warranty cover in the case of an ownership change within the warranty period? That's a really stupid and discriminatory rule, in my opinion. After all, they offer the warranty for their bike, not the owner!

I really don't know what the Royal Enfield warranty in India says about covering the motorcycle if it is sold by an owner to another person.

It may be transferable or not.

I was just saying the warranty in the USA is not transferable and this was a decision made by the US company that imports the motorcycle and gives the 2 year coverage.

If this is an issue with a new buyer I suggest they ask the dealer about it while talking about the purchase.

[schakravarthy]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

I really don't know what the Royal Enfield warranty in India says about covering the motorcycle if it is sold by an owner to another person.

It may be transferable or not.

I was just saying the warranty in the USA is not transferable and this was a decision made by the US company that imports the motorcycle and gives the 2 year coverage.

If this is an issue with a new buyer I suggest they ask the dealer about it while talking about the purchase.

My earlier post wasn't in response to your post.

I've had to shell out quite a bit of money to fix mechanical issues in a 8000kms run pre-owned Classic 500, so I know for a fact, that RE India doesn't honour the warranty in the case of an ownership change.
I just wanted to know if there was any change in that policy.