[Rennjit]

^ try getting an industrial seal for the time being. Hope the seal isn't RE special one.

[adrian]

Hi friends and experts, did the plug chop yesterday and found that the machine was slightly rich at WOT (base ring slightly black), the color change in the ground strap nearer to the bend, the porcelain of the plug was clean with no pitting and no deposits of aluminium. There was a darkened ring half way around the porcelain and from one of the internet sites I read it was due to over timing in the motor. So once again I have reverted back to the earlier adjustment, ie the TPS rod starts to move just a little after the throttle is rolled and at maximum the yellow line shows. I am not sure about the plug reading for two things - 1. I am not an expert in this and would have decoded the signs wrong and 2. I examined the plugs 2 1/2 hours after I did the plug chop as I waited for the engine to cool down. I telephoned the RE factory and didn't get much help from there (actually the first question from that end was : "Why do you want to adjust it?!!") except the mobile number of the RE territorial service manager. Talked to him and he exclaimed that as the yellow line is showing at full throttle, everything was fine. Here are the pictures of my machines main spark plug (sorry for the poor picture quality) Didn't had the courage to remove the secondary plug as it looked really fragile
Regards Adrian

[Rennjit]

There's all this complex ignition works & still no provision to strobe it ?
Oh, i nearly forgot its RE

[datvichrox2]

Originally Posted by adrian

So once again I have reverted back to the earlier adjustment, ie the TPS rod starts to move just a little after the throttle is rolled and at maximum the yellow line shows.

Hey Adrian, Thanks for the tip on TPS. Great find!

I checked the setting on my TBTS and found that the yellow line was not shown at full throttle (about 7-8mm from yellow line was hidden).

I adjusted it so that the yellow line just shows. I feel that the idling at cold starts is more stable now, earlier I had to hold the throttle for a longer duration so that the engine does not turn off. But I want to reconfirm by going back to the old setting.

Originally Posted by Rollin' Thunda

Yes, but where is it on the TBTS? (You have one, if I recall)

You can see it and adjust without removing the seat, just follow the throttle cable from the idling screw.

-Vimal

[bradhey]

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
The plug shown by Adrian looks
absolutely fine to me......there is no excess
carbon the insulator tip looks fine.

I think this thing needs to be left alone, with a DO NOT DISTURB sign.... cheers

[adrian]

Originally Posted by datvichrox2

I feel that the idling at cold starts is more stable now, earlier I had to hold the throttle for a longer duration so that the engine does not turn off.
-Vimal

Hi vimal this is the thing that actually nags me. Is it due to engine attaining optimal temperature faster due to advanced timing? Other than that the machine's pickup is like hell ! Roll the throttle and you are ballistic ! There is no signs of electrode melting in the plug after riding for 3 weeks with the TPS set to maximum. The only thing that came to doubt is the dark patch which was present only on one side of the porcelain which was facing either of the valves (I don't know which). Can anyone throw some light on this?

Has anyone seen / used an inductive tachometer ? Don't have to cut into the ignition wiring. Just clamp the probe on the spark plug wire and you are good to go! Would have been of great help during the tuning process for newbies like me.
P.S : Wasted my whole day hunting for a spark plug gauge / adjustment tool in Trivandrum. Nothing seems to be available here !!

[stnair]

Hi friends

Can anyone please tell me the NGK Iridium spark plug part number for Bullet UCE 350 ? The NGK website has a part finder but its confusing and they have given the part number of the smaller plug only. I want to know the part number of the bigger plug.

regards

san

[adrian]

@ San : A change over to synthetic and now this plug and filter thing -You seem all set to extract every bit of power available in your machine . Did a web search and all that was found was NGK spark plugs for Thunderbirds -NGKIRETT3 -same engines.. so would it be a match? The 350 UCE guys are experimenting less with their machines when compared to the 500 UCE guys. Look at the 500 C forum and it shows. The only way to bring revelation in the 350 C forum would be to compel Randhawa to sell his C500 (did he already?) and buy a C350 ! Hope someone helps you out and all the best with your venture.

@ everyone : Did another plug chop in half throttle. The smudge on one side of the insulator was still there. It is the portion facing the inlet valve and actually there is no problem with that smudge. Racing drivers actually use this to index their spark plugs. It is said that if the free end of the ground strap points to the inlet valve, it improves the efficiency of the engine. So they use additional washer to get the plug into that position.(Courtesy : Various websites on spark plug indexing) Actually I felt that the fuel mixture is slightly rich as on the onset of summer, the engine is a bit off tune where it had run nice this winter and hence I had backed off the mixture screw 1/4. So this is my view that emerged from my limited knowledge and experience and here are the pictures for you experts to analyse
P.S : This time I used my brother in laws Digi cam to take the pictures

[evilmessiah]

I had been obsessed with the Classic ever since it was unveiled. Due to various circumstances, I couldn't buy it. And when I could finally do so last year, a volley of exams came up and so did the CBR250R. I was torn between them for a really long time. My head was urging me to get the Honda while my heart was egging me on to do it a favor and get the C3 instead.

Took some time off to decide what I really wanted and I finally listened to my heart. Went ahead and booked a C3. There's 8 months of a wait- but I had waited for 3 years for this. Compared to that, 8 months will be just fly by like the blink of an eye. I hope.

[iron.head]

Originally Posted by evilmessiah

Took some time off to decide what I really wanted and I finally listened to my heart. Went ahead and booked a C3. There's 8 months of a wait- but I had waited for 3 years for this. Compared to that, 8 months will be just fly by like the blink of an eye. I hope.

When you have waited so long for your royal enfield I recommend you to test drive both the C3 and C5 back to back. If you can manage a lower mileage(around 10km less per liter) then you will every day thank yourself for the C5's brutal power and awesome feel and will be a better investment of your money.

[evilmessiah]

Originally Posted by iron.head

When you have waited so long for your royal enfield I recommend you to test drive both the C3 and C5 back to back. If you can manage a lower mileage(around 10km less per liter) then you will every day thank yourself for the C5's brutal power and awesome feel and will be a better investment of your money.

I've done that. While I loved the C5's bestial nature, I was really scared too. I almost felt that it was secretly trying to kill me. And that was my first time I had ever ridden a geared motorcycle. That wild ride still sends shivers down my spine when I think about it.

No doubt that after some use I will get used to the C5's truck like torque, but I kind of preferred the tamer C3. Besides, I really appreciate the better mileage the C3 is giving and I think that the C3 is a bit more reliable than the C5.

In all frankness, I had done that TR almost a year ago. Oh well, time to refresh my memory and get another dose of goosebumps for a week. Another extended back-to-back ride of the C5 and C3 can't hurt. I'm gonna do that this weekend.

[adrian]

@ 350 guys especially standards and electras-
RE is doing a retrospective update job free of cost for a particular batch of chassis nos in the case of standards and electras. It is a replacement of the metal rectangular box on the right side (the one just in front of the air filter) into a plastic box with metal cover and the diaphragm (piston valve) of the carburetor. Reason : Dust entering the carburetor through the metal box and the diaphragm bearing the brunt of it. (My bike is of January 2011 make and so the bikes delivered around that time will be called to service soon) For once, it is thanks to RE

Heads up : The reason I went to service is that I had an oil leak at the inlet and exhaust rocker covers and a couple of days ago I set out to do DIY. Removed the tank and wrenched one bolt with the allen key and it budged. Moved on to the left and tried the one on the inlet cover (it is placed somewhat directly under the frame) and the key slipped rounding the bolt a little bit. I stopped the DIY right there as proceeding further would strip the bolt further to a point where removal would be impossible. These bolts are torqued like hell from the company and I saw how the service removes them. They will first deliver one or two sharp blows with a hammer after placing a box spanner on top of the bolt and then they will use the allen key to remove it. So even though my pride was hurt, I learned a good lesson.Why I am posting this : The bolts are not available in RE spares; if you strip the bolts you are doomed !
Regards Adrian

[adrian]

I had given my bike to RE service for an oil change and the day after than while I was washing my bike, I noticed that the service has not opened the secondary drain plug (magnetic drain plug). The bike had lots of oil and grime under the engine and only the primary drain plug with the oil screen was wiped clean and opened. The dirt on the secondary drain bolt was intact which conveyed that they had not touched it. In the following video in youtube

ROYAL ENFIELD NEW UCE ENGINE 1 - YouTube

, the two drain plugs are seen situated near each other, the secondary being directly below the gear teeth. Is there any partition between these two drain plugs ? and is there any problem if the secondary drain is not executed ? I believe that the RE service never opens the secondary drain magnetic bolt .The refilled oil is clear in my bike even after two days of riding at good rpms.

On the road it was a very bad day for me. Two guys in a splendor bumped my bike diagonally from behind on the right causing the brake light assembly to twist and the reflector below the number plate was bend. After reaching the office I forced the assembly back to alignment and was moving on with the relief that no serious damage happened that in the evening someone had scratched the top of my bike's front mud guard at my office's parking lot(with what I don't know) I had washed and polished my machine last night and was happy inside seeing my machine spotlessly clean and in full glory with chromes shining and this maniac had scratched it. Some people can't stand the sight of a well kept bike
Regards Adrian

[ArizonaJim]

Sorry to hear about your bikes accident and that some knot head had the gall to damage the paint.

Actually, on my UCE 500, both drain plugs have magnetic chip collectors.
The single hexagon drain has a magnet sticking up from its end inside the crankcase and the drain that uses two small bolts to hold it in place has a similar magnet on its end inside the filter screen.

Based only on my experience with my 500, if this is the first oil change at 500 km, both magnets will have a LOT of metal chips sticking to the magnets and both drain plugs should be removed, if only to clean these metal chips off.
If this is the first oil change, you really should have it done again.

If the oil change is the second, third, etc it is not so important to clean off the metal debris because most of the metal filings will have been removed at the first oil change.

If this is the case and the motorcycle were mine I would go ahead and ride it.
Keeping this incident in mind I might decide to move up the next scheduled oil change on the off chance that the new oil might be a little more contaminated by some of the oil that could have been left in the engine by not removing both plugs.

[adrian]

Thanks Jim, my motorbike is off the warranty period and actually was its 3rd oil change within its 6000 km run till date. Even though the bike had run only 3000 kms since the last oil change (III free service), I had decided to go for an oil change thinking that it would benefit the engine. Actually I am thinking about changing oil every 3000km instead of the 6000km advised in the owners manual. Next time I will persuade the service to open up both the drains
Regards Adrian