[nasirkaka]

Dear Randhawa,

Another panic strike. help! help!!
My Bike is now a week old and just done 320 kms on odometer.
Last evening, out of curiosity, i opened the left-side spark plug to have a look at it. At just 320 kms old, the spark plug was as black as your spark plug photos on the first page of this thread. Shall try and share a picture .

Now, what could be the cause and treatment of spark plugs getting so much of carbon deposit at just 320 kms of run? What does it mean? what are its adverse effects on the engine/mileage etc? Has anyone figured-out as to how to resolve this issue?

In my case, i got the up-swept silencer installed right from the time of delivery. Could that be the reason for excessive carbon deposit? Should i get rid of the upswept and get the stock silencer installed? Does excess of carbon deposit means that the bike is running RICH? I have been constantly getting the miss-fire noise from the upswept silencer, at de-acceleration. I am a bit concerned. Actually a lot concerned. :(

[JayPrashanth]

Nasir,

Chill out. You can't do much for the rich running except wait for the company to fix the issue. Just keep riding and stop worrying. Once your running in is done, try taking your C5 to speeds of 90-100 regularly. That might help in burning up some carbon deposits. The popping during deceleration is due to a lean mixture than a rich one.

Cheers,

Jay

[bhasma]

Yeah stop worrying. As my dealer says,"sir aap chalaao ,woh hum dekh lenge".

[born2drive]

I decided to buy an enfield few days back.After doing a small research ,i went to the dealer in jayanagar, bangalore today.
As expected ,waiting period is too long...near about 8 months for CL350.
Btw that was my choice..Better FE(cant live with 22kpl...)

But they can deliver CL5 within 6 months..

Price quoted was 117125 for CL350
149340 for CL500

Checked both of these and liked the styling very much.Again I decided to go for 350 as it is not different from CL5 (If we fit that off road silencer).

Because of the waiting period ,I was considering CL5 also.(after seeing it, i wont compromise anything below a CLASSIC. )

After reading the thread , am worried about the FE as i will have to travel atleast 35-60 a day and i am very much into long trips.So i need 28-32 kpl min.Will it give that much?? enfied site says 30-40kpl is sure..(road test ).

Is there any way to get one (Cl350) at leat within 6 months????
Don't know really what to do....But i need to take a decision by this month...

One more Q: If we bring a bike from kerala to Bnaglaore ,do we need to pay an extra tax???
Dealer is saying that we will have to pay the tax again..
Is it available in kerala(CL350)?(within 6 months range)

Also suggest the pros and cons of 350 and 500...other than price..

[Randhawa]

@Nasir- Stop worrying man, your bike should not be running rich as temperature is still warmer if not to hot in Bangalore but what you say about the plugs means either you are doing short rides under 10km at a stretch. So your engine is not getting hot for longer duration to get rid of carbon. Now my plugs are getting white on the electrode but still running rich on startups so I am getting a black ring on the plug base.



Anyway it's good if it's running rich while you complete your running in so don't worry until you complete 2k on odo. You dont want to run in your engine with lean mixture as it will cause more heat to be generated but with a rich mixture it will keep it a bit cooler and that's good for running in. So to clear your doubt, upswept does not have anything to do with black carbon. Its your short journeys which is causing this plus try getting the higher octane fuel you get from your local pump. It has the properties to clean the plugs quite well. Try the one from IBP or HP.

As I explained in my previous post, it's not mis-fire but back-fire from your upswept and thats normal with upswept so there is no escape . You can try blocking the PAV pipe at the head and it should stop the backfire from your exhaust. Usually the backfire is due to excess of air coming in and PAV is giving in the extra air.

In a nutshell, dont worry about the black carbon on plugs and revert back to OEM exhaust to escape from backfire's. We know why their is so much of carbon and yes we know what needs to be done to resolve this issue but a big NO from RE to resolve this issue as of yet. We need a O2 sensor on the exhaust with a closed loop ECU to get rid of excess black carbon. I have lost hope of RE ever listening to us and resolving this issue if not all of them.


@Bhasma- I have got used to his slogan now

@Bront2drive- Right now I am getting 35-38km/l on my C5 so if you are happy with 28-32 then the C5 will easily deliver this.

[bhasma]

Originally Posted by Randhawa

Right now I am getting 35-38km/l on my C5.

Thats an awesome mileage you're getting man.I haven't yet checked mine,will do that from now though.However I doubt I will be getting close to you on that front since I ride in the hills and have to decelerate/accelerate often.

[jingaboysr]

Originally Posted by Randhawa

@Bront2drive- Right now I am getting 35-38km/l on my C5 so if you are happy with 28-32 then the C5 will easily deliver this.

That's great FE figures for a 500cc single!!! My friend's 6 month old P220F gives only 25-28 kmpl.

[Mr. Nobody]

Originally Posted by jingaboysr

That's great FE figures for a 500cc single!!! My friend's 6 month old P220F gives only 25-28 kmpl.

must be badly tuned . 220s easily give above 30 even while ripping

[nasirkaka]

@ Jay

Thanks mate. Shall complete the run-in and hope at-least some of the minor niggles are sorted.
I thought Popping could be the result of either running too rich or too lean. Now i am confused. I think i will revert to the stock pipes to be on the safe side, and hide the up-swept so as to not get tempted.

BTW, i did a small experimentation. i tried 3 silencers on my C5. The goldie, the short bottle and the up-swept. Sounded best with goldie on. Shall try and share the videos. (how do i upload video here??)

@ Randhawa

Yes, i am doing short rides in city and have done two 120+kms ride on the highway, under running-in speeds. First service is just 50 odd kms away.

Yes, after the dealer filled about 3 litres of petrol at the delivery, i have only used Xrtra Premium on my C5. No taking any chances there.
Also, i am not too sure of blocking the PAV with a ball bearing, as the repercussions of the same are not very clear. Shall install the stock pipe and live with it.

Had taken a pic of the spark plug (LHS) at 320 kms on odo. Might as well share it.

[Randhawa]

@Bhasma- For you I think you should get around 25-30km/l as thats what I get when I come to Kasauli and back.

@jingaboysr- Yes thats a hell lot of km on a ltr but the downside is that the pickup is not the same when its running lean and engine feels a bit rough.

@nasir- so you know the reason you are getting black plugs and it will stay like that until you avoid taking short rides. Once the plugs are cleaned, it will take just 5 min on cold start to get black again.

Although looking at the picture of the plug, it seems it's a bit clean on the electrode on one side. Better check the gap and check the plug again after riding a bit.

Anyway there are no side effects of blocking the PAV, it's just that the idle on cold may be a bit erratic and thats it.

Let me get my upswept back again and I'll do the trial by blocking PAV and once for all see if it really works.

[Randhawa]

Small update and good news

Had my 9k service today and finally changed over to Motul 300v. All I can say is that I cant stop riding or smiling. My bebe has been transformed into some serious raging bull.
Never had the gear shift that smooth, whole shifting experience is new. It's crisp, precise and way too smooth. No clutch slipping.

Engine has gone to Mute mode for now. Normally what C5 owners feel at 60, I am feeling that at 80. Temperature feels like lowered a bit. Cant feel the engine running lean any more. Its like my bull has been given some serious dose of steroids. I am repenting every km I have ridden her without 300v. Its worth every single Rupee and I am loving it.

I made few people ride my bike including RE R&D engineer and some C5 owners without telling them about the oil. All of them had a confused and scary face the moment they took off. It was my happiest moment so far with my bike. All of them had one big Q, what modification I have done to it. They felt scary the way it took off and I am still adjusting to the new found power. I dont think it should make that much of difference hence I am asking the same question to myself as how the hell can that happen!

Engine and pickup has got so smooth and crisp that I am in a denial mode at the moment. The way she is taking off is just unbelievable, it's like RD350 pickup and she wants to get me off the bike the moment I pull.


For people who are unhappy about the handling of Classic
All of us know how our Classic likes to behave after 100, almost like a summer wine. We cribbed about it with hue & cry but hold behold, RE in the shadows were working on it while we were busy finding more issues with it.

We all have a reason to smile. RE has finally paid heed to our sorrows and coming out with a improved swing-arm for our classic. In couple of months, all new Classics will have the improved new swing-arm. I am keeping my fingers crossed until I test it first hand. I hope previous owners of Classic will be offered the upgrade. Till then lets wait for RE to come up with the improved design.

Another good news is the improved filter box is complete and in few months we shall see the new design on new Classics. I hope they offer that as well to previous customers.

[KA18]

Originally Posted by Randhawa

Small update and good news

Had my 9k service today and finally changed over to Motul 300v. All I can say is that I cant stop riding or smiling. My bebe has been transformed into some serious raging bull.
Never had the gear shift that smooth, whole shifting experience is new. It's crisp, precise and way too smooth. No clutch slipping.
I am repenting every km I have ridden her without 300v. Its worth every single Rupee and I am loving it.

Is this Motul 300v a Sythetic oil?
What does it cost?

[GreaseMonk]

@Randhawa: That's great news! 2 questions and a request for you:

1. How did you convince the service guys to fill it up with Synthetic? Last I heard, they threatened to void warranties for the same.

2. Was there anything apart from what was done during the previous services which was done during this last 9k service.

3. Could you please request your service manager to inform Royal Enfield HQ of the drastic improvements with the switch to synthetic (if you are comfortable\have already informed the service manager of the same). Hopefully, this will push them to allow buyers to make the switch if desired.

@KA18: Yes, it is synthetic and is priced around 800 - 900 rupees per litre.

[Randhawa]

@KA- Yes , it's fully synthetic Motul 300v oil and I payed Rs 850 per Liter.

@monk- Lets say I am in good terms with the people at workshop. It was my fourth and last free service in which the oil is not changed but I got it changed along with the air filter, brake shoe, cushion rubber, oil filter. There is not much you can do anyway to enhance the performance on a standard C5.

I usually get oil changed at every 3k anyway as I am of the opinion that the normal oil does not last very long in the sense that the engine becomes a bit rough after 500-1000k.

I had requested them in the past to allow me to switch but used to get a big no, this time I went ahead without bothering with their threats of canceling their warranty and stuff. I have gone through enough with this bike so don't care no more. I showed the oil to the mechanics who were amazed with the quality and made an RE official ride my bike to see the difference. Rest is up to them if they can allow C5 customers to switch.

The main reason for them not to allow the switch is probably due to their marketing strategy or something else. I think they dont want people to spend so much money on a single service every 3k or 6k, their mantra of maintenance free bike gets effected with that.


@Nasir- Wanted to correct myself with the right terminology. What we get from an upswept exhaust on our classic is after-fire and not backfire or misfire.

[stnair]

@Randhawa

Can you please give the exact specification of the Motul 300v. Is it 20W40 or 15W50 ? Reading your review, I feel tempted to try it on my Scooty since I dont have the RE yet.