[atrocious]

@Spitfire

They 'told' me it was water in the carb, and they 'told' me they took it apart and blow dried it. It hasn't happened before or after that, so I'm guessing it was the guy who gave her a wash. They didn't have an answer to that. I wouldn't know any of it for a fact because they physically kept me away.

I happened to be in Bangalore around the time she was due for her regular.

They never keep old parts around for us, 'as a matter of policy'.

Frankly, I've never seen any frustration around any of the Bullets I've had around me. I've heard of it but never experienced it, even in the CIs we had in the family.

I'm helpless here because people who have to work on it are either too stupid to understand what I'm saying or too stupid to figure out how to address what they understand.

@makanaka

I think the resting position of clutch in the assembly is screwed. But who's there to listen. They will sand it and hammer it and that's all.

@ashok

I know Sudhakar. He's in Bansilalpet. I don't think he works on UCE engines. I remember him telling me that RE has not released the 'manual' for UCE yet, so he doesn't work on them yet. May be things are different now. I'll check with him. I'm usually not bad with roads and maps but his place is not very easy to find.

@rennjit I was 'told' the clutch plates were replaced. Speedometer, speedo cable, rear brake shoes and air filter too.

[DevilsOwn]

atrocious: Please follow these 3 simple steps, one bulleteer to another, log off, pack your bike, come down to Bangalore, let's get it fixed. While here we can join spitfire for another coffee at the Leelas, he's apparently forgotten the last one!

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by atrocious

@Spitfire

They 'told' me it was water in the carb, and they 'told' me they took it apart and blow dried it.

So the water bit is suspect too.

I am guessing there was no water anywhere.

They never keep old parts around for us, 'as a matter of policy'.

As a policy they are supposed to give you the parts replaced. They are your parts. Demand all parts the next time round and if they deny haul their combined rears to Enfield.

Please take it back to the Service Center.

[adrian]

Pardon me for my curiousity for the fact that I also own a Bullet 350 uce. What happened hereafter ?!!

[drdeepudev]

Sure atrocious, what happened next? Are the issues solved? Your frustrations can be felt from your post.
@Spitfire, Do you have any idea what happened?

[atrocious]

What has happened is that I still have to switch to top gear at 45 kmph and have to keep it around 50 kmph to let it breathe normally. Anything above that is strained. I have given up my hope on the efficiency of COCO centre here in Hyderabad to diagnose and address the issue effectively. Clutch notch resting position is still parallel to the casing below.

All in all, it's still the same.

[Leepower]

This is an incident which occurred on February 1, 2014... I was entering the last leg of my journey. I was doing a Pune-Bangalore, then Bangalore-Kochi ride on my 1978 Bullet. I was doing it solo like always and the ride was effortless. Two days on road, just the sweet thump of my Bull, man it was good. I also met a couple of bikers on REs, a few Harley etc etc... But this is an incident I thought was worth sharing...
I was nearing the Kerala border on NH 47 from Coimbatore and the road is basically a dirt track... filled with racing trucks, cars and a few odd bikes. It was around 7ish, I was taking it slow, it was a single lane... two way traffic road, trucks were coming from the other side with full blaring lights on, I saw a Bullet UCE whizzing past me. The guy has a riding gear on... I was like okay another RE rider...
Then after a while on a dark stretch I saw the same bike again. I thought he was just resting it out or stretching a bit, but then he waved me down. I stopped and inquired. He said the lights on his bikes are out. I asked him if he had a tool kit, he said no. I took out my own tool kit and opened up the headlight casing. Then I understood the story, the wiring is really fragile and connections come of very easily. I can understand this happening on a 10+ year old bike. But this one is hardly a year old bike.
In his bike's case, the whole ignition unit i.e. the key holding thingy also had become loose and was rattling.
He said that just after hitting the rough patch on the border, he hearing a ringing noise that must have been the ignition key thing becoming loose. Then after a while the dim light went kaput and finally the full bright light also. And he was stranded and couldn't do much with the parking lights... it was too risky for him to ride back or forward.
In his case, just the connectors had become loose. I just had to tighten it and voila the lights were back on his bike. The other thing that I noticed was in his bike the wire was a mangled mess... I asked him if anyone had worker on it and he replied in the negative. This got me thinking, for a company with a history like RE whose catch phrase is 'Trip', shouldn't their bikes also be Trip worth. This person could have died if he would have proceeded ahead without light. Imagine if he was stranded in Ladakh, then he would have frozen to death in the night. Bullet began its life as a trail bike, dodging English country road filled with mud and rocks, and it was a successful one too. But here is its latest avatar a 1 lakh+ bike which they claim is much more reliable and a few dirt patch later, the connector to the lights go kaput in the middle of the night.
And I blame the rider also, without mechanical skills he had embarked on the trip of his life with the belief that the new UCE Standard 350 is a very reliable bike...
The company needs to seriously do something about its bikes' wirining as the new bikes are more and more dependant on electricals and it can save lives.

[amit_purohit20]

Its these design flaws which led me away from RE during my purchase decision.
Whats the use of feel, comfort, power, road presence etc etc if the vehicle is not reliable.
Such RE horror stories made me buy a more reliable bike for my Ladakh trip, a decision which I do not regret.

[Leepower]

The tragedy is that I love Royal Enfield Bullet. But after being part of this horror story being played out in the dirt tracks near Pallakad, I would think twice before plonking my hard earned money on a new Bullet. I own a 78 Bullet, it has never broken down on these highway jaunts of mine. I have done Ladakh on it, Pune-Kerala ride, Pune-Delhi run, Pune Goa ride all the time etc. It only breaks down like they say "when I take it to the grocery store". But again I always carry a tool box and basic spares, extra tubes, cables, fuses etc and have a basic idea of how to fix the usual problems the usual problems.
As I said earlier I blame the rider also, how can he even go on a drive like this without a tool kit... Then again when I asked him, he said "I thought the bike was very reliable". A few patches of rough road and man the bike goes kaput, unbelievable!!!

[alpha1]

Headlight connectors getting loose is simply criminal.
What does the manufacturer expect? We are going to ride/drive on a flat runway?

As far as I know most electrical and mechanical equipment used in industry floor have a mandatory vibration testing done to ensure that such incidents never happen.

[Leepower]

How is this test conducted? Is it done in real road conditions?

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by Leepower

How is this test conducted? Is it done in real road conditions?

No no I think you are taking it the other way.
I said for most of the electrical and mechanical equipment being used in industrial settings and shop floors - there is a battery of test that the equipment has to pass and only then it gains the certifications.

One of those are about vibration testing. Something like lets say I sell a switch with LED indication. This assembly is subjected to vibration at say 10 to 100 Hz @ 1-5g. Similarly some equipments are drop tested for mechanical shocks. The equipment/assembly is supposed to keep working after such tests.


I am surprised that similar testing doesn't happen at RE factory for the assembled vehicle. Because the bike WILL be subjected to vibrations while being driven on the road and it should perform satisfactorily.

In fact does any vehicle manufacturer execute such tests?

[IshaanIan]

Though I don't have much experience with bikes (don't even know how to ride one ), this is something that has always intrigued me; why are these basic electricals, so poorly fitted? I have been angered by failing tail lights of trucks on dark highways, failing headlights of vehicles coming on the wrong side and no lights on buses that you are tailing in city traffic.

I thought that since we have come decades since these systems were first launched, we would easily be able to make properly fitted electricals just like in most other vehicles.

Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to ask is, is there some extra expense involved if a manufacturer has to make these things reliable in the real world? What is the reason there are still failing lights, loose installation, mangled wires etc in vehicles manufactured in this century? Is even a rupee saved on the manufacturer's side or is this sheer negligence?

[ku69rd]

Whilst I understand that you are trying to bring everybody's attention to the poor wiring done on the new enfields, why do you want to name this as Royal Enfield : Unit Construction Engine (UCE) Standard Horror!!!

Instead it would make sense and be more precise if you want to put it as Royal Enfield : Wiring Mess A Standard Horror!!!

It can get very misleading with the present topic line. Can you please change this to reflect it more appropriately?

[rm_arjuna]

My 09 Thunder Bird is on its 2nd set of wiring harness , i had to change the complete wiring harness after a simple fall ( crash ) which lead to a busted fuse and the entire wire loom was fryed .