Author Topic: 600 miles and counting... and a quick PSA for G5 owners  (Read 3667 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Fox

  • Bulleteer
  • ***
  • Posts: 136
  • Karma: 0
Hey y'all,

The odometer on my G5 just turned over 650 miles today after a trip back home turned into a couple of trips. Friday afternoon had me doing a hundred miles in constant 40-degree rain. The bike performed just fine, and I picked up my plate and registration along the way. The dealer mech adjusted the idle, so now it's almost a non-issue. When I got home, I parked the bike, and the next morning I noticed some rust on the spoke ends, on the chain / sprockets, and on the washer on the nacelle. Definitely something to watch for on these - however a quick ride got the rust off the chain, and after a wash and wax it's purdy again. The bolts that hold the toolkit bracket onto the frame were very loose, as was the bolt which holds the centerstand / footpegs on.

After the oil change I did at 280 and a few hundred more miles, either the bike is getting considerably faster or I'm getting a little slower, but things are gelling more. I took it through some lazy twisties today, and it made me want for more challenging roads. It's amazingly fun to throw into curves, even at sane speeds.

On a whim, I swung into a parking lot to practice quick stops. To my amazement, it is not at all difficult to lock up the front wheel, even with gradually-applied firm pressure. Maybe this has something to do with the tread pattern of the Roadmasters, or more likely my braking muscle memory is still tuned for the KLR's widowmaker front disk. Either way, it's something I would highly recommend re-learning if you're used to giving it all you've got to slow down.

2000 KLR650 - Clack Clack the Sorry Green Bastard
2009 Royal Enfield G5 Deluxe


2bikebill

  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,877
  • Karma: 0
  • ~ it's about the ride ~
Reply #1 on: April 11, 2011, 08:46:17 am
Best to get the water off these bikes as quickly as possible, and wax everywhere and often. Plenty of places for rust to get in, and it does!

I noticed a radical change in my G5's performance after about 500 miles, and the improvement continues, although more subtly, up to 1500. Ditching the silencer for something less restrictive like the Goldie will give another noticeable boost. Neighbours may not like it..... :D
Mine came with Avon Speedmasters, which always felt very unstable on poor road surface. They'd track alarmingly along slight grooves in the tarmac. I switched to Avon AM26 RoadRiders. A revelation in stability and especially cornering!
I find the front brake good, but I wasn't pre-tuned to anything else. I recently began driving a car with decent brakes after a couple of years in a van. Nearly went through the windscreen first time out.... :o
Enjoy that G5.    Gentle on the brake lever.    Tighten all nuts & bolts........ ;)
« Last Edit: April 11, 2011, 03:39:26 pm by WillW »
2009 Royal Enfield Electra (G5)


ToesNose

  • Grease Monkey
  • ****
  • Posts: 315
  • Karma: 0
  • That goes where? Mooresville, NC
Reply #2 on: April 11, 2011, 03:38:57 pm
Tighten all nuts & bolts........ ;)

And Loctite!!!!!!   8)
"Pardon me...do you have hot sauce for this?"

2007 Suzuki LS650
2014 RE C5 Tan 'Manjika'


Ducati Scotty

  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 7,038
  • Karma: 0
  • 2010 Teal C5
Reply #3 on: April 11, 2011, 06:50:52 pm
With enough force, most decent front disc brakes can be skidded or stoppied even when it's not a panic stop.  With a long, low center of gravity bike like this on a sknny tire I think a skid is more likely.  The feedback with the stock rubber barke line feels a bit dead and spongey to me.  Of course, my last bike was a Duacti with dual 320mm front discs and stainless lines.  I'm considering upgrading to the braided stainless line fron NFieldGear.  It should drsatically improve brake feel and performance too. 

Check your tire pressure.  The manual lists pressure that seem low but most riders have found them to work well.  Lower pressure allows more of the tire to contact the road and gives better traction.  It also gets the tire to proper operating temp so it grips better.

Bleed your front brake or ask the dealer to do it for you, just to make sure there's no air in the line and you getting the best you can out of it.

There should be a 4 digit code on the side of your tires.  It indicates the month and year of manufacture.  Check it just to be safe.  If by some weird turn your tires are more than three years old get them replaced.  Moto tires harden quickly and lose a great deal of traction as they do.


And those Avon tires look cool for an old style bike but many better tire choices are out there.

Scott


Fox

  • Bulleteer
  • ***
  • Posts: 136
  • Karma: 0
Reply #4 on: April 11, 2011, 09:49:19 pm
Well, my bike is an '09 that served as a display model for a few years, so there is the distinct possibility that the tires are three years or older.

I'll check today the date of manufacture. It will be pretty obnoxious if I need to spend another 300 bucks right off the bat... you'd think there would be some sort of law somewhere mandating tire changes or at least notice given after a certain point.

I checked the pressure the other day; it was 28psi. Given that the recommended for this tire is 25, that may be on the higher end, but I don't think it's necessarily unreasonable.

I'm thinking this might just simply be a case of overdoing it. I am used to literally squeezing as hard as I can in order to stop. If this is not the case for this bike or any other with decent brakes, then obviously I need to adjust my technique.
2000 KLR650 - Clack Clack the Sorry Green Bastard
2009 Royal Enfield G5 Deluxe


Ducati Scotty

  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 7,038
  • Karma: 0
  • 2010 Teal C5
Reply #5 on: April 11, 2011, 10:12:00 pm
Don't go by the pressure on the tire, that's the max the tire can hold.  Check your manual or the plate on your frame.  That tells you what pressure is correct for the bike.  You'll notice the pressures on your car tires and the pressures on the little card inside the door jamb are also different.  Go by the door jamb.

I looked at some new old stock AVLs on the floor of one dealer.  The Avon Speedmaster tires were obviously in need of replacment, hard as rocks.  The price might be a tough bite but better than losing the bike out from under you.  You'll be amazed how much better the bike rides because the sidewalls get stiff too.  Make sure you check the date of the tires you buy, it's why I always buy mine locally instead of on the internet.

I bought my Ducati with 4 year old tires and only 1500 miles on it.  New tires made it feel like a totally different bike, it was amazing and worth every penny.

Scott


The Garbone

  • Shade Tree
  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 3,978
  • Karma: 0
  • User Complaints: 22
Reply #6 on: April 11, 2011, 11:20:38 pm
I replaced my Speedmasters on my 07 within a year of owning it.  Don't miss em at all. If you shop around you can get a set of K70s for under $120 last I looked.

My opinion is that in general Speedmasters are good for semi trucks and sidecar rigs.  I think the super stiffness is just a thing with them.   I have a stock set on my 95, some surface cracks but I am not all that worried about them holding up, even if they are 16 years old.   If you replace your rear Speedmaster I will take it off your hands for my sidecar rig.

I run 30lbs on my rear tires,  ripped a valve stem riding 2up at 25lbs.  Guess I was being a bit too aggressive...
Gary
57' RE Crusader 250
67' Ford Mustang
74' Catalina 27 "Knot a Clew"
95 RE Ace Clubman 535
01 HD 1200 Custom
07 RE 5spd HaCK

* all actions described in this post are fictional *


Maturin

  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 789
  • Karma: 0
  • My Precious
Reply #7 on: April 11, 2011, 11:44:35 pm
I just replaced the speedmaster by another one after 6300 km. The rear - that is far better than the front imo - has 4 mm left and I wanted a matching pair, that´s why I took it again.
Certainly I made the mistake to run the speedmaster with too much pressure, so it´s wear was mainly in the treat´s center. The German manual recommends different (much too high) values from the Indian, but I found out that the original recomendation of 18 and 28 psi solo suites really best and will probably distribute wear better, as more of the tire will have contact with low presure.
The temperature characteristics improved aswell. It´s nearly impossible to warm up the tire if pressure is over 20 psi. The rear tire, however, has no such problems - it´ll get pretty warm even pumped up with 35 psi.
When warm the grip is sufficient, though steering precision is always pretty weak. I´ll use up the pair and try a different one - maybe Heidenau´s.
2010 G5
A Garage without a Bullet is a empty, barren hole.

When acellerating the tears of emotion must flow off horizontally to the ears.
Walter Röhrl


barenekd

  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 5,516
  • Karma: 0
Reply #8 on: April 12, 2011, 08:10:31 pm
The front brake definitely works better than the stock tire. I've locked mine a couple of times even with the proper pressure. Start slowing down a bit sooner than you would with Superbike tires, and this thing certainly isn't going to do a stoppie!
As for tires, shop around a bit. You can get a set of tires for this bike by a number of manufacturers for well under $200.
Bare
2013 Moto Guzzi V7 Racer
2011 Black Classic G5 (RIP)
I refuse to tiptoe through life only to arrive safely at death
http://www.controllineplans.com


Fox

  • Bulleteer
  • ***
  • Posts: 136
  • Karma: 0
Reply #9 on: April 12, 2011, 09:27:39 pm
Thanks for the advice.

I'm just glad that I tried this out in a parking lot and will now be prepared for when I actually need a quick stop. Even at half-power, the front brake is better than that of my KLR full-on.
« Last Edit: April 13, 2011, 12:31:59 am by Fox »
2000 KLR650 - Clack Clack the Sorry Green Bastard
2009 Royal Enfield G5 Deluxe


olhogrider

  • Classic 350 Desert Sand
  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,882
  • Karma: 1
  • Blue Ridge Mountains of NC
Reply #10 on: April 13, 2011, 01:39:00 am
Fox, I have the Road Riders on my C5 and I have locked the front as well. I wouldn't rush to replace the rubber until you get use to the different feel. The fork also won't move as much as your KLR so it may not seem as if the brake is working. I have always switched to steel brake lines. Much better feel. Haven't done the Bullet yet.


Fox

  • Bulleteer
  • ***
  • Posts: 136
  • Karma: 0
Reply #11 on: April 13, 2011, 04:17:44 am
I'm going to be riding on these until they truly need replacing. It was enough of a pain in the ass to get the tube replaced, I'm not about to waste hundreds of dollars and hours of my time getting new tires when these have less than a thousand miles on them. At the rate I'm going, they'll have 5k on them by mid-summer, so it's not that big of a deal.

The killer has progressive springs and seems to be set up for someone a lot heavier than I am. It doesn't even slightly sink when I sit on it. It's like a big ornery unyielding horse on rusty stilts.
2000 KLR650 - Clack Clack the Sorry Green Bastard
2009 Royal Enfield G5 Deluxe