Author Topic: My Bike's Coming Home......  (Read 13433 times)

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2bikebill

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Reply #15 on: May 20, 2011, 09:58:46 am
Not many I think
2009 Royal Enfield Electra (G5)


clubman

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Reply #16 on: May 20, 2011, 10:37:01 am
How many failures on UCEs have actually been noted here on the forum?

Scott

There's myself, WillW and one other who definitely reported two failures. I think I remember who it was and if so it was another person who did a lot of miles and it was another G5 but I won't name names in case I'm wrong. I can't recall a single C5 failure reported.


Andy

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Reply #17 on: May 20, 2011, 12:41:25 pm
I am comforted.
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prof_stack

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Reply #18 on: May 20, 2011, 02:20:58 pm
...
I still have the impression of a tough little bike - although now I have a Jap bike too I realise the build quality and finish of the RE is absolute shite by comparison. But as long as we're willing to do a bit of regular checking & tightening, apply Loctite, and take extra care with paint & chrome (particularly those of us in damp climates), it's a good bike for the money with a lot of charm.
...
Yes, build quality needs improvement but it is improving.  Yesterday I sat on a new Moto Guzzi V7 Classic in the showroom and noticed the same thing, comparing it to my C5. 
A Royal Enfield owner's cup is always half full.


GreenMachine

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Reply #19 on: May 20, 2011, 03:45:16 pm
although now I have a Jap bike too I realise the build quality and finish of the RE is absolute shite by comparison

and u guys have the newer bikes..............
Oh Magoo you done it again


gashousegorilla

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Reply #20 on: May 20, 2011, 04:08:46 pm
 Great news Will !  Glad your getting your Bike back!
An thaibhsí atá rattling ag an doras agus tá sé an diabhal sa chathaoir.


singhg5

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Reply #21 on: May 20, 2011, 04:28:59 pm
The day RE's build quality and finish matches Japanese bike's, you will never be able to look at it the way you see it now. The clean smooth perfection does not lend traction to our vision - it just slips, rolls over. It is the little 'hooks' of imperfection like a blob of paint, rough edges of solder, little assymetric speedometer that our mind grapples with and gets attached to. They are the reason to talk about, vent for niggling annoyances - no different than ourselves somwhat crooked with inflammed enlarged joints, wrinkles on faces, coughs and sputters, flawed - yet interesting and functional. REs mimic us and there is this connection of one 'imprefect' with another 'imperfect'.  But it comes with a soul quality that imparts the rider a full faced grin when you take it for a ride.
« Last Edit: May 20, 2011, 05:55:21 pm by singhg5 »
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GreenMachine

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Reply #22 on: May 20, 2011, 05:38:00 pm
no different than ourselves somwhat crooked with inflammed enlarged joints, wrinkles on faces, coughs and sputters, flawed

 agree alot of u guys probably look like that, fits right  in with the modus operandi ......I  defer to you ugy bastards with the knots on their heads....
Oh Magoo you done it again


prof_stack

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Reply #23 on: May 20, 2011, 06:11:08 pm
The day RE's build quality and finish matches Japanese bike's, you will never be able to look at it the way you see it now. The clean smooth perfection does not lend traction to our vision - it just slips, rolls over. It is the little 'hooks' of imperfection like a blob of paint, rough edges of solder, little assymetric speedometer that our mind grapples with and gets attached to. They are the reason to talk about, vent for niggling annoyances - no different than ourselves somwhat crooked with inflammed enlarged joints, wrinkles on faces, coughs and sputters, flawed - yet interesting and functional. REs mimic us and there is this connection of one 'imprefect' with another 'imperfect'.  But it comes with a soul quality that imparts the rider a full faced grin when you take it for a ride.

Heh, the folk on the Guzzi forums say similar things about their bikes compared to Japanese bikes.   :D

It is all relative, I guess.
A Royal Enfield owner's cup is always half full.


singhg5

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Reply #24 on: May 20, 2011, 06:15:43 pm
no different than ourselves somwhat crooked with inflammed enlarged joints, wrinkles on faces, coughs and sputters, flawed

agree alot of u guys probably look like that, fits right  in with the modus operandi ......I  defer to you ugy bastards with the knots on their heads....

@GM:

What is the matter with you calling names ?  What has knots on the heads got to do with wrinkles on face ?  You never saw a short hair person with wrinkles on face or with enlarged joints ? EVERBODY - irrespective of their physical looks - is crooked in some way or the other and gets coughs and sputters.

Did not expect you will write something like this racial comments.
1970's Jawa /  Yezdi
2006 Honda Nighthawk
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2bikebill

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Reply #25 on: May 20, 2011, 06:58:55 pm
Singh, I'm really not talking about the little quirks & charms of our Enfields. I don't mind the tank being a bit offset, or a wonky fender etc. But there's a right way to paint metal, so it stays on, and there's a slapdash way, so it lifts off. You can spend a couple of pence more on wire which will withstand a bit of outdoor exposure, or just bung in the cheap stuff, knowing full well it's not fit for purpose. You could have a man/woman at the end of the line who actually DOES quality control. It's a motorbike, not a wheelbarrow. The build quality matters, as do the meterials used.
It just isn't difficult to do the job properly, so why not do the job properly? If it's just down to cost cutting, it's false economy. But I don't think that's it at all. I think it's an attitude of "that'll do" rather than "that's as good as it can be done".
Same attitude which did for the UK bike industry - UK industry period!

A shame - I like these bikes, as you know. I never saw the point of doing a half-arsed job on anything...
« Last Edit: May 20, 2011, 07:05:23 pm by WillW »
2009 Royal Enfield Electra (G5)


singhg5

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Reply #26 on: May 20, 2011, 07:08:43 pm
Singh, I'm really not talking about the little quirks & charms of our Enfields. I don't mind the tank being a bit offset, or a wonky fender etc. ....................

I think it's an attitude of "that'll do" rather than "that's as good as it can be done".
Same attitude which did for the UK bike industry - UK industry period!

Yes Will, you are right on about 'that'll do' and not 'that's as good as it can be done'.  

I have seen 'what can be done' when Chumma brought Fireball #10 to my place and I rode it.  The first words out of mouth, after I took it for a spin, were 'That is the way it should be' !  He had redone everything from wiring, to paint, to changing bolts and what not.  It was not just putting the ACE kit in there but whole new bike built bolt by bolt !

How does it feel to ride your RE after riding your super-duper flying Kawasaki ? Are you goint to keep it ?
« Last Edit: May 20, 2011, 07:11:57 pm by singhg5 »
1970's Jawa /  Yezdi
2006 Honda Nighthawk
2009 Royal Enfield Black G5


GreenMachine

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Reply #27 on: May 20, 2011, 07:27:53 pm
Did not expect you will write something like this racial comments

u kidding  right..knots on the heads like bumps on the heads and wrinkle faces and whats your point..it was made in jest...oh brother...  I didn't mean anything by it ..was trying to make light that we are like our enfield...

of course u were surprise by the comment...it wasn't made to be whatever you perceived it to be but u obviously read into it as meaning something else and I;m sorry you did...

now i feel like i got hit and have a knot on my head...
Oh Magoo you done it again


singhg5

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Reply #28 on: May 20, 2011, 07:34:20 pm
Did not expect you will write something like this racial comments

u kidding  right..knots on the heads like bumps on the heads and wrinkle faces and whats your point..it was made in jest...oh brother...  I didn't mean anything by it ..was trying to make light that we are like our enfield...

of course u were surprise by the comment...it wasn't made to be whatever you perceived it to be but u obviously read into it as meaning something else and I;m sorry you did...

now i feel like i got hit and have a knot on my head...

@GM:

Thanks for clarifying - yes we are like our Enfields or Enfields are like us, may be that is why we like them  ;) !
1970's Jawa /  Yezdi
2006 Honda Nighthawk
2009 Royal Enfield Black G5


2bikebill

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Reply #29 on: May 20, 2011, 07:48:27 pm
Singh - I haven't got my G5 back yet. It will be with me next week. I'm very much looking forward to getting back on it - it's my pride & joy don't forget - the bike that got me back into motorcycling after so long!  
My current thinking is to keep both bikes. Hard to imagine not having that beautiful black & chrome G5 waiting in the garage with a west country summer stretching ahead.....
As soon as we're reunited, I'll report back here.... :)

Chumma's Fireball must be a joy to behold.....
2009 Royal Enfield Electra (G5)