[Joel-in-dallas]

Guys. I was on a short ride today up a couple of really steep hills. I get to my destination and I realize the outer cover of the EFI silencer has fallen off. It was a noisy stretch of road so I didn't see or feel it happen. But it's gone. So strange. I can tell by the unfinished look on it now.

I'm still in a bit of shock about that. It has less than 2000 miles and to have a big piece of the bike fall off like that is disconcerting.

[Joel-in-dallas]

Has this happened to anyone else? It has me freaked to be honest. I guess that's why the "thump" was more pronounced at the end of the ride.

[Norm]

That appears to be the heat shield that went away when the screw backed out and flew off the bike.  Until you get it replaced, be careful with your leg around the pipe.

[2bikebill]

Mine vanished two weeks after buying the bike.
I recall others here having similar experience.
Check everything on these bikes for tightness.

[mattsz]

Joel - If you really wasted a lot of your time here on this forum ( ), you'd have discovered that a lot of us have had problems with, a) those three heat shield allen-head retaining screws falling out; and b) the little retaining clip on the underside of the forward skinny end of the heat shield breaking off (you can see that clip's mating bracket in your photo on the pipe, just aft of the foot peg).

There have been suggestions of replacing the hardware with proper bolts and lock washers, and tricks for securing the front of the shield after the clip breaks off, but none of that will help you now, obviously.

I suggest you check all your fasteners for tightness, again, and see if your dealer can get a warranty replacement sheild.  But in the meantime, by all means be careful around that very hot spot!

Have you been looking for an excuse to install an aftermarket silencer?  I'd say this is as good as any!

[Joel-in-dallas]

I will be checking everything for tightness. But I don't understand how Royal Enfield expects to be the world leader in 350-700cc "midsize" motorcycles and have build issues like this. At less than 2000 miles stuff should not be falling off my motorcycle.

I appreciate the feedback from folks on the forum. It's really helpful. But I think we and the company should look at this from a non mechanics perspective. If Toyota cars did this they would be ridiculed in the press. This isn't charm. This isn't what motorcycle ownership should be.

I am considering getting a third party exhaust system. But that should be to enhance the bike, not because of this.

[DanKearney]

I'm glad I saw this thread.  Just picked up my new Classic 500 yesterday.  Guess the first thing I'll do is put some locktite on those bolts this morning.

Is there a thread on this board listing all the "must check" items for a new owner?

Cheers,

Dan K.
Black Hawk, Colorado

[Joel-in-dallas]

I havent seen a list. But the exhaust bolts is a good start.

[High On Octane]

I'm glad I saw this thread.  Just picked up my new Classic 500 yesterday.  Guess the first thing I'll do is put some locktite on those bolts this morning.

Is there a thread on this board listing all the "must check" items for a new owner?

Cheers,

Dan K.
Black Hawk, Colorado

Oh Yay!  A new guy from Colorado!!!  Welcome to the forum Dan!  And you'll want to loctite more than just that heat shield.  These old Thumpers have a lot of vibrations and will rattle loose just about every part on the bike.  Most guys use the green penetrating grade Loctite and just apply it to every nut and bolt they can access.  What dealer did you buy your bike from?

Scottie

[Joel-in-dallas]

The guys at Strokers Dallas (RE dealer for Dallas, TX) fixed the issue. They had a heat shield around because they had removed the exhaust of a UCE RE recently to make a crazy great custom bike.

If you can buy a Royal Enfield for a dealer and support them. The guys at strokers treat me honestly and I will keep coming back.

Also the showed me what tools I'm going to need to maintain my bike. So I guess this Royal Enfield is going to make this computer geek a bit of a mechanic.

All the bolts are getting tightened one night this week.

[Joel-in-dallas]

Plus who can knock a place that fixes your bike, makes a great Bloody Mary and a blue cheese bacon burger that is sublime.

[barenekd]

There have been many threads on this forum about the use of Loctite. Those three screws on the heat shield are the top of the list, next are the tank bolts, then all the rest of them! Blue Loctite is usually the favored type.
One of my heat shield screws was gone before I got the bike out of the dealership.  Found it as I was removing the bazooka to put on an EFI muffler. They seem to be the first thing to come loose!
Bare

[mattsz]

I will be checking everything for tightness. But I don't understand how Royal Enfield expects to be the world leader in 350-700cc "midsize" motorcycles and have build issues like this. At less than 2000 miles stuff should not be falling off my motorcycle.

I appreciate the feedback from folks on the forum. It's really helpful. But I think we and the company should look at this from a non mechanics perspective. If Toyota cars did this they would be ridiculed in the press. This isn't charm. This isn't what motorcycle ownership should be.

I am considering getting a third party exhaust system. But that should be to enhance the bike, not because of this.

I hear you, man.  I have no other real moto experience than with my 2011 B5.  But other long-time riders have assured us here that no other brands, including the "world leaders" in their class, are completely immune to these sorts of issues.

We bought a non-counterbalanced single cylinder motorcycle.  If Toyota built one of these, I'm guessing we'd still be talking about locktite (anyway, Toyota, despite building reliable and affordable cars, is, in fact, ridiculed in the press! )  Oh, and three cheers (hip, hip...) for your dealer!  You're lucky to have one nearby that cares...

DanKearney: I can't recite the exact locations, but there are threads all over this forum warning prospective buyers of what to expect, and informing new owners of what to do to keep their new bikes in one piece and humming.  There ought to be a sticky thread of this nature, but there isn't, so you have to dig.  Anybody just starting out here can skip searching by topic keyword and instead simply check out the thread where we laud all of the old hands who contribute so much help:

http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/index.php/topic,16989.0/all.html

Simply check out just about any random posting from any of the names praised in that thread, and you'll learn something useful!  (I know you know this already, Joel; you've posted your praise there yourself...)

Courage and faith, Miss Honeychurch, courage and faith!!!

[Gypsyjon]

I havent seen a list. But the exhaust bolts is a good start.

Maybe you are not meant to be Royal Enfield guy? Perhaps a Honda or Yami would suit you more...

This thing is so much better than my BSA Victor, that I never notice the quirks.

[Royalista]

The retaining clip seems to break off easily. Mine went away some time ago; I was unaware what the 'twang' was. When I heard a rambling noise I could not trace it at first. Then I noticed cracks on both sides of the heat shield, where it narrows. If untreated this would eventually lead to loss of the narrow front of the shield.
I applied quick steel on the cracks and an extra blob on the loop to the (now missing) clip so that the front would no longer vibrate.
Pictures should bring some clarity.

Without that clip on the exhaust fitting of a heatshield is pointless as the front will vibrate, making cracks if the bolts hold or wriggle them out.