My GT finally came in and I picked it up this morning.....200 mile round trip in -2F and icy roads with a trailer. Marty was kind enough to open early and wait for me before unboxing.......and the verdict.....it is a genuine RE.....I cannot see anything that has changed dramatically with quality control, fit, finish etc. compared to the C5......some things are better, others are the same.
I cannot ride it yet because the roads are icy and it is horrendously cold. The other problem is that it would not start. Overall the bike feels solid and well balanced. Side panels are painted metal. Welds are a mix of machine and hand-welded with sufficient crudeness around the rear upper shock mounts to support the legacy of a hand-built bike. The paint at the bottom of one rear spring is cracked and peeling.
Front speedo gear is different.....electronic unit at front axle and no more rotating wires! Fenders are very light plastic but well finished. Rear fender has streaks of red paint rubbed off the rear cowl of the seat....should come off easily with some cleaner/wax.
Rear license plate is humongous....you can mount 3 US plates on that! Rear light base is painted cast metal with irregular looking edges. Turn signals look a bit flimsy and the rear ones have a second mounting option directly on the rear light base. This second site will work well with US plates.
Battery is still old school FIAMM. The spark plug was a Bosch with plenty of black soot....7.9 miles on the odometer.....Marty threw in a new plug. After priming the cylinder multiple times with gas, it finally started and we idled it for about 20 seconds. He thought the fuel hose looked kinked but we couldn't figure out how to get the seat off......I finally figured it out after I got home. Just behind the battery is a pull wire that releases the entire plastic framed seat......nothing to unscrew and a very nice way to do this.
One thing that caught my eye was a thick layer of caked on dust in a circle around the fuel filler lid. I took a flashlight and ran a finger along the inside of the fuel tank after I got home and it is dusty and grimy. I suspect the tanks sat open without lids in a dusty environment before being given a cap. I will remove the tank and wash it out tomorrow, but may be looking at a choked fuel pump or injector. The attached photo was taken after I had already wiped off most of the dirt around the filler hole, and you can still see streaks of dark grime inside the tank.
On a positive note, the muffler sounds great! Nice thump.....better than the bazooka on the C5 or the myriad other mufflers I have tried. This one sounds old school, and despite the size and painted welds, I will keep this for now.
I removed the headlight jumper wire to enable the headlight switch. The little US headlight can be replaced with a 7" and the usual inner/outer rings for other RE bikes should fit the bucket. Wiring is identical to the C5 and the bucket still has the unused connector for the little pilot light below the headlight bulb. I unplugged the side stand switch as well.
Marty said there were no spare tubes in the GT box.....I was given the usual toolkit, clutch and throttle cables, can of paint and a user manual. I did not install the mirrors and will wait to get bar-ends.
Speedo unit now has a proper digital fuel gauge.
I think this will be a nice bike......but given the dead on arrival status the tinkering will have to start sooner than I had planned! I will post some more photos when I get a chance. Thanks.
GSS