[johno]

Just thought I'd pop in and say Hi.
I've been hovering as guest for quite a while and been looking for an Enfield related forum for hints tips and problem solving, this seems to be one of the best so here I am.

I bought a 2012 Royal Enfield Bullet EFI in November of that year, I had a screen and Givi panniers fitted and rode through the winter to the first  dealer service, the next few thousand miles passed without problems apart from the headlight fell out once, and the sidestand cut out kept operating at unfortunate moments, normally when overtaking. So with a search of the forum, decided disconnecting the switch was the best option. I carried out my own second service this year, all went well.
 Now with 6,000 miles on the clock, the OEM drive chain is stretching really quickly, the nylon swingarm bushes have worn out giving nearly 3" side to side movement of the rear wheel, right side mirror cracked through vibration (I guess)and the battery failed, spraying the left side engine cover with acid which is now nicely etched.
Sounds like a lot of issues, But I love the little Bullet, starts second kick or a few turns of the starter (with a good battery) and takes me with out fuss on my 200 mile round trips at 65-70mph without having to worry about stopping for fuel etc.
So now winter is hitting us in the UK with a vengeance, its time to put right a few of these issues.
I have now fitted a gel battery which should solve the acid problem,
In the next week or so I will be installing an 18tooth front sprocket and 102 Reynolds chain (which should help with the high cruising speed vibration), isolastic swingarm bushes and some mirror vibration dampers, I have already fitted some rectangle mirrors to replace the awful OEM round ones.
I am also fitting a pair of legshields and a 1950's Avon looking dolphin nose fairing, which should help with the savages of winter, I intend to replace the Givi 21panniers at some point as they are to small for me and the plastic locking arrangement is terrible, one pannier fell of , melting the front corner to the exhaust which I have since fixed with an alloy plate covering the hole in the pannier and use a nylon strap on the grab bar to give the panniers extra security......

so that's it for the moment, Ride safe

[wildbill]

welcome to the forum- great place to be and you should enjoy your stay here too!

[Pedrocas]

Congrats on the bike and welcome. I'm new at all this too. And seems I am just discovering some little things here and there with my bike too. Oh well, part of the fun I guess ; )

[mattsz]

Welcome!  And here, I thought I liked the look of those panniers...

[lemming]

Welcome!

Mattsz, I like the hard cases on there, too....I found some on fleabay I think will suit. Thanks for the pic here, though, Johno, gives me a sense of how I want to mount them and what it will look like in a general sense.

[johno]

Thanks for the welcome guys,
Those panniers do look quite big from the side, but they are very narrow, the hinges for the lids are weak and the Givi 1 key system fitted to these locks ok but, the locking catch part that holds the panniers to the Givi framework is very weak, if a slightly heavy load is carried, the catch can pull away from the frame which is what I guess happened to mine. They are waterproof which is a bonus.
If I can find something a bit larger that will ride higher so the tops are nearly level with the pillion seat then these will be removed, I may even go for a soft/throwover option to stay in keeping with the Bikes looks.

[gremlin]

....... Now with 6,000 miles on the clock, ................ the nylon swingarm bushes have worn out giving nearly 3" side to side movement of the rear wheel,...........

WOW .....  that IS unnatural ....   Have you checked the swingarm axle and/or frame for cracking ?      Do you ride dusty wash-board roads ?    Any idea why these wore so quickly? (aside from a mfr defect)

[Ducati Scotty]

Welcome!  Sounds like you've got your issues under control.  Replace the chain sooner rather than later, don't let it eat the rear sprocket.

Scott

[johno]

WOW .....  that IS unnatural ....   Have you checked the swingarm axle and/or frame for cracking ?      Do you ride dusty wash-board roads ?    Any idea why these wore so quickly? (aside from a mfr defect)

Sorry, forgot to mention I'm in Portland, Dorset, Uk. Although the roads are in reasonable condition, most of the roads are, shall we say, exciting! I've been a motorcyclist for over30 years, never having owned anything with 4 wheels so bend swinging which is most of the time in the Uk is done with flair   
Reading other riders and dealer reports, particular to Europe and it seems that 6-7000 miles is the average wear rate for the bushes, I think that a lot of Enfields over this way are only used as sunday rides so millage and drive train stresses are low . I like to ride.........
I have checked the swingarm bolt and it is tight, I found the movement when I did the last chain tension. I have already purchased the replacements from Hitchcocks which are the metal/rubber type used on the Redditch Bullets so should last a lot longer.
By stripping the swingarm out replacing the sprocket and chain at the same time I will hopefully be able to spot any other problems such as frame cracking poor welds etc.

[mattsz]

I'm with Gremlin on this one... 3 inches side-to-side play at the wheel?  That sounds downright dangerous!

I have just over 7000 miles on my B5, and there's no swing arm play...

[Arizoni]

My G5 is coming up on 16,000 miles and the nylon swing arm bushings are fine.
No noticeable movement of the rear swing arm from side to side.

[AussieDave]

Hello Johno and welcome. Regarding your bushings, 3 inches of play sounds like they are totally demolished ! I have about 200000 k on my bike on a variety of Aussie roads-my only wheels and the daily transport, and I recently serviced mr swing arm And found the nylon bushes in excellent repair . Although there was a mm of play in the load bearing tube that carries through them on my bike . Keep us informed of your fix,all the best .

[barenekd]

Yep, the OEM chain is garbage, should be changed at delivery. So are the wet batteries.I changed mine before I had 2500 miles on it for an AGM. A couple of weeks after I changed it the bike got to spend 24 hours laying on it's side propped up by tree branches. Had I still had the stock battery in it I would've been suffering the same etching you have!
With the new chain and Sprocket you're getting, you will enjoy the commute even more.
I, too, am surprised with the demise of the swing arm bushings. I had 16,000 miles on mine and they were still fine. Most of thsoe miles were on twisty roads in the mountains.
Bare

[Carlsberg Wordsworth]

Welcome Johno. I ought to make a record really as opposed to a rough guess, I think I'm adjusting my OEM chain every 400 miles. Not sure if that's a lot or not really.

Nice looking bike, how do you find the screen?

[johno]

When I say 3", that's 1.5" either side of center!
I think when Watsonian were the UK importers they were pushing bikes through anyone who would sell them as opposed to a dealer network, so Car dealers who had no knowledge of motorcycles were uncrating them and throwing the bikes together for a quick sale, I think my Bullet was one of these so guessing the swingarm was not installed correctly hence the premature wear I've also noticed with the on off tension of the oem chain and the pulses of the single, pull the swingarm over to the right which can't be good . Of course with a new importer assigning a proper motorcycle  dealer network in the UK dealer service is a lot better and more consistant
As for the screen in the Photo it worked fine not affecting handling or steering and provided minimal weather protection, however, I am 6' 2" and needed something so made my own which is a good 6" taller and a lot wider I used a plexi material and shaped it with a hot air gun fixing it to the struts of the short (summer screen). This has worked wonders on my higher speed rides in all weathers being able to duck behind for those overtake sprints etc
Neither of the screens have reduced the Bullets performance at all, which is why I have decided to fit the Avon style fairing and still go up a tooth on the drive sprocket.
I'll hopefully take some photo's of the upgrades as they happen and post them on the forum for your enjoyment at some point.