[Richard230]

The January 2016 issue of the British publication Bike contains a "fluffy" review of the blue 2015 RE C5, starting on page 70.  They compare it with the Kawasaki Vulcan S and the H-D Street 750.  Interestingly, the magazine editors preferred the Royal Enfield to the other bikes if it was going to be a second motorcycle.  But they would buy the Kawasaki if it was going to be their only motorcycle, as it has better all-around performance.

[heloego]

Got a link?

[wildbill]

actually they probably got it right - the blue is really a pretty good bike    lol

[Richard230]

Got a link?

No link. I bought the magazine for $9.95 USD and read the article when I got home.   

[Richard230]

One other comment that was made in the article: they said the C5 engine made less vibration than the GT that they had previously ridden. They also said that its "sweet spot" was 50 mph.

[wildbill]

well that part would be right -the 50 mph sweet spot because it will run that mph very easy and drama free. only problem after a while it does appear a bit slow and you have no choice but to -kick it in the guts!...lol

[pmanaz1973]

I know my 2014 C5 and I are the happiest at 50mph.

[suitcasejefferson]

The way I see it, if you are only going to have one motorcycle, it should be Japanese, or any Harley but the Street series. The quality and reliability of Japanese and traditional Harleys is WAY above the Enfield and Harley Street series. If you have a high quality, reliable bike that you can depend on when you actually need to take a long trip, or commute back and forth to school or work, and are interested in a bike more for pleasure than anything else, and can deal with a few things going wrong, then an Enfield it the bike to get. The Harley Street series is probably less reliable than the Enfield (Yes, I have actually ridden one) but provides none of the Enfield's looks or character, and would not be easy to work on. I can sort of see it for the Indian market, where price is a big deal, but I have no idea what it is doing in the U.S. I can buy a like new used Sportster 883 for less, and it has real Harley looks and character.

[malky]

The way I see it, if you are only going to have one motorcycle, it should be Japanese, or any Harley but the Street series. The quality and reliability of Japanese and traditional Harleys is WAY above the Enfield and Harley Street series. If you have a high quality, reliable bike that you can depend on when you actually need to take a long trip, or commute back and forth to school or work, and are interested in a bike more for pleasure than anything else, and can deal with a few things going wrong, then an Enfield it the bike to get. The Harley Street series is probably less reliable than the Enfield (Yes, I have actually ridden one) but provides none of the Enfield's looks or character, and would not be easy to work on. I can sort of see it for the Indian market, where price is a big deal, but I have no idea what it is doing in the U.S. I can buy a like new used Sportster 883 for less, and it has real Harley looks and character.

I have to disagree, with the correct preparation and servicing an Enfield can be as reliable as the rest. I made the decision to have one bike in 2009 and initially went for one of Mr Honda's finest which was a disaster, suffering from intermittent electronic faults, once sorted I sold it and went back to what I know. My 350 Bullet did many 400+ mile days without any problems, my uce bike is more than capable of the same, you just have to get into the mind set that averaging 50mph is the "thing" and adopting a smooth riding technique is a must, and you won't have much problems. Remember a bad Enfield can always be made good, as long as you don't give up.

[Richard230]

The way I see it, if you are only going to have one motorcycle, it should be Japanese, or any Harley but the Street series. The quality and reliability of Japanese and traditional Harleys is WAY above the Enfield and Harley Street series. If you have a high quality, reliable bike that you can depend on when you actually need to take a long trip, or commute back and forth to school or work, and are interested in a bike more for pleasure than anything else, and can deal with a few things going wrong, then an Enfield it the bike to get. The Harley Street series is probably less reliable than the Enfield (Yes, I have actually ridden one) but provides none of the Enfield's looks or character, and would not be easy to work on. I can sort of see it for the Indian market, where price is a big deal, but I have no idea what it is doing in the U.S. I can buy a like new used Sportster 883 for less, and it has real Harley looks and character.

That is almost exactly what the magazine said about the H-D Street 750 that they rode. They wouldn't want it as their only bike and they wouldn't want it as a second bike, either.

[Blairio]

There is a lot of mythology around the build quality of Japanese and German bikes.  My personal acquaintances include a couple of very disgruntled BMW owners and twice as many unhappy Japanese machine owners. Some machines come off the factory floor with faults. Fact. It is down to dealer preparation whether those faults are trapped and fixed before the buyer takes delivery. Quality control has to be end to end. You would like to believe that the more money you spend the less likely to have issues. The JD Power survey of car ownership tells a different story, with some relatively modest brands having higher satisfaction ratings than their dearer supposedly higher quality competition. The difference in large part comes down to how the buyer reports they are treated by the dealership.  Most machines properly prepared, well set up and well maintained can deliver good service for many years.  A machine that start its life poorly set up and not QA'ed is not going to fix itself.

[Rattlebattle]

I would agree with that. I bought a new Honda Deauville 700 in 2011. It was a nice bike within its design parameters but was a bit too slow for my needs when riding with others. But although the longevity of these particular Hondas is legendary, mine developed an appalling whine in first gear after about 7,000 miles, so I traded it in against a new BMW F800GT. This one had the oomph that the Honda lacked, was much lighter and fantastically frugal for the performance. But at 5,000 rpm it was like riding a pile-driver and when warm the engine sounded like a bag of bolts in a cement mixer. I believe it probably had a misaligned clutch but I won't keep any new bike that needs comparatively major surgery, so I traded that in for a Triumph Sprint GT SE, which has been fine so far (touch wood). My point is that both the models of Honda and BMW that I had are known to provide really high trouble free mileages, especially the Honda. I believe my BMW was one where all the tolerances went the wrong way, combining to produce a yellow citrus fruit. I feel that Honda quality peaked in the nineties and BMW in the seventies and early eighties. Neither is what they used to be. I don't think dealer pdi is to blame in either case; they were both defective from the factory.

[suitcasejefferson]

I don't believe anything is the quality it used to be, but BMW is really bad. Most Japanese bikes are still of fairly high quality and are reliable, but the increase in the use of plastic and electronic parts is taking it's toll. My Vulcan 750 (2002 model) has very close to 100,000 miles on it, all mine, and the only issues I've had with it during all that time were failed cam chain tensioners and a bad stator.  And it has not had an easy life. It is a 1985 design, and was produced through 2006 with absolutely no changes other than paint. I seriously doubt any new bike would be that reliable, other than maybe the Honda Rebel, with an engine that dates back to the '70s Those little 234cc twins can be ridden at full throttle for 80,000+ miles before they start to show any engine wear.

[Scotty Brown]

When problems arise it is best to look to the bean counters.  A cut here and a cut there and quality suffers.  Increased horsepower also affects longevity.  Profit rather than reputation seems to be the current byword. Let's hope that Enfield doesn't fall into that trap.

[mattsz]

Profit rather than reputation seems to be the current byword. Let's hope that Enfield doesn't fall into that trap.