[ren]

Agreed Kevin on continuing QC though as you say, it has improved immeasurably based on my own experience with a Bullet Electra I had many years ago. RE QC though is still way short of what we see on bikes from other makers in Japan, Europe and the US. Also, and maybe it's the same problem, there is a certain lack of standardisation on REs so that two ostensibly identical bikes can have little differences as my dealer pointed out with the fuel pipes. He commented that it's almost as if the guy on the assembly line makes his own decisions on certain items!

Good dealers will be aware of common problems on new Enfields like loosening fastenings etc. and will take the trouble to minimise these as far as possible pre delivery. Of course my problem was completely unpredictable and not a known common fault so I blame nobody except the aforesaid lack of QC at the factory.

For this reason it is vital with REs, far more than with other makes, to have a good dealer and I was careful before buying to try and establish this. Having said that, I've owned loads of bikes over the years and always try to find a dealer with a good reputation, even if it means going out of my way and there is a dealer nearer.

[Rattlebattle]

My supplying dealer only lasted a year or so. The nearest one now is some distance away. I have to say that were it not for Hitchcocks, from whom I get all my spares the next day (if ordered before about 3:30pm), I wouldn't have bought a Royal Enfield. I took the decision early on to service my C5 irrespective of the warranty. I had a few issues that I sorted, apart from one for which the dealer was prepared to do under warranty if necessary anyway. Sadly under the current importer it's the luck of the draw as to whether or not you get a good local dealer. The best are probably the ones who were around when the previous importer dealt with them. Unfortunately my local one packed up because of the eighteen month gap in supply. Hence reliance on Hitchcocks.