Author Topic: A little disappointed over the years. I'd appreciate some input.  (Read 3112 times)

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Droidbee

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I've drive my fathers RE Bullet for a few years now. I was really excited to get my own. I purchased a GT in 2014. I am currently serving in the forces so its not seen a lot of action. I have driven it only 6000 km in the past four years. I was hoping you guys could help me out with the followig things:

1. I was given to understand the tires on this bad boy were tubless. It even says so on the tires themeselves. Turns out just the outer tires are 'tubeless' but they are mounted on a tube rim with tubes inside. I had a flat tire today and the guys at the workshop replaced the tube inside. Are there different versions of the GT with completely tubless setup?

2. My tappets are loud as hell. I am not really sure what the issue is. I have shown it to more than two service centers and they have tried to see if something is wrong inside but they couldnt find anything. They said its just how it is with these cast iron engines. I can hear the clacking tappets or whatever it is even going at over 70 kmph. (They get louder the more I accelerate) Is this normal?

3. Something seems to have come loose recently and I cant really locate what it is. Everytime I hit a bump, I hear loose 'thunk' from the parking stand region. I dont think the its the stand though. I'll tape them both up and see if thats it. Could it be the front shockers? Any troubleshooting tips?

4. I can never get this bad boy to start with the first ignition. They recently replaced my injectors thinking that might be the issue but it hasnt helped really. 6/10 times I have to press the ignition more than once to get it going. Anything I can do to fix this?

5. One of the chrome rings seems to have just vanished off my cluster. I had to remove the other one to make them look similar. Anywhere I can procure these chrome rings?


I love this bike but I just feel like its just constantly having some issue or the other. I am honeslty here to sort most of these out myself if possible. RE service in India is extremely sloppy.

Thanks for your time.


Arizoni

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The following is just my thoughts on your questions.  May be right or may be wrong.

1. All of the Royal Enfields that have spoked rims use inner tubes in their tires and up until now, all of the GT Continentals have spoked rims.
Royal Enfield is coming out with some updates on their Bullet series which have cast aluminum wheels so they probably have tubeless tires without inner tubes.
I don't think the CGT is among the new offerings though.  Their sales in India and the rest of the world have fallen off to the point that they might not offer it in any single cylinder form.

2. Some engines have been found with loose bolts on the blocks that support the rocker arms but if your mechanics have checked inside the upper end I'm sure they would have found that if it existed.
I might guess it is caused by low oil pressure that doesn't keep the hydraulic valve lifters pumped up but if a lifter is down the clacking is almost deafening.
Still, it might be worthwhile to have your mechanic check the oil pressure when the engine is running.  It should be about 4.5 bar (66 psi) although pressures at 2 bar or even lower should still keep the lifters pumped up.
This oil pressure can be checked by removing the oil temperature sensor under the inlet manifold and using the proper threaded tube fitting to tap into it with a guage.
Find someone with a UCE powered Royal Enfield and listen to their engine when its running.  If your engine sounds like theirs then consider it normal.

Your engine is not a "cast iron" engine.  All of the UCE engines use a sleeved aluminum cylinder.
I don't think Royal Enfield has made a cast iron engine since long before the UCE and the lean burn AVL engine was put into production.

3.  It might be the center stand or the side stand that is making the noise.
It also could be caused by loose steering head bearings or a long list of other things.  Have your mechanic check the tightness of all of the engine mount bolts.
Without actually riding it I can't say what the cause is.

4.  Are you using the "Bi-start" lever on the handlebars when you first try to start it?  It allows a bit more air into the engine which can help if the engine is cold.
Also, a lot of the CGT's imported into the USA have been found to have their rubber fuel hose bent to the point that it almost shuts off the fuel to the injector.
I mention this because it's something to check out but if this was really the problem the engine would also be way down on horsepower when it was running and you should have noticed it by now.
If they haven't already done so, have your mechanic check the fuel pump pressure when the key is turned on.  It should be around 2.9 bar (43 psi).

5. This has happened to many CGT owners here in the U.S. too.
Not much you can do about it that I know of.
Jim
2011 G5 Deluxe
1999 Miata 10th Anniversary


Droidbee

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Quote
2. Some engines have been found with loose bolts on the blocks that support the rocker arms but if your mechanics have checked inside the upper end I'm sure they would have found that if it existed.
I might guess it is caused by low oil pressure that doesn't keep the hydraulic valve lifters pumped up but if a lifter is down the clacking is almost deafening.
Still, it might be worthwhile to have your mechanic check the oil pressure when the engine is running.  It should be about 4.5 bar (66 psi) although pressures at 2 bar or even lower should still keep the lifters pumped up.

I dont think even the official service center here can do that. I'll give it a shot though.

If the oil pressure is low, what measures can be taken to obviate that?


Arizoni

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Low oil pressure to the upper end, including the hydraulic valve lifters could be caused by a missing O-ring or something partially blocking the oil transfer hole between the engine side cover on the right side.  The O-ring is intended to seal this transfer hole.

If the right side engine cover is removed, you will see the oil pump.  Towards the top of it there is a O-ring that seals the pump outlet where the high pressure oil is fed into the oil filter cavity in the sidecover.  If this O-ring is missing the oil will leak into the sidecover rather than passing thru the oil filter to lubricate the engine.

Towards the top of the sidecover there is another transfer hole which feeds the filtered oil back into the engine housing.  This is the oil supply for the hydraulic valve lifters and the valve rocker arms.
This hole is sealed by the sidecover gasket.
If the gasket is misaligned it will block off some of this hole.
Another possible problem is, if the mechanic has applied too much sealing compound around this hole or accidentally filled this hole with sealer it can keep the oil from getting to where it needs to be.

It isn't likely but there is also the possibility of the pressure relief valve that is built into the pump may be defective.  That could cause the pump to produce low pressures.

This isn't easy to check without special equipment and I doubt that a regular mechanic would be able to do the job.
Jim
2011 G5 Deluxe
1999 Miata 10th Anniversary


ace.cafe

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Many people here on this site have complained of loud tappets on UCE bikes for years. Nobody that I am aware of has found a definite cause or cure. Most just live with the noise.

I would simply keep an eye on the top end parts for any signs of excessive wear or obvious problems with each service interval.

FWIW, it seems to be in the factory design, because we have engineered new cylinder heads and rocker systems for the GT, and our kits do not exhibit this noise problem. So whatever the factory is doing in the OEM package seems to be the cause.

My best guess is insufficient lifter preload caused by incorrect(too short) pushrod length. This would prevent normal lash take-up by the hydraulic lifter after the engine heats up and expands more that the preload distance, resulting in lash clatter.
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KD5ITM

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First of all, get a copy of the service manual and look at the torque spec sheet go over every single nut and bolt and torque it to spec. Blue Loctite is your friend. When I bought my 2014 GT I went nut and bolt and torque everything. You would be surprised to see all the bolts that were still loose straight from the factory. Shock mount bolts were loose, motor mount bolts were loose. Every time I do an oil change I check all the nuts and bolts and torque them to spec. The chrome trim around the gauges is known to fall off. A lot of guys safety wire there's so it doesn't fall off. I've never had an issue and mine seem to be secure tightly. If you hit a hard bump, the front forks we'll make a little bit of clatter. When you do a front fork oil change, use a 10 weight fork oil. You'll have a lot less dive when you hit the front brakes and it makes the ride a bit easier. The tires do say tubeless but they all have inner tubes. On a cold start, mine always starts on the second try. The choke lever on the left side handle bar, hold that in when you started and keep holding it for about 10 to 15 seconds, let the idle settle down. It helps keep the microphone stalling in the first in the first 10 to 15 seconds after starting which of these bikes are known to do from time to time. If your kicker started yet, mind usually takes 2 or 3 kicks on a cold start. The trick is to follow through with the whole Kik. What's the engine is warm, then it usually kicks over on the first try.
« Last Edit: May 01, 2018, 03:56:51 am by KD5ITM »
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