The old iron barreled classics are not copies of classics, they are classics. And I'm glad I was lucky enough to find an 05 kicker. If they want to call those UCE stomach pumps Bullets , so be it, but we know what they are.
positive advancements in classic motorcycle design? IMO, the new cycle takes all the downsides of the old iron barrels and turns them into upsides, while keeping all the things that make REs great. fear or spite of technology only holds you back, so when when change comes to improve all that was poor, and leaves all that was good, to turn your nose at it is foolish.
it's everything that's great about a bullet and everything thats great about modern motorcycles all in one!
+1
All things change. In RE's case, definitely for the better.
I'm with-holding judgment on that yet.
The reason being that the majority of the problems seen in the Classic Bullets and the Electra too, are not inherent design problems, but are problems with quality control of some parts and assembly.
This is not necessarily going to improve with the UCE, but we hope that it will.
No matter what the engine, if the quality control of parts and assembly is lacking, it is going to have problems.
IMO, this is what the India factory needs to address in a better way.
An iron barrel Classic Bullet that has a piston made and fitted to spec, and a true and properly fitted crank is capable of going 50k miles without engine failure. And we have owners of them right here on this forum.
Yes, it does have some top-speed limitations, and requires careful break-in, in the stock form as it comes from the factory.And proper tuning and maintenance by the owner play an important part. But clearly, the bike can be capable of long term reliability. It's the QC that is the problem, and that doesn't go away with just having a new engine design. They have to build it right, or problems are going to occur.
My 2 cents.