Did the biker come with the owner's manual? If so follow the break in process to a T. If you want to have a nice running bike with not a lot of issues, follow the break in process. I know it's a bit tedious with how many miles they want you to ride at a certain speeds but in the long run it's definitely worth it. The more miles you put on the bike the smoother it'll get and the less stalling you'll have. When starting it with a cold engine, hold the choke lever on the left hand controls infer about thirty seconds to allow the bike idle to settle down . Holding the lever in will raise the RPMs up a few hundred . After you put about 500 miles on it I would strongly suggest getting the Power Commander 5 installed along with the K&N filter and a free flow Muffler. The bike will gain some extra power and be a bit more noticeable when riding. My 2014 this past year started to have stalling issues when idling or accelerating from a stop light. I added across the board from 750 RPMs all the way up to 4500 RPMs 10% fuel on the fuel map that comes with the power commander. The stalling issues have stopped and the bike seems to have just a bit more pep.
A lot of the 2014's have predetonation issues. It was highly recommended to me to ride with RPMs above 3000. If you're in first gear riding through your neighborhood, keep the RPMs at least at 3,000.
And also with some of the 2014, the fuel line coming from the fuel pump has a kink in it which can restrict the flow of fuel to the motor. My 2014 didn't have a kink in the hose but it is reported that a lot of the 14s had this issue.
I think everybody on this form would agree, get rid of the stock spark plug and go with an NGK plug. I have to go look in my service records to see what spark plug it is but you can definitely ask and find the answer on the Forum here. The stock spark plug is just a cheap Indian made Bosch plug. The NGK is a lot more reliable.
I would change the oil at 100 miles and then 300 miles and then 600 and then at 1000-1200 miles. And then from there because I live in Houston where it's extremely hot 9 months out of the year, I'll end up changing my oil about every 2000 miles. These Royal Enfield engines are not refined at the factory. In other words, as the engine is being driven it refines itself. So it will be very common on the first several oil changes to find bits of metal shavings on the magnetic portion of the drain plug. And because the engines are refining themself as you ride, that leads to Royal Enfield putting a pretty strict break in process and what speeds and throttle positions they don't want you to exceed for a certain amount of miles.
I've got roughly 8,000 miles on my 14. And other than installing issue which I've seemed to have fixed with adding fuel to the fuel map, I haven't had too many issues. I ride my GT between 3000 and 4000 RPMs. On a rare occasion I'll bring it up to 4500 RPMs but usually around 4,000 I'm shifting which the bike seems to be pretty happy with that. I would also obtain a torque spec sheet for every nut and bolt and go over the bike Bumper to Bumper making sure all nuts and bolts are torque. You'll be surprised with how many you find that come from the factory that aren't torque to spec. Engine mount bolts, shock mount Bolts Etc on my bike were all below the torque spec. Bar end mirrors are much better than the stock mirrors and also cut down on some of the vibration on the handlebars. The upgraded 7-inch headlight is a must if you're going to do any night riding. When I did my stage 1 performance addition, (the Power Commander, K&N filter and free flow Muffler,) I got the stainless steel Muffler and header pipe from Hitchcock's. They're located in England and a specialized in Royal Enfield Motorcycles. The shipping cost to the states is a bit pricey but their products are much better than the Indian made stuff you find on the Royal Enfield website, and they offer a ton of aftermarket bits and pieces and performance add ons.. The stainless steel header Pipe & Muffler, I don't remember the company that makes them for Hitchcock's. It starts with an M. Very good quality product with a superb sound. I do recommend wearing latex gloves when installing so you don't get the oils from your hands on the header pipe. Which will cause the piper to discolor when it gets hot.
These bikes have a lot of quality control issues but if you are somewhat mechanically inclined, you can work your way through most of them. Some bikes have had mechanical issues that were Factory related issues but for the most part, ride the bike sensibly and know what it does and what it won't do. Don't hot rod it like you would a Harley and it should last for a very long time.
While in the break in process, after about 30 minutes of riding time pull over and let the bike rest for about 10 minutes. As you go through the different stages of the breaking process you'll be able to ride further time without having to stop to let the bike rest and cool off for a few minutes. Even today, with my bike having close to 8,000 miles on it, I still pull over after about an hour's worth of consistent riding, just to let the engine have a little bit of a rest. It's not so bad in the winter months when the air temperature is cooler but during the summer when the air temperature is 95 + and the asphalt temperature is 130 +, it does play a toll on an air-cooled engine which makes it have to work harder.
As far as engine oil, I use Castrol actevo 50 W 20. As you read through this form you'll see a lot of people have different opinions of oil. The Castrol actevo oil is specifically designed for air cooled engines. And plus, you really can't go wrong with Castrol oil. On the bottom of the engine where the oil filter screen flange is, it's pretty normal to have a drip of oil on one of the mounting bolts after each ride. I usually keep an eye on the oil level window when the bike is idling and at operating temperature and on the engine stand on level ground. Every now and then I'll top it off with just a tad bit of oil.
As far as the idle speed, there is a idle speed adjustment screw on the throttle body. My bike cold usually idles around 900 and then after about 10 minutes of warming up the RPMs will be up around 1,100. That's pretty normal. I would definitely recommend letting the bike warm up for 8 to 10 minutes before hopping on it to take off.
Keep in mind that the stock bike only has about 30 horse. I think Ace mentioned in one topic a couple years ago that at 3500 RPMs you're only doing about 19 horse. Power Commander and filter and Muffler upgrades will add about 4 to 5 horsepower. Just keep in mind if you do any Highway riding at highway speed, 70 miles an hour is all you're going to pretty much get out of it. Trying to get more speed would be like asking a galloping horse to run faster. I usually keep mine when I'm on the highway around 60 to 62 miles an hour unless I have a decent tail wind which will allow me to get up to 65. But other than that, 60 to about 62 miles is where I keep the bike. And the bike has always seemed to be quite happy. If I'm going to do many miles, I'll try to stay away from prolonged highway speeds, I'll try to find some back roads where I can vary the speed from time to time and not just push it full out for mile on end.
Just keep in mind, the Royal Enfield Continental GT is not a Japanese bike where you can hop on it straight from the show room and hit the freeway at 120 miles an hour. These bikes need a little TLC but in the long run, you'll have a much happier bike.
The stock Muffler is quite weighty. The Hitchcock's stainless steel free flow Muffler is much lighter. I would recommend also replacing the stock battery when the time comes to a decent lithium battery which will also be a lot lighter than the heavy lead acid battery that comes with the bike. Other than the the stage 1 Performance Kit, my bike is very much stock. Replacing the heavy stock Muffler and Battery to a much lighter free flow Muffler and lithium battery well how about the power to weight ratio. Hitchcock's also sells 1/2 Fairing and a full fairing that are designed after the Retro looking fairings. I don't have one on my bike yet but I've heard that it helps with the aerodynamics and the top end speed. And plus it just looks cool as all get-out. As if the stock looking bike wasn't cool enough.
Expect to get a lot of head Turners and people asking you questions. I've been down the freeway at 60 miles an hour and had a guy hanging halfway out of his driver side window to tell me how cool my bike looked. I'll be at a coffee shop and someone will ask me if it's an old Ducati or Harley. It's funny how people stand right next to it and stare at it and then ask you who makes it. As if they couldn't figure out from the large Royal Enfield decal on the tank. Or they'll ask you what is a Royal Enfield or they'll be surprised that it's a 2014 and not a 60s era Cafe bike. But once in a while you'll run a cost somebody that knows their Cafe bikes and you'll be able to have a decent conversation with them. It's very rare that I take a ride on my GT and don't get somebody commenting on it or giving me the thumbs up.
My bike has been garage kept all of its life. Never ridden in the rain. I've got several show cars so I've got a lot of high-end detailing stuff. I've never had to wash my bike. I just keep it detailed before and after each ride and it still looks like it was sitting on the showroom floor yesterday. The black rubber pieces on the fins, you can remove those. At certain RPMs the bike will create a bit of a harmonic vibration which will cause the fins to have a little bit of a sing to them. I took mine off around 2,000 miles and haven't noticed any issues or heard any of the vibrating sing. The Rocker valve cover bolts with the rubber washer mounts, I'm sure they can be sourced out through the Royal Enfield website or a Royal Enfield dealer. Mine are a little bit cracked and weathered. Mostly due to the heat of the engine. The frame was designed at Harrah's performance in England which is a high-end Performance Shop. The frame is actually quite rugged and will handle pretty much any amount of horsepower you can throw out the bike. But I'm sure they're being built to Harrah's specs at the Royal Enfield plant in India. I'm sure the steel is not extreme good quality and if left in the elements for its whole life would create a lot of rust issues. These bikes are pretty simple in design. If you wanted to take on a winter project, you could always strip the frame and send it off to be sandblasted and powder-coated. The Chrome on the headlight and header Pipe & Muffler isn't of good quality. It looks like they used dirty thanks and dirty chemicals when they were dipping the Chrome and possibly didn't prep the metal properly before being chromed. A lot of people complain about the vibration issues. I would never describe my vibration issues to the extreme as so many people do. But then again, I'm sure the vibrating issues are much worse at 5000 RPMs than they are at 4000.
The Power Commander 5 is highly recommended by Ace, these bikes come extremely lean from the factory. Since they're being exported into the country the Factory sets the feel to be very lean to help with emissions. A lean engine will run hotter which is not good for an engine that's already going to run hot. It kills the performance and will cause the bike to have stalling issues. The stock map that comes with a power commander has fuel added at various points across the throttle position and RPM over the stock bike settings. A lot of guys have customized there map and timing map to get best performance. I would suggest leaving the stock timing map the way it is unless you have access to a dino where you can monitor the timing on a computer. I added 10%. The board from 750 RPMs all the way up to 4,500. The bike seems to run what's a bit more pep and my stalling issues on idle and pulling away from a stop light have gone away. There is Honda dealer here in the Houston area that will allow five passes on a Dyno for 300 bucks. They'll be able to fine-tune the timing and fuel. Something I plan on doing here in the springtime. So, installing the Power Commander with the stock map that comes with it will be a big improvement over the stock fuel settings that come from Royal Enfield.
Have fun with the GT. Remember it's not a Japanese bike but even though, you can still have plenty of fun with it and enjoy the bike for what it is. And you'll definitely turn some heads when you show up to your local bike night.