Author Topic: Mileages on the C5/G5  (Read 23762 times)

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Blue Ridge Wheeltor

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Reply #15 on: November 05, 2009, 04:14:05 pm
This does make someone interested in the new bike, reconsider.
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The Garbone

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Reply #16 on: November 05, 2009, 04:30:01 pm
Agreed, its why I bought an Iron lunger, I figured if I was going to deal with less than Honda reliability I might as well go all in..   
Gary
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67' Ford Mustang
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95 RE Ace Clubman 535
01 HD 1200 Custom
07 RE 5spd HaCK

* all actions described in this post are fictional *


r80rt

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Reply #17 on: November 05, 2009, 10:44:37 pm
Don't paint all the new bikes with the same brush, mine's been an outstanding motorcycle!
On the eighth day God created the C5, and it was better looking than anything on the planet.
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The Garbone

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Reply #18 on: November 06, 2009, 12:00:35 am
Don't paint all the new bikes with the same brush, mine's been an outstanding motorcycle!

Hmmmph,  Wrap that puppy in tape and get back to us then...      ;) 

;D
Gary
57' RE Crusader 250
67' Ford Mustang
74' Catalina 27 "Knot a Clew"
95 RE Ace Clubman 535
01 HD 1200 Custom
07 RE 5spd HaCK

* all actions described in this post are fictional *


Anon

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Reply #19 on: November 06, 2009, 12:53:21 am
Don't paint all the new bikes with the same brush, mine's been an outstanding motorcycle!

Yes, my brother's G5 has been a great bike as well.  I think he has over 2000 miles on it and it has really come into its own.  No troubles for him except a leaky gas cap (replaced by Vince on warranty).  I wouldn't hesitate to buy one at all if I were shopping for a bike.

Eamon
Eamon


Kevin Mahoney

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Reply #20 on: November 06, 2009, 04:54:34 am
  I  do appreciate the frustration that overseas service issues may causes those of you from non-US countries. Please take these issues to someone who can actually help you. CMW or the members of this forum can't fix any issues with importers from around the world. I am pasting an excerpt from the rules and regulations we all agreed upon when we joined the forum below

If you have a complaint about a dealer, Classic Motorworks  or your Royal Enfield, please contact someone who can actually do something  about it. Our contact information  is in the sidebar on the left or you can get your dealers contact information here www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/dealerlist. Complaining on the forum will not help you fix your problem, but perhaps we can.

I don't intend to single out any particular person here and am not aiming my comments at James alone, but the purpose here is to support each other and help each other.
« Last Edit: November 06, 2009, 03:22:47 pm by Kevin Mahoney »
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Kevin Mahoney
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Rusty

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Reply #21 on: November 06, 2009, 09:26:29 am
Kevin, I understand your position as the US importer but I think that’s a little unfair.

As regards complaints about dealers I don’t believe anybody has been unreasonable in their posting if the context has been poor after sales service. These are valid experiences of (mostly) the UK importer/dealer set up and I think RE would want to know about them if they’re truly targeting a global market.

My own experiences have been mixed. I’m generally disappointed with level of care and skill applied to the recall mechanical work but pleased that my dealer has agreed to replace some damaged components and the stock exhaust (the cat has become loose).

I’ve always maintained that the riding experience is superb but it’s clear to me that RE are still experiencing inconsistencies in build quality. Given that the C5 is a completely new design aimed at new RE customers I think they’ll be disappointed with that……provided they’re made aware.

Nobody is saying that all the UCE bikes are poor, that’s obviously not the case but equally not everybody is totally satisfied.

If you want a forum full of only positive comments then that’s fine, it’s your forum. I think you’d have to accept though that its value in terms of being a useful reference point for potential new customers is diminished.


Kevin Mahoney

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Reply #22 on: November 06, 2009, 03:21:51 pm
Rusty,
You make some good points and I am being a bit defensive as I re-read my post.
 If you look around the forum you will see that there are lots of less than wonderful comments. We do not normally edit these. However complaining about specific dealers etc. is not productive nor does it follow the rules. It does not help anything or anyone. Perhaps I take service issues too personally but the rules are there for a reason. We make lots of mistakes and can be legitimately be criticized at times but I think an owners experience in the US may be quite different than an owners experience in other countries.
  Getting bad service in this country is my concern and something I want to know about. The only effective way to do that is to contact us directly. I cannot do anything about service related issues elsewhere nor can anyone from this board. If you have an issue with a specific dealer importer etc. that issue needs to be taken up with them.
   Having said all that, most issues stem from communication issues. I remember when the recall came about James seemed to suffer from a lack of clear communication from his UK dealer. I think the experience was quite the opposite here. To be fair we have no way of knowing what his dealer was or wasn't told.
  On the subject of warranty, Royal Enfield  is very generous in it's application of it's warranty policy. Most if not all decisions are made at the importer level. There are some hard and fast rules about abuse, racing, modifications etc. but in the gray areas it is usually a local call. In the US if a dealer has a question about coverage they call us. We normally give them an answer right then and there or within a day or so. (there are times we take a couple of days if we are really busy). warranty claims are filed on-line in the US and they are normally approved or disapproved within 24 hours. If they are disapproved (probably amounts to 2 claims so far this year) there is lots of discussion and communication that goes on. The customer would be well informed about what is going on and why. We also listen to appeals. We deny so few claims (our customers are very very reasonable which helps) that it usually is not an issue.
  We do draw the line sometimes and do run into unreasonable requests and customers, but it is very very rare.
  Basically this is a CMW forum and I can control what is done in the US, but nowhere else. This is not a way to pass information along to the home office or other importers. I expect to hear complaints about service issues when they are something I can do something about.
  In short I take your points to heart, but complain where it will do some good unless you really aren't interested in a solution.
Best Regards,
Kevin Mahoney
www.cyclesidecar.com


Kevin Mahoney

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Reply #23 on: November 06, 2009, 04:11:53 pm
A couple of points along the lines of communication

Several bikes have suffered from the discoloration of the silencer toward the back. This is a direct result of the catalytic converter. ALL  motorcycles suffer from heat discoloration on the chrome. NO ONE guarantees it. However RE has done a lot of experimenting with double wall pipes etc and have still found that it cannot be effectively controlled. A cat is hot and that is about all there is to it. However they are doing what other brands have done and that is to develop further shielding. They are designing and producing some longer shields to cover up the discoloration. When they are finished and shipped (not before the first of the year) they will be offered to all customers who have the problem free of charge.

Scooter Bob has discovered a way to repair those seats that have required re-gluing. It is a much better repair than re-gluing and is easy. I will try to post some pictures below, but we will see how that goes. The trim is stuff we bought at an auto parts store

Be careful about what you are told or assume about spare parts availability. On average (in the US) parts are readily available. We have more parts in our warehouse than the factory does. We have 0ver 10,000 square feet of parts valued at well over a million dollars. When it comes to modern day Enfields I dare say there is not a larger stock of parts anywhere else in the world. (Allan H. has more parts overall since he is huge into Vintage Enfields). Of course with nature being what it is, you can be assured that whatever part you need is out of stock. Ideally your dealer stocks parts (this is one measure of a how good a dealer is). If they don't we typically ship same day if orders are put in before about noon. I cannot speak for other countries. If we are out of a critical part and we know it is a critical situation we can usually scrounge something up pretty quickly. We strip a bike if we have to. We also have many other resources. We have agreements with suppliers all over the world to back us up. Sometimes that fails as well however. Our parts fill rate is now in the high 90%. Especially for OEM parts. Most dealers tell us that we can supply parts better than many of the major brands. There are times where we just plain have to wait for a part from the factory, but it is pretty rare. I realize that this is not a good answer if you are the guy waiting for the part, but this is the "inside" story on parts in the US.
Best Regards,
Kevin Mahoney
www.cyclesidecar.com


ace.cafe

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Reply #24 on: November 06, 2009, 04:33:32 pm
I think it's inevitable that some people are going to have some complaints about something, in any consumer product.
It's the nature of business dealings.

In all fairness, I think alot of the complaints we're seeing on this UCE forum, are from the UK, which is an entirely different sales and service network.
Aside from being the same brand of bike, there is basically nothing else related between the businesses running these operations in different countries.

So, to my way of thinking, complaining on a US forum, which is a property of the US Importer, about warrantee and service issues related to the UK importer and service network, seems a bit obtuse to me.
The US bikes have seen very good records for the most part, as attested by the owners here on this forum, and have received service and warrantee action which seems to be acceptable to the UCE riders here, and there are very few complaints, because Kevin goes above and beyond to ensure the satisfaction of the customers here. Even in the face of a very difficult and complex situation of a large recall of the early bikes.

It is not in Kevin's purview to be able to control the UK importer's service or satisfy their customers over there.
A complaint here only serves to put doubts in the minds of prospective buyers of bikes here, who may very well receive a perfect bike and laudable service if they were to purchase a bike here.

I do think it's useful when issues are brought up for owners to be mindful of, and helpful remedies suggested.
However, I also think that  bitching about how pissed off you are at WS or your dealer in the UK, or comments intended to put people off the product in general, is not helpful to people on this site, nor to the success of the marque here in the US

We see nothing but good comments and instructive helpful hints about early ownership experiences with these UCE bikes from owners here in the US.

Perhaps the Watsonian or Hitchcock's board would be a more appropriate place to whine about what's going on with the importer and dealer network in the UK.
It's a matter of using the appropriate venues for airing complaints.
« Last Edit: November 06, 2009, 04:39:34 pm by ace.cafe »
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Blue Ridge Wheeltor

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Reply #25 on: November 06, 2009, 05:07:06 pm
     I think most of us are smart enough to determine what is a service problem and what is a design/quality control problem. I think we can also differentiate between what is a UK issue and what is a USA issue.
     When i read james's posts I am more concerned with bike issues rather than service issues. I am appreciative of his posting what is actually wrong with the bike, and can dismiss the service issues. As long as I can separate the two, i am fine, and hope he keeps posting.
   As someone who is maybe considering a G5 in the future, I think censoring the complaints would be a disservice to me and potential buyers.
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Kevin Mahoney

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Reply #26 on: November 06, 2009, 05:28:38 pm
You should note that we have censored nothing. I agree with your point of view totally and the forum is full of such comments both good and bad. But it is not obvious to the casual observer which country a complaint originates in. Also the service issues are not my issues if they come from a different country. I too value James comments as far they concerns things that may have gone wrong and for which he is seeking some help. That is legitimate and well within the rules of the board.

He is also a good active member. This is good for the community in general. (Must be kind of weird for James to see us talking about him in the third person.)  We (I ) also welcome and enjoy news, thoughts and other things about the RE scene in the UK that he and other non-US members bring to the party. I have probably blown this into something it should not be by publishing my stream of consciousness. I should have been more measured and circumspect. (Not my strong suite).
Best Regards,
Kevin Mahoney
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Rusty

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Reply #27 on: November 06, 2009, 09:42:24 pm
It's a matter of using the appropriate venues for airing complaints.

I agree entirely and the most appropriate venue must be the one which enjoys most exposure if RE are to benefit from balanced feedback. We would hope that the outcome of such feedback would be improved build quality.

This forum has a dedicated section for UCE bikes, I've not found another which has that so in my opinion it's the most appropriate place to relate my experiences. That's all I'm doing, it serves no purpose to simply bitch or whine.

It’s not just a US market.


REAZ

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Reply #28 on: November 06, 2009, 09:49:27 pm
Those who can post hopefully can also read. The very title of this blog is, I quote: "Royal Enfield U.S. Community Forum". Probably it does not require above average IQ to decipher the meaning of this title.
On a side note:
1) Our clients are HAPPY with their bikes. (Maybe this is why you cannot read their comments here)
2) We also run a motorcycle rental operation at www.AZride.com with Royal Enfield motorcycles in the fleet. They perform absolutely great.
3) If any issues come up, Kevin and his (U.S.) team go miles to solve it. I have worked only with very few people being similarly reasonable in my entire career. These guys are focused on the solution, not on their ego. A rare treasure!
4) Born and raised in Europe I believe I understand some of the cultural differences. Bashing, whining and vitriolic criticism are more common and a lot cooler in the Old Continent. PLEASE KEEP IT THERE! Thanks.~ Gabor
It is good to ride
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REpozer

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Reply #29 on: November 07, 2009, 12:47:16 am
Hi all,

As you people in the States have access to the new models for a lot longer than us here down under, I was wondering what sort of mileages have been ridden and what if any issues regarding reliability etc, have been encountered in that time over the distances covered. I'm only just coming up to the 1000 km mark (Aprox. 600 miles) and have it all in front of me.

Thanks for your time and imput.

Cheers  :)
Our Aussie friend asked a simple and good question. I bet Hocko had no idea he was lighting a short fuse on a large powder keg.

CMW of USA encourages world wide participation, some folks in different parts of the world ( or US)will not have a necessarily great experience with RE, but still enjoy the forum.Don't be shocked if some expresses themselves or the RE in a negative way.I vie read some Indian forums that call them clunkers.( I disagree ,so what ever)

Hocko may not be aware that the UCE made its first showing, in the UK, along with its first run production wort's and logistics problems. I assume that REM made some improvements to remove some wort's before delivering  the bike to the USA. Thus we have a happier bunch or maybe Kevin is just that good or both.

Now James and Rusty shared and an honest answer to a simple question, and seemly got a slight kick in the teeth for doing so, and I hope they are not offended.
 Any informed reader can conclude that the UK has its share of RE UCE problems. And then ask "why are the US folks are happier."?

In closing I would like to share some Ole School advice" never purchase a first year production run till all the bugs are worked out" . Use that with cars , boats, airplanes, and maybe even motorcycles.
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