Hi All,
Just read this on a Royal Enfield community site in India. The issue is with the Electra X which is sold in India as Machismo 500.. and has the AVL 500cc engine. I have pasted it exactly below:
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I bought the AVL 500 in August 2007 from Ess Aar Motors in Delhi. (I used to ride the Avenger before that). I pretty much a tourer and with the regular back pinches i got on my trips, friends suggested me to get a Bullet and recommended the AVL 500 as it was available and supposedly came with a reliable engine and max performance. For those who'd seen me riding (other Bull riders), suggested that the Bull (and the AVL500 in particular) would suit my riding style.
I took the bait and got the Bull. I had been loving it. When the odo read 1940 on Oct 1, I left Delhi @0400 hrs for the mountains. Destination Ladakh. Went on smoothly for the first few days. Went thru manali, a frozen Rohtang, a completely snowed out BaralachaLa..thru to TanglangLa and other places all the way to a frozen KhardungLa. On our return thru the Kashmir Valley, the clutch and gears started getting heavy. And about 50 kms short of Pathankot, the bike stalled. The engine lost ignition and was sounding like a sore throat (Gale mein Kharash types). A local mech suggested burnt out clutch plates. But then a few phone calls later, I was hauling up the Bike on a pick up truck to Pathankot, to Cashmir Sales Corp. - the nearest RE authorised service centre. The bike odo read only 4000 odd kms then. Frantic attempts to find out the problem finally revealed a broken bearing in the Self Starter. The bearing was shattered in more than a hundred pieces which floated around in the clutch and had jammed the primary drive chain. Finally the bearing was replaced, but the gears in the started assembly still showed signs of distress. The self start went on like a misbehaved component. A month or two after that RE tech reviewer from chennai visits Delhi and advices a replacement of the spark clutch (self starter gears aseembly).
Alright.. So the spark clutch has been replaced and things go on smooth for a short while...but then the spark clutch kept behaving funny off and on. Typical ex. of the misbehaving self is a loud noise from the clutch assembly while using the self startes. A loud 'khaadak' and no ignition. This is the onset of of problems. When I look back at my previous breakdown, i remember this happening prior to it.
I immediately rush to the W/S and report the repeat in the self starter problem. This time they keep my Bull for a week. They are waiting for a redesigned Clutch cover and spark clutch assembly, which they think is a design issue. After a week in the W/s, a new clutch cover assembly, I finally got back on the road.
now, my bike is nearing the end of the warranty period. Only a few hundred kms before i'm on my own. A new/ replaced component, an acknowledged design flaw, with no extended warrantly...
What if...the new assembly also goes kaput. Apparently, the new Clutch Cover assembly is for some 9500 bux...
Once I go out of warranty, what is going to be RE's stand on the issue if the component fails again??? Who bears the burden of this replacement cost???
Will RE give me an extended warranty for this??
I Demand an extended Warranty for This.
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Ok, i have the same bike and i have clocked 3,339 Kms on it now. Reading this rings the bell that when i use the Self Starter i do sometimes hear a strong CLICK sound that is not very pleasing. So, is it an onset of some bigger problem?? Please suggest as what this could be and what has to be done to prevent a breakdown.....Awaiting reply eagerly.
Thanks