Author Topic: New C5 owner  (Read 6861 times)

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TheFatMan

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on: July 25, 2010, 05:10:21 pm
Hello all, first post, long time lurker.  I picked up my new C5 Military yesterday.  I put on 26 gentle miles on back roads so far.  The nearest dealer to me (from far northern Wisconsin) is in St. Paul, MN... about 3 1/2 hours away.  The dealer told me it needs an oil change and valve adjust at 100 miles and told me that if I do this myself, it voids the warranty.  I am an old wrench.  Been working on/rebuilding/restoring old cars (mainly old aircooled VW's and Porsches) for many years.  The valve adjust and oil change are well within my comfort zone.  There have to be others who do their own work.  Any warranty issues?  Is it best to just take it to my local bike shop and have them do it to ensure warranty coverage?  By the way, love the bike.  It has great low end torque and is quite comfortable on short runs, will be happy when the break in is done and I can open it up a bit.
Tim


gashousegorilla

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Reply #1 on: July 25, 2010, 05:33:24 pm
Welcome, you'll love the bike. They told you,you can't change you own oil? WOW!! Well, I have a C-5, like you, no dealers nearby. I do my own maintenance. I would question that. I would think as long as you have some receipts, you would be OK. I don't know just quessing.  Enjoy the Bike, many miles of fun ahead!
An thaibhsí atá rattling ag an doras agus tá sé an diabhal sa chathaoir.


r80rt

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Reply #2 on: July 25, 2010, 05:54:28 pm
Welcome to the forum, new we need pic's of the military, good choice.
On the eighth day God created the C5, and it was better looking than anything on the planet.
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Ice

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Reply #3 on: July 25, 2010, 05:59:42 pm
Welcome aboard T.F.M.
 Congrats on your military and welcome to the club.


No matter where you go, there, you are.


2bikebill

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Reply #4 on: July 25, 2010, 07:08:18 pm
Valve adjust? No one said anything to me about valve adjust... ???
More information please. C5 engine is same as G5 isn't it?
2009 Royal Enfield Electra (G5)


ScooterBob

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Reply #5 on: July 25, 2010, 07:10:09 pm
Hello all, first post, long time lurker.  I picked up my new C5 Military yesterday.  I put on 26 gentle miles on back roads so far.  The nearest dealer to me (from far northern Wisconsin) is in St. Paul, MN... about 3 1/2 hours away.  The dealer told me it needs an oil change and valve adjust at 100 miles and told me that if I do this myself, it voids the warranty.  I am an old wrench.  Been working on/rebuilding/restoring old cars (mainly old aircooled VW's and Porsches) for many years.  The valve adjust and oil change are well within my comfort zone.  There have to be others who do their own work.  Any warranty issues?  Is it best to just take it to my local bike shop and have them do it to ensure warranty coverage?  By the way, love the bike.  It has great low end torque and is quite comfortable on short runs, will be happy when the break in is done and I can open it up a bit.
Tim

If your dealer told you it needs a VALVE ADJUSTMENT - find another dealer - he obviously knows jack diddley about that bike! It has HYDRAULIC LIFTERS - that's the BIG selling feature for the bike - NO VALVE ADJUSTMENTS! Geezus!  >:(
Spare the pig iron - spoil the part!


2bikebill

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Reply #6 on: July 25, 2010, 07:28:45 pm
Well that's what I thought!   ::)
« Last Edit: July 25, 2010, 08:13:10 pm by WillW »
2009 Royal Enfield Electra (G5)


Maturin

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Reply #7 on: July 25, 2010, 09:23:16 pm
Hi Fat Man!
Have fun with your new ride! I just had a look at the map of Wisconsin - looks very green over there and full of national parks!
I changed the oil after 800 km / 500 miles, the oil filter should be changed aswell. Afterwards oil change every 2500 km - thats roughly the manuals recomendation. As the privious speakers stated you´ll never care about valves except you burn ´em ;D. Good Luck
Maturin
2010 G5
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motomataya

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Reply #8 on: July 25, 2010, 09:51:17 pm
Welcome aboard. We are just on the northwest side of Minneapolis. I would Be happy to do any warranty work you need,as long as you DO put oil back in the bike when your changing it. We also offer free valve adustments on UCE bikes with any purchase ;)
Marty


TheFatMan

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Reply #9 on: July 25, 2010, 10:41:20 pm
Strikes me as funny...
The dealer seemed well informed and told me this was the 89th RE he had sold.  Not gonna mention names, but am pleased with no feeler gauge under the rocker arms for this one.  Rode it another dozen or so miles when I got back from church today and am going to take it out for another little run this evening once it cools off here.  Would love to post photos, but I broke my only digital camera on vacation a few weeks ago and am waiting for it's return right now.
Maturin,
Northern Wisconsin is a big old empty place on most maps, I have to drive 45 miles south before I hit the first divided highway, is all two lane and mostly very scenic.  Perfect to cruise at 50 mph or so.
Motomataya,
May take you up on that one, Thanks and thanks to all who answered.  One more?
How do I find PM's on this forum?  I got an e-mail notification that I had one, but can't find the page to open them.
Tim


t120rbullet

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Reply #10 on: July 25, 2010, 11:30:29 pm
How do I find PM's on this forum?  I got an e-mail notification that I had one, but can't find the page to open them.
Tim

On the left side of the page where it says User.
First bullet underneath your name.

And yes, N. Wisconsin has some perfect Bullet roads.
Welcome to the Group
CJ
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1999 Enfield 500 Black Deluxe "Silver"
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qgolden

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Reply #11 on: July 26, 2010, 08:15:14 pm
Hello and Welcome!

I really like the looks of the Military C5, but I bought the Black one a couple of weeks ago. Lots of very knowledgable folks her to pick brains.

Your owners manual has detailed break in and purty good maintennace info.  You do not need to go back to the dealer to protect your warranty.  But you do have to document your maintenance. As a matter of fact if the dealer here in NH told me that he would be breaking the law.  It is agains the law here for them to tell you that you have to have them do the maintenance. I suspect that is so in WI as well.
-Quinn
Any other Enfields in New England?


Ducati Scotty

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Reply #12 on: July 26, 2010, 09:36:25 pm
There's some law, can't remember the name.  Anyway, you can do all your own work and not void the warranty.  Also, you can modify stuff including the engine and keep your warranty intact most times.  The burden of proof lies on the dealer/manufacturer to prove that exactly the mod you did caused the exact problem you are having if they don't want to do the warranty work to fix it.  Good thing to know for things like installing aftermarket exhausts.

Scott


Kevin Mahoney

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Reply #13 on: July 26, 2010, 10:12:29 pm
The whole warranty thing is a slippery slope. First off the laws vary WIDELY from state to state. We have some customers who are perfectly capable of doing their own work correctly. There is plenty of factory and other book available to document most every operation. We also have a large number of customers who think they can do their own work but really shouldn't. You can't imagine how many times we hear something like "I have been a mechanic for 40 years and know all about bikes". They then proceed to ask a question that anyone who took Junior High shop would know. We love our customers and try to give them all the advice we can, but these types generally don't want to listen. All we can do is shake out heads and call the dealer and tell them to be on the lookout to repair what this poor fellow will break.

 On average our customers are pretty good tinkerers, but that has changed with the UCE. We are getting a lot of first time buyers which is great. We also are getting many customers who want nothing to do with repair. They would be poor iron barrel customers but are great with the UCE.


I would suggest that if you are doing your own work under warranty you check the laws in your own area. Not to discourage any of you, but changing the oil filter on the UCE bike can be a challenge. There are several O-rings and springs involved and you need three hands. A couple of the o-rings are "show stoppers" if you cut them accidentally installing the unit or leave them off. As for performance exhausts that is also a slippery slope, same with sidecars. As a rule if someone has a sidecar on and has brake trouble or engine trouble we may not cover it because of the extra load. If you were to have an electrical problem or a seat problem we might look at it differently. A performance exhaust has a lot of implications for your engine and we may not cover some items. On the other hand if you had a wheel problem we would ask no questions.




Best Regards,
Kevin Mahoney
www.cyclesidecar.com


qgolden

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Reply #14 on: July 27, 2010, 12:55:46 am
Excellent points Kevin, and thank you for jumping in.  Warranty laws are different in each state.

There is a disclaimer regarding unauthorized mods and Sidecars in the owners manual.

When in doubt read the manual!

I wonder how the warranty process would go if the Sidecare were installed by the dealer?  My local dealer has a new never titled 2010 G5 for sale with a sidecar.  He would be hard pressed to sell it if there were absolutly no warranty on the vehicle after a dealer installed option from the official catalog is installed. ...
Any other Enfields in New England?