Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum
Royal Enfield Motorcycles => Bullet with the UCE engine => Topic started by: r80rt on July 05, 2009, 08:11:33 pm
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I've just returned from a 200 mile ride in the twisty's this morning. Somewhere along the infamous Push Mountain road, (Arkansas hwy 341) I rolled over 1000 miles on my C5, all I could think of the whole trip was what a brilliant little bike this is. 1000 miles and not one oil drip, nothing loose, not one problem, not even a minor irritation to talk about. It doesn't get better than this ;D
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Glad to hear your good news. Keep us posted as the miles add up. May you get many smiles per gallon. ;)
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Congrats., you lucky devil. Now thats what I call getting on with it and getting run in.
Hope to be setting off again soon, fingers crossed.
Regards
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1000 miles and not one oil drip, nothing loose, not one problem, not even a minor irritation to talk about. It doesn't get better than this ;D
:D Oddly enough, I miss one thing about my old military that I sold (and it's probably the only thing...another story...) . I miss the SMELL. you know, that smell of hot metal, oil, gasoline, and leather, all mixed together. My old bike stunk of it, and it was great! This one's almost TOO clean!
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Marrtyn, I've got my fingers crossed for you, it can't be long now!
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:D Oddly enough, I miss one thing about my old military that I sold (and it's probably the only thing...another story...) . I miss the SMELL. you know, that smell of hot metal, oil, gasoline, and leather, all mixed together. My old bike stunk of it, and it was great! This one's almost TOO clean!
Ya know what? when the C5 is good and hot it has a certain smell too, not bad at all ;D
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There was a photographer on Push Mountain road, he took a couple of shots for me and I posted them in the gallery.
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That is excellent news, Br. Dannie! Those are cool photos! It seems as though the bike has a maroon sheen in the shade and a red tint under the direct light of the sun. Is this the case or do I need to get my left cataract fixed? ;)
Oh, yes, I wish you many, many, many more miles filled with many, many, many smiles! :)
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Cabo, you are right, the bike is a lovely maroon, but in the right light the red comes out. A little hard to describe really. More maroon than red though. Did that make any sense? ???
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"Cabo, you are right, the bike is a lovely maroon, but in the right light the red comes out. A little hard to describe really. More maroon than red though. Did that make any sense?" ??? r80rt
Roger that, Boss! :)
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;D
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Anybody else out there wonder if r80rt is figment of Kevin's
imagination? ::)
If we get a 5000 mile report by the end of this week I'm reporting
this charade to the ........ who would I report this to? ;D
Keep racking up those carefree miles, I'm just jealous!
REgards,
Flint.
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Ya know what? when the C5 is good and hot it has a certain smell too, not bad at all ;D
I spilt some oil over the engine when changing it for the first time and you know you can never wipe it all off. Following the test ride the bike had that brilliant old oily smell as it was cooling and ticking in the garage. For the next couple of rides I'd wipe the engine over with an oily rag before setting off :D
Us Brits are never happy, we long for an engine without oil leaks and when we get one we pour oil over it.
It seems such a long time ago now though :'(
You tried any sustained highway work yet R80T? Just wondered what sort of realistic cruising speed you can achieve. My guess is that a speedo 70 should be ok.
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I know the C5 will go 70 easy enough, but I run at 60mph or under most of the time. I've done 200 mile days on highways with no problem. I'd have to drive 90 miles to get it to an interstate, but I didn't like them on my BMW so I'll probably never know how it would be. I bought this bike to ride the back roads on, if it was all about speed and power we'd all be riding Hayabusa's ;)
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Thanks for the regular updates. You are really making me feel positive about getting my Clubman when it's ready. I went in to see my dealer last Saturday and he said what I expected - that it will be delayed by the warranty work. Seems Watsonian have 300 bikes to do and are doing 8 a day so that's about 38 working days. >:(
Can I ask a few questions meantime?
How do you find the suspension and brakes? And handling? And how much chain adjustment has 1000 miles required?
Thanks. Keep on smiling!
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Well, I find the handling to be superb, the front brake is very good and the back is good for a drum, I adjusted the chain one notch on the cams at 800 miles. The suspension is a bit stiff which is good in the curves. The ride is very comfortable. I really find no faults with this bike at all, maybe all the years of riding old relics make me appreciate it more.
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r80t, are you able to adjust the rear suspension at all? I was told this is possible. Have you done that at all to see if it will give you a better feel maybe?
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Yes the shocks are adjustable. Mine came in middle position and I haven't bothered to change it, I like it just fine. My bike has a very good ride, I didn't mean anything negative when I said it was a bit stiff. I spent a lot of money changing springs on a BMW to get the suspension stiffer, the RE needs nothing. There is nothing that feels worse than soft suspension on a curvy road.
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I adjusted my rear shocks on my G5 to the softest as I only weigh 150 lbs. It's still a little jarring if you hit a big bump but not bad. It does handle good with the stiffer suspension.
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Thanks for your help, rt80. I knew I forgot something though. How are the mirrors? I sat on a standard model, (not C5), and they looked really bad unless you particularly liked looking at your shoulders. I think bar end will look better on the Clubman anyway.
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I ditched the rabbit ears immediately in favor of barends, and not only do they work better, they are definately more attactive
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Br. Clubman, while riding is different than just sitting on a bike in the showroom, I found the C5 mirrors to be just fine for me. (I am 5'9" tall and weight 160 lbs., approximately -- not a wide body.) Best let Br. Dannie (R80RT) give us a more definitive answer on whether or not the mirrors are effective -- 1) a full or a partial view and 2) a shaky or a clear reflection. ;)
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OK, I'm 5'5'' 160lbs and the mirrors work great for me. Much better than on my Bonneville, all I could see were my elbow's on that bike. There is a bit of expected vibration but you can tell what's going on behind you, and I get a full view with them. all in all I'm happy with them. I'll agree the bar ends would look better on a clubman for sure.
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Personally I think bar-ends look better on most bikes, excluding Harleys or mikes with ape-hangers. ;D
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Thanks everyone. I'm definitely getting a bar end, probably just one on the right side. (I'm in the UK.) I survived for years on my Morini with no mirrors at all but I can't believe I did so now. But one that's well set up works fine I think.
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Can't find your pictures. Are they under "Members Rides"?
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Wouldn't go anywhere without my bar-end mirror now. Too many twitchy car drivers - you need to see what act of idiocy it is that they are hatching, and in plenty of time.
I think bar-end mirrors look more purposeful - serious kit for serious riders. Regular stalk-mounted mirrors make a bike look like a Honda step-thru.
The asymmetry of only having one bar-end fitted looks even more hard-rider-ish. Not that we Bullet riders have ever have any inclinations to pose like the Fonze.
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Can't find your pictures. Are they under "Members Rides"?
If you mean me, there are no pics as yet. I am waiting to be told my EFI Clubman is ready to collect. (Paid 10% deposit two and a half months ago but the recall is holding things up.) Meanwhile, I'm making decisions on mirrors! I do promise to post to the members gallery once I have it. Love your username by the way.