Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum

Royal Enfield Motorcycles => Bullet with the UCE engine => Topic started by: TheFatMan on August 10, 2010, 12:37:46 am

Title: Oil Change
Post by: TheFatMan on August 10, 2010, 12:37:46 am
No, not the same old "how do I..."
My new C5 passed 200 miles this weekend and I got all of the bits to do the first oil change from our host a week ago.  It went off without a hitch.  Plenty of O-rings to fiddle with, but a little dab of grease holds them in until the bolts are tight.  This post is really just another data point for those interested.  There was a little bit of hair on the magnet of the drain plug and a little bit more on the magnet of the screen.  The screen was kind of natty with gunk but no large chunks in the oil and no big bits on the screen. 

I really like this bike.  I still haven't ventured off of the secondary roads as I don't want to push it too hard just yet, but it is comfortable, easy on gas and looks really cool.  I had an entire group of Harleys pass me today, then slow down in front of me so I could pass them again... got a full round of thumbs up.  They passed me again and rolled away at 70 or so and I just kept thumping down the road. 

Anybody in northern Wisconsin?

Tim
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: 1Blackwolf1 on August 10, 2010, 04:15:33 am
  Hey Tim cool all went well.  I'm in mid Wisconsin (Wisconsin Rapids) if you ever get down this way.  Welcome to another Badger brother.
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: ScooterBob on August 10, 2010, 06:49:03 pm
Tim - It sounds like all is well! Expect that little mill to toss a few "fines" until the boogers get worn off all the edges. This is pretty normal - AND why there are TWO magnets in the bottom of the sump! This stuff is collected in the UCE because it doesn't need "valve grinding paste" in the oil like an Iron Barrel to seat everything in! Hahaha! As I've said a million times - don't be afraid to RUN the engine - just don't LOAD it until it gets a few more miles on it. That little mill oils like CRAZY, so it lubes the little raw bits best in the world AND stays pretty cool at some speed. It's awesome that you got the "nod" from the SECOND oldest continually produced bike crowd .... Heeheehee! They're probably jealous that you look cooler, get better economy and don't have that other pesky cylinder to fiddle with all the time .....  ;)
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: r80rt on August 10, 2010, 07:13:01 pm
Who cares what the second oldest crowd thinks anyway? ;D
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: Jerry on August 11, 2010, 12:52:57 am
Welcome Tim.
I'm between Rhinelander and Eagle River....Sugar Camp.

Jerry
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: ScooterBob on August 11, 2010, 12:57:12 am
Who cares what the second oldest crowd thinks anyway? ;D

Newcomers ......  ::)
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: r80rt on August 11, 2010, 01:18:33 am
 :D :D
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: TheFatMan on August 11, 2010, 01:55:44 pm

Jerry,
I'm in Arbor Vitae.
Stopped to talk to a guy on a white iron barrel bullet at the intersection in woodruff a few days ago.   Was that you?  Can't be too many more, can there?
T
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: Jerry on August 11, 2010, 06:03:18 pm
I ride an 08 AVL Military.  I've never seen another Enfield in the area...However I work weekends and am not out when the majority of folks are joyriding.

Jerry
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: Ducati Scotty on August 11, 2010, 09:22:09 pm
Who cares what the second oldest crowd thinks anyway? ;D

Does that make them the oldest American manufacturer?  Crap, we'll never hear the end of that....

Scott ;)
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: ScooterBob on August 12, 2010, 03:59:31 pm
Does that make them the oldest American manufacturer?  Crap, we'll never hear the end of that....

Scott ;)

Yeah - I think they'd qualify for "longest continuously produced bike in America" ... just not in the WORLD .... that's all .... Heeheehee!  ;)
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: r80rt on August 12, 2010, 08:38:05 pm
well, there were a few years when they were AMFharleydavidson, they always  try to pretend that didn't happen ::)
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: ScooterBob on August 13, 2010, 01:18:40 am
well, there were a few years when they were AMFharleydavidson, they always  try to pretend that didn't happen ::)

AMF taught the Harley boys that you could build a bike on an ASSEMBLY LINE - and to whatever standard the Corporate office wanted ..... Don't forget about the Italian-made ones, either! H-D has had a long and interesting history - and they are the KINGS of marketing their wares. I use them as a role model ..... really! It is also amazing just HOW many times they have re-invented themselves over the course of the years. Of course - I DON'T like the "costume party, show us your (obscenely floppy!) tits" crowd ..... but you gotta admit - if you have no shame, those type of  people will pay your bills! Hahaha!  ::)
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: UncleErnie on August 13, 2010, 01:26:00 am
Not all of us have any control over our tits, Bub.

Anyhoo- if you want to go at AMF, how about when Enfield wasn't Royal?
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: Blue Ridge Wheeltor on August 13, 2010, 01:35:32 am
If it wasn't for AMF's cash input, Harley would be gone, like, like, uh, UK's Enfield.

I like my AMF ;D
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: ScooterBob on August 13, 2010, 01:42:12 am
Not all of us have any control over our tits, Bub.

Anyhoo- if you want to go at AMF, how about when Enfield wasn't Royal?

AMF really (Really!) did a lot of good for Harley - other than just cash. They'd have never figured out modern production methods and costs savings without them. It was a good business deal all the way around - and NOW AMF bikes are on the "most wanted" list by serious collectors because there are so few of them that weren't butchered!

I'm still a little in the dark about the "not so Royal" Enfields ..... I think it was "all in a name" as the India boys didn't have the rights to the "Royal" part .... or something like that - until the Eicher group scooped THEM up and got them modernised and back on the right path. This would be good "Kevin fodder" as he intimately knows the "ins and outs" of modern (post Brit) Enfield etymology ...... he also knows most of the people that made it happen!
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: r80rt on August 13, 2010, 01:53:08 am
My last Shovelhead had American Machine and Foundry in big gold letters on the tank,  ;D I got no problem with AMF.
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: qgolden on August 13, 2010, 05:43:27 am
AMF built a lot of different stuff.  everything from Bowling Balls  to bicycles to snow mobiles, and Industrial parts. They knew how to modernize. And at a time when profits from industrial sales were high, they had deep pockets.  Their quality really was not any worse than than the quality of any other motor vehicle built in the states during that era.  They modernized the production line. made parts for less money. and popularized the accessory and dealer add on line like saddle bags. trunks etc.   Yes it is true, if not for the influx of cash and modernization the company would have gone the way of the Studebaker.  They taught Harley how to think ahead and make stuff that people actually wanted,

Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: ScooterBob on August 13, 2010, 01:19:53 pm
Qgolden - You are SO right here - when you apply the principles of building say, water faucets - to that of building motorcycles - good things happen on the production line! Siddarth Lal did JUST this very thing for RE in 1999 ..... He and the Richer Group modernised the production facility and started doing things like cost analysing, etc - and NOW we have the BEST bikes that RE has ever built! RE is also looking to the future with FACTORY accessories and exciting new models. Building the Iron Barrel for 60 years took some doing .... but so did making the joint thoroughly modern! Now RE is in it for the LONG run - just like H-D.
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: clubman on August 13, 2010, 01:44:42 pm
H-D has had a long and interesting history - and they are the KINGS of marketing their wares. I use them as a role model ..... really!

You're so right and it's not just you using them as a role model. Triumph have completely copied the basic base model/thousand accessories marketing model and BMW are fast learning too. Look at the price difference between the base GS and the all gizmo model. Even Honda are getting the idea. The VFR1200 is a sports tourer with a centre stand as an optional extra.
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: ScooterBob on August 13, 2010, 03:05:01 pm
Yup - Sell HALF the bike ..... and ALL the accessories! Hahaha! Make ALL the money .... and that's not a bad thing in the current economy. I'm just really happy that REM is doing SO well in India these days .... They have been moving UP when a lot of other companies have been moving down. I wonder if they need someone to sweep the floors over there? I hear tell it's riding weather ALL year 'round in Chennai ....  ;)
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: r80rt on August 13, 2010, 03:32:21 pm
A floor sweeper would need an assistant, and it just so happens that I'm avaliable!
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: REAZ on August 14, 2010, 01:07:35 am
A floor sweeper would need an assistant, and it just so happens that I'm avaliable!
Now that there is an assistant to the sweeper, plus the sweeper himself, someone has to take care of you guys. But don't let yourself worry about it. Here comes your union. Welcome to SURE (Sweeper Union of Royal Enfield). Everything will be taken care of, just make SURE that I'd be the president.
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: ScooterBob on August 14, 2010, 01:50:16 am
Now that there is an assistant to the sweeper, plus the sweeper himself, someone has to take care of you guys. But don't let yourself worry about it. Here comes your union. Welcome to SURE (Sweeper Union of Royal Enfield). Everything will be taken care of, just make SURE that I'd be the president.

Heeheehee! YOU are HIRED .....  ;) (None to worry, r80rt - if we take HIM to India - he'll get an instant promotion - and WE can go back to just picking bits off the floor .....  ::)
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: r80rt on August 14, 2010, 02:39:40 am
I'm in!
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: qgolden on August 15, 2010, 12:33:38 pm
Yup - Sell HALF the bike ..... and ALL the accessories! Hahaha! Make ALL the money ....

I know a Gal who works for Harley in Europe.  Her job is to go to ALL the Rallies and Major Events and put together HOG (Harley Owners Group) activities and rides.  She does two events here in the States each year as well.  Often Sturgis and either Laconia or Daytona.  Any Case she was telling me that in the Harley empire, Motorcycle sales are the smallest segment of income.  Parts is third, followed by Accessories followed by their largest profit maker, Clothing.    According to her, the license to sell clothing and Accessories is worth far more to a dealer than the license to sell bikes.
Title: Re: Oil Change
Post by: Ducati Scotty on August 15, 2010, 05:58:36 pm
Yup.  Say what you want about the bikes but that company has its marketing strategy down!  Profit margin is way higher on clothes and lots more people own HD clothes than actual bikes.

Scott