[60muzz]

Hi Folks, 75 years young and looking to get to get riding again after quite a while, Meteor Fireball seems perfect. Dealer delivered the bike, young fellow getting it off the ute and assisting, very helpful. Experiences with the whole purchase?, here goes:
1: All smiles and cheers in the sales area, not uncommon. One salesman told me to leave the loose clutch cable retention nuts alone as they were meant to be like that!, alarm bells.
2: Service manager gave a run through on bike controls etc, indicated that clutch cable nuts etc would be attended to in pre delivery checks.
3: Asked for the Owners Manual to peruse prior to delivery, to further acquaint myself, no manual could be provided, they suggested it would be available at first service, Alarms again.
4: With bike safely in my garage I did a few checks, clutch cable nuts loose, clutch lever play over twice recommended. Immediate phone call to Service mismanager, who indicated he had asked them to check that,Duh! Will send the delivery guy back to tighten, he arrives wit a pair of needle nose pliers and wants to play with the adjusters at the clutch lever.  Told to stop and I had to carry out the correct adjustment procedure, achieved correct free play at lever and locked up cable nuts.
5: Am I a bit p-----d off by now, you bet.
6: Took the right side cover off to check tool kit (probably useless, never mind), did not need the key, it had not been secured because of rubber wiring sheaths that were not positioned correctly preventing the cover from being closed to the lock position. Young bloke wanted to help fit but I said I will do. Rubber strap holding tool kit had been fitted ass about so could not be opened using its pull tab, another one I fixed.
7: Turned engine on, all good, oil level checked all good, time on clock was 8:58 pm, it was around 9:00 am, no manual, how to adjust?, another phone call to sales guy stressing importance of receiving owners manual ASAP, he then gives me a link to Royal Enfield India manuals, so I adjust clock, easy peasy when you know how.
8: Service mismanager rings me to advise how to set clock after I had just done it, should have given him a right mouthful.
9: Check headlight alignment, low beam chasing the moon and high beam looking for satellites, adjust myself.
Pre delivery checks from this dealer, they put some juice in the tank, hope its the right stuff.
In my honest opinion this dealer has serious issues with customer service and expectations.
Of course they want me to go back for servicing there, I told them that I have serious reservations about that.
If you want it right, do it yourself, so I may sacrifice engine warranty and do servicing at home.
Gripe over, Cheers all Murray.
   
 

[Dexter]

Welcome to the forum Murray!

Very unfortunate that you seem to be at the mercy of an apparently incompetent dealer and possibly the techs too, although, even though your tale is one of the most egregious cases heard so far on this forum, you are not alone in expressing dissatisfaction with a dealer by any means.

The initial service at 500 km requires an oil and filter and a valve inspection at the minimum, but that seems to be all that the dealers do anyway. If you can handle that, I say go for it and keep good records and receipts for parts, should a warranty issue arise, for whatever protection that may afford you, according to the "right to repair" laws in Australia.

There is a PDF copy of the RE factory service manual on this forum for free download. It may prove useful in doing these tasks. It is hosted on a Russian website, but it has proven to be safe to go there.

https://cloud.mail.ru/public/LRVf/dC5NZW3pQ

You have a great little bike to get back in the saddle with! Good luck!

[60muzz]

Dexter,
 Thanks for that Gee Up, Australian Consumer Law is quite stringent but getting to happen legally is another issue.
Further to my previous spit, I just checked tyre pressures as delivered, 25 psi front, 26 psi rear, disaster about to happen perhaps, again spoke to Service mis manager, very contrite and someone else will get the blame, managers hold no responsibility, manager of nothing in my view.
Asked him on the basis of these events should I have confidence in getting proper services done, usual answer was ,'of course, we are starting a co-operation together for mutual benefit," or something in the same words.
As a mechanical maintenance engineer in heavy industry, steel reinforcement and subsequently Hospital mechanical services, I think I will seriously look at DIY.
Thanks to you and this site, along with the other contributors, Torque settings, parts for servicing, etc. I should be able to achieve my goals with this machine.
Regards Murray in OZ.

[Ivy]

Welcome.

You are not obliged to use the selling dealer for service to uphold the warranty.
But I'm guessing the next closest dealer will be a million miles away given your location.
We in the UK have the issue with self servicing and warranties, although If you do go that route I have yet to hear of any major failures with this 350 engine.

[Father of Dragons]

See my other post in the "1st Service" thread.

I have zero confidence in the dealer that sold me my Classic 350, but the next nearest one is about 100 miles away and most of my first 300 miles would have been used just going there and back...

When I had a test ride I mentioned that the gear shift was almost impossible to use with boots on, and the sales guy (at that time - he moved to their HD dept. shortly afterwards) said it couldn't be adjusted!  Fortunately I knew that it could and asked for it to be done before I picked up the bike that I ordered later.  Of course it wasn't.

It was obvious to me that they did not intend to do the tappet check/adjust as they said they would do the first service while I waited, and sure enough they didn't.

The dealer has a multiple franchise and I find it hard to believe that the service guys can be "expert" in all of the makes that they sell.

I understand that RE themselves are taking over the import side of things into the UK - we shall have to see if this improves things in the future.  At present however it seems that these are great little bikes being let down by a number of poor dealers (I have read several reports of the tappet check not being done at various dealers, with only a few seeming to actually know that it needs to be done).

[longstrokeclassic]

Fowlers Motorcycles (Bristol) have recently become authorised RE dealers. You may or may not get better service there!

[oldcolin]

Hi

I have faith in Cooperb, near Wellingborough Northamptonshire, UK

If nothing else, my chain alignment was spot on.

Colin

[Father of Dragons]

Fowlers Motorcycles (Bristol) have recently become authorised RE dealers. You may or may not get better service there!

Thanks for that - but I absolutely hate riding or driving in Bristol, it's a nightmare!

[Electra Steve]

Hi. I bought my Stellar from one of the dealers in Adelaide, South Australia. As soon as I got it home I went over it and checked everything. Mostly OK.
At the first service I asked how the valve clearances were. They said they do not check on the first service as they are usually OK and they can't hear any rattles. The word 'usually' did not inspire my confidence. At home I whipped the top off and checked. The tappets were too tight so of course they could not rattle but they could hold the valve open and burn it out. Piece of cake to adjust properly. Checked more. The oil was over filled so it was a bit of fiddly suction to pull some out.
I won't be going back.
I have now fitted an adjustable linkage on the gear change, a rack and panniers and a sheepskin seat and have a great bike that performs as well as my old Electra but has nice touches like tubeless tyres.
Happy with the bike ; unhappy with the dealer.
Enjoy yours. The Northern Hemisphere folk can now get envious as we are just getting into summer.

[Dexter]

The Northern Hemisphere folk can now get envious as we are just getting into summer.

Enjoy your summer!! 

[Ivy]

.............The tappets were too tight so of course they could not rattle but they could hold the valve open and burn it out...........

Loud valves are happy valves,.
Well maybe not loud, but slightly audible.

[longstrokeclassic]

Enjoy your summer and don’t forget to check for Redbacks under that sheepskin

[Leofric]

My dealer said the first service would include checking valve clearances .The owners handbook should obviously be supplied with the bike. Re dealers near Cardiff - 100 miles seems a long way to go to another dealer !

[Bilgemaster]

Your initial dealership woes notwithstanding, my hunch is you've chosen the right horse for the course. Give me another decade, and you might find me looking around for a nice gently-used J-Engined 350 too. They seem to have much of the character and virtues of my elder breed of "Iron Belly" Pre-Unit Bullet, but with far fewer fettling needs or annoyances, like a slapdash-designed electric start that almost invariably and happily turns into an onboard grenade. You'll never meet the dreaded demon "Sprag" nor experience the heartbreak of "Nivea Syndrome". Your sleek new 350 just about matches or exceeds the modest performance of my crusty old 500, but with far fewer headaches. I've yet to hear anything truly bad about the breed. In fact, your countryman and YouTuber 'Warro' (aka. "Wild Bill"), who's probably owned more Royal Enfields of various models than any three people I can think of, just raves about his new Classic 350 in his most recent videos. And a couple of members of this Forum have even described how happy they've been since downsizing from the 650 twins to this new crop of 350s, "more comfortable" being the oft-heard plaudit.

[McElsen]

I had a similar bad experience with the dealer I bought my Meteor from. (UK) 
They were happy to sell it to me of course, but when I tried to book the first service, they told me I had to wait almost 2 months (!!) Needless to say I went to another dealer, luckily not too much further away.

Some dealers should be able to hold the RE flag!