[symmo]

Apart from the quirkiness of these C5s, they are great bikes and in my mind a great looking bike. It's a shame that Enfield have decided to drop this model, I think it would have gone on selling in big numbers. I have changed the tyres from the Avons that just did not suit the army style C5 to a Kenda 400x18 Catspaw and a 350x19 Mitas H02 and now it looks like a purposeful machine much more capable of tackling the odd back lane which is what I was doing on the Avons.

[Richard230]

Took my new 500 for a 70km ride in the countryside today.

The engine is starting to loosen up nicely although I'm still being careful not to labor or extend the engine during the bedding in process. To that end I've been choosing roads with little traffic, and plenty of opportunity to vary the speeds without annoying other road users.

Do roads like that still exist?    Around here roads are either crowded with heavy traffic, or if they have little traffic, are being used as a racetrack. Attached is a photo of a sign located on a mountain highway in the Santa Cruz Mountains.   

[Relic]

Do roads like that still exist?    Around here roads are either crowded with heavy traffic, or if they have little traffic, are being used as a racetrack. Attached is a photo of a sign located on a mountain highway in the Santa Cruz Mountains.   

Yes, absolutely. One of the advantages of living on two main islands in the South Pacific with just 5 million people. When the current situation eventually subsides try to get down here for a riding holiday.

Peter Egan wrote about doing just that a few years back, in one of his columns.

[beagle]

Ive recently got another c5. I bought a new one instead of a used this time....The running in procedure seems to have gone out the window...It wont go under 70kph in top gear and idles along at 85kph.  So Ive had to negate the keep it under 55/60kph suggestion and flog the bejeezas out of it.  At 700Ks on the clock and one oil change, it cruises very smoothly up to 110kph and just sits on 90 to 95 kph without any vibes. I'm very pleased with this one and think it will be a keeper...unless it shits itself....lol...So today...I took it up the mountains and it went admirably. only giving it stick in top gear on the flats, but it does pull like a schoolboy up the hills..

[Richard230]

I rode my 2011 B5 up to the Sears Point Raceway on Saturday to see the Progressive motorcycle show that was held there this weekend. I was able to keep up with traffic traveling at 110 kph the entire way without any trouble.  However, my daughter who was also going to the show also, passed me in her Subaru station wagon at 130 kph (in a 90 kph speed zone) and I wasn't able to keep up with her.   

[Willie]

Changed the rear tyre from the K70 to a Heidenau K34.
The wear on the Dunlop was incredible, after only a year, and it never quite felt comfortable...

Already, I'm much more confident with the Heidenau - took the bike for a 400mile camping and fly-fishing weekend trip, and she performed brilliantly.

A great excuse to also try out my new Merlin saddlebags - beautiful objects, loads of space.

Sorry for the late jump into this thread, but just out of curiosity can you estimate the weight of your camping load (plus you)?  I am seriously considering selling my Honda NC700X Dual Sport that I use for camping and road trips, and just paring down the load to go camping etc.  I like my Bullet so much better, but I am not sure it will "tote the load" here in the North GA Mountains.  I don't mind leaving a few pounds behind (especially on shorter trips) but some idea of what I can load would be appreciated.  I am not going off-road, so that won't be a consideration,  Plus I upgraded the rear shocks a while ago to Hagon customs.  A BIG improvement.  Thanks!

[Richard230]

Sorry for the late jump into this thread, but just out of curiosity can you estimate the weight of your camping load (plus you)?  I am seriously considering selling my Honda NC700X Dual Sport that I use for camping and road trips, and just paring down the load to go camping etc.  I like my Bullet so much better, but I am not sure it will "tote the load" here in the North GA Mountains.  I don't mind leaving a few pounds behind (especially on shorter trips) but some idea of what I can load would be appreciated.  I am not going off-road, so that won't be a consideration,  Plus I upgraded the rear shocks a while ago to Hagon customs.  A BIG improvement.  Thanks!

Whatever the rider and camping equipment weighs, I am sure that it is a lot less than an entire Indian family riding on a 350cc Bullet, as is normal in India and on Honda Cub clones that are common in many Asian countries, where a motorcycle is their only motorized vehicle. Even with their cheap suspension and narrow tires, those families manage to make do with what comes out of the factory. And of course, the frame and shocks of the RE singles are much more robust than a cheap step-through. I am sure that your bike is up to the task of toting whatever load you can manage to strap on the bike, especially with your upgraded shocks. 

[Ergyd]

Sorry for the late jump into this thread, but just out of curiosity can you estimate the weight of your camping load (plus you)?  I am seriously considering selling my Honda NC700X Dual Sport that I use for camping and road trips, and just paring down the load to go camping etc.  I like my Bullet so much better, but I am not sure it will "tote the load" here in the North GA Mountains.  I don't mind leaving a few pounds behind (especially on shorter trips) but some idea of what I can load would be appreciated.  I am not going off-road, so that won't be a consideration,  Plus I upgraded the rear shocks a while ago to Hagon customs.  A BIG improvement.  Thanks!

Hi Geezer,
I'm afraid I'm absolutely rubbish at estimating weight of things, and I can't get to all my stuff at the moment... But, as Richard230 days, these bikes are packhorses - I didn't even consider that the bike wouldn't be able to handle it.

I carried with me clothes for a week, 2-man tent, sleeping bag, liner and mat, cooking kit (3 pots, stove, gas), fly fishing gear (rod, reel, flyboxes etc)... On top of the usual stuff I have on the bike - tool kit, first aid kit, waterproofs, full riding gear etc. I also sneaked in a few beers, and some food.
I'm 80kgs.

The bike didn't even register carrying all of that. Made 0 discernible impact to handling or acceleration (though admittedly, I don't speed through the miles when I'm touring around Wales - too much to see!).

Sorry I can't be more precise!

[Willie]

Whatever the rider and camping equipment weighs, I am sure that it is a lot less than an entire Indian family riding on a 350cc Bullet, as is normal in India and on Honda Cub clones that are common in many Asian countries, where a motorcycle is their only motorized vehicle. Even with their cheap suspension and narrow tires, those families manage to make do with what comes out of the factory. And of course, the frame and shocks of the RE singles are much more robust than a cheap step-through. I am sure that your bike is up to the task of toting whatever load you can manage to strap on the bike, especially with your upgraded shocks. 

THANKS!  With 6 grandkids, 2 adult off-spring, a wife, and a 120 lb Anatolian Shepherd, I will probably pack lightly on adult beverages and my flat screen plasma TV, but it is reassuring to know that it can be done! ;[/i][/i]

[Relic]

Today I took my (nearly) new Classic 500 in for the 500km / 300mile service.

My dealer has been in the same building since 1963 (although with a couple of owners), and it's like stepping back in time, especially with two rows of Royal Enfield's to walk through to get to the counter.

These guys are very old school in their approach. The boss came out and took me through the invoice, explaining that they had replaced the OEM spark plug with a better NGK item. Then one of his mechanics discussed the condition of the oil and strainer (first oil change) what chain lubricant I used and the tire pressures.

The invoice was reasonable and I rode home a happy customer 

Traditional values and traditional bikes seems to be a great combination.

[Guaire]

Today I took my (nearly) new Classic 500 in for the 500km / 300mile service.

My dealer has been in the same building since 1963 (although with a couple of owners), and it's like stepping back in time, especially with two rows of Royal Enfield's to walk through to get to the counter.

These guys are very old school in their approach. The boss came out and took me through the invoice, explaining that they had replaced the OEM spark plug with a better NGK item. Then one of his mechanics discussed the condition of the oil and strainer (first oil change) what chain lubricant I used and the tire pressures.

The invoice was reasonable and I rode home a happy customer 

Traditional values and traditional bikes seems to be a great combination.

Really. A smart customer is a good customer. The NGK cap is smart!

[Carlsberg Wordsworth]

Noticed that when parked on the main stand when the non standard bars are over to the left that there wasn't enough clearance between some cables and the tank which has left a small rub mark. Tilted them up a tad which of course warrants a test ride.

This seems to have the effect of keeping me closer to the tank and felt good to ride. After all this time I think I have found a better position by accident

This might affect the Meteor decision 

A bit of gentlemanly pootling round the lanes though and some youthful exuberance WOT for when they opened up a bit gave room for some soul searching.

[Narada]

Pushed Bholenath very slowly about ½ mile up a pretty steep grade (about 20 feet at a time),  then about another ½ mile across level ground (much easier).   

My fuel light (with Koso TNT) quit working a while back. I put a new sending unit in, then ran out again. Last week I checked all my connections in the nacelle, ran out of time, so I moved on… This morning I knew I was really low, so I stopped at my usual gas station only to find signs on every pump; “No Gas”. 

I ran out before reaching the next station, lol!  Oddly, I feel kind of proud, like I’ve been through a classic bike “rite of passage”. I have now pushed my bike to the nearest station and made it to work without “Roadside Assistance” (which would have taken longer, and cost a lot more). I’ll have to keep on trying to figure out that light as I’m able. Meanwhile, I plan on filling up more often! 

[AmBraCol]

Pushed Bholenath very slowly about ½ mile up a pretty steep grade (about 20 feet at a time),  then about another ½ mile across level ground (much easier).   

My fuel light (with Koso TNT) quit working a while back. I put a new sending unit in, then ran out again. Last week I checked all my connections in the nacelle, ran out of time, so I moved on… This morning I knew I was really low, so I stopped at my usual gas station only to find signs on every pump; “No Gas”. 

I ran out before reaching the next station, lol!  Oddly, I feel kind of proud, like I’ve been through a classic bike “rite of passage”. I have now pushed my bike to the nearest station and made it to work without “Roadside Assistance” (which would have taken longer, and cost a lot more). I’ll have to keep on trying to figure out that light as I’m able. Meanwhile, I plan on filling up more often! 

Ran out of gas on my first ever long trip on the Honda XL200 I used to have. It was an upgrade from the little Suzuki GN125H I'd been running before it.  Figured I'd fuel up at the same place as I did when traveling on the Suzuki.  And I did.  After pushing it a while.  That's an advantage of the Rumbler's gas gauge.  So far it's done a great job of letting me know when gas needs to be purchased.  The other thing is I keep a record in the "Simply Auto" app of my fuel purchases.  It tracks consumption and also is useful for checking on what the mileage was the last time I filled up.  With an average fuel consumption of 98 kmg and a five gallon tank, I figure I need to fill up around 400 km after the last fill, to keep my paranoia in check. 

[AmBraCol]

Yesterday I picked up a new battery. Kontrol brand. We don't have much to choose from here and this is what our local dealer has started stocking. Better than the stock lead/acid battery, I'm sure. The problem being, different connectors from the MotoBatt I've been running the last few years.  I charged it over night and checked it out this morning. Full charge and once I hooked it up and applied the multi-test it shows proper functioning of the system.  The poor old Rumbler's been mostly sitting for the past year and a half.  We had a nation wide forced lockdown to which my wife and I had an exemption for charity work.  It's hard to haul boxes of groceries on a Royal Enfield so she just sat there in the garage looking sad.  When charging the battery to get her going again the old MotoBatt started throwing "fault" codes on the charger. There was enough juice to run the fuel injection system and kick start, but that was it.  It's nice to have a functional battery again and with the restrictions lifted I should get some more riding in this year. Now to catch up here on the forum and see what everyone else has been up to.