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-   -   Royal Enfield Electra EFI ? (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/other-bikes-tech/royal-enfield-electra-efi-45650)

palace15 2 Oct 2009 14:44

Royal Enfield Electra EFI ?
 
Hi, does anyone have any experience with the Royal Enfield electra EFI ? Things I would like to know are how are they reliability wise, fuel economy etc, I have seen 70-80mpg quoted by RE.
The bike i am talking about is the Left hand gearchange unit construction, fuel injected models.
thanks
Dave

DougieB 2 Oct 2009 22:02

my RE did 90+ mpg. but that was a carb version. and, assuming EFI is more efficient...

Morden? is that London-ish? Reg Allen is in Northfields, near Chiswick/Ealing. That's not too far, and he's a long time Triumph/Enfield dealer. Close to the Ace too, so you can get a double egg sarnie!

palace15 2 Oct 2009 22:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by DougieB (Post 259012)
my RE did 90+ mpg. but that was a carb version. and, assuming EFI is more efficient...

Morden? is that London-ish? Reg Allen is in Northfields, near Chiswick/Ealing. That's not too far, and he's a long time Triumph/Enfield dealer. Close to the Ace too, so you can get a double egg sarnie!

Hi DougieB, Yes Morden is South London, I believe there are a few dealers closer than Reg Allen but I prefer to get the opinions of past and present owners of bikes I am interested in as they seem to be more 'honest'! :scooter:

oldbmw 2 Oct 2009 23:00

There is a write up by an owner in this months 'classic bikes'. Includes a totally uneventful trip from London to Cornwall and back. Think was doing around 90mpg. Sadly the Indians see this bike as thirsty,, when compared to the little hero honda they make.

DougieB 2 Oct 2009 23:51

Reg Allen is a miserable git, but he is pretty honest.

if you take someone (like me) who owned one and had zero problems, is that better than a decent dealer, or what they will tell you ?

I took my RE down to Kenya (from Reg Allen's place in London) and had no problems at all. it wasn't an EFI, but I'd have no hesitation in getting a new one, if it was the kind of bike I was after.

Pigford 3 Oct 2009 10:05

My neighbour has an 04 Bullet 500 carb with 4000 miles and he's had it from new and it runs OK.
It does blow a bit of oil around the engine, and it smokes a bit after a long run.
He did have a problem with the points, and the crappy little nuts holding the cover & timing plate stripped out! You can buy replacement bits with a slightly larger thread, so its an inherent problem.
Overall finish is about 6/10 even if you keep it cleaned well. He is a trained mechanic (last 35 yrs) and has had bikes all his life.
I had a little go on it once and its a sweet little bike, pretty crude & gutless, but fun for a bimble about. And YES, I have a 1970 650 Trumpet and have owned a few Brit bikes to compare with.
But I'd never consider paying £4k for a new one, better to pick up a low mileage 2nd hand one for £1500 if you really must have one
Only my humble opinion - two pence worth.

palace15 3 Oct 2009 12:55

Yes that £4k price tag is a little hard to swallow, :eek3:
At the moment I am in a 'warranty claim war' with Yamaha UK :thumbdown:
And the Enfield was ticking all the boxes with the price being main concern at present, Am just hoping I can get to speak directly with someone who as put some miles under the wheels of one.

oldbmw 3 Oct 2009 20:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave ede (Post 259055)
Yes that £4k price tag is a little hard to swallow, :eek3:
At the moment I am in a 'warranty claim war' with Yamaha UK :thumbdown:
And the Enfield was ticking all the boxes with the price being main concern at present, Am just hoping I can get to speak directly with someone who as put some miles under the wheels of one.

My 2005 electra is not the same model as you are asking about, but I have been really pleased with mine. Many big smiles after virtually every ride. I deliberately bought a pre unit one because I wanted to convert it to RH gearshift. Oddly whilst waiting to fit the conversion I got along grand with it LH shift. Something I could never do with my BMW. There was more at odds with me and The BMW than I realised.

Pigford 4 Oct 2009 17:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldbmw (Post 259074)
I deliberately bought a pre unit one because I wanted to convert it to RH gearshift. Oddly whilst waiting to fit the conversion I got along grand with it LH shift. Something I could never do with my BMW. There was more at odds with me and The BMW than I realised.

Must admit, I got to grips with my 1970 Trumpet - r/h gear shift - quite quickly. Luckily it's up for up, unlike Beeza's :confused1:

The fact that its such a different bike to me Jap bikes, helps my brain carry out the transition from bike to bike quite easily :thumbup1: Also the fact that gear shifts have to be taken rather "steadily", give that extra bit of thinking time.

oldbmw 4 Oct 2009 23:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pigford (Post 259147)
Must admit, I got to grips with my 1970 Trumpet - r/h gear shift - quite quickly. Luckily it's up for up, unlike Beeza's :confused1:

The fact that its such a different bike to me Jap bikes, helps my brain carry out the transition from bike to bike quite easily :thumbup1: Also the fact that gear shifts have to be taken rather "steadily", give that extra bit of thinking time.

After five years and travelling over a fair bit of western Europe I dont think I ever had a ride on the BMW without going wrong. I can't remember when I last went wrong on the RH shift Enfield. Maybe in the first 3/4 weeks.

bikerz 5 Oct 2009 00:09

efi enfield
 
rode one of the efi enfields. Motor same as the old ones re vibration etc.
the fueling was pretty snatchy and awful especially at low speeds. settled down a bit the more the throttle was opened tho.
however as with all new models - don't buy the first variant, give it a while for the bugs to be sorted!

Dodger 5 Oct 2009 03:10

I find all fuel injected bikes [ the ones that I have ridden anyway ] to be snatchy at low rpm , I much prefer carburetted bikes .

I don't suppose it will be very long before some enterprising individual brings out a Mikuni or Amal carb conversion for the unit Bullet .

I'd just buy a good old model one and stick a bigger bore carb and free flow exhaust on it ,spend a quarter of the cash and have fun .

JHanson 5 Nov 2009 20:17

Dave, we actually have a fuel-injected Bullet (G5) with the magazine as a long-term review vehicle. I'm still breaking it in, but so far it runs very well and is a treat to ride on mild to moderate dirt roads. I'll be taking it on some longer trips soon.

http://www.midwaymemories.com/REandBaboquivari.jpg

gregrb41 14 Feb 2011 18:26

I have the Electra carb model ('07), and have ridden the efi, I wanted to see the difference. It isn't enough to justify the extra wodge in my opinion, unless you buy second hand..

The Electra does have one big problem if you are thinking of venturing off road - the rear brake lever is very low slung and gets bashed to hell. The good news is you can bend it back in shape without heat. This is not an issue on the efi.

oldbmw 14 Feb 2011 19:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregrb41 (Post 324178)
I have the Electra carb model ('07), and have ridden the efi, I wanted to see the difference. It isn't enough to justify the extra wodge in my opinion, unless you buy second hand..

The Electra does have one big problem if you are thinking of venturing off road - the rear brake lever is very low slung and gets bashed to hell. The good news is you can bend it back in shape without heat. This is not an issue on the efi.

Not a problem at all if you re convert it back to having the levers where they should be :)

ie gearshift on the right and brake lever on the left. The mounting point is there ready to go and already threaded and higher so you wont have any problems with clearance.

Threewheelbonnie 16 Jun 2013 13:12

Resurecting an old thread to see if the collective experience of the fuel injected Bullets has grown any? Workable machine or plaything for old boys who'd really like a Goldstar (or Lego)? Anything drop off unexpectedly that can't just be screwed back on?

I'm 18 months away from replacing the Weestrom but am finding I really don't need a 70 HP bike massively practical as it is. The choice in smaller stuff is really limited (CB500X is on the radar along with the Gleestrom), there is no way I'm going back to a 40 mpg Bonneville, 125's seem excessively costly to run with their theft insurance and I did enjoy my carbed 5 speed Bullet back in the noughties. Dipping an early toe in the water as it were.

Cheers

Andy

PaulD 16 Jun 2013 23:43

Enfield
 
I love my 2012 Royal Enfield C5, & I really want to take it to South America, but unfortunately we have to ride 2up (Wife has problem with arm) so that rules out the Enfield as I don't think it would carry 170kg including luggage & camera gear. But if I was solo it would be with me in a heartbeat !!!!!!

Cheers
Paul

oldbmw 17 Jun 2013 00:15

Since my last post I have been to Poland via south of France, N. Italy , Austria and Czech republic to see the "Flytrap" plus a few trips to various rallies. On the downside I had a big end fail due to a faulty crankpin. other than that it has been fine. The big end bearing and crankpin was replaced with a UK made bigger better set, and at the same time all the bearings were replaced with European ones.
I have managed to set the ignition timing correct ( It was too advanced and combined with a badly heat treated crank pin was jointly responsible for the bearing failure) It now runs smoother and with more "pulling" power. It is happy from the low forties (MPH) up to the low sixties. still turns back about 95MPG (Imperial). It has now done 16 k miles and still on the original Indian made primary chain. Although those are lifed at 18K miles. I have a genuine Reynolds to replace it this winter. It eats Indian made rear chains at about 6k miles, but the cheaper Italian Elite chains are twice as good. At 3k miles significantly less worn than a new Indian made one.
I find I make on average more miles per day on the Enfield than I did on my faster BMW. Partly because I only need to stop once a day for fuel and partly because it is much more comfortable and less tiring. Just seem to bumble along quicker. Bit odd I know.
You will need to carry more tools because they seem to have decided never to use the same size fastener twice. If you have to undo three nuts/bolts you will need at least four different size of spanner.
The only thing that was better on the BMW was no chain maintenance. The problem is that the Enfield is oiltight and you will need to oil the chain daily if doing significant mileage. There is not room enough to use X or O ring chains.
Apart from the chain, I just do an annual maintenance which is good for 3K miles. more than that requires an oil change (DINO cheap oil).

I use soft luggage except for a givi top box. and have an Avon (Sprint) full handlebar fairing like the 1960's UK police. This keeps rain, insects and road debris of my upper body and there is no windchill to my upper body. If I could find one I would have used something similar to the old Avonaire touring fairing for all over protection.

Hope that helps.

Threewheelbonnie 17 Jun 2013 12:39

Thanks Guys,

Was the crank pin a warranty issue? Was there support there or were you left to sort it yourself?

Cheers

Andy

oldbmw 18 Jun 2013 12:59

Wankersonian Squire denied all responsibility for it ( failed at 13K miles) and said they did not fail. I know for a fact that they were lying as several members and associates of the Enfield club got them replaced under warranty. Several companies do an upgraded part to fix this problem. The repair costs less than an ignition fault can cost on a modern bike and I did ride home from Poland with it rattling so was not stranded. This is the beauty of old technology, it will still soldier on despite degradation. Electronics tend to run perfectly or die completely without warning.

In my case it was a combination of the NON adjustable ignition firing early and causing pinking under load combined with poor materials and heat treating of the crankpin. the rollers run directly on the crankpin. I fixed the timing by making an offset woodruff key for the rotor.
I had to make my own as besides machining the groove it the wrong place it was also to the wrong depth. A new replacement complete crankshaft and conrod is about £200 so not all the world.

I did a drive in drive out repair at Pricepart motorcycles. think it cost £600. For that I drove the bike in, he stripped it down rebuilt it replacing all the bearing with European ones. the crank was rebuild by specialists with a new crankpin using better materials and a new European bearing. the conrod was bored and had a special hardened steel insert fitted. If I remember correctly he also serviced the front caliper and fitted a new battery. when the bike was ready I picked it up and did a test ride and brought it home.

Once you have done a quality control inspection and test of the AVL Enfield it makes a good bike. Whilst a road bike, the trials heritage of the frame comes through in the tight radius circles in which you can turn and the balance. Often I stop at traffic lights etc. without needing to put either foot down. For me a great bonus is the ease at which you can convert it to Right foot gearchange, Left foot brake. The conversion is easily reversible (say two hours).

The only ongoing niggle is chain maintenance (having to do it) the only viable solution would be to get a shaft drive bike. Fitting better European chains have more than doubled the life/halved the maintenance on this.

brclarke 21 Jun 2013 16:49

Hmm. I had a 1996 iron barrel for about 4 years. I can't remember how many miles I put on it, but it was several thousand miles. I used it mostly for putting around town and commuting to work, but did do a couple of weekend trips of about 400 to 600 miles in distance.

I found it to be reasonably reliable, actually. No major issues, and I can only remember being stuck on the side of the road once for something minor that I fixed in 15 minutes. I sold my Enfield only because I left the country for 4 years.

I noticed the other day that a local vendor has a "held-over" but 0 KM 2011 G5 model. He is asking $6500 CND and I am giving it some serious consideration....

Threewheelbonnie 21 Jun 2013 20:16

[QUOTE=brclarke;426852
I.. am giving it some serious consideration....[/QUOTE]

You and me both mate. Head varies between yes and maybe, heart says yes!

15 months to save up though. Thanks for you help gentlemen.

Andy

PaulD 24 Jun 2013 03:38

Enfield
 
My wife has just declared she will be riding her own bike in Sth. America !!!!
Which is very good news for me as I can send my BMW home and take my New 2012 Royal Enfield C5 for the rest of our RTW.
Andy can you give me some tips on how I should change anything if anything ?
Someone told me I should have the wheels re-spoked & a new chain ?
I was just going to throw on some aluminium panniers a bit of a windscreen & a smile & be on my way ????

Cheers
Paul

Threewheelbonnie 24 Jun 2013 12:50

Nice one, can't wait for the reports :D

My '05 iron barrel wheels would have been OK IMHO. I'd have put a new battery on and stocked up on clutch cables though.

OldBMW will tell us more I'm sure.

Andy

oldbmw 24 Jun 2013 23:07

Check both sprockets. they seldom give trouble and are unlikely to need anything. buy two chains the same brand. not Indian made. Elite are good value as are others. (think HD chains will fit) Running them as a pair means in an emergency you can change a chain in less than five minutes with just a pair of pliers and a screwdriver. Generally I use one a s goingthere chain and regard the spare as a getting home chain. Often this does not get fitted as wont be needed. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN the chain, the later suspensions are gas and have a longer stroke so it is easy to set them too tight when on the centre stand. you want about an inch play with the bike loaded and on the suspension with you on it. You will need someone to help. Also do not trust the chain adjusters to be correctly marked. put the bike empty on the centre stand and spin the back wheel backwards. check the chain runs freely equidistant from both sides of the rear sprocket. carry a spare clutch/throttle cable sealed in a plastic bag.
DO NOT INCREASE the gearing ratio. it will slow you down anywhere except when going downhill with a following wind on a motorway.
Spare spokes can be fitted on an assembled wheel I have seen it done but never had the need myself. That bike was overloaded, overgeared and hotted up and struggled going up hills whilst mine trundled up them easily. It is worth carrying a spare rim tape to fit if you need to change a tube.
Note also tyre pressures are meant to be lower than is often common for tubeless tyres.

Service your bike and keep all of the tools needed together as your toolkit.

that should do it. :)

PaulD 25 Jun 2013 22:57

Enfield
 
So I take it that only the chain could be problematic ? What about re-spoking the wheels ? Yes/No. Also Heidenau Tyres ? Can you run tubeless ?.
Also I don't really understand the bit about running 2 chains side by side.(I am not mechanical minded) Yes I will be taking the 2 cables !!!

Thanks
Paul

Threewheelbonnie 26 Jun 2013 06:44

Heidenaus worked well on the Bonneville so if they'll fit do it.

Chains and sprockets wear together. A new chain on a 10000 mile sprocket can only "stretch"/wear pins until you have a set of paired up parts that'll look like it did 11000 miles. As there is more room for wear on the sprockets and a clip link chain is a ten minute job to get on and off (use the one on to pull the next one through), you can run chain number 1 from zero to 1000 miles, chain 2 1001-2000, chain 1 2001-3000 or whatever the numbers are. While you have the part worn chain off you can also boil it up in wax or give it a serious clean in paraffin to really get as much grit and rubbish off as you can. Two chains and one set of sprockets cycled through is cheaper and will probably outlast two full sets , you are just adding work as the trade off. Not so much work with a clip link, more hassle than it's worth with rivet links on more powerful stuff and hence a lost art.

Andy

oldbmw 26 Jun 2013 22:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulD (Post 427411)
So I take it that only the chain could be problematic ? What about re-spoking the wheels ? Yes/No. Also Heidenau Tyres ? Can you run tubeless ?.
Also I don't really understand the bit about running 2 chains side by side.(I am not mechanical minded) Yes I will be taking the 2 cables !!!

Thanks
Paul

Chains not really a problem, but on Enfields they are not x or o ring so wear faster than those. A new elite will run 3,000 miles without needing adjustment. I like to start with a new one on and a new spare. They take just 2-5 minutes to change if you do not need to adjust. I have never in my life needed to replace aspoke whilst on aride, but it can be done. just suggest you take a few as getting spares might not be easy and they cost little and weigh less.

floyd 6 Jul 2013 12:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldbmw (Post 426263)
Since my last post I have been to Poland via south of France, N. Italy , Austria and Czech republic to see the "Flytrap" plus a few trips to various rallies. On the downside I had a big end fail due to a faulty crankpin. other than that it has been fine. The big end bearing and crankpin was replaced with a UK made bigger better set, and at the same time all the bearings were replaced with European ones.
I have managed to set the ignition timing correct ( It was too advanced and combined with a badly heat treated crank pin was jointly responsible for the bearing failure) It now runs smoother and with more "pulling" power. It is happy from the low forties (MPH) up to the low sixties. still turns back about 95MPG (Imperial). It has now done 16 k miles and still on the original Indian made primary chain. Although those are lifed at 18K miles. I have a genuine Reynolds to replace it this winter. It eats Indian made rear chains at about 6k miles, but the cheaper Italian Elite chains are twice as good. At 3k miles significantly less worn than a new Indian made one.
I find I make on average more miles per day on the Enfield than I did on my faster BMW. Partly because I only need to stop once a day for fuel and partly because it is much more comfortable and less tiring. Just seem to bumble along quicker. Bit odd I know.
You will need to carry more tools because they seem to have decided never to use the same size fastener twice. If you have to undo three nuts/bolts you will need at least four different size of spanner.
The only thing that was better on the BMW was no chain maintenance. The problem is that the Enfield is oiltight and you will need to oil the chain daily if doing significant mileage. There is not room enough to use X or O ring chains.
Apart from the chain, I just do an annual maintenance which is good for 3K miles. more than that requires an oil change (DINO cheap oil).

I use soft luggage except for a givi top box. and have an Avon (Sprint) full handlebar fairing like the 1960's UK police. This keeps rain, insects and road debris of my upper body and there is no windchill to my upper body. If I could find one I would have used something similar to the old Avonaire touring fairing for all over protection.

Hope that helps.

Flytrap, what is that?????
atb:thumbup1:

PaulD 11 Jul 2013 23:17

Royal Enfield
 
Does anybody have a link to the Greg Staves story, it looks interesting, but 13 years ago. Greg Staves, raising money for cancer research, rode an Indian-
built 500cc Enfield from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Ushuaia, Argentina."

Cheers
Paul
Also anybody know where I can get hand protectors (Barkbusters) for an Enfield. ?

oldbmw 12 Jul 2013 23:20

Flytrap
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by floyd (Post 428556)
Flytrap, what is that?????
atb:thumbup1:

It is the test site where the nazis were experimenting with antigravity propulsion. All the technology that was movable was taken back to the USA at the end stages of the war. the device was described as being bell shaped. Which is exactly what the Roswell initial descriptions claimed. Roswell is close to area51 where the technology was taken. and also where many "flying saucers" have been claimed to have been seen. a bell and flying saucer is near enough the same shape if you do not know how else to describe it.

sorry can;t post a picture here.

BobH 20 Oct 2013 18:22

Handguards
 
Paul,

Did you finally get any hand guards? I have a 2012 Indian Enfield here in Dubai, great fun :funmeterno: and use it for camping trips. Have made a number of changes but spares are mainly Indian here so not bothered with the engine yet.

Rgds

Bob

PaulD 27 Oct 2013 12:25

Royal Enfield
 
No still haven't found any hand guards yet ! I may have to by a generic set & make them fit !!! I don't really need them for dropping the bike etc. but more to protect my hands from the cold.

BobH 2 Dec 2013 16:08

Royal Enfield
 
Since the last post I was retuning from a camping trip in Oman and one of the many crazy drivers here, turned left and sideswiped me. No other cars on the road, claimed he did not see me. Result; me - broken ankle, bike - trashed rear end, bent frame, bent shocks, bent swing arm, metal panniers trashed, handle bars bent, mirrors smashed, brake leaver broken, foot peg snapped, switchgear trashed.

As i play the slow motion crash in my head, the biggest problem was that as i was hit square from the side the foot peg dug into the road and flipped the bike (they are fixed). This caused most of the damage. car and i had both just gone over speed hump so not moving much above 35kph.

So all fixed now, but first change was to make new folding foot pegs. Also have changed shocks to ones 1" higher. Bought Adventure spec soft luggage metal was trash, not using them again. As i always wear full body armour (camping in the mountains here equals no phone reception) back was saved as i did a half somersault and landed flat on my back. Also wearing adventure boots so fracture was not so bad. Lots of lessons learnt for future long rides (like this weeked :thumbup1:) repairs her ran to approx £500 so much cheeper that UK.

PaulD 8 Feb 2014 09:20

Enfield
 
WOW thats was a nasty development....glad all good now. I don't like
soft panniers, my wife has them, crap to pack, crap security, just don't like them, I am still going to ride my Enfield to south america so one ? why raise the bike 1 inch ? Will be changing my foot pegs after reading your post as well.

Cheers
Paul

Jake 15 Aug 2014 09:31

1 Attachment(s)
I tried living with an standard carb model, iron barrel indian enfield 500 last year, after having used a Enfield 700 super meteor as a daily hack for a few years (long time ago but an excellent bike - better than a bonny i also owned). With the 500 I modified it to try and improve it a bit - made it more of a street scrambler upgraded, bars, shocks, seat, upgraded brake to disc, rewired it and fitted electronic ignition, it was still just a huge compromise. The gear shift being on the right was not a problem but then again i have owned right shift Laverdas, triumphs and so on before and you soon adapt to riding with gears on the opposite side however the lack of power / speed was a problem in faster moving traffic or more so on long hills when loaded for a bit of camping, the brakes were woeful more so in the wet even though it was fun to ride it made every journey feel three times as long and god was it uncomfortable, it did not soak up the road or the bumps on gravel it was very harsh and so was tiring to ride. I am 6ft and the bike felt too small, my back ached, my knees were too high so for me the ergonomics were simply wrong. I know people have done massive trips on these bikes in my humble opinion they need a medal for such an achievement, a pushbike would be a better choice. The Enfields was sort of reliable enough but needed fettling a bit now and then, and I constantly wondered given the general standard of build quality when the big end would go or the some other catastrophic failure at some point. The 350s are far more reliable with little in power loss.I would say the general build quality, fit and standard of materials and engineering was simply awful. (moreso in like for like comparison to the original British built Enfields. Jake.

Threewheelbonnie 16 Aug 2014 09:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake (Post 476455)
... With the 500 I modified it to try and improve it a bit......Jake.

I had one for two years and it never missed a beat. The chap who bought it tried for A-road performance and broke the crank.

IMHO either just ride the lovely bike the Bullet is or buy something else. The mechano obsessive loons over on REOC will bang on about mods but that's their thing, fiddling not riding.

I'd have another tomorrow, but the V7 is undeniably easier to live with and avoids planning trips round the sort of performance you get from a Japanese 125. If this would add to a trip the Bullet may be the right tool. Try and make it into a Gold star and it will break.

Andy

Jake 16 Aug 2014 10:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Threewheelbonnie (Post 476522)
I had one for two years and it never missed a beat. The chap who bought it tried for A-road performance and broke the crank.

IMHO either just ride the lovely bike the Bullet is or buy something else. The mechano obsessive loons over on REOC will bang on about mods but that's their thing, fiddling not riding.

I'd have another tomorrow, but the V7 is undeniably easier to live with and avoids planning trips round the sort of performance you get from a Japanese 125. If this would add to a trip the Bullet may be the right tool. Try and make it into a Gold star and it will break.

Andy

Andy - give me a Guzzi any day over the Enfield ( i kind of love Guzzis so can't help myself with that particular problem - I am thinking of building a home cooked version of the v65 tt bike next as a project). I digress - with the Enfield the old chap i got it off had owned and been riding it over ten years from new and it had clocked up a huge 1470 miles and was still going well !!! - the mods I made were to improve the brakes and try to get it fit me for comfort, lose a bit of weight etc - but not the engine to any degree (i changed the air filter, electroni ignition and silencer), i did not try to squeeze that already squeezed lump. As you say as a bike to tootle about on back roads it was good fun and had loads of character - even as a small distance commuter i could see it being pretty good, but as a medium to longer haul travel bike just a huge compromise there are lots of better machines - even guzzis - that is unless the Enfield is your burning passion then it would do the job - but not for me thanks. Tchus Jake.bier

RMHM1 22 Nov 2016 16:55

Greg Staves
 
Dear PaulD

I was at school with Greg Staves in the 60s. Sadly I lost contact with Greg and only found out about his life after school a few years ago - and after he had passed away. I too would like to learn more about this. Did you come across any links about his epic ride?

Many thanks

Jake 21 Dec 2016 09:00

In praise of the new Enfield's, as much as i have criticised the old iron barrel indian enfield i owned, I have to say a lad at my local bike club bought a new efi enfield just at the end of september.
He is a rather large chap, as is his missus - he traded in a BMW 1200 RT.
So since buying it in Late September he added a top box and panniers, and both him and his missus have clocked up over 3000 trouble free miles, he is not what i would call mechanically inclined so jumps on and rides it, all weather and anywhere.
Talking to him last week he was saying how much both he and his missus love the bike, find it easy to ride and very very comfortable. They do look a bit like a cartoon both squeezed on the bike - but hey ho ! it's really working for them.
I hope it continues to work for them and stays reliable. It's nice to hear a positive slant on these bikes.

Tchus and merry christmas to all. Jake.


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