Royal Enfield may be the oldest motorcycle company in

continuous production but it also has a history of quality issues.

Most of the buyers tend to customize their bikes and often change
the stock parts. This customization is a grey area and the buyers
are forced to go through numerous online forums and take advice
from fellow bikers often leading to confusion. Based on user
feedback we have made a list of things that you can do after
getting your bike and those you better avoid.
Before Buying the Bike: The PDI (pre-delivery inspection) is
very important before buying a Royal Enfield. Royal Enfield bikes
are popular scratch-magnets and checking the motorcycle
thoroughly for scratches, dents and unpainted areas is essential.
Acid leak from battery is known to spoil the finish over the engine
cover. Also, there have been numerous cases of front forks being
misaligned right on delivery. These things should be taken care of
before taking the delivery of the bike.
By RE company policy, your dealer should fill the fuel tank above
reserve and the reserve light should go off. But most of the
dealers steal the petrol money and give you only 0.5-litre (or even
less) to get you to the nearest petrol station. You can actually
demand from the dealer to fill up more than reserve as per
company policy or else you should inform RE about it and even
better argue with the dealer!
Run-In: The manual warns you; the dealer warns you; your
friends warn you: run it in correctly, they say, or else…
Running-in is essential during the first 2000 kms to achieve
optimum performance. During this period you need to take care of
the speed limits according to the gear, not exceeding the payload
and warming up the engine for few minutes before riding. Even
though the cast iron engines used in old bullets which required
careful run-in have been phased out in favor of UCE engines, it is
recommended to run-in at least 3000 kms.
Accessorizing Your Bike:
Crash Bar: A strong and solid crash bar is required for safety
given the heavy weight of the bike. Nevertheless, people are very
confused about which crash bar is the best one? The answer to
this question lies in whether you ride with a pillion or solo. A
straight rod crash bar is best suited for solo driving and gives a
good look.
Straight-Rod Crash Bar:
image: http://www.motorbeam.com/wp-content/uploads/Royal-Enfield-Crash-Bar-Straight-
Rod.jpg

When riding with a pillion, the butterfly and diamond crash bars
are suited well. Most of the bikers choose diamond crash bar as
the safest of all.
image: http://www.motorbeam.com/wp-content/uploads/Royal-Enfield-Crash-Bar.jpg
Also, wrapping your crash bar with a nylon rope can make it look
good and also prevent it from rusting.
Crash Bar wrapped with Nylon rope:
image: http://www.motorbeam.com/wp-content/uploads/Royal-Enfield-Crash-Bar-Nylon-
Rope.jpg
Exhaust: When it comes to exhaust, using the stock silencer is
the best option. People generally do not like the little thump of
stock silencers and tend to change them. Make sure that you
change the silencer only after running-in for a proper period. The
best ones available after market are the glass-wool silencers
(gold star or wild boar) or else the short-bottle (market name –
Indore silencer). Both of these do not compromise on anything
and are the best options. Also, the upshift silencer generally used
in classic models are company made and hence are optimum.
Goldstar Silencer:
image: http://www.motorbeam.com/wp-content/uploads/Royal-Enfield-Silencer-Goldstar.jpg
Wild Boar Silencer:
image: http://www.motorbeam.com/wp-content/uploads/Royal-Enfield-Silencer-Wild-Boar.jpg

Avoid the loud-thump punjab Silencer and the tailgunner.

Tailgunner:
image: http://www.motorbeam.com/wp-content/uploads/Royal-Enfield-Silencer-Tailgunner-.jpg

Electricals: Royal Enfield provides a 55W headlamp in the

Classic and Thunderbird models and a 35W headlamp in other
models. To add to the coolness factor, people generally prefer
HID (high-intensity discharge lights) which look pure white and
have a blinding effect on people in the opposite direction! HID’s
which come stock with the vehicle like the new Thunderbird are
legal because it is approved and comes in a casing with a
reflector which we call projector but using HID in a normal
reflector setup is illegal. Also, there are a lot of fakes in the
market, which do not have proper warranty and the good ones are
hard to find.
A Chinese HID: Beware of these!
image: http://www.motorbeam.com/wp-content/uploads/Royal-Enfield-Hid.jpg
Another alternative is to use LED fog lamps which come at a
fraction of the price of original HID’s and do not draw excessive
power while providing excellent illumination. These are extremely
reliable and the only component which can blow off is the LED
drive which can be replaced at a low cost.
You can see the whole area illuminated only by LED fog-lamps:
image: http://www.motorbeam.com/wp-content/uploads/Royal-Enfield-Led-Fog-Lamp.jpg
Electrical work requires a lot of expertise and it is always
advisable to get it done from someone who is experienced. Using
an electrical relay and a dedicated switch for the additional
electrical is recommended and will prolong the life and ensure
safety.
Increasing The Performance:
Filters: K&N filters are popular among enthusiasts and people
generally use these for that rushing sound and increasing power.
When it comes to Royal Enfield, one of the important things that
common people are not aware is that the carburetor needs to be
rejetted when replacing the stock filter with a performance one. If
not done, you may get the sound without any increase in power.
For the fuel-injected models, there are custom ECU re-maps from
companies like Racedynamics but the price will set you back by at
least Rs. 17,000/-.
A RaceDynamics ECU in a Classic 500:
image: http://www.motorbeam.com/wp-content/uploads/Royal-Enfield-Race-Dynamics-Ecu.jpg
Tyres: The choices are very limited for the 19-inch tyres fitted on
Royal Enfield bikes. There are a lot of options available for the 18-
inch tyres in Classic and Thunderbird models. However, if you
want to replace your 19-inch rear tyre to an 18-inch one, you need
to: alter the swing arm, replace the chain-sprocket, modify the
gear–ratios and even after doing all this you will experience a
drop in fuel–efficiency and handling. So, it’s better not to modify
your rear tyre in the Electra, Standard and old Thunderbird
models but if you own a Classic or the new Thunderbird, you will
have a lot of choice in the market.
Regarding the tyre pressure, there is a conflict between what the
manual says and what experienced mechanics and bikers say.
However, based on feedback from enthusiasts and mechanics,
the optimum tyre pressure is:
Front- 20-22 PSI (solo/pillion)
Rear- 30-32 PSI (solo/pillion)
Maintain around these values and you will feel it’s right. Also,
having a bit low pressure in monsoon helps to maintain grip on
the roads.
Spokes: If the spokes get rusted/oxidized DO NOT get them
chrome plated again as it may affect their strength. It is advisable
to replace stock spokes with stainless steel ones available
aftermarket as they do not rust. Also, truing the tyre once in a
while may help to reduce the vibrations and prevent wobbling.
Note for People In Coastal Areas: There is no magic way to
protect the chrome parts from rusting. All you can do is to clean it
till it shines and maintain it. Buffing the chrome parts, painting the
exposed areas, polishing the bike and cleaning it regularly will
protect it from rusting. This machine needs care and lasts as
much as you care.
General Tips:
* A chain cleaner and a good chain lubricant is always better than
using grease.
* Warming-up the bike for a few minutes before riding prolongs its
life.
* Never race-start and always avoid clutch and brake riding.
* Never use accelerator when starting the bike, this may displace
the carburetor from its position.
* Cables near the handle are known to wear off the paint on the
fuel tank, tie them to the handle properly and make sure they do
not make any contact with the fuel tank.
* Always keep a spare clutch-cable as they may not be readily
available everywhere and the market is flooded with counterfeit
cables.
* Locking the fuel-tank may be difficult immediately after filling up.
You can replace the thick gasket on the fuel cap with a thinner
one or wait for some time till it expands and then it will lock
properly.
* Backrests on all models except Thunderbird are prone to
bending and it’s better to get a strong aftermarket one.
* Royal Enfield still does not provide side-handle on the right side
(ladies handle) and it’s better to fit it

Read more at http://www.motorbeam.com/2013/06/bikes/royal-

enfield-bikes/what-to-do-after-buying-a-royal-
enfield/#79Q5BR6dLFuAq3Lj.99

I was born and brought up in the unofficial capital of Royal Enfields – Punjab. People here know

only 2 kinds of bikes, the Bullets, and everything else. I have seen them, lived among them,

and hated them since I can remember. So when I read that article by Yogesh, it brought back all

of those memories. Here’s my take on why I would never go for a Royal Enfield, even if they

were the last 2 wheeler manufacturer in the universe. In this article when I say Bullet, I mean all

of them – 350, 500, Classic, Electra, Thunderbird 350 and 500 and whatever else there is.

1. Bullets are fucking slow

Never thought you heard “Bullet” and “slow” in the same sentence? Welcome to India. I have

heard quite a few Royal Enfield riders, and RE officials explain this:

Bullets are not about speed, they are about the feel of riding.

Bullshit! What the hell does that even mean? They might as well have said this:

Bullets are not about speed, or agility, or braking, or acceleration, or leaning, or comfort, or
stability, or fun, or safety, they are about the feel of riding.

Let me give you an example. During the India Bike Week, Goa – 2014, I was riding from Mumbai

and had reached about 50 kms off Vagator beach. I had ridden alone the past 400 kms, and was

a bit bored. Looking for some company, I found 2 guys on Bullets. I had always wanted to feel

what it’s like to ride like a Bullet-eer does, so I started following them.
The worst hour of my life! These guys never went above 65 kmph, a speed where I am barely

able to shift into 6th. The road in front of them was wide open, no traffic, nothing to stop them,

but their top speed for the entire section was 69 kmph. How can someone ride like this? Why

would someone ride like this?

Some people might argue that these guys were good riders and were following the speed limit. I

beg to differ. In my experience, it is much safer to ride a bike above speed limit in India than it is

below it. It’s like they say, when in Rome do as the Romans do. No one in India rides on the

speed limit, so if you are below it, you are likely to get something jammed up from your behind.

Yes, we must do what we expect others to and all of that shit, but I am talking real world

practical stuff here, not imaginary goodwill and random quotations.

I also strongly believe that speed limit should be a matter of good judgement, not some

bureaucratic rule. If you can see the road is wide open, nothing should stop you from riding at a

comfortable speed, above the specified limit.

2. Royal Enfields are unreliable

This is something everyone knows, but the fanatic bull riders chose to make it heroic. Ever met

one of those Royal Enfield riders who brag about how their 200 kg piece of metal got stuck

somewhere away from civilization and how they got their hands dirty and used jugaad to limp it

back valiantly to a mechanic?

Royal Enfields belong to a museum. They might be fun to drive if the highways are happy and

luck is on your side, but on a rainy day they can throw up quite a tantrum. Using old technology

and hand-crafted parts on a machine that is expected to take you safely to the end of the world,

just in the name of tradition and charm, doesn’t work well with me.

When I was coming back from Khardungla in Ladakh, I met a couple from France who were

going up on their Bullet 350. They were stranded on the side of the road, their chain had come

off the rear sprocket and was stuck between the rim and the swing arm. A taxi driver had

stopped to help, but with his tools he wasn’t able to reach the rear axle nut.

With nothing more than human power, we 3 guys wrenched the chain out from there and put it

on the sprocket, but it was too loose. Since we weren’t able to loosen the axle nut we couldn’t

tighten the chain up. It was 2 in the afternoon, so I advised them to go back and get the bike

repaired, because going to the world’s highest motorable road on that bike was just plain

stupid.

It is possible that the rental bike these French people had taken was badly maintained, and I

have seen the chain acting up like this on Pulsars and Unicorns. The problem was that the bike’s

design didn’t allow this simple problem to be rectified easily.

3. Bullets are noisy – and the bad kind of noisy

I am not talking about the stock exhaust note of any Royal Enfield bike, I like them all. The

problem is, very rare people let their Bullets have that sweet burbling sound. If you are in
Punjab, REs will have that explosive, crackling noise due to exhaust modification. In

Maharashtra, Bullets have that irritating high pitched noise due to some stupid rubber

attachment.

Add to that the crazy amount of vibrations at the handlebars and foot pegs, and you might feel

like you are on a tractor. The instrument console vibrated so much I was afraid it was going to

fall off. My hands are feet were completely numb after riding a Thunderbird for about 20

minutes, I have no idea how these Bull riders continue going for hours.

Thumpers have a characteristic bassey sound that you can feel on your heart, but people want

to make their presence well known, even if you would rather not. A high capacity engine like the

Bullet is bound to make a hell lot of noise even if the least bit of tinkering is done with the stock

setup. It’s exactly like the Harley riders in US, they think with their big V twins and loud exhausts

that they are king of the highways. In reality, they are loathed and considered attention whores.

If you have a Royal Enfield, do me the favor to keep it the way it was born.

4. Bullets have really bad brakes

Things have improved since Royal Enfield started putting disc brakes, but they haven’t improved

as much as I would like them to. The disc brake improvement has come way too late also, at a

time when ABS is starting to become standard. The older versions that I drove simply refused to

stop when told to. With their huge bulk and shitty tires, the bad brakes are the last nail in the

rolling coffin.
It’s a good thing that Bullets are so fucking slow, otherwise you would have found a Bull kissing

the pavement every second day. For something that is supposed to be a mile muncher, Bullets

sure do manage NOT to tick all the right boxes.

5. Bullets give shitty mileage

When was the last time you ever spoke to a Bull rider who was getting more than 35 kilometers

to the liter? I never have. Even the most well maintained RE will not cross 40. And they don’t

have extraordinarily big fuel tanks either, so what you end up with is a small range on full tank.

I ride a Duke 390 that gives barely 230 kms on full tank, so I know how much pain small range

can be. But you know what? The Duke gives you massive amount of fun with whatever fuel you

give it. Again, all I am trying to say here is that for a bike whose purpose is supposed to be

tripping 365 days a year, the engineers didn’t care much about how far you could go with how

less fuel. There appears to be no aim to the bike, just old-style charm bullshit.

6.Bullets are unnecessarily heavy

Bull riders very proudly proclaim that all of their bike is made of metal, no plastic like the Duke

or the Pulsar. I personally feel that if you are more concerned about what your bike is made of

as opposed to where and how it will take you, you need to seriously reconsider your biking

ideology.

Bullet riders have an explanation for this as well:

The heavy weight of the bike keeps it stable on highways.

Excellent! If that is your logic, why not tie 25 kg dumbbells all over the bike until there is no

space left? I bet even Zeus will not be able to throw you off balance then. Jokes aside, this

explanation breaks up even further in when you consider it for Indian circumstances – what

highways? How many highways did you ride on during your Ladakh ride? What about central

India? East India? India has roads with no roads, random off-roading spots and overall

unimaginably horrible road infrastructure. A heavy bike is nothing more than a pain in the ass,

especially when you have a break down.

Sometimes when I look at a Royal Enfield, all I can see is a big blob of metal shaped into the

approximate form of a bike. Tomorrow if they invent a bike made of cheese and spaghetti that

goes smoother and corners better than my Duke, I wouldn’t waste 2 seconds to get on its

saddle. What would a Bull rider do? He would probably grate the cheese on the spaghetti, eat it

in a metal bowl and keep praising how awesome REs are.

So there you have it, my reasons for never buying a Bullet, ever. It is possible that you might not

agree with what I have said here, but that’s OK. This is my perception, yours might be

completely different. I am happy on my Duke as of now, and looking for something bigger in the

future. Until then, ride safe and have fun!

UPDATE: In the 1 month this article has been live, it has become the most read post on my blog.

Some people agree with it, some people don’t, and some people just hate what I have said! All I

can say is, I respect your opinion, even if you don’t respect mine.
In the discussions, I found one more reason why not to go for an RE. So here’s a bonus 7th

reason why I would never buy a Royal Enfield.

7. Bullets have spoked wheels

Say what again? Why do Bullets have spoked wheels? Spokes are generally considered good for

hardcore off-roading activities, because even if they do bend a bit, they can be repaired with

ease. I don’t think you can do a dime worth of off-roading with an RE, at least not comfortably,

so why then have they not got alloy wheels and tubeless tires?

Because alloys are an update on spokes, and Royal Enfield doesn’t believe in going for newer

things. Anything piece of tech or engineering that isn’t at least a decade old, doesn’t fit the

criteria to be used in a Bullet. Some people say spokes ride better and softer than alloys, but I

have never felt that difference. Many Bull riders update to alloys, but that’s not what the

company thinks is best for them.

The biggest nightmare with spokes is that you can’t use tubeless tires on them. In a world

where almost everybody is moving away from tube tires, RE is still giving them the thumbs up. It

is so hard to fix a tube puncture! You gotta remove the rear wheel, deflate the tyre, take the

tyre off, find the damned nail, find the damage to the tube, rub it with sandpaper, apply that

gluey thing, press it, put it back in, put back the tire, inflate it, and put the wheel back in its

place.
All of this becomes so much more difficult because of the added bulk of an RE. For a tubeless

tire, all you need to do is remove the nail, push in the sealant strip and voila! End of story. You

can even go for Slime, that immediately plugs any holes and keeps your tires puncture free. But

that is too easy for the hard-core bikers that ride Royal Enfields. Oh, and tubeless tires can be

ridden even with a puncture, all you need to do is keep pushing some air in over small

distances. Because tubeless tires lose air very slowly, you can go a long way before any damage

will happen.

Tube tires just blast away like a party balloon, sometimes putting you off-balance. Imagine you

are riding to Ladakh, next to a 1000 foot drop, and your front tire suddenly goes bam! Your

steering veers to the left, right towards a long and painful death, and there’s nothing you can do

to stop it. For a normal guy, this would be strict no-no. For a Bull rider, this seems like another

part of their so-called adventure.

UPDATE 2: How could I have missed this? I have no idea why this isn’t the number 1 reason not

to go for a Bullet, but here it is at number 8

8: Bullets have a fucking long waiting period

Why do Bullets have such a long waiting period? Oh yes, I remember, they are “hand-made”.

Awesome, cool. All Bullets are hand made, and all of them look the same. What’s the point of a

hand-made machine if it is not unique? Again a bunch of that tradition bullshit. Why don’t you

go for a 1970’s color TV? Or a Pentium 4 computer? Why not just become an Amish and stop

the debate once and for all?

My roommate had to wait 4 months for a Thunderbird 350. The waiting period for some specific

colors goes over a year. 6 months is a generally agreed time frame required to own a Royal

Enfield these days. Why the hell? In today’s motorcycle market, people are getting new, better,

cheaper options every other day. How can someone wait for 6 months to own a giant piece of

metal?

I don’t understand the point of this, do RE people think this makes their bikes kind of exclusive?

Like only the people stupid enough to wait for so long should get to buy one? Have they not

heard of a production line? Machines? Automation? I bet you a 1000 dead fetuses, if RE bikes

are made quicker and with less manual intervention, their reliability will increase. But no! That’s

not cool with the Bull riders.

But I guess it’s OK. People who care to wait for such a long time to own an inferior machine

deserve it all. Royal Enfield is a company that survives on mass idiocy today, I mean no guy with

half a brain will even consider going for an RE in the present scenario. Yes, 20 yrs ago Bullets

were the best, but time goes on! A Bullet is kind of at an awkward stage right now, not old

enough to be an antique, and not young enough to be useful. It’s kind of like a living fossil, an

obsolete craze, a useless necessity.

UPDATE 3: Recently I’ve had a few deep conversation with loyal Royal Enfield owners about why

they continue to support such a brand that produces sub-standard motorcycles. Apart from that,

I’ve noticed a lot of Bullet owners facing problems with their bikes and getting the middle finger
from RE. This brings me to the 9th reason why I would never buy a Royal Enfield, and perhaps

the most important one!

9. Royal Enfield doesn’t give a shit about its customers:
We hate the company, but we love the bikes.

This is the gist of every talk I had with most of these Enfield owners, something that I have to

admit I don’t really understand. If you have reasonably good enough number of biking friends

on Facebook, it’s a daily routine to find some RE owner hopelessly bitching about his bike,

swearing against the company, begging for help.

Somebody destroyed the chassis, someone else lost all their authorized service points, some

dude went to the service center to get 1 problem fixed and came back with 11 more. If you are

in warranty, you are in luck, if not, you are fucked. I’ve seen so many complaints falling on deaf

ears, and it’s really easy to understand why.

Royal Enfield’s revenue model is different from most other manufacturers, it

appears skewed heavily towards service and spares. Think of it like this, when you buy a Honda,

it’s like converting to Buddhism. You get something, and then you are left alone to find your way

with it. When you buy an RE, it’s like converting to Christianity. You get something, and then you

pay to stay with it, pay to keep it happy, pay to find some use for it. Also like Christianity, the

real fun begins with death.

Another thing that can give you an idea of the arrogance of this company is the Rider Mania.

Royal Enfield hosts something of its own at Goa, while the groups do something of their own

with the BOBMC RM. The biggest defining feature of the Royal Enfield “brotherhood” in India is
the maddening number of riding groups that can be found in every nook and crannie all over

the country. If that fact that riders prefer to host an event on their own rather than associating

with the manufacturer doesn’t tell you how much Bullet owners hate RE, I don’t know what will.