Electric Problem in my Bullet

                   Electric Problem in Electra (Royal Enfield)

My Bullet gave me its first hitch a week back, it all began with the horn not working. Bangalore isn't really a place where you could live without a horn, though am one of those beings who would rather not use horn until it is extremely necessitated (am a noise pollution activist in my own way). I lived without the horn for a couple of days. Then i went down on my hunches to check what could be wrong, i checked the sockets, they were fine. Checked if there was any loose contact in the switch, there wasn't any issues there. So i did not have any other go but to take it to the dealer. I could have got it checked at my place, but the dealer would be more adept at knowing his art (vehicle).

Hence I landed up at the dealer, thinking it could be a minor infringement, i reached the dealer by around 4 PM. The technician too started by checking the prelims, but after half an hour of plodding & poking he realized it was something more complex & it was getting late for him. And Enfield dealers are loaded now-a-days, i remember taking my bike to the dealer from where i purchased to check on getting the 3M fuel tank sticker work completed by around 8:30AM, there was another biker who arrived after me & the dealer was like, we are done for the day - no more bikes. I was really taken aback. But then he agreed to take the bike in but it would be delivered the next day.
So here i was at the dealer with the option of either leaving it there or taking it back the next day. They gave me the diagnosis that the issue was with the wiring & hence more complex, requires time, effort & patience.

So i had to take her back in the same condition, but i was in for a shock when i realized that now not only the horn was not working, but also the brake light, parking lamp, the turn lamps & their indicators.
Being in the automobile industry for more almost two decades had given me the expertise to drive with even lesser faculties. I remember a particular episode where, a customer of ours call & reported that his vehicle would not start & that we should go & pick it from near Nandi Hills.

On reaching the spot we see that the vehicle had turned turtle and perched on its roof. Over & above the locals had gathered around &on seeing us approach the car, took animosity to our steps.
To cut a long story short, we drove that vehicle finally to our garage - towing it with our pick-up, sometimes speeds crossing dangerous limits (with no power steering or vacuum brakes).

So i landed up at the Enfield dealer the next day early, dropped the bike, met the Service Manager.
I requested for the manufacturer's e-mail & the dealer was not really very forthcoming. But then most dealers are so. But i reasoned that this is something which has to reach the manufacturer's ears, this is to do with design & could happen in other bikes too.

The Service Manager himself called me to acknowledge Royal Enfield having received my mail detailing the concern. Royal Enfield too was quick with their response.

The bike was ready was reported to me by early evening & i went to the dealer before late evening, before the crowd hits.

The diagnosis was that the a main wire had cut, this was basically due to the routing of the wiring harness. It went near the handle bar & turning the handle bar left or right used to effect the wire, hence they checked & the wires which were damaged were restored. And they made sure that turning of the handle bar did not damage the wiring. Hence my decision of letting the manufacturer know about this defect was correct, that is as long as they check the same during Pre-Delivery-Inspection.

Now the bike is up & running. Things are honk-dory, will remember to keep you guys in the loop.   

Royal Enfield

Finally I purchased a Royal Enfield, why finally - cause its been at the back of my mind for pretty some time to have the beast.

I had opportunities earlier to own one, but then it really did not espouse my beliefs of how a bike should be.
Even now I had lot of apprehensions on what should i own.

I have a Honda Shine, I really do not have much to complain regarding the bike, but for the fact that they say that the engine life is only 60,000km & then they went on to say its only 40,000km.

I really still believe that the engine life of the Honda Shine is pretty low, cause i know the troubles i have taken to care for the bike. Every 2000 km on the dot i used to drive into one of the many Shell petrol bunks that dot Bangalore & get the engine oil replaced. Hence after so much of periodic care, i was shocked when the engine packed at 65,000km.

Then i heard one of my colleagues who said, buying a Royal Enfield is a life long investment. I have seen a few close friends of mine with the bike behave like they have something worthy of respect.
So i booked for one in the month of October 2013, the staff at the dealership said it would take at least 6 months. 

I was looking for a red colored model. True to their word, 6 months hence the dealer got in touch with me with the info that they had a black model & if i was keen. I had my patience on a wire, & the Honda Shine had engine problems during that period, so i said fine i will take it

.
Finally on 19th April a Saturday i visited the dealer & picked up the bike. They said that the insurance was done but they did not have it papers. So i collected the bike went to office & then home later on in the evening. 

The dealer was keen on selling me a exhaust system which would produce more thump. The sales personnel was a lady, she was like, what is a Bullet if it does not sound like one. I thought maybe i got to take a video of her's & send it to the manufacturer with the comment this is what your dealer has to say.

Well i tell her am happy as long as she runs well, I have been getting lots of negative feedback's regarding the reliability of the bike. 

The model i purchased has only a single horn & that is really unfair on the manufacturer. I purchased this model just because the Sales Executive said that it has 19" rear tires & is suitable for taller folks.

And me thinking about the ground clearance too, went for it.

Will keep you guys updated. 

My New Honda Shine

MY NEW HONDA SHINE

My first bike I purchased in my life with my money was a 1987 model Yamaha. The reason as to why I was keen to own a 1987 model Yamaha was that the engine and gearbox for these model bikes were sourced directly from Japan in an assembled state. That means better performance, mileage and life of the engine. I had that bike for a few years & then sold it. Now one might ask when you purchased the bike with so much a keenness how come you sold it so easily. Well, at that age that is how guys think. 

The reason for selling the bike was to make travel more convenient for me as I had joined for a PGDBA course and would have to carry a lot of stuff with me to college. 

Then rains played havoc in Bangalore that particular year and hence I also needed a waterproof jacket to carry with me around all the time. Hence I purchased a Bajaj scooter - a Chetak. 

I have always been a careful rider and took care to treat all my bikes with care and proper attention at regular intervals. The Chetak returned me 62kmpl. But after a couple of mishaps I fathomed that I never gonna get used to the fact that having the engine placed to one side of a vehicle created an imbalance while driving. 

You had limits when you drive a scooter & i did not want to be cooped up with such limits. 

My next buy was a Hero Honda, i had that bike for a long time, around 5 yrs. The only fact I remember replacing during repairs in that bike was the spark plug & chain-sprocket, the air filters those days were wash in petrol & refit.

I sold that bike when the mechanic told me that the engine had to be redone, only later i realized that the guy was trying to make a fast buck out of me. 

My next bike was TVS- Victor. It was a meaty looking bike & since i was a strapping guy i did not want the bike to look too small below me. The only put down in that bike was that when 2 people sat on it, the shocks went kaput. I think TVS designed it in a such a manner, that even when the bike is loaded 10% above the GVW the vehicle refused to carry the load with ease - I mean the suspension system.

After i lost that bike due to an accident. A lorry came from behind, the driver said brake-failure and the banged into 5 other vehicles. My bike was damaged heavily and I took it to a mechanic. I had insurance, and hence the bike could have been repaired under insurance, but it was declared a total loss i purchased a Honda Shine in the year 2008, an electric start version & without disc brakes. 

The reason i went without disc brakes is in a city where the average speed is around 25km, i really did not need disc brakes to stop myself. Electric start is imperative as there is lots of traffic signals & on some occasions it would be at least a couple of greens before i would be able to cross over.

Initially i really took care of the bike, i mean drive slowly, keep to speed limits especially before the bike crossed 2000 km. Did all the necessary free services at authorized outlets. But slowly as the bike so did my niceness to the bike. I really did not look at the road, and the Honda Shine is pretty sure footed and the shock-absorbers are pretty good at their job.

The latest edit to this blog. In the year 2014, my bike (Honda Shine) had covered around 66,000 km and the engine gave up. I was working with Nandi Toyota as a Customer Relations Manager. And my office was around 23 km one way. So every day i travelled literally 50 km. I was shocked to say the least. At 66,000 the smoke emission from the bike exhaust was way beyond limits and the spark plug would get coated with oil regularly. 

So I called up Honda dealer and they connected me to the Honda 2-wheeler office and spoke to them regarding this deficiency. They agreed to give me a 50% discount on the repairs. So i went ahead and go the engine and clutch assembly replaced. It cost 14K and i put in 7K. 

As on date July 2020 (when the Coronavirus) is active my bike has run 98,000 km. Around 2,000 and it will be one lakh.