Forum

[The_Italian]

I love opinions !
this is a friend of mine who actually works on enfields almost daily :

"I am not sure that buying an Electra X is such a good idea. The feedback I get from owners and folk in the trade is that the electra is not as good a motorcycle as the Classics, no quicker, less low down grunt, more fussy and prone to knocking out big ends at around 15000 miles. Some are also given to carb icing. There is the 5 speed box of course, but unless it were very cheap I would not buy one for myself.For projects a reasonably priced 350 or 500 always seem the best starting place to me, easy to work on, plenty of cheap spares easily available, both new and second hand. Sorry to be a misery, but better to say it now, about the Electra I mean, rather than after you have bought one."

Now fellow enthusiasts, bear with me, I WANT AN ELECTRA X, right ?
so carb icing not really a very big problem, I might find a way to heat up my own carb, beside I use the bikes mostly in the warmer season.
Less down grunt , I think it might be due to the very restrictive exhaust and filter nad carb ? wrong ? right ?
Big end , this is a bit of a concern. Can I cure the issue before it present with new bearings ?
Help me clarifying please.

Thanks
E.

[Riggers]

Sorry to be a party pooper but a friend of mine recently bought an Electra X second hand with 4000 miles on the clock and it's been an absolute nightmare. Firstly the breather 'catch can' set up had been removed by the previous owner (not a problem in itself) and the gearbox breather vented simply to atmosphere via the rear mudguard (a la British bikes of the 1970s). Only this one vented pints and pints of mayonnaise everywhere. He had no option but to strip the bike down and what he found was a horror story of Hitchcock proportions (of the Alfred variety - no offence to our hosts). The crankcases didn't line up for starters, which meant the crankshaft was running out of true. The crankcase faces for the barrel didn't line up either with a 3mm step between halves. All this meant that the piston wasn't running true in the barrel and had worn unevenly causing massive blow-by into the crankcases, and hence the mayonnaise and crankcase pressure. Luckily my mate's an engineer and can tackle the trouble himself, but if your average tyre kicker had bought the bike he'd have been well in the brown stuff. I've been told that the Electra X was a 'stop-gap' model chucked together for a limited time until the EFI was ready. On this evidence the my source was right.

[Norm]

Riggers,
I have been banging on about the poor case alignment and consequent crank alignment problems that it caused and I was always dubbed the 'Electra Hater" What you have explained was exactly true(except for the gearbox breather bit) and god knows how many were built this way but my guess is better than 50%, so apart from the fact they were a limited production run with spares rare on the ground you ended up with a massive proportion of engine failures in a bike that was supposed to be the new and improved model. All it ended up doing was turing many people off Enfields forever. The factory has a lot to answer for

[Riggers]

Hi Norm - What you have to say is very interesting, and I'll certainly pass your comments on to my mate (he doesn't do computers). A group of us have just been to The Manx and he was rattling on about his Electra X's poor build quality to all who would listen. It was a shame really because we'd all planned to go on classic (type) bikes but he ended up having to take his car which kind of spoilt the spirit of the holiday, as well as costing him an extra £200 quid in ferry and hotel charges (Steam Packet kept him on the island two extra days 'cos of the car). Yep - the factory have a lot to answer for.

[SFC1000]

IMO there is nothing wrong with the Electra. My own bike did 30,000 miles without a problem so they cannot be all bad.
The problem is the lack of quality and build control and the situation does not seem to have improved with the EFI, if the postings listed on this site are anything to go by.
The various shortcomings of the Classic were addressed, with the Electra, but again the quality let it all down.
A properly built Electra is, IMO, an ok bike.
I think you have to accept the fact that the Indian built Royal Enfield is rubbish.
I have sold my Electra, to a friend and he is still using it, but I still miss it, just a little bit.

[The_Italian]

You all have a point !
does anybody know how many electra x were manufactured or sold in uk ?
this would probably give us a better picture of the situation.
Is anybody here friendly enough with watsonian ?
Would they give us that information ?

Thanks
E.

[The_Italian]

Hi All !
hoe are you ?

just bumping this thread up to get more of your opinions.

Thanks
Enrico

[Norm]

Enrico, at the top of this page you were given some advice by someone who you say works on Enfields regularly. If you don't wish to listen to his advice and you are still hell bent on getting an Electra go ahead and get one, not much more advice we can give.

[Alex.]

My Electra X has been great and never misses a beat - trouble is, shit sticks, and my faith in my bike has been sufficiently shaken by all the 'bad news folk' on this site, that I'm selling it to get a Jap bike. It's a shame really, that an owners forum like this can occasionally be so negative (sometimes from people who don't even own an Enfield, or who have messed about with it so much it's no wonder it's unreliable), but that isn't only this forum, it seems to be the nature of the beast, and I think I'll steer clear of forums in the future. Enjoy riding, tinkering and repairing your bikes.......that's why we own these things after all!

[grunda 12]

well said alex its a shame your off atb paul.