Hitchcocks Forum

Hello everybody and happy new year!
I d like to make some questions(maby not something new for all of you)
I live in a small island of Greece and I am in love for many years now with the RE classic 500.about 3 years now I read and search about this model and everything tell me not to buy this bike.but now is the time that I must buy the bike(because I have collect the money)I want to know about the 2016 models-reliability because I dont know a lot about mechanic and also here the service is a big problem.I dont expect big things I am a slow driver but I dont want problems.I want your opinions please,simple and clear.

hi there and welcome.

all I can say is that my recently purchased 500 Classic has proved faultless in the first 550 miles of ownership. It would make an ideal bike for a small greek Island!

also.. a Harley owning friend of mine called to see it last night and was shocked how light and well balanced it was compared to his sportster.

I shall happily second pd110961's opinion. The current Classic 500 is very reliable, just tighten the nuts and bolts during the running in period. It should be ideal on a small island that does not have big roads. DIY servicing is simple, it does need running in and the first service at 500km. Once it is run in the engine revs more freely and most of the vibration goes away, most reviews test new bikes before they have been run in and get a false impression.

It can cope with any terrain in some comfort. It is not all that slow, it does not have the outrageous top speed of many modern bikes but is quicker than most family cars. What it lacks in horsepower it makes up with a lot of torque and a wide power band, it will plug up a hill in top gear. At 187kg it is not particularly light but the weight is low down and very well balanced and stable. Good brakes and good fuel economy. Here I have country lanes, they are anything but straight, it copes with them perfectly. Lane literally means cattle-path, they are ancient and designed by cattle meandering, any straight bits got added by the romans. Some have grass growing up the middle and some have patches of tarmac. On an open main road it will easily keep up with traffic, the current model does have a couple of extra horses, cruise 90kph-105kph fast cruise 120kph, I've not had it flat out and lying on the tank looks silly.

It is not a cruiser, it is a british motorcycle intended to get a man to work and back in all weathers, it is probably a roadster but was also a successful trials bike at one time; when you do hit a pothole it does not try to throw you off like some do. It attracts a lot of attention and HD riders do tend to drool over them.

Well, speaking as a long time Harley owner,,,,, I wouldn't say I'd drool over an Enfield exactly, and I personally wouldn't set off two up for a European tour on one because the Harley does that kind of thing much better, although I'm sure others have, but I do like my Enfield. As jefrs says, it would be ideal for the type of use you describe. Perhaps not quite as easy to own as a Honda, but certainly not difficult and infinitely more interesting. But anyway, you already have your heart set on an Enfield so just buy it, you won't be disappointed.

you're right.. its not my ideal choice for a long distance tourer. I don't do long distances.. mostly spring to autumn, one evening a week into Derbyshire for a chippy or pub run, some weekend afternoons the same. me and a few mates do a few rallies, and if the Mrs doesn't want to come to them I'll go on the enfield. If she does, the 2002 Bonnie comes out from under its dust cover. Also, the little Honda Innova 125 gets a fair few miles on it, as I commute about 100 miles a week and at 120mpg it would be rude not to use it!

If I wanted to tour on the continent, I'd get a dedicated machine.. Honda Deaville perhaps? I'm only 5'5", huge tourers are a bit too extreme for me. The biggest machines I have owned are a FJ1100 and BMW R100RT.

Oh I dunno, they do attract more than their fair share of attention and for me, most of those who have started a conversation have turned out to be Harley owners. I like Harleys, I could have got one but they don't suit the roads I like riding. I weigh in the region of 100kg and I've removed the springs from the single seat for steel brackets to lower it (short legs), plus I have the rear dampers on their lowest settings to soften potholes; no problems. If you have a wife it has to have a pillion even if she never gets on the bike. The pillion seat has plenty of padding but she complains it is too narrow. No problems for short runs but I think she's like a wider seat and a back rest. And as for touring, these bikes carry an enormous amount of gear all over India and go up and down the Himalayas with it. In better weather I'll ride for 3-4 hours at a time, not that fast on country roads but next to no traffic neither.

I've ridden 350 Bullets in India and Nepal, and they can quite happily do touring - 200 miles on those roads with that traffic is a long, but satisfying, day, and the cold glass of Kingfisher when you reach your destination is like nectar! The roads are sometimes good, sometimes dried-up river beds, sometimes an endless sequence of potholes, and the Enfield is just perfect for those conditions. As for reliability, ten of us covered a total of 10,000 miles (that's 1,000 each) and the only mechanical problem was a broken gear selector spring. So a 500 on a Greek island sounds like a dream. I'm sure there would be local mechanics who could help with general maintenance.

Without meaning to start a fight (honest)... nobody can 'reliably' comment on the reliability of a bike after 550 miles of ownership. However, as another forum poster says, DIY servicing (and repair!) is pretty simple and the workshop manual is a good investment - although, not entirely accurate. Although I don't own a 2016 model, I do own a 2007 model that is also one of the first UCE engine models to be produced. It has been far from reliable. However, almost without fail the repair has been simple.

Reliability - I've clocked up some 1250 miles (2000km) on the 2014 build C5 now. Not entirely faultless. Nuts and bolts have stopped loosening since the first service when they were all tightened with Loctite. Drive chain needed adjusting a month or so after the first service. The indian spark plug fouled because the HT cap fell off the HT lead, doh. I more or less had to replace the indian clutch cable because it was stretchy. I've had a leak between head and exhaust pipe but that's my fault for changing the pipe. The iridium plug fouled but that seems to be a common problem, it didn't stop the bike, just missing sparks. The speedo drive turned itself round and tightened the cable because the pinch bolts needed re-tightening. The rear brake has an inherent fault, the cam plate that separates the shoes is painted
in place and bolted tight, it is supposed to slide under foot pressure, it works very well now. Several indian light bulbs and one fuse have failed prematurely.

The only time it has dumped me at the side of the road, up a tiny lane in the middle of nowhere, was running out of petrol because the low-fuel lamp had failed, iPhones have GPS positioning to send to wife's satnav fortunately.

Mariofest; I was talking to the Chairman of REOC last night who reports several recent applications for membership from Greece.
It might be worth trying to get in touch with them.