Hitchcocks Forum

Today I had a puncture. Road assistance transported the Enfield to one of the bigger motorcycle repair shops in Oslo. There they told me they do not touch Enfields Well, I said, it is only a puncture. That is a very simple job. No, we don't do that. Only if I remove the wheel myself. I removed it on the spot alone. Removing was no big deal, but putting back was a bit trickier. Anyway, I got a cheap repair. Only paid 300 nok (25 gbp) for inner tube and mounting of the tyre.
To me it is ridiculous that a shop in Oslo which has all the gear you can imagine, and plenty of trained staff, refuses to remove a wheel from an Enfield.

One reason not to live in Oslo??!!

Of all the motorcycles I have ridden since the 1950s, none have ever had a puncture. I found the rear tyre was losing air on the Bullet, so I removed the wheel and took across town in the car to the dealer who found it was only a loose valve, $5 AUS. So my record remained intact.

This is common here in the UK too. It's not Enfields per se, it's all bikes. They don't want the responsibility of perhaps wrongly fitting the wheel. Lots of bike shops have a sign saying repairs to loose wheels only. REgards, Mark

It's understandable as there's threads to be stripped,chain tensions to be set up and different set ups on bikes compared to cars.

I live in Hurdal, 1 hour north of Oslo. I use my Enfield to commute every day during the Summer.

I would carry a spare tube/levers or one of those puncture repair cans for emergencies.

That sort of roadside repair is now beyond my capability so I just carry my mobile phone
of course there are a few bits & pieces in the tool box for if something comes loose, a very rare occurence.

Happily, certainly the older style bullets are one of the easiest bikes ever to pop a rear wheel out of, with the exception of some of the single side swingarm bikes (but not all due to idiotic exhaust positioning). I've certainly had a bike shop mechanic exclaim in disbelief when I undid one nut, slid the axle out then pivoted the rear subframe up and rolled the wheel back out in the carpark.



I do however find them a sod to change a tube in at the roadside. Worst thing being pulling the valve through the rim. I also find safety mileage rears a sod to seat, practically impossible with a bicycle pump so my usual roadside repair just leads to a careful limp into a filling station to get a proper compressor to pop the beads up fully.

"Worst thing being pulling the valve through the rim."
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