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By Wheaters
#81170
I have a 2004, Indian home market 350 Bullet Electra. It doesn't have a starter motor like the 500 Electra did and it's basically the old iron barrelled Bullet with electronic ignition running off the left hand end of the crank (so it has no points or distributor). Seems to me it's some sort of interim model. It does have the primary chaincase with a ring of screws and a gasket, rather than the O ring, but a different, plain inner case unlike the electric start model.

Does anyone know if this bike will have this same crank weakness or does it have a different bottom end?
User avatar
By Adrian
#81176
Somewhere recently Bullet Whisperer posted a picture of one of his 500 racers where the rod had taken out the whole front of the crankcase, yours was "just a scratch" by comparison, Leon!



Wheaters, the 350 home market Electra of that vintage is basically the classic 350 Bullet with a mostly standard crankshaft, they just used a different drive side mainshaft for the TCI type alternator with a tapered mounting. The 350 Electra was a very popular model in India and the factory kept it going for a while longer in UCE form.



enfield_trials, the UK importers certainly had to deal with a number of warranty claims over this when the problem first raised its ugly head over ten years ago. What I'm concerned with NOW is the number of lower-mileage Electra-X examples changing hands for the second or third time and eventually reaching a mileage when the same old problems will once again re-emerge. Given the age of this model any owners are now on their own with no warranty cover, so they will have do their own risk assessments as to the long-term longevity of their engines, and any pre-emptive work needed before something expensive fails, if they want to keep them on the road long-term.



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By bumpkin
#81177
Adrian i don't know but it could be i have just had the sprag removed and thought that was the end of any problems but the thought of the big end going has made me decide to sell the bike.

Don't get me wrong i love it and it does go really well and will miss and hopefully someone will have plenty of fun on it like i have.
By JonHill
#81178
Was any record made by the factory as to when improved big end parts were fitted?
It strikes me that the only Electra X models that will remain are those that have been extensively repaired or have had serious preventative work done. Is it worth it? The AVL engine is very handsome, maybe they will become a rarity, even collectable!
By Norm
#81180
Jon, why would the factory have any records of when a so called "improved" Indian bearing was fitted, they never accepted the fact they were selling a junk product because in typical Indian fashion it was "always the owners fault"
Adrian mine was a 2006 bought in mid 2007 and was in the scrap bin by late 2007
User avatar
By Adrian
#81181
Oops, I seem to have scared one otherwise happy owner off. Not sure how I feel about that. If you really like the bike, bumpkin, why not just start putting some money aside for the crank rebuild and carry on enjoying it? Henry Price changed me less than £300.



Jon, the rarity value may depend on how many more big-ends fail or how many more owners get cold feet. The surviving Electra-X bikes perhaps are at a dangerous stage of their existence, not true classics yet but awaiting classic status, and maybe waiting for long-term owners who care enough to sort the well-documented fixes for the main mechanical weaknesses. It's a good-looking engine, certainly, and I hope to have a 500 AVL engined bike at least in some form in the garage as long as I have motorcycles.



Norm, thank you for the e-mail, I will get back to you shortly.



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