Hitchcocks Forum

currently have a 2006 electra.
is it worth spending 3000 POUNDS TO CHANGE TO AN EFI
would appreciate any comments.
cheers

Jenks

Hi Jenks. I have never ridden an EFI, so I am not really qualified to give worthwhile advise, but being an Electra owner, I would stick to the Electra if it is low mileage, below 10.000 miles. And change to an EFI as soon as possible if your Electra's done over 20.000 miles. My main bearings went at 23.000 miles. Hope this helps.

hi jenks the efi is a nice bike but is it anymore reliable than your electra? my electra did the big end at 15000 miles worn out not lack of oil i might add just wear & tear now heres the punchline i have in my workshop at the moment a 2008 efi engine thats done 15000 miles with a worn out big end and if your thinking sprag woes well i can tell you that the efi is fitted with an identical sprag to the electra so caveat emptor i may have miss spelt my latin but i,ll translate BUYER BEWARE atb paul.

In a word - no. If you've got 3 grand to spend on a bike why not buy another machine and keep the Hellectra? For 3k you should be able to pick up a reasonable restored Brit classic rather than a wannabe.A quick look at one classic dealer and I found a very clean '56 G3 Matchbox, and a very nice Starfire and a couple of Ariel Arrows for less than 2.5K. Or maybe a 3speed NSU quickly for £500 which should give a new EFI a run for its money!

Unless you are an Ariel two stroke expert I'd be very wary of the Arrow's, lovely bikes but setting them up to start reliably requires the sacrifice of chickens, at fairly regular intervals. The NSU is a fascinating ride, and for a 50cc quite poky. The G3 has FREE tax and NO MOT, and are nicely similar to an Enfield. Just my two penneth!

Hi guys--------- any of the BSA 650 twins would do for me (The Thunderbolt as it's a single carb )--------

Iheard the problem with them was the tendency to wander off down the street if you left them ticking over on their centre-stand. I always find it amusing having to put a lead on your bike to stop it wandering off! More expensive but I think the swinging arm A7/A10 were better bikes. (controversial or what!)

If you want a DeCEnt Restored Brit single such as a B31/33, you will not get one for £3000 unless it is a Cub or Bantam. For a Velo, think £6k plus. Aside from that keep the Electra.

Don't agree,you can pick up Matchless/AJS 350's in decent nick for under 3K. I've been keeping my eye on them because of that. The only thing that has stopped me so far is that my Enfield is much easier to get parts for, important when the outfit is our only form of transport!

I made this change in October last year and it only cost me about £750 to p/ex.My Electra had eaten 2 sprag cluches in 3000 miles.I spent a fortune on various upgrades without any real benefit.The clutch itself was horrible even with our hosts mods and could never be properly adjusted.My Electra leaked oil and wouldn't tick over reliably.I couldn't reliably start my bike with either the kick or electric start.

In comparison so far my EFI can be easily started with the kick or electric start and the de-compressor actually works!The clutch is 100% better than the Electra as is the gearbox.The EFI will potter or cruise at any reasonable speed even on the motorway.

Based on my experience i would definitely go for it.