Hitchcocks Forum

Slightly perturbed by the direction that some of the threads were taking I emailed the importers MotoGB. Robinsons of Rochdale where I got my bike from are part of the MotoGB group and as most people know they took over from Watsonian Squire last year. So I have been able to speak to MoroGB direct. Although there are some quality issues with the bike, like the silver paint on the oxygen sensor and silencer, the untidy wiring and some of the small design details, overall, I think the quality is pretty high. As evidence of this have a look at some of the photos on my website www.royalenfield535gt.com. I just posted one showing the fitting of the Hitchcock gaiters and you can see in some detail that the brackets, forks, yorks etc are of good quality. If there was really a serious and widespread fuel leakage problem with the bike there would have been a total recall via what used to be called VOSA and is now the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. I got a call back from MotoGB this morning – there has been no recall of the bikes and from their perspective no widespread quality issues. All of the dealer warranty issues go through them, so they should know. In my experience, all motorbikes have design or quality issues but just as the Japanese bikes were light years ahead of the British competition of the day, so the current Eicher Enfields are light years ahead of where the bikes used to be in quality terms. The reason that the Continental deserves applause is that it preserves many of the characteristics of the classic British single of the post-war era but remedies a lot of the issues that those bikes had in their day.

Its now over a week since this GT + post was placed without any response, can we assume that everyone is now happy with the Quality of their new purchase, or maybe they are worried about getting an eloquent blasting for daring to criticise the latest offering from India.

I only posted my comments on the Silver Paint on the Pipes and the iffy Wiring as I had not spotted it in the showroom, I do like my GT, it was selected over several others Triumph, Moto Guzzi etc. and do intend to keep it for a while and spend a few £ on enhancements, such as a fairing etc.

I just hope that the manufacture has taken on board the negative comments and that have been place and the Mk.2 will be improved.

Hopefully improved with considerably more performance and a reasonable reduction in the price. I fail utterly to see what "light years" have to do with anything nor the irreverent dig at British motorcycles of the day? Which day? Were these amazing disposable Japanese motorcycles "light years"(???) ahead of Italian or German motorcycles of the day? One would expect, 50 or 60, even 70 years later, that a modern motorcycle, albeit a cheap 'n'cheerful Indian made one would be a considerable improvement on the technology of the 40's,50's and 60's. Except that in some respects it is n't is it. That's why many guys here throw hundreds or even thousands of hard earned pounds, euros and dollars to try and improve their new Enfields. And how many are spending all that money to make them like they were 50 or 60 years ago,ie. like those appallingly unreliable, rubbish English Royal Enfields? A modern Indian made Enfield does n't really address any of the issues of a vintage motorcycle simply because it is a modern motorcycle. Electronic fuel measuring and injection, halogen lighting, electronic ignition, rubber compounds, plastic and metalic materials technology, etc., all the things on a modern bike or car, were not widely available or widely used back in the day. Not even by those wily Japanese. You might just as well compare a Eurofighter Typhoon to a Hawker Typhoon - chalk and cheese.

Guys I think there are minor gripes and they shouldn't be there - the silver paint and untidy wiring, the uncertain fuelling and some poor detailing in places - like the screw that holds in the right hand panel over the air filter. But as you say the next iteration will probably fix these things. I think the quality questions are limited - if they were serious there would have been an avalanche of replies - which there hasn't been. BTW the bike is £2000 in India. And £3000 in the USA. I'm not going to take the bait offered by Eddie. As far as I can see the Japanese triumphed and the British failed because the Japanese made better products and people bought them. And the most obvious comparison arose when BSA Triumph produce the much delayed triple and the Japanese the well engineered Honda 750 4. The writing was then well and truly on the wall.

Stephen Bike in USA equiv $3000 pounds in Aus they have dropped them to $10,000 AU after they tried screwing the Aussies with an $11,000, I hope the importer here ends up sitting on his arse with a bucket of GT's he can't move. Why would anybody pay that sort of money for Indian quality

Norm - yes they're expensive here in the UK. Actually, as I've said a few time now the quality is good - there are a few things which aren't but if you navigate to maintenance page you'll see pictures of the font end. Which I'd say is OK in quality terms. As are the shocks, paint etc.A site all about the new Continental 535 GT



And I'm not offering an 'eloquent blasting' as Jones43 suggests - just a balanced via of the bike. But at say £4,000 they'd sell more I'm sure. I think MotoGB were rightly cautious about the Enfields. But I've dealt with them and they've been very good. Stephen