Forum

[Davie Hall]

Hi guys, I am going to look at an electra x in a couple of days,. I have tha opportunity to get a new efi but not sure if I want to spend that much money on another bike. Anyway the electra, its an 05 plate, has the highway kit fitted short silencer and the hitchcocks tci unit and a rack and screen. Its in good condition and has had 2 owner's and a couple of service tools and original tool roll. The mileage is 17000ish and it seems to have been well looked after . The asking price is £1300 ono
What do you all think?

[Norm]

Davie spend the extra money if you don't mind an Enfield that is a bit too blingy to me

[Davie Hall]

Hi Norm, one of the problems with buying new is I have had 1 new car and 1 new bike and they were the 2 vehicles I had the most trouble with, and last year when I wasnt in the situation to have another bike I made a promise to myself that I would never spend a lot of money on a bike again. Mind you that was last year. I know a 2nd hand Enfield could be a money pit but this one sort of floats my boat, if you know what I mean.

[Robin]

Hi Davie. 1300£ seems a bit steep for this mileage, despite all the accessories. 1000£ is more realistic.

[apparently lucky eddie]

I'm guessing that at £1300 it is a dealer price? So if it comes with a 6 month guarantee haggle it down £150/£200 for cash. Otherwise it is no more than a £1000 bike with that high mileage.

[Bullet Whisperer]

Hi Davie,
I have just completed some tuning work on an Electra X which involved removing the head, barrel, piston and timing cover. This machine was also showing 17000 miles and all the parts, including the piston rings were good enough to go back in and keep on working, with the exception of the oil pump drive worm and spindle, so new ones went in at a cost of around £35. I wouldn't call £1300 robbery - you might get one for a bit less, but I doubt much cheaper. An EFI type will cost more, just by being newer, but these appear to have their problems, too, going by some posts about them on the internet forums.
Cheers, Paul.

[John N]

Is 17000 about the limit on the big end for these?. BW any thoughts or observations on the one you are working on?

[Gwilly]

My opinion is £1200-1300 is a fair price for a 5 speed box ES 500 thats been looked after..

If the oils been changed regular and its not been thrashed, the bottom end will be fine for sometime yet..

Certainly worth a look and speak to the owner...

[Norm]

Gwilly, not sure why the big end would be fine, it is a crap shoot but most Electra big ends out here have failed at under 20,000ks, maybe they sent all the dodgy ones to Aus. Davie I understand you not wanting to dump cash on a new machine but if you don't care about the looks I would look for a UCE but remember as a completely new bike there was teething problems but in general they are more reliable but you can always get stuck with one that is a problem and often this is why the owner is selling. As for an Electra, out here they are getting to a stage that they just don't sell. There is a very nice one on ebay at the moment for $4000 and nobody is interested and that is really cheap

[Bullet Whisperer]

Hi John N, at 17000 miles all was fine, but I saw the early signs of wear on the oil pump drives, so decided to replace them. The compression ratio of this machine was raised to 9.2:1 last year and the performance CDI [TCI] unit was fitted. It already had a 'Highway kit' fitted. I changed the cams a couple of weeks ago and tested it to 90 mph and it has since gone home. It all seemed in very good shape to me, with no sign of any play in the big end and no roughness in the other bearings. Apart from the oil pump drives, it had a new head gasket and timing cover gasket and that's all. Cheers, Paul.