Forum

[Barry N]

I'll second that. I've got the 90042B on my 612 also - it's a superb clutch!

[neddy]

Agree with PeteF, many small fast and narrow machines far more suitable for city work and a few miles uot

[jefrs]

The city bike part excellence was another big single - the Honda C50 step through

[Craig]

Just to say I have used a Classic and would b e Electra (AVL) For years on a daily 18 mile commute.
Both are worthy Commuters..While I Like the Classic 4 speed best..In Daily Life The Disc Brake,Better Elec Power and Slightly higher Speed of the Electra makes it a better Commuter.
I got my AVL in a Classic Frame etc (Machismo) so have the best of both Worlds...ONLY Bad Commute would be the 60mph Motorway Blast for an hour or two....Enjoy

[Beezabryan]

London commute, 'kin 'ell!
Twist & Go scuttler would be my first and only choice.

[Shane]

I do what OP wants to do. I have a 350 Bullet that I use daily to do a 14 mile commute from the edge to the centre of London. Rain or shine! And to be honest its probably not viable for most people. I have had my bike for 4 years and in this time have completely rebuilt the whole bike to do what I want it to do. I have suffered just about every kind of breakdown on the journey, from a big end bearing destructing to the loss of a many clutch cables. I have always managed to get the bike home though, although there has been a lot of pushing it. A five speed gearbox, and a complete custom rewire were there two items that made the biggest best changes. I have an toolbox that has every tool I need in it on standby, and I have a truly impressive collection of spares at home. my wife can put the toolbox into the car and bring the required spares for me to do the fix at the roadside. In the last two weeks I have replaced the rear inner tube (yet another puncture) and the clutch operating lever assembly (550512) which seems to fail with alarming frequency at the side of the road.

TL:DR a RE can be a fun commuter, but be a good mechanic, have lots of spares and tools, and be prepared to not complete your journey sometimes.

[jefrs]

re - Riding the Classic 500 EFi in traffic. The bike has a fair bit more grunt than the earlier models and a simple tweak of the air bypass makes the bottom end more tractable and well behaved, motorway riding 70-80 is possible but not a lot of fun. The look of the bike does turn heads and makes most cagers pay attention, except school-run mums, I have no idea what they're doing. It can slip through traffic, it is no wider than any other bike, the bars are ~730mm. I can ride it at walking pace feet up. The clutch is a new design and seems well behaved, it doesn't overheat but I do stick it in neutral if we have to wait at lights for any length of time (as I would with any vehicle). I seem to have a sticky or spongy cable (tbd). I don't like riding in heavy traffic (who does?) and to be honest I don't have to. The upright position provides good visibility and the ride is very comfortable.

[apparently lucky eddie]

...or a good breakdown and recovery service! Seriously Shane, if your engine/bike really has been totally rebuilt to do waht you want it to do and it is still breaking down so often surely it's not fit for the purpose. I have done so many thousands of miles on Indian Enfields in the last 40 years and never, ever busted a piston, big end, clutch, nothing at all. In fact mine have all been supremely reliable. But then I've never thrashed one up the motorway (yeah my Enfield cruises at 80 in the outside lane...)for mile after mile. I've always found anything over 50/55 max. is pushing ones luck and soon after the bike. But then I'm lucky, apparently.

[PeteF]

I think Shane makes a good argument for not using a Classic Enfield for this sort of work.
I have done over 20000 mls on my 2008 350 and have had;
One throttle cable failure.
One speedo cable failure.


Neither stopped me limping home with the use of a basic tools.
The difference is, I use the bike on (mostly) country lanes and it never gets thrashed.
In terms of engine maintenance, it's been decoked once in addition to oil changes and usual maintenance.

[Shane]

I wasn't really speaking for either camp (to use a RE as a commuter or not) just to give my experience. I have done around 12000 miles and the full list of breakdowns has been massive. but what i have done each time is to improve the original and try and stop it happening again. Also if something broke I will by two, one to get the bike going again, and another to keep on the shelf at home. If i was at the start again I probably would not do it though. A season ticket to work from home is £3500 per year. I guessed that as long as i spend less than that on the bike each year then i am saving time and money. In total I have spent around £7000 on my bike so far, so I am up! I will be changing jobs soon and the it will probably go up for sale, someone will get a well sorted bike and a lots of spares for a fraction of its cost!