Forum

[nigelphoto]

There is indeed a separator between the two parts of the sump except that if one looks at 04-16 in the Workshop Manual there is a slot just above the foremost bolt which allows the free flow of oil between the compartments. From the drawing (obviously not to scale) the sight glass at the end of the larger of the two galleries would appear to be well above that slot. I am not about to rush out to the garage and tear down my bike tp prove/disprove it but I can say that I haven't experienced any problems in getting a consistent level reading on my 2011 C5. The workshop manual (downloadable pdf from RE India site) does state that on oil change the amount which comes out is 2.35 litres with shaking it from side to side. I suppose in the end its what you're happy with - I'm emptying out 2 litres, putting 2 litres back in and the level in the sight glass is about 2-3mm below the Max. I'm not loosing any sleep over it!

[papasmurf]

nigelphoto, with the vagaries of producing castings in India, your machine may well be OK and the oil is free to level up below the sight glass, that does not mean all of the bikes are the same.
If you want something with castings with very close tolerances buy a Japanese bike.

[Rattlebattle]

Sorry, I meant 2.4 litres not 2.6! The hard copy manual says that 2.35 litres should drain out and that you should put about 2.4 litres in. This is exactly what I do. I ignore the sight glass entirely but just look at the engine, especially underneath to look for any leaks. Oh, and of the 2.4 litres I put a small amount into the filler on the lhs for the primary drive.

[nigelphoto]

Papasmurf - Royal Enfield in Chenai has ISO9001 certification for its quality control management and operates the (Toyota) Kaizen system. The tolerances of the castings are going to be well within the accuracy of Thai (Triumph) Chinese (BMW) Indonesian (Honda) and Brazilian (MV Augusta) motorcycles. Simply put, the AVL designed UCE is a throughly modern C21st engine which is oil tight (not like Redditch Bullets then!) well engineered and very reliable. From scrutiny of the drawings and photos given in the workshop manual it does appear to confirm that like all wet sump, wet plate UCE power units there are oilways between the gearbox, primary drive housing and the sump, and all below the level of the sight glass. If the engine is left for a time after a run the oil will eventually find its level and the sight glass can be trusted to give a pretty good indication of what's in there. And if you're really worried then get one of these 90246 and you can watch your lovely semi-synthetic 15W-50 bubbling away and lubricating and cooling all the whirring round and round and going up and down bits!

[nicklov]

Many thanks for the many replies on my query. I shall do what many recommend, drain a little oil out so that it is showing the correct level in the window and drive for the next 5000 kms with regular checks and not loose any sleep over the "missing" oil.
I do think that RE India should mention in the handbook that almost a litre of oil remains hidden in various nooks & crannies and that you should just replace the amount that drains out.
Never had this problem with my ancient Norton's, but on the other hand The Bullet doesn't leak and it has brakes that work, even at 120kms/hr!

[papasmurf]

nigelphoto Subject: 2.75 Litres!
"Papasmurf - Royal Enfield in Chenai has ISO9001 certification for its quality control management and operates the (Toyota) Kaizen system. The tolerances of the castings are going to be well within the accuracy of Thai (Triumph) Chinese (BMW) Indonesian (Honda) and Brazilian (MV Augusta) motorcycles. Simply put, the AVL designed UCE is a throughly modern C21st engine which is oil tight (not like Redditch Bullets then!) well engineered and very reliable."
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................When it comes to engineering, part of my apprenticeship was working in a foundry.
I don't care what certification Chenai has, people on this forum have had more than enough problems showing casting accuracy/quality is somewhat variable.

[jefrs]

rattlebattle - which 'hard copy manual' please which which year-model engine?

the Bullet Classic EFi Owner's Manual" says, "2.75 litres". The "royalenfieldhandleiding.pdf" sayeth, "Oil capacity: 2.75 l - initial oil filling: through oil filler cap = 2.5 l, through crankcase LH cover: 0.25 l." Not entirely sure the workshop manual is for current model because picture show earlier front forks and also says pump is 4.5 litres per minute @ 2750 rpm, also says pump delivers pressure of 4.5 bar (one bar approx one atmosphere). It does say (sic), "Quantity of oil that can be drained in 2.35 Litres approximately", and not not one of my tpyoes there this is after removing "... the two Hex Flange Bolts M5 x 15, Sump drain Cap, "O" ring and Suction filter Assy." (sic again). That's not clear - so from the Manuel -

OIL CHANGE

Refer Periodical Maintenance chart (page No. 03-10) for frequency.

Keep vehicle on level ground.

Start the engine and warm up sufficiently so that the oil drains faster.

DRAINING PROCEDURE

Keep a clean tray under the engine.

Remove the two Hex Flange Bolts M5 x 16, Sump drain Cap,, "O" ring ans Suction filter Assy. [Jeff - that's three drain holes}

Remove the Magnetic Plug assy along with its washer.

After the oil drains out, remove vehicle from centre stand and tilt the vehicle to both LH and RH sides 3 to 4 times to drain out maximum oil.

(picture)

Quantity of oil that can be drained in 2.35 Litres approximately.

Tighten the oil drain bolt with washer [Jeff - how many plugs and bolts?]

(picture)

Assemble the cleaned suction filter element in to Crank case and fix drain cap with "O" ring.

Fill up with 15W50 API SL grade

Refil oil quantity 2.40 Litres approximately.

whew! hope that helps?

Jeff

[jefrs]

typo not, "that's three drain .." but "there's three drain ..."

[Rattlebattle]

The manual I refer to is the one I bought from our host. It was printed in 2009 and is entitled EFI Wirkshop and Service Manual. It covers the early Classic C5, Electra EFI and Bullet EFI (G5). Putting a small quantity of oil i (from the total amount specified) in the primary chain case is from another forum, but makes sense to me so that's what I do. Having in a past life, before I retired played a large part in achieving ISO 9001 accreditation I can say that it means very little in terms of actual quality; it simply means that the organisation's specified quality procedures as laid down in the quality manual have been followed. Back in the days before VAG involvement the point was always illustrated by pointing out that Skoda and Rolls Royce could both be accredited under 9001 but only one of them would actually produce a quality product, the other would produce inferior product consistently in accordance with its quality manual. Triumph may produce some of their bikes in Taiwan, but they are produced to UK Triumph standards, not indigenous ones as I suspect is the case with RE.

[simon]

The 860 Ducati says that is takes 4.5ltrs of oil but I've had it literally bone dry and never managed to squeeze in more that about 3.9l.I suppose I must buy bigger oil.