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By hagis
#6626
Well that's the CGT done 2800 miles around the Scottish Highlands and what a pleasure its been, It took 2000 miles for this bike to settle down and now vibration wise its the same as my 2009 Electra, its clutch and gearbox are sweet it runs up to 80 mph very easily, it handles very well with good brakes so quick and nimble it is, Had a few teething troubles with this bike, Tank bolted down on frame, easily fixed with a strip of rubber, petrol leak from fuel gauge sender unit, fixed by removing sender unit from tank and reassembling with silicon sealant, An occasional reluctance to start, traced to bad connection on fuel pump solenoid, MPG is around 65 miles per gallon with very little oil consumption, All in all I am very pleased with this machine, When I bought it I knew it was buying a low cost Royal Enfield and expected the usual problems with a machine in this price range, lets face it I could have purchased Triumph or Norton café racer at anything up to £20,000, and I hear that dealer service and build quality is not all its cracked up to be with these machines either, So you pays your money and takes your choice, me I am quite happy with mine. So a comment on the state of the roads in Scotland they get rougher and rougher, even new laid tarmac is bumpy, they seam to have lost the art in laying smooth tarmac, are the roads in the UK all like this?, If RE bring out a Himalayen with a 535 engine I will be first in the line to buy one.
By Smudger
#61804
Done just over 2k on mine and on the whole I'm really pleased with it.
they look great and sound great. Plenty of aftermarket add ons to keep my tinkering habit happy too!
I've fitted a power commander but probably wouldn't have bothered in hindsight
as the difference is negligible.
A few teething probe mainly with the lighting fuse blowing etc but great fun and a real headturner!,
By KC1961
#61806
Have done a similar mileage around Fife, Lanarkshire, Border Region and West Lothian. Has been a pleasure also. The bike runs lovely, a bit vibey above 4500rpm but sweet as a nut between 3500 - 4000rpm and apart from a few tail lamp bulb failures has been great. I measured the fuel consumption last week and it was 77mpg. I had measured it a few times previously and it had always been in the 80s, however over the past 1000 miles or so I have been using a few more revs. You mention Norton & Triumph, as well as the RE I have a 2014 Bonnie. Altho' I like both, in general I prefer the RE. The state of the roads in Central Scotland and in West Lothian in particular is abysmal. Lothian Regional Council seem to think that repairing the road means a layer of hot tar followed by tons of loose chippings.
By jefrs
#61826
Just over 2000 miles on my C5 and it has settled down nicely too. I've been round the highlands several times and going again soon, unfortunately without the bike but if anything the roads in England are worse.



Usual teething, mostly electrics connectors, fuses and bulbs, but also the petrol pipe because apparently the indian pipe's outer cover dissolves in petrol, use real petrol pipe and proper petrol pipe hose clamps.



I will say that if you want it to run sweetly at high revs, you do have to run it at high revs to bed it in a bit more, stick it in a lower gear more often and run it up to 5000rpm in 3rd and 4th. I do not mean thrashing it but if you give it some stick they stop being so buzzy at he top end.
By JohnL
#62381
My GT is approaching 6000 miles and has been trouble free. Nothing has fallen off, and not one bulb has blown. I guess I must ride mine more leisurely as I'm averaging 90 mpg!

John
By jefrs
#62884
I'm up in the highlands just now albeit sans bike and have to say the roads are lovely and smooth except where they seem to employ some chaps from the local highways and parks departments to come along and install especially lurching potholes.



2000 miles would seem about right for them to settle down. The PCV doesn't do much on its own, you have to add a free-flow exhaust system and a free-flowing K&N filter as a minimum, plus have the PCV mapped correctly i.e. from Hitchcocks for it to do anything but then you get a great big sock full of extra torque at the bottom and mid-range, top speed is much as it was.

Comparing the specs, apart from the extra 35cc, the CGT seems to have slightly enlarged and probably cleaner ports. Port polishing/gas-flowing maybe an easy tuit should I get bored.



I've ridden along with other Bullets and had to hold back, a lot - there's a fair bit of difference. Why did I tweak the bike? Mainly because I simply have to fiddle with anything mechanical. To get rid of the EFI flat spot above idle and to cure decel popping (reversion), the main object was to make it more enjoyable to ride, goal achieved.
By Smudger
#62885
I've got the hosts sports exhaust on and the K&N but not noticed a lot of difference.
Mine still has the flat spot off idle and pops and bangs on deceleration (I like the popping and banging though)
I know the generic map doesn't always work straight from the box but I'm a bit reluctant to pay even more money out for 2hrs dyno time to align the mapping if it doesn't make any difference. I wish I'd have spent the money on a car conversion to be honest or put the pcv money towards the fairing in all honesty.
By jefrs
#62946
Smudger, the Power Commander V can be viewed as a carb with infinitely variable needle and jet. The flat spot just above idle was a big bugbear for me but I used the PCV to get rid of it entirely. The Hitchcocks' map (whichever one you have) doesn't really do anything until some 20% throttle, above the flat spot. So the PCV can be used much like a pilot jet to enrich or weaken at the revs where the flat spot occurs.

The other thing to try to cure the flat spot is opening the air bypass a hair more (the brass screw practically under the seat)

I suggest altering the fuel table as follows if your cells are blank - 1500rpm 0, 2, 3, 4, 5 ... 1750rpm 0, 0, 5, 15, 5 ... 2000rpm 0, -1, 5, 11, 4... 2250rpm 0, -1, 5, 6, 4... that's revs 0%, 2%, 5%, 10%, 15%

However this is not from my latest table but the last one backed up to my desktop. I would have to put the laptop onto the bike to discover that, both of which have been put away.



I've since added the Autotune AT-200. Yes it is more expense and not entirely necessary. It can operate in real-time and then make a list of corrections (trim table) to be incorporated into the map. Used flat at "14.7" is very bland, nor does this equate to the ECU's base map. Using it and setting it up is a bit trial and error and does need the ability to understand pages of numbers on a spread sheet. What I've done is fiddle with it until it shows a zero correction for the Hitchcocks' map and then make best-guess extrapolation to the areas adjoining the map, particularly where reversion popping occurs on deceleration over-run. First one has to determine what the ECU base map mixture is, then what the Hitchcocks' map is in terms of air:fuel ratio; not that simple. The Hitchcocks map sits on top of the ECU map, the Hitchcocks' map can be turned off. Adjusting to zero trim allows the base air:fuel numbers to be calculated.

This is a work in progress. Once completed to my satisfaction it should provide adequate mapping to the areas outside of the Hitchcocks' map to cure the flat spot and reversion popping. I do intend to share it once reasonably complete. Each bike will differ but it should provide a good starting point. Running the bike up on a dyno usually just deals with the power curve, it does not normally address low-speed flat spots and reversion.



Having got the PCV I would not now swap it for a carburettor. A carb may be easier to understand but the PCV does a better job.



It is no good just fitting the PCV, it has to be loaded with the map and the map enabled. That means using a laptop on the bike. The TPS has to be calibrated too. It has all got to be set up before it works.

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