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[ric]

Sounds like far too much speed far too early on. Reports posted by some more sympathetic owners show these engines can still be a little tight after 3,000 miles.

[ric]

Sounds like far too much speed far too early on. Reports posted by some more sympathetic owners show these engines can still be a little tight after 3,000 miles.

[PeteF]

We're talking about an EFI model - altogether different.

[Scalyback]

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My iron bullet Tornado, we don't ever go over 55MPH, usually 50 max.










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REOC 15084

Tabellarius de verbis. Ostensor gaudium[/center]

[Rattlebattle]

I’d like to know what the owner’s handbook says these days about running in. My 2015 LE Despatch has one printed in 2009 ie the original C5 one. It suggests ludicrously low road speeds for the first 600 miles that if followed wouldn’t do the engine much good at all as it would cause the engine to labour in top gear. It is wrong to nurse the engine for 500-600 miles then assume it is run in and expect full power to be developed. The process should be a gradual build up of both load and revs. I don’t know about the Euro IV bikes but anyone who, like me, chose to do the first service themselves will know that there is a fair amount of metal particles on the magnetic drain plugs at the first oil change. This reduces at each oil change (or it should do). These engines are not like modern liquid cooled bikes and do need to be run in sensibly, which does not mean mollycoddling them. Really the main parts to be run in are the piston, rings and bore. The big end is a roller bearing and the rest are ball or roller bearings, which don’t need much running in. The idea is to bed in rubbing parts, removing high spots and creating as frictionless surfaces as possible. Personally I feel it would be better to use suitable mineral oil for the first 500-600 miles; IMHO the recommended fully synthetic oil is too good and prevents speeding running in. This is possibly why these engines invariably get smoother (and quicker) after at least 2,000 miles. I would never buy one of these bikes from an owner who never exceeds 55mph. The odds are that the bore will be glazed. BMW oilheads used to have mineral oil for running in then semi-synthetic afterwards. The ones that used oil were treated too gently, so the bores glazed and the rings never properly wore in. Personally I doubt that the 500EFI will do a genuine 85mph with the standard exhaust and air filter. A free-flowing after-market exhaust will improve matters no end and shed a lot of weight. A large, heavy rider won’t help much either....

[2cvandy]

I think Rattleback is spot on with running in procedure. It's not complicated, don't thrash it, don't let it labour, don't run at a constant throttle opening for long periods, and gradually give it more work to do over 1,000 miles or so. Listen to an engine and it will let you know if it's happy or not (bit like a wife really,,,,,,,,,,,,). Mine's a 2009 EFI and the clock says it'll top 80, but the clock won't be right will it? My guess would be about 75 ish, but it's not pleasant above 60 anyway so I seldom bother. I didn't buy mine new so I don't know at what mileage they loosen up properly, but I've ran in a few Jap bikes (which tbh didn't seem to make any difference) and 4 new Harleys over the years, and they need 3,000 on the clock before they get there.

[Smudger]

My cont 535 gt has just done 3000 miles, it had 1000 on when I bought it. In my opinion it didn't start loosening up until in excess of 2000 miles was reached. As for speed, well you don't buy these for speed but it will show in excess of 80mph but it's not pleasant. Most of the fun on these bikes is 60mph down the back roads, here is where the smiles occur and the engine characteristics come in to their own.....it's bloody great, best fun ever!

[Creaky45]

Why don't you blokes stick a satnav on the handlebars or a push bike speedo as a tempoary way to check your REAL speed. You will see how optimistic your Enfield speedo is. In Australia all speedos must read high by law and for example a car speedo reading 100kmph could actually be doing only 96. I know a push bike speedo looks daggy but if you set it up correctly it is 100% accurate and it also can double as a trip meter which RE have never bothered with.

[Count Johnny]

I attach a small (2-1/2" x 2") GPS speedometer, to Slo Poke, on longer rides.

[2cvandy]

"Why don't you blokes stick a satnav on the handlebars or a push bike speedo as a tempoary way to check your REAL speed"

Mainly because I don't give a toss how fast it goes, I just keep it singing in the sweet spot and we're both happy.