HEAVY METTLE

12,200kmreport The Royal Enfield Electra has an innate charm that bewitches the rider, despite the glitches that crop up.

Fight night at Autocar India. To your right, you have hardcore Enfield fans and to your left, mundane motorcycle fans. Both await an opportunity to prove they're fighting for the right cause. Unfortunately the last encounter was won by the 100cc bikers — you see, the Electra went for a service and came back with a huge Rs 2,200 bill. Sadly the piston had to be replaced at such an early stage, the engine bored out and even a few other minuscule things needed fixing. Since the last report at 7,500km, we have racked up nearly another enjoyable 5,000 kilometres.

A major grouse with the bike is that the gear-driven valve-train tends to be overly vocal. I've been trying to solve this problem from the time I took over the keys and so far met with only reasonable success, but it seems like I'm almost on top of it. The spindles holding the gears in place can be replaced with adjustable ones from Enfield's Thunderbird, which is supposed to take care of the problem. The piston had to be replaced, because cylinder clearances had built up past their limits. The piston was slapping about and oil seepage from the combustion chamber resulted in blue smoke emanating from the exhaust pipe.
The day after picking up the bike from service, it blew a gasket, and spewed oil like an offshore rig. The faulty gasket was replaced free of cost by Enfield. Oil springs from diverse locations on the engine are still a problem and just about as bad as things can get.
The Electra is returning an average 27.9kpl, but that is thanks to my slightly rev-happy riding style.
When the Electra goes for service and I am forced to ride one of the other long-term bikes, I get depressed. On our recent trip to Mahabaleshwar (shown above), when we took along an Aquila and a Thunderbird, it was the only bike that came away with no problems, despite caning it all the way up the ghats, and back. I love the camaraderie between Bulleteers at traffic lights, the way cops refuse to stop someone riding a Bullet and to top it all, it's a hit with the women too!
All in all, a fun experience. I dread the day this bike has to be returned. Do I have a soft spot for our Electra? Absolutely! l
Ouseph Chacko

Captions:
Timing gear and piston (top) required replacement.