The Mammoth GT - Royal Enfield Continental GT - November 2014

[deville_56]

Rear had incomplete look without the reflector.
Bought one from Yamaha. 5USH511000 - ₹ 18.00
RE one was square and boring.


Some old OEM horn clamp lying around.


The reflector.


Final.


Brasso. Metal polish. The saviour of all RE owners.


Condition of engine casing. Wonder how RE makes such terrible quality stuff. Even Pulsars and Splendors 5 times older than this got a non-corroded look. Got it done one time by dealer as promised at time of delivery. Now they charging 2.4k for engine buffing (800-1000 by local RE mech or his guy who does onsite jobs_


Starting the job. On the right hand top corner.


Final. Corrosion has gone superficial and needs some hard abrasive to clear it.
Tried tinting the headlight, just for looks, but throw was short. Removed it.


TVS TruSpray. Too oily.


The legendary GT tyre crack. In almost all GTs.


Shoddy insulation tape job everywhere. Even on waterproof connectors.




Random clicks.

 

[deville_56]

Deville proudly presents "The GT Roadster"

 

[deville_56]

This was the most functional DIY I ever did

KTM service center provided all the spares without any hesitancy even after I said it is for GT. Getting RE spares with hard even with 3 dealers and a dozen of RE only spare dealers in town.

All parts used were off the shelf, mostly OEM parts.

Outcome of the mod:
- Flickable.
- More city as well as highway friendly.
- Can take U turns
- Can push bike sitting on it, clip ons made it very hard for a short stature guy like me.
- Looks better.
- No more wrist pain and numbness.

Starting with parts:

KTM Handle Top Holder - JG151020 - ₹ 84.00



KTM Handle Bottom Holder - JG151014 - ₹ 131.00



KTM Handle Holder Bolt - JG151029 - x4 - ₹ 31.21


Whole set.


KTM Socket Bolt M10x1.5Px60L - LAC00004 - x2 - ₹ 32.80
KTM Nyloc M10 Nut - LCH00001 - x2 - ₹ 7.80


KTM Duke 390 Handle Bar - JG151031 - ₹ 1,004.00


Because of the ill design of clip ons, had to buy these 2 parts as it was impossible to remove these 2 as the bar end weights were kind of permanently fixed. Searched for clutch lever yoke the whole city and no one had stock and finally understood RE don't sell yoke alone like other manufacturers and had to buy whole lever assembly. Yoke is same for the whole UCE range of REs. Only lever varies for 500 and 350, silver for former and black for latter. Price difference is around ₹ 150. So bought the cheaper 350 lever assembly and swapped the old lever.

Clutch Lever Holder UCE350 - 592150/A - ₹ 336.00


Quality of the toke was pretty bad. They painted without removing the drilled metal chips. Bolt was kind of made from plastic, broke off while tightening.

LHS Handle Grip - 521186/A - ₹ 42.00


This one is same across whole RE range, but finish and length are inconsistent. Longer and rougher than the one we already had.

The most important part. The spacer . Bought a pair of Duke Hand Guard Spacer (JG231221 - x2 - ₹ 60.00), but had to drill a bigger hole. Trialed the install with a pair of old Kinetic Honda front wheel bearings. It was perfect as expected and sturdy too, finalized it. Know it is jugaad, but its perfect. Custom spacers can cost maximum of ₹300.00. Branded ones are available made of aluminium in anodized and powder-coated finishes for around ₹900.00 with Unbrako bolts by Via Terra. Had plans of buying it, but this worked out way cheaper and KTM bolts were long enough.


Most crucial part of the install. Precision holes. 10 mm holes. Even a mm of offset can impact the alignment to a great extent.


Drill bit set was a boon. Punched with a center punch and started off with 4 mm bit, then made it larger with 6 and 8 mm bits and finally got the 10 mm hole. It was aluminium and was easy to drill. Whole drilling took max 10 minutes including changing bits.


First tried the Gixxer handle. Looked great. Duke handle is a tapered one. Mounting part was thicker, while the grip part was regular size. So the thinner Gixxer handle would not fit the Duke handle holder.


First install.


And first road block. Hitting the fork tubes.


Savior - ₹ 1.50 Washer


Primed and painted. Could not finish properly as I was in too much hurry to finish the job and test the bike. Applied grease so that it would not rust into other parts in the future.


Now spaced enough.


Broken bolt.


Wiring harness. Wires are so thin, even thinner than my Kiney.


Royal screw up by Concept Motors. Screwed up the screwhead the last time they changed the cables. These were of switchgear. I feel all the bolts are inferior in quality, more like made of lead than steel. Had to drill the head to get it out. Got new one from a local spare shop. This local one was sturdier and heavier than the RE provided ones. Cost - ₹ 3.00


Used old bar end weights lying around. New ones would have added another ₹ 150.00

Finally all set and done. After some tweaks, it was perfect.





RE could have launched this as roadster instead of cafe racer.

 

[vishnu vichu]

Wow Awesome

It was a much better position when I test drove it yesterday. Much much better. I don't know why they make the bikes so heavy yet cheaper spare parts. Cheaper in quality .

 

[2stroker]

Hi Folks - Can someone confirm the piston bore size of the front brake master cylinder for the RE Continental GT? I know its manufactured by Bybre.

Cheers,

Daryl

 

[deville_56]

Always wanted to throw away the bulky stock exhaust. But all the after market options were loud poser pipes.


Then came this Indimotard Greasehouse Megaphone Exhaust. Promised 3.5 bhp boost and improved efficiency (yet to be tested). It's compact. Paid ₹3,600.00 and bought from Motorizer, Trivandrum, a shop that got decent stock of performance parts for most of the bikes.


Impressed with the craftsmanship and fit and finish. Comes filled with ceramic wool and can last long really long. End cap is bolted instead of rivetting, making it easier to refill.



Installation is pretty simple. One bolt under head shield and one is the rear foot peg.




Size difference.


After install.





Leak is becoming annoying now. Condition after 100-200 km since last wash.




GT spares are scarce. There are 3 RE dealers and 2 exclusive spare shops, no one got any spares. Running for a stock air filter for some time. No stock anywhere. One guy gave 500's air filter, which was entirely different and did not fit. Was supposed to be changed at 10k, bike is now 11.5k. This is gonna be the fate of Himalayan owners also.

Performance is terrible now. Quickest RE ever cries to reach 80 and vibes are unbearable below 2k and above 3k.

 

[deville_56]

Finally got air filter after running length and breadth of the city for some time.

573139/B - ₹ 457.00



Different from regular RE air filters.



It's wider, smaller diameter and one side closed when compared to all other RE air filters and costs 3 times.


Installation is simple and straight. One screw for side cover. Four screws for filter box cover. Filter is press fit.


11.7k km old filter. Seems, no air was passing through.

 

[incarnation]

hey very sad to hear the up comings, however wanted to ask you about the grease house exhaust, how is the performance do u really see a power boost, i believe to notice that the air filter would also play a major role. Now that you have changed it please share your experience with the exhaust if it's worth even i'm looking to go for it hence these questions.

 

[deville_56]

hey very sad to hear the up comings, however wanted to ask you about the grease house exhaust, how is the performance do u really see a power boost, i believe to notice that the air filter would also play a major role. Now that you have changed it please share your experience with the exhaust if it's worth even i'm looking to go for it hence these questions.

Even after filter change, bike is performing poorly. Users in other forum reports good improvement in mid range and less vibes than stock. I believe it is better than all the loud exhausts out there.

Bike shown to mech. Hydraulic tappet adjuster is faulty, common across UCE range. Costs 3.5k, but again hard to get. He will reset it for the time being.

Oil is now pitch black and rough, suspecting RE SVC did not change oil last service and level is more than high even after all the leaks. They might have topped it up with lots of oil. Bike only done 1.5k km since last service.

 

[incarnation]

Hydraulic tappets for UCE 350 is 800 bucks i changed the tappets on mine from normal to hydraulic so total cost was 1600 plus labour. However for 500cc or 535 cc is there so much of a difference.

 

[deville_56]

Hydraulic tappets for UCE 350 is 800 bucks i changed the tappets on mine from normal to hydraulic so total cost was 1600 plus labour. However for 500cc or 535 cc is there so much of a difference.

Some GT/Himalayan parts are made of gold Absurd pricing. GT front rotor costs 9k, brake pads 2.2k, front tyre 10.5k. Himalayan handle bar 4k, looks similar to Duke. Headlight costs almost 3k. Bowl and reflector similar to CD dawn. Only LED park lights and aluminium colored rims make it different. Even the twin seat and mirrors we bought for 4.5k each was daylight robbery. Full-molded R15 seat costs 1k with premium quality. Same mirror, same quality available for 2k. Same stock Pirelli available for 4-5k.

 

[deville_56]

Got back bike after service by the RE mech. Charged 2500. Oil, Oil Filter and all packings and rubber hoses changed. Also did something with the valve adjusters, sound is still there but not pronounced as before.



The screwup by Concept Motors continues. Drain Primary (drain) filter cap bolts were overtightened and the thread in engine casing gone. They put in a layer of tin sheet and tightened the bolt and to prevent leaks, sealed with gasket sealant. Morons. He insisted on complaining, but don't want to raise my BP and waste time.

He said next time, we will retread and put in bigger bolts.


OE plug was supposed to be Bosch Super WQR8DC, but was running on Bosch Platinum Plus WR8DP changed at last visit. Had hiccups after this service, was water trapped in plugs.




Made in Germany.




Never seen this type of tip. Electrode is flat with the ceramic base.




Hiccup continued and bike refusing to start. Reason was water inside spark plug cap. Removed it. Everything works fine





Looks neat. Now, post 500 km, no leak at all, not even vapor leaks. Vapor leak used to form within a day or 2 after servicing/washing.






Next problem, bike shitting off in idle or with sudden throttling from idle. Reason loose breather tube. Mech said to apply some glue. Instead, removed it, cut a bit, put it back.




Wondering all these days how to adjust idle rpm. No mention in manual. After extensive googling, found the idling screw. The big copper screw inside the pit. Anticlockwise increases rpm, clockwise reduces. Accessible only by removing tank.

 

[deville_56]

Efficiency with new exhaust I suggest Greasehouse exhaust for anyone looking for a not-loud cast-iron like exhaust note.




Still an eye catcher Stealing space at Autobahn




Finally got rear tyre. Sports Demon 130/70-18. Paid ₹ 3,200.00. RE sells the same tyre for ₹ 12,000.00. Waiting for front tyre. Got from The Tire Club, Trivandrum.




Some subtle mods. Nippon Aerosol.





Most shittiest quality hoses available in whole India. Why the heck can't they change vendor? Third breather hose in 2 years.





Temporarily fixed with chop job.




Breather pipe not available with any of the dealers. Finally got a C500 hose. ₹ 104.00




Cut to length.




Left some extra for future chop jobs, if any.




No chance of sourcing the longer one, severely damaged.




Idling is still an issue. Only thing left to try is the longer breather hose. Cold start, it shuts down with a grind. On restart, it idles, but shuts off as soon as throttle is applied. Third scenario, 90% of the time it shuts down at green light, no problem waiting at red lights. Sometimes, stalls at low speeds, mostly when entering main road at slow speeds.

 

[type-r]

I was a silent follower of this thread until I decided to get myself a used RE Machismo 350. It belonged to a friend and was lying in the open for 3 years, exposed to the sun and to the rain. I am a complete noobie in bikes so much that I did not even know how to ride one.

But after I got this bike, I learnt how to ride on it and I had to give a proper service plus check up and replacement of many parts.

So far I have done the following work:

1. front brake cable changed. clutch cable was fine.

2. carb cleaned and sorted

3. air filter and oil filter change

4. taking out the old oil and putting new shell engine oil

5. side stand was cracked and main stand was wobbly so i put in a new side stand

6. spark plug change

7. got a puncture fixed

8. ordered a new flasher but will have to check wirings and all soon. that is next stage as none of the electricals work aside from headlight.

9. yesterday got the rear sprocket changed

10. had the chain lubed

11. changed rear brake lever as i had crashed and the bike fell and broke off the rear brake lever

12. took out the crash guard yesterday since i crashed because of it. will probably straighten it and put it back later .

Things left to do:

1. Speedo cable i bought last time but the bike did not even have a speedo drive so got the drive yesterday and will fit it soon.

2. Front brake shoes were not available before so got them yesterday and will change.

3. Will put a horn. The bike does not have a horn shockingly. So I just changed horn on my car so will put the old horn on the bike.

4. get all the lights and all to work.

5. give it a proper thorough pressure wash.

6. After the fall, silencer had come lose from exhaust. so I have to fix it and align it properly. till then I have taken out the silencer.

After all this, I can say my bike would be perfect. My priority is it to be mechanically sorted. Cosmetically its in poor shape but will slowly fix that. Right now as a student, blew all my savings on the mechanical bits and saved on labor by working on the bike myself. I am really enjoying this bike but a fall with an incident with a street dog, I would like to ask a question to bikers... How to deal with barking and running street dogs?

Anyways here are pics of the bikes... Both fenders are rusted and crash guard is rusted but thats out now. Once all done, will do a proper photoshoot of the bike.

 

[jennz55]

Hi Deville,

Nice post buddy! Hey I have booked by GT last week & would like to install the dual seat with cowl. Can you guide me on how to get this one for me please?

Antony