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DieselBob

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Re: Classic
Reply #15 - 04/04/18 at 18:23:41

Jeez! You guys are brutal. Dead on, mind you. But, brutal. I've got 2 in the stable and they're everything that's been described. It's all about perspective and accepting the fact that it's 1955 (at best) engineering. Like the days of flying behind the radials, the ratio of maintenance to flying/riding is completely out of wack, but it feeds the soul like no other. And still beats dragging that magnet on a rope behind the Harley to collect the parts that shake loose. But then, I've not owned a Davidson built in the last half century. Perhaps they've improved.

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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Classic Reply #16 - 04/04/18 at 19:27:04 Perhaps they've improved. Immensely.. They figured out which ones fall out and just stopped putting them in.
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Armen

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Re: Classic
Reply #17 - 04/04/18 at 19:41:14

With the crazy import tariffs in India, the domestic companies really don't have to try very hard. Or improve anything.
My guess is that they will slowly evolve/improve.
There is always someone who has to own something different and 'quirky'.
Prob is not enough of those folks in the US to make RE the major player they want to become here. I also get the feeling that they aren't much on taking advice from Americans.
At the NY Bike show, the RE folks there told me they basically get treated like idiots from the folks in the old country. Often finding out about new models or important information by reading it in the press.
Same way the Brits, Germans, and Italians used to treat the US importers of their bikes.

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In theory, theory and reality are the same. In reality, they aren't...

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MMRanch

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Re: Classic
Reply #18 - 04/04/18 at 19:56:00

Oh Yea Bob

I've had two Sportstrs since they rubber-mounted them , that came about in 2004 .
The first was a 04 -1200cc , the power was great ! Rubber mount and Carb-ed . It did vibrate a little ... Roll Eyes

So , in 2007 Harley put Fuel injection on . I've still got a 883 , 2007 model .

After having both : I've come to the conclusion that ... Harley built the 883 and balanced it perfectly Cool

. Its really a good bike if you don't mind the 560 # . Then as an after thought ... Roll Eyes

... They desided to up the piston size from 3" to 3.5" (883 to 1200) ... well they threw it a little out of balance when they did.

Also , the 1200cc I had Sad

,
I was trying to keep up with a bunch of WILD-SAVAGES on the Blue Ridge Parkway one year and was having a hard time doing it . So , I was running 2nd and 3rd gear up and down through the RPM range to use power as an EQUEALIZER ... It kinda worked .
But running that bike like that made the front sprocket of the primary drive start working on the crankshaft splines that drove "said sprocket".
The end result was the splines disappearing Embarrassed

. I made it home ... but less than a week later "said splines" were completely gone and I brought it home on a trailer . Undecided

So , I built a weld shield around the crank and sat down beside the Crankshaft with a welder and a Dremel tool . Apparently the factory did not have any taper to them to tighten up on ... Sad

... So , the splines I built did have a tapper (lightly) and I used sandpaper and a drill to make matching taper in the sprocket . I rode it around almost a year after rebuilding the crank splines and it never came loose again , how could it ... this time it was two mating tapers tightened onto each other ! Cheesy

The most interesting thing I found was the fact that the CrankShaft was made out of Case Hardened Dough-Ball-Steel ... Angry

... 1,25 " Dough-ball steel ... I couldn't hardly beleive anybody would put 1200cc power on something so small and punney !
It seems to work just fine for the 3" (883) piston regular gas motor but that isn't near enough for the power the 3.5" (1200) piston High-test gas
motor.

So in some ways Harley has got better Roll Eyes

. But still not as good as a Single Cylinder 650cc I know of ! Wink

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DieselBob Full Member Offline Thumper - One Who Thumps Posts: 189 Goshen, IN Gender:	Re: Classic Reply #19 - 04/05/18 at 06:00:35 - "There is always someone who has to own something different and 'quirky'." I'm going to take that as a compliment. After all, our bikes are an extension of our personalities, are they not. And some would say the same of us who own a Savage. I should note our Enfields are not of recent vintage. So, I can't speak to current Indian production.
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batman Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 3806 osceola new york Gender:	Re: Classic Reply #20 - 04/05/18 at 06:25:27 I guess if I was going quirky I be looking a Ural, at least they have BMW -DNA.
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Dave

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Re: Classic
Reply #21 - 04/05/18 at 08:14:11

I agree....that I do like quirky things provided there is some historical or unique character involved, and I agree that the "thumper" character of the Savage complies. The Savage is pretty reliable and low maintenance once you get the petcock and timing chain tensioner under control....so it really isn't hard to live with long term..

If I had some extra money and wanted something cool to ride around locally.....I could likely appreciate a Royal Enfield or similar motorcycle.
(I am not sure I would like a sidecar well enough to get a Ural...does anybody ride them without a sidecar?)

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JLC Senior Member Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 262 Black Forest, Colorado Gender:	Re: Classic Reply #22 - 04/05/18 at 08:24:45 There is a British program on Netflix I watch, "Death in Paradise". Whodonit type of thing. The local police has two vehicles: an old Land Rover, and a Royal Enfield with a sidecar. Sidecar is similar to the Steib ones fitted to BMW in the 1960s. Cool looking rig!
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MShipley

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Re: Classic
Reply #23 - 04/05/18 at 08:25:45

I think the RE. is just cool. Lets face it we are all a little quirky to have the S-40...at least in the US where it is considered a tiny bike. It really does amaze me though that the S-40 does not sell by the truckload in this country. It's inexpensive, great on gas, easy to work with, perfect commuter bike.

I love to tinker and only ride on roads where the max speed is 55 and never for more than 20 miles at a time.... the RE would fit my bill...

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HAPPYDAN

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Re: Classic
Reply #24 - 04/05/18 at 09:08:01

Dave wrote on 04/05/18 at 08:14:11:

I agree....that I do like quirky things provided there is some historical or unique character involved, and I agree that the "thumper" character of the Savage complies. The Savage is pretty reliable and low maintenance once you get the petcock and timing chain tensioner under control....so it really isn't hard to live with long term..

If I had some extra money and wanted something cool to ride around locally.....I could likely appreciate a Royal Enfield or similar motorcycle.
(I am not sure I would like a sidecar well enough to get a Ural...does anybody ride them without a sidecar?)

The military Ural has a drive shaft that runs the outer wheel on the sidecar. Great traction in the mud (think "Operation Barbarosa" mud). Not sure if it works without the sidecar.

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JLC

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Re: Classic
Reply #25 - 04/05/18 at 12:01:23

Yes you can ride a Ural solo, but it's not designed for that. You have to loosen the steering damper all the way, and you have turn signals on the left only (the right turn signals are fixed to the sidecar).

Ural used to make a solo bike (Ural Solo sT), but production ceased in 2012.

I thought of buying a Ural Gear Up (the one with the 2WD), but I want to do more riding than wrenching, and by all accounts owning a Ural motorcycle means a lot of wrenching!

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batman Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 3806 osceola new york Gender:	Re: Classic Reply #26 - 04/08/18 at 00:27:28 Before the solo st , they buddied up with a Russian motorcycle club and offered a solo that was a chopper.
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jcstokes Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com is very useful Posts: 2119 Mauku New Zealand Gender:	Re: Classic Reply #27 - 04/08/18 at 01:31:44 There is a Youtube video, "So you want to buy a Ural".
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DieselBob Full Member Offline Thumper - One Who Thumps Posts: 189 Goshen, IN Gender:	Re: Classic Reply #28 - 04/08/18 at 06:08:22 "(I am not sure I would like a sidecar well enough to get a Ural...does anybody ride them without a sidecar?)" Dave, go ahead and get that Ural and just take the Savage with you. https://pp.userapi.com/c625522/v625522671/6be4/ac41OR5Ubls.jpg
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dustystranger

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Re: Classic
Reply #29 - 04/10/18 at 18:42:50

I have to chuckle when I read these posts about the Royal Enfield. If you have one that is pre AVL, yeah, they are right out of the 1940s. With the AVL motor it received a roller big end, better oil pump, electronic ignition, cv carb, five speed, and a quantum leap in reliability. After I spent a couple hours with a tube of blue loctite my RE has been as reliable as a Honda. OK, it has a sweet spot between 50 and 60. And I also have a pair of 650 savages.Is the suzuki a better bike? For sure. But for around town and mellow rides on empty back roads the RE is plenty fun. And I get a hundred times more "wow what a cool bike" response from the public. My only long term concern is the location of the countershaft sprocket. But I replace the drive chain before it gets too stretched out. The newer UCE engine I understand is even better. But I have never owned a "better" bike than my Savages. However, if you want a genuine 500 old english single, RE is the only game in town. Of course the best 500 "english" single ever built was the SR500!

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