( i ve sent this mail to RE, and will add their response when it comes... if u r a enfield owner or planning to be one, keep watching this space to know your future.. :-P) - follow-up added below..
hopefully this mail will reach someone who will act on it...
dear sir..
i purchased a classic 350 in december 2009. am a bilateral amputee with a passion for motorcycle travel and have a sidecar fitted to the bike to allow me to ride it. am one of the early members of 60kph. my earlier bike was the first generation pulsar180. with the UCE engine and all the buzz about better quality, i sold my pulsar and bought the classic 350.
but.. i feel sad to say that i am really disappointed.
let me just list out the history and wait for your response to it.
i started using the bike on 1-1-2010. the first ride was to rann of kutchh. (60 kph anniv. ride)
the same day, the bike had a electrical problem. every time i turned the headlight on, it wud blow the main fuse. opened the headlamp, and found the dim bulb holder burnt up and the terminals were causing a short circuit. incidentally, its been a year now and the holder has still not been replaced in my 10 trips to your service centre coz they keep saying THAT PART IS NOT AVAILABLE!!
in 7 days the speedometer cable broke.
in a month the clutch cable broke. again, CABLE FOR CLASSIC NOT YET AVAILABLE! at yr service centres, so they installed a TBTS clutch cable which is longer and has scratched the mudguard to bare metal.
in four months, the starter sprag-clutch gave away spilling its parts in the clutch and jammed the engine. i was on my way to lonavla and had to get the bike towed to nerul service station. they informed me after a couple of days that they discovered a crack in the crankcase and wud replace it since the bike was in warranty. but of-course, THEY HAD NO SPARES!! so i waited for 6 weeks during which time they kept reminding me that they cud ve put the cracked crack case back and i would never have known! after six weeks i lost my temper and called yr chennai office and the crankcase landed in bombay in 3 days and i was back on my bike in another 2.
oh, but they lost the neutral indicator switch! and put back any switch they cud find. THEY SAID THEY DID NOT HAVE A SPARE FOR THE CLASSIC AND THE ONE THEY INSTALLED WUD ATLEAST PREVENT ANY DIRT FROM GETTING INTO THE GEARBOX EVEN IF MY NEUTRAL INDICATOR WUD REMAIN DEAD. (that switch remained elusive too till i had it installed at soniya motors in oct 2010)
as soon as i rode the bike out from nerul, my pants were smeared with oil leaking from the rocker cover. i waited for 3 hours while they fixed it, it started leaking again in a week.
the service centres are quick to turn u around coz they are ever so busy. so i kept topping up the oil as i rode. got it fixed at soniya motors in oct 2010, but it began to leak again in a week and finally had it permanently fixed at sharda motors in dec 2010.
in the meanwhile no clutch cable has lasted me more than a couple of months and i ve already replaced the chain sprocket set once and will need another soon.
after the crankcase/sprag clutch repairs in april/may 2010, the battery died in june. i gave it to nerul workshop for replacement under warranty. they gave me an old battery, till they cud source a new replacement. IT NEVER CAME! i waited for a couple of months and got tired and stopped calling them. so i still have an old battery given to me inspite of warranty.
i didnt need a powerful battery for too long anyways, coz the sprag clutch failed again! thankfully this time it just free wheeled withot opening up and jamming the engine. i continued riding using kick start in spite of my prosthetic legs.
coz frankly its really frustrating to pay more than a lac for a bike u ve dreamt abt and u get loads of problems serviced by inefficient people who are so busy!!!
then.. in dec 2010.. the gearbox snagged! the bike refused to go to 1st and neutral gear. thats when it landed at sharda motors. the gear rachet has broken they said and the whole engine needs to be opened. they did that. fixed the oil leak too. for sprag clutch, they said enfield is importing some sealed units from italy which will last forever. but i have to pay 3000 for it coz enfield wont own up a bad part and replace it for free. the bill for the gearbox work itself came to 7000 and finances did not permit me to spend another 3000 so I HAD TO ASK THEM TO REMOVE THE SPRAG CLUTCH TOTALLY to prevent any engine bust in the future.
its jan 2011 now. my bike is just 13 months/20,000 kms old.
just got back from a 10 day ride to rajasthan (60kph anniv ride again).
1. speedometer worm gear is busted.
2. connecting rod bush is probably worn, guessing from the sound the engine is making.
3. there is loss of compression and am having to add 250ml oil for every 500 kms.
4. the petrol tank is LEAKING!!!! the tank is corroded at the welding seams on the underside.
MY PERSONAL VIEW IS THAT YOU SHOULD BE RESTRAINED FROM MANUFACTURING ANYTHING IN THE FUTURE, SELL PEOPLE A DREAM OF "TRIP" AND THEN LET THEM DOWN SO BADLY!!!! But since we dont live in the utopian world, i wud expect and welcome just a positive response from you.
dont get me wrong, am not expecting the slickness of new technology from a classic machine like RE, but just saddened by the low standards being adopted by your company. am sure u wudnt dare to export a petrol tank that corrodes in a year and starts leaking. so why do u do it to your own countrymen?????
oh yes, i do love riding the enfield a lot over the pulsar.... but i cant rely on it on a long ride. NO "TRIPPING" u see? therein is the greatest shame! if u can see the point.
Thanking You,
Smit Palrecha
Mumbai
post this got a swift and positive reply and calls from enfield to check out my bike. my reply to them is listed below -
thanks a lot for your prompt response and apologies for this delayed reply.
Mr. Ghisad did call me up on monday morning and look at my bike immediately, but since i ve been busy at work we fixed it for later in the week.
enfield has a small but a loyal customer base. and i wish from the bottom of my heart, that base continues to grow. when i read back my mail, i dont feel i am saying anything new, its a very oft repeated complaint. on the other hand i have friends whose answer to this is "this is how an enfield is, take it or leave it", a reminder that some have lost all hope.
another point i found funny was a 10,000 km warranty. found it too little and wondered if that was a reflection of a company's faith in its own product.
i love my enfield. and this is what i wud expect from my enfield.
1. solidly bolted - if i am on a ride, i shudnt have to worry abt when it might prematurely end coz things are rattling inside the engine or oil is leaking out.
2. electrical wiring shud be more secure.
3. rusting e.g. of fuel tank (and leaking), frame, side boxes needs to be taken care of.
4. availability of spares needs to be taken care of.
5. enfields frequently go wrong coz of insufficient engine oil / or failed fuel pump. an oil pressure indicator wud be welcome here and at not a very great cost.
6. we need to evaluate the quality of clutch cable dearly. i am down to using a bajaj scooter clutch cable with "makkhi" and its actually giving me better service than the 3 RE cables i ve used.
7. no two enfields are alike. unfortunately right now that translates into - some bikes have no problems, others are loads of problems that dont get rectified for years and after numerous trips. we need to turn it into - a few bikes develop some problems after a 1000 kms which are rectified forever.
8. some bikes with serious problems stay in the workshop for a month or more. this is totally unacceptable.
to put the record straight - NONE OF MY BIKES PROBLEMS ARE AS GRAVE AS THE STORIES I VE HEARD. and not from novices. problems never got sorted out to the extent that they had to sell the bike. of course, they went ahead and bought another enfield but u need to graciously accept that, that is the power of the marquee and not a confidence shown in the company manufacturing it.
my intention here is not to whine about the problems with my bike but just to bring to your notice the facts and impressions i ve had. i wish you success in all your endeavours to bring the improvements which is a gradual process but sometimes need to be a war-like effort.
thank you again for yr prompt and positive response.
i remain a loyal enfielder.
smit palrecha
mumbai
02-02-2011
gave my bike at RE workshop at Nerul, Navi Mumbai today.
Mr. Ghisad checked and noted all the points. Have come back with the impression that RE knows things are not quite right and are trying to change.
i hope the change starts from the manufacturing and quality control stage at chennai. that will allow the service station to remain as service stations and not mini factories where multiple bikes are stripped and put together all the time.
RE is seeing better days with the UCE engines, but theres stiff competition coming in from 250cc bikes. so this will be a major issue for RE to not fritter away the enthusiasm created by the classic and UCE lineup.
what concerns us enfield owners is - only a strong RE can continue to give us better products and the objective of these posts is to get them aware of the problems on the road and fix the men and systems responsible for it.
