Once again Paul, well said and screw the trolls ! I think it would fair to say, that even though most of us ( subscribers) have never met you, we have no doubts about your honesty and integrity . It shows clearly in your videos and is the primary reason that I am a follower. As always, it’s a learning experience and very enjoyable . Cheers . Dan. 👍🏍🇨🇦
Thank you for all your videos you do, I enjoy your fault finding you do. I particularly liked the ones you did on the 250 Enfield’s the super 5 and the GT. I have a 1959 Crusader that I’ve had for 60 years and a 1965 GT for 45 years, all kept standard I never get real trouble with them and most parts are available from Hitchcock like you say these old bikes are easy to work, keep up the good work.
Brand loyalty - the marketing manager's wet dream 😄. I had a test ride on a Bullet 500 EFI that only had 163 miles on the clock and during the ride the battery went flat and the bike stopped. It turned out the regulator/rectifier had failed and because a new one was going to take over a month to be delivered the dealer put a Suzuki one in. Did it stop me buying the bike? No. Did it make me think Royal Enfield bikes are crap? No. I've owned a very expensive BMW that had both shock absorbers fail and serious rust on most of the very poorly painted steel parts within 3 years, as well as problems with the very flimsy switch gear. At the end of the day all bikes are designed and built by humans and therefore susceptible to bad design and poor workmanship, some more than others, regardless of cost or the perceived prestige of the manufacturer.
Hello 👋👋 Paul, It's your #1 Fan Man, from the other side of the pond, Your a good mechanic because your thinking is analytical , Not Ran by BLIND FAITH, , whether it's a BSA, Royal Enfield, Triumph or Norton, U can Usually repair what's wrong, As Always patriotically inspired by your Spanner ability , 👍‼️ Diamond Dave ♦️♦️♦️
Yes I must take head out of sand. My 1980 bullet 350 ( standard tune ) just keeps going and going ,,, I check the oil, fling a new filter at it when I feel like it ,, wash the old one out sometimes when I change the oil ( 60 wt Kubota tractor oil ) It starts basically first kick rattles away and doe the job ,, has done for the 25 years Ive owned it ,,, and will for the next 25 ,,, So yes I should gewt a bit "pro active " with maintance ! However all day for a CBR 400 plugs and jets I hear you with the modern electronics ...I left the the Big H in 1993 so I havent had much to do with fuel injection etc so I hear you! 90s jappers arent difficult to work on. You could possibly have the engine out, ring change and back in the frame in an hour ,,,,,then spend 2 weeks trying to get those hardened carb rubbers to accept the carbs and seal! ( i know the boiling water/ hair dryer fix ! ) There is a you tube channel called " look what just rolled in " that will make you weep! ant the mechanical " genius" of some folk ! take care and I look forward to the next rant !
You speak so much sense about modern bikes though. There is so much to go wrong ! Riding modes, ABS, adjustable damping and God knows what else. I run a 1999 Honda Suprblackbird, while I do love it to bits, it has bitten me once, quite seriously. I got a broken hip from the MILD STEEL oil pipes supplying the oil cooler, at the front of the bike FFS ! MILD STEEL ???!!! Talk about rot, At 80 psi plus they soon burst and you have oil laying down in front of you at 85 miles an hour round a wet bend and boom ! The owners club came up with stainless steel pipes that will outlast the bike's life for the same price for two as Honda charge for just one original type ! The carb models have a reg/rec that gets very hot. I believe there is an FET type reg/rec now that keeps the battery charging at 800 rpm with no heat, that means the grip heaters stay on at traffic lights. I have yet to foid out how to get one of those, as mine is the injection model so the problem is not so profound as the carb 97 and 98 models. 2002 models have a reg/rec that clamps at 14,000 rpm so providing more reliability. There is so much to go wrong with modern bikes I completely agree with your preferences. The sound is generally also much nicer too.
The reg/rec went faulty on my Interceptor 650. Didn’t pack up completely but wasn’t working properly. Managed to get it replaced under warranty. The only issue I have had with mine in 4 1/2 years & 19,000 miles. Another owner, who has a RU-vid channel, has recently done a relocation mod to his, to improve airflow to the unit & keep the crap away. Great stuff as usual , Paul.👍
We used to say customers who complaine for no apparent reason treated the machine like their kidney machine. I read a book calling these criticisms non specific. The book advised being polite but be mindful that you are the expert. Salesmen get this all the time. The customer invents a criticism to make it a game. Apparently if you stand your ground and stick to what you know these people become your best advocates. I am not sure I had the patience for that.
One loves a particular bike for a combination of visceral, almost spiritual, reasons...often unfathomable to others, like their choice of a spouse. Therefore, deeply delving into such is fruitless & counter-productive. It can be entertaining and amusing, though !
That sounded like good sense to me. I’ve enjoyed several of your videos, and like your work. Trouble is in the present day everyone thinks they’re an expert and their opinion is valid, and “it ain’t necessarily so..”. Plenty of ignorance touted on YT and elsewhere, and there are also many who have no mechanical sympathy nor knowledge and their bikes (and other stuff) suffers accordingly, while they whinge and moan in ignorance. Keep up the good work! Les (just across the border)
Well said and from experience I agree. Previous “parts changers”, “fiddlers” and pattern parts have been/will be/and are the bane of my life. I’m especially annoyed when I order parts and they arrive shipped as loose deck cargo on a submarine, either in country or from OS. End Rant. Take care and play safe.
Hi Paul, Take comfort from the old saying, which is relevant to your "non believers" There is no one as blind as those who do not want to see You carry on my friend, just as you are,
I think most of your subscribers would defer to your opinion anyway Paul. You’re working on similar bikes day in day and day out and reading about them and talking to people on the phone who own them and/ or sell parts for them. I’ll go with your knowledge over a barrack room lawyers any day. You made a nice job of that wheel lacing by the way.
Don't talk to me about the new interceptors.......I bought a new 2022 inter, ran it in carefully, did the first service, used quality Silkolene fully synthetic oil and a genuine Royal Enfield oil filter. It has 2873 miles on the clock now and on a fastish run home last week the motor seized up solid! Luckily for me the clutch being a slipper clutch gave me a second or two to yank the clutch in thus allowing me to come to a controlled stop. i got recovered home and left the bike to cool down overnight. Next morning, checked everything over and attempted to start it again. The motor is still seized solid. I don't know at this stage if it is a heat seizure or a lubrication seizure. So anyone telling me the motors are bullet proof.....I beg to differ!
I nearly mentioned in my video - but thought it a little irrelevant - that a year or so ago, I was asked if I would strip a 650 Interceptor engine at 17,000 miles, because after a fast [ish] run, the owner said it had become 'rattly' - his words, not mine. I really was too busy to consider taking it on and I don't know what became of it.
I'm with you on the way that bikes have become unnecessarily complicated. Faired bikes can be a nightmare. Multiple hidden fasteners and what seems half the bike having to be removed to access routine stuff. Actually, they don't need to have fairing to be bad. Ever tried working on an MV? A modern one that is. MV's also made helicopters. Helicopters for people with bottomless pockets. Unbelievable overcomplication presumably to line the pockets of the maintenance company. This cross polinates onto the bikes. Simpler bikes are attractive because they don't have these encumberances. However, that doesn't mean that they don't throw up some real headscratching problems. Factor in some 40 plus years of neglect, wear, and truly inventive bodgery. For people who have an interest in older bikes watching you working on these is highly informative, especially when you explain in detail the why and wherefore of what's going on, including when things aren't as they should be. This is far preferable to the Haynes manual" reassembly is the reverse of disassembly" school of thought. Please ignore the trolls.
hi Paul O what a perfect world if things did'nt go wrong, so well said Paul i'm with you ere ere keep up the good and grand work. it reminds me when i had to go to jaguar/ land rover, to do some QC, work and when i got there i could see piles of land rover chassis sat outside red with rust i asked the manager are those Defective he just turn round and said no its company policy, and that's why landrover chassis rot at that rear arch hanger, and if its by design or purposely that is the world we have to live in today so things do go bad, anyway keep up the good work and keep the rants coming to kind regards.
All bike manufacturers have issues. ALL. people who blindly say otherwise have their head in the sand. doesnt matter if its a cheap bike or a 40k bike. they are never perfect
Nice one. Forums etc are full of folks that irrationally love or hate certain vehicles and products. Are they jealous , small minded or just plain stupid?
Electronic junk dead right Paul these new bikes with all the bells and whistle’s ohhhh lovely when you then develop an electrical fault they either can’t find the cause or if by some miracle they do it will smack your ass with the parts and labour
Jolly good Rant. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed that one! Thank you. I’m not complaining and should keep my mouth shut however, my first time, seeing a modern Royal, Enfield I gave it to once over and was not impressed with the way the welds looked. The owner had recently purchased the bike, and I decided not to say anything to him. Thank you for your efforts and making all your videos. They are great.
NEVER AGAIN. After owning a ZZR600 which I bought on the cheap and needed a small amount of work on. Changing the spark plugs is a day's work for me. Never will i buy a plastic rocket, despite enjoying the ride. I'm a bit older than you and have had nearly every old Brit bike from the 50's/60's
I've never owned a British or Japanese bike that didn't have something irritating about them. Whether it was the poor switch gear and disappearing tappet covers on British ones, or things like rear disc brake reservoirs in stupid near inaccessible places on some Japanese models. As for the Norton combat engine and the slipping time plates on Japanese two strokes no matter how much you tightened the screws, aaaaargh! Totally with you on technology gone mad post 1980 Paul. That's why I kept a 1977 Honda 750 F1 for nearly 30 years.
Could you perhaps shed the light of your experience on operator exacerbated problems as a future topic. As an example, but not exclusively, gearbox troubles on Iron sportsters and BSA B40s. Both of which function fine if revved adequately.
Everybody has their own prejudices and articles of faith. Everybody. 😏 Just let things go, for your own wellbeing. Forums and Facebook groups are a source of nothing but tooth enamel wear!
Hi Paul, ignore the nay sayers and keep doing what you do 👍 you seemed to have lost weight since the last time I watched the do a video like this! Take one of your bikes out and enjoy the Welsh air👍👍.
