Royal Enfield — Poor quality bike delivered and cheated by the dealer - prince motors

Address:	Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Website:	royalenfield.com

Hi,

I am Sachin Prabhakaran, and I bought Royal Enfield Classic 350 from ' Prince Motors, Safiya Building, BOC Road, Palakkad - 678014, Kerala ' for Rs.138828 on 16th June 2014. The Engine and Chassis number are as follows " ME3U3S5COEE474384 & U3S5COEE474384 ". From day 1, i had self start and little tappet noise issue for which the dealers said its there in all Royal Enfields and this is how they sound. Since the sound was only a little, i cared less and rode it but the self start was a joke on my bike, it never really worked when i wanted. If I Switch off my engine in traffic signal and when signal turns green I would be the one to create a traffic jam because my self is not working and i would be kick starting it in the middle of the road. After reaching 500kms, the tappet noise increased and i even posted a video in youtube to ask for guidance on how to repair it as the service center at palakkad which is also owned by Prince Motors said the new UCE Engines come with Hydraulic Tappets and it automatically adjusts itself and they were not authorized to touch the insides of the engine and also promised me that it won't be present after 10000kms . Here the link of my youtube video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHsTaSeYRDo

Then I made a trip from Chennai to Bangalore on 20th Dec 2014 after completing 500kms engine initial run and on my way back i ran over a gutter and both my front and rear wheel Rim got bent (Seriously???) and I had to limp my way up to Chennai. The next day I took it to Royal Enfield Service Center, PLOT NO. 350 TO 354, 4TH LINK STREET, NEHRU NAGAR, KOTTIVAKKAM (OMR), CHENNAI 600096 and did servicing and told them about wheel bent and tappet noise issue. For repairing the wheel bent they took it to some 3rd party Deen Wheel Works near to their service center for which they charged me Rs. 300 even though I was under Free Service. The servicing they did was only oil change (Didn't even lubricate chain, clutch and accerator) and i was charged Rs.350 as labour. For tappet noise issue i think Royal Enfield have trained the service center guys well . they also said the same dialogue "Sir, the new UCE Engine comes with Hydraulic tappets and they are not authorized to repair it. it will automatically get adjusted ". (I now know the reason why they said like that back then, i will explain it at the end)

After a month, tappet noise started creeping the hell out of me but i was helpless. I was worried if i give my bike for repair to local bullet expert my warranty will be voided. so couldn't do anything. The wheel bent was not properly done by the service center and I again took the bike OMR Royal Enfield Service center and they again charged Rs.200 for rectifying it as they said now the front suspension is also bent after that incident where I ran over a gutter on my first long trip . I gave the money and prayed that I shouldn't get anymore issues

I forgive all these issues because I understood Royal Enfield is a Vintage Bike and I shouldn't expect reliability from it. Now I again made a Bangalore trip with my friends and this time I stopped at a tea stall and after having Tea when I Started the bike, the bike did not start . Not even the kick starter was working. I admit i am not a expert in mechanics so i was again helpless and the nearest workshop was 25kms away.. I at least thought I will get reliability of Rs 40000 Bike but this is what Royal enfield has to offer for 1.4lakhs.Really shame on you. I purchased a Rope My friend who own Hero Hunk and he never cares for it and does service once in a blue moon was working fine without any issue. Even I did a service before doing this long trip he did 3 months back. I purchased a Rope and tied it to his bike and brought my bike to nearest workshop like a jackass. He was an expert and found that the fuse was gone and replaced it with extra fuse provided. 5rs issue caused a lot of tension and hate towards your brand.

Now I Completed 10000kms and wow.. its a surprise...!!! The tappet noise is now two times it was at 500kms. Here is the link to youtube i posted after completing 10000kms

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF6SpIiyfHo

And whenever i asked the RE Service center mechanic .. voila... same dialogue... "This is hydraulic tappet.. etc etc.. "

Now during my normal office morning ride, I kick started the bike and wow... i thought everything inside the engine broke.. there was lot of cranking noise after did a kick start and that's it.. The self start didn't work after that and i had to rely on kick to miraculously work. even though it worked I had to keep my hands on accelerator otherwise the engine would turn off. I described about this incident to my FB group and many said its due to clutch sprag bearing damage and i need to replace the bearing, and unlucky me my warranty period got over by July 2015 and I was on August.. So when I asked the same OMR Service center guys they said we need to replace the whole block and it will cost 5000rs ... but they had no stock available and told me to come after 3 days. And just for you to know.. I have to travel 25kms in OMR Road to reach this place this 25kms will take almost 1 hr during peak traffic hours and not to mention about the heat from sun.. so after 3 days i again went to repair and they said the stock hasn't come yet please come on monday and for sure it will be available. I again went on Monday and they collected the bike and I returned to office via bus in the hottest chennai climate... and after 2 hours the mechanic called and said "sir, the sprag stock is not available and you can take your bike back".. !!! If that mechanic was near me i would have punched him in his face for fooling me.. Do you think we customers are stupid??? I shouted at him and he listened as his routine job and that's it I decided that i will never tale my bike again to RE Service center and gave my bike to a local expert bullet mechanic and do you know what??? He got bearing from pudupet for 1800rs and fixed it for 2000rs . Yes he had to search for it a lot since RE now sells clutch sprag as a whole for 4800rs but for me only the bearing was gone so why should i pay more??? After this fix... One of my long running Self start issue got rectified and its now working perfectly so that means you guys sold me a malfunctioning poor quality bike from the start itself and cheated me by saying all the lies.

Now I completed 11000kms and i posted another video containing tappet noise issue in my bike
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0aKItdFzIk

Now my Handle fork is making some noise for which they said its bearing issue. and my left pilot lamp is not working.

Now it sounds like a Generator rather than a bike engine..!!! and people started asing " Hey whats wrong with your bike, why its making metal clicking noises".. 1.4lakhs they say... When I asked friend what could be the problem he said the tappet needs to be changed and it cost 3500rs . So that is why Service center guys kept on saying that "UCE Engine comes with Hydraulic tappets and it will automatically adjust by itself. after crossing 10000kms you wont face this issue." that's because after 10000kms my warranty got over and I have to pay for the repair. If i didn't believe their story and asked them to fix.. they should fix this issue for free since it should be covered under warranty. Nice game played by you Royal Enfield

I will never allow any of my friends/Family or anybody to take Royal Enfield .

I have all the proofs such as service bills, repair bills, posted videos for all the issues i have faced and all that is left is giving several complaints in consumer Court .
Which I will do if i don't get this issue fixed for free. Don't expect me to believe your story this time.. because you tested my patience and its time you test my anger..

And for the record... Prince motors were caught red handed doing fraud business by you guys and terminated their licence months after my bike delivery so am sure everything will be connected.


Regards
Sachin P