Pete Snidal, author of the definitive owner's and workshop manual for Bullets of the past, is hard at work on an edition for Royal Enfield's newest models.Snidal 's manuals for the classic Indian-made Bullets enabled owners without great experience to do basic chores with confidence. While those Bullets needed and benefited from involved tending, Royal Enfield's new Unit Constructed Engine (UCE) models are designed to minimize maintenance.
In his new manual, Snidal explains why the owner of a UCE bike will like the reassurance he plans to provide:
"One of the first things I learned on my entry into the world of Things Mechanical is the that the second thing you have to have, after you acquire just about any piece of machinery, is a good manual...
"Enfield went with the times, and has now in production an extremely civilized, Unit Construction, Computer Managed motorcycle for those much more interested in riding than in monkey-wrenching. Hence this manual, aimed at an entirely different audience: those who have chosen the UCE for its reliability and lack of need to tinker your way across town or down the highway.
"It is not intended as a mechanic's manual, but rather as an owner's manual..."
It's not going to be like the manual in the glove compartment of your car — you know, the one that warns you not to open the hood without dealer assistance.
No, Snidal says he intends to explain "top end overhaul and behind-the-sidecovers work."
Imagine Honda encouraging you to consider that!
Availability of the new manual? Soon. I'll try to let you know (on this blog) as soon as I find out.
Look forward to Snidal's update! In the meanwhile, as a G5 owner, I've been making-do with his latest one. Lucky I really haven't had to do anything major yet.
ReplyDeleteI want one for my C5!
ReplyDeleteBit late to the party, but if Mr. Snidal's Unit Construction Engine Bullet manual is anything like his old one for us pre-unit "Iron Bellies", then it's a "Must Read for the New Breed.". You know, sometimes I'll often just browse through his old manual at random for the hell of it, 'cause his style's amusing and engaging. On other more stolid and traditional fronts, as of January 2019 a Haynes Manual for the new generation of Bullets is also coming out. So, you'd do well to grab a fag and brush up on your British Mechanics' Lingo, what with their spanners and gudgeon pins and circlips and whatnot.
ReplyDelete