MY ROYAL ENFIELD WARRANTY CLAIM SAGA

[2wheels]

24th February 2026

I will submit this report in two installments, the second with many photos of the warranty repair job.

Back in early October 2025 I noticed corrosion had developed on/in the two front fork covers of my Classic 350.
My bike was still under warranty so I rode in to RE Sahapanich to show them the damage and discuss repairs.
After a lot of discussion I was assured the corrosion was caused by 'brake fluid'.
Ok, I am no mechanic but to me it appeared to be due to poor paint preparation back at the factory.

Eventually I was told that the fork covers were not available at the shop nor in Bangkok.
They had to come from India!

Because it was mostly a cosmetic issue I decided to wait and was promised "two months".
OK, I can wait.

Two months later they had not arrived and I was, again, told "two months".
That would take the warranty job through to some time in January 2026.

You guessed it; by mid January the parts had not arrived.
By now, having up until now been very 'jai yen' I had enough and walking across to Sahapanich
and had a friendly discussion with Saha Management. Khun Van is the lady who supported me.

She said she would phone me within a couple of days.
She did.
The parts had magically arrived!
She added that they would also replace the headlight surround and that part would take a bit longer.
I was ok with that.

I communicated with an employee at RE and arranged to call in at 3pm on Thursday 12th February.
So I was there at the appointed time and day.
The bloke I had made the appointment with was "at a meeting" and the mechanics knew nothing about
the agreed appointment!
Now I was pissed off.

I spoke to a couple of mechanics and a salesman and arranged to have the job done at 8-30am on 19th February 2026 !.

They did a great job and I will detail that in the next installment.

 

[The Bigfella]

We have had excellent service from them. They are proactive in approaching us for feedback. We raised the issue of spares availability with them, having had one item on the "India" list for a while (a speedo for crash damage repair... we were able to repair it to useable status ourselves in the meantime). We like dealing with them.

We deal with another few places, with a manufacturer of much higher market share. It will be over four months for some parts to come in there for a big bike. Same manufacturer, smaller bike (well, scooter)... part is "no have, BKK no have" No estimated delivery. Scooter is unuseable without it.

 

[2wheels]

Good for you.

 

[The Bigfella]

Good for you.

I'm sure they managed to put a smile on your face, eventually....

 

[The Bigfella]

There's no doubt there's some quirks with their bikes.... but that's better than boring. We had an issue with a Himalayan the other day. We couldn't for the life of us get it to show the odometer - the sensor was clearly working, as it would display trip odos and fuel mileage remaining. Solved it with a battery disconnect for a couple of minutes

 

[2wheels]

Yes, I eventually rode home smiling!
Details tonight.

 

[2wheels]

So I arrived a bit early at the Royal Enfield workshop and, after a team meeting, work began on my bike
at the appointed time of 8-30.

Hmmm, what's in that box?

Looks promising.

Back in October 2025 when chatting on the 'phone with the RE Warranty Officer in Bangkok it was agreed
that all parts would be free and I would pay half the labour cost.

Before work started one mechanic said the job would take "for hours".
I was a bit dismayed to hear this but pleased that work was commencing.

I said I would watch their work "to learn how they did things" and that I would photograph all stages.
No problems with that.

So the fuel tank was protected and Mechanic Fiat (with broken arm after separating from his 650)
and Mechanic Can got to work.

The first task was to remove the front wheel and guard.

It was quite an effort due to the Lock Tight and where it was put on the thread.

A third and more senior mechanic joined us. Khun Tee.

The RE name tag was removed.

The headlight was removed.

The headlight surround (nacelle?) was removed.

With a struggle, the forks were removed.

The forks showed some rust and grime and were cleaned.

Half a bike.

Original parts were placed nearby.

Then attention was focused on the brake reservoir and lever.
Some corrosion is visible on the lever.

New fork covers were taken from the box of goodies.

And, to my surprise, the brake reservoir was replaced with a new one.

And new fork covers and a new headlight surround (nacelle) was unboxed.

The new parts were attached to my bike.

It was quite a struggle to get that nacelle reattached.

All hands (nearly) on deck.

Adjusting the forks.

Then back to the fluid reservoir.

Fine tuning the bits and adjusting the bar.

Reattaching the wiring was a challenge.

Done.

Replace the wheel.

Attach and bleed brake, replace the fluid.

Job done.

Inside my old fork covers.

Test ridden by Khun Can.

So, that only took near enough to two hours.
I was not informed that the brake reservoir and lever would be replaced, so maybe that was the culprit after all.
But on both fork covers?
Anyway, the end result was a very good job done and EVERYTHING INCLUDING LABOUR WAS FREE.
Thanks RE Sahapanich.

One of the mechanics told me he has seen only one other Classic with the same corrosion issue as mine.
He maintains that the corrosion is caused by brake fluid vapours.

So, now that the job has been done and I have recovered from two eye operations, I hope to be taking the Classic
on some rides. I really like that bike very much.

 

[Captain_Slash]

You got a good result from RE then Ron.

 

[2wheels]

Yes, eventually Colin.