My new toy

Had it for a few months now. I soooooo love it.

 

How would you describe it's "character"?
looks like an intresting ride and nice to see one in such shape.

 

Very fine specimen. A machine to be proud of.

 

What kind of oil do you use in an Enfield? :unsure:

Very pretty. I'm thinking it is more of dude magnet than a chick magnet , but very nice ride :smile:

 

Character wise.....that's hard. It's very laid back and content to put along at 40. But it handles amazingly well and will run around at 65-ish. Top speed is around 80, so it's no cruise missile. Oil is just conventional 5W-40. Funny thing is the bike has been made pretty much the same way since the 50's. Kickstart only, drums front and rear, and the 500cc single sound is increadible. Yeah, I get more interest from guys (harley and sport) than from women...(the wife prefers that though)..Thanks all.

 

Hey, That's pretty cool. one would never know that is a 1999 model.

 

old skool cool....nice!

 

Hmmmmmm.

Cool looking, yes. Does India do a quality job on an old UK standard?

Enjoy!

 

can you get the front wheel up?

 

I can't get the front up on anything, I suck. Plus I'm a little scared to do it on a bike like the Enfield. I think the quality is quite good. Tolerances are probably better than the original, but it's not so techno that it doesn't leak a bit or vibrate. Everytime I kick, she starts and runs though. Running very rich at the moment.

 

Probably shouldent try it on that bike anyway. doesent look like a very big engine. you would have to pop the clutch which is bad on the clutch and can easily flip ya over. Iv done it.

How big is it?

 

It's a 500cc single. They sell a cafe kit for it that looks amazing. Hopefully I can piece it together over the next year.

 

Can I tell you an Enfield horror story? Are you sure? Ok, sit down and breathe through your nose. This is from the Seidts shop archives. A fella that I work for has been storing a Bullet 500 from 2004. He was charged with warming it up and doing the back road runaround kind of thing. He gets paid to store it for the owner who is generally absentee. One day while taking it out for it's monthly walk, it quit. It just quit in the middle of the road. It seems that the piston got a little too big and wouldn't go up and down in the cylinder anymore. I kept the connecting rod and have it hanging on the wall of my shop since it has taken on one of the most interesting shapes I have seen since picking up a wrench. Bear in mind that this bike had 96Km or 60 miles on the ticker. The cross hatch wasn't even worn from the cylinder walls yet.
The cause and effect: In the factory when installing the timing gear cover, which is on the lower right of the engine, some one who put this bike together didn't follow the prescribed procedure of installing the the cover. When it was installed, the gear that drives the oil pump was slightly chipped and over that relatively short mileage the gear became worn enough that the pump stopped pumping. There was no oil light on this model. (I'm not sure that there is an oil light on any of the modern Enfields.) No oil and no alarm caused massive amounts of damage. (go figure) The driver said that there was no indication of noise from the engine but I can't believe that. The .25" clearance around the rod bearing leads me to believe that there may have been a small chirp or something. I guess that he just wasn't listening
Anyway, new bottom end, new rockers and rocker bearings, new piston, new cylinder, and more that I can't remember now was the toll.
Moral of the story: Take your bike to the local shop that is used to cobbing things together (not the dealer) and have an oil light installed on your bike. You can take your lower banjo bolt out of your external oil line going to the head and get a longer bolt and double stack another banjo fitting on there. There's your line to your oil pressure gauge or light.
In this particular case, there was/is no warranty on the bike. The owner never knew what happened since the driver/storer picked up the tab. He figured that it was about what he had made in the years storing the bike and, therefore, figures he has broken even. I don't think so.
He brought the bike home and parked it. He starts it and looks at it with a bit of disgust every month. Up and down the driveway and back in to its hole.
I don't think that it will happen to your bike but make sure that you know if there is oil pressure at all times. The Indian Enfield factory makes 30000 (not a typo) a month. That translates to about 1000 bikes a day rolling off the floor. They are the most popular bike in India and with those kinds of numbers they can't be too expensive. Quality control has to be a problem.
I did ride the bike after I put it back together. I have to say that it was incredibly fun. I could feel the years go by in reverse and it took me back to a time when motors were a lot simpler and torque was king. I kinda wanted to have one, but I say that about most of the bikes I ride except the CX series from Honda.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I'm at right around 4000 miles now, and plan on do a decent "tune-up" over the winter months. I will def. see if I can find someone who could get me an oil guage installed. It is a blast to ride. It's just so straight forward-engine, seat, frame, tires, "brakes"...

 

I recommend someone who has worked on these bikes before. If they are not available, remember this: When you take off the right side timing cover, when in stalling it, DO NOT hit it with a hammer to take up the last little bit of space between the case and cover. That last little bit is the oil pump driven gear and taking it up means breaking it off. You have to finagle the case in position and then operate the kick start lever or turn the engine over by hand otherwise. This will suck the case in to final position. There shouldn't be any situation where someone needs to take the timing cover off but if they do, warn them. It's not a Honda.
They are fun to ride. If I found one cheap, I would buy it. I know them inside and out after that job anyway.
One more thing, you will go batshit insane trying to set the points timing. They use a stick that goes down the spark plug hole to find the piston height before TDC. It is something like 1/32" from the top before TDC. Yes, Batshit insane. Try getting that measurement with the kick starter. Set the points close and forget it. There is so much play in the timing gears that close is about all you'll get. The advance will take care of it self. They are such a "staunch" motor they will run under just about any conditions. I had the new engine run away on my from a stuck cable and after I hit the kill switch AND turned the key off I started to panic. A lot! The fucker kept running. I had to put my face near this screaming engine and un-stick the cable. I got it in time and it didn't blow up but I nearly did in my pants.
Just out of curiosity, do me a favor. Next time you are running about 50-60 mph on a back road, hit the kill switch and tell me what happens. I want to know if the engine quits or doesn't. It should but I am thinking that it will run on from the heat built up on the plug. Dieseling, if you will, but at high RPM.

 

Will do. I might bend your ear this winter if I mave any issues (okay?). It might be awhile for the kill switch thing. It's raining today and suppose to snow this weekend. I figure it'll be decent enough in a week or so. Hopefully. Thanks.

 

I am always open to questions. Whether or not I have the right answers is the part that gets squishy.

 

Your Enfield brings back some fond memories. I used to ride my brother's while he was serving in Viet Nam (he enlisted). It was a 750 (?) as I recall, with a repainted blue tank. I rode it a lot because he took his discharge in Germany after a tour of duty there after Viet Nam and didn't show up at home again for another five years! Never called or wrote all that time!

Apparently, his absence had something to do with the recreational use of illegal substances or something while travelling throughout Europe. He says he simply lost track of the time! I bet! But his mind seems OK now, sort of.

Hey, he's my brother (one of four) and we ride together! And he never once bitched about me using his bike the years he was away. Maybe he couldn't remember he had one, except during brief flashbacks? :unsure: