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[Bullet Whisperer]

That is the 350 short ROD, standard stroke engine, Dai. We have braided pipes on all the racing engines, as a fractured pipe means a DNF at the very least in racing! A copper pipe looks great until it fractures and spews oil all over the shop!

[Adrian]

I can see the point of a full stainless braided (PTFE?) hose on a racer, especially where that chunky tee-piece would be hidden by the fairing.

What you could do on a roadster is to replace part of the copper pipe with a length of stainless braided 5mm bore nitrile rubber oil hose (use proper hose finishers to keep it neat) from the crankcase union to just below the y piece join between the the two short pipes to the rocker banjo, using a 3/4" length of the original pipe at both ends as a hose tail.

My AVL hybrid has a section of braided rubber hose as above, though it's plain cotton braided and not stainless steel. Yes, I did do something ham-fisted to the original pipe.

A.

[73a]

Thanks for the photo just what I was considering except maybe all silver , what fitting was used to connect to the crankcase ?

[Daiwiskers]

I also can see using braided hose on a race bike is a good idea as is the spin on filter

But I don't think they're needed on a road bike

It's your bike to do with what you want

Take care all Dai

[stinkwheel]

I would say those alloy fittings on the braided hose are the most likely failure point of any of the systems. Ok on a race bike but I wouldn't have them on any part of a road bike, enfield or otherwise.

[mart]

Hello BW- what are the advantages of a short rod in a racing engine?? cheers

[PeteF]

On a standard set-up there are 6? points where a leak can happen. One each side of each banjo and 2? at the engine connection.
On BWs set up there are what? 12?
What would be sensible on a race bike that gets inspected very regularly and dismantled quite often, would perhaps not be suitable on a standard road bike.
But, hey, it's your bike ................

[Bullet Whisperer]

To answer a couple of questions and comments, the alloy T piece is strong and has never been a problem for well over 12 years racing since it was fitted and shared by three 350 engines, although the T piece on the 500 appears to be steel, so that will not break. We had special adaptors made to screw into the crankases, with suitable threads to mate up with the flexible pipe fittings. The 'Short Rod', standard stroke 350 has the same conrod dimensions as the Redditch unit 350 Bullets and the only real difference is the saving in weight by having a much shorter barrel and a more compact engine, as well as shorter pushrods, which are less likely to bend and fail. Performance wise, it is pretty much the same as the old 'Long rod' engine, although the 'Short Stroke' 350 engine is a much different animal!

[mart]

thanks BW- I only ask as I know someone who built a Bullet trials engine with a shorter rod, in order to improve low RPM throttle response and torque - cheers

[Wheaters]

An armoured hose would bring you longevity and greater appearance to the bullets classic good appearance.

TBH, I think this is definitely a case of "beauty being in the eye of the beholder", personal preference, everyone to his/her own, etc.

If my 350's OE pipe cracked (and it's been off and back on a few times without a problem, including a slight mod by bending the tubing to allow me to fit one of Mr. H's pressure relief valves), I'd temporarily repair it with a short piece of rubber tubing then just replace it with like for like, or even make up a replacement myself from copper pipe. I think the relatively low oil pressure in that line doesn't (in my opinion) justify anything more "flash" than what is already there and anything more conspicuous would look out of place on a bike that is in general appearance a relic from the last century.