Forum

[bikerbill]

That much is becoming clear and I will likely leave it as a 500.
As for the rest - the fact is these bikes, once they're running well, are huge fun to ride, and handle like a dream (with decent tyres). There is something unique about the ride which can't be got elsewhere. I also ride a 650 twin. I love it, and if I'm off on a two or three hundred miler that's the bike I take. But the real fun is to be had on the hiways & biways of south Devon astride an old style 500 single. For me at least it's the very spirit & essence of motorbiking. Which I imagine is why so many persevere with these bikes. When they're good, they can't be beat (!). But they have to be made good by the owner. The makers it seems just aren't up to it yet...
Royal Enfield ownership demands a certain philosophical attitude.
And another bike in the garage...

[Roeland]

Hi,

My 2011 C5 (registered 2012) model is converted to 535cc. The original engine needed a rebuild at less than 5000 km. The alternator came loose and the wiring got into the engine. The top part of the engine was rebuilt under guarantee but very soon I started noticing some oil consumption - not much, but it was there. Hence I decided to undertake a rebuild myself and fitted the 535 cc Hitchcocks piston - far superior quality of the standard piston. Now, at 16000 km absolutely no oil consumption and plenty of torque. I can cruise now at 120 kmph with pillion and full camping gear. Other modifications done so far include a 19t sprocket, Goldstar exhaust, PowerCommander with Autotune, with AFR set for each gear (I had to install a sensor for this in the speedo cable, K&N airfilter.
I suggest you also check out this link:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Ace ... ceBullets/
The next step will be modifications to the cylinder head.

Regards

Roeland

[bikerbill]

Thanks for the link Roeland. I'm aware of Ace and the legendary Musket (I usually hang out on the USA forum). Interesting & reassuring to hear about your 535 conversion. Presumably you fitted the new piston & rings into the existing barrel? What do you think about the Power Commander? The standard ECU seems quite forgiving with all the silencers I've tried (apart from a cheapo Indian job which backfired all the time).
Cheers, Bill

[John Moulton]

I can only agree with Bikerbill's comments about the EFI. When they are running right, they are fantastic fun. I'm on my second Woodsman after changing my first for a Kawasaki W800 which I only kept for two months. That was a great bike, but totally soulless compared to the Woodsman, so I bought another Enfield! I agree that they can develop faults which are unacceptable for a modern machine, but they are so engaging to ride that if (I hope rather than when) my engine plays up, I will rebuild it with quality components from our hosts and carry on having fun. I'm a great believer in riding rather than worrying about what will go wrong and my recent 600 mile round trip to motorbike racing at East Fortune near Edinburgh was an absolute delight on the EFI. The moral is to keep riding and fix them when they break!

[Roeland]

Bill,

Yes I used the Hitchcocks 535 cc piston and bored out the existing barrel. I cannot say if the PowerCommander on itself adds a lot of power since I installed it together with the Goldie, which I never tested with the standard ECU. Initially it was rather difficult to get a correct map setting for the PC5. It seems that the maps supplied by our host are for the European models. In south Africa we get the Indian models without the catalytic convertor. These seem to be tuned far richer than the exports. Most successful for me was the addition of the speedometer sensor to enable me to tune the bike by gear - there's a definite improvement in torque. There's still the occasional back fire but most of the time it is more of a rumble sound on de-acceleration. I actually like it a lot. If you consider a Autotune module - this works well but without the AFR mapping by gear you may have to find an acceptable compromise for the AFR values in the 2 to 10% throttle opening - this area seems just to sensitive in adjustment. Also make sure your bike does not use oil - this will give a false reading to the Autotune and your bike will start running leaner and leaner if you keep on accepting the adjusted values.

Regards

Roeland