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By Wheaters
#86079
Hi Mauri, thaks for the list of parts. Please explain why the mudguard bracket also needs to be changed. I'm not certain if it's needed for my home market bike, which appears to have different mudguards.

Thanks!
By jacobtue
#86306
Stephen... I wrote you a mail; looking forward to read all about it. Mauri, Thanks a lot for the shopping list. It's a great help to have this kind of systematic approach... regards Jacob
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By Wheaters
#86308
As I have since discovered, the high cost of the special tools to dismantle the primary side needs to be taken into account. I’m about to bite the bullet, excuse the pun. I also need to buy a magneto rotor puller. If anyone else is interested in doing the conversion, I’m prepared to do a deal on the tools.
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By Wheaters
#86417
Having followed advice from the various posts on the forum about the 5 speed conversion, I had decided to hold back on buying a clutch centre extractor and to see how things went.

However, once I removed the primary chaincase I realised I would also need a magneto flywheel extractor tool (part #ST25128) and also ordered an engine sprocket removal tool (#ST25098), which I understand is also normally required.

I did eventually manage to remove the magneto flywheel (having accidentally given myself a minor head injury in the process of removing the massively tight retaining nut - didn't know they employed steroid pumped gorillas in the factory).
annoyingly, as soon as it was off I realised I didn't have a deep enough 32mm socket to remove the sprocket retaining nut (presumably the left side crankshaft for the 350 Electra is longer than the standard Bullet, to accommodate the extra depth of the magneto) and so I had to go out to buy one this morning. I struggled to find one, but three shops later I found one.

Having removed the 32mm nut (which came off much easier than the magneto nut), the sprocket basically slid off - so no need for the expensive extractor! The clutch assembly also slid off quite easily, so I had no need for the clutch centre extractor either.

Hey ho.
User avatar
By Wheaters
#86726
(Some of this is repeated elsewhere).

I've now ridden my 5 speed converted 350 about 130 miles. It really does make the bike much nicer to ride, especially as the big gap between 3rd and "top" is gone; as a 350 it's far nicer to have the extra gear with smaller gaps between ratios.

Because the 5 speed gearbox came with an 18T chain sprocket (16 is standard for a 350), I left on the 46T wheel sprocket and longer chain I'd previously fitted. This has increased the revs/mile slightly over standard 350 gearing, the opposite of what most riders seem to want. The bike holds its speed far better, although it is still fast enough to overtake HGVs on the motorway.

I have retained the "down for down, up for up" gear change pattern; it's no problem for me because I grew up on BSAs but I did need to unlearn the RE standard "down for up" habit I had recently become used to on this bike.

I do still have a slight problem because the gear lever won't fully return by itself on all down changes. This means that I have to very gently "tap" the gear lever upwards to reset the mechanism to get it to do down to the next gear.

One thing I've noticed about this type of gear change; it works very much like the mechanism of a (firearm) revolver, albeit needing to work in both directions, rather than one!

However, I'm "well chuffed" with it.

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