Hitchcocks Forum

2 more things I've been searching for with no joy...

The first one, I thought would be simple. What is wrong with people?? Chromed steel, brass and stainless steel but not a sniff of an aluminum handlebar clamp?! I'm tempted to make one out of titanium

Aluminium swingarm... I've seen prices from £250 to £700 but none for Royal Enfield Bullets

One thing at a time. I'm sure they'll get round to it right after they start fitting bearings...

stinkwheel wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 13, 2020 9:16 pm

One thing at a time. I'm sure they'll get round to it right after they start fitting bearings...

Alloy swingarms were all the rage... in the 1980's because we were fed up with heavy/bendy steel tubes! Is there no one out there who makes them for Enfields?

If you mean the standard wrap-around handlebar clamp, I'm not sure an alloy one of the same thickness would be tough enough,

Alloy swinging arms? Look, you're the 500th person I've told today, there's no demand for them.

Actually there probably isn't much, so it's over to you to research one off another bike that will take the Bullet rear wheel, or a similar one, generally line it up properly, AND have shock absorber bottom mounts in roughly the right place.

Welcome to Going Off-Catalogue!

I don't know if there are still pictures of it up somewhere, but over ten years ago a guy in India built a bike he called the Ladakh Express, it was actually based on the 500 AVL Machismo (the nearest Indian home market equivalent to the Electra-X, but seriously modified far harsh off-road use, I know he fitted a different swinging arm, but I can't remember what bike it was off.

Ah, here we are:

https://forum.classicmotorworks.com/ind ... ic=23483.0

From August 2007.

"its a LB 500, the front and rear are from an late 80's CRF honda, the bike is still under development. and i'm still fine tuning the suspension set up. the fitment is relatively simple but not entirely easy. stability is fantastic but if youre talking tight winding tarmac then it needs some hustling, too heavy to jump but good enough to say "eat my dirt" to most other enfields when the going gets tough. engien has a lighter flywheel from the 350 balanced for use in a 500, a mikuni VM 34 jetted for the LB500 slightly higher compresssion, ports have been cleaned up and generally everythgin just put together properly. the stock gearing works fine. its worked in such a way that it can convert back to a stock bullet (i have the bullet frame not the electra frame - love the side boxes) in a couple of days. built the bike basically to take part in the raid - www.raid-de-himalaya.com lets see if it lasts"

and from November of the same year.

"i took part with this bike inthe raid-de-himalaya and stood third at the end of day three after which it got called off due to snow. there were a lot of changes made to the bike after this picture was taken. the raid has a kind of reputation for breaking machines and men but mine performed brilliantly. but it was tough trying to wrestle a 200kg monster through tight mountain sections and to top it all i got sick just before the start but pulled through in time to celebrate at the PD
they said you couldn't do it on an enfield. i let my silencer do the talking and it was singing a fine tune right till the end"

A.

Adrian, thank you for that!
I'm stunned that with the amount of RE's sold that no one produces decent accessories - unlimited front numberplate variations though

Allumium is great stuff, they make all kinds of things from it, even Jumbo jets but swing arms for a agricultural Royal enfield !!!.

What is the world coming to

Nitrowing wrote:Adrian, thank you for that!
I'm stunned that with the amount of RE's sold that no one produces decent accessories - unlimited front numberplate variations though

What we have to remember is that the RE produced in India is basically a retro-bike, going back to the time only a few years ago when they were still building what was effectively a late-forties British 350 with a few tweaks. There in lies, or lay the appeal, for people who weren't interested in the latest super bike or the technology that went with them, and RE now is still producing bikes with retro-appeal, (with the possible exception the the Himalayan) and this is where most of the accessory market takes its cue. Snazzy hi-tech stuff (even or especially by eighties standards!) is limited to a few bits and bobs.

If you like the Electra-X engine but think it's trapped by cycle parts which are too old-style, and the aftermarket seems hopelessly conservative in its accessory offerings, have you considered building a special with a more modern rolling chassis and suspension from a completely different bike? If you can find something to take the pre-unit engine and gearbox, that might be easier than trying to transform the original RE rolling chassis. Maybe something based on a Rickman frame?

A.

I bought the 500 knowing it was over-weight and under-powered. The least powerful bike I've owned was a Kawasaki KE100 which would easily out ride my Electra X!
This bike is for nipping around on. I've got much more capable vehicles for other duties but for popping in to the town centre the RE is just right.
I'm just baffled that people are happy to bolt on more weight on an already excessive lump. It truly does fit the Harley Davidson ethos.
Now, I fully accept that there is the 'Buell' route for HD owners who refuse to accept that a tractor engine should be hampered even further by sub-standard cycle parts but 'better' parts are easily available to upgrade a factory HD (my '87 FXRS had modern brakes, alloy swinger etc) and that's what I'm looking to do with the RE.
Carb & exhaust are done. Braided brake line is on. Lighter handlebars and bolts are on. LiPo battery replaced the dead lead acid, along with a proper fuse box, LED's and heated grips...
...but a brass handlbar clamp? The same effect could be achieved with anodised aluminum with less weight and less polishing and this is indicative of many parts available

The whole brass accessories cornucopia is something our Indian friends developed, back in the day it was always considered a bit naff for UK custom bikes unless it was chromed! We're seeing more brass on custom bikes in the fall out from the steam punk fad, but if you're dressing your bike up to look like a traction engine or some bit of kit belonging to Captain Nemo, you're probably not too worried about weight saving.

If loads more people felt the same way as you, the market would certainly have something to lighten your wallet as well as your bike.

A.

"Captain Nemo"



There may also be an argument for 'make it and they will come'?
I've ordered a bit of titanium to see how much effort is needed to turn it in to a handlebar clamp. Aluminum would be too simple (which is why I'm griping!)