Hitchcocks Forum

With the frequent discussions of getting more power, speed and noise out of lovely machines I'm starting to think the opposite might be the way for me to go. If I want a speed machine I can easily buy something of a more modern design that will do it, but I love Enfield's. When I bought my 500 iron Bullet, I didn't know much about them. Mine by chance already had the gas flowed head, cone air filter and 50's exhaust but didn't run all that well. Over the years I have got it to the point where it is reliable, easy to start, goes well but is noisy, thirsty and is rather overkill for wandering the lanes and sightseeing which was the original reason in the first place. So do I revert to standard air filter, exhaust and all the bother of re-jetting or do I sell it and get a nice non-mucked about with 350? Decisions, decisions!

Hi MIDGE ---- matey, that's a no-brainer for sure !!! Of course you KEEP IT ---- after all it's got those accumalated years of YOUR development, tears, tantrums, "Sod-the-bloody-thing" etc, etc built into it, aint it ?? A few years ago now my first Bullet was a Sixty-Five and I did virtually all the mods. etc. that Mr H had in stock, plus a few of my own---floating rear brake-shoes, for example. I went many miles on it-------------- then sold it !!!!!!!! WHY ??? I really don't know but >>>. To compensate, I now have TWO Classic 500's. One as BOG STANDARD with 20,000 on the clock and 6 months Summer Tax. And the other gradually being turned into a look-alike Army despatch riders machine, finished in Desert Sand and "Desert Rats" logo. This is on 12 months Tax and is the general "Hack" bike-for-all-Seasons. Here's a suggestion for you. As both the carb and silencer are "Easy-peesy" to swap why not have 2 set-ups available ?? You already have the proven "Sports" ensemble,( for mixing it with the lads on a club-run), so another carb. and standard silencer from e-bay ( maybe with the air filters to match ??) and viola !! there's your "touring" option. And cheap enough as well I would think. Seriously now---if you change your bike then the Insurance people will charge you an "ADMIN" FEE of £30 or more these days. you could get that second carb for £30.

Hi midge. I know what you mean, there's big demand now for sidevalves like BSA M21's and the like. Perhaps it's because of the name "Bullet" ...you know "as fast as a Bullet"..."deadly weapon" etc. that we want it to fly along. Maybe if it was called a "B Flat"..."Chug Master"....or "Spotted Cow" we could accept it going much more leisurely. Perhaps there could be a trend towards detuning them to make even more low down torque with max revs at just 4000RPM, so it can pull away at tickover just like a sidevalve....or even the diesel version. It will have to make a nice loudish but mellow chuffing sound though rather than the sharp bark that they usually make. Retarding the exhaust timing will help with that one. Should suit the rigid rear end conversion nicely.

Hi Midge, what you are really confirming is the versatility of these beasts, they can be made to go reasonably quickly but also make lovely and well mannered machines in standard trim. We all occasionally wish we had a bit more horse power at our disposal whatever we ride but the potential trade offs for higher states of tune at worst include being harder to start, more expensive to run, less pleasant mannered to ride, noisy enough to set the neighbours teeth on edge when you go out and less reliable so you have to seriously consider how much and how often you will take advantage of each mod for extra oomph. I have a 350 trials, it does occasionally get thrashed beyond its comfort zone but generally I am happy plodding around within its limitations, I guess people with all the go faster goodies are happy with their choices too. Decisions, decisions indeed.

Hope you make the right choice for you.

Arch

I've got one of each and whilst the standard 51 does have charm it doesn't give me the enjoyment of the tweaked bitza. What I would say though is that if the bike doesn't behave nIcely at normal speeds and around town then it's not fit for purpose and should be de tuned. If its for the track then it's a different story. My machine is very well tempered with a nice turn of speed more like a bike of the 70's than the 50's. The brakes though not so much!

Well, well, it just goes to show how different we all are doesn't it. Last year I bought a neqw EFI Electra just to potter round the doors, do the shopping, run errands etc. because it was billed as economic and light. I have other stuff for long distance touring & motorway travel.
What a revelation, I find I use it all the time. And it is economical (85mpg) & light. I thought I might fit an 18 tooth gearbox sprocket to spin along a bit quicker. But why, that is not what these bikes were designed for. So apart from a chain oiler (essential) and a top box (useful) I aint going to do anything with it except ride it.

Having just retired I am seriously considering having a go at the Round Britain Rally next year (after a bit of cost estimation) and might well do the thing on the Royal Enfield. So far it seems reliable enough.

standard every time ,since tweaking my 350 the mpg has gone down to 62mpg thats just open pipe larger jets i,m sure that in standard trim it was doing around 80mpg at 2 or 3 mph slower so i just burn more petrol and have a louder bike,the no brainer appears when you do the diesel conversion very simular top end to a indian 350 160mpg at 55mph ultra reliable excluding fuel selonoid if fitted,clive my mate kevin does the round britain rally every year on his diesel enfield all the best paul.

I totally agree that standard is the appropriate state for anything with provenance which is why I've spent years sourcing and replacing parts on the 51 to bring it back to as near original as possible However there is also the noble tradition of the Special to be considered and seeing as I got the bitsa as a wreck with the front end totally mashed and most of the tin ware rusted away it seemed too good an opportunity to miss to give it a tweak. It was assembled from a huge array of sources including some bits that I had removed from the 51 and a set of early Reddich front forks that came off Trademe.co.nz ( New Zealand's eBay) a mag off EBay Australia and of course numerous odds and ends from our excellent host. What is satisfying and I believe a tribute to the marque is that it all went together like is was just pulled apart. Moreover it handles and performs (apart from the occasional indiscretion that you'd expect from a machine that spent the majority of its life lying wrecked in the mud) like a bought one.

I originally said that I thought the fuel consumption on my 500 was bad, it seems I will have to eat my words. Having made a dipstick to sit on the fuel filler to get a precise level, I did a couple of hundred miles and filled the tank to exactly the same point. Its getting 84 mpg which is better then many 350s from what I gather on here. Maybe its because of the free flow air filter, exhaust and gas flowed head making it more efficient? I was very careful with the maths, converting km into miles (1.6093) and litres into gallons (4.546) so I am confident about the accuracy. I know the mileometer is accurate as I had previously checked it against a GPS (The speed is out, but that's a different matter). If I can remember, I will replicate it again over the next tankful. -- It is still noisy to my mind, although I may put up with it rather then buy a different set of equipment, good idea though 'Alan R' -- Who else has checked their consumption? I would be interested to hear as a comparison, 350s and 500s