Hitchcocks Forum

Hello everyone. I am in the process of buying my first enfield. The bike is going to be used for long distance touring into remote parts of Southern Africa. With this in mind I would really appreciate anyones input as to how I can end up with the most reliable bike, and especially one that's easiest to repair.

I am thinking of getting either a new Bullet 500 or Classic 500. The Classic 500 being my first choice as I prefer the 2 single seat option and rear mud guard. But I'm also open to the bullet 500 if theres something obvious I'm missing..

One thing I will be doing for sure is buying the carb conversion kit to change from EFI to carb. Main reason being that I know a carb and want to be able to repair with ease. My other little concern is the ignition system on these new bikes, does the new bullet and classic use different ignition systems? Please bear with me as all my previous bikes had points! All I can see from the enfield website is that the new Bullet uses a 'TCI Unit, Multi curve' and the classic a 'Digital Electronic Ignition'. Is is possible to convert from these to points on a 2017/18 model? If not which of the 2 systems would be the better choice with what I have in mind? Would I be able to repair these roadside by carrying spare parts?

Again, I need a bike that I can repair myself in extremely isolated countries. Mechanically I am fine with repairs, its more electrically that I'm not 100% confident with these new electronic systems. looking forward to your responses and any other input you may have for me to end up with the most reliable bike.

Cheers

Electronic ignitions, in general, work fine and aren't prone to failure. When they do fail, it's usually the electronic ignition module itself, they generally can't be fixed, the faulty parts need to be replaced. (unless it's something like a broken pickup mounting or a broken wire). The rest of the parts like generator coils, ignition coils and HT componants are pretty much the same as conventional vehicles.



In my experience with electronic ignitions in general (but not the enfield ones specifically), where you'd land up with a problem is if tyou get charging problems resulting in low voltage or a flat battery. Even the modern pre-unit bullets won't self excite so if you have a flat battery, you're stuck.



So, possibly counter intuatively, the thing that is most likely to leave you with a non-functioning electronic ignition is a stator failure or a faulty regulator/rectifier. In remote, third world countries, I'd even go so far as to say battery theft would be a prime cause of failure so a locking battery cover is a good idea. Consider investing in a small jump starter battery pack? (they come pretty small these days) Or even a solar system capable of charging a flat battery so you can put some charge in then limp back to civilisation on "total loss" if necessary -if you're in Africa, there ought to be plenty of sunlight-.



In reality, the things that will be most likely to leave you actually stuck are broken cables, punctures and bearing failures. Cable repair kits are neat or tape a spare cable to the outside of the existing one.



It's worth having a small multimeter and some knowledge of how to use it. Sticking a laminated wiring diagram to the inside of a body panel (battery cover?) isn't a bad idea.



If you're going through desert or salt pans, regular air filter cleaning will become a necessity, you may want to look into something that is serviceable other than the standard paper element filter.



You may find yourself using horrifically poor quality fuel sold out of bottles at the side of the road so an inline paper filter is a must, carry a spare. Go for glas bottles rather than plastic. Inspect bottles for signs of watering. If they're running up to you shaking the bottle about, they may be doing it to stop you noticing a layer of water settling in the bottom.



Have an awareness of how to deal with your bike sucking water into the engine.



I'm not sure where they're at with the sprag clutches on the new bullets but they have historically had problems with them failing so I'd make sure you have a kickstart.

Oh yeah. Partially sawing through your clutch and brake levers from the inside about 1/3 of the way in from the end should leave you with a useable stub if you crash. This makes them snap at the cut rather than at the pivot.

If you havn't found it already you need to get on the Horizons Unlimited HUBB. Lots of guys on there who've done this although not many on Enfields outside India. Personally I detest carbs so can't help on that score. One item you will need to sort are the tyres. OE fit is TL with tubes so roadside repairs are impossible. The OE chain is utter **** so you will need to replace that. If you decide to remove the blinkcode diagnosed, 85 mpg, FI with a can of half swollen O-rings I would take great care to seal if not totally replace the rest of the loom. Its pretty good but uses a lot of sureseal connectors that are designed to be sealed, not left open. You will indeed need serious fuel filters. Given the poor quality of many Indian parts I think I would replace the wheel bearings, battery and control cables as part of the prep. One downside of the Bullet is having to drain the oil to get at the front sprocket. You'll need to carry the gasket as well as enough oil filters for one every couple of thousand miles. Andy

Sounds like a case for a Honda Transalp or Africa Twin to me...

Going to those places, I would also be taking large gun, and keeping in my pants.

Thank you stinkwheel and Andy. You have both given me plenty to think about!

Andy it's funny you say that, perhaps I need to look at more bikes before I make a mistake. It has always been a dream of mine to do it on an enfield.. but I think I may need to have an honest look at this and consider the other machine I had in mind! Thanks again. Clive

If I was going to pick any bike to ride round the world, it would probably be a modified (to carry more fuel and luggage) Yamaha XT225. Light, low state of tune, aircooled, go anywhere.



Either that or a Honda Hero for similar reasons and because the chances of finding spare parts if needed are very good.



If I was taking an Enfield bullet, it would be a pre-unit 350 in a low state of tune.

When I was riding a 350 Bullet around India a few years ago, there were a lot more Hero Hondas around than Enfields. I wonder if that tells you something...!

Light is good. The world moves at 40 mph so forget 1200cc behemoths with canbussed ashtrays. You need to be able to do your own maintenance so you at least don't get ripped off by the local mechanic. Don't think its all Sunday night TV open topped Landrovers, Toyota Landcruisers have FI and aircon and the locals can fix them. You need to be able to buy parts and tyres. A Bullet ticks a few boxes, especially if thats a bike you know. Personally I'd see what 400cc Honda and Yamaha clones the Chinese are importing into either South Africa or Morocco. It may be a Sierra Cosworth to the local guys Fiesta 1.1 , but at least you aren't asking them for Ferrari parts.

Andy