Hitchcocks Forum

I understand that a 5 speed engine should be better than a 4, however is a 4 speed still worth considering as a purchase? Is re sale more difficult and less value for dollar?

A 4 speed is still worth considering. The gearbox can be problematic but is fixable with improved parts as a scan of our Hosts Accessory Catalogue will show. If it's working well it's not as nice as a 5 speed box but it works and is in keeping with the rest of the machine. The 'iron barrel' 4-speeds have been going up in price recently so you'll probably get a reasonable price for one on re-sale assuming you haven't trashed it!

REgards, Mark

Bit like putting a 5 speed on an Inter Mark, they just don't look to be from that era where a cast iron 4 speed does. The 5 speed is a better box but the whole thing hinges around what you want the bike for

My year 2000 Bullet 500 has the original 4-speed gearbox and there have been no problems at all except small bits in the changing mechanism.... but these were all inside the first cover, nothing wrong with the gears themselves. Also my year 2007 Bullet with a chair has had no problems at all with the gears. Biggest problem was the clutch cable stretched quite a bit at first so needed adjusting often.
Obviously not like a modern bike but I find them both perfectly easy to use.

Having written this I am now expecting huge problems all round haha.

What is a " a 5 speed engine"
Just wonderin'

I'm not convinced there's such a thing as a 4 speed RE box. Mine's got four official drive ratios but someone at the factory also fitted a couple of unofficial extra neutrals.

Beezabryan,



it does exist, technically, it's the Bullet engine with the cast-in tunnel through the oil tank portion of the crankcase for the the left foot 5-speed box gear-change shaft to pass through! As fitted to the Sixty-5 models and the E/S 5 speed Deluxe Bullet sold in Europe and the USA, some Indian home market 350 Electras and all but the very early lean burn engines.



The UCE/EFI models have also been 5 speed from day 1.



Bit of a quibble, really, but just for record-straightening purposes...



A.

The big advantage with the 5 speed is that it gets rid of the big step up from 3rd to 4th in the 4 speed box. This is most evident on the 350's but fitting the Hitch close ratio gearset helps alleviate this issue. On the twins this is less evident because of the bigger hp, they don't run out of puff so easily

A little light reading from the UK factory. Click on the three horizontal dots, top right to zoom the text if too small to read.
http://royal-enfield.net/articles/articles.html