Forum

[Norm]

Easy fix is to pull the thing down, build it with a longstroke crank and you can cruise at 70mph, best of both worlds, Enfield with a bit of mongrell in it, instead of it being a woosy thing that can't give a scooter a fright

[Bullet Whisperer]

A standard 500 Indian Bullet should be able to manage about 75 mph flat out and cruise around 60-65 mph, this equating to no more than about 4000 rpm, if that. The ones that shake themselves to bits and wipe out engine bearings are usually the ones that are made to shudder along at about 40 mph in top gear up hills at full throttle. As long as you don't try to get 90 mph, or over 5,500 rpm, the piston should stay in one piece, I had the crown come off one, so I've been there and done it. You can tune the Bullet to go a lot faster than standard, with more power and this permits raising of the gearing, which knocks the revs back a little to give the moving parts an easier life. You don't need to spend thousands to make a Bullet quicker [if that's what you want], but don't think you have to treat a standard one like it's made of glass, because they are not. To put some perspective on things, I was doing 60 mph on a 200cc Tiger Cub this afternoon, with my Son on the back, a 500 Bullet has to be capable of keeping up with one of these, doesn't it?
Cheers, Paul.

[grunda 12]

bw you take it easy on the cub !!!especially with your son on the back ,i should think the cub will fly they must be half the weight of an indian bullet!atb paul

[Norm]

Paul, you are right a 500 SHOULD be capable of doing these speeds but you have to remember these were built by Indians and that alone brings in so many variables, it is not just the piston quality it is poorly produced parts, poor assembly, how carefull the bloke was putting the motor together. Think about it at the peak of the cast engine production they were building around 150 bikes a day. What sort of team did they have assebling motors, think about hand assembling 150 motors a day, every day, sure one motor might work well, the next craps itself out at very low miles, luck of the draw some owners lucky, others dead unlucky even with meticulous maintenance

[grunda 12]

hi norm ,i think that even in redditch it would be down to luck ,but i think that if youve got it flaunt it,the only way to find out is suck it and see ,bullets are cheap to mend so if you have a engine dissaster you can always rebuild it properly and ring its neck again i would liken my electra to a goldstar!! only kidding don,t want to rub any purists up the wrong way but i will say this its hard on the highway being a road warrior especially on an indian bullet!!atb paul.the nightrider!

[simon]

I get a sustainable 60 mph out of my 350 (brass dwarf aside). The limitation I believe is the cooling of the iron barrel. If you go flat out for any length of time they overheat and that will generally result in tears before bedtime. There are plenty on 90 to 100 mph 500's and even some 350's but they all have aluminium barrels with steel liners. What do you reckon Whisperer is an ally barrel a worthwhile mod?

[sofiaspin]

Whisperer thank you very much for that comment. Eddie your comments are appreciated as you mean well. SBM - I am sure you have a useful contribution to make, so please do so. I have a Velocette Venom and am well used to pushing along at a lick, but that bike was built in 1965. I want to get the best out of my Bullet and I love this bike, particularly the torque and the fact it allows me to, as Robert Louis Stevenson said, it is better to travel than arrive, but I want to make sure the machine is allowed to maximise its performance without thrashing the tits off of it. So I welcome considered sensible contributions from people that know these machines far better than I do, and to share their expertise and experience.

[Bullet Whisperer]

To answer your question, Simon, I have an alloy barrel on my Indian 350, which I fitted myself when I tuned it, mainly because I thought the iron original was porous and causing oil leaks. The alloy ones are easier to shorten as well, being of softer material. My 500 Indian and Redditch Bullets have alloy barrels too, the Indian one came with it and a Hitchcocks head when I bought it, the Redditch engine was built up from bits and needed a new barrel anyway, so alloy it was. Main advantage is the weight saving - probably even cheaper postage for an alloy one and I prefer them to iron on the 350's, as a couple of iron barreled ones have tightened up on me in the past, when giving them some stick.
Grunda - the Tiger Cub feels like it is jet propelled compared with an Indian 350, but it is a 'Sports', so it has a whopping 14.5 bhp to play with !
Cheers, Paul.

[Norm]

Sensible contribution, keep the Venom, ditch the Bullet

[Alan R]

DITTO !!