[Davideo]

So I rode to work today on my Enfield for the first time and it was GREAT! My bike was out of commission for a number of years and through the guidance of this forum I have been able to get it in working order. It did take some dough and a lot of tries but I'm very happy that I have learned to work on it myself. I can't thank the people on this forum enough for their knowledge and motivation.

 The ride home wasn't as pleasant. The bike died pretty far out into Amish country Ohio and I was forced to do some roadside trouble shooting. Not too tough though I could see the lights when out it must be electrical. I open up the tool box, check the fuse and BAM! it's blown. No big deal I got a spare right there in the case. So I swap it out and start the bike back up it fires up pretty fast but dies. Hmmm... wonder if the fuse is blow again? Yup, sure enough it is fried. Silly fuse. No Spare this time though. What to do, what to do.

At this point I think the little brains I still have leaked out of my ear and onto the roadside there. This fuse was really being a pain in the ass. In my mind it was no longer a safety mechanism but rather an obstacle. Not a tough obstacle to pass though I'll just clip these two parts that attach to the end of the fuse together. I realized that was a bad idea pretty fast by the smoke rolling out from under my amp meter but by that point the damage has been done.

After some pushing and some begging I was able to get it home. I'm pretty sure the fuse was blown because a small wire I had going to a license plate light had rubbed the plastic coating away and was grounding out on the rear fender. Tiny tiny little fix. On top of that though it looks like the wires on both the ignition switch and the amp meter are a melty mess as well as the wires running from the connector on the ignition switch back along the frame.

Any advice on how to best fix this or what else to check would be appreciated.

[GlennF]

The simplest way to rewire something like a bullet is buy some of that trailer harness wire with the seven or so colored wires inside.

This keeps things neat and tidy and all you need to do is connect the correct bits up at each end.

[Ice]

Hi Davideo,

 Congrats on resurrecting you Bullet and welcome back to the REal world 

Sad to hear the gremlin named electrickery jumped you but I'm sure you can handle it.

Sounds like there was a dead short to ground.

By my estimation you could repair what fryed or rewire to suit.

Me, I would repair as needed and maybe split some windshield washer fluid tubing and slip it over wires that look like they might rub and keep rocking.

In case you decide to rewire below are some schematics from our forum brothers.

Let us know how you make out,,,,,,,and welcome back

[barenekd]

Reminds me of the old story of the guy driving his Chevy pickup through the hills of Tennessee. His headlights want out so he started trouble shooting it and found the fuse had blown. He didn't have any spare fuses, but found a .22 cartridge. He stunk in in the fuse holder. He got behind the wheel, started the truck, turned on the lights... and shot himself in the leg!
Bare

[Davideo]

Oh god! Thankfully I'm not that dumb. Maybe I should rename the thread Apprentice of Dumb Moves.

[RBHoge]

Reminds me of the old story of the guy driving his Chevy pickup through the hills of Tennessee. His headlights want out so he started trouble shooting it and found the fuse had blown. He didn't have any spare fuses, but found a .22 cartridge. He stunk in in the fuse holder. He got behind the wheel, started the truck, turned on the lights... and shot himself in the leg!
Bare

My GAWD ! I hate that Urban legend   first of all, when a bullet (for a firearm) cooks off or otherwise is fired (when not in a gun)the lead thingy doesn't move appreciably. the lighter (mass)  shell case moves, but having very little mass in comparison has very little striking energy. about forty years ago when a local sporting goods store caught fire in Nashville, the firemen were not as bothered by the hundreds of rounds popping as much as when the Scuba Tanks started detonating. The firemen's Canvas "Turnout" coats were sufficient to stop the bullets. 

[The Garbone]

I worked with a guy who talked about as a child hitting a .22 bullet that he had put in a vise with a hammer.   It fired and the shell casing got lodged under the skin of his forearm. He had to pull it out with tweezers.   

[barenekd]

absolutely true, but it's funny anyway! But, on the other hand, if the cartridge hit something hard enough to keep it from going recoiling backward, there'd still be a bit of energy in the bullet
Bare

[Arizoni]

There might be a bit of energy but it would be a small bit.
The case would rupture before any significant energy was given to the relatively heavy slug.
About the worst thing I can think of happening in the hot .22 cartridge firing scenario is the casing putting out someones eye.  If they were wearing a pair of glasses even this would be almost impossible.

[Davideo]

We interrupt this thread derailment for a quick update...

Well I managed to get it all back together with out too much work. Thankfully it appears just the wires for the ignition and amp meter were fried and only to just past the connectors. It looks like all the wire runs under the tank made it out OK which I am very thankful for.

In the process of these fixes I replaced all the wiring to the tail lighting that caused the blown fuse in the first place. I also added some new turn signals in front and back. I'll post some pictures this week of my bullet in full view so everyone can see my silly Cadillac tail light and tiny passenger seat.

Back to the thread derailment... I did shoot my brother accidentally with a snake shot .22 cartridge when we were kids. The small be-bees lodged into his arm after one good hammer swing got the bullet moving. I'm not sure which of us thought it was a good idea to try hammering bullets but it does make for a good story.

[Davideo]

http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;id=3626

I have some other pictures in the modifications section as well. Despite all the changes  I have done to it I still have more I want to do. It is really a sickness...

[mikail gransee]

http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;id=3626

I have some other pictures in the modifications section as well. Despite all the changes  I have done to it I still have more I want to do. It is really a sickness...

Very nice...

[bullethead63]

HAH! That '59 Caddy tail light looks like rocket exhaust...I'll bet that it looks awesome at night...and I like the little seat...it looks great!

[elmagnifico]

I like your unburied coil.

[Davideo]

Thanks for all the kind words guys. I have to say it is a lot of fun to work on despite all the challenges.

@ Elmgnifico I love the look of the coil too. I bought it at Autozone for like 20 bucks but that was before I read a thread on here about ohms and resistance all those things I don't have a clue about. I never took the time to look up the resistance of this particular model to see if it is actually compatible. That is probably because I know I won't like what I'll find but it starts super easy now and never really did before. This carburetor made a huge difference on that front:
http://scootrs.com/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=443

This might be another thing I learn the hard way but chrome is so much better looking than blue.