Author Topic: Milk's 03 Bullet dual sport build  (Read 57759 times)

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noisymilk

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Reply #30 on: February 16, 2012, 05:55:32 am
Br Sam Simons

Yes! Yours is the awesome orange one I have been drooling over. Mine will personally be a bit more rat rod-ish than yours. I am attempting to build something that will be low key in the places I want to travel to, but be as strong as yours appears to be.

I'm still hung on whether to change the tires or not. I like the idea of running matched tires front and back. I am right now (AM26's, 100/90 19's). But I hear what everyone is saying about 18/21 vs 19/19. I just don't have enough offroad experience to make a judgement.

That said, I'm not looking at trail riding. I'm looking at adventure ride the world type of stuff. It will require offroad skills, but I'm not seeking single track paths or anything. Hmmmm.

Thanks so much for your response here. I really like what you did with your machine. Very much.
-Milk

2003 Royal Enfield Military
2009 Genuine Blackjack - MrsMilk's ride

I'm trying to make my Enfield an adventure machine:
http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/index.php/topic,12951.0.html

Ever want to ride a scooter to Canada??
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=690259


jartist

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Reply #31 on: February 16, 2012, 06:32:10 am
You could always start with new tires on the 19"rims and then switch rim sizes later if you feel you need something different.


The Garbone

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Reply #32 on: February 16, 2012, 02:44:45 pm
You could try a set of Kenda K761.  Look to be cheaper than K70s and a nice dual sport tire.   Looking at the reviews people seem happy.
Gary
57' RE Crusader 250
67' Ford Mustang
74' Catalina 27 "Knot a Clew"
95 RE Ace Clubman 535
01 HD 1200 Custom
07 RE 5spd HaCK

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The Garbone

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Reply #34 on: February 16, 2012, 05:48:32 pm
About that 21" front. I don't know if you would really like it.   From what I have heard a 21" will wear out twice as fast as a 19,  has less contact patch and reduces manuverability.     

Gary
57' RE Crusader 250
67' Ford Mustang
74' Catalina 27 "Knot a Clew"
95 RE Ace Clubman 535
01 HD 1200 Custom
07 RE 5spd HaCK

* all actions described in this post are fictional *


Sam Simons

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Reply #35 on: February 17, 2012, 03:39:25 pm
Thank you for your comments regarding my Scrambler.
It sounds as though you'll be riding (paved) back roads and  gravel/dirt roads as well....If so,the TKC's low knob/cleat height (or any other design similar) should offer you the desired traction in either situation. If you look closely at the TKC's on my Scrambler,you'll see that the front tire's cleats wrap around the sidewall much more than so with the back unit. That's one advantage you'd have in using your existing rims. Unfortunately,the rear TKC's don't mimic that design below their 130mm size,because of the narrow swingarm,I had to use the 120 tire which doesn't look exactly the same.
If you're staying on relatively flat surfaces(paved or otherwise),then likely your existing suspension and ground clearance will suffice. There are a couple of modified RE's on the ADV Rider site that have altered suspensions.
Changing your tires (and keeping your 19" rims) would be a first good step........With the additional weight of 'boxes',you may wish to stiffen your stock suspension; easily done by preload spacers for your fork springs(or custom replacements by Progressive,etc) and replacing your rear shocks(possibly increasing their length too). That's really the limit to modding your existing suspension,and given your intended use,that's all you should  need.....(Don't despair,look at the WW2 BMW R4,R12,R61/66 machines-similar weight,tire size,power,horrible suspension; you're in a much better situation !! )


Sam


noisymilk

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Reply #36 on: February 17, 2012, 11:30:46 pm
Br's Jartist, Garbone, and Sam Simons:

Wow! such a bevy of good tire conversation.

So, looking at the K761....only the rear comes in a 100/90 19. I assume you just flip it the other way and use another as the front? Thats what my AM26's specced. From a budget point of view this is the superior tire. A fair amount of reading of reviews suggests a few people find it to be not so good in the rain. However, I don't really drive the snot out of anything. I'm a pretty laid back rider. I didn't even mind the stock tires in the raid, and the Avons now are doing alright.

Now....those TKC's. Hmmmm! Good looking tire....lots of knobs and stuff. 100/90 19 sold as a front....again, flip it to make it a rear?? Its damned expensive by comparison for sure. Sam, you are correct in your estimation of my intended riding. Back roads, some dirt trails, whatever I might find in foreign countries to the south, or up in the Yukon territories. I am curious as to the road manners of this tire. Seems like it might be noisy/bumpy by comparison. Do you feel that I need something this strongly offroad by comparison to the K761? In reality, I don't mind the cost. I'll spend the money to do it right. My father in law always says about cars.....don't cheap on tires or brakes. Sounds right to me.

As far as supension goes.... I do intend to do the rear shocks. I've got my eyes on a 320mm dual sport shock from YSS. Maybe even taller. Do you have opinions regarding a good height? Keep in mind, I can flat foot a stock KLR650 (I might go look at them from time to time). And as far as Progressives go, I emailed them. They don't have specs on tap for the Enfield. Did you use that company? Or do you have another source for a good front spring? I certainly would like something that feels tighter than the stock there.

So yeah. I think for the time being keeping the 19's and trying some different tires on some trips is the way to start.

Fingers crossed, I'll be putting a new carb on next week. :)
-Milk

2003 Royal Enfield Military
2009 Genuine Blackjack - MrsMilk's ride

I'm trying to make my Enfield an adventure machine:
http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/index.php/topic,12951.0.html

Ever want to ride a scooter to Canada??
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=690259


Sam Simons

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Reply #37 on: February 18, 2012, 12:54:13 am
 Regarding your questions about the TKC's,Noisy,I am quite happy with their road performance-ride and adhesion are very good-no classic knobby 'lumpy' feel or borderline traction concerns.....This is surely attributed to the low height of,and close spacing of the cleats. The TKC's are described as 50/50 (on/off road) tires,and,IMO,they are(much) better than that as far as road manners are concerned. But,also contributing to the situation would be the RE's weight and low power output. If the Scrambler  had a much higher power to weight ratio,the TKC's would very  likely be 'borderline'.....

TKC tire noise?-Zero to minimal-I don't know,as my exhaust note overwhelms any of that. Because of the cleat design and placement,I'm sure that it's minimal....

K761-My impression is that these tires are either 60/40 or 70/30 -a far better road tire than an off road tire.
One question to ask yourself in order to better decide which tire, is-"How much paved road use versus un-paved surface use do I expect to encounter?"

As you already know,there are no significant(meaningful) tire width options because of the stock swingarm's limitations. There is a relatively simple mod to improve that situation,but the stock S-arm is still the show stopper in using a significantly wider tire.

Suspension- Fork springs-I have used Progressive units many times. I'm not too surprised about their lack of involvement with RE's,but,you may still be able to make use of their products but discussing your needs with their Tech Dept. They''l likely need info such as RE spring length,I.D.,O.D.,Bike & rider weights to calculate an alternative spring from their existing inventory. The use of pre-load spacers is 'low-tech',but often is a quick improvement. Obviously,too much spacer length can lead to spring coil bind under full fork compression,so watch for that possible  problem. Generally,pre-load spacers are expected to offset suspension sag resulting from age or sheer machine weight at rest. Typically,the spacers will accomplish that without creating  said coil bind.
Rear shocks- 1/2" to 1' longer perhaps,in the attempt to raise the rear to match the height change made in the front. Additional rear height will reduce your fork rake,and quicken the RE's steering..maybe an improvement for you. Consider buying shocks that are  rebuild-able and that offer internals for that purpose,so that you may carry such on a long trek....

Hope that the above points are helpful.....


noisymilk

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Reply #38 on: February 26, 2012, 12:23:55 am
Howdy! Sorry its been a bit...had to go and actually work for a few weeks. :)

Br Sam Simons:
Thanks for all the amazing info! I'm going to have to consider what type of riding I am planning on, obviously. Not to make this an all tire conversation....but I've come across a tire brand that has piqued my interest. Mefo's??

http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/4811/765/

I'm reading lots of reviews of people who LOVE this tire and are getting 7-9k out of their rear tires with this model. Sounds good to me, and although a higher initial cost, long term seems lower. But I like the idea of Anchorage and back on one set of tires....saves the challenge of carrying replacements or locating on the go.

So!..... new to me carbeurator should arrive next week. Thanks to a forum member here, I was able to get a PWK30 for a very fair price. I'm anxious to see what effect this has on performance and fuel economy. I have now opened the air filter, the exhaust (although it could be even more open....shorty sausage silencer is whats on there now), stage 1 tuned head (likely not going the Fireball route, as I don't think I particularly need THAT level of performance). So up next in the big ticket purchase is a new barrel/piston combo. I'm thinking Ace's lightened piston with an alloy jug from somewhere. I think that and Chumma's screw on oil filter kit will finish my engine work for the time being. Gonna stick with stock bottom end for now until I am forced to pony up the cash for that. I'll just be a gentle right hander.....

Still gotta do something about my muffler. It's getting pretty rattle-y inside. Baffles are all broken loose. Maybe just drill out the baffles and see what happens?? Ideas?

I'm still brainstorming on how to hang a decent set of panniers on there. Have an idea....just need to go get the angle steel and fab it up and see if it works. If I can get my subframe replacement idea in place, then just a puck mount system of some variety for some 40mm ammo cans, and done. Oh! yeah...made up my mind to go with the smaller 40mm cans over the larger 20mm cans.

Found this to carry my tent/bedroll/sleeping bag/rain gear:

http://www.happy-trail.com/Wolfman/Expedition-Double-End-Duffle-Wolfman.aspx

I think it will do nicely. Haven't purchased yet, but its on the list soonly.

I purchased a set of Stever Stoves from a dude on Adv Rider who makes cool alcohol stoves out of aluminum beer bottles. Brilliant! (I may have mentioned this earlier in the thread....but worth saying again). I got one regular stove and one simmer stove. Take a look here. 9 bucks each shipped!  :
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=431851

Ok. Thats it for now. Going out to the shop and tearing apart the front wheel to see what shape the brakes are in. There's a strange rubbing sound/feel coming from there lately. I've never inspected inside....probably dirty as all get out. So, clean and rebuild. Grease this and that. Inspect the bearings. I have it in my mind to replace the stockers with sealed improved bearings.

Be safe all.
-Milk

2003 Royal Enfield Military
2009 Genuine Blackjack - MrsMilk's ride

I'm trying to make my Enfield an adventure machine:
http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/index.php/topic,12951.0.html

Ever want to ride a scooter to Canada??
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=690259


AgentX

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Reply #39 on: February 26, 2012, 04:25:08 am
regarding front suspension, I bought YSS (seemingly Racetech clone) fork cart emulators for a project I'm working on.  Won't have them in for quite some time since the bike's still not even running, but they're a $130 or so option to try...I think the problem with the RE fork is not the springs but the crude damping, which can lead to hydraulic lock when you actually want the fork to perform best.

My experience, however, is with mountain bicycle suspension and not motos, so I shouldn't talk out my ass too much.  Still, I did immediately notice the innards of the fork are exactly the same in operation as a bicycle fork I stopped using in the 90s because the performance was way behind the times.

Of course, they're attached to a motorcycle design that most of the world stopped using about fifty years ago, so I guess it's kind of an odd thing to be picky about.

Anyhow, might be something to try if you want a better feel up front.  I will report back myself but don't have hopes for anything in the next 2-3 months at least.


noisymilk

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Reply #40 on: March 05, 2012, 04:32:07 am
Hello there all!

Ok, so my new to me 30mm Flatslide arrived yesterday. Yay! Gonna give it a good cleaning and start trying to work it onto the bike this week. It came with the solid flange mount to go straight to the head (with heat shields of course), but I am toying with the idea of just sticking with the radiator hose attachment I am using now. Anyone have opinions regarding this?

And, can someone point me to the carb settings thread a forum brother made a few years ago? I'm having a devil of a time locating it, and want to reference it for my starting point.

I'm thinking I want to set up the carb to be running properly with the needle at lowest notch/richest setting here in Phoenix (900 ft I believe)....so that as i go uphill, all I have to do is lean out the needle. Yeah?

Found the company Jet-Hot here in town. $115 bucks for header pipe coating, guaranteed for life. And they can do a flat black for me. Definitely gonna go that route. Look here:  http://www.jet-hot.com/

I think next money spent is going to be on the spin on oil filter.

I'm stumped on panniers. My initial efforts on building a pannier mount haven't panned out (no pun intended). Still have some ideas....but we'll see. Still want to do 40mm ammo cans, not the big 20 mm. Want to build this frame with a tail bag space as well. It's just a challenge, and there are no good frame points out that far. I don't know how well my fab skills will hold up to long term abuse. Anyways.

Oh! Deleted the speedo drive gear. I just punched the metal spacer out of the plastic housing to maintain the space to the fork leg. I think a sealed bearing set it in order though....the bearings are a bit exposed now. Of course, the were hardly protected underneath that little plastic jobby anyways. But I like sealed bearings....particularly if there is water in my future.

Ok, be safe all.

-Milk

2003 Royal Enfield Military
2009 Genuine Blackjack - MrsMilk's ride

I'm trying to make my Enfield an adventure machine:
http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/index.php/topic,12951.0.html

Ever want to ride a scooter to Canada??
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=690259


noisymilk

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Reply #41 on: March 05, 2012, 04:37:39 am
Forgot to mention...front brake cleaning and greasing GREATLY improved the function. It wasn't too dirty, but I doubt any maintenance had been done since purchase in there. Just took it all apart and cleaned it. Lubed the brake cams. Reattached the actuating arms to give my brake cable some more adjustment back (I think I put them back on the cams 1 tooth CCW from where they were....my brake cable was at longest adjustment just to get attached. Original setup didn't make use of the handle end adjuster. They just weren't there. Silly)

Now it bites and actually stops me. Gonna get a little allthread and some locking nuts and do the Hitchcocks upgrade that allows you to adjust each shoe individually. SIMPLE project with what I am sure will be significant improvement in operation.

Be safe guys.
-Milk

2003 Royal Enfield Military
2009 Genuine Blackjack - MrsMilk's ride

I'm trying to make my Enfield an adventure machine:
http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/index.php/topic,12951.0.html

Ever want to ride a scooter to Canada??
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=690259


AgentX

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Reply #42 on: March 05, 2012, 05:23:22 am
Man, personally, you couldn't pay me to strap those big old ammo cans on the back of my bike.  Why would you want that much weight, especially on such a low-powered bike?  On a BMW 1250 GS or a KTM Adventure or even a big old 650 single, I can see the appeal, but as someone who used to have 25mm cans bolted to the back of my LAV turret, I know those suckers are heavy!  Even the 40mm variety.

Personally, once my new ride is done, I may have someone weld up a removable rack to accept something like these:

http://www.wolfmanluggage.com/Expedition/expd_dry_saddle_bags.html


noisymilk

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Reply #43 on: March 05, 2012, 06:58:48 am
Br AgentX

Yeah, I've been eyeballing a variety of soft bags as well. Those wolfmans are nice for sure. Good stuff there. It certainly would be easier to fab up racks capable of handling those.

Been considering this for my tent/sleeping bag/bedroll: http://www.happy-trail.com/Wolfman/Expedition-Double-End-Duffle-Wolfman.aspx

It raises another question for me as well. It seems my long expeditions will be one up, so I have the seat behind me for storage. For the 2 up with the wife kind of stuff, I'm still looking at the Inder trailer sold by our hosts. That does raise some food for thought as far as soft bags go.

I'll sleep on it and see where I am in the morning.
-Milk

2003 Royal Enfield Military
2009 Genuine Blackjack - MrsMilk's ride

I'm trying to make my Enfield an adventure machine:
http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/index.php/topic,12951.0.html

Ever want to ride a scooter to Canada??
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=690259


bob bezin

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Reply #44 on: March 05, 2012, 05:50:56 pm
i have had good results with an inder trailer.  had a hitch made for my triumph. ( abour 5 inches longer than the enfield hitch it came with) and took it from wis to BC. washington and oregon5518 miles. at one point a small wobble that that a thin little shim fixed  was the only problem.my triumph with the inder is my long distance ride now .                                       
2000 RE classic ,              56 matchless g80
2006 RE delux fireball       86 yamaha SRX 600                       
2015 indian chief vintage
65 500cctriumph
04 bonnie black
71 750 norton.
48 whizzer