[fxrskrsa]

For my two penny's worth... I have been aware of Enfields for some time, test drove one in 2007, convinced a good friend to buy a lean burn 500 trial back in 2008, saw many zooming around in India last year, but the clincher (now this is the strange part) was March this year, when we went to Nepal, and I borrowed a 500 electra, came off it avoiding a bus coming around the corner on the wrong side of the road, and thought to myself 'this is a tough old bike.. I must have one !!!' Strange logic I know, but the smile my Sixty-5 gives me is 'priceless' (apart from the cost of stainless bits and upgrades  ..)

[Bulletman]

Those pix are in goa India. Good times after troubled ones. Lucky boy being able to get outta Sri Lanka considering the locals couldnt...

@Sectorsteve...what part of Goa were you in...I've had the good fortune of renting a 350 bullet there and visited in Madgao (aka salcete), Panjim, (aka Panaji), Cavelossim, calangute beach, and many more that I can't remember now...it was awesome....

[ace.cafe]

I knew you would write that! 
That may be a winter project.    I've been perusing the internet looking for a parts donor 500 engine or, at least, a spare head, so my down time won't be too long.  I'm down to the Bullet and dirt bikes, so would have to drive cars everywhere.  I run all my local errands on the Bullet.

And then again, I just spoke to Aniket, and he's getting ready to produce a short run of crankcase kits for this 998 Musket sometime next month.

[Ducati Scotty]

Nice!  Ace, do you know if he considered using UCE heads or other parts?  I know his last effort was using 350 parts and before the UCE came on the scene.

Scott

[barenekd]

I had been lusting on a low grade level since Kevin started importing them, but since they weren't available in CA, they weren't on the top of my list. I went though a lot of motorcycles since he started importing tehm, including my Nortless. But most of the bikes I had in thsoe days were Superbikes, Hondas Yamahas, Ducatis, Hinckley Triumphs, etc. I '97 I gotte the point that all that performance was nice, but it was costing me too much money in tickets and stuff. I got a Triumph Scrambler with its grand 44 rwhp. The thing sounded like a Honda 305 with a snuffr'n'not in it so I got some different mufflers which unfortunately were louder than most Hardleys. The tires that came on it were gawdawful and the Avons I replaced them with were a lot better, but not real confidence inspiring. At any rate, I soon developed a real dislike for the bike and seldom rode it. A friend in Tulsa offered my his Sixty-5 very cheap in '07 that had about 150 miles on it, but at the time I was on hard times in the money department, and that and not knowing what would need replacing on it because it had been sitting for a year, I reluctantly turned it down. I never really forgot about but he ended up giving it to his nephew. The last I heard, it's out here and still sitting! At any rate, when the UCEs finally hit the shops out here, I was past ready to get rid of the Triumph, so I called around to the dealers and found one that was willing to take mine in on trade, and the rest is history. It was so great to have an olde English thumper, with the reliability of a modern bike! I never had so much fun on a bike in my life!
It was an adventure every time I rode it. Such a treasure!
Bare

[ace.cafe]

Nice!  Ace, do you know if he considered using UCE heads or other parts?  I know his last effort was using 350 parts and before the UCE came on the scene.

Scott

Scott,
The engine shown is a 998 59-degree V-Twin, using two Bullet 500 top ends from the Iron Barrel engines. It can also be a 1070 with a pair of 535 kits, and can accept two Fireball kits on the top end too. So, it has quite a range available for power output, depending on the owners' desires.

The castings are made with extra room in the cylinder area, so that other heads and barrels can be used, and the UCE heads and barrels and their shorter con-rods have been preliminarily considered as a future development on this crankcase. However, there won't be hydraulic roller tappets, as it will use the vintage cams or the Ace cams. We'd have to build one up as a prototype for the UCE heads, and it would be a while down the road before we can get to that.
We realize that many people have many different "wants", and while we want to please, we already have all we can handle on our plate right now.

After seeing both the Iron Barrel and UCE engines internally, I can safely say that the Iron Barrel top ends are capable of doing every bit as much(or more) in the hp department as a performance build. So if you are looking for a Musket in the near future, it would be advised to go the route with the Iron Barrel top ends, and preferably with a pair of Fireball kits which would simulate the power output of the famed Vincent Black Lightning 1000.

[Ducati Scotty]

Nope, not looking for one now or probably every but I love the work he has done!  And the one thing that really bumber me out about the UCE was that they dropped the external oil lines, they are so pretty.

I figured there was already a lot of preliminary work and knowledge on the iron barrel heads and that's part of why he used them.  No reason not to, as you said they are every bit as good as the UCE heads.  I can certainly see limitations with they hydraulic lifters in the UCE though.  I was just curious since the UCE seems to have had many of the parts made to a higher design spec to start with.  Thanks for the info. 

Scott

[ace.cafe]

Nope, not looking for one now or probably every but I love the work he has done!  And the one thing that really bumber me out about the UCE was that they dropped the external oil lines, they are so pretty.

I figured there was already a lot of preliminary work and knowledge on the iron barrel heads and that's part of why he used them.  No reason not to, as you said they are every bit as good as the UCE heads.  I can certainly see limitations with they hydraulic lifters in the UCE though.  I was just curious since the UCE seems to have had many of the parts made to a higher design spec to start with.  Thanks for the info. 

Scott

In stock form, the UCE has the edge over the Iron Barrel in terms of quality of construction.
But, once the process of performance modification gets started, then that part of it becomes essentially moot, because all the internal parts get replaced with racing parts, and then it's all down to what can perform the best. I'd say that at fully modded capability, they would be similar, and the Iron Barrel hemi chamber might even have the edge with methanol fuel and very high compression.

[Ducati Scotty]

Yup, as soon as you start swapping out the weak bits of the old design it's on par with the UCE, but with the advantage that people have already put in tons of R&D on that design so parts and know how are plentiful.

Scott

[D the D]

Too pretty!  And will probably cost more than I paid for my entire oil sucking Ironbarrel (which new rings and ACE's breather fix took care of).  I'll have to see what they're going to price out at.

[Dazzler]

fxrskrsa,  great tag line. 

[Sectorsteve]

@bulletman. That was palolem. So glad i hired that bike. My friends hired scooters to save money, but i just had to get the enfield...

[Sectorsteve]

Nice stories. Bare its interesting to hear you like the enfield more than the scrambler. I nearly got a triumph, would have either been a scrambler or a thruxton. Im very happy with the UCE. I enjoy every ride. People said "dont buy an Enfield" but i did it anyway. They are surprised what it can do. 22k in first year , hasnt missed a beat. a 2000k round trip over 4 days - no worries. Meanwhile these guys harleys and triumphs sit in the garage except on the odd weekend... My bikes out everyday and loving it!

[Sectorsteve]

And on that note its a lovely day outside, a little chilly but im off for a jaunt around the coast...

[barenekd]

its interesting to hear you like the enfield more than the scrambler.

Yeah, I shoulda gotten a T100. I would have liked it bettor than the Scrambler But I still like the size and weight of the Enfield a lot more, and the rest of it is just a given. The Triumphs don't ahve the soul and character of the Enfield. I like the old Brit bikes. the only thing old about the Triumphs is a vague recollection of the styling. I'm glad you ahd the nerve to stand up to the people's opinions. It's amazing the badmouthing REs get from all the people who've probably never even seen one, let alone ride one! I had the salesman who sold me the Guzzi start ragging on the Enfield. I had to straighten his butt out! Had fun with that one! The Guzzi has been down longer waiting for parts than the Enfield ever was! And something as stupid as a spark plug connector!! the Enfield would never be down for that! I may have waited for a part or two for awhile as I was turning it into a Cafe racer, but it was nothing that kept me from going for a  ride.
Bare