[ace.cafe]

We have all heard that the new Continental GT 535 has these changes to the engine, such as:

1) "Larger Throttle Body"
2) "Hotter Cams"
3) 535 displacement with different piston
4) Anything else that might be different than the regular 500.

I would like to know if anyone has details or specs on any of the above items.
What size is the throttle body?
What are the specifications for the cams? Timing, duration, lift, lobe center, etc?
What piston is being used? Photos of the piston?
Are any of these parts going to be available for purchase via the dealer network, or any other way?

Kevin?

[High On Octane]

Tom wastes no time at all. 

[dginfw]

Wish I could help. I remember reading that it also has a lightened flywheel. Being a new bike, all I have done is cosmetic bolt ons. I can say it does seem to rev easier than my 2012 C5 did when it was new; I would compare it to the old c5  after it had several hundred miles on it.
I haven't tried to get to the throttle body. Im curious what kind of power gains we can expect from it over a standard UCE once you work your magic on them, Ace.

[ace.cafe]

Wish I could help. I remember reading that it also has a lightened flywheel. Being a new bike, all I have done is cosmetic bolt ons. I can say it does seem to rev easier than my 2012 C5 did when it was new; I would compare it to the old c5  after it had several hundred miles on it.
I haven't tried to get to the throttle body. Im curious what kind of power gains we can expect from it over a standard UCE once you work your magic on them, Ace.

We are developing various stages of improvements to be available for the UCE, at different projected prices.
We can take it as far as you want to go. At some point however, there will be bottom end work involved to strengthen it, and that will bring the cost and effort up quite a bit. It's just a matter of what you want.
We are aiming for the low 30s for hp with for our kit.If you want more or less, we can do that too. We pretty much do everything on a custom basis. The kits are just centered around our perception of price vs performance for the typical owner.

[StephenR]

Hi - I own one - in the UK.  Compared to the standard engine it's more powerful, though that's relative. It revs faster and further and does not feel as strangled as the standard engine. Hitchcocks in the UK already sell some basic tuning items.  I suspect that basic upgrades will release more power. As I say at the end of the post I just wrote for Hitchcocks Forum it needs to get up to Velocette Venom Clubman levels of power - about 36 bhp.  The frame / chassis is completely capable of handling more power.  Here's my Post from the UK site:

Like a lot of old-timers on this Forum I've been riding motorcycles since the year dot – in this case the year dot being 1965. I bought one of the new Continental GTs from MotoGB the UK importers in Rochdale (who are good guys by the way) in September 2013 and it's done about 1500 miles – so is run in.  I thought I'd post some of my experiences of the bike with a view to seeding a rational discussion, this is partly because a) some of the media reviews have been somewhat odd; with journalists being moved to criticise the bike for not being something it was never designed to be and b)  because one of the posts on the bike seemed to degenerate into a polarised debate sprinkled with words in capital letters to add emphasis.... If you compare the bike to the two top singles of the classic era the Velocette Thruxton and the BSA Gold Star, the GT is not in their league in terms of engine performance. But it certainly handles and brakes as well as those two bikes and is on a par with a Featherbed. The most thoughtful review of the bike was written by Alan Cathcart who'd spoken to Steve Harris about the frame. Harris said that he aimed for a classic geometry and if you look at the numbers you'll see that it's pretty close in dimensions and angles to those classic era frames. The steering feels sharper than a Featherbed, though - the steering head angle is steeper I think. And since it is basically a fast A road bike it stands well by this comparison. In styling and fit and finish terms I think it's good. All of the plaudits which have been heaped on the styling are deserved and people who've said that the finish is as bad as the Indian Enfields of the 1970s are wrong – the standards are much higher than they used to be.  The gear change has been criticised by some but I've found that clutchless changes are perfect from third gear onwards and it's much better than the 2009 EFI Bullet that I had last.  There are quality compromises – the silver paint on the exhaust system is a bit naff and the silencer, looked at from certain angles, has tiny ripples in the surface. Also the wiring around the battery area is a mess. Having said that, it's basically a great little bike for Sunday afternoons, blasting round A and B roads.  I've yet to ride it over a longer distance but it feels quite comfortable and I'm 6' 1". But really the chassis is better than the engine - In the lower gears its fine but it needs better performance in fourth and fifth. In A road traffic moving at 60 to 65 mph it really doesn't have the  fifth gear performance that it needs to get past quickly and safely and dropping into fourth gear produces more revs but not really any more power. But it certainly doesn't need gearing down - it needs more bhp / torque.  So I'm going to embark on a little light tuning; an iridium plug, Power Commander, new silencer and a freer flowing air filter. Plus some attention to the ports, valves and seats, which from my experience of other Enfields will not be particularly good. With these mods in place it ought to pull a larger gearbox sprocket. And if this is too high geared in certain situations – that's what a five-speed box is for… So, we shall see…

[ace.cafe]

Thanks for your impressions.

Regarding the ports, if they are like the standard UCE head, then they need very little work. What needs work are the valve seat angles and some minor bowl work and some more valve lift.

Speaking of lift, do you happen to know what the valve lift is in these GTs? Do they have any spec for it in the owners book?

I have several of the standard UCE heads on the bench, and have flow numbers for them, and know what will work for them. But I am very keen to find out what the GT has in it for cams and valve lift, because if there are improvements there, as rumored, then if we can get hold of those parts for modifications of the standard UCE, that will be good for everybody. I really don't know why the factory seems to be trying to keep this a mystery?

[abstruse1]

Ace, the FI throttle body's inside diameter is 1.365", measured with a snap gage just behind the butterfly.

[ace.cafe]

Ace, the FI throttle body's inside diameter is 1.365", measured with a snap gage just behind the butterfly.

Thanks, abstruse1.
One mystery solved!

That is big enough to support up to 7000 rpm, and about 45hp at the crank in a street type build, with the proper internal modifications. So, the throttle body won't be posing any restriction problems for most any street build on this bike.

[abstruse1]

So, Ace, DO IT!  We're anxiously awaiting your stuff, especially parts kits for us do-it-ourselves types 

I'm willing to bet that if you were to offer the good stuff, for right-away delivery, it'd sell.  OTOH, the prospect of having to cripple our steeds for a month or more to send you engine parts for modding is daunting to some, myself included.

[ace.cafe]

So, Ace, DO IT!  We're anxiously awaiting your stuff, especially parts kits for us do-it-ourselves types 

I'm willing to bet that if you were to offer the good stuff, for right-away delivery, it'd sell.  OTOH, the prospect of having to cripple our steeds for a month or more to send you engine parts for modding is daunting to some, myself included.

I understand.

The simple fact is that I don't make enough money doing this to buy inventory to put on the shelves. I'm not a big company, and there isn't much money in this. I barely get by. Some months,  I don't get by. My income from this is way below the poverty level. You say people will buy it, but the real numbers don't bear that out. There's about 3 dozen Fireball engines out there, over 4 years time.  They are do it yourself projects which we make/sell only a few of the central  key parts for, and there's only a few hundred dollars profit in the whole package because we have to try to keep the price down, or even fewer will buy. And then I have to split most of that with Chumma. If you consider the hours of tech support given on these jobs, I'm running real deep into the negatives, basically giving it away in the interests of making people happy and successful with their experience with us and their Bullets.. I just don't count the value of my time spent, because I have to keep a positive mood, and can't be demoralizing myself with looking at that.
I have less money now, than when I started.
Enfield performance is not a very profitable enterprise. Anybody with a family to support would have had to get a real job long ago. I only survive because I'm willing to live on next to nothing because I love doing this creative stuff. I
could make more money working as an entry level cashier at McDonalds. Most people don't realize this.
So, I have to operate in the way it takes to survive.

That's the sad facts of it.
I'm in this because I love it, and that's the only reason I still do it. Nobody would do this for the money. Accountants would laugh at me. And even more laughable is that I spend money and time to continue doing R&D on 3 different engine platforms to try to bring more performance to people, when I really can't even afford to do that.

I'm optimistic that the UCE market will be more active, and that would really help. But at this time, it's today's customer that funds tomorrow's R&D bills. It has been that way since we began.
I'm not complaining. I'm just explaining that I don't have the funds to do what some people expect from a "company". It's just me and Chumma, and a few supportive and enthusiastic customers that make this thing happen.

[Roeland]

Not everything is about money. I fully understand - myself I'm in the corporate world and I hate it - the money is good, but if it was not about my passion with bikes and other things it would not work out.

[ROVERMAN]

Hey Ace, I'm all for the day when you have a steady supply of UCE customers that will give you a nice little income. Good luck and keep up the good work. It won't pay the bills to say this, but you have a lot of moral support from this forum.
Robert.

[High On Octane]

+1   

[dginfw]

If Tom could be paid for the knowledge he has given us through his research he would be rich. He has been a great resource for Enfield owners and we are lucky to have him on here.

[DanB]

+1. Abso-f'ing-lotely