So, almost 10 years ago I bought an AVL-engined Bullet 500. Then life happened, and it got parked almost immediately, while I moved to the other side of the world. I have a Japanese 4cyl now as my main ride, have owned a ton of other bikes in the meantime, but I'd like to wake up the old Bullet from its garage slumber.
The bike is an 08, with something like 72 miles on it.
Unfortunately it seems like between then and now, the aftermarket for these has almost completely dried up. Can anyone recommend reputable Indian sites for things not sold by our hosts?
Research seems to say that these bikes were pretty choked up from the factory, so from what I've read so far, it sounds like it's almost de rigeur to rejet or replace the carb, do away with the massive air filter inside the right toolbox, and replace the entire exhaust assembly (header pipe and gigantic torpedo muffler) in order to restore this bike to the basic state of tune the designers originally envisioned.
Is a TM32 with Ace can the clear and obvious choice? Where would I find the little bits to make this work, like manifolds, boots, throttle cables?
I guess my noob side is definitely showing itself. Everyone says "if you change out the exhaust you will have to upjet," and of course I quite understand this, but it all seems very vague since everyone seems to be using different silencers, different carbs. I just want to get my bike back on the road, running decently, without spending 2-3k trying various combinations. (That might come later.) Since the bike is a clean slate, 100% factory, is there an optimal way to proceed?
Also, what's the agreed wisdom regarding the sprag? I have a black TCI box, and of course the exhaust valve decompressor. Can the thing be safely started, ridden, and stopped with this setup? Seems the optimal (or at least most drastic) solution is an Iron barrel decomp/chainsaw decomp, and removing e-start entirely... with a green or "performance" TCI. But I kind of hate to pull the head on what's effectively a new bike.
Sorry if I sound petulant, just trying to plan the best method of attack.