[ace.cafe]

You can ride it at 70mph until it breaks.
 

65mph max sustained is all you're going to get.
If that ain't good enough, then look at another motorcycle.
No amount of wishing is going to change the facts.

However 70mph or even 75mph is definitely do-able in short bursts, and you can even go to the top end of 80mph for a quick test.
I do 70+ all the time in short bursts of speed during back road riding.
It's the sustained time of higher speeds that's a no-no.
Vary the throttle down to 50mph between speed bursts for long enough for the bike to cool off a bit, and you can do some more bursts of 70.

As I said here and in the other threads, you can reach 80mph(after break-in) with short term spurts on a Bullet.
You don't want to sustain anything more than 60-65mph, depending on whether you  have the Iron Bullet or the AVL Bullet.

The bike can do it, but it can't sustain it for long. Higher speed cruising is the weak point.

[AJY]

Guys is this topic dead, because I am a fighter and I can continue the insanity for post points, and other selfish reasons.   OH I forgot to mention rehabs for quitters and I an't no quitter.

But I still need the best advise on the possible mods for performance, which I think ACE was nice enough to give his input.  carb, pipe and filter

What is the best set up of  carb pipe and filter??  any suggestions?

[coinzy]

Well i think you can get there,pull the donk out and fit a stroker crank,CMW premium 535 piston,Pazon ignition,Hitchcock valve set,Dellorto 32mm pumper carb,Hi flow oil pumps will pull 20 tooth sprocket easily.And get you your 70 mph cruise.And these bits won't break easily.The Bullet crankcase is plenty tough itself and the 5 stud head setup is better than most Brit types of the same capacity.It's all there under performance parts,and it's there to be used.Just don't expect to be able to hold hi revs for long periods,these engines can never take repeated yanking open the throttle,you still have to feed power on smoothly to get long term reliability.
the coinz

[ace.cafe]

Guys is this topic dead, because I am a fighter and I can continue the insanity for post points, and other selfish reasons.   OH I forgot to mention rehabs for quitters and I an't no quitter.

But I still need the best advise on the possible mods for performance, which I think ACE was nice enough to give his input.  carb, pipe and filter

What is the best set up of  carb pipe and filter??  any suggestions?

I would suggest looking at the aftermarket exhausts from CMW and seeing what you like. Remember the AVL takes a different pipe than the Iron Bullet, so you have to be clear about what items you are looking at. I think CMW refers to the AVL as the Electra in their catalog.
That mod will do away with the PAV system, so that will have to be yanked off, and the holes plugged.
While you're doing hoses, you may as well re-route the breather properly, so that you don't spew oil out of it.

For the carb, alot of people like the flatslide Keihin copy carb that CMW sells. It seems to be a good one. I like the flatslide Mikuni. In any case, don't fit any carb bigger than 32mm, or 34mm at max.  32mm is plenty fine for the top end, and it idles better than the 34mm does on the Bullet.
You'll have to do a full jetting job and tuning on whatever carb you get, so set aside a weekend for that. It's a bit time consuming to get jetting right, and can be frustrating in some cases. Translate that to mean it's a pain in the ass to get out all the flat spots, coughs, or idle problems, and get good mixture distribution across the rpm range for good power and fuel mileage.  Definitely learn how to do plug chop readings.

K&N or S&B filters that fit the carb you select are available.

The 18 tooth output sprocket on the gearbox output shaft(front drive chain sprocket) is a good mod for it.
Gives you about 4mph more cruising speed at normal rpms, without sacrificing much in acceleration.

That should do you.

Do it AFTER break-in. You can't use any of the performance these mods will provide during the break-in period anyway.

[PhilJ]

That mod will do away with the PAV system, so that will have to be yanked off, and the holes plugged.

On the AVLs the PAV system vents into the head direct, not using the exhaust pipe. It takes a different plug to cap that hole. I got mine from NAPA . The lettering on mine is a little blurry but looks like M 16 - 1.5. There is a tip on the end of the threaded part, I hacksawed it of and used a grinder to dress it up. Reused to copper washer from the PAV.

[AJY]

I think we got it covered,  Looks like a winter of garage for me.  I will have to hook up the heater and camp out with my tools.   Hopefully the money will not be a problem. 

I took a lot of chat to get you guys to give me the scoop.

I am loving the videos on youtube for these bikes.

[Chasfield]

Here's a late contribution for this thread. My own thinking is that the fifties Bullet was an eager, even slightly sporting, 500 single, and at that time it was not crippled by bodged attempts to meet impossible (for an air cooled push-rod motor) emission standards.

I wouldn't go for any wild tune up kits but would aim instead to get it back where it was 50 odd years ago. Replace the stifling bazooka exhaust, ditch all the weird extra induction plumbing and up-jet a little. Then you can experience the Bullet as it was intended to be.

[PhilJ]

Here's a late contribution for this thread. My own thinking is that the fifties Bullet was an eager, even slightly sporting, 500 single, and at that time it was not crippled by bodged attempts to meet impossible (for an air cooled push-rod motor) emission standards.

I wouldn't go for any wild tune up kits but would aim instead to get it back where it was 50 odd years ago. Replace the stifling bazooka exhaust, ditch all the weird extra induction plumbing and up-jet a little. Then you can experience the Bullet as it was intended to be.

Here Here !

[UncleErnie]

Don't know if I should start a new thread?
Has anyone ever put an entirely diifferent engine in one of these frames? 
A Japanese 650 single for instance?

[Leonard]

Don't know if I should start a new thread?
Has anyone ever put an entirely diifferent engine in one of these frames? 
A Japanese 650 single for instance?

Anything is possible given the time, skill and money.  The only different engines I've seen are diesels.

[ace.cafe]

Don't know if I should start a new thread?
Has anyone ever put an entirely diifferent engine in one of these frames? 
A Japanese 650 single for instance?

Of course, any of the RE twin engines can fit right in the Bullet frame. They go right in.

I've also seen a Triumph 350 twin in a Bullet frame.
I've heard somebody tell me that a Yamaha XS650 twin can fit, but I never investigated that, so I'm only going on "hear-say" with that one.

[birdmove]

  An XS650-that would be interesting. I would take some measurements of maybe the Suzuki Savage/S40 650cc thumper engine. Though it uses a belt drive, so a chain conversion might be needed.  Maybe a Honda XR650L engine?

    jon

[ace.cafe]

What I think would be seriously COOL would be to have CMW work out a deal with Metisse UK,  to build Rickman frame kits and bodywork to fit the new UCE Bullet and create a new "Rickman Enfield".
If I was rich, I'd contact them about doing that myself.
And no worries about passing emissions tests or anything.
They could even offer the Cafe Sports version and the offroad Trials/MX/Desert type, because Metisse is world famous for all those variations.
Metisse is just sitting over there in the UK, looking for places for their frames, you know.
And they build them to suit the engine application. So, a special order production run of lets say 100 kits could be scheduled as a CMW Limited Edition, or something like that.
They could even make them to accept the standard Bullet forks and wheels and electricals, so that the most use could be made of the actual RE parts to keep the cost as low as possible.

I personally think that would be an AWESOME marketing move that would trump anything else anybody is doing out there for the retro market.
Ya wanna talk about press coverage and worldwide attention? That would do it.
Instant collectors items.

[webnash]

If you're going with an AVL, which seems to make sense given your performance desires, I vote for 32mm amal carb for that classic look and solid performance, with a cone type filter and classic english exhaust. Mine needed extra rich jetting to get a bit of color on the plug and really good performance. (#2.5 or 3 slide, 107 needle jet, needle in highest notch, 240 main jet). I got mine from Hitchcock and I see that the dollar/pound exchange is much better now.