[britt]

Hello, I have a 09 bullet 500 with 600 miles on it. It seems harder to shift  and shifts louder. What do I do about this? Also Im following my maintance guide about tappett adjustment, how do I find TDC, I have a tool I bought from royal enfield store. It srews into spark plug hole and has measurements on it. No directions came with it. thanks for any help.

[rick505]

I'll let those with more experience respond to the TDC question as I just attempted (?) to adjust the pushrods on my 08 AVL Bullet.  Still not convinced it's right.  At least I finally took a wrench to them so I'm over the initial fear.

I performed my initial 600 mile service and found the transmission shifted "much" better after a oil change.  I suspect the hard shifting is caused by a clutch cable out of adjustment.  Mine felt like it was slipping and would never engage fully.  Initially I tightened it and then even with the lever pulled in fully I had problems getting it in 1st at a standstill.  A slight adjustment seemed to resolve that issue.  I commuted to work fior the first time yesterday and never missed a shift (that happened also inteh past, especially into 4th for some reason).  A search in the forums will turn up several threads on clutch adjustment.  Actually a few on pushrod and TDC also but I'm still not convinced I have it right.

Rick
Albuquerque, NM

[REpozer]

Hey Britt,
Go to Thumpers page and click on website" RE Electrs X notes"
Thanks again Thumper.
http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=69

Rick good job, jumping in and doing the valves.
I did mine 3 times in one day to ensure I got it right.
I over tightened the exhaust valve and got a heavy tok -tok noise after a 10 min warm-up. Shut it off , no damage this time, adjusted vales using Thumpers notes , now I have a smooth penning tic- tic noise from the valves. It was a good learning curve because I have only seen and heard RE's on youtube other that my real RE.

[UncleErnie]

Thumper's site looks good.  When he gets old enough, he'll use bigger type so he won't have to use a magnifying glass all the time.
Since I could barely read his writing, I'll put ti in other words;
There are 2 TDC's.  So, you have to take the little panel off the side of the engine where the decompressor cable goes in.  There is a small rubber O-ring under that nut- KEEP TRACK OF IT.  It may stay on the cover.  If so, take it off and put it back in the nut so it won't get mangled when you put the nut on again.
Now, take out the plug and put something long in there- like a pencil.  The reason you want to hold it verticle is that if you let go, when the piston jumps up, it may trap the pencil (or whatever you use) between the head and the piston.  (If you use an allen wrench or screwdriver, they may harm the aluminium head and/or plug hole)

I rotate the engine by putting it in 4th or 5th gear and jerking on the wheel.  That way you and work the wheel and hold on to your dowel at the same time.  The dowel will come up high twice, so you have to go to the other side and try to rotate the push rods.  If they BOTH do not turn relatively freely, go through the cycle once more.  At the proper TDC, both push rods will turn easy.

How I adjust;  hold the 13mm and 10mm with the left hand after you loosen the stop nut.  the adjustment is with the smaller 8mm nut at bottom.  It is VERY sensitive, so don't go all gorilla- sublty and nuance are good here. After moving the 8 whichever way I want it, I hold it and the 13 still with my left hand while I tighten the lock nut to the left with my right hand.  The push rods should rotate with pressure from a finger, but not spin fast if you flick it.  If it's really hard to move, it's too tight.

When I put the sidecover back on, I out a little grease or oil around the edges to help seal them and to prevent binding the next time I take it off. Don't forget the keyhole-looking hole goes on the right side of the rubber gasket.

I sure hope that made sense.  This type is also too small for me to re-read and make
corrections.

With the trransmision, I would try changing the oil first.  I put a good synthetic in there. 

[No. 5]

In my experience with shifting and adjusting the clutch, my humble opinion is that a new clutch will drag unless adjusted perfectly and result in poor shifting, finding neutral etc.. Changing to ATF, will help a bit, but most of all, just driving it and getting some wear on those new plates and discs. My Electra seemed to need constant adjusting until the 1200 mile mark. Now I'm about the same number of miles adjustment free. Hang in there, she breaks in beautifully.

[PhilJ]

What no5 said. Mine started that way, now at 10K miles and I have no shilfint or neutral finding problems. Just pay attention to the clutch and keep it adjusted properly. Look at the many post on this subject here using the search feature. There will be many solutions. Try until you find the right one. Some are better than others, but different bikes exhibit different symptoms and different solutions.

[Thumper]

Thanks REPozer and UncleErnie.

Here's a direct link to my RE notes that might help with the TDC stuff. See Valve Information.

http://members.verizon.net/allofusmorrows/RE_Notes.htm

Matt

[Gordon]

There is a small rubber O-ring under that nut- KEEP TRACK OF IT.

My O-ring went for a stroll, and I have no memories of the poor soul. Can you help me with the size and its EXACT placement preferably with pictures?

[UncleErnie]

Too late for a photo today, but maybe this diagram might help?

Lower left shows the nut than screws on to the stud that holds that protective plate on.  It's the same plate you take off to see your valve lifters and adjusters.  The nut is number 10, and this shows a washer; number 9  (Keep in mind that this diagram is for an '03 Sixty Five)

On my AVL, there is no washer and the nut is diferent.  My nut looks sort of like a pilgrim hat with a wide brim.  The brim is approximately 1/4 inch wide all around.  On the bottom side (underneath?) there is a sort of trough around the edge, set in just a tiny bit.  That trough is where the O-ring goes.  If ithat O-ring is too small or too wide, it will get chewed up almost immediately as you tighten the nut.  They don't last forever as it is   I get new ones from an enthusiat foreign auto parts store , but I suppose most bike and auto shops would carry a proper assortment of sizes. 

All this O-ring is doing is adding a little tension tio the nut so it doesn't vibrate off, and keep the oil inside.  If you are missing your O-ring but never notice any leaks, you might just use a readily available wave washer to keep the nut on more securely.  ?

[Superchuck]

Another thing that may have added troubles to my shifting (and general motorcycle mishaps):

My left control cluster (where the turn signal switch is) started spinning on the handlebar after the bike blew over in a storm... it didn't spin a lot, but sometimes it would turn in a way so that the cables coming out of the control cluster were interfering with my clutch lever, preventing how far I could pull it.  I didn't realize it for a month or two, and always wondered why I sometimes had trouble shifting, and sometimes didn't.  Either way, I doubt that's your issue, but just in case i thought i'd fill you in on some of my growing pains with the enfield...  1200 miles as of now and still lovin it!

chuck

[Gordon]

As per this pic, I believe you were speaking about the nut (marked 1). Is there any O-ring for the decompressor shaft, since that is where I find oil.

[Ice]

My left control cluster (where the turn signal switch is) started spinning on the handlebar after the bike blew over in a storm... it didn't spin a lot, but sometimes it would turn in a way so that the cables coming out of the control cluster were interfering with my clutch lever, preventing how far I could pull it.

Ha too funny
Same thing happened with my Iron Barrel.

[REpozer]

My left control cluster (where the turn signal switch is) started spinning on the handlebar after the bike blew over in a storm...

I got the same problem with my right cluster/thottle.

[1Blackwolf1]

I got the same problem with my right cluster/thottle.

  I installed a 50s style handlebar without dimple holes for the control pods.  Had to shave off the mount pins on the pods.  Used some really good friction tape to wrap the bars before installing the pods.   No more slipping control pods.

[Gromit42]

  I installed a 50s style handlebar without dimple holes for the control pods.  Had to shave off the mount pins on the pods.  Used some really good friction tape to wrap the bars before installing the pods.   No more slipping control pods.

Nice idea!

kim

[Gordon]

As per this pic, I believe you were speaking about the nut (marked 1). Is there any O-ring for the decompressor shaft, since that is where I find oil.

welllll, any update?