[tooseevee]

Yours is the AVL Classic. That and the Electra-X were the only official export lean-burn models, the others were 350 home market models which have nevertheless escaped to places such as the UK in surprising numbers.

         You beat me to it. Good. I'm glad I looked before I hit Post. I typed for 30 minutes & Deleted it. Yours is better 

          Did you mention that the drum front brake Classic & the Electra-X front disk brake are the same engine?

          My '08 Classic had that shitpetcock with the plastic bowl. Replaced it long ago.

          For Chris: If you go to Hitchcocks Online Parts Book under 2008 Electra-X you will clearly see what body & tin & brake parts do not apply to your 2008 AVL Classic. All the engine, primary, tranny, clutch & a lot of other stuff, however, does apply to your bike. Spend some time browsing in there & a lot will clear up for you.

          I'm very glad I got the Classic (front drum brake) & not the Electra-X (front disc brake). I much prefer the Classic side cases.

[C8Chris]

Cool beans.  Thank you both for clearing the confusion. 

The changes in production waters are further muddied by different markets getting different models.

(Your Bullet model results may vary depending on when and where you were living on Earth at the time)

 

[Paul W]

Draining the primary, it was 2 quarts of conventional oil.  I countered with 2 quarts of F ATF.

How much...are you sure?? The primary chain case on my 350 Bullet Electra takes 420 ml, which is about 0.44 US quart!

[C8Chris]

Yes. 

Drained the primary into an empty tray and then transferred it to an empty 5qt jug for recycling.

2 Quarts exactly.  That's what was in there.

[Paul W]

Then you’ve filled it with approximately five times as much as it should have!

[Adrian II]

THIS is from the owner's handbook for the Electra-X, same engine and transmission!

Engine oil 2.25 liters (2.37 qt)

Clutch 420 ml (as Paul W says, 0.44 qt)

Gearbox 450ml (0.48 qt)

Did someone think that the clutch cases was where the ENGINE oil should be put in?

A.

[C8Chris]

I can drain it out and refresh. 

Probably why the clutch seemed a little "soft" when taking off from a stop.  Over full of oil...

(But not leaking)

[AzCal Retred]

"Before finding this site, I watched a Bullet oil change video on Youtube.  They drained the oil and then ran the engine to blow the remaining oil dregs out the bottom.  It was mortifying.  I thought-- there's gotta be better information than this. The upside of getting rid of every last oil drop is offset by the downside of running an oil starved engine.  By about 267 times."

Ditto in spades!! NEVER run something dry deliberately, especially plain bearings. "Getting every last drop" out of THIS motor is plain foolishness.

Here's what I do: Dump out whatever you get from the oil tank, clean both the front & rear swarf screens with an eye looking out for potential trouble, pre-saturate a new filter and install it, then top off the oil tank. Pull the Quill bolt and peer at the seal. Hold in the compression release & boot thru maybe 25-40 times and you'll finally get oil up to the quill bolt pressure port and BAM it's done. Recheck the level after a minute or so of idling to see if the oil tank is between the marks. If there was oil to the top end before, there'll still be oil to it when you are done. Oil to the crank is the thing - everything else accesses under external covers and is easily replaced in the unlikely event it failed exactly at the time you changed the oil... Besides, the timing cover holds about 2 cups all by itself, so unless you remove the timing cover, all that "icky" old oil is still in there mixing with the fresh stuff. At oil drain intervals of 1,500 - 2,500 miles, plus leakage replenishment, I'm not seeing a real problem.

[Bilgemaster]

I can drain it out and refresh. 

Probably why the clutch seemed a little "soft" when taking off from a stop.  Over full of oil...

(But not leaking)

Yeah 2 quarts in the primary is well over a quart too much. Though it probably didn't do it any harm--might have even done those cobwebby innards the power of good. The little fluid level screw near the bottom of the outer primary case a bit towards the front of the bike is meant to determine the originally-specified correct level of 420 ml. One would simply fill until it began to weep there. So, you might be able to finesse some funnel in there to save and reserve about a quart and a half of that fresh ATF. Thing is though, as someone here has already briefly explained (Tooseevee?), for those preunit Bullets with electric start it is advisable to run about double, or 800ml to a quart or so, of fluid in the case, ostensibly to better bathe that dodgy sprag assembly. I am led to understand that a Service Advisory went out to dealerships from Enfield back in the day advising 800 ml instead of the original 420 ml. So, once drained to the level hole's 420 ml, you might do well to close up that hole and then dump about 400 ml right back in there.

Oh, and just for the record, although my Iron Barrel's User Manual advises SAE 10W40 in the primary (versus the slightly heavier SAE 20W50 in the engine), I've been using that same Type F ATF (also with possible eschatological consequences) for years, even after having yanked out my stricken sprag, and all is yet well. I also use the Type F as fork oil with no hint of cosmic disturbances.

[C8Chris]

Rode 15 miles today.  I think she's sorted out.

I drained the primary down to 1 quart of F ATF.  Clutch engagement seems less spongy- whether that's a change in the amount OR type of fluid is hard to know.  (Maybe both)

Drained and refilled the 5 speed gearbox with 450mL of 80-90 gear oil.  No difference in shifting, although I was able to ride fast enough for 5th gear.

Also took out the headlight dogbone and have the ability to turn on the headlight after starting.  I wished the right switch turned on both the headlight and little parking lamps, but it's an either/or/off proposition.

Replaced the leaky RE bowl petcock with a A35 Tomos Petcock (12mm x 1mm)  I transferred the metric nut that attached the leaky petcock to the tank onto the Tomos petcock.  It's circled in the picture below.  I've lost my reserve, but good tradeoff for no leaks for now.

For it's "long range" maiden voyage, a buddy of mine followed me on his KLX 400SM.  I filled up with fresh high octane gas and rode without issues.  Well, a nut vibrated off.  Will replace with blue loctite.

So the 2008 Royal Enfield Classic Bullet 500ES went from non-running to riding in a little over a week.  Thank you!

I think the solo seat would look "cooler," but my buddy pointed out that although his Ural solo seat looked cooler, the bench seat was more comfortable....

All good!

[AzCal Retred]

Great bit of "fettling"! Maybe the overfill on ATF is also a good way to flush wear debris off of the plates, didn't seem to do any harm. The loss of reserve is a non-issue, I would never go out for a spin without popping the cap & looking at the fuel level. Nice inline filter too, hopefully you won't find a lot of red crumbs & dust in it like I did mine.   Way better in the filter than the float bowl.

These Olde Girls like regular attention and a "mechanically sympathetic" rider, sounds like you're already there. Good to have you aboard! -ACR-

[Blaqkfox]

Nicely done. I will say I installed that “trials” solo seat hitchcocks sells and it’s surprisingly comfortable, more than my beat up thin bench seat was. I ride 64 mile round trips to commute on it and I don’t get a sore butt or anything!

[Adrian II]

I am curious to know why are you want to use so much ATF in the clutch casing. A quart is still more than twice the factory's recommended amount, or don't you trust what they print in the manual?

Apart from that, it seems to have been a very successful recommissioning, well done.

A.

[C8Chris]

From what I've read, Royal Enfield later doubled the primary fluid amount from 420mL to 840mL.  For sprag problems (?) Since 840ml is so close, why not just up it to full one quart?

I think the previous owner filled the primary up to fill hole, a whole 2 quarts.  I followed suit with ATF Type F, but then backed it down to 1 quart.

I got the Bullet Classic inspected, titled and plated at the DMV today, so it's officially transferred.  Rode about 50 miles without trouble.  The clutch seems to slip a little in 5th gear at full throttle.  Other than that, no complaints.

The most useless control is on the left hand grip-- "flash to pass."  Don't think I'll ever use that.

The locksmith had no luck with making duplicate key set. Does anybody know if the replacement keys are steel or brass?  Virtually all locksmiths will refuse to cut a steel key because it's hard on their cutting equipment. 

Will a magnet stick to the replacement keys?  If yes, they're not brass and probably steel.  If replacements are steel, not worth ordering...

[Paul W]

Too much oil isn’t always the best idea. This is because the hottest part of the oil might not be able to circulate properly to make contact the chain case, where it would normally be cooled.

I spent over 40 years flying various helicopters for my living (RAF and civilian) and I was required to maintain them on a daily pre-flight basis, which included topping up oils where needed. I was taught never to overfill main, intermediate or tail rotor gearboxes for the reason above. I liked them topped right up to the sight glass line, but no more.