Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum

Royal Enfield Motorcycles => Bullet Iron Barrel => Topic started by: Ice on October 21, 2012, 04:15:54 am

Title: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Ice on October 21, 2012, 04:15:54 am
 Me not so much today. The other day was different story,,,,,pulled the head due to a regressing valve and seat.

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: neil on October 21, 2012, 10:47:57 pm
Hi Ice:
I rode my bullet today. Crisp clear day today with autumn colors everywhere. I also have lots of twisties and hills. I ride most roads that are 45 to 55 mph roads that are great for my iron barrel bullet. I had the head off early in the season to replace the head gasket and I got a good seal this time by coating all surfaces with gascacinch. I'm not sure of that spelling but the stuff works good for me. I had a little oozing but removed the tank a second time and retorqued it and that did the trick. So lately, Ive been riding before snow flys. - - - not very far away here in northern New England.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ROVERMAN on October 22, 2012, 01:53:09 pm
Took mine out for a run yesterday, very pissy at start up but it had sat for a month. Once underway she ran like a dream with the Goldie pipe barking all the way! Life is grand.
Robert & REnfield. 8) 8) 8)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Ice on October 22, 2012, 08:13:00 pm
Took mine out for a run yesterday, very pissy at start up but it had sat for a month. Once underway she ran like a dream with the Goldie pipe barking all the way! Life is grand.
Robert & REnfield. 8) 8) 8)

I so way hate you right now   ;)  ;D  8)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Ice on October 22, 2012, 08:20:18 pm
Hi Ice:
I rode my bullet today. Crisp clear day today with autumn colors everywhere. I also have lots of twisties and hills. I ride most roads that are 45 to 55 mph roads that are great for my iron barrel bullet. I had the head off early in the season to replace the head gasket and I got a good seal this time by coating all surfaces with gascacinch. I'm not sure of that spelling but the stuff works good for me. I had a little oozing but removed the tank a second time and retorqued it and that did the trick. So lately, Ive been riding before snow flys. - - - not very far away here in northern New England.

Heaven on earth.  I envy you.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ROVERMAN on October 22, 2012, 08:32:51 pm
Just saw your reply Ice....... ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: typan on October 23, 2012, 06:17:13 pm
Gave mine a bit of protective spray ready for winter !  ;)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Damon on October 23, 2012, 07:01:39 pm
Nothing today, but yesterday I had the day off and decided to adjust my noisy valves. I found them both loose and got the exhaust done then went on to the Intake side where I promptly broke the adjuster!
 I then go ton the phone with our sponsors and got new ones ordered up and on their way.
 It is a good thing that the weather has changed and gotten really rainy here in the Seattle area so I won't be riding for a while.

Damon
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ace.cafe on October 23, 2012, 08:10:16 pm
Well, today I worked on the new ACE raised-port Indian Iron Barrel heads which now flow over 240cfm according to our latest flow bench tests at Mondello's. That's more flow per port than a Corvette LS1.

 Also worked on the new ACE roller rocker system for the Iron Barrels which will have between .500"-.600" lift at the valves, and their new alloy rocker boxes and rocker covers. Of course, this will include the valve adjustment screws in the rockers, so that we can use the new Nascar grade racing pushrods that we have worked on too. Real racing pushrods with adjustments under the rocker covers! Yeah!

On another front, we began porting a Big Head to see how well we can bring that up to snuff. Our first try at a Big Head. We'll use some of our new techniques on this head, if we can. Interestingly, the Big Head comes with a larger 1.94" intake valve, and a smaller 1.6" exhaust valve.  There are some things about this Big Head that we liked, and other things which maybe weren't so great. But it is a good experience.

And to top it all off, we began working on our plan for hotrodding the new 1070cc Musket V-Twin with our newest hi-po top ends. We're hoping for 100hp out of it. It's going to require some major clutch and drive-line work to hold the power.

Other than that, things were fairly dull.
I've been under the weather with a bad cold and respiratory infection. Need to get some rest.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: jmiller_2308 on October 28, 2012, 04:32:58 pm
Even though there is some chance for temps to approach 50 the days are getting short and work is getting crazy.  I decided to put the bikes to sleep for the winter today :(
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Chuck D on October 28, 2012, 06:04:36 pm
With Sandy looming ever closer, I took BFee out for a 2 hour blast up and Down the FDR Drive and the Belt Parkway. Revved her little heart out she did, so happy to be out playing.
I just snugged her down under her cover as the rain started lightly falling. I do believe she was smiling. :)
Chuck.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: GreenMachine on October 28, 2012, 07:49:25 pm
I have the Bike Master Gel out of the bike for the past week...Using a new Schumaker speed charger, It toped off at 12.9V and has dropped to 11.75v over the past 5 days sitting on the bench with no load ...I'm thinking its a bad cell but I just put my secondary "Battery Tender" that chargers at .750 amps vice the 1.5 amp  to see if I can get that full charge rate up a wee bit more...Still think I have to take it to the shop and have them load test it as this "open voltage" type test is indicating a bad cell and we all know anything below 12.3 isn't good...
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: daves02ES on October 28, 2012, 09:17:26 pm
Ice, just saw this post. I didn't do anything with my Iron Barrel today but when you posted i was out riding. Nice roads near Deer Creek Canyon. The Enfield loves the twisties at 6,500 ft..
Hope your valve is fixed without any problems and are out riding again soon.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Ice on October 29, 2012, 04:43:06 am
Thanks Dave !

 I should have it back together by supper time tomorrow.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: da punds on October 30, 2012, 06:54:15 pm
I collected my frame from the powder coaters, gloss Black and it looks great. I started stripping the engine, getting it ready for its new crankshaft. Stripping the primary is much harder with a belt drive as you can't use a clutch puller because the basket is so lightweight, so getting the clutch off took me ages. I hope to split the cases this weekend, but need to do my VAT return and bookwork so time will be tight.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: GreenMachine on October 30, 2012, 09:23:06 pm
Picked up a new Yuasa battery at the yamaha dealer...I had the gel on a battery tender for the past two days and it measured 13.2v on the table this morning..A motorcycle battery load tester showed it was indeed bad...So much for that...I'll put it in in few days after we dry out here and attempt to repair the type f leaking from the bottom of the case...I have a new o ring gasket and maybe a smidge of black rtv that I picked up a few weeks ago at the New Holland dealer to see if it helps that issue...
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: 72westie on October 31, 2012, 08:07:52 pm
I haven't been a fan of those Bikemaster Tru-gels. We ran into a couple of bad ones this summer, they were not even a year old yet either.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: GreenMachine on October 31, 2012, 09:54:40 pm
Mine was year old and it failed the load test. I put the new battery in today and installed the charging cable/loops so that I can just plug in the charger...Went out,  filled up and went for a 20 min. ride. So far so good..Apparently, as the battery started to to fail, it gives the symptoms of sputtering out when you come to a stop...As long as I was able to give it  good throttle, it kept running and got me home....The Gel was twice the cost of the new  Yuasa and the previous Yuasa (OEM) battery did last for 5 years..Guess I just had a bad one....GM
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: 72westie on November 01, 2012, 03:11:45 pm
If you have the receipt, you might be able to get a warranty done on one. I warrantied one or two of those Tru-Gels.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: GreenMachine on November 01, 2012, 04:07:32 pm
What sold me was the video of them drilling into it and it didn't seem to  affect it (Not that I was anticipating on trying out that procedure) ...The fact that it could be position at different angles and vibration proof was another  (Don't we know how that is ) ..Finally being a totally sealed unit finalized my decision....It was stamped in bold lettering at the bottom "Made in China"..Not sure on the Yusas but one would think its made here as they have put acid in it...I'm sure their are plenty of riders who swear by them...Just didn't last for me....No biggie, have other things that need addressing and time to move on...GM
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: 72westie on November 01, 2012, 09:39:13 pm
Yuasa does offer a cheaper Chinese brand of battery, called Moto-cross I think. I have sold only a couple. I mainly sell Yuasa's, I rarely ever have a problem with them, maybe 1 a year (if that) and I sell a BUNCH of them ever year.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: joebuilder12 on November 07, 2012, 09:27:06 pm
Well, this is my first post having just found this forum, and running out of awnsers as fast as I need them.
  This weekend I finally got my early 99 bullet 500 on the road after a long time up on the lift. I bought the bike in july, got it home, rode it 3 miles when i lost electric power. I bought a new stator from bulletwala and installed it, rode the bike 3 miles when i found that the head gasket was leaking, ordered a new set from india, pulled the head, found it warped, had it milled, found valve springs below service spec, ordered new ones from bulletwala, reseated valves with grinding polish and a slow drill, installed reg rec combo unit, discovered that my new stator was a 6 volt, ordered new one, right one this time with violet green and white leads, installed it, found rocker box nuts were sloppy replacements, ordered new ones, and put it all back together and rode it 3 miles, brake light stopped working, turn signal indicator stopped working, and neutral light as well, these are in a 7 inch headlamp assy. I would really like to take a trip longer than 3 miles, so I have to sniff out what my new electrical issue is and try again.....
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: LarsBloodbeard on November 07, 2012, 10:11:19 pm
Welcome, JoeBuilder.  Sounds like a headache, but also fun!  You've definitely got a bad connection or short somewhere.  You might try checking the wiring bundle at binding/chaffing spots.  Mine had issues where it rubs on the frame near the headlight.

As to what I did today: I finished the paint on my front number plate today.  I accidentally touched it while wet, so it doesn't look great, but oh well, "doesn't look great" describes the rest of my bike's paint.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Ice on November 08, 2012, 02:51:47 am
Hello joebuilder12, welcome aboard and congrats on your Bullet.

 Be prepared for the bliss and perma grin these things bring once the troubles are sorted.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: joebuilder12 on November 08, 2012, 09:40:23 pm
Thank you for the welcome, and the advice. I will check the wiring under the tank  and up to the headlight, I remember not paying attention to this specifically when I remounted the tank, will let you know, peace, joe
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: edthetermite on November 12, 2012, 02:45:38 am
Yuasa does offer a cheaper Chinese brand of battery, called Moto-cross I think. I have sold only a couple. I mainly sell Yuasa's, I rarely ever have a problem with them, maybe 1 a year (if that) and I sell a BUNCH of them ever year.

The Motocross is MADE IN USA.

http://www.batterystuff.com/powersports-batteries/YTX14AHL-BS.html

View product images.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: 72westie on November 12, 2012, 05:26:43 pm
I took the Cafe Racer we got in for a ride on Saturday. Put around 60ish miles on her. Got back and oil was everywhere from the crankcase breather filter. It was mounted/laying on top of the transmission, so this morning I stopped at NAPA and picked up a 90 degree elbow and some hose and mounted the filter upright. Hopefully this will take care of the issue.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ROVERMAN on November 12, 2012, 07:51:29 pm
 8)Went for a nice ride Sunday. The weather was bizarre, 68 deg and a 40 mph wind! Yes this is in Michigan. Dropping down to high twenties tonight though.
Robert & REnfield.
P.S. good luck 72westie.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: walken4life on November 12, 2012, 10:00:26 pm
72Westie, I have read of others having problems trying to run just a plain old crankcase breather like that on the Enfield.  I don't believe that breather is included as part of the Cafe Racer kit, but I could be wrong.  Some other folks run just a 'duckbill' hose instead of the stock condenser can (which needs drained periodically, also called the 'mayo can').  But there is supposed to be a certain amount of crankcase pressure for the bike to happy.

Hitchcock's sells a pretty slick kit for this as well, that I happen to have:

http://www.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/accessory-engine-timingside (http://www.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/accessory-engine-timingside)

It is the breather modification at the top.  Lets the moisture and excess pressure out of the crankcase while keeping the oil in.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: j byrd on November 13, 2012, 12:50:30 am
   Well, today I fired that rascal up on the 1st spin, grinning like a possum, pushed it out of the garage, and rode down to the end of the second street in our subdivision where it promptly died. After lots of trying to starts, I gave up. We tied a rope to my wife's scooter and started pulling it back up the hill to our house. She got a bit out of control on the steeper part, swerved left over a curb into a rock pile and jerked me over on the left side. SO- - what I did was break a clutch lever, hurt my foot that was trapped under it, bent the shift lever, and called the bike a very uncomplementory name. Still pouting and charging the battery back up to try again later, BAH !!!!  John  Oh, wifey was OK as  was her scooter.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: 72westie on November 13, 2012, 03:30:33 pm
Hey Walken,
I have one of those Hitchcock kits on my race bike and it works great. I have it routed from the breather to the filler neck, from there up to some fittings in the rocker boxes covers, to a catch can and finally a hose running to the back tail section. If for some reason oil gets past the filler neck return, it goes up and gives a little extra oil into rocker arms. My catch can gets a little condensation after a couple of months, but no oil.  :D

If this breather set-up still doesn't work, I am going to route it differently and add a line going out the back of the tail section like a race bike. I am just trying to get it to quit marking its spot.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: forrestt on November 19, 2012, 01:04:10 am
I only just now saw this interesting thread.
Yesterday after working in the yard there was still some daylight and the air wasn't too chilly yet so I was able go for a short ride around the neighborhood backroads. It was a great way to end the day.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: LarsBloodbeard on November 19, 2012, 06:02:13 pm
Yesterday I removed the catch can and put a duckbill hose to the chain instead (really glad to have that junk out of there.  Cleaned off a thick layer of grime that the catch can had created, and I couldn't reach to clean while it was in place.  Moved my coil a bit to accommodate the air box (that Bosh blue coil is quite a bit larger).  Put my battery on a solar charger.  Re-crimped my positive battery lead.  Tried to adjust my snail cams but I found I'm lacking a 30mm wrench for the rear hub spindle nut, so I put in an order to Amazon for one.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Spitting Bull on November 19, 2012, 06:41:32 pm
Well, it was  getting dark by the time I'd finished, but what I did was try a different silencer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtQJMPBsve0 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtQJMPBsve0)

Tom

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Chuck D on November 19, 2012, 11:18:34 pm
Well, it was  getting dark by the time I'd finished, but what I did was try a different silencer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtQJMPBsve0 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtQJMPBsve0)

Tom
Nice sound. Great look.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: mrunderhill1975a on November 24, 2012, 12:52:35 am
I just past 22222 miles.  My fuel mileage seems to be dropping in the cooler weather,  using a bit of oil, and I think I saw some smoke out the exhaust.  What are the indications of a ring job?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Arizoni on November 24, 2012, 01:27:50 am
Quote
What are the indications of a ring job?

Using oil and seeing some smoke out the exhaust.   ;D

That could also be a sign of the valve oil seals wearing out.

To test for worn piston rings you will need a good compression guage to find out how much compression the engine has.  This test is always done with the carburetor or throttle body at a "wide open" condition.

First, test the engine just the way it's sitting after the last shut down.  Take several readings and record them.

Once this is done, pour about a tablespoon or so of engine oil thru the sparkplug hole.
Then, kick over the engine a few times.
Now, retest the compression several times, recording the values.

If the first and second test readings are very close and 120 psi or higher the piston rings are doing their job just fine so any oil burning is due to leaky valve stem seals.

If the first test is below 90 psi that only indicates something is  quite wrong.

If the second, oiled test shows a marked improvement in compression (like the 90 psi reading goes up to 130 psi) that indicates the piston rings are leaking.  They need to be replaced.

If there is less than 10 psi difference between the first (dry) test and the second (oiled) test but the low compression stays about the same it indicates a burned valve.  This is usually the exhaust valve.  (This assumes the valves are properly adjusted because a mis adjustment of the pushrods could leave a valve hanging open.)

Hope this helps. :)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: mrunderhill1975a on November 24, 2012, 02:17:07 am
Ariz,
Thanks for the info and comments, I will see if I can find a compression tester tomorrow.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ace.cafe on November 24, 2012, 01:15:31 pm
I just past 22222 miles.  My fuel mileage seems to be dropping in the cooler weather,  using a bit of oil, and I think I saw some smoke out the exhaust.  What are the indications of a ring job?

It might be a combination of other things.
Winter jetting is richer, and would give worse fuel mileage in cold weather because of that, assuming that you re-jetted.
Smoke out the exhaust in cold weather can simply be water condensation inside the exhaust pipes steaming off. If the smoke goes away after a few minutes, then that's probably what it is.
Using a bit of oil could be rings or guides/seals or leaks. At your bike's mileage, it would be conceivable to need some things like that to be looked-after.
Check your engine breather for any of that white gooey "mayonnaise" of congealed oil and condensed water. That happens this time of year, and it can clog the breather hoses, causing pressure to build up in the crankcase, and push oil up past the rings, or cause leaks anywhere it can get out. Clean out all your breather hoses and related parts.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AgentX on November 24, 2012, 02:47:26 pm
Yesterday, I think I got closer to a better mix and timing, but more importantly, internally acknowledged that it'll never be good until I pull out the distributor shaft and bushing and replace whichever, or both, is shot.  The cam has some very visible run-out as it rotates, but there's no play in the shaft that I can feel, so I think it's bent, as crazy as that sounds.  Useless to chase perfect ignition timing when it's probably not mechanically possible.

Today, I adorned my handlebars with some pompom tassels scored from a Rajasthani truck stop, the same kind the big truck drivers hang from their mirrors but trimmed to 350cc proportions.


India:  "If you can't fix it, decorate it!"
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: GreenMachine on November 24, 2012, 03:03:46 pm
agentx - "" Today, I adorned my handlebars with some pompom tassels scored from a Rajasthani truck stop."Sounds like u immersing yourself in the culture on that 350 cc machine...Fantastic...You definitely been riding more than I did when living over there..I just did the Delhi scene and didn't venture out past the city..Sounds like fun. GM
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AgentX on November 24, 2012, 04:32:30 pm
agentx - "" Today, I adorned my handlebars with some pompom tassels scored from a Rajasthani truck stop."Sounds like u immersing yourself in the culture on that 350 cc machine...Fantastic...You definitely been riding more than I did when living over there..I just did the Delhi scene and didn't venture out past the city..Sounds like fun. GM

Well, I joined a local riders' club and that's been the ticket for me.  Odd, because I prefer to ride alone or in a pair at max...I like motorcycles/bikes to get away from people, not to be social...but in the local environment, having people who know where to go and how to get there is invaluable and the group's enabled me to experience India in a way many outsiders haven't.

There are of course some odd conventions, a lot of hand-holding, and a fairly desperate insistence on having a road name and a name for your bike.  I finally acquiesced and chose a name for my bike today, too...  "Bhenchod."  :)   Given our relationship it's the only possible name I could have chosen.  It seems to have cracked the guys up quite a bit, except one man with no sense of humor.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mike_D on November 25, 2012, 12:36:45 pm
"Bhenchod"

Nice.  I miss riding in India.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Chuck D on November 25, 2012, 12:52:48 pm
Potty mouth! ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AgentX on November 25, 2012, 01:32:58 pm
Bhenchod really likes the Punjabi tassels.  Gave me no problems today except some dying out in traffic on sudden stops.  I hope if I get the distributor and bushing replaced that'll go away.

Will try to get some pics up soon.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Blltrdr on November 25, 2012, 10:18:10 pm
I finally acquiesced and chose a name for my bike today, too...  "Bhenchod."  :)   Given our relationship it's the only possible name I could have chosen.  It seems to have cracked the guys up quite a bit, except one man with no sense of humor.

How is this the only name you could come up with? I'm not sure how much that slang is used in India but assume it could be offensive to some. I think there must be a better name for your Bullet.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Afro Samurai on November 26, 2012, 01:04:52 am
Did my first oil change....first one I done..used bike..soo

...what a mess...enviro hazard...got more oil everywhere...changed filter and installed oil packing piece and magnet.....got it all finished...should have followed advice on making some sort of  diverter over exhause when pulling quill bolt plug?...wiped exhause..but still smoked like  crazy..ha ha...
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AgentX on November 27, 2012, 03:23:21 pm
How is this the only name you could come up with? I'm not sure how much that slang is used in India but assume it could be offensive to some. I think there must be a better name for your Bullet.

Maybe I'll paint it on the tank.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Blltrdr on November 27, 2012, 04:22:17 pm
Maybe I'll paint it on the tank.
Whatever blows your hair back! Hope it gets rave reviews and ends up being a big hit for you.

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: LarsBloodbeard on November 29, 2012, 09:38:40 pm
Yesterday I got down to the dealer and grabbed a new oil filter.  Poured some Seafoam in the oil and ran it to the store and back, then drained out the old and filled it with new.  Added some Lucas gunk to hopefully quiet the noises It's making.  Took off the distributor cap to adjust the timing and one of the plate bolts came out with the screw.  Had a hell of a time separating those.  Thought I'd check the gap just for the heck of it and found it was .024!  Didn't have time to adjust that... tonight hopefully.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: LarsBloodbeard on December 08, 2012, 06:24:08 am
Fork discussions seem to be all the rage in the forums right now.  And after reading Bare's fork oil change report, it inspired me to change my fork oil too.  I have bigger issues with the bike, but what the heck... fork oil is cheap.

My forks were sticking like crazy.  I'd come to a stop at a stop light and they'd dip and just stay there till the engine vibration worked them free again.

I ordered some Maxima "high performance" fork fluid (10wt) from Amazon, and grabbed a little measuring cup dealy from a local motorsport shop.  First off, the drain bolts would not budge!  Wound up whacking my wrench with a mallet a handful of times before I finally got them to turn.  Are they really supposed to be that torqued?  I drained the oil into the measuring cup to see how much was in it (there was 150 cc in each).  The oil was filthy... I mean REALLY filthy (see pic).  I decided they needed flushing, so I capped them off again and dumped in some petrol then got on the bike and pushed the nose down a dozen times.  Drained that gunk out (black again!) and let them air dry for a couple hours.  Replaced the top seals with some appropriate size o-rings and filled it with 200cc of crystal clear new fork oil.

Took it for a test drive and they're definitely better, but still a bit sticky.  Perhaps they'll improve over time.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: barenekd on December 08, 2012, 09:36:09 pm
When we went on the 250 miler last Sunday, mine were better on the way back than going. The oil just needs to circulate and get everything lubed.
Bare
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: LarsBloodbeard on December 09, 2012, 05:26:50 am
That's what I'm hoping.

Today I swapped my front "skidmaster" for a k70.  Then I wire brushed the rust off the hub and sanded the chrome to prep for painting.  I figured I might as well enamel the front rim while I have it off.  The chrome really bugs me on this military bike.  Sometime I'll probably have the rims powder coated, but for now rattle cans will do.  To mask off the tire I deflated it, cut up some junk mail, inserted it between the rim and tire, and re-inflated the tire, then finished it off with some masking tape.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: cafeman on December 29, 2012, 11:29:39 pm
 Removed the foot pegs on my just purchased 01 Bullet, welded a nice bead on the "flats" of each where they contact the footpeg mounts. Then filed the welds down just so the pegs sit parallel with the ground instead of drooping (like they are bent down) 
 Aligned the rear fender stays with the rear wheel so the fender is centered instead of cocked to one side.
 Disassembled the shift linkage as it was bound up and shifts were crap. Removed rust from shaft and bushings, cleaned, relubed, now operates smooth as silk.
 Removed Goldstar Replica silencer and polished it up.
 Re-routed the modified breather hose from alongside the fender stay to under the fender alongside the wiring harness. Much tidier.
 Lubed the clutch cable, brake cable, adjusted the throttle cable. Major difference in operation ;D
 Lubed the speedometer cable.
 Installed nos Gran Turismo grips and Halcyon mirrors.
 Installed British made gas cap.
 Installed wingnut on timing inspection cover.
 Next it's on to dialing in the carb for lower altitude, and polishing/waxing....and waiting for some other tidbits to arrive from Hitchcocks.

Last thing I did today on the Bullet was sit back and oogle 8)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Jack Leis on December 29, 2012, 11:48:15 pm
Now THATS a thing of beauty !
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: bullethead63 on January 19, 2013, 03:37:51 am
Rode my '99 Deluxe today...tightened the KS lever,it had slipped about 1/3 of the way off of the shaft!Re-mounted my solo seat-cover last Sunday with SNAPS,instead of those awful,rusty,formerly black split rivets and bent finger slicing tabs...will re-mount the pillion cover this Sunday,pix to follow...
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on April 22, 2021, 08:29:24 pm
So far on my Iron Barrel I have swapped the transmission shifter to the right side, installed an alloy barrel & forged slug, installed a pod air cleaner and hi-flo exhaust pipe, rejetted the MikCarb to match, scraped out the grease from the trans and went back with gear oil, replaced all wheel bearings, replaced all control cables with Hitchcocks HD items, fitted a new flat bench seat, added an LED headlight & swapped all bulbs for LED's, grafted in an 18V Li power tool battery to control overcharging issues, tossed the factory air cleaner & battery box, re-tyred with a 3.50 x 19 Dunlop K70 on the front and a 4.00 x 19 Duro HF308 on the rear, as well as tackling normal repairs. At 10,000 miles, this weekend it's time for another oil & filter change.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: nonfiction on April 22, 2021, 09:34:44 pm
Bike lost power on my ride in to work today, like someone threw a switch, about four blocks from my work. I thought it was fuel, but no burble with reserve on. Pulled the spark plug and made some shade, kicked but could see no joy arcing. Last time it was a bad coil, but that's probably not it with that new Bosch Blue coil I installed. Crap.

Pushed the bike up the hill, bummed out that I might be gonna miss bike night, and went in to work. Went out with my Leatherman at lunch, started sniffing around, checking wires and grounds, dressing up and re-smashing old Indian bullet connectors, then I pulled the boot from one of the coil leads and saw the culprit. The wire had just brittle-rattled itself apart just where it crimps into the connector.

I used the Leatherman to peel back the harness and free up another inch of that wire, stripped the insulation, wrapped the seven paltry strands of copper around the post, snugged the nut, and... she lit! Yeah--I LOVE when I can get the smoke back into the wires. Bike night came off after all.

That reminds me I need to go crimpe another connector onto that wire (whole thing will be rewired sometime soon).
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on April 25, 2021, 05:47:26 am
Oil & filter change, retorque the head bolts after 500 miles or so, then retard the intake cam one tooth. The guts of the bonded in worm nut came out with the quill bolt, so I had a reason to pop off the timing cover & do the cam voodoo. I keep an extra worm nut handy, this isn't the first "un-bonding" experience I've had. They seem to be good for about 4,000 - 6,000 miles. I ordered a new Stainless quill bolt ( 140038S; 13 Pounds), and a hollow stock worm nut (140119; 13 Pounds) and several neoprene seals ( 16704A; 0.7 Pounds). Hopefully a new quill and a new neoprene seal at oil change time (2000 miles) will keep the crank oil sealing solid for a dollar vs. 15 dollars. I think the no-longer-in-production-so-why-bother bonded seals have succumbed to the pre-rotted "India Rubber" malaise like the carb manifolds. If the neoprene doesn't work out, there's always cork, but I hate the idea of cork crumbles making their way to the con rod. I'm wondering why this isn't a teflon part.

I'll run the retarded intake for a thousand miles or so to see if I like it. The compression is stock, so it might not have any benefit. It apparently does for the 8.5/1 pistons.

The head bolts needed a bit of tightening, I used a loose-fitting (i.e. cheap 6-point...) 13mm socket and a 4" ratchet, tightened them back to snug from the bedding in looseness that had developed. 
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Willbrunei on April 26, 2021, 04:30:02 am
I took my gearbox innards out. I didn't plan on doing so but ....

I did put them back in, but now it won't work.

 :(

See my other post for details if you can help out with advice....

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BwqJ9Tfpe1FkLSRE7
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on April 27, 2021, 03:51:39 am
Krasny Oktobyr got a set of 3 Barnett clutch plates, a set of the heavy/light springs and a roller clutch pad today. Whilst I was in there I tightened up the primary chain a bit. refilled with Type-F ATF to carry off the heat & wear bits.

The clutch engagement point feels more positive with the Barnett plates. The OEM plates & springs would allow a bit of slip when the primary oil was colder & thicker, after a few miles it would hook up normally. The new lash up feels serious, the clutch works the same every time, hot or cold. Incremental progress...  8)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on April 27, 2021, 12:42:09 pm
I think I may try those as well. Mine is a slippy PITA during the first several minutes of riding, which does not make the rider happy as I have some hills to climb immediately upon leaving my driveway.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on April 29, 2021, 01:51:12 am
After I finished the latest worm nut escapade, I noticed a nice metallic double tap that I didn't precisely remember before the seal. In digging into the timing side again, on Bilgemasters Theorem that the last thing you touched was probably the issue, I eyeballed the gears & seal again. Using the kickstarter, I found a distinct loud double tap per revolution. I could see that it coincided exactly with either cam passing peak lift. Not wanting it to be the crank, I pinned my hopes on the tappets being loose in their guides, "flopping" to the other side as the cam nose passed over center. Pulling off the intake rocker & extracting the pushrod, I kicked Krasny Oktobyr through again. ONE metallic clank this time, just from the exhaust. Lifting the tappet up with my fingers and moving it left & right, I can feel maybe 0.010" or thereabouts side play. Both of the cam rubbing surfaces are worn, so you know the tappet discs are chewed too. I think this is like Bullet Whisperers fandango where a high wear item was expected to be durable but found not be up to the task. No problems more time & money ($300 USD in parts?) can't fix, right? Anyway, a no-additional-cost-side-benefit of the alloy barrel it that it does a really nice job of amplifying sound & letting you know that all's not copesthetic in Mudville! ;D ;D ;D  The good news is that being a Bullet, it'll probably run about the same for many thousands of miles more with a bit of "mechanical sympathy". Loud Valves Save Lives!  8)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on April 29, 2021, 10:24:38 am
Not a huge deal to change the tappets and guides with the right extractor and blow torch to expand the crankcase alloy. Top end off, and the cam spindles have to come out too, again use some more heat with the right extractor and the crankcases don't have to come apart.

Cam spindles are available in over-sizes at the crankcase end in case their holes in the crankcase are worn. Also watch out for late iron barrel can spindles which have the ends slightly reduced to 15mm (the late iron barrel timing covers are machined to suit, but you can open them out to ⅝" if you can only get older model spindles).

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on April 29, 2021, 05:03:50 pm
Have you ever had the cam & lifter faces nitrided or spray chromed? B.W. ran into a similar issue where the materials were too soft and ate away the interface. This is a materials or coatings issue; these parts are running in an oil bath, wear shouldn't be a big issue. H's had an improved part once upon a time, but it's supplier apparently didn't have sufficient volume to carry on.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on April 29, 2021, 07:33:57 pm
The valve train parts (cams/tappets) run bathed in oil. It seems odd that they wear at such a rapid rate. The source for new, better designed parts has dried up. Maybe we could retask existing higher quality parts to do a better job.

If anyone has a box of bits to compare, are the exhaust valve stems thicker than the tappet stems? How do the tappet guides compare to the exhaust valve guides, significantly thicker? Enough to accept a bronze guide? The greater the diameter of the tappet stem, the lower the side thrust forces per unit area become.

Here's a thought:
For the tappet guides, could the existing guide be bored & reamed to accept a bronze standard valve guide? that would save beating a new one into that thin casting. A suitably modified exhaust valve could be used as a tappet, which would give you known good quality metal surface for the cams to rub against.

As a possible alternative, after the old guide was removed, a new custom guide could be built using a threaded retention system, tapping into the engine casting with a suitable thread. The guide becomes a shouldered hex nut, the tappet could be constructed from a suitable valve. Threading the casting eliminates the installation beating-in shock loads and the stresses to the casting from extraction.

Any thoughts? Beating and tugging on that particular part of the casting seems to be inviting trouble. A nice snug moderately fine thread would seem to be able to withstand the normal shock loads of the tappet action as well as a pressed in unit. When overhaul time came, just unscrew the old guide and put the new one back in with some vibra-tite for luck. With a thicker tappet shaft to better withstand side loads, and especially with a tappet that had a truly hard & wear-resistant rubbing surface, it'd probably be a life of the engine deal.

The place to try this is someone with some cases that have loose tappet guides anyway - no place to go but up.



Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on April 29, 2021, 09:49:37 pm
You might be thinking of the Samarat tappet and guide kit, these have thicker stem tappets with hard-chrome plated feet, and, in the case of the set I bought for my AVL hybrid in iron barrel crankcases, phosphor-bronze guides.

Unfortunately I never thought of buying another set while Hitchcocks' still had stock.

We could really do with these, with oversize guides available, of course, and if not hard-chrome plated feet, some form of hard-faced weld or stellite.

Don't forget tappet guides need a thread on top for getting the extractor on.

While you're ordering a batch, don't forget an improved version for the AVL engines, which seemed to have had the relative reliability of the iron barrel tappets designed out of them, for some reason. The stock ⅜" diameter for the tappet stem diameter was fine for years, so they reduced it to 7mm! I've had the foot snap off one before now.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ace.cafe on April 29, 2021, 11:01:05 pm
The tappet faces have a 2° taper angle ground on them to ensure rotation. The cam faces match that.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on April 30, 2021, 02:31:21 am
Adrian @ #66: Is there any reason these tappets can't be hollow with a larger OD for weight savings? Even just drilling or EDM-ing from the disc end would only leave a small hole in the active surface. As long as it was chamfered that shouldn't bother the cam surface, as it mostly rides on an oil wedge. To me a trimmable length might be handy for the guides, add support all the way to the cam, less unsupported leverage on the tappet shaft.

Are the "performance cams" surface hardened? Any idea what chroming, nitriding, or even now spray-diamond-coating a small batch would run? Even a stock cam with proper surface hardening should last 50K, running in an oil bath. Assuming of course the owner doesn't let the lash open up and pound off the coating.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on April 30, 2021, 10:25:33 am
Quote
Is there any reason these tappets can't be hollow with a larger OD for weight savings?

I have no idea!  ;D

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on May 08, 2021, 06:10:35 pm
Timing! The points backing plate adjustment slot was full retarded and I had more than normal kickbacks on starting. I used the H's advance assembly removal tool ( PART No. 49622 ; EXTRACTOR, CONTACT BREAKER, 736 INTERCEPTOR SII & Pre-2007 INDIAN BUILT BULLETS ;£5.50) to painlessly reposition the advance unit closer to the center of the adjustment range. My VOM has a Ohms/Buzzer setting. I used the buzzer setting by disconnecting the blade connector on the wire going to the distributor, giving me an audible signal to correlate the timing tool to.
A 1/2" slat of wood under the centerstand, select to 4th gear, and the process went painlessly. By having an actual adjustment span, it was simple to find 0.8mm BTDC using the rear wheel to accurately rotate the engine.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on May 11, 2021, 04:52:27 am
One of my not yet done jobs , today I pulled the front wheel off to replace the tube and rim tape as I didn't know how old it was had already done rear a couple of weeks ago, found the usual corrosion on the rim. Also looked at the brakes bit of a scuff up N clean etc, what I found interesting is the axel set up on these bikes never seen anything like it before, most of my experience is with jap bikes, nevertheless all sorted with no fear of a flat tyre from a old tube
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Royal Stargazer on May 19, 2021, 02:35:52 am
Today I took delivery of a mostly-assembled crankshaft with forged con rod so I can get my little green Bullet back on the road. Saturday I start putting the pieces back together.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on May 19, 2021, 02:46:10 am
Shifting went to kak on my "99, clutch pull was funky, draggy. Pulled off primary cover, clutch seemed draggy, wobbly. Pulled clutch apart, shaft seemed wobbly like a bad bearing. Ordered appropriate pullers from H's. About 4 days later had tools in hand! Pulled inner primary off. Final Drive sprocket was loose, nut hand tight under the lock tab. The spacer/seal ring behind the sprocket was spalled away maybe 1 mm/ 1/16" allowing the outer shaft to float. HOPEFULLY this was the whole issue. I'll replace the spacer, crystallized clutch seal & various gaskets and see how it goes.  :P  Good time to add that buffered primary chain bolt, and I'm going to a 17T down from an 18T countershaft, as I'm running a 4.00 x 19 rear.
The good news is that I finally have the tools I need now to pull the primary side off.  ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on May 19, 2021, 03:09:35 am
Stargazer - any pictures?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Royal Stargazer on May 19, 2021, 05:00:41 am
Stargazer - any pictures?

Not yet - I'll have at least a couple after this Saturday, when I start putting the puzzle together.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on May 25, 2021, 02:49:25 am
Replaced the sprocket seal bushing (140327, Spacer, Gearbox Sprocket) & retorqued to "snug" (stock spec 50 foot pounds) with calibrated old guy arms. This item was well chewed, allowing the outer main shaft to float axially, screwing up my shifting. New felt, new lock tab.

The clutch hub was interesting. It is on a 5 spline shaft, and I left on the least wobbly spline/hub combo. Some combo's were quite potato chip like. It reassembled with Barnette plates and stock springs.

The primary chain got a new buffered adjuster (200140) which adds some cushion to the array. Seemed a good idea.

A new (CMW old stock) drive chain and 17T sprocket topped off the external parts. A test ride revealed shifting back to "normal" from notchy/crunchy, and the clutch works well again. All in all another "Greasy Herbert" success!   ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on May 26, 2021, 03:43:13 am
Replaced the sprocket seal bushing (140327, Spacer, Gearbox Sprocket) & retorqued to "snug" (stock spec 50 foot pounds) with calibrated old guy arms. This item was well chewed, allowing the outer main shaft to float axially, screwing up my shifting. New felt, new lock tab.

The clutch hub was interesting. It is on a 5 spline shaft, and I left on the least wobbly spline/hub combo. Some combo's were quite potato chip like. It reassembled with Barnette plates and stock springs.

The primary chain got a new buffered adjuster (200140) which adds some cushion to the array. Seemed a good idea.

A new (CMW old stock) drive chain and 17T sprocket topped off the external parts. A test ride revealed shifting back to "normal" from notchy/crunchy, and the clutch works well again. All in all another "Greasy Herbert" success!   ;D
ACR sounds like you had an interesting but successful job , yesterday while waiting for my muffler I serviced  the primary again and added Hitchcock's heavy duty clutch spring kit , will be interesting to see what that's like
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on May 26, 2021, 08:05:29 pm
The HD kit can be a struggle to get the tiny bolts started. DON'T cross thread them... :o

The Barnett plates grip better, and the stock springs seem to work just fine with them at stock HP levels. If you are making actual HP, the stronger springs could be necessary.

Oil makes a difference with stock plates. ATF really perked mine up, but they'd still slip a bit until warmed up.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on May 27, 2021, 03:36:11 am
I added the heavier springs. It's...better...but still slips when cold.
Yes, I use ATF.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on May 27, 2021, 06:32:01 am
A set of Barnetts will set you back about $50 but slippage becomes a thing of the past. The re-engineered clutches are the next step, but the money goes way up.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ace.cafe on May 27, 2021, 01:17:58 pm
I added the heavier springs. It's...better...but still slips when cold.
Yes, I use ATF.
Did you check your steel plates for flatness?
They should be dead flat. Any warpage causes slip and drag.
Replace any that are not flat.

Also, if they overheat from slip/drag they can get glazed. A bit of medium grade(200) sandpaper can help.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Willbrunei on May 27, 2021, 02:42:52 pm
I replaced by cb points plate as the bodge  I did with epoxy on the points lock nut failed.

Luckily I was able to bodge the bodge to get home.

Note to self - don’t bodge.

Shout out to Mr H - 72 hours precisely to have the new plate packed and delivered half way round the world
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on May 27, 2021, 07:51:09 pm
Well done!  8)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on May 27, 2021, 11:12:45 pm
Today I got my 350 dirty. Rode 90 miles or so, including some wet muddy tracks. Then I cleaned it!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Williteverbefixed on June 02, 2021, 07:48:15 pm
Today it was actually hot in the UK  , and i was in the shed sweltering trying to reset the tappets before going to work, i quickley found out this was another one of those little darlings of a job that cannot be done without 3 hands and there is no clearance in there to get a spanner must have took me more than an hour AAARrrrrrhhhhh.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on June 02, 2021, 08:41:57 pm
I ground back the outside edges of the spanners I use for that job. Narrowing them makes it much easier to get in there to do the job.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: tooseevee on June 03, 2021, 11:42:50 am
I ground back the outside edges of the spanners I use for that job. Narrowing them makes it much easier to get in there to do the job.

        Yup. I ground them down to a mere shadow of their old shape and another good hint is to remove that center stud while you're doing the valves.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Willbrunei on June 05, 2021, 05:02:22 am
Today I have:
Regapped  points -check

Stripped the carb and jets and slide (2.5 btw) and needle. Inspected, cleaned and reassembled- check

Verified float height - check

Removed the radiator hose carb manifold and inspected and reassembled - check

Verified jetting as per mr H’s  recommendation- check

Oiled throttle cable - check

Adjusted inlet valve so it has no slack but spins freely at cold TDC - check

My Bullet  will still not idle cleanly and spits back through the inlet valve and stalls.

Jump on my other thread if you are able to help ! Please!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Seipgam on June 05, 2021, 08:38:21 am
Today I removed the lower engine plates are welded on some reinforcement to the areas that that the centre stand rides on when it's lifted. On one side the little reinforcement panels were gone.
Now sits level and stable with the rear wheel slightly off the ground.

Been wanting to do this for 2 years.

Geoff.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on June 05, 2021, 04:35:51 pm
I adjusted the rear chain, the clutch cable and the front brake cable. I also put an additional amount of ATF in the front forks to stiffen them up a little.

I was planning to go out on the bike but unusually for this part of the world, I felt it was just too hot! I don't like riding the bike without leathers, boots & gloves so I might just go out a bit later this evening as the heat dies down.  8)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on June 05, 2021, 05:10:57 pm
 "leathers, boots & gloves"? Here's how it's done in HOT weather!  ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on June 05, 2021, 07:23:34 pm
I value my personal valuables too much to ride while dressed like that. As for side saddle, my “other half” complained of backache after six miles on the Bullet so I had a reason to fit a solo seat….  ;)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: mrunderhill1975a on June 07, 2021, 09:23:30 pm
No helmet for your Abuela??? Come on man!!!!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: wr6133 on June 09, 2021, 09:22:03 am
Got it so dusty I had to swap air filter after an hour as the bike would no longer idle. Might have to look in to alternative filter options as these cones just get caked really quickly.

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51234678897_25dee39963_b.jpg)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Seipgam on June 09, 2021, 05:56:45 pm
I don’t have a lift table so used my car ramps to give easier access to the underside lower engine plates.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on June 09, 2021, 06:40:14 pm
Rode out to them thar hills. Just under 90 miles round trip this time. Spent an hour or so in Monyash, at the Smithy Cafe. Got talking to another biker. He ate my lunch by mistake - so I ate his! But how he mistook a cheese and onion paninni for a ploughman's I'll never know.  ::)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on June 09, 2021, 08:51:10 pm
Rode out to them thar hills. Just under 90 miles round trip this time. Spent an hour or so in Monyash, at the Smithy Cafe. Got talking to another biker. He ate my lunch by mistake - so I ate his! But how he mistook a cheese and onion paninni for a ploughman's I'll never know.  ::)
haha maybe this other biker was in awe of the Royal Enfield and couldn't tell what he was eating , 90 miles always a good effort 👍
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on June 10, 2021, 07:24:30 am
After 90 miles on my bike’s scrambler seat, my backside needs a rest! Other than that, I’d stay on the bike all day! 8)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Willbrunei on June 12, 2021, 06:06:50 am
I retapped the mounting holes for the points plate as I had stripped them. New bits added from the Hitchcocks kit. New auto advance springs  also added and the bike retuned with the oh so accurate timing stick tool.

Starts first kick and ticks over nicely

I the took it for a Bullet version of an Italian tune-up along my favourite dual carriageways and around my favourite roundabouts.

Lovely jubbly
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Royal Stargazer on September 15, 2021, 12:08:53 am
Brought her home. This moment was over a year in the making.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on September 15, 2021, 01:04:26 am
Brought her home. This moment was over a year in the making.

Congrats! I see she's named Fiona, plan on keeping that name?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Royal Stargazer on September 15, 2021, 03:25:52 am
Congrats! I see she's named Fiona, plan on keeping that name?

She's been Fiona since 2017! 2020 hit her hard, and 2021 hit me hard, so today was her first time running since last July or so.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on September 15, 2021, 03:50:32 am
I see, may there be a big comeback for the both of you!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: cyrusb on September 16, 2021, 10:59:49 pm
Looked at it.Great garage art. No miles this summer.
Last bike in the stable, maybe some miles next year.
Fighting off potential second owners. ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Pierric on September 17, 2021, 06:28:08 pm
Had her listen to the background noise of the Universe...

(http://www.royalenfieldlesite.fr/forum/download/file.php?id=38755)

...and added 60 miles to the new piston running in procedure.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on September 20, 2021, 12:09:14 pm
"Emma" had a sticking idle. I found an issue with the replacement fuel line and fixed that, which seemed to help, but she is still acting a little wonky at low rpm. Took her for a ride yesterday checking my repair and trying to diagnose her cantankerous-ness.

After some time in the saddle with her being persnickety I started to really wind her out in a bit of frustration. Well, I don't know what got into the old girl but she was hauling! 70-ish (speedo is highly inaccurate) in 5th gear and still pulling. What got into her? It was almost like riding a normal motorcycle, LOL.

I commented to my wife that Emma is certainly a female. Treat her kindly and she gets cantankerous and bored. Pull her hair and give her a spank and she comes alive.  ;) 
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on September 21, 2021, 02:33:28 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXT_IOt81Xs
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on September 21, 2021, 08:45:13 pm
I'd like to handle some of that peril...!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Indiana_Jones on September 25, 2021, 04:35:37 am
Replaced the centre stand and brackets today (old one was some odd thing with only one spring and lug and was well past it), couldn't get the springs on, just too hard, so will need a shop to do that.

Getting closer to getting a WOF and riding her on the road!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on September 25, 2021, 07:14:24 am
You can put one end of the spring in a vise or something solid to anchor it, put vise grips on the other end and stretch it. as you do that slip thin washers or pennies inside the sections of extended spring this will maintain its extended length. Mount the spring and then pull the spacers out one by one to lock it in position. Make sure you wear safety glasses.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: tooseevee on September 25, 2021, 11:05:25 am
Replaced the centre stand and brackets today (old one was some odd thing with only one spring and lug and was well past it), couldn't get the springs on, just too hard, so will need a shop to do that.


          Bend the spring alternately one way then the other & stick pennies in between the coils. Or nickles.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on October 02, 2021, 02:36:25 am
Cleaned, oiled and adjusted the chain, spent a couple of hours stripping paint off the rocker covers and polishing them. Bit by bit all the paint will come off the motor. I had an enjoyable rainy afternoon working on the bike and listening to music (Motown today). Tomorrow the sun will be out again and I'll be headed out for a putt. last week  was about getting projects and chores done around the property before winter hits so I missed out on my Enfield ride, I'm looking so forward to getting out on it tomorrow, I'm just lovin that bike!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Pierric on October 02, 2021, 12:09:31 pm
I have to change my used rear tyre with my brand new (smelly) one, but I'm feeling a bit lazy today...
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Willbrunei on October 06, 2021, 05:56:42 am
I have not been around lately due to travel in the summer and now lockdown virtual teaching. I have however been enjoying the bike, which is running really well and seems "sorted" now.

Done a few cosmetic things - white lettered the tyres, pretend old fashioned swich mod on the key, reprint tax disc with my DOB, bar end mirrors etc.

Photos of this and a video of a short strech of fave Brunei back road at this link, if you want a look.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gWtiGoNSP9gbDEGK7

Cheers,
Will
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on October 08, 2021, 07:01:04 am
I have not been around lately due to travel in the summer and now lockdown virtual teaching. I have however been enjoying the bike, which is running really well and seems "sorted" now.

Done a few cosmetic things - white lettered the tyres, pretend old fashioned swich mod on the key, but reprint tax disc with my DOB, bar end mirrors etc.

Photos of this and a video of a short strech of fave Brunei back road at this link, if you want a look.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gWtiGoNSP9gbDEGK7

Cheers,
Will
awsome quality pictures there ,those military green bullets always look nice and some tasteful add ons and adjustments you have made to your one , I often wonder what the solo saddle is like do you know what your one is Will? Do you like the solo saddle ?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on October 08, 2021, 07:48:39 am
Yesterday, fed up of a niggling slow puncture, I put some “Slime” in the back inner tube. Never used it before so I’ll be intrigued to see if it works as advertised.

I did have a slight concern that it might upset the wheel balance but a ten minute test ride indicates that if anything it has improved it.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on October 08, 2021, 10:30:47 pm
An interesting & informative experiment today. Replaced the muffler on my ES350 with a spare, beat-up "Goldstar" muffler from my 500. This makes the end of the exhaust terminate behind the rear wheel, maybe 10" longer than the lash-up it came with. A little louder than the one I took off, ran about the same with the removable baffle in place. For kicks I removed the 10" baffle assembly. That made the mid-range come alive and pulled cleaner on the top end, and not a lot more noise. Apparently I need a 70" straight pipe...?? Looks to me like the ES350 liked the resonance from the longer total tubing. There is a 1 1/2" to 1 3/4" adapter bushing in the middle of this whole mess to make the 500 pipe work. It works OK around here, out in the sticks, just stay off the throttle around people & horses.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on October 09, 2021, 12:30:53 am
I also found that my 350 likes an open exhaust and it can easily be stifled. The Hitchcock's "Woodsman" high level system and  straight through silencer is quite a long set up and it works very well on mine.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on October 09, 2021, 01:08:19 am
60 mile ride today and finally tackled the road up the mountain to Taos Ski Valley. I had been avoiding it all summer as its a 10 mile pull and an elevation gain of 2,000 feet topping out at 9,000'. Not knowing how much stress it would put on the engine  I have avoided it on my weekly rides around the county but felt today was the day and up I went as 10 miles of almost all curves is hard to resist. The bike didn't skip a beat and was able to stay between  fourth and fifth gear the whole way without over revving or lugging the motor. I took a break at the village and back down for 10 miles of downhill curves which were a hoot with the road speed much greater and the bike handled the curves at speed flawlessly. When I got home if the Enfield were a horse I would have given it a carrot. No treat but it was wiped down and lovingly put back in the garage till next week.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on October 09, 2021, 04:53:35 am
I pulled the Boyer Mark#4's rotor off of the ES350 today. It's attachment taper depth is shallower than the standard mechanical advance unit, so I'd bought another extractor and cut the tip length to 1 3/8", down from the stock 2 1/4" or so of the regular Hitchcock's tool.

After I'd removed it, I retimed the rotor to allow for some timing adjustment by having the backing plate end up in the mid-slot position instead of the full retard position, where it had been before but was still too advanced.

The Boyer is undoubtedly a nice piece, but I'll try fitting up the points in a month or so when my new mechanical advance & points plate show up. I've had good luck with points on the other machines, and I like the idea of field repairable hardware.

The ES350 uses the "grease-zerk with bushings" equipped distributor, and I saw grease around the shaft when I had the magnet plate off. If it flings too much grease, that may preclude mechanical points. We'll see how it plays out.

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Pierric on October 10, 2021, 11:58:56 am
My rear tyre was almost slick, so after finishing the running in of my new piston, time was due for a new one.

I ordered a Mitas H-02, which is quite cheap. I know you guys are riding mostly AVON tyres, but the Mitas has been tested and recommended for many years on the french forum for stock Bullets like mine.

The disassembly of the rear wheel is really easy on this bike, the only issue is to get the freed wheel out of the rear fender, especially when alone in the basement... I should have lifted the center stand with a thicker plank I guess.

I was not equipped with proper tyre changers, so I dropped the wheel at my local bike shop, a 15 minutes drive and a 15$ fee for tyre changing plus balancing (which I will do later since I wanted to inspect and clean the rim, which had tiny rust spots).

The hub cush rubbers didn't look so bad from a few feet away but upon closer inspection they appeared to be greatly distorded and two of them, once popped out, almost disintegrated. The PO left me with a new set in the parts box, so they're gonna be changed without any more spending.

With the rim at my disposal, I thought it could be a good idea to check the 20 yo indian bearings. One of them feeled a bit crunchy when rotating it with my finger, so I showed no mercy and extracted both, and ordered some 6203 RS made by SKF.

During the rim cleaning and micro-polishing, I realized that an inner spoke was missing, so that's gonna be another part to look for before re-assembly of the wheel to the bike.

So my initial "quick tyre change" afternoon turned into a full refitting of the wheel.

You never get bored with Bullets !

 ;)

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on October 10, 2021, 04:27:31 pm
Pierric - did you examine or change out the 3rd bearing inside the QD hub, the sprocket carrier bearing? These are generally good for around 10K miles (16K km?) , but when they go they cause chain tension trouble. It's a different size than the wheel bearings. Replace the stock open bearing with a sealed bearing, and the consensus seems to be that the $15 bearings last as long as the $30 bearings. Cheers - ACR -
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Pierric on October 10, 2021, 08:26:30 pm
Hello AzCal,

It looks like I forgot this one... Thanks a lot for the reminder !

Btw, does your nickname means that your are retired between Arizona and California, or am I way off... ?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on October 11, 2021, 12:36:50 am
Yup - 30 years in the Electrical Utility biz on the tools in California, Nevada & Arizona. I'm glad it's over, the work was great but the Management was getting too "Franz Kafka" like for me.

I'm having a great time with these Bullets, sounds like you do to. Any French Bullet Forums you could recommend? I know there's an enthusiastic contingent there.

Keep up the great posts - ACR -
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Pierric on October 11, 2021, 12:02:44 pm
Hello,

I've been waiting for almost 15 years to finally get my Bullet, so yes, I now enjoy it alot. My wife even told me that she would not sell it if I passed away because it means so much to me, and my biker step brother would take care of it.

Regarding the french forum, "Royal Enfield le Site" and its boards is the main reference, home of the "Royal Association" who organizes the annual RE meeting.

I've been part of the organization committee for the first event back in 2007, despite not having a Bullet and a motorcycle licence back then. But when I joined back in 2019, now a proud owner of La Bullet, I was a bit uncomfortable because there were now 3000+ members and iron barrel Bullets were outfashioned and almost forgotten by many.

Their boards are not organized according to the diffrent RE models like in here, and IMO it is the cause of a lot of conflicts and misunderstandings. Personnaly, I have very few in common with a lot of modern RE consumers who buy a brand new twin cylinder 650, only to sell it six months later.  We have a lot of HD or Triumph people that come to RE now due to the price policy but they would have despized the brand 15 years ago and we don't share the same motorcycle values.

It is like a mandatory meeting point on the web, but it's not as pleasant as these boards due to this "all inclusive policy" (and they told me that it would be too much of a hassle to reorganize the boards... and they don't want to "separate people". You know french people, more or less a bunch of old commies... LoL).
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Willbrunei on October 12, 2021, 03:21:34 am
@pierric

You do know about the mudguard trick to get the back wheel out? A Royal Enfield Bullet design feature "par excellance".

see here:https://photos.app.goo.gl/QN93FEP8ZuoEXbgLA


Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Pierric on October 12, 2021, 08:12:40 am
Hello Will,

No, I wasn't aware of this feature !

Thanks a lot, that would have been much easier than to have the bike leant on my thigh trying to get this wheel out...

I now know the reassembly would be much easier.

 :)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on October 12, 2021, 01:55:11 pm
One of my favorite features too! That, & tappets/valves that are easy to adjust & gain clearance as they heat up so they don't burn, the distributor that is easy to access, and the quick detach hub for relatively painless flat repair - almost like the fellows designing the bikes actually rode them. What a well-designed, practical machine. 
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on October 18, 2021, 09:31:37 am
Installed a new 5 3/4" sealed beam.

Remounted the horn to the left front fork leg and repaired the nonexistent-from-PO's-efforts wiring to the horn.

Changed the petcock from the OEM low-flow unit to a high flow methanol unit from H's. The OEM unit inside passage diameters were too small to "burp" the air bubbles back to the tank from the inline aftermarket 15 micron fuel filter, which resulted in actual float bowl low levels & stalling out until it was manually burped. The 1/4" straight fittings and large diameter of the methanol unit have no such issues. No reserve now, you just need to be smart enough to keep track of your fuel level, just like the old days. I'm thinking that a 25 or 30 liter fuel tank would be a nice addition, you'd have 430 - 530 miles between fill ups.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Pierric on November 01, 2021, 04:17:04 pm
I'm a bit gutted.

I had an hair crack in my rear hub and the mounting of a new bearing just worsened it and the hub is now split.

 :'(

So I just posted an ad in the Wanted section, just in case someone in the UK would have a spare rear wheel I could buy to be able to hit the Millevaches meeting next month without having to buy a brand new one.

Some days are better than others...
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on November 01, 2021, 05:29:32 pm
Pierric - this used rear wheel is likely under 65 Euros to your door...just a thought. - ACR -

https://accessories.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/Used-Parts-and-Bikes/Wheels/45190
PART No. USED3685 ; ** USED ** INDIAN BULLET REAR WHEEL, WM2 X 19" Condition 6/10 ; £45.00

https://accessories.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/Used-Parts-and-Bikes/Hubs/17390
PART No. USED116 ; REAR HUB (FULL WIDTH) ; £33.00
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on November 01, 2021, 09:37:14 pm
That used complete wheel you linked to should fit straight in - good find, there -  however the USED 116 rear hub is a 7" one for the Redditch Bullets for 1956-61, NOT more recent Indian Bullets!

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Pierric on November 02, 2021, 07:27:04 am
Hello gents,

Thanks alot for your time.
I know I could buy a hub and rebuild my wheel but I don't feel like I would be able to do it. Fitting a missing spoke and re-tightening the spokes like I did is a thing, but doing a complete spoking job is another step...

That used wheel is a bargain compared to the new one indeed. I'm gonna allow me a few hours to decide if I'm Ok with the 6/10 condition and the pitting and chrome flaking which one can see on the rim.

Have a nice day.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on November 02, 2021, 11:50:23 pm
Today under threatening skies and 50 degree temps I washed and dried the bike, rolled it into the workshop  and put it up on the lift, drained and removed the gas tank, also the exhaust. The battery came out and went on its tender on a corner bench and few more pieces came off. I have some projects in store for it this winter that I'm getting it ready for and a couple other bikes I can ride until I get truly snowed in a week or two. On the list: front brake rehab, starter removal / inner primary swap, clutch upgrade and then I go into the motor, to what level I haven't quite decided yet. Probably some paint work too.

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on November 03, 2021, 12:06:53 am
I gathered some parts from the post lady. A heavy duty front brake cable (seems to me that the original factory inner now has some stretch in it). A new front brake arm link assembly and a brake shoe fitting tool, all from Hitchcock’s.

The new shoes and fork seals are on their way. I have some new steering head ball bearings, cups and cones. A front end overhaul is imminent.

But first thing tomorrow I have to drive over to my daughter’s place and try to fix her leaking central heating filter assembly; now that I’ve seen the faulty item it should be fairly straightforward, seeing that it’s probably just a badly assembled o ring seal. Not really my responsibility but I’ll be much quicker than getting her landlord to get it sorted.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on November 03, 2021, 12:23:58 am
Pitting & chrome flaking!?! What happened to the protective layer of chain lube, blow-by oil from the breather, a bit of road tar & the general layer of road dust, anti-freeze & slow critter juice? See what happens when you are too fastidious?  :o ;D ;D ;D  "If your bluejeans aren't waterproof and can stand in a corner by themselves, yer washin' 'em too much!"  :o 8)

This may be an opportunity to TIG up the old hub and have it machined true again, then lace up some nice alloy rims with stainless spokes at your leisure. A bit of Brasso, fine bronze wool & car wax & I'll bet that 45 Euro wheel will shine like a diamond.  :)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on November 04, 2021, 01:54:39 am
Took my ES350 "Black Molly" for a nice 20 mile afternoon slog around the local back roads. The old girl chuffs along the twisty, hilly foothills backroads very pleasantly at 20 - 30 MPH in 3rd, and on the flat sections she lopes along compliantly at 40-50. Molly tells you where she is comfortable running, yout job is to adapt to that pace & enjoy the ride. :)

The 350 is fundamentally different from the 500. At low speeds the power pulses are smaller and well modulated by the flywheel, making low speed maneuvering smoother & easier. The "road" power is noticeably lower, but it will surprise you how long it will continue to pull at a reduced throttle setting on a mild grade. Around here in the foothills you'll spend a lot of time in 3rd, but it is a pleasant ride nonetheless. I wonder if lowering the 500s compression would make it as compliant at low speed.

For city traffic where you have to keep up, the 500 makes more sense. If you can pick a scenic low traffic route, the 350 is still a very fun machine. It glides along at its unhurried pace, making a great mechanical symphony to accompany the passing scenery.

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on November 04, 2021, 10:24:28 am
Quote
I wonder if lowering the 500s compression would make it as compliant at low speed.

Buy a BSA M20!

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on November 04, 2021, 03:33:03 pm
Rare as hen's teeth here. A 3mm plate at $15 USD to replicate performance on a running machine seems a better option. Or were you offering...? :o ;D

A year with a BSA M20
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xse0tCo7iRA

1950 BSA M21 600cc at Andy Tiernans #07951BSA ( about $6000 USD )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xep9AKgPSn4

1956 BSA M21 600cc Single One Lunger
https://image.hmn.com/khQhMWBtyAtGsegGSFM4hj85mSA=/900x0/uimage/60600320.jpg

Our '56 BSA M21 600cc "One Lunger" is a classic British bike in :Garage Find" condition. Price: $3,495
https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/bsa/unspecified/2008790.html
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on November 04, 2021, 06:08:15 pm
Having learned to ride on a BSA 125 many years ago, and owned a few, 175, 250, 500 I have to say that I now wouldn't want another because I far prefer my 2004 iron barrel Bullet 350 Electra.

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on November 04, 2021, 07:06:01 pm
Today a voyage of discovery! I finally opened the box containing the complete 500 KS bottom end I'd been hoarding for 12 years. I'd bought it from CMW in 2009 in a clearance sale. I was hoping it wasn't just red rust inside after 12 years on my shelf.

The CMW bill of sale shows as a 500 KS. The untouched-by-human-hands, heavily taped box from India (Land of Mystery...) it was shipped to CMW in says 500 Bullet KS. The pink factory cardboard inside covered with Sanskrit says "350 KS"...but the metal wasn't rusted up!!  Huzzah! :) :) :)

So I just need to acquire a 350 cylinder head and piece it back together. Looks like a good trail bike motor to me!

Every day is an adventure, eh?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on November 05, 2021, 08:46:08 pm
@ #140: Amen Brother! The thoughtful design with the emphasis on easy maintenance never fails to impress. With the great parts availability you can replicate performance from rabid-dog Goldstar to M20 slogger. An "Erector-set for Adults" indeed.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on November 05, 2021, 09:18:46 pm
@ #138: AdrianII - by my "cypherin'" it looks like a 2mm plate would put the CR down to about 5.9/1, the 3mm about 5.6/1, both of which which is Flathead/Sidevalve territory.

Here's my speculation of what the low speed effect of lowering the Bullet CR will be. If it's net resistance above the piston going over TDC compression that makes the 350 so tractable, lowering the CR a bit should have the effect of making the 500 a better plonker and likely really "soften" the powerband. If it's mostly the effect of pure flywheel weight, it'll just get even slower and still be a bit jerky at low speed.

Have you ever been able to spend any saddle time on an M20, M21 or similar big sidevalve? I realize these are 10-13 HP machines, but are they pleasant to ride, or do they just yield a draggy, droning-along experience? All I know is what I've read & seen on YouTube.

The valve train is a hoot - apparently they use very weak valve springs because the only load is the lifter & valve. Valve life (with stellite faced valves) should be exceptional with low inertial loads & little stem side thrust.

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on November 05, 2021, 09:30:30 pm
All the new parts needed to refresh the front end of my 350 have now arrived. Fork seals, steering head bearings, brake shoes, heavy duty cable and new brake arm link rod assembly.

Unfortunately I ended up doing what i hope is the final mowing of this year for our grass lawns. Both of my lawn mowers broke in the process! The electric start, ride-on one wouldn’t start and then the throttle cable snapped! I gave up with that and ordered a new part then took the battery off to charge it. The smaller one has a hand pull start. It took a lot longer to do the job then the starter pull cord snapped! I borrowed my old one back from my son’s storage unit to get the job finished. That one is almost thirty years old and hasn’t run for a year but soon fired up with some fresh fuel.

After I’ve taken the garden rubbish to the local dump tomorrow I have to choose between fixing the engine oil leak from my wife’s business van or getting on and fixing the 350. It might have to be the van…..


Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on November 05, 2021, 09:48:53 pm
My father had various flat head singles among his other bikes, the final one was a plunger-frame M21, which I think he got in a swap with a friend of mine for a unit T100 Triumph. Didn't ride it myself, except as a pillion passenger, and I have to say it would happily storm the local hills two-up. I think you would have enjoyed it, though I suspect the extra cubes made it more fun than the M20 would have been. He had one of these too, on a sidecar (before my time), as well as a Norton 16H later on which seemed to chug around happily enough if not at any great speed. I was just learning to ride a BSA C15 at the time, so my recollections of that one are a little hazier. Probably the most disappointing, he told me, was an ex-military RE WDC 350 (again before I was around) which he described as gutless.

A spacer plate for your IB probably is much easier to get hold of, though I have seen pictures of M20s in the USA, so there are some over in your part of the world.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on November 05, 2021, 11:14:42 pm
I had an M20 in 1990 that came out of someone's storage unit. Very complete and ran well. It was fun for what it was and I took it on the east coast Brit Bike show circuit for a couple of summers and then sold it. Gone but not forgotten.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on November 07, 2021, 07:19:20 am
Rode it! Finally got a chance to have a decent length ride as I'm sure many of us bullet riders have more than one bike, I have been riding hard hard enduro for the last month and next week is vintage MX but got a chance today to ride with a mate that has not long had this 44 Norton, we had to do some magneto work to it but it runs well now as did my bullet
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on November 07, 2021, 01:28:25 pm
Those bikes compliment one another so well!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on November 07, 2021, 05:05:17 pm
Nice! Did you get a chance to spend any time on that big sidevalve Norton? How does it compare to riding your Bullet?

https://www.nortonownersclub.org/models/sngle-cylinder/side-valve
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Bilgemaster on November 07, 2021, 11:39:28 pm
Man, that's a tidy looking old 16H! Humble though it may be among the Norton breed, the 16H has still long ranked up there in my personal pantheon of "possibly even affordable dream bikes", and those girder forks just do it for me wholesale, baby.

I presume you and your friend have both seen those old WWII era Ministry of Defence films on how to care for and ride a 16H? Here's the first part of three or four, where someone with a near impossibly crisp, clear and "pukka" accent explains to you what a motorcycle is and what it does: https://youtu.be/Z23hqSyOEi4. Subsequent units on maintenance, riding and such can be found on the same channel under "Videos".

Meanwhile, not to be outdone, the Canadians with their 16Hs have that whole New World "verve" along with a whole lotta awkward colonial syntax on show at: https://youtu.be/Y5JnXN2nvAU.

As your drill sergeant would gently encourage, "ENJOY, YOU FILTHY MAGGOTS!!!"
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on November 08, 2021, 04:29:53 am
KC thanks for the kind words . ACR thanks for showing the link to that owner club web page ,I haven't ridden it yet that was the shakedown ride,but I will . Bilgemaster I will pass those old YouTube links on to Kurt. Funnily enough while he was waiting for the mag parts to arrive for the Norton he purchased a 1951 BSA A7 500 twin which we still have to ride yet he also has a 1950 Matchless 500 ,G2 I think , his first Brit bike that made me want one, not being a lottery winner and owner of many bikes already I settled for the Enfield as it was very well priced and I like it
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on November 08, 2021, 12:22:44 pm
Riding weather is limited already, so I put stabilizer in the tank just in case.

I finally was brave enough to fire up my Interceptor after it came back from being fixed by someone smarter than I. After about a 35 mile test ride I can say conclusively the Albion 4 speed and it's ratios are more of a detriment in the twin than they are in the singles. Pulling out is a mess of revs and clutch slipping to not stall and 4th gear is only useful on a completely level surface or at highway speeds.

They are very different beasts. Obviously. So a fella should have one of each.  ;)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Willbrunei on November 09, 2021, 02:47:22 pm
Today, I replaced my Indian lycett copy for a Hitchcocks brown leather "classic seat".

It was cheap from their bargain bin and fits on the current springs acceptably well.

It is a bit lower than the sprung saddle but feels a lot plusher to sit on. Looks cool too imo
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on November 09, 2021, 03:21:06 pm
Looks great, it compliments the grip treatment as well. Nicely done!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on November 09, 2021, 04:21:05 pm
Today, I replaced my Indian lycett copy for a Hitchcocks brown leather "classic seat".

It was cheap from their bargain bin and fits on the current springs acceptably well.

It is a bit lower than the sprung saddle but feels a lot plusher to sit on. Looks cool too imo


Like that seat, like seat, like the whole bike !
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: tooseevee on November 09, 2021, 11:34:06 pm

Like that seat, like seat, like the whole bike !

  Ditto, ditto and ditto :)

   It would be too high for me, but ditto  :) :)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on November 10, 2021, 02:24:51 am

Like that seat, like seat, like the whole bike !

A problem with syntax or possible PUI. ::)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Willbrunei on November 10, 2021, 04:59:07 am
Thanks all - did 125 km yesterday without getting off and it was very comfy. I woiuld like to raise it a couple of cm's as I am tall and feel comfier in my hips with the higher seat. I can resuse the t piece from the Lycett seat to raise the front but will need different springs. Hitchcocks show these seats with the spring with the loop on the bottom that seem to mount on the mudguard stay mounts.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on November 10, 2021, 05:06:28 am
Sprung seats are also popular on Harley Davidsons, you can find a lot of different length springs for those motorcycle seats that will work for you in their aftermarket should the Enfield parts sources not pan out.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Willbrunei on November 11, 2021, 03:55:08 am
KC
I've been studying your spring brackets. They would work well on my bike as then the springs would he straighter, with less preloaded on them and would lift the back of the seat that little bit I think.

I think your seat is a la pera like in this video (probably from cmw when they imported the bikes) but can't find a supplier for the brackets. May have to get the Design department at school to make me some
https://youtu.be/7LRVJGv30TQ

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on November 11, 2021, 04:24:46 am
Let me know if you want me to take some close up pictures of the lower rear seat mounts if it will be helpful to you. I think they could be easily fabricated from 1/8'' angle iron or be welded up from flat stock.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Willbrunei on November 11, 2021, 06:11:52 am
yes please.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on November 11, 2021, 10:39:37 pm
(http://[img][img][img])[/img][/img][/img]

If these picture aren't clear enough pm me your email address and we'll try it that way. As you can see a piece of angle steel or sheet metal will work, cut a few scallops and drill three hole and Bob's your uncle. Also detail of the front seat mount.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on November 11, 2021, 10:45:27 pm
I was doing some remodeling in my workshop area so I had to roll the bullet out today. It's looking a little naked and forlorn , top end comes off next.

(http://)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: richard211 on November 12, 2021, 05:12:36 pm
Working on a project bullet that got submerged during a flood and sat abandoned, rusting for a couple of years.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on November 13, 2021, 12:54:02 am
     Took my ES350 "Black Molly" for an afternoon ride up the mountain. 65F, cloudless sky, Fall is in the air! Black Oaks dropping leaves, Elderberries are already bare, lots of fresh, green, winter hardy roadside plants scenting the air. A recent rain has damped the dust & cleaned the air. A comfortable 2nd gear climb up the Tollhouse Grade, chuffing along at 25 or so, the occasional pullout letting you overlook the fog-shrouded valley below. Took on 2 gallons of Super at Cressmans, now just a computerized gas stop, the 100 year old store having been consumed in the last wildfire. Cressmans is at 3500 feet, on a ridge, in the middle of a fire-savaged area. The surrounding black burn over is starting to re-green after the recent rains, some tough old Oak trees are "stump-sprouting", trying to live again. The slopes are covered with the still-standing trunks of burned 60' - 80' pines.
     Heading Molly homeward it's lots of 3rd gear compression braking, watching for deer, enjoying the sun-soaked vista below. I thump past a crew replacing a scorched power pole. The front brake has worn in enough that it doesn't drag anymore, but the OEM linings are still lackluster performers. Finally getting to the bottom of the slope I'm back under the wispy fog cover, still in 3rd but at 30 now, passing thru the "town" of Tollhouse. Finally the main road and 4th gear, Molly is very happy at 45-50.
     The 350 is a very relaxed ride, it forces you to accept its pace. The 500 will let you push it a bit, the extra torque is really noticeable after riding the 350. As long as you can pick your route, the 350 has a real appeal. In town or on a busy side road, the 500 is the preferred option.
     Before getting out on the main road I had a learning experience. Only 100 yards from my driveway I turned around - the steering felt "wormy". Back in the driveway, the "hand test" said the tires weren't flat, the swingarm felt solid, the steering stem seemed proper. Applying a tire gage told the story - 23 front, 25 rear. Cold weather & "leaky" tubes. With tire pressures back to 28/32, everything was proper again. Your Bullet will talk to you if you only listen.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Willbrunei on November 14, 2021, 10:55:41 am
great write up!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Indiana_Jones on November 15, 2021, 10:06:39 am
Big day for me today, took the Bullet for a warrant of fitness, which she passed. All legal to ride on the road now, stoked.

Still needs a bit of work/tweaks, but after having ridden her for the first time, I must say I quite enjoy it (still getting used to the RHD shift).

Thanks for all the tips and advice so far.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Pierric on November 19, 2021, 09:12:20 pm
I finally chose to order a brand new rim from HM for my rear wheel, with a luggage carrier.

Both were fitted today, along with new springs for the central stand.

The rear wheel was a matter of a few minutes, the luggage carrier was more of a PITA (hard to align those triple mountings holes : frame-seat-luggage carrier) and those springs...!?!# Unfortunatley my stand was not compatible with Gedeon's trick, so after long suffering minutes and many unsuccessful tries and swears, I finally found good use of vice grip locking pliers and of an oil filter tool, which allowed to fit the springs in a couple of minutes.

(By positioning the oil filter belt over and as close as possible of the pliers jaws where it grips the spring, you can make good use of the U shaped base of the oil filter against the stand rounded base and by tightening it, you magically extend the spring, so as to fit it in its slot with another pair of pliers).
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on November 19, 2021, 09:22:05 pm
Looking Good!  :)

I'm amazed you were able to fit up that carrier without re-drilling holes or filing - well done Sir!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on November 19, 2021, 10:17:42 pm
[quote author=Pierric Unfortunatley my stand was not compatible with Gedeon's trick, so after long suffering minutes and many unsuccessful tries and swears, I finally found good use of vice grip locking pliers and of an oil filter tool, which allowed to fit the springs in a couple of minutes.

(By positioning the oil filter belt over and as close as possible of the pliers jaws where it grips the spring, you can make good use of the U shaped base of the oil filter against the stand rounded base and by tightening it, you magically extend the spring, so as to fit it in its slot with another pair of pliers).   


Some good out of the box thinking there Pierric , looking good
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: tooseevee on November 20, 2021, 04:17:22 pm
Big day for me today, took the Bullet for a warrant of fitness, which she passed. All legal to ride on the road now, stoked.

Still needs a bit of work/tweaks, but after having ridden her for the first time, I must say I quite enjoy it (still getting used to the RHD shift).

Thanks for all the tips and advice so far.


           Just curious: Do you use the neutral finder lever?

                               Is it simple, easy, reliable, to use? (if you use it) OR

                               Is it a PITA that you find totally unnecessary?

                               PS: Disclaimer: I believe intellectually that the company, whoever the transmission engineers of the time were, put it there for a reason & that riders liked it & it worked. I do not love or hate neutral finder levers. I am neutral. I've never ridden anything with one. This is purely an "I'm just curious (not yellow  :)(http://)" post.     

                 
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on November 20, 2021, 04:40:06 pm
The neutral finder lever is blanked off on most of my machines with the handy Hitchcock's kit. I find it can interfere with RH shift pedal operation and I never use it anyway. The 4-speed needs to be in neutral before you roll to a stop if the engine's running, you just adapt to that. It looks cool, but I don't miss mine. The neutral finder lever guts will go with the machine if they were to get a new owner, but until then they stay in a coffee can on the shelf.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on November 21, 2021, 12:08:49 am
Replaced the petcock with the H's larger ID, straight thru "Alcohol" unit. The new petcock threads appear to be a bit tapered, but the right pitch. A bit of Moto-Seal goobered into the tank side female threads & a nice film wiped into the petcock threads an all is fuel tight, no voodoo copper/rubber gasket needed. H's has a 1/4" "tail" that bolts right up. Added in a 15 uM inline filter on a 2" tubing stub right off the petcock.

I kept getting air in the filter and experienced midrange surging with the OEM petcock & inline filter. Apparently the air is coming back up the fuel line from the float chamber, indicating that petcock flow is too low which would cause the float chamber fuel level to be low. With the float needle open and fuel barely trickling in, air has a chance to percolate back up the line.

Now the filter body stays solidly filled and the surging is greatly diminished, so the next trick is raise the needle a notch & see what happens. I'm OK with the "no reserve fuel position", I keep a close eye on fuel level anyway. I just want it to flow properly thru the filter. I think the lean surging is seasonal, as the warm Summer air resulted in a net richer mix. We'll see how raising the needle a notch works out.



 
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on November 21, 2021, 12:43:42 am
ACR have you got a photo to share of your fuel petcock system ?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on November 21, 2021, 01:58:36 am
Here you go -

PTAP2, methanol petcock
5657, Petrol tap nut
"06", Petrol Pipe, 1/4" bore

1/4" Napa fuel line
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on November 21, 2021, 04:34:12 am
Thanks for the pic nice job on both bikes . My later model tank is the other way round having a male thread, but seeing your link to the 5657 fuel nut and spigot I wonder if I could build something up out of parts to work . I seem to recall tooseevee receiving a 90 degree spigot from Adrian II but I can't find that thead it was posted outside of the iron barrel section somewhere
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on November 21, 2021, 10:49:02 am
In between mechanical mods such as swapping out the inner primary for the non electric start version and waiting on my piston and barrel parts I have been stripping paint off of the alloy pieces of the bike to brighten it up some from its former mono tone olive drab green of its military Bullet origins. While fine for the army look I am wanting to compliment the alloy trials fenders and get just a little more bling to the overall  visual of the bike. The job is tedious and nasty as chemical strippers are involved along with a lot of elbow grease and the use  of some aluminum scraping tools I made so as not gouge the metal underneath the paint. The paint itself just laughs at the first few applications of stripper, it takes multiple applications before it will even begin to bubble. I started down this slippery slope this summer when I had the forks off and decided to strip the lowers and there's no stopping me now. In my workshop with some good music on (Indian Raga which is fitting) I get lost in the process and find it has meditative quality to it. A respirator and rubber gloves are a must, the thoughts on the meaning of life are optional.

A footnote to this on going project : Weight reduction. The recent removal of the starter, and inner primary with sprag gears shaved off 18 lbs. While I did not weigh the steel fenders , muffler, crash bar, center stand, panniers and mounts that have been removed I would guess I have shaved off in the neighborhood of 40 lbs., maybe more. a fair amount in the motorcycle's conversion from military to trials and makes a noticeable difference wheeling it around the shop. A ride on it this coming Spring with the 535 kit should be interesting, less weight and more power is always a good thing in my book.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on November 21, 2021, 11:02:40 am
@ Mr_84, The male spigot is most likely an adapter screwed into a ¼" BSP female thread on the tank, which can be hard work to remove. Tooseevee's bike is an AVL Classic, but they use the iron barrel Bullet fuel tank. ¼" BSP was a common size on old British bikes, so there is still a fair bit of choice. The saga of the fuel line fittings (before going to private messages) is here: https://forum.classicmotorworks.com/index.php?topic=31705.0

@ Karl Childers - the dreaded Indian powder coating! Getting that lot off might save you some4 more weight. I don't know which paint strippers are freely available in the USA, our best over the counter stripper in the UK used to be Yellow Nitromors, but it has been chemically eviscerated in the name of health and safety. It will still just about work if used in sufficient quantity. The good stuff with the methylene chloride is now supposed to be reserved for industrial/commercial use and is a bit harder to track down, though it is still about.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: tooseevee on November 21, 2021, 12:16:20 pm
Thanks for the pic nice job on both bikes . My later model tank is the other way round having a male thread, but seeing your link to the 5657 fuel nut and spigot I wonder if I could build something up out of parts to work . I seem to recall tooseevee receiving a 90 degree spigot from Adrian II but I can't find that thead it was posted outside of the iron barrel section somewhere

           In reference to your post above & to Adrian's farther below about petcocks:

               When I got rid of the OEM petcock with the plastic fuel bowl I wanted to replace it with a petcock that would have the shortest dimension from the skin of the tank to the 90 degree elbow where the fuel tube would turn toward the the carb. I wanted the tube to be as "all downhill" as possible.

               So I chose a petcock with a male 1/4" BSP that would screw directly into the bung in the tank.
This meant the threaded male nipple in the tank had to come out. I found it absolutely impossible to unscrew even with a bolt inside of it for the vice grips to clamp down on.

               SO. I ordered the correct drill & tap, hacksawed off the nipple flush with the bung, drilled out the nipple & rethreaded the hole.  It was somewhat of a nightmare because my hands hurt awful, but it's a pretty straight forward job. The new petcock ended up perfect, no leaks.

               Now I had a 1/4" barbed outlet from the tank and a 5/16" inlet at the carb. That's where Adrian saved my butt by finding & sending me a 90 with the correct thread for the petcock.

               My whole reason for this post is to offer you the drill and tap if you go in that direction. Or maybe you don't need it.

               Now I have places to go & leaves to blow  :)(http://)   Every day for 4 or 5 days now - I hate trees  >:( :)   

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on November 21, 2021, 05:08:52 pm
I have since found an even more compact 90° fuel tap/petcock with a ¼" BSP thread, but it only has a ¼" hose stub on it, not 5/16 to match (to within 0.1mm) the 8mm stub on tooseevee's Mikuni carb.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on November 22, 2021, 07:12:24 am
Tooseevee thanks for the photo, that is a very clean and neat looking petcock and fuel line system you have there , what / where is the petcock from? Thanks for the offer of the tap but I possibly could find that here in NZ if I go this path , I'm having no issues but it's always nice to fix things that aren't even a problem yet , TM 32 is working well for me , cheers
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: tooseevee on November 22, 2021, 05:00:24 pm
Tooseevee thanks for the photo, that is a very clean and neat looking petcock and fuel line system you have there , what / where is the petcock from? Thanks for the offer of the tap but I possibly could find that here in NZ if I go this path , I'm having no issues but it's always nice to fix things that aren't even a problem yet , TM 32 is working well for me , cheers

           Ah :)(http://) NZ. It would be kind of silly shippingwise, wouldn't it?

           These petcocks are easy to find; any BritBike supplier.

           The part #s are 83-2800 & 83-2801, a mirror image pair for bikes with two petcocks. The single petcock offered (from Baxter Cycle, IIRC) was the 83-2800.

            Ideally, I wish I could have pointed the lever forward, but I could not go any tighter.

            Also ideally, I wish the 10mm 90 barb was part of the petcock, but you can't always get what you want as Mick said (RIP, Charlie).           
             

           
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on November 23, 2021, 01:20:26 am
I think the petcock/petrol tap is a Triumph T140 item.

The brass 90° fitting, is actually made in China, they manufacture a lot of BSP stuff these days. I had to source one sent to the UK and mail it to tooseevee, as the eBay seller wouldn't ship it to the USA! You might have better luck getting one shipped directly to NZ. Try Ali Express?

A.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003303473647.html
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on November 23, 2021, 04:01:50 am
Adrian I wonder if I could use the female 90 degree fitting shown also on your link and have a inline fuel tap down the line a little bit?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on November 23, 2021, 02:35:45 pm
You COULD try something like that, I'm happier with the tap/petcock fitted firmly into the base of the tank. If the tap is further down in a flexible fuel hose it could be harder to find and harder to get a grip on if you're trying to turn it off while still riding the last 500 yards from home.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Indiana_Jones on November 24, 2021, 09:28:54 am


           Just curious: Do you use the neutral finder lever?

                               Is it simple, easy, reliable, to use? (if you use it) OR

                               Is it a PITA that you find totally unnecessary?

                               PS: Disclaimer: I believe intellectually that the company, whoever the transmission engineers of the time were, put it there for a reason & that riders liked it & it worked. I do not love or hate neutral finder levers. I am neutral. I've never ridden anything with one. This is purely an "I'm just curious (not yellow  :)(http://)" post.     

               

Hey there, jury is still out on the neutral finder, it seems to put it into neutral or first, of course this could be due to my set out of it.

Aa for the gears etc, I need to look into this, gear changes are a bit iffy, seem to have trouble changing down gears while going up hills (seems to go into a false neutral).
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on November 24, 2021, 10:10:36 am
Snidal's book covers the 4 speed adjustments well. I've found the spring loaded "bullet" that indexes the shift bellcrank can wear or in one case, had been ground to a point by an idiot. Its spring preload is adjustable also. The "butterfly" plate that controls up and down shift travel also has adjustment. Most of mine had been found worn out or ground/filed on by PO's. I bought a new one, slapped it in and after a bit of adjustment it's worked as is just fine, no grinding needed. Shifter parts are cheap, get a spare bit or two as CYA. Gear oil is an improvement over amalgam, even the 140W seems to run & shift OK. I continue to be amazed that that tilting clockwork mechanism works as well as it does!

Two of us I know of have found the kick start pawl spindle cracked, and it's always good to have a spare KS return spring and a couple pawls handy. The KS bits are right there under one more cover, so if there's been any "slippage" in the KS system, while you have dug down to the shifter guts is a good time to check on those too, it's just one more inner cover. The hollow inner gear that interfaces with the pawls has to be in good condition. I got to do mine twice, the new pawls wouldn't catch consistently on the original gear after replacement, so another 30 pounds & a week or so later I got to do it again. The old gear teeth didn't look all that worn, but the new gear worked a treat.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: richard211 on November 25, 2021, 01:18:13 pm
Speaking of gearboxes, here is one that I am putting back together, to say it was worn out is an understatement.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: richard211 on November 25, 2021, 01:31:01 pm


           Just curious: Do you use the neutral finder lever?

                               Is it simple, easy, reliable, to use? (if you use it) OR

                               Is it a PITA that you find totally unnecessary?

                               PS: Disclaimer: I believe intellectually that the company, whoever the transmission engineers of the time were, put it there for a reason & that riders liked it & it worked. I do not love or hate neutral finder levers. I am neutral. I've never ridden anything with one. This is purely an "I'm just curious (not yellow  :)(http://)" post.     

               
In my opinion the neutral finder is great in start stop traffic, makes life so much more easier especially if you have to come to an abrupt halt, all you do is apply the neutral lever, saves a lot of time searching for neutral.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on December 02, 2021, 02:05:56 am
I always wanted a straight KS lever, and I now have machines one will work on, having the "long" header. I put my KS lever in a vice and heated it cherry red just above the clamp, then "unbent" (mostly) the OEM dog leg with slow, steady pressure whilst heating. You can feel it "give way" when the temp is enough. A second heating towards the upper 1/3rd took out the (now inward) kick. I added some 6011 filler to the inside of the dimple on the upper bend as it bothered me having a "hole" at that transition. Some time with a sanding flap wheel and it was ready to rumble! The straight lever can be mounted much farther forward and still clears your calf. Mounting it farther forward allows a longer swing when kick starting, something I prefer after replacing a couple sets of ratchet pawls, the KS shaft and a KS gear.  :o 8) 
This amateur hour metallurgy worked well on the 350ES, saving maybe $90 USD for a "factory" straight one from H's. I'd be comfortable using it on the 500 with the 6.5/1 piston, but if I owned something with real compression I'd have purchased a factory unmolested one.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on December 07, 2021, 05:09:36 pm
Another lovely English summer day in the foothills...

Some pix of the arts 'n crafts on the kickstart lever.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: TonyVanda on December 11, 2021, 08:25:00 am
Today one of my RE mates came around with his nifty dial guage timing setting device and we timed the Bullet. After a lot of mucking around, including inserting a helicoil in the distributor casing, we finally got it perfect - scientifically that is. So when the piston got to 0.8mm from TDC, the light attached to the points lit up and so did our eyes. Like Aaaawwww yessss. So after reassembling, the engine kicked over and idled beautifully. Now to road test to see whether I lose power going up the hill. Need to pick my time as the area is full of tourists and they are all trying to unload motorcyclists, like last year at this time when i got cleaned up. If the bike still feels dodgy, I'm getting a Mikuni.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on December 11, 2021, 03:36:20 pm
Another plan is the Boyer ignition. It starts at a fairly retarded setting, then at roughly 500 RPM begins advancing, well above kick over speed. The advantage is that kickback is eliminated. For dynamic running you "ping time", or just rotate the stator plate until it runs best. The retarded start feature is easier on an electric start machine's sprag clutch as well. Cheaper than a carb...?

https://accessories.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/accessory-shop/Electronic-Ignition/3203
PART No. 200002 : ELECTRONIC IGNITION, BOYER DIGITAL : £115.00
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on December 18, 2021, 01:15:22 am
Today in the workshop the plan was to remove the head and the barrel. I had everything prepped and removed except the six bolts that hold the head on and figured about ten minutes to actually pull the both, an hour later I was still struggling with it and then finally got it off. I wanted to be careful not to break any fins so I started out gently tapping here and there with a soft rubber mallet, nothing! I next tried putting rope in the cylinder and bumping the head with the piston, this yielded the head being loose on three sides but still stuck in the front left corner. I could twist it some and lift the back but it was still stuck. Swearing like a sailor didn't help in the least. I went back to adjusting the amount of rope and bumping it with the kicker and finally, finally all at once it came off. A hard won victory. The barrel was a slam dunk but I was a little surprised at the limited clearance getting that out between the studs and frame backbone. The wrist pin came out of the piston with a push of my pinky so no tool was needed for that, I had to get lucky with something! The piston had scuff marks on a couple of sides so the cylinder must have overheated at least once, maybe when it was a Florida bike. There were hone marks in the cylinder but also a few scuffs from the piston so I felt as though I'm getting these items replaced just in time before the dreaded piston separation happened.  The rest of the afternoon was spent cleaning the head while enjoying some good music, Moody Blues "In search of the Lost Chord", followed by two best of CD's by James Taylor and Van Morrison. I then cleaned up, shut off the lights and left the shop to the resident mice.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: richard211 on December 18, 2021, 03:21:47 am
Today in the workshop the plan was to remove the head and the barrel. I had everything prepped and removed except the six bolts that hold the head on and figured about ten minutes to actually pull the both, an hour later I was still struggling with it and then finally got it off. I wanted to be careful not to break any fins so I started out gently tapping here and there with a soft rubber mallet, nothing! I next tried putting rope in the cylinder and bumping the head with the piston, this yielded the head being loose on three sides but still stuck in the front left corner. I could twist it some and lift the back but it was still stuck. Swearing like a sailor didn't help in the least. I went back to adjusting the amount of rope and bumping it with the kicker and finally, finally all at once it came off. A hard won victory. The barrel was a slam dunk but I was a little surprised at the limited clearance getting that out between the studs and frame backbone. The wrist pin came out of the piston with a push of my pinky so no tool was needed for that, I had to get lucky with something! The piston had scuff marks on a couple of sides so the cylinder must have overheated at least once, maybe when it was a Florida bike. There were hone marks in the cylinder but also a few scuffs from the piston so I felt as though I'm getting these items replaced just in time before the dreaded piston separation happened.  The rest of the afternoon was spent cleaning the head while enjoying some good music, Moody Blues "In search of the Lost Chord", followed by two best of CD's by James Taylor and Van Morrison. I then cleaned up, shut off the lights and left the shop to the resident mice.

The best way to get the head off the barrel without damaging the fins is to use a piece of wood insert it into the exhaust port and hammer it. Once that side cracks loose, put the piece of wood under the intake port on the head where the carburetor bolts to and then hammer it. Try to keep the head level when doing this.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on December 18, 2021, 04:00:20 am
++1!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on December 18, 2021, 04:11:09 am
Oh, well, next time. :-[
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on December 18, 2021, 09:19:04 am
The spigot doesn't seal into the recess of the head above it, it seems to be more of an indexing feature. The gasket on the barrel surface allows the gap between the spigot and head to fill with hard carbon. Lapping the head to the spigot would cure that, as the combustion sealing would happen where we expect it to, preventing the OD of the spigot from bonding to the head recess. Lots of 2-stroke dirt bikes did it that way. The only tricky bit is sealing around the pushrod tubes, and BW has used O-rings for that, actually making a slight recess in the barrel with a hole saw, then cleaning up the groove a bit. Seems pretty straightforward.

My last go around was the same as yours, lots of "persuading". On reassembly I just used a standard head gasket, but I filled the head recess around the OD of the spigot with Coppercote anti-seize on the theory that it was plenty heat resistant and should provide a hydraulic seal to block hard carbon build up. When I pull the top end off again to replace the tappets & guides, I'll report back on the level of difficulty. Hopefully I haven't furnace braised the head to the barrel!  :o ;D

Anyway - reassembly will then be head-gasket-less, lapping the head to the top of the spigot, then a bit of "Indian Head Gasket Shellac" for maximum JuJu effect. Pushrod tube sealing will be by some precisely pocket knife cut out composite cork gasketing, thicker than the gap left between the metal-to-metal head & barrel, with a layer of Moto-Seal smeared on. We'll let the whole mess set up overnight before firing it off. Worst case scenario pull the head & slap a standard gasket back on, the joy of a pushrod motor, right?  :)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on December 18, 2021, 09:37:34 am
I used one of the later composite head gaskets last time. This one has no copper anywhere and it instantly stopped an annoying oil leak from the rear pushrod tube which I’d tried unsuccessfully to deal with twice before with a copper gasket and sealant. I daren’t increase the compression ratio of this engine any further and don’t want to be involved with decompression plates.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on December 18, 2021, 10:40:52 am
This is interesting stuff for a newbie Bullet owner. Have heard before how easy it is to rebuild these push-rod engines. However, picked up on Karl's reference to 'the dreaded piston separation'.

On another forum, one correspondent writing from USA told me confidently that Enfield Bullets are useless for going anywhere and if you go above 45mph the top of the piston flies off. Surely not! Somebody else said the real problem is that some American owners, lacking in mechanical sympathy, think it's ok to get out on the freeway and try to keep up with the traffic.

Be interested to hear people's views.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on December 18, 2021, 01:03:03 pm
There's a design weakness with the later iron barrel OEM piston design, not enough metal holding the piston crown to the rest of it, I think it's where they've machined a couple of long slots for the oil ring to drain rather than a series of holes. That doesn't mean your piston necessarily WILL fall apart, but it's a known issue. If it bothers you, consider a replacement JP piston from Henry Price or an Omega 6.5:1 forged piston from Hitchcocks'.

The other calamity which can happen to a seriously thrashed Bullet, mostly the 500s, is that the alloy con-rod can let go, either wrecking or at least expensively damaging the crankcases while it's about it.This problem was not unknown even with Redditch 500 Bullets, and various steel con-rod options are available for those wanting to build a proper hooligan bike which will hold together as well as perform like a sportier old big single.

For non-hooligan riding, it will be less of an issue. As you suggest. some degree of mechanical sympathy at the controls will help.

A.

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on December 18, 2021, 03:18:11 pm
This is interesting stuff for a newbie Bullet owner. Have heard before how easy it is to rebuild these push-rod engines. However, picked up on Karl's reference to 'the dreaded piston separation'.

On another forum, one correspondent writing from USA told me confidently that Enfield Bullets are useless for going anywhere and if you go above 45mph the top of the piston flies off. Surely not! Somebody else said the real problem is that some American owners, lacking in mechanical sympathy, think it's ok to get out on the freeway and try to keep up with the traffic.

Be interested to hear people's views.

From the advice of the experts here I've gone easy on the throttle since I bought my Bullet last July (I love it BTW), the fastest its seen is 55 mph coming down a steep mountainside, the rest has been 45 -50. Where I live it is very mountainous (11,000' passes) and some of the best  riding includes pulling steep grades which would be harder on the stock piston. Combining that with myself not being able to leave an engine alone has me where I'm at now getting ready to put in a new slightly bigger displacement piston of sturdier design with a bump in compression ratio, add to that an alloy finned barrel in place of the iron one. It will hopefully hedge my bets on those steep mountain passes and it definitely satisfies my urge to tinker with the bike. Your riding  style and location may not warrant changing any of those parts out. I'm also known  for fixing things that aren't broken. :)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on December 18, 2021, 03:46:29 pm
I was thinking of starting a separate thread but I'll ask this question as a continuation of this one: connecting rod play, I have no movement up and down in a vertical plane, side to side horizontal I do have a small amount, how much movement is acceptable?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on December 18, 2021, 04:28:21 pm
Nil vertical play is good, as long as the conrod is free to move around the crank pin. Some minor side to side rock, seen at the top of the con rod is acceptable and only to be expected.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on December 18, 2021, 05:32:07 pm
Nil vertical play is good, as long as the conrod is free to move around the crank pin. Some minor side to side rock, seen at the top of the con rod is acceptable and only to be expected.

Sigh of relief, thanks Paul!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on December 22, 2021, 12:40:19 pm
From the advice of the experts here I've gone easy on the throttle since I bought my Bullet last July (I love it BTW), the fastest its seen is 55 mph coming down a steep mountainside, the rest has been 45 -50.

You must be using a GPS device.
There is no way to know exactly how fast you are going on a Bullet with the original speedometer!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on December 22, 2021, 03:13:07 pm
Well there's a little bit of a story to that. I don't own a GPS but I ride through a few areas that have radar activated speed warning signs that give your speed as you pass. One is village speed and the other is a highway location so my Bullet has been clocked by both at 30 mph and 50 mph. I also drive those same places with my pickup and the wife's car so I know they are fairly accurate speeds from the warning signs. The original speedometer on the Bullet quit working shortly after I bought the bike so I got a replacement for it. I think I may be in possession of the one accurate budget repop speedo on the planet!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on December 22, 2021, 06:22:23 pm
There's always one of these, if you don't have any long tunnels to ride through.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324904872674?hash=item4ba5d6eae2:g:3iAAAOSwHgJhn1vx

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on December 22, 2021, 08:02:29 pm
That's certainly a nice piece - good find! Incredible use of GPS tech in a user friendly package. Looks like the future...

Sadly, we Amurrikans are apparently being punished for out 'Gummint's Olympic choices... :o :(
Postage: Doesn't post to United States | Located in: Shenzhen, China
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on December 22, 2021, 09:00:30 pm
You should be able to access one of these OK, I was looking in ebay.co.uk instead of ebay.com. Lazy or what?

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313&_nkw=144320813746&_sacat=0

Have a dig around on your own ebay, you might find something with a less over-optimistic range.  ;)

OTHERWISE, if you do find something you want that the seller won't ship to Uncle Sam, drop me a PM, I'll see if I can do what I did for tooseevee with his fuel hose fitting. Obviously Boris isn't as far into Bejing's naughty list as Joe.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on December 22, 2021, 11:05:08 pm
There's always one of these, if you don't have any long tunnels to ride through.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324904872674?hash=item4ba5d6eae2:g:3iAAAOSwHgJhn1vx

A.

I wasn't aware off those, if the speedometer I have now goes I'll look into getting one.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: dickim on December 28, 2021, 01:14:20 pm
Just putting in my "peneth" when I built a JZR trike I fitted one instead of using the Guzzi dials- worked REALLY well and I know Wildbill fitted one on one of his UCE's👍
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on December 28, 2021, 01:53:32 pm
Do these have an odometer/trip meter? There is a meter "screen" of some sort but there's no sign of a reset button so I presume it just logs total mileage.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: dickim on December 28, 2021, 02:59:44 pm
Do these have an odometer/trip meter? There is a meter "screen" of some sort but there's no sign of a reset button so I presume it just logs total mileage.
Mine had the button on the rear which would be an issue if mounted in the nacelle...but then again I think the orig doesn't have one anyway
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on December 28, 2021, 04:10:33 pm
No, the original RE Bullet speedo doesn't have one (which is why I was askin' ;) ).

Because my bike lacks a resettable trip meter I have a three digit combination luggage lock tie-wrapped to the handlebars. Each time I refuel I set it to the last three digits on the total miles odometer so I have some idea how far I've ridden since. Knowing that the bike does approximately 20 miles per litre of petrol I have some idea how much is left in the tank.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on December 29, 2021, 01:23:17 pm
You could consider buying a genuine Smith's chronometric speedometer which will have a mechanical trip meter, as well as looking the part. The sort you'd need would be with the flanged bezel and the trip mounted underneath with a flexible 3-4" stalk where it protrudes from the underside of the casquette. Maybe get an old fixer-upper and have it overhauled/re-calibrated for whatever size front tyre you're using. I will need to get this done with my 350 Bullet's chronometric, it was calibrated for a 3.25x17" rear, not the 4.00 x 18" that's on there now!

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on December 29, 2021, 02:07:54 pm
I could, but that’s too expensive for a pensioner like me…..especially as I haven’t yet received my pension!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on December 30, 2021, 11:12:50 pm
I started the bike for the first time today since I finished the 535 piston / alloy barrel installation plus clutch upgrade and inner primary change over. It started third kick which wasn't bad for it only being 30 degrees out. I put fresh 15w 40 Rotella in for the cold weather and I had kicked it over a number of times with the ignition off until I had oil at the rockers and then I buttoned up the rocker covers and turned the key on. Once started I ran it at varying the rpms and not really going too high up the rev band for the first go round. There was some  vibration that wasn't there before but the gas tank was off the bike when I ran it and the head steady wasn't tightened down, I hoping that will account for it. All in all it was good to hear it run again and now I'm looking forward to a ride!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Warwick on December 30, 2021, 11:46:11 pm
Well done!!! I am sure you will have fun riding it  :D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Seipgam on December 31, 2021, 01:23:16 am
If I want to check a speedo accuracy I do it with a GPS speedo app on my phone. 

Geoff.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on December 31, 2021, 04:54:56 am
I started the bike for the first time today since I finished the 535 piston / alloy barrel installation plus clutch upgrade and inner primary change over. It started third kick which wasn't bad for it only being 30 degrees out. I put fresh 15w 40 Rotella in for the cold weather and I had kicked it over a number of times with the ignition off until I had oil at the rockers and then I buttoned up the rocker covers and turned the key on. Once started I ran it at varying the rpms and not really going too high up the rev band for the first go round. There was some  vibration that wasn't there before but the gas tank was off the bike when I ran it and the head steady wasn't tightened down, I hoping that will account for it. All in all it was good to hear it run again and now I'm looking forward to a ride!


KC where's the pics please, and how long before your local weather allows you to break it in ?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on December 31, 2021, 09:52:50 am
Usually around March if the winter is a typical one, I end up with a lot of ice on my road from the freeze thaw cycles and can't get down to the highway on a motorcycle. I will have to take a few pictures as I've changed some of the cosmetics too since the last time I posted some. In the mean time here's one of my faithful 73 Ford F250 that I plow my road with, four wheel drive an chains on all four wheels. I've had the old girl for the past 28 years!

(http://)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on December 31, 2021, 06:24:13 pm
Great looking pick-up truck there KC ,that would be worth a small fortune out here in NZ , the snow on the bonnet tells the story of your local winter. What engine is in the old girl? Some of the Australian built ones had Cleveland 302?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on December 31, 2021, 08:06:43 pm
Great looking pick-up truck there KC ,that would be worth a small fortune out here in NZ , the snow on the bonnet tells the story of your local winter. What engine is in the old girl? Some of the Australian built ones had Cleveland 302?

That truck has a 300 cu. in. six in it which I love, I'm kind of a nut for old inline six cylinder motors and that was one of Fords best, it has lots of torque and power and diesel like durability, change the oil regularly and you can easily get 300,000 miles out of one before it needs a rebuild. That truck would routinely haul a trailer with a backhoe on it and not break a sweat. These days it's retired like I am and just makes runs to the lumber yard and plows snow in the winter.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on December 31, 2021, 08:11:19 pm
We’ve just had the warmest New Year’s Eve day on record for the U.K.

I decided it was time to clean the 350.

Did that then decided I’d better make a start pressure washing the patio, which has been overdue for months and was very slippery. That led to a session of drain cleaning….

The joys of retirement. Still hoping for a day off….
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on December 31, 2021, 08:51:38 pm
Here's what I've been up to with the Bullet, I stripped a lot of the green paint off it, wheel hubs, engine cases, etc. I also stripped a few parts and painted them gloss black like the chain guard and front engine mounting plates to match the fender stays. I had planned on stripping the whole motor and frame but I had enough of that, maybe next winter. I did paint the new,
alloy barrel black as I really like the look of the original Iron Barrel. I removed the starter and replaced inner primary and while I was in there I added heavier clutch springs and a ball bearing throw out bearing to replace the factory plain version. The plates were like new so I left those alone, I'll see how they hold up. There's new brake shoes up front and since that last round of pictures the center stand has been removed and the side stand replaced by an adjustable one from H's.

(http://[img][img])[/img][/img]
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Warwick on December 31, 2021, 09:14:41 pm
Your scrambler looks mad! The colour, guards and pipe really suit! I am guessing that pipe is also loud! Rock on iron barrels :)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on December 31, 2021, 09:47:27 pm
Your scrambler looks mad! The colour, guards and pipe really suit! I am guessing that pipe is also loud! Rock on iron barrels :)

Thanks!  :)  There was an extra baffle available for the exhaust so I added that at the same time, for me it gives just the right exhaust note, not so loud as to bother the neighbors but not whisper quiet, just right for a big thumper!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on December 31, 2021, 10:01:06 pm
I really like the look of the olive drab engine cases against the polished outer covers. It would be a shame to remove that, let alone a lot of work!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on January 01, 2022, 01:09:57 pm
Maybe a 21" front wheel at some stage?

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on January 01, 2022, 02:44:46 pm
Your scrambler looks mad! The colour, guards and pipe really suit! I am guessing that pipe is also loud! Rock on iron barrels

+1
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on January 01, 2022, 11:28:03 pm
Maybe a 21" front wheel at some stage?

A.

I'd like to do that for both looks and handling when dirt riding, an upgrade to an 18'' alloy rim in the back would be nice as well.....and then there's the alloy trials petrol tank, I'm still tempted to get one of those. As the Spanish say, "Paso y Paso". "step and step" a little at a time and some day I'll get there. I's been a fun journey so far!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on January 01, 2022, 11:38:19 pm
There is also the slim-line version of the steel tank for trials, which is a nicer-looking shape IMHO (cheaper, too!), or maybe even the small chrome-panel tank? Both of these are readily obtainable.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on January 01, 2022, 11:40:17 pm
I really like the look of the olive drab engine cases against the polished outer covers. It would be a shame to remove that, let alone a lot of work!

Paul I think I'm coming around to your way of thinking, it helps to get another opinion on these matters.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on January 02, 2022, 12:28:30 am
I think the green/silver nicely matches the same colour combination on the front wheel hub and rim. If you polished the crankcases it might not look so nice.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on January 02, 2022, 03:27:46 pm
Unpolished alloy would look OK. I'm thinking of the British army BSA BSA B40. Factory finish for those was not-quite Landrover gloss green cycle parts (the original finish on mine was slightly brighter than LR's deep bronze green), matt/flat silver exhaust, crankcases, timing and primary covers all bare unpolished alloy castings. All quite smart, until they were daubed all over in NATO camouflage paint in service! A few have been restored, some even without oil filter leaks.

(http://d121tcdkpp02p4.cloudfront.net/clim/126225/BSA2-1573504155.jpg)

http://d121tcdkpp02p4.cloudfront.net/clim/126225/BSA2-1573504155.jpg

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: TonyVanda on January 03, 2022, 09:05:59 am
That bike looks great Karl Childers. I like that side plate that replaces the tool box. That's cool.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on January 03, 2022, 05:05:25 pm
I did the same on the starboard side when I fitted the high level exhaust. I made a template from a cereal packet then copied it onto a sheet of aluminium.

Rather than use loose nuts and bolts I fitted “Rivnuts” into the toolbox brackets and stainless screws to hold the panel.

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Warwick on January 03, 2022, 07:54:33 pm
Nice!!!!!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Pierric on January 04, 2022, 04:15:54 pm
I wanted to fix some crashbars to La Bullet for some time, both for the traditional indian look and to avoid thrashing the tank or toolboxes if I let it fall on its side someday (and maybe to fend off potential suicidal roe deers or foxes in my heavily wooded area).

Thanks to a nice french forum member who offered me a used one that presented some corrosion spots, the Bullet is now equipped.

As I supposed, these indian made steel crash bars are not chromed but simply polished. I first cleaned the 4 mainly rusted areas with a brass brush mounted on my hand drill, then finished the whole line with my polishing set (2 hours needed).

It is almost looking as new and fits perfectly the whole 20 years old motorbike.

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on January 04, 2022, 04:29:10 pm
Very nice! The K81's are a treat. Is that your new rear hub in action? Cheers - ACR -
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Pierric on January 05, 2022, 07:51:25 am
Hello ACR,

Yes, La Bullet is also fitted with its brand new rear wheel on that picture.

My last one hour ride across my countryside was a real treat with it and the new tyre.

Cheers.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on March 23, 2022, 04:17:00 am
Mounted an old "Goldstar" exhaust on a long header on my 350ES, took a toot up Tollhouse road.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on March 23, 2022, 06:33:29 am
ACR great pic fabulous view in the background of how large the area is , 350 looks right at home. Had a quick google maps off the Tollhouse rd looks like plenty of adventuring right in your backyard 👍. Also I smell spring in the air for you guys, enjoy the season
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on March 23, 2022, 11:12:26 am
How's the noise level?

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on March 23, 2022, 03:26:48 pm
AdrianII - Not bad a'tall, the large internal volume & "riffles" inside the muffler wall seem to moderate the 350's milder bark. The engine seems to like the longer total pipe length. Low(er) RPM long stroke = longer pipe? I like the look of the long pipe for some reason, it seems more "relaxed" & in character with the machine to me.

@ Mr. 85 - T-shirt weather! ;D ;D ;D Great sport chuffing up the grade, awash in plant fragrance & blooms, riding thru occasional spots of cool air, watching how the plant life changes as you gain altitude. The Bullet excels at this unhurried rambling.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Yinzer on March 23, 2022, 06:38:09 pm
AdrianII - Not bad a'tall, the large internal volume & "riffles" inside the muffler wall seem to moderate the 350's milder bark.

I sure would like to put a straight kicker on Dad's bike.
We both prefer a quiet exhaust & the look of the short bottle.
The possible noise issue is holding us back.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on March 23, 2022, 07:23:35 pm
The long header & the "Long Exhaust" are a nice combo, but you'll need to rework the muffler end mount. If you aren't "throttling it up" the sound is quite mellow. Pick the proper spot & time for hijinks. H's also sell a "mute", so there's that.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Warwick on March 23, 2022, 07:28:44 pm
Nice!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on March 28, 2022, 04:17:20 pm
Tested the difference between baffle in/baffle out on the 4-lane to Shaver Lake. Rambled down Tollhouse Grade to home, clicked some scenery.
Baffle OUT is what Black Molly likes best, 3rd gear runs free climbing up the 4-lane, 40 - 45 vs. a grudging 38 MPH...plug looks good, a NGK BP6HS.

On my travels I stopped at the local hardware/feed store. As I was getting off the bike, an Indian fellow ran over from an adjacent business, very excited to see a Bullet this far from his homeland. "I grew up with these" he said "I could tell from the sound that it was a Bullet". It was nice to be able to put a smile on his face and share some stories. Bullets are like that, they have a certain charisma.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on March 28, 2022, 08:15:34 pm
It looks like a great corner of the world to be riding in! Enjoyed the story about the man from India, sometimes rides are about the people you meet along the way.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Pierric on March 30, 2022, 08:28:06 am
Thanks for sharing this meeting around a Bullet. Put a smile on my face as well.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Flaekingr on March 31, 2022, 05:44:16 am
This is what I did to my Bullet today.

- Removed starter motor and installed blanking plug
- Yet more paint remover to undo the horrible job the PO did of blacking out the engine (on an enfield!?)
- Yet more sanding of all the rusty bits of metal that come from standing under a sheet outside for 3 years ::)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on March 31, 2022, 12:59:32 pm
Probably best to leave the iron cylinder painted black, though I don't get the craze for painting all the alloy castings black.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Flaekingr on March 31, 2022, 11:44:24 pm
Yeah, the few bits of paint stripper that got onto the barrel haven't made any sort of impression anyway, the rest of it is just a spray can job. Happy to leave the barrel black as that's how it came from the factory anyway :)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: TonyVanda on April 02, 2022, 10:06:24 am
Today I fitted new fork cover tube bushes and rubbers. Fitted a new exhaust (new header pipe, hand me down 500 shorty muffler) yesterday. I fired the bike up today to check for exhaust leaks and I cant detect any. Will take it for a test ride in the morning.

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on April 02, 2022, 02:05:48 pm
Needs a chrome trim for the bottom yoke/triple tree now!

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: TonyVanda on April 03, 2022, 03:48:55 am
Needs a chrome trim for the bottom yoke/triple tree now!

A.

You mean that tinny looking red plate with Enfield logo? Where can I get solid metal one? Might help hold the front end together better.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Expendable Crüe on April 06, 2022, 03:35:20 am
I'm completely new to the Enfield game and since I've not had my bike more than a week, I spent today (after work) getting more familiar with my scoot!

Over the past weekend, I pulled the (nearly dead) battery and air cleaner box as well as chased wiring to see what went where and how things went together.

I'm seriously considering unplugging the electric starter and in it's place hooking up a loud "AhOOOOOOO-gah" horn for the unwary.

I am uncertain on how to read my dipstick as it isn't stamped with H&L markings and the oil that is in the bike is WELL ABOVE the hashmark so I can't be honestly certain whether or not it is overfull.(which may be partially if not wholly responsible for the white exhaust smoke)

I was also somewhat perplexed by the presence of "milk" (just a little bit) in the oil since clearly we're not talking about a liquid cooled engine. I suppose it could be condensation. No doubt a couple of oil changes and some road time will clear that up.

When checking the oil, should the filler cap be screwed all the way in or just resting at the top of the well?

And what in the blue purple blazes is that nipple thingy sticking out of the header just after the "lovingly shimmed in" exhaust port?

So many questions! Like the proper use of the... I guess "parking lights" on the starboard controls by the throttle..?

Clearly the fun is JUST BEGINNING! 
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on April 06, 2022, 08:29:52 am
Homemade plug when a previous owner removed the air injector.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on April 06, 2022, 03:26:49 pm
+1 to that. As part of the emissions-dodging kit there used to be something called a Pulse Air Valve which fed extra air into the exhaust through that union on the downpipe, I'm guessing the valve (which I think lived in one of the toolboxes) was junked early on. Make sure the air bleed from the carburettor hose mount has been plugged too. After-market plain down pipes are easy enough to find.

Pope-electing white smoke is often the sign of wet-sumping, oil can leak internally from the timing case down into the crankcases, if it pools too deeply it can take the scavenge pump a few minutes to clear it on start up, meanwhile the excess is getting past the oil scraper ring on the piston and into the combustion chamber. You might need a new oil seal behind the crankshaft timing pinion.

The "milk" is emulsified oil, and yes, it IS caused by condensation. The stock breather system on late iron barrels and AVL Bullets is a bit of a disaster (only the UK importers managed to come up with a worse one), but we can discuss that later.

Quote
Clearly the fun is JUST BEGINNING!

Er, yes!  ;D

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: axman88 on April 06, 2022, 05:36:11 pm
So many questions! Like the proper use of the... I guess "parking lights" on the starboard controls by the throttle..?
I've read that parking lights were required by law in the UK on all vehicles and were to be left illuminated when vehicles were parked overnight on the side of public roads.  This was from a time when streetlights were not as common as today.  I think this must have led to a lot of dead batteries, but just maybe, if these had been required here in the US when I was in my formative years, I would have grown up to be more of a morning person.

I have used mine as riding lights on one occasion when my battery was on its last legs, ( illegal to ride without headlight, but I'd rather ride illegally than push 7 miles), and on another occasion when I needed to push a mile and a half, after dark.  It seems useful to me to have the option of some low power lighting for breakdown situations where one might be stuck on the side of the highway for more than a few minutes, so useful in fact, that I converted my UCE so the headlight switch actually worked.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on April 08, 2022, 03:56:51 am
If your dipstick is serrated (it appears to be in the pic) the oil level should be halfway to 3/4 up the serrations. Mine does not like being at 'max full' and will just puke or use the oil until it's at a happier level. It should be threaded in fully, I believe.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: tooseevee on April 08, 2022, 12:11:02 pm
If your dipstick is serrated (it appears to be in the pic) the oil level should be halfway to 3/4 up the serrations. Mine does not like being at 'max full' and will just puke or use the oil until it's at a happier level. It should be threaded in fully, I believe.

           Exactly right. That's how I do mine; 1/2 to 3/4 up the hash marks.

           Go down in the morning, run the engine a few minutes, shut her down, let her sit 2, 3 minutes, THEN check the dipstick.

            I fill the hash marks with chalk; you can see the oil real clearly then.

            I don't think screwing the cap in or not screwing it in is as important as just doing it the same way all the time.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on April 08, 2022, 01:07:34 pm
You mean that tinny looking red plate with Enfield logo? Where can I get solid metal one? Might help hold the front end together better.

Sorry I missed this one, Tony. You can get solid brass versions from our friends in India, which should chrome up nicely.

A.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/193734161104?hash=item2d1b74b2d0:g:AvgAAOSwKSlb7zMV

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on April 08, 2022, 02:39:27 pm
I modified my oil reservoir breather to go via the usual one way valve to the lower run of the rear chain. Topping up the oil much beyond the halfway up the dipstick markings results in the chain getting oiled.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Ratz on April 13, 2022, 06:30:07 pm
I started her (second kick 8)) and took her out for the first ride this year   :D
I'm still in love after 15 years  :) :) :)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on April 16, 2022, 05:44:53 pm
Rode Black Molly (ES350) 7 miles up the mountain to Cressmans for fuel, then made a long jog back towards Pine Flat Lake, detouring thru the backroads South to the 168 then homeward. About 50 miles of low speed fun, chuffing along the twisties, plenty of fresh plant growth, lots of 2nd & 3rd gear time!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: C8Chris on April 18, 2022, 10:32:32 pm
Wash, waxed and examined.

I bought a 2008 Bullet 500 Classic ES not running over the weekend-- totally new to Royal Enfield. 

Going over the bike with a hand washing revealed it's been stored inside all of its life and has not been down.

Battery is shot; new one on order.  Fuel petcock leaking from the bowl-- have some options. 

Need to change the oil-  a bewildering number of washers go along with the new filter and drain plugs. Oil filter wise, better to buy a complete kit. Looks like the bottom drain plugs use 8mm x 16mm x 1mm crush washers. 

Anybody use a US equivalent?  Harbor Freight sells a copper washer kit that may be a cheaper alternative.

I'm stoked to get working on it.  First time owning a bike that requires a key to service the battery and air filter...

 
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Bilgemaster on April 18, 2022, 10:56:28 pm
Wash, waxed and examined.

I bought a 2008 Bullet 500 Classic ES not running over the weekend-- totally new to Royal Enfield. 

Going over the bike with a hand washing revealed it's been stored inside all of its life and has not been down.

Battery is shot; new one on order.  Fuel petcock leaking from the bowl-- have some options. 

Need to change the oil-  a bewildering number of washers go along with the new filter and drain plugs. Oil filter wise, better to buy a complete kit. Looks like the bottom drain plugs use 8mm x 16mm x 1mm crush washers. 

Anybody use a US equivalent?  Harbor Freight sells a copper washer kit that may be a cheaper alternative.

I'm stoked to get working on it.  First time owning a bike that requires a key to service the battery and air filter...

 

Welcome to the Horde of the Archaic! Are you SURE you've got an "Iron Barrel" there? I'd wager there's a middling fair chance you might have one of those intermediate "AVL" engined ones. Let's see a couple of photos. The "AVL" or "Lean Burn" was an Austrian-designed engine only manufactured for a couple-few years as a sort of emissions reduction stopgap between the original "Iron Cylinder Engine" (ICE) and "Unit Construction Engine" (UCE) models. The AVLs have their own separate section on this Forum, and of course often require different parts, etc. So yeah: Let's definitely see a couple of photos of what you've got! To do this just click the little "plus" icon below the text editing box ((https://forum.classicmotorworks.com/Themes/community18/images/expand.gif)) for "Attachments and other options" and take it from there.

Whichever model you have, if one didn't come with the bike, you'd do well indeed to get yourself a copy of Pete Snidal's superb original Bullet Service Manual  at http://www.enfield.20m.com/bullet1.htm, as it covers both. And do learn to kickstart it ONLY. The electric starters are ultra-flaky, as a quick search of "sprag" in this Forum should soon reveal.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: StefArmstg on April 18, 2022, 11:09:39 pm
Sold it.  It's now sitting in the showroom at Ft Collins Motorsport, in Ft Collins, Colorado, USA.

It's 2004 Classic 500, kick only/four speed/right shift.  A good bike that deserves a better fate than sitting in the shed while I ride my 650 Interceptor.

https://www.fortcollinsmotorsports.com/default.asp?page=xPreOwnedInventoryDetail&id=11958413&p=5&s=Year&d=D&fr=xPreOwnedInventory
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: C8Chris on April 18, 2022, 11:48:56 pm
Photo attached.  The exhaust pipe connects to the engine with two nuts (instead of press in).

It's a five speed with the brakes on the right side and the clutch and shifter on the left.

Drum brakes front and rear.  No disc.

If I'm an AVL (Lean Burn) and not an Iron Barrel, I need to know-- any corrections are welcomed.  Thanks much
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on April 19, 2022, 12:13:59 am
Congratulations, you DO have the AVL Classic. These have their own section on the forum - quarantine at the request of iron barrel Bullet owners, presumably!  ;D Actually a much-maligned motorcycle with great potential, never achieved by the factory.

The drain plugs have a 14mm (x 1.25mm)  thread.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: C8Chris on April 19, 2022, 12:46:26 am
Thank you.  I appreciate the clarification.  My journey has a course correction.  (First of many)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on April 19, 2022, 07:07:19 am
The 5-speed is worth it's weigh, it's the one to have. With the "grippy" Hitchcock's front brake shoes you'll have a very satisfactory machine. Keep the airbox and exhaust stock and that vacuum-slide wonder carb should be OK barring gumming up from old gas, easily rectified. Congrats!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on April 19, 2022, 07:44:40 am
Fitted the Hitchcocks round screw on gas cap conversion #92616, something different to look at  :o
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on April 19, 2022, 12:43:44 pm
I fitted that lovely gas cap a couple years ago. Problem: it weeps fuel out past the seal ring. And the ethanol fuel bubbled the paint.  >:(  Oh well, damage is done now so I just never fill it completely now.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on April 19, 2022, 08:13:36 pm
ddavidv , interesting about your fuel leakage problem. I have suspicion that mine will leak in the front section as I can see the gasket loose in the wind so to speak , I wonder if 2 gaskets might help flatten out the cure and seal it up . It's kind of a problem as a lot of my rides are long so filling the tank right up is a must. Anyone else fitted this fuel cap and had leakage?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: lou e on April 20, 2022, 07:18:18 am
1966 RE Interceptor bad judder when front brake applied pulled wheel off brake drum and shoes in good condition greased bearings reassembled found forks frozen disassembled no oil bent tubes. Will press straight tomorrow Hitchcocks does not seem to list parts for the older Redditch machines on their website anymore. Have 2019 Orange Crush to glide into the future with....
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on April 20, 2022, 12:45:27 pm
Quote
Hitchcocks does not seem to list parts for the older Redditch machines on their website anymore.

Oh yes, they still DO!

https://www.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/partsbook/162/1965-750cc-interceptor-series-i-usa-spec

https://www.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/partsbook-pages/3332

A.

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on May 07, 2022, 07:11:24 am
Fitted my first pair of Dunlop K70 tyres , they look good and on the very short test ride felt they had superior cornering ability compared to the Avon speed masters I had being running , going on a bit of a ride tomorrow , around half a tank of gas , should be enough to scrub them in and get a better feel for them
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on May 15, 2022, 01:19:32 pm
Had not ridden "Emma" this season. She had a recurring stumble and wonky idle that I needed to correct. I found the threaded jet in the carb loose, which was an easy fix. When I tried to start her after repair, no love. I quickly determined there was no spark.
Huh.
Further diagnostics revealed a dead battery, one that won't take more than 10v of charge. Only three years old, which is annoying.
I can tell you that 10v isn't enough to make the coil happy. She starts first kick on the jump box, though.
So, time for a new battery. Due to some PO 'modifications' the battery rides rather loosely in the left tool box. I'm wondering if the vibrations caused the early demise. It's an AGM style.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Royal Stargazer on May 21, 2022, 09:52:53 pm
Washed and waxed, replaced the plug, and changed out the main jet. Also repositioned the shift lever. Seemed like it was on there a bit loose. Can't wait to do the right side shift mod.

Going to be good to have Fiona back in the Gentleman's Ride.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on May 21, 2022, 11:59:02 pm
Washed and waxed, replaced the plug, and changed out the main jet. Also repositioned the shift lever. Seemed like it was on there a bit loose. Can't wait to do the right side shift mod.

Going to be good to have Fiona back in the Gentleman's Ride.

Fiona's a lovely lass!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Royal Stargazer on May 23, 2022, 02:18:04 pm
Fiona's a lovely lass!

Thank you! She turned quite a few heads yesterday!

I guess today's tasks are to track down a new headlight, and to reposition the gear shift lever again. It keeps loosening itself up little by little. I don't think it's going to fall off, but I'm not about to fool around and find out on the highway.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Royal Stargazer on May 27, 2022, 07:40:09 pm
Didn't find a headlight replacement - I found a headlight upgrade!

Sure is tight in the headlight nacelle. I don't seem to have damaged anything, fortunately.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on May 29, 2022, 06:20:32 pm
Changed out Black Mollies worn 3.50x19 K70 rear tyre for a 4.00x19 Duro HF-308. I used a heavy-duty tube, lots of talc on it and inside the tyre casing. A bit of soapy water judiciously applied on the rim allowed it to slide over reasonably well, that & three 24" Harbor Freight tyre irons. The 24" is nice because you can use your armpit as a "third hand" when wrestling them onto the rim ;D. A plastic barrel served as a changing stand. The HD tubes are nice because the thicker rubber tends to hold a round shape instead of folding into the recess between tyre & rim to create a snakebite flat. The valve stem wasn't quite vertical, so I was able to "kedge" the rim on the wheel a bit by applying torque to the spokes by hand and tapping the tyre on the ground. The external valve stem nut merely serves as a jam nut to keep the valve cap secure, tightening it down to the rim just allows the stem to rip out of the tube if the pressure gets low enough to allow tyre slip. A "free" stem lets you see if creep is starting to occur.

The 4.00x19 raises the overall gearing perceptibly but makes it easier to loft onto the centerstand. The chain & sprockets are due anyway, so I'm thinking of just going to a 22T primary so I can use the standard 17/38 500 combo. A 17T is easier on the chain. I'd have to go to a 15T countershaft to get the same overall ratio as I originally had, and the 350 has to buzz a bit more than the 500 anyway.

The 350 and 500 weigh about the same, so I like the extra load rating of the 4.00 vs. the 3.50. I think some of the reason for the extra tyre wear is that the engine braking effect is greater than for a twin or four. Rolling off the throttle applies a torque in the braking direction, and of course throttling up puts all tyre shredding 16-24 HP to the ground... :o 8)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on May 31, 2022, 06:40:44 pm
Black Mollies Boyer ignition abruptly quit making sparks. After rescuing, the hinky wiring around the kill switch was found to be the culprit.

The Boyer has 3 functional wires, black, white, blue besides the two sensing wires to the distributor. White is (+), black is (-) for power to run the Boyer unit. Blue connects to the coil(-). It interrupts the (-) return path from the coil (-) terminal to (-) ground, like the points. White connects to coil (+), which is supplied by a Red/White from the harness. Black goes to battery (-).

The main ignition switch does two things: connects the battery (+) to the system when ON and connects the points to ground when OFF.

The PO had spliced the KS in series into the blue Boyer wire, Rd/ Bk & Bk/Rd. Rd/Bk grounds when the main switch is off, Bk/Rd ties to the KS and was grounded when in the "RUN" position.

For my needs, simpler is better. I re-ran the Boyer blue directly to the coil (-), then attached only the Rd/Bk via a spade lug connection. Now ONLY the Main switch is functional. The grounding of the coil (-) stops the machine when the main switch is in OFF position. I open-ended the Bk/Rd to the KS. I'm OK with that. I wasn't too fond of the OEM KS anyway.

Black Mollie also has a Boyer Power Box that happily runs the whole machine if the battery dies. As a fail-safe, disconnecting the Rd/Bk spade lug connection lets you start up the machine without a key, so you can always get home even if the main switch dies, the Rd/Bk wire develops an extra ground or you lose your key. And I'm OK with that too, as very few folks know what they are looking at electrically.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: IronGoblin on June 06, 2022, 11:34:03 pm
Made a new seat today in the style of an old cobra seat. So far my butt is numb after using it but it feels great to make something myself.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on June 15, 2022, 07:36:09 pm
Trying to restore Black Mollie to RH shift. The new inner case casting shaft bearing pocket seems to be a bit too shallow, so I'll likely try shimming the shaft inside to fit. The arm operating the bellcrank is slightly too large to fit the ratchet piece, so some judicious filing is in order. The correct brake pedal stud was AWOL on H's site, so I improvised and bought an oddball one that was maybe 5mm longer. A few washers should put things right enough to use. Just like the old days, yes? ;D

The footpeg hex-bar needed replacing, and in my parts searching I found a whole series of various lengths and stainless options.  So now I have a 12.5" SS version in hand, we'll see how it goes.

In removing the LH shift bodge, I had to pull the (10"?) stud and two spool pieces that anchors the LH footrest steady piece, exhaust and provides the center stand full retracted stop. The frame immediately contracted maybe 1/8" - 3/32"...! It looks to me that I'd be better served by using two seperate bolts instead. The frame is tightly tied to the cases already only a couple inches away, I'm not seeing any major issue to not have it tied together twice. The 350 is pretty smooth and low-powered anyway. The center stand lifts higher now and uses the underside of the exhaust as a stop. I believe I'll try some flat chain and a hardware store spring anchored higher up to add some extra tension.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on June 19, 2022, 05:44:43 pm
RH shift installed, will test/adjust later today. The factory inner cover needed some fine tuning. The kickstart assembly hole needed some custom 330 grit adjustment before it was willing to accept the shaft. The KS shaft needed a few high spots stoned down before it was willing to tap/slide into place without shaving metal. The steel bellcrank operator bush needs to protrude on the outside only enough to index the ratchet plate. The mainshaft bearing pocket needed a bit of judicious deep scraping to remove some casting swarf. The inner cover screws were a bit of a mess, but I found suitable length, cheese head, stainless steel, very robust #3 Phillips head screw 1/4 x 20 thread ?!?! replacements.

The "143303S Stainless Footrest bar, 12.5" " is a real thing of beauty. The stud protruding from each end is maybe 20% thicker, so having the studs shear off/shuck their threads should become just a bad memory; $20 USD well spent. It's microscopically larger than the OEM unit, so is a bit pickier about which side it prefers to insert from. I had to torque the frame a bit with a handy bit of metal to get the inner plate hex holes to line back up, but hey - it's old skool, right?  ::)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on June 19, 2022, 08:41:24 pm
All is seemingly well - my guesstimate of just centering the transplanted shift plate's adjustment window in the new inner cover is working OK. Now to put 50-100 miles on Black Mollie and check the gearbox oil for shavings, swarf, etc. The shifting is a bit notchy, so when I change out the clutch cable I'll back off the bellcrank detent stop plunger a turn or two. BUT - it is now radically better than the L.H. shift bodge P.O.S. ever was. Besides, now I don't have to translate (footilate?) between LH to RH shifting any more... ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on June 20, 2022, 09:15:12 am
My 350 now has a right side change 5 speed (ditching the right side 4 speed was the best mod I did to this bike). Having learned to ride on a BSA Bantam well over 50 years ago and owned a couple of other BSAs, I transferred to owning only left side change bikes many years ago and I still have my CB750 (now seldom used).

Since buying my 350 I’ve got used to right side shift again and I’ve found it more natural to a left foot brake, especially when holding the bike nose up for a hill start. I can’t say if this is because it’s how I started riding all those years ago, or if it’s because I’m left handed and footed.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on June 20, 2022, 09:52:18 am
A fellow southpaw!

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: tooseevee on June 20, 2022, 12:21:57 pm
Black Mollies Boyer ignition abruptly quit making sparks. After rescuing, the hinky wiring around the kill switch was found to be the culprit.

The Boyer has 3 functional wires, black, white, blue besides the two sensing wires to the distributor. White is (+), black is (-) for power to run the Boyer unit. Blue connects to the coil(-). It interrupts the (-) return path from the coil (-) terminal to (-) ground, like the points. White connects to coil (+), which is supplied by a Red/White from the harness. Black goes to battery (-).

The main ignition switch does two things: connects the battery (+) to the system when ON and connects the points to ground when OFF.

The PO had spliced the KS in series into the blue Boyer wire, Rd/ Bk & Bk/Rd. Rd/Bk grounds when the main switch is off, Bk/Rd ties to the KS and was grounded when in the "RUN" position.

For my needs, simpler is better. I re-ran the Boyer blue directly to the coil (-), then attached only the Rd/Bk via a spade lug connection. Now ONLY the Main switch is functional. The grounding of the coil (-) stops the machine when the main switch is in OFF position. I open-ended the Bk/Rd to the KS. I'm OK with that. I wasn't too fond of the OEM KS anyway.

Black Mollie also has a Boyer Power Box that happily runs the whole machine if the battery dies. As a fail-safe, disconnecting the Rd/Bk spade lug connection lets you start up the machine without a key, so you can always get home even if the main switch dies, the Rd/Bk wire develops an extra ground or you lose your key. And I'm OK with that too, as very few folks know what they are looking at electrically.

           I've done "pretty well" over the years electrickerywise  with both cars & bikes, but it's the one part I dislike the most. I totally rewired 2 vintage Citroens & partially rewired & refurbished  4 or 5 others. I totally disassembled & refurbished my 1980 80 inch shovelhead in '89 & built another from scratch in '01 & '02 that I rode for 15 years. Both those bikes are still on the road. My point in this is I sure wish I knew wiring & theory like you do. You've impressed me (electricitywise) since you showed up here on the forum.

       I understand a lot of it & also the theory, but I've gotten by all these years by learning & reading & listening on my own, being very pragmatic & methodical & treating electricity like plumbing with the electrons being the water  :)(http://)

       Oh, & I also rewired and/or refurbished and improved every wire on this little black '08 AVL.

       And I agree simplerer is ALLways more betterer  :) :)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on June 20, 2022, 01:37:43 pm
Electrons as water. That is exactly what got me to understand electricity/wiring for car repair! Before that, it was all just mystical unicorn farts and pixie dust.
That, and understanding they system is always a loop that has to return to the negative post.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on June 20, 2022, 02:46:14 pm
Electrons as water. That is exactly what got me to understand electricity/wiring for car repair! Before that, it was all just mystical unicorn farts and pixie dust.
That, and understanding they system is always a loop that has to return to the negative post.
Yes, the water flowing through pipes analogy is a useful way to think about electric current, gives us a mental picture and helps us understand why a break in a circuit or a short circuit gives a problem. But of course in fact, the electrons might giggle about a bit but they don't flow from one battery terminal to the other. The current flows but the electrons just get a bit excited by it all.

Maybe like the way bad news travels fast even when everybody stays at home?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on June 20, 2022, 04:09:46 pm
The "water" theory is a very useful tool for DC. What's actually happening at the atom level is pure voodoo, but totally unnecessary for our purposes. Those "Olde Tymer" electro wizards in the past creating electric motors & spark-gap radio did just fine without quantum electrodynamics theory!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_electrodynamics
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on June 20, 2022, 06:19:26 pm
The "water" theory is a very useful tool for DC. What's actually happening at the atom level is pure voodoo, but totally unnecessary for our purposes. Those "Olde Tymer" electro wizards in the past creating electric motors & spark-gap radio did just fine without quantum electrodynamics theory!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_electrodynamics

How true! I read on book on quantum mechanics with the oft-repeated but probably apocryphal quote from Richard Feynman that if you think you have understood it then you have missed the point.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on June 24, 2022, 08:19:18 am
Evening Gentleman

Today had a bit of a ride 1st in six weeks , it's winter an all here now. As to often always busy with other bikes but , today was a public holiday and the sun was very much strangely out and I had a few hours spare this afternoon .   

Here a pic of the Enfield in solo flight pictured at Kourarau Dam lower North island NZ , it's at the top of a small hilly pass . There were five Fly trout fisherman just to the left of my pic on the other side of the lake , very English I thought   ;)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: StreetKleaver on June 24, 2022, 08:28:45 am
Evening Gentleman

Today had a bit of a ride 1st in six weeks , it's winter an all here now. As to often always busy with other bikes but , today was a public holiday and the sun was very much strangely out and I had a few hours spare this afternoon .   

Here a pic of the Enfield in solo flight pictured at Kourarau Dam lower North island NZ , it's at the top of a small hilly pass . There were five Fly trout fisherman just to the left of my pic on the other side of the lake , very English I thought   ;)

It's looking like great weather over there mate!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on June 25, 2022, 12:22:22 am
My shifter swapover suddenly got really notchy. On closer examination, the cable end apparently hadn't fully bottomed in the clutch arm on final reassembly, slacking the cable enough to affect shifting when it sank home. Bullet Whisperer recently discussed how much clutch drag can affect shifting, so that info put me on the trail faster. A quick adjustment, then an afternoon 2nd - 3rd gear putt thru the local oak lined creek bottom twisties showed that shifting was again proper. The ambient 100F air temp really made it feel like Black Mollie had zapped me to Chennai, just Black Angus chewing their cud instead of White Brahmas as we chuffed thru the creek bottoms.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on June 30, 2022, 06:15:59 am
Added some Samrat side stands to Black Mollie and Red Oktobyr. Mollie was missing the side stand as purchased, and the Samrat item works very well indeed. RO just had the bent remnants of the OEM depleted uranium kluge stand bolted to the front of the engine. The new-out-of-the-box Samrat stand on RO needed a bit of hammer action on the arm slot that attached to the mount, it had gotten a bit spread at the factory. But what's a Bullet repair session without a bit of "Manual Adjustment", right?

Red Oktobyr finally got his "long header" fitted up, and the "long exhaust" went on the end of that. Artfully twisted bailing wire is providing support until I make up a proper lift strap. Hey - we live out in the sticks, OK?  ::)  The exhaust pipe exits now just even with the tail lamp. It'll be fine for a couple casual shake-down trips around the block. Someone has to tone down California, it can't all be $12,000 paint jobs & Teslas... 8)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on July 01, 2022, 06:32:46 am
Converting Black Mollie back to points. I'd bought some India aftermarket sourced parts, the points backing plate and mechanical advance unit. Both were kak.

The advance unit had no internal thread for the removal tool, it was too thick to fit after it was snugged down on the taper as it rubbed against the points plate. The springs were very much firmer than the OEM unit, so the advance would not be the same.

The points plate had to be filed around the outside to fit the distributor. The wiring literally fell off in my hand. The contacts were about 1/2 the size of an OEM unit. The spring was savagely flimsy and deformed, looked pretty barnyard. It snapped during an effort to reform it so it wouldn't rub the cover.

I ended up scavenging the OEM bits from my green 500 trailbike. They fit perfectly. Lesson learned.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on July 01, 2022, 06:08:10 pm
I'm guessing OEM parts are getting scarce twelve years after the final 350 home market iron barrel Bullet left the production line, so suppliers are relying on the after-market, with the quality issues that entails.

FYI the C.I. Bullet contact breaker assembly including the plate is a direct copy of the old mid-sixties Lucas 4CA. I had one of these on my old BSA C15FSS. The ATD is also a copy of the Lucas item of the period, so some research at your nearest British bike specialist (including correct rotation, Lucas made both clock-wise and counter-clockwise types) might yield worthwhile fruit. If you really want to fine-tune the points, there's always the late-60's Lucas 6CA assembly as used on the later BSA Starfire.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on July 01, 2022, 07:23:19 pm
H's carry the OEM points, the OEM point plate, and the OEM advance/point plate combo. Next order...

Good info about the BSA parts though - Thanks!

With the piston at TDC Compression I fit up the point plate, centered it on the slot & rotated the mechanical advance unit until I saw the points just crack open. I snugged it down, rolled the engine thru a couple times & rechecked. Pretty much dead on, started second kick, so it was close enough. I put a new Mallory brass condenser at the coil instead of in the distributor. Electrically it doesn't care and there's a lot less heat & vibration near the coil.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on July 01, 2022, 09:52:10 pm
ISTRC that's pretty much what Lucas did with the 6CA.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on July 02, 2022, 06:01:29 pm
The Lucas 6CA from Baxter is about $125, the plate about $100. H's charge about $100 for the whole mess as OEM parts. But it's great to have options.

On another link in the AVL forum a young tiger was bemoaning the "outrageous expensiveness" of H's, I told him he has the cheapest antique to own he'll ever get. I'm not whinging about anyone's prices who's supplying arcane bits for "historic" machines, but I think this provides a good comparative example. Hitchcock's service for Royal Enfield parts is like having a time machine or finding a Herter's Catalog that's real time in the Twilight Zone store.  :)

Another reason I like remote mounting the condensers is that it makes the distributor less "busy". There are no points awarded for making things harder. The older I get, the more fumbly my fingers, so more room is good... ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on July 03, 2022, 12:59:43 pm
Hitchcock's parts availability and reasonable pricing, coupled with the ease and speed of ordering, is a large reason why I have two Enfields and have been able to enjoy them so much.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on July 03, 2022, 05:35:14 pm
This past year I think I have helped put the Hitchcock kids through college.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: richard211 on July 03, 2022, 06:39:53 pm
In the past what I have done is used the the reluctor and pick up from the Eureka ignition kit(available seperately) and a 5 pin generic AC CDI and AC CDI ignition coil. The power for the CDI unit can be tapped into the 2 wires from the alternator that goes to the regulator/ rectifier (4 wire alternator) . This mod makes the engine start and run without a battery. It's maintenance free.

 There are RE options for the CDI units from the early 2000's machismo, electra and Thunderbird

The CDI unit in the photo has an extra 2 pin plug that can be connected to a magnetic reed switch that acts a TPS switch. This CDI has 2 ignition maps.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on July 03, 2022, 07:54:46 pm
So what you've developed is a CDI ignition for non-CDI ignition Bullets! Now that IS neat.

Let me just clarify, the do the AC feed to the reg/rectifier and subsequent DC electrics continue to function as normal with the extra AC take-off for the ignition? Please may we see a diagram?

I had toyed with the idea of a battery-less TCI system using a 4 wire alternator. The purple wires would feed a reg/rectifier and capacitor and ONLY power a Pazon Altair ignition (these are claimed to start and work well even if the voltage at kick-over isn't 100%). The yellow and amber/orange wires would feed a 2nd reg/rectifier + capacitor (or battery) combo and power everything else electrical, using LEDs throughout for the lighting, headlights included. The LEDs would draw significantly less power and enable a functional lighting system with the power from half the alternator.

Some of the later E/S Indian Bullet 4-wire alternators look as though they'd cope well with this. I actually bought one as it has a Lucas-type rotor with all the magnets inside the alloy casting, since I wanted a cheap but good replacement for a faded Lucas RM19 rotor, but the stator is wider than the Lucas, and I'm wondering if, with larger coils than the Lucas, it's actually more powerful altogether.

(https://i.postimg.cc/BbZGMLqJ/DSCF9238.jpg)

Could I be missing a trick, here?

(https://i.postimg.cc/bwGx5mJB/DSCF9240.jpg)

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: richard211 on July 04, 2022, 08:10:37 am
There are a number of different ways the AC CDI can be wired on the 4 wire alternator. I will draw up some wiring diagrams so its easier to understand. If you wanted to use DC LED headlights, use the existing ignition coil power feed. That way you don't have to rewire or modify the the stock DC wiring part of the harness and use the capacitor as a battery (you would need to wire up the headlight switch for DC). The headlight AC wires (yellow & orange) can be used for the CDI Unit, they barely require much power to run.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on July 31, 2022, 05:24:43 pm
Tweaked on my ES350s (Black Mollie) shifter guts some more. Got out the Snidal's manual and did some adjusting on the movable plate to "center" the return action, then filed on the "butterfly plate" (shift stop) to allow the 3-2-1 downshifts to happen (more... :o) predictably.

My new Hitchcock's HD Teflon-lined clutch cable works a treat.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on August 01, 2022, 11:35:52 pm
Black Mollie's shifter saga/learning experience continues...

I had mounted my 4-speeds new shifter lever high to clear the exhaust pipe on upshifts. I found myself having to lift my entire leg when downshifting. With a soft faced hammer and vice I bash-modified the lever with a custom dogleg to clear the pipe and rotated it down where I felt it ought to be for me. Out for a test...et voila!, the movable plate centering and shift stop plate grinding adjustments finally came into good effect after I could operate the lever by ankle pressure alone. It reliably clunks from gear to gear both up and down scale. Not Japanese snick-snick grade, but very adequate for a 30's era modified lathe gearbox!  ;D  It finally feels like it's "happy".

An issue I've run into on these bikes was when the straight lever was high enough to clear the exhaust pipe on upshifts, it would get in a bind when going from 2nd to 1st against the neutral finder, as the neutral finder progressively lowers, in some cases blocking the lever swing needed to engage 1st. The dogleg resolves this by allowing a net lowering of the shift lever angle.

On my 500 I've used H's blanking kit to eliminate the neutral finder as I didn't really use it and it made the area "busy", I've just learned to select neutral before stopping. Maybe the custom bend is a better solution, as the finder is about the only way to get to neutral when stopped. I dunno why I waited to modify the shifter lateral bend,  I guess I just thought it had to be straight.

On to the next windmill... ;)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Yinzer on August 02, 2022, 04:27:57 am
I dunno why I waited to modify the shifter lateral bend,  I guess I just thought it had to be straight.
I like it  ;)
Dad's bike is a PITA to downshift but it upshifts great.
I'm thinking about filing the slot stop.
He really likes the neutral finder & maybe I can bend the shift lever also.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on August 02, 2022, 07:02:26 am
Snidal's book is great. If you don't already have a copy, get one. The shift mechanism clockworks takes some fiddling, but you'll get there.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Yinzer on August 03, 2022, 03:22:22 am
Snidal's book is great. If you don't already have a copy, get one. The shift mechanism clockworks takes some fiddling, but you'll get there.
I have the book, there is a great explanation of what needs done and a nice descriptive photo..

About how much material did you remove from the stop?
I started with 1/32". It might not be enough but there was some improvement.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on August 03, 2022, 04:05:55 am
About 1/16" - 1/32" from the "lower stop" side, maybe about 1/2 that from the upper stop to just balance out the "make up" point on the pins. I bought & installed a new shift-stop plate on my 500 and it needed no tweaking at all. These machines certainly aren't the space shuttle.

I adjusted the ratchet spring-return-to-center balance point in the "neutral" position. The 1st & 4th stops look to be determined by the bellcrank index plunger, the shift-stop plate stops only apply to shifts into & out of 2nd & 3rd gears as far as I can tell.

It's a helluva piece of clockwork, I was amazed to see it work for the first time. A looong way from a Japanese shifter drum, eh?



Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on August 04, 2022, 10:41:14 pm
This is TOO much fun. For everyone that just wants T/S's to comply with the law, throw away your T/S flasher right now. These jewels (4 for about $16; Amazon) produce a sequential arrow anytime they are energized. Pick up a (+) circuit in the headlight shell, route it to the TS switch (+) input wire. Probably a good idea to use a 1A - 2A inline fuse. Pop out the indicator bulb IF you use one, it'll queer the set up. You could use a pair of diodes to separate the T/S (+) inputs and retain the indicator lamp if you were interested in that function.

These T/S's have a floppy rubber stalk and are just an ABS shell with LEDs and a control chip inside. Red to incoming T/S switch (+), Black to (-). Should be tough to kill. Anytime the T/S routes a (+) to them they flash sequentially. A single failure just affects that T/S. Black Mollie's getting a set today. They are so cheap it's mind boggling, get a second set if you want spares, who needs bulbs. Or flasher units. Things are getting simpler & simpler... ;D

These would be perfect for a trail bike. I use hand signals and don't do much heavy traffic, so they'll work for me just fine.

AMAZON:
KinstecKs   "Kinstecks 4 PCS Flowing Motorcycle Indicators" (KYS1062)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on August 05, 2022, 01:02:12 am
I put short stalks on mine, not quite that elaborate but about the same size but with conventional bulbs. I got them off Amazon, they shipped 2 sets by mistake so now I have spares, good thing because I've already used one of the extras.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on August 07, 2022, 01:51:14 am
Added 8 oz. front & 10 oz. rear of standard "Slime". Hopefully this will slow the porous tube leakage.

Added on dual tone cheap horns, 410hz. & 510 hz., sounds real car-like. The oem horn had seen better days.

An evening ride thru the dusty foothill oaks verified that the Slime was unobtrusive at 50 mph, the horn would get the attention of the local ground squirrels, and the turn signal install hadn't created a mobile wiring harness fire. Success!  ;D ;D ;D

 
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on August 07, 2022, 02:37:04 am
Added 8 oz. front & 10 oz. rear of standard "Slime". Hopefully this will slow the porous tube leakage.

Let us know how how well the slime works long term for you. Last year when I bought new tires for my Bullet I also bought what I considered to be good quality Heidinau inner tubes, they must be very porous because I have to air them up weekly, more than any other inner tubes I've used. I've been wondering if something like slime would help that.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on August 07, 2022, 03:33:27 am
Will do. There are apparently 2 grades of Slime. The original and Xtra Thick. The thinner seems to get the nod for highway use by Slime, at least they show a trailer with lights ikon implying road use up to highway speeds (70?). The XT grade may be so viscous it doesn't balance out fast enough to keep their corporate lawyers happy. The 32 oz. bottles were about $11 for the Standard stuff, $17 for the XT version. Personally I think the XT should be fine for trail bikes as long as you give it a 1/2 mile or so to "spread out" before hitting the Super Slab, and being thicker it would handle a bigger spike thru the tire or possibly even drywall screws. I used the Standard because it isn't a trail bike and mostly I wanted to see if it slowed down the tube porosity leakage. Others here have reported it in fact does. I know it'll handle random nails and house staples.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on August 07, 2022, 09:40:03 am
I was quite unlucky with regard to rear wheel punctures, suffering three in fairly quick succession. Having made sure there wasn’t a rogue spoke end causing them (having changed the entire rear wheel for a new one and checked that, too) I just put it down to bad luck and the fact that I was using unmade roads where possible.

I can change tubes at the roadside and have done so, but a year ago decided to put  “Slime” in the rear tube. I noticed no wheel vibration at all and so far I’ve not had any further punctures.

I also carry a spare tube, tyre levers, a tube repair kit and a small rechargeable tyre pump. All that fits in a round tool bag fitted on the rear rack. I also fitted a double USB socket on the handlebar from where I could recharge the pump if need be. That also allows me to run my GoPro camera and recharge my phone.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: leakypetcock on August 10, 2022, 11:13:03 am
I bought mine today! Picked up a 2003 Bullet 500 ES. I've been looking for a vintage or retro bike for a while and this one popped up late last night. I got what I think is a great deal, it's in wonderful condition and the gentleman I bought it from was a serious motorcycle enthusiast. It's my third bike in the stable, sharing space with a BMW R1100RT and a Honda CL90 Scrambler. I live out in the county in Northwest Washington and most roads have a 45 MPH speed limit. It's like Cinderella's slipper, perfect fit.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on August 10, 2022, 11:33:13 am
Welcome to this little corner of the two-wheeled word. I'm pretty new here but I feel confident in saying you will enjoy your Bullet - it will require your involvement but will reward you in spades with a delightful 1940s riding experience. Raymond
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on August 10, 2022, 01:29:53 pm
Pro Tip:  don't use the electric start.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on August 10, 2022, 04:01:44 pm
@ #327: Welcome! I'm in SoCal in the Sierra foothills, similar riding conditions, 25-45 is normal road speed here. I have the ES350 and KS500, both are great in this environment.

Do you know about Hitchcock's? Incredible parts and service. ( https://accessories.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/ )
Here's their online parts book for your 2003 ES500: ( https://www.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/partsbook/91/2003-500cc-bullet-4-speed-electricstart )
Here's the link to the downloadable manual: ( https://accessories.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/core/media/media.nl?id=238185&c=1062795&h=e4dc43de7234f68e6f0e&_xt=.pdf )
That and the Snidal's book will keep you rolling.

Post some pictures! - ACR -
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on August 11, 2022, 06:24:36 am
Pulled off Black Mollies Primary cover, pulled the alternator stator. Removed wadded up paper towel P.O. had left behind alternator. :o
Added the Hitchcock's buffered primary chain tensioner bolt, reinstalled & adjusted the stator/rotor clearance.
Popped off the clutch springs plate & outer plate, added the H's needle bearing clutch push pad, reassembled clutch. 
Adjusted primary chain tension with new rubber-head adjuster bolt, way better now than the 1/2" of slop that it had when I opened it up... :o
Reinstalled outer cover & level plug, dumped about 800cc (electric start) of type F in. Can't wait to see in the morning if the cover O-ring still seals.  ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on August 11, 2022, 06:40:35 am
Hey ACR is removing the alternator etc the procedure to fit the H’s rubber buffered chain tensioner bolt ?  I have one to fit in the next week or so.

Also what’s the recommended chain slack or tension?

Cheers mate
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on August 11, 2022, 11:23:03 am
Going here might help:

https://accessories.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/Workshop-Manuals-To-Download
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on August 11, 2022, 05:43:54 pm
My PUIB needed the stator removed to allow me to slide the tensioner shoe off the end of the shaft. The stator needed moving anyway to achieve a better fit.

The shoe had to come off to allow me to fit up the new elastomeric tensioning bolt. Reinstalling required running the new bolt up snug in its pocket AND removal of the inner pivot spacer bushing before the shoe assembly would fumble into position. After the shoe was in position I reinserted the bushing. I believe the bushing is supposed to be longer than the shoe is wide to allow for shoe movement. My unit was kinda zero clearance, so I ended up using the double nuts to set the end play.

Adjusting the stator was accomplished via calibrated tightening of the three retaining nuts just enough to allow me to GENTLY kedge the stator position by bumping it with the heel of my palm. I used a feeler gauge to get 0.010" - 0.012" between the rotor and all stator winding faces, re-checking after turning the rotor via the rear wheel whilst in 4th gear, sparking plug out. After getting to a "Sweet spot" I tightened up the stator nuts & rechecked again. Lots of bumping & checking. I've read of using a sheet of plastic or aluminum to pre-set the stator, but I didn't have any tough 0.010" plastic sheet.

The new elastomer tension bolt seems to be 5/8" for the large hex and 14mm for the jam nut. If you have a thin 14mm bike wrench that'll help. Tension gets a bit amorphous. I believe the OEM spec is 1/4" - 3/8" with finger pressure, checked at several places during a complete revolution of the primary chain. In theory any tight spots will be found. Mine had the approved 3/8" or so everywhere, and you can see the elastomer allowing shoe movement if you bear down on the chain.

Good hunting - ACR -



Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on August 12, 2022, 01:30:51 pm
Rode it! This may not seem like a big deal but this was my second ride now where it ran absolutely perfect. Starts first kick, shifting was smooth and predictable, the engine pulls nicely without having to go hard  on the throttle, everything as it should be. After a year of ownership and continuous didlling and tweaking and coming home after a ride thinking this isn't right or that needs adjusting and dark thoughts creeping in of "why don't I sell this thing" the bike must have sensed that and given me two successive rides (she's a crafty and conniving temptress) that were rewarding and sweet. I know in the realm of old Brit bikes this is the honeymoon we sometimes get and more drama lurks over the horizon but hey, at least I got two perfect rides! :D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on August 12, 2022, 10:23:33 pm
@ Reply #324 : The Slime has reduced or stopped the "tube porosity" effect air leakage. A week went by, pressure was within a pound of where I'd left it instead of down 3-4 PSI. Success!  ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on August 20, 2022, 12:00:46 am
Pulled out Black Mollie's baffle and picked up some hot-weather midrange! Some 3rd gear only hills now succumb to 4th. Ace mentioned once that he had a machine that he would lean out in summer after the air got hot & thin by pulling the baffle, reinserting when cooler weather struck and the air "thickened up" again. Works for me. ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Flaekingr on August 24, 2022, 04:27:59 am
Got it registered and took it out for a ride!! ;D

Been a long road getting it to this point, now I can actually go places on the damn thing  8)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on August 24, 2022, 10:08:38 pm
Having fitted a new chain, I noticed a rubbing sound which I isolated to the front sprocket area. Further inspection showed the sprocket nut had come loose (it's happened before on both my bullets, I have no idea how because it's got a splined tab-washer).

So had to remove the whole primary chaincase to tighten it. When I drained the oil, it was full of plastic shavings. Turns out the stator had decided to eat itself and shaved off bits of potting compound with the rotor. Looks like the compound has bulged somehow.

I'm putting this down to it being a Wassel rotor. When I come to think of it, any Wassel componants I've fitted in the past have been in some way sub-standard. I didn't buy this one, it was brand new in a box of parts that came with a bike I bought. Sad state of affairs when Lucas is the "quality" option!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on August 25, 2022, 06:27:58 am
My sprocket was loose and that allowed the spacer bush behind it to get chewed, affecting shaft end play and shifting. A new one was cheap. Shifting afterward with a new bush and proper tightness was improved. Worth a look.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: beezabryan on August 25, 2022, 08:54:39 pm
What did I do to your Iron Barrel today ?
B*gger all, same as about every other day this year.
Nowt wrong with the bike, me not allowed to ride a solo :(
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on September 04, 2022, 10:51:02 pm
Made an afternoon small plumbing parts run that turned into a 35 mile walkabout/looksee loop. The 105F (40C) ambient was a lot more fun 40 years ago, :o ;D but I have to report that Black Molly ran flawlessly and her heater is working just fine too...
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Flaekingr on September 17, 2022, 11:39:20 am
- Adjusted the front brake for the 3rd time
- Installed the new speedo cable
- Found the latest short circuit on my indicator wiring, bit the bullet and just ordered 4 new indicators rather than keep repairing these old ones.

Then went for a ride to test the brakes and speedo, both working excellently. The bike is running beautifully and I got home right before a huge storm broke over us ;D

Next up is re-torquing the cylinder studs now I've put a few hundred km on since the top-end rebuild and also play around with the jetting to make starting easier and to address a flat spot at full throttle.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: banjelele on September 18, 2022, 05:35:10 am
In the last couple of days I have ridden my Bullet 350 to the next town east to explore some irrigation trails. Then lubed up all my control cables and then rode across the river and south to the next town there. Took gravel and field trails all the way as they are rebuilding the highway. Great adventure. Ran like a charm all the way.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Yinzer on October 03, 2022, 06:11:13 am
Dad reported a new issue.
Engine cuts out when the handlebars are turned all the way to the left.

Didn't have time to thoroughly look into it but a quick check didn't reveal any obvious wiring issues.
Otherwise...Changed the tank oil and some other routine stuff. It's running great. ;D

I'm going to rewire from scratch this winter but I'll have to bring the multimeter & test light with me when I go over next.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on October 03, 2022, 07:25:04 am
Maybe Wiring/Connectors to the kill switch?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: tooseevee on October 03, 2022, 11:48:37 am
Dad reported a new issue.
Engine cuts out when the handlebars are turned all the way to the left.

Didn't have time to thoroughly look into it but a quick check didn't reveal any obvious wiring issues.
Otherwise...Changed the tank oil and some other routine stuff. It's running great. ;D

I'm going to rewire from scratch this winter but I'll have to bring the multimeter & test light with me when I go over next.

            Good call from AzCal, one of our electrical gurus, and there's also that "knuckle" of wires that goes by the steering head. It's always flexing.

            Good idea to just go through the whole harness & get it over with. That's what I did with the '08 very early on & once you get past the sticky black electrical tape it's pretty straight forward.
            There was some really wonky stuff hidden in the '08's wiring from stem to stern. The little black wire ground plugs were awful & a lot of just twisted wire connections & loose butt plugs.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on October 03, 2022, 01:19:59 pm
Make sure there's enough slack in the decompressor cable when you turn the bars.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on October 03, 2022, 03:56:34 pm
" Make sure there's enough slack in the decompressor cable when you turn the bars. "

I just thought that "auto-kill-turn-left" was part of the other advanced Bullet features like the OEM anti-lock brakes... ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: tooseevee on October 04, 2022, 01:03:54 am
" ....was part of the other advanced Bullet features like the OEM anti-lock brakes... ;D ;D ;D

           :) :) :) :) :)

            I'm SO glad I didn't have a mouthful of coffee ;D(http://)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Yinzer on October 04, 2022, 06:33:38 am
Make sure there's enough slack in the decompressor cable when you turn the bars.

Holy smokes!  :)
Never thought of that.
Clever
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Flaekingr on October 06, 2022, 07:32:29 am
A few things today :)

New rubber front and back, K70's. I know folk say they don't last long but, honestly, it'll take me a good few years to do 5000 miles, at least while the kiddo is still a littllun. They're a fair step up from the speedmasters that had been on there for 18 years :o

Had the petcock off to fix a slow fuel seepage that's been driving me nuts, success!

Had the carb off to give it a clean and rejet to help with cold starts and a flat spot at full throttle, went with a 27.5 pilot and 125 main. Started first kick! 8)
Haven't been out to test the flat spot as when I checked the oil it was bone dry (See my post)

Fitted the new set of indicators, they appear to work fine, we'll see if they still work after a ride vibrates everything good.

It was a productive day :D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on October 06, 2022, 01:04:30 pm
Holy smokes!  :)
Never thought of that.
Clever

I speak from experience. ;)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on October 10, 2022, 06:47:14 pm
Submitted for MoT test. Went to the place I've used for nearly all tests for seventeen years - you could say the fine folk there and I know each other quite well.

Lights including front and rear brake lights operated ok, turn signals worked, horn sounded, levers & foot pegs all attached securely, wheels straight with no damaged or loose spokes, frame straight.

When it came to brake efficiency, I was concerned that with right foot, one up three down gearchange the tester might find the bike, uhm, quirky. So I suggested that instead of doing a road test with a decelerometer strapped on the bike, they might revert to the old-fashioned static method - pull the bike forward using a wire attached to a big dial? But the tester wanted to ride the bike so I could hardly object. Brake test went fine.

Final test, headlamp - the Bullet failed, did not have the correct dipped beam pattern. Blast.

But then, tester found that when he selected Main beam there was a good cut-off. He suggested this might have been wrong since leaving the factory? I put him right on that, I have completely re-wired the bike so any error is all mine. May I borrow a screw driver please? Headlamp out, swapped the feeds to Main and Dip. Re-test, yes that's fine.

Pass issued!

Singing inside me helmet on the way home.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on October 10, 2022, 10:10:13 pm
Well done, Raymond!  8)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on October 14, 2022, 03:20:07 am
Today the 505cc got a service and rocker covers pulled to check torque settings, basically everything is looking good just a little torque adjustment on the exhaust rocker but not much.
Also pulled the timing cover to check the Price R cams ,once again everything is looking happy .
Bring on summer !
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on October 18, 2022, 12:10:24 pm
Just a local loop, fifteen miles of back roads and country lanes. Passed through the village of Ancrum. I try to take the bike out most days and will do until Scottish Borders Council starts shovelling the salt.

(https://i.postimg.cc/sg5whTmK/PICT0550.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)


The Sun doesn't get round to the back yard very much at this time of year. But it's warm in the front garden, so that's where I'm off to.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on October 18, 2022, 01:11:06 pm
I had hoped to take a day out on my 350 today but instead I’m back at work (I retired at the end of October 2021)!

The work transport isn’t too bad though…

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: tooseevee on October 18, 2022, 06:46:42 pm
A few things today :)

Had the carb off to give it a clean and rejet to help with cold starts and a flat spot at full throttle, went with a 27.5 pilot and 125 main. Started first kick! 8)

       Which carb are you running?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Noodlees on October 24, 2022, 11:16:41 am
Did a really nice trip last two days, in my region "Abruzzo". Had a lot of road (almost 600 Km), with good friends, met really nice spot and mountain pass.

The bike was running really good, smooth and really comfy. Also the new seat I fit it's perfect for long trips (the american chief from Hitch). The only negative aspect is the lights: they are really low and not really bright in the night (I don't know if it's because of some electrical issue or they are just like that).

Today I will bring the bike for a regular check up, and after I will take care of the electric wiring. Hope u will enjoy the pics

(https://i.postimg.cc/d7HYGvP3/20221022-165051.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/d7HYGvP3)
(https://i.postimg.cc/p9TNW7hH/20221023-105217.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/p9TNW7hH)
(https://i.postimg.cc/vcYw2cYT/20221023-113206.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/vcYw2cYT)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on October 24, 2022, 12:17:56 pm
Great pictures, Noodlees. You live in an inspirational part of the world.

I am just glad to be able to use the Bullet nearly every day as we approach the end of October.


(https://i.postimg.cc/FRY2HXVx/PICT0554.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)


Today was just a quick eight-mile loop through a nearby village. The main hazards are damp road, mud left by farmers, wet leaves and low Sun. But hey, late October and it's still mild. Here in Scotland!

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on November 02, 2022, 11:39:41 pm
A beautiful Indian Summer day in the Sangre de Cristo mountains of NM for November 2nd, sunny and 64 degrees F so I went out for a short ride as it may be the last of the season with snow in the forecast for the next two days. All good things including riding season must come to an end. After sitting unused for a month it started second kick and off I went. The odd vibration I've been getting seemed a bit more pronounced but didn't interfere with the ride. When I got home I did find the source, the front engine mounting bolt had lost its nut and washer and on this ride had worked itself half way out of the front cradle. :o Why I didn't see that before I don't know but at least now I'm on my way to fixing it with some Blue Loktite . Anyone know offhand the size of the metric nut is for that bolt? The bike will spend the off season up on the lift for cleaning, detailing and some other small projects giving me some fun shop time with it. With it's trials tires and relatively light weight it will be the first bike to make it down my dirt road and out to the highway next Spring!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on November 03, 2022, 01:11:53 am
Anyone know offhand the size of the metric nut is for that bolt?

I don't think it's metric.

Hichcocks list it as 1/2" BSF.

Or do you mean the smaller crankcase stud that goes through the engine itself which is M8 x 1.25 (standard course pitch) on later models.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on November 03, 2022, 01:50:54 am
No it is the large, long bolt that passes through the frame plates at the bottom of the down tube. My Bullet is a 2006 and it does have metric hardware on it but I don't honestly know these machines as well as you and some of the other members here and I do think there is mix on this bike. If push comes to shove I'll just replace the entire bolt. The other alternative is go through my dreaded "Hell Bucket", A five gallon pail of nuts and bolts that I've tossed in there for 20 odd years. Dumping that on the floor and pawing through it is the equivalent of root canal work for me and my last choice. ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: tooseevee on November 03, 2022, 10:54:22 am
No it is the large, long bolt that passes through the frame plates at the bottom of the down tube. My Bullet is a 2006 and it does have metric hardware on it but I don't honestly know these machines as well as you and some of the other members here and I do think there is mix on this bike. If push comes to shove I'll just replace the entire bolt. The other alternative is go through my dreaded "Hell Bucket", A five gallon pail of nuts and bolts that I've tossed in there for 20 odd years. Dumping that on the floor and pawing through it is the equivalent of root canal work for me and my last choice. ;D

           My '08 also has a combination of all three (or 4?) thread specs so it makes it interesting to say the least.

           This doesn't help you, I know, but I'm lucky enough to have a really well-stocked Ace Hrdwr. 10 minutes from my house. They have a huge selection of not only nuts, bolts and screws, but a whole McMaster-Carr catalog of tray after tray of goodies to look through.

          There are also mockups of male & female threads & pitch gauges, etc.,  that you can match your part to. There is also tray after tray of EVery kind of washer imaginable EXCEPT the copper crush for my main oil drain plug. Go figure  :)(http://)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Yinzer on November 07, 2022, 05:26:25 am
Disassembled & cleaned the rear drum.
Apparently, some chain lube got in there.
Dad reported an exciting ride down the steep gravel driveway next to the barn :o
I didn't know you had to be that careful about something as simple as chain lubrication on the Bullet.
We had a great ride after that on a very warm November day in Western Pa.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Yinzer on December 26, 2022, 08:12:45 pm
The bike is a one or two kicker but Santa gifted a device in case there is an issue in the future.

Has anyone used one?
The instructions say to put it in 2nd gear w/ clutch in. Then hit the starter & release clutch momentarily, until it starts. (hold front brake)
I'm thinking maybe 3rd???

Afraid of doing a wheelie into the side of the garage if it jumps off the rollers ;D
Any chance of this or am I being paranoid?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on December 26, 2022, 09:00:57 pm
Never used one but I wonder if you'd be better getting it turning the engine over in gear then releasing the decompressor rather than doing it through the clutch. Would be a lot less hard on the primary drive. Probably wouldn't be in the instructions because so few bikes have a decompressor these days.

It'll be great for priming the oilways after a rebuild too and I'm sure I've seen a video of bullet whisperer using one as an ersatz drum skimming device with enery paper attached to a set of old brake shoes
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Flaekingr on December 26, 2022, 09:46:04 pm
Rode it for the first time!! ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on December 26, 2022, 10:19:33 pm
@ #367: An automated bump-start? That's waaaay improved from the inflatable hills that JC Whitney used to sell in over in their Harley section.  ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on December 27, 2022, 08:22:16 pm
This morning I repaired the broken front guard centre stay, and ordered new better stronger one’s from H’s.
Also cleaned  the air filter .
Next is to take the Mrs out for lunch at the country inn about 50km return trip , normally only take her out on the bike once or twice a year, motorcycling is way more fun with the boys  ;D

Clean air 👍

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AndyMcP on December 28, 2022, 09:37:48 pm
This morning I repaired the broken front guard centre stay, and ordered new better stronger one’s from H’s.



Heavy duty or not, they still break!😉
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on December 29, 2022, 02:00:57 pm
Just like on my old BSA.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on December 31, 2022, 04:06:21 pm
Made a longer brake lever for the 350 trials bike. Tricky compound curves. I really need to get a proper oxy-propane torch. My welding is shit and I can't get enough heat into the larger pieces with the MAPP torch to braze them. Paint will cover it though.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AL9nZEXlG0zBuaOc2gVYADc6kghs9Zy2Aufl4IcrPftz6z2bhECPRQQhYo1PqPYkF-lJIM04rQMKTY11mEdMALQbear_tluzK4Q0N48mQj6VgTuWdJ32goulnOEcpJq105yMjm3fGkjn13yrGMWQaA4Iy87P=w1576-h886-no)

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AL9nZEXktmslapGQfs-g5h_MiaiHtJPT6BaLAeStc3U-NTcWpS1tkOwnrnhR7XIwXALNhWs89zOcbeT0_-MjtiDMVzC2Hlp-bCMvp0DmJzhtX0j8mfcwYVO0NHeoNFMqK0c3x4EzYTtai7jPmBeNZhMTslHJ=w1576-h886-no)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on January 01, 2023, 05:40:18 pm
Also successfully wrestled a 4.00 x 19 tyre on the rear, oiled the chain, drained the fuel out and refilled. It's not been run for about 10 months so I charged the battery (which was pretty much fine) and after 50 kicks on the decompressor to get the oil going round, it fired up third kick!

All the electrics are in good order so I've slapped some paint on a couple of rusty bits and I'll take it for a short run round the field tomorrow, if that's all ok, hopefully get it MOTed next week and get some practice in. I really need to get a handle on setting off and keeping moving on slithery mud before my first trial in February.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Ratz on January 03, 2023, 08:19:31 am
Put a new seat on mine. The old one was gone after 70.000 kilometers...
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Karl Childers on January 03, 2023, 08:36:26 am
Nice! I favor sprung tractor seats myself for both comfort and looks.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on January 03, 2023, 09:59:21 am
That one looks well on it. A lot of them seem too big for the bike but that's nice and in proportion.

I would really like a cantelever sprung Denfeld seat like they fitted to classic BMWs on my 612 bullet because they look like they're hanging off the front end, no visible springs. I just can't justify £250 on one when I have a perfectly functional saddle already.

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: allanfox on January 04, 2023, 08:57:20 am
Put a new seat on mine. The old one was gone after 70.000 kilometers...

Looks really good, which make/model is it please?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Ratz on January 04, 2023, 11:15:50 am
https://www.usbikeparts.co.uk/saddles/sattel-solo-springer-echtleder-schwarz-harley-davidson-custom/a-896

Hi, bought it from a German dealer.
There is a large fuel tank (18liter?) mounted on the bike. I guess this helps with the propotions. The seat comes without springs and I had to fabricat the mount for the springs by myself. The seat is made from real leather and really comfy to ride. An improvement over the old one 😎
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on January 09, 2023, 08:31:12 pm
I've had one of Bullet Whisperers tyre valve breathers in the rocker cover of my 612 buillet for a while now. On a recent shakedown run, entirely due to user error, I pushed it to one side when refitting the tank (clearance above the inlet rocker cover is very tight on the 612 due to the compression plates, I have to remove the long stud to get it off with the engine in the frame). It absolutely pissed oil all over the engine and back end of the bike. A good litre of oil all over it.

This reminded me that I'd actually bought a bolt-on NOS crankcase breather stub for a Redditch bullet ages ago with this exact modification in mind. It needed the underside rounding off to suit the shape of the cover.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AL9nZEXWDC8iEkZ2L1UgDbdFK9Y1xQgdRNyhJUZopOXvdH4hGr5NuWiQ2mlX7Kx3cHHbjMMZyFS1QmMlpURXbWVM_zZWEMCsbxUsDuJFeiafa6jKWxveq7AxufmCNfaNH9NBZzXgk8nm4MKlStWB0dXkHO1t=w1576-h886-no)

For the final fitment, I'm going to use a thick viton gasket under it. The obvious danger is of course a nut dropping off the underside into the valve gear so I'm going to go triple redundancy and fit it with nord lock washers, nylok nuts and green loctite. This was a cheap Indian home market cover anyway so i'm not worried about ruining it.

I think I'll go one further and plumb it in to my bunded breather downstream of the non-return valve with a t-piece so any oil that finds its way out should drop back into the tank.

I thin I'll peen over the end of the screws once it's fitted too, then the nuts definately can't come off.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on January 09, 2023, 11:02:00 pm
I had the similar idea for ASBO12's AVL rocker cover. There's enough room under the tank for a banjo fitting on this one.

A.

(https://i.postimg.cc/hvtkpZhL/DSCN7035.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on January 18, 2023, 08:22:27 am
Purchased a hard cover manual from a second hand store, a work mate seen it and hid it so I could return to buy it.

Guessing it’s from around the 90s ? as it’s titled  “Enfield “ missing the Royal , no date stamp for year print to be found yet.

Just nice to have a paper copy

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on January 19, 2023, 12:44:25 am
Nice find!  :)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Flaekingr on January 26, 2023, 08:12:41 pm
Good day today!
Installed bellmouth air filter and new shorty muffler. Rejetted carb to .30 pilot and .125 main. Then went for a good long ride to test the new settings, they were spot on ;D
New exhaust sounds the business too 8)

Here's a before and after shot.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on January 27, 2023, 12:05:44 am
Looks a treat! Those extra 3 ponies or so are a welcome find in midrange, especially on hills. Well done sir!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on January 27, 2023, 01:10:56 pm
I see your Bullet has the air injection gubbins for the exhaust still in place. If you're happy with the way the bike is running, there's no need to remove it all, but if you want to you can, there are various blanking plugs for the exhaust pipe and the small bore pipe which goes into the carb flange.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Flaekingr on January 27, 2023, 02:18:26 pm
Yeah, I haven't touched that yet. It's on the list though ;)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on January 28, 2023, 03:29:23 pm
I fitted flying leads to a 4700μF, 50V capacitor and stashed it in the battery box so i can hook it up in place of the battery and start the bike if I get a flat battery again. As happened recently when it was in for the MOT and the tester left the ignition on all day. Tested and works well.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on January 28, 2023, 04:46:29 pm
Wrong thread, matey!  ;)

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on January 28, 2023, 06:22:13 pm
Not really. I literally did that today. Makes a poor job of the lighting because the LEDs flicker but the idea is I can hook it up, start the engine, then reconnect the battery while it's running.

I also filed the pointy corner off the bash-plate on my trials 350 so I don't get my leg cut open in a crash but that didn't seem worthy of a post.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on January 28, 2023, 07:41:16 pm
Worth mentioning anyway, if it saves someone's leg.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: TonyVanda on January 29, 2023, 10:03:20 am
I was going to change the drive sprocket from 18t to 17t, got half way and got distracted. Bugger it, the 18t can stay on there. I've been tidying up the wiring (spaghetti), got a new swing-arm because the original was twisted, and some other tidy up's.

Thought I'd have a go at polishing...
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on January 29, 2023, 02:30:06 pm
The chaincase cover looks really nice. But of course, you’ll have to keep it just as shiny now!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on January 29, 2023, 02:41:24 pm
...and scrub up the timing and gearbox end covers to match!

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Ratz on February 02, 2023, 08:19:18 am
Oh wow! I have to put my sunglasses on 😎
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: allanfox on February 02, 2023, 08:40:49 am
is that a disc brake conversion or a standard earlier disc set up?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on February 02, 2023, 12:58:51 pm
Looks like the conversion. I don't think discs appeared as standard on some Bullets (e.g. the Electra-X) until 2004.

There was a factory accessory disc brake conversion from the early '90s, but with its own forks with a centrally mounted front mudguard and closed end caps on the sliders for the Q/D front wheel spindle. Similar to what's on your Electra-X, Allan, but with the lugs for the mudguard mount lower down.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: allanfox on February 02, 2023, 05:37:01 pm
 makes sense, that bottom mudguard mounting is a bit Heath Robinson, guess the calliper goes in the way!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Pierric on February 04, 2023, 11:16:17 am
The attached commercial is a british one from the late 90's (UK importer was Bavanar Products, not yet Watsonian-Squire).

Disc brake Bullet on front with details on back. Its states that the optional front brake was a single disc Ø280 mm.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on February 04, 2023, 11:50:57 am
makes sense, that bottom mudguard mounting is a bit Heath Robinson, guess the calliper goes in the way!

Although if the stay was shorter and mounted to the top lug, it looks like it would clear the calliper. I don't see any good reason not to have a centre stay attached to the same lugs too.

The main problem with those conversions is they are attaching a brake calliper to a lug designed to hold a mudguard. I don't think strength is a huge problem because the main braking force is directed through the fork leg, the lugs really just need to stop it falling off the rest of the time. The real issue is alignment, the lugs aren't exactly precisely machined so a bit of file-work and/or shimming is probably needed in most cases to get the pads square, true and concentric with the disc.

I messed with one on my 612 for a while, then I managed to find a good used Early Bullet EFI B5 front-end off ebay which has the threads at the top of the stanchions and bolted right in. This is almost certainly the best way to go if you want to disc brake an iron barrel.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on February 04, 2023, 02:57:05 pm
The SuperStar advert shows the optional early disc brake very well, but I can't remember seeing any bikes thus equipped when those bikes were new. Could be that Bullet buyers back in Bavnar days didn't actually want anything too modern, the antiquity of the design was one of the Bullet's selling points, but I do know of a long-term Bullet owner on another forum who retro-fitted a set. Then I bought my 350 Redditch Bullet which had been fitted with a set(long story) these forks are available if anybody wants them.

Otherwise the early C5 forks are a direct replacement for standard drum brake forks with the threaded stanchion tops (most likely what's on your 612), so are the Electra-X type if you don't mind a centrally mounted mudguard. I have a set of threaded top C5 forks in A Proj Too Far, which has one of Hitchcocks' alloy cafe racer top yokes.

The B5 has plain fork tops which, if you can get an early leading axle set, are very handy should you want to fit a disc brake front end with a Redditch Fury top yoke.

(https://i.postimg.cc/tR2c3XtS/DSCF8900.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)

(https://i.postimg.cc/65MvLwwz/DSCN8024.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)

Meanwhile, just to add some confusion, here is another set of plain top disc brake forks with central mudguard stay lugs. There's a drum brake version of these, too! I think they were meant for an Indian home market 350 EFI Electra or Thunderbird.

(https://i.postimg.cc/SQ3fGPBd/DSCF8110.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)

A while ago I counted up all the different front fork variants I could think of which had been fitted to the various RE Bullet models over the years by the Redditch and Madras/Chennai factories. I think it went into double figures.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on February 04, 2023, 03:57:58 pm
The B5 has plain fork tops which, if you can get an early leading axle set, are very handy should you want to fit a disc brake front end with a Redditch Fury top yoke.

(https://i.postimg.cc/tR2c3XtS/DSCF8900.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)

(https://i.postimg.cc/65MvLwwz/DSCN8024.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)

Meanwhile, just to add some confusion, here is another set of plain top disc brake forks with central mudguard stay lugs. There's a drum brake version of these, too! I think they were meant for an Indian home market 350 EFI Electra or Thunderbird.

(https://i.postimg.cc/SQ3fGPBd/DSCF8110.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)

A while ago I counted up all the different front fork variants I could think of which had been fitted to the various RE Bullet models over the years by the Redditch and Madras/Chennai factories. I think it went into double figures.

A.

The B5 is threaded up to 2014.

I also tried the Electra forks (you can fit the lowers to standard stanchions) and after two snapped through the pinch bolt area on the fork leg, decided they had a fundamental design issue. There is WAY more meat on the casting round there on the later ones.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on February 04, 2023, 05:16:56 pm
I think the sliders on my 350 Bullet Electra are different again! 

The bike has the old fashioned casquette and screw in fork leg. The sliders have separate axle caps and a drum brake, but the lightweight mudguard which is only held on by a pair of screws into lugs on the inside near the top of each slider; there are no separate stays and nowhere to fit them.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on February 04, 2023, 10:53:56 pm
As per this photo…
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on February 07, 2023, 08:44:27 pm
Today i pumped up the tyres. Must make a mental note to do this more often. It seemed a bit squirrelly on the way to the shops tonight. 10psi in the rear, 12 in the front.

I think I'm getting more tolerant of soft tyres from riding the trials bike but it's courting disaster on the road bike which doesn't have rim-locks.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Ratz on April 26, 2023, 08:54:34 pm
I blacked out the silencer and took her out for a little Ride.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AndyMcP on April 27, 2023, 08:36:53 am
Great picture!  Did you attempt to jump the barbed wire? :)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: allanfox on April 27, 2023, 09:38:01 am
I blacked out the silencer and took her out for a little Ride.

Nice looking bike Ratz!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Ratz on April 28, 2023, 07:05:41 am
Thanks fellas 8)
Yes I would like to jump the barbed wire - like Steve McQueen did in "The great escape". But the wire should not be higher than 2 1/2 Inches above the ground   :D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on April 29, 2023, 08:57:39 am
Perfect photo Ratz for and Bullet and a bit of nature.

Today I fitted my lightened and balanced crank that also has Carrillo rod and Alpha RE15 big end, it’s all beautiful looking stuff  8)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on April 29, 2023, 09:01:44 am
Forgot to add the pic

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Ratz on April 29, 2023, 12:21:08 pm
Thanks Mr84 and congrats for the overhauled crankshaft, good stuff! I assume you swaped the crappy main bearings as well? I am running an Alphacrankshaft, 40.000 kilometers without any issues.
Cheers from Germany ,
Ralf
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on April 29, 2023, 06:43:48 pm
I bought a Scram 411 yesterday.
No, I'm not in the wrong forum.  ;) Hang on a minute.
I trailered it home. As I'm unloading it in the garage (because it was a monsoon outside) I manage to back my new purchase right into the rear of my Bullet. After shattering the Bullet's taillight lens, it then has enough force to push the Bullet forward...straight off the center stand. I watch in horror as it crashes to the floor, destroying the new mirror I just put on last week and had yet to use.  >:(
Incredibly, no other damage to either bike. The Bullet landed on a foam 'fatigue pad' I had in front of my work bench, which probably helped, even though it's not much more than a quarter inch thick.

Yep, I felt like a complete idiot.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Yinzer on April 29, 2023, 08:06:37 pm
The Bullet landed on a foam...

The Scram made a pretty bad 1st impression.
Good thing they are relatives.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on April 29, 2023, 09:42:24 pm
Ridgid footpeg mounts don't have many advantages but a dropped-bike situation is one of them.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on April 30, 2023, 04:11:01 am
'Cept mine has folding pegs. And the cheap Indian brackets they attach to bend easily.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on April 30, 2023, 08:08:20 am
Thanks Mr84 and congrats for the overhauled crankshaft, good stuff! I assume you swaped the crappy main bearings as well? I am running an Alphacrankshaft, 40.000 kilometers without any issues.
Cheers from Germany ,
Ralf

G’day Ralf

Yeah I have fitted German made SKF Explorer main bearings (did you manufacture them for me?)
Also fitting alloy barrel with the American 9:1 piston 512cc , and the bike already has competition head plus this time round also getting H’s cams with the intake already taken care by form of Mikuni TM32.
Goal is 90 plus MPH and reliable .
Very impressive to hear of your many KMs on strong bottom end , mine was still like new but I want to rev it and possibly thrash it hence Carrillo rod.

Cheers Shaun NZ
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on April 30, 2023, 08:14:29 am
I bought a Scram 411 yesterday.
No, I'm not in the wrong forum.  ;) Hang on a minute.
I trailered it home. As I'm unloading it in the garage (because it was a monsoon outside) I manage to back my new purchase right into the rear of my Bullet. After shattering the Bullet's taillight lens, it then has enough force to push the Bullet forward...straight off the center stand. I watch in horror as it crashes to the floor, destroying the new mirror I just put on last week and had yet to use.  >:(
Incredibly, no other damage to either bike. The Bullet landed on a foam 'fatigue pad' I had in front of my work bench, which probably helped, even though it's not much more than a quarter inch thick.

Yep, I felt like a complete idiot.

Damn man bad luck , but also some luck as could have been worse, I guess this is part of the test of life , I’m sure you’ll see it right again, best of wishes mate
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on April 30, 2023, 11:50:48 pm
A toot to Pine Flat Lake on Black Mollie...first half.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on April 30, 2023, 11:52:23 pm
A toot to Pine Flat Lake on Black Mollie...last half.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on May 01, 2023, 08:09:10 am
Loving that countryside!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Ratz on May 01, 2023, 12:55:33 pm
Cool pictures  8)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on May 02, 2023, 07:39:40 am
Did a few clearance checks today .

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on May 03, 2023, 11:34:12 am
Covered 95 miles this afternoon , this old Bullet is running like a Swiss watch, early days but promising

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on May 03, 2023, 12:00:40 pm
Took the museum piece to the filling station today.

(https://i.postimg.cc/GtgXtSLW/PICT0684.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)


After 2,300+ miles together, still such a novelty having a bike looks so old fashioned, starts readily, copes with the traffic. Well, copes with the traffic in this part of the World but I don't feel I would want to head into city stop-go traffic on the poor beastie.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on May 03, 2023, 12:03:37 pm
Shit Raymond it’s obviously spring in your land , that is some big blossom tree you have there , and a nice looking Enfield 👍
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Royal Stargazer on May 07, 2023, 08:46:17 pm
Finally brought my Bullet out of winter storage. Installed a wider headlight ring to make some space in the nacelle after the 7" headlight install, topped up the oil, changed some jets, and a few kicks later we were back in business!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on May 08, 2023, 03:43:47 pm
Went to change out the slow rinning jet in the trials bike (idle's been getting latchy and I find it's less hassle to just change out the jet first time rather than strip it, clean the jet, find it hasn't fixed the problem then strip it again to fit a new one, they are less than a fiver for a genuine mikuni one). However I'd ordered the wrong jet so that's sat on the kitchen table awaiting reassembly.

Also moved the gearshift round a notch to stop it fouling the neutral selector when you go into first.

Yesterday I made and fitted a new throttle cable inner to the 612 bullet on account of the original having snapped. Not sure why it went where it did, pleased it wasn't actually my soldering that failed which I'd initially thought. I think perhaps too much slack was making it bunch up inside the twistgrip and "birdcage" out. Made the new one a little shorter anyway. Also ajusted the clutch cable.

Today I fitted a new tyre to the 612 which went suspiciously smoothly with no pinched tubes, busted knuckles, tyre irons in the face or swearing. Presumably I'll find I put it on backwards or similar when I next look.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on May 08, 2023, 10:40:03 pm
I think perhaps too much slack was making it bunch up inside the twistgrip and "birdcage" out.
I ended up creating a throttle stop with a carefully tapped & inserted 5mm machine screw inside my throttle grip housing to block the twistgrip from rotating too far forward and allowing the birdcage maneuver. I had a couple fatigue induced inner wire failures there before I figured out that "kink".

...which went suspiciously smoothly with no pinched tubes, busted knuckles, tyre irons in the face or swearing.
Ummm...Bike Spirit ANGRY...Need sacrifice!  ;D ;D ;D  Might as well go out there right now and drip a few drops of fresh blood on the rear hub... :o 8)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on May 09, 2023, 07:32:35 pm
I rode the bike! I’ve not run it for a few weeks but it started first kick and idled straight away.

Now I’ve got it how I want it, it’s a bike I’ve really come to love. For a 350 it’s no sluggard and keeping the speed down to 50 mph on the main road route I took today to a cafe some ten miles away was quite frustrating. I took the unrestricted  but smaller back roads route back.

For once, I arrived back home and put the bike back in the garage just before the heavens opened.

I will have to fit a new back tyre after a few more miles and I have a new Dunlop K-70 replica waiting to go on. This is my favourite tyre this bike, both for handling, longevity, looks and price.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on May 09, 2023, 09:41:05 pm
In fairness, in a fairly standard form, the tyre is never the limiting factor on these bikes, especially if you have the mainstand still on them. Even with a safety mileage, you run out of ground clearance before you run out of tyre. How it looks is as good a metric as any.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on May 11, 2023, 12:42:30 am
I agree, the bike handles and grips quite well on all of the tyres I’ve tried once I ditched the factory original which was a “ditch finder general” as my sons would say. However, the present K-70 pattern has proved to show least wear. A couple of others I’ve tried have worn out surprisingly quickly.

The front tyre is an Indian made circumferential ribbed type which has been adequate but can be a bit skittish in the wet, especially so since I fitted the Villiers brake shoes. I may well replace that with a K-70 type as well. It’s only on there because it came on the brand new, factory wheel I bought online and was already inflated ready to fit! A bargain for £90 delivered.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on May 11, 2023, 12:02:12 pm
Out puttering around local lanes on the Bullet, I rarely remember to stop and take pictures. But on another forum we are encouraged to take pictures of our bike and an old barn so here's a couple taken this morning.


(https://i.postimg.cc/7hDNbx0w/PICT0690.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)


(https://i.postimg.cc/0QCwW7K1/PICT0694.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on May 11, 2023, 03:15:53 pm
Looking GOOD Raymond!  ;D

As a Socal Resident in a fire-prone area I am always impressed by these rural British & French buildings. Talk about fire-proof structures. Slate roof, stone walls, no roof overhang to direct fire into the rafter area. Rather like after having lived in a wooded area for 1,000 years, some lessons had actually been learned...
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on May 11, 2023, 04:28:43 pm
Although wildfire isn't generally a huge issue in these areas, it rains too much.

One thing I did always wonder about building design in the US is why wood lapboard and shingle roof was the construction material of choice in the hurricaine belt. A slate roof will cope with a pretty hefty wind, tends to be chimney pots which take the brunt of it when we have extreme wind events rather than a full Wizard of Oz scenario.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on May 11, 2023, 06:01:03 pm
Cheapness is paramount in Los Estados Unidos. Mobile homes...er excuse me..."Manufactured Housing"... are very popular. Maybe a tent might ultimately be a better choice in tornado country. Personally I think a smaller sprayed-concrete dome on a slab atop a 3 foot raised dirt foundation might make more sense, they are cheap enough and have better wind survivability. A clever guy might build in some brackets beside the windows to hold protective cover 2x12's.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on May 12, 2023, 12:35:34 pm
From one of my favorite TV shows of the 70s, WKRP:
"I think God must really hate mobile homes, Andy. Because tornadoes always attack them first." -- Dr Johnny Fever
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on May 12, 2023, 07:46:46 pm
In U.K. they often float away, rather than get blown away.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Flaekingr on May 13, 2023, 08:06:15 pm
Raymond, did you come all the way to the Filling Station in Keswick?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on May 14, 2023, 03:47:21 pm
Raymond, did you come all the way to the Filling Station in Keswick?

Nope. I think you mean on the Bullet, recently? Have been to Keswick a good few times over the years, but not recently and have not yet ridden the Bullet that far.

When first had the Bullet, it was an adventure to ride to the next village. Since making it more reliable and gaining confidence, we now travel a bit further than that but the longest outings so far have been to see my friend Elliot who lives in Rennington, which is a 110 mile round trip. The Bullet has managed that two or three times now.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Flaekingr on May 14, 2023, 06:20:05 pm
Took the museum piece to the filling station today.



After 2,300+ miles together, still such a novelty having a bike looks so old fashioned, starts readily, copes with the traffic. Well, copes with the traffic in this part of the World but I don't feel I would want to head into city stop-go traffic on the poor beastie.

The Filling Station is a popular bike meet-up cafe in Keswick, they have a bike night each friday. I thought maybe you'd made the trek ::)

I'll have to come up and see ya now that you're out and about on the bullet :)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on May 14, 2023, 08:43:18 pm
I took a nice ride over to Willingham Woods for a coffee and bacon roll. Plus a bit of bike and people watching.

Strangely I didn’t feel too well and didn’t enjoy the return trip quite so much, especially as there were so many dullard Sunday drivers out there. One in particular who drove at 38 to 40 mph in the long 50 mph zone, braked all the way round every slight corner and randomly on the straights but continued at 40 mph through every village with a 30 limit. I couldn’t overtake because of opposite way traffic but finally got past on the dual carriageway leading to Gainsborough.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on May 14, 2023, 09:10:38 pm
I often said my 350 bullet should have a rear facing camera linked to the DVLA database which automatically revokes the driving licence of anyone I overtake...
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on May 15, 2023, 09:37:07 am
I'll have to come up and see ya now that you're out and about on the bullet :)

You should do that! Or, meet up half way, fex there's a good biker cafe in Newcastleton?

Cheers, Raymond
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on May 15, 2023, 12:34:51 pm
Have a laugh at my expense.  ;)

My Bullet, Emma, came in pieces and with no manual. I have accepted and delighted in it's 1950s technology as we all do. The electrics on her were more than just lightly bodged by the PO and I feel a real sense of accomplishment when the indicators actually flash (slowly, dimly). Anyhow, I'm watching the latest "Cycling With Gasoline" video about him rebuilding his engine and installing it back in the frame. At one point he mentions hooking up the neutral indicator.

Neutral indicator?  :o

I go over and have a look at Emma's clock. Oh, look at that! There's a green light at the bottom I've never noticed because it's never lit up!  I disassemble and, via careful squinting, believe the bulb is bad. None in stock, so I'll have to get one. What a handy feature this will be.  ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on May 15, 2023, 01:02:04 pm
Just because there's a space in the clock for a neutral light with a bulb and bulb holder in it, doesn't necessarily mean there is a neutral switch on the gearbox or the wiring for one in the loom. I'd check to see if there is actually a neutral switch before you go too mad ordering stuff.

My 2007 350 had a space in the clocks with a bulb holder but has no neutral switch on the gearbox.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Pierric on May 15, 2023, 06:52:34 pm
Yesterday was almost like birthday for The Bullet. It was offered a nice brand new luggage trailer.

Made from Inder Exports in India, but requiring quite some modifications (brand new coupling gear for the motorcycle, trailer hitch modifications, a legit rear light, indicators, legit trailer triangles, SKF bearings for both wheel and suspension pivot...).

Road tested during 70 miles, and now ready to go on Thursday to the annual meeting of RE owners and friends.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on May 15, 2023, 08:00:04 pm
Pierric - Looks a treat! Please let us know how it pulls, especially during parking lot maneuvers. You are several feet longer now.

A small trailer seems a better option than the huge Ladakh luggage frames, at least for pavement. As I age out, the leg doesn't particularly want to "fling over" as spryly as it used to. Clearing a tall wad of luggage behind the seat now seems a daunting task! ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on May 15, 2023, 08:28:37 pm
Pierric - Looks a treat! Please let us know how it pulls, especially during parking lot maneuvers. You are several feet longer now.

From experience, you'll not even notice it's there for low speed manouvering... as long as you don't want to back it up at which point you're going to struggle.

I'd love to see more of how you attached the triangles and linkage, I may want to rig my trailer again and do a better job this time.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Pierric on May 16, 2023, 10:57:07 am
Yes, Grease Monkey is right : once properly coupled and tightened, the main risk is to forget it because you don't feel it up to 100 km/h on the speedo. Over that speed, you may have a slight wobbling effect, but not dangerous. And since standard roads are limited to 90 km/h here in France, and since it would be quite stupid to go full speed with a stock indian Bullet with a trailer, its perfect for my use.

But to get that result I had to make some mods because the original indian attachment gear is notoriously of a wrong design, or to be more precise : not redesigned enough for the Bullet since it is an direct indian copy of original Czech PAV 40 trailers intended for 60's scooters.

The trailer is to be coupled through what we call a "swan necked" hitch in french, but then the gravity center of the coupling nut is too high above the rear wheel axis, thus generating dangerous wobbling as soon as 45 mph.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Pierric on May 16, 2023, 10:59:13 am
So the idea was to lower that coupling nut gravity center around the same height as the wheel axis.

For that, you would need another U shaped attachment gear, and a mod of the trailer frame to get rid of the swan neck.

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Pierric on May 16, 2023, 11:06:54 am
So I designed a new attachment, drafted it and had a good friend realize it for me (he is a farmer and a forger during his spare time as an aeronautical metallurgist expert).

He then cut the swan neck of the trailer frame and welded a straight tube to it, so as to now have the coupling nut gravity center just an inch above the rear wheel axis (due to the rear brake lever, you can't go straighforward to the rear and need a small deviation).
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Pierric on May 16, 2023, 11:17:43 am
The final result.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Pierric on May 16, 2023, 11:26:38 am
The trick is to tighten both axis of the coupling nut up to the blocking point.

it seems weird at first, and anti-mechanical because, heck, it is an articulated joint, but it is how you get rid of wobbling even at elevated speed. The forces engaged once moving and  pulling the trailer are enough to articulate it.

of course, you can't go reverse with it. The trailer go sideways quickly ("crab-like" as we say in french) but the quickest way is to lift the single wheel and orientate it manually if you have no other choice.

I will also add a handle on the trailer top, something the indians forgot.

But the capacity is huge. This is how the Bullet was loaded last year for the annual meeting : a 70 liters U shaped saddle bag, a 30 liters top bag and a 20 liters plastic case on the rear luggage stand...

Now, I will go just with the trailer, nothing but myself on the motorcycle.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on May 16, 2023, 12:34:11 pm
Just because there's a space in the clock for a neutral light with a bulb and bulb holder in it, doesn't necessarily mean there is a neutral switch on the gearbox or the wiring for one in the loom. I'd check to see if there is actually a neutral switch before you go too mad ordering stuff.

My 2007 350 had a space in the clocks with a bulb holder but has no neutral switch on the gearbox.

I did check and there appears to be a switch on the wheel side of the gearbox.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on May 16, 2023, 02:34:31 pm
Thanks for the trailer info. Yes, I can confirm that with the swan neck, if you aren't very careful about how the trailer is loaded, it can start to swing at higher speeds.

I also found that the articulation needs to be done up much tighter than you would imagine it should be. I almost wonder if attaching a steering damper between the frame and trailer mount to slow movement in the horizontal axis would be beneficial. It would be tricky to achieve while retaining movement in the vertical axis but I think it might be possible using a rose-joint on each end of the damper.

Here is how my one was set up previously. This is a PAV copy made by a company in England using a modified indespension unit. I suspect the linkage could be mounted much lower without the need to modify the swan neck on this trailer.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AJFCJaW3ipFJJL2IC7sexgJuyadLkV6YeivXxQDUIa_6dw0UxfwV6DJo-jqsimJIfBG61fbLg9HZXrdHdHpIGTT6kQ7ypTe-C7NeWV9QMCod4CMQwCo4t3ZTkCYkzmH3m0ybdw91xWyFxVmqztg3V5P4rU_7=w727-h969-s-no)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on May 17, 2023, 08:52:05 am
Yesterday, rather than today…

I fitted smaller, aftermarket indicators some time ago and I’ve since been concerned that the flash rate has been slightly higher and the brightness suffered as a consequence. I tried a different flasher unit (for LED bulbs) but that didn’t make any noticeable difference. However, I found a universal flasher unit with a built in “beeper” on eBay for £3 delivered. Fitted that. It seems to have slowed down the flash rate and the bulbs shine more brightly. However, the beeping noise seemed a bit loud so I stuck a bit of insulation tape over the  aperture where the noise comes out. Sorted!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Flaekingr on May 19, 2023, 09:07:40 pm
Service day today.

- Fitted new chain, was reminded how much of a pain it is to get that adjusting cam to move around
- Dropped the engine oil and replaced, also replaced the oil filter this time too
- Traced indicator problem and replaced flasher relay and a bulb
- Adjusted front and rear brakes

Then went for a lovely evening ride around the Lake District. It was a good day ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on May 19, 2023, 09:44:07 pm
Service day today.

- Fitted new chain, was reminded how much of a pain it is to get that adjusting cam to move around.

I bought a pair of stainless ones with a square hole for a 1/4” socket driver, which makes adjusting them a doddle!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185837847413?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=EuRw7_-GTW6&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=_mH0__DERQe&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on May 20, 2023, 09:30:41 am
I bought a pair of stainless ones with a square hole for a 1/4” socket driver, which makes adjusting them a doddle!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185837847413?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=EuRw7_-GTW6&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=_mH0__DERQe&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Thank you for that link, Paul, just made a wee investment . . .
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on May 20, 2023, 11:32:34 am
Bloody interesting info there lads , Paul’s chain/cam snails make perfect sense to me , but has anyone tried these threaded bolt adjusters , possibly a more refined adjustment?

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on May 20, 2023, 07:31:34 pm
I have a set on ASBO12. They seem to do the job OK, though they have ¼" studs welded on, I'd Have preferred 5/16" for greater strength, but they seem to have survived well enough.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Flaekingr on May 21, 2023, 10:35:41 pm
I bought a pair of stainless ones with a square hole for a 1/4” socket driver, which makes adjusting them a doddle!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185837847413?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=EuRw7_-GTW6&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=_mH0__DERQe&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

You are an absolute life saver!!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on June 05, 2023, 10:27:09 am
Yesterday, took the Bullet to Carter Bar. It's not the first time I've ridden the plodder up there but always feels like an adventure.

From the Scottish side, the main A68 road climbs steadily for two or three miles, complete with three hairpin bends, to cross the Border at 1371 feet above sea level. It's not enough of a climb to present a challenge to any modern vehicle. But for some reason feels like a challenge on the Bullet. There's sense of anticipation, a faint & false sense of apprehension as you approach the Cheviot hills and pass the turn-off points where you could leave the route and go someplace else. Until, 'Well, this is it! We're goin' up Carter Bar, hope the bike doesn't disgrace itself.'

Possibly the worst risk is getting held up behind a slow-moving caravan. If you've got some driver who's new to the area, as caravans usually are, they might be so terrified of towing up a hill or even down a hill with those bends, drop to walking pace, gear selection is made for you. Who said Dutch caravans are the worst?

But of course it don't disgrace itself and we ride up with no hindrances from caravans, in fact no traffic at all.

At the top, parked in the lay-by and got speaking to a couple of Geordie lads. One of 'em told me he had a RE Bullet, and a brand new sidecar. Hadn't even fitted the sidecar to the bike when his son-in-law sold the bike and the sidecar. Without his permission. For £700. Surely not? Uhm, this sounds like a family issue that I don't want to get involved in so I fire up the single.

And ride back down Carter Bar.

They are funny bends, long and sweep right round so yer leaned over for a long while and seem to lose perspective. You go slow, it still feels too fast and yet you know you could gone faster. The Bullet puttered gently round the hairpins in 3rd on the way up and 4th with the engine happy to be lazy on the way down.

Back home along the A68 and treated meself to an ice cream
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on June 05, 2023, 10:07:56 pm
Last week I’d found a problem with my luggage rack. Both right hand brackets had snapped and one of the left side ones was cracked, so it was close to falling off the bike altogether. I took it all off the bike and initially thought I might throw it in a skip and buy another. Instead I decided to have a go with the MIG welder. I cleaned the old finish off around the original brackets and managed to get them welded back on and with a bit of tidying up it looked reasonable. Rather than try to paint it I took it to a powder coating specialist a few miles away. They said they would strip off the old powder coating and renew it. Today I picked it up. There it was, nicely wrapped in bubble wrap to protect the new gloss black finish. Lovely stuff, looks like brand new and only £25. Well worth the effort (and a small blister on the top of my right foot where a fragment of molten metal burned through the top of my old trainer).  8)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AndyMcP on June 06, 2023, 09:33:57 am
You were lucky Paul.  A friend of mine was welding with a brand new pair of Nike trainers on (don't ask).  A bit of molten weld fell on one and it went up like a Roman Candle!  His foot was a proper mess for a long time, and he was £120 out of pocket!! :-\
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on June 06, 2023, 10:22:14 am
Well worth the effort (and a small blister on the top of my right foot where a fragment of molten metal burned through the top of my old trainer).  8)

Haha damn funny and not so funny , as a small piece of molten weld bouncing off you can been exciting enough , a bit stuck down ya shoe or the neck of your overalls and it can’t get out is a great test of your pain tolerance levels and commitment , not to mention the strong aroma of weird pork crackling.
Safety first lads at home in the garage……….. yeah right !
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on June 06, 2023, 12:30:00 pm
Safety first in the garage….don’t spend £120 on trainers! I think mine cost about a tenth of that  :o
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Tomo59 on June 06, 2023, 01:31:36 pm
I had a fun but rather messy morning packing the gearbox on my 500 with grease. Managed to pinch my wife`s cake icing kit while she was out and that worked a treat, although still managed to get grease all over the garage floor and my overalls !. Now need to get to the shops, buy another icing kit and put in the kitchen cupboard before "she who must be obeyed" gets back home !,
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on June 07, 2023, 10:58:00 am
I hope it’s no one’s birthday before you find one  ;D

I once made the mistake of putting a car cylinder head in our new dishwasher one morning. It cleaned up quite well but then it took about four more wash cycles to get the horrible smell out of the dishwasher before my wife got home later that day.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on June 07, 2023, 12:12:35 pm
Not as bad as curing VHT paint in the oven... Or indeed baking crankcases to fit/remove bearings or annealing/heat treating/age hardening metalwork.

Which is why I now have a garage oven. Just look out for a skip full of old kitchen units outside any neighbours houses, they are invariably fitting a new oven too. There's usually nothing actually wrong with the old one and they're happy for someone to take it away. I just plug mine into the 30A cooker socket with a long heavy-duty extension lead. What I do need to do is put it on a dolly so I can wheel it outside so it doesn't just stink out the workshop instead.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on June 07, 2023, 01:22:31 pm
Gas grille can do the job for bearing replacement.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: 1977B1 on June 07, 2023, 04:15:15 pm
Clicked a pic after a short ride!!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on June 07, 2023, 09:02:57 pm
Not as bad as curing VHT paint in the oven... Or indeed baking crankcases to fit/remove bearings or annealing/heat treating/age hardening metalwork.

Which is why I now have a garage oven. Just look out for a skip full of old kitchen units outside any neighbours houses, they are invariably fitting a new oven too. There's usually nothing actually wrong with the old one and they're happy for someone to take it away. I just plug mine into the 30A cooker socket with a long heavy-duty extension lead. What I do need to do is put it on a dolly so I can wheel it outside so it doesn't just stink out the workshop instead.

I kept our old one. It lives on my old computer desk, which has castors. I also use mine to cure the stuff I powder coat (the items that will fit in, that is…the luggage rack I just had done by a local company was far too big). 180C for twenty minutes, job done!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Tomo59 on June 07, 2023, 10:01:05 pm
Not as bad as curing VHT paint in the oven... Or indeed baking crankcases to fit/remove bearings or annealing/heat treating/age hardening metalwork.

Which is why I now have a garage oven. Just look out for a skip full of old kitchen units outside any neighbours houses, they are invariably fitting a new oven too. There's usually nothing actually wrong with the old one and they're happy for someone to take it away. I just plug mine into the 30A cooker socket with a long heavy-duty extension lead. What I do need to do is put it on a dolly so I can wheel it outside so it doesn't just stink out the workshop instead.

Funny you should mention that, she still has`nt forgiven me for baking my CX500 casing in her brand new oven a few years back, to get the new mechanical seal in ! ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on June 07, 2023, 10:47:02 pm
As I’ve now been elected as the official family bread baker, I daren’t use our kitchen oven for anything “unofficial”. There’s tomorrow’s loaf in there as I’m typing this, just a few minutes before it’s ready.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AndyMcP on June 08, 2023, 09:02:17 am
Yesterday actually, but I started it for the first time in over 7 months.  It went 3rd kick after being in many, many pieces (having a frame/swingarm de-rust and paint, new piston and alloy barrel and full rewire).  It ran like a dog, but I've got a baseline to work from!  :)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on June 08, 2023, 09:36:19 am
1977B1   that’s an awesome looking ride you have there and I’m guessing some early summer in the background.


AndyMcP good news to hear its alive , a bit of tuning ahead , maybe points and timing if you still have that set up in place ?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on June 08, 2023, 11:17:18 am
1977B1   that’s an awesome looking ride you have there and I’m guessing some early summer in the background.

+1
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: 1977B1 on June 09, 2023, 04:31:22 am


1977B1   that’s an awesome looking ride you have there and I’m guessing some early summer in the background.


AndyMcP good news to hear its alive , a bit of tuning ahead , maybe points and timing if you still have that set up in place ?

Thanks for appreciation. Here in India its peak of summer, waiting for monsoon!!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on June 11, 2023, 10:50:35 pm
Today I fitted an MTB one-finger brake lever to replace the broken domino decompressor lever on my trials bike. Better fit, better function and better build quality than the part that was designed for the job.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: 1977B1 on June 12, 2023, 02:52:01 am
Removed the front wheel, cleaned and lubricated the bearings. The brake shoe was glazed, sanded it and the Brake drum.I also lubricated all cables and moving parts. Yesterday happen to find and old Auto parts store, its about 50-60 years old shop. Nice of owner, he allowed me inside his store and I found some NOS parts for my 1977 Std Bullet 350. Will be going again. Heres a pic.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Tomo59 on June 17, 2023, 06:37:02 pm
Gave "Henry" my 2000 Bullet 500 a change of primary chaincase and engine oil today. Should have changed the filter too but could not find one in my spares shed. Annoying as I know they are in there somewhere, saw them last month while digging out some spares for my CX500. Sods law  ;D!. Most of the bike`s long overdue TLC is done now, couple of months back stripped down so the frame and swinging arm could be re-painted. "Henry" was my everyday transport for many years year round, so the winter road salt had not been kind. Also had to replace the front and rear mudguards which were both rotted out, the rear one was so bad that last year the number plate/tail light/indicator assembly fell off while I was riding, but that is another story !. Last month when I thought all was done, a heavy booted mechanic at the MOT station managed to break the kickstart pawl, so had to replace that  :(. Had a little trouble getting the gear shift to work afterwards, but got it sorted in the end. Big thanks to everyone who helped answer a few of my dumb questions on here with regard to those last two issues. So, today took the bike out for a short ride while we still have some sunny dry weather. "Henry" was pleased to get out again I think, ran sweet as a nut and was a pleasure to ride. Shame my wife won`t ride pillion on the Enfield though, she really does`nt like him for some reason. Upon return home, found that the silencer had somehow worked loose, so bit of spannering to sort that out, but otherwise a good day  :)!.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on June 21, 2023, 08:24:30 pm
Oiled my chain. Which is something I never had to do in 15 years of enfield ownership until I fitted one of those bunded breather kits. It even had rust on it! Not a drop of oil seems to escape the vent tube which is pointed at the chain.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on June 26, 2023, 11:09:58 am
Tooke the big bullet on a long run up to the highlands this weekend. 640 miles with full camping gear on. Mostly sunny but it rained pretty hard most of the way back on Sunday. The bike ran perfectly all the way on some challenging roads. One minor breakdown when the clutch cable snapped but one of the guys had a spare cable for a Triumph Tiger 1080 which we managed to bodge on in about 10 minutes and normal service was restored.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on June 26, 2023, 04:36:37 pm
That's a good trip on any bike!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on July 07, 2023, 09:24:34 am
Hopped on the Bullet - which hasn't gained a nom de plume just yet - and as has become habit, depressed the choke lever, gave 'er two-three kicks, brought the lever back up ready to switch on and start the bike. But got the distinct impression that the carb moved as well as the choke lever.

Yup, found the carb has loosened off. Now does that account for a tendency to backfire on throttling down? Probably.


(https://i.postimg.cc/wMHLbtpC/PICT0745.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)


Tightened both the screws on the rubber tube manifold. Started 'er up and went for a fifteen mile run - all seems good. I guess that manifold has to put up with the weight of the carb bouncing up and down as well as the engine vibes?

My conclusion, as for any bike with self-dismantling tendencies, must get into another regular habit going over the bike tightening things.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on July 07, 2023, 09:32:49 am
I've read many times how the rubber mount on the Mikcarb for the 500 isn't really up to the job and also that some replace it with coolant hose (which may be affected by fuel contamination over time).

Just a thought....Has anyone tried using marine fuel hose?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: tooseevee on July 07, 2023, 11:52:28 am

Just a thought....Has anyone tried using marine fuel hose?

     Is there fuel hose that large?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on July 07, 2023, 12:19:45 pm
     Is there fuel hose that large?

Of course- or I wouldn't have mentioned it!  ;D

Search on Ebay...
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on July 07, 2023, 12:37:38 pm
I used a big munsen ring instead of a jubilee clip to hold the air filter onto the carb. Then I made a small alloy bracket which connects the captive nut on the munsen ring to the rear fuel tank mounting. Effectively supporting the weight of the carburettor on the bracket and preventing it overloading the inlet manifold.

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc_HUrcWnL7CMOSWdsPwvqjPkHV4XaPCsRbrUwslFuCrbBTvkyk4lzWK9SePYM-oIXFbTK5G0cAS0I4pAky9-i2X0nGiwI0GJ8mOfngWXtVi0aFdq0VlX_87A_fOYTyy-1KKw9Hzp1G32apQHRSoyCA-=w1723-h969-s-no)

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc_NyjoAUm06gndvgU6U7ZdtRD1eeKUTPuFdTQ-MK8n1BKV6Z0TV2bDp4G-dkIJiCWfApCs0KWdIi3t0aTisKNXgToMhHrybaNZt7HC-vMie0LSbw54f701K1UUUxBGjuo48vq3C1OFhciJF1skS1mVN=w1723-h969-s-no)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on July 07, 2023, 12:54:06 pm
It's an elegant solution, but I see you're using a one-piece plate manifold.

That might be part of the solution for your bike, Raymond, only one hose clip to worry about. It will give the throttle cable a bit more room under the tank, too.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on July 07, 2023, 02:19:50 pm
Thank you for the suggestions. The manifold has already been 'upgraded' to a length of radiator hose.

I like Stinkwheel's suggestion of supporting the filter & carb. But as Adrian says, the one-piece plate manifold looks like it might help a lot, looks shorter and stronger? Is this an available part?

Of course, the radiator hose would be stronger if it was shorter and, again as Adrian says, might make more room for the throttle cable to pass under the tank. Any ideas on shortening the manifold? Tuning theory would suggest that a low-revving engine benefits from a longer manifold but I'm not sure how if these finer points of tuning matter a lot for our archaic one-lungers?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on July 07, 2023, 04:11:37 pm
Fiber reinforced radiator hose, 1 1/4" diameter, 1 3/8" long. FR hose lasts for decades in automotive use exposed to heat, fuel & oil. Probably crystallizes a bit after about 5-8 years. The FR hose used with actual hose clamps provides much more carb support than the OEM India rubber. Mine haven't ever spontaneously cracked or rotted off like the OEM stuff. One short piece of hose is a lifetime supply.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on July 07, 2023, 06:52:56 pm
I like Stinkwheel's suggestion of supporting the filter & carb. But as Adrian says, the one-piece plate manifold looks like it might help a lot, looks shorter and stronger? Is this an available part?

Mikini part: VM28-200. You may need to use reduced hex nuts to allow clearance between the nuts and the hose clamp.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on July 07, 2023, 07:29:11 pm
Raymond,

I meant using large diameter marine fuel hose, rather than radiator hose, to actually hold the carburettor in place. From what I've seen, it's very substantial with a reinforced, thick wall and is usually made of neoprene, rather than traditional rubber.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on July 19, 2023, 11:34:31 am
Yesterday, found the r/h foot-peg felt loose. Nuffin I could do in the supermarket car park, tightening the foot-peg hanger became this morning's first job.

Of course, you can't get at the offending nut with the silencer in place, so:


(https://i.postimg.cc/x1w5tG9s/PICT0754.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)


Hmm, also found the silencer clamp was not very tight. Clearly, increasing it's entropy is part of the Bullet's character. I think going over the bike end-to-end, checking and tightening, is going to have to be a regular job.

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on July 19, 2023, 02:43:14 pm
Is now a good time to mention that since the footpeg bar goes all the way through the bike, you could probably have tightened it at the other end as long as it hadn't run out of threads.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on July 19, 2023, 03:12:06 pm
Is now a good time to mention that since the footpeg bar goes all the way through the bike, you could probably have tightened it at the other end as long as it hadn't run out of threads.

True, as I discovered back when I replaced the solid-mount items with the present folding ones. Next time I check that fastener, I'll see if my Willing Assistant is available to hold a spanner on the other end so we can add a little bit more torque.

I never like to overdo pulling 'em tight, so I tend to suffer from things coming loose more often than stuck or stripped fasteners. Uhm, if poss, I use a torque wrench for more critical areas.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on July 19, 2023, 04:39:17 pm
No need to hold a spanner on the other end either, it's a hex bar in a hex hole.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: axman88 on July 19, 2023, 05:05:05 pm
No need to hold a spanner on the other end either, it's a hex bar in a hex hole.
I've been very impressed with the engineering on my REs, in terms of their "design for servicing".   Of the various makes that I've worked on, RE's engineers seem to have gone further to accommodate the mechanic.  Everything seems designed to be accessed without a lot of fuss or hassle.  This is just as, or more true of the UCE, in my limited experience, as with the IC.

I took my Bullet down to bits with only 1, inexpensive and easily purchased special tool, a puller.  Comparing that to my Honda Shadow, which is so packed with plumbing and wiring that it's hard to get a finger, let alone a hand into the guts, and whose manual lists no less than 61 SPECIAL tools.  Of course, most of these can be improvised, but come on!

Then there are the fasteners, decent quality socket head cap screws, instead of cheesium JIS (japan insult screw) Phillips type fasteners that find on my Yamaha and Suzuki.  Haven't stripped a single head yet!

People make much ado about the "reliability" of the japanese machines, but I place high importance on the ease of service. 
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on July 19, 2023, 06:07:12 pm
Although I've stripped quite a few cycle threads out of various orifices over the years, amassed quite a collection of oddball helicoil kits.

The thing with those JIS screws is you need to use a JIS screwdriver. When you do, they are way better than a phillips or posidrive because they are designed not to cam out. In fact, if you use a JIS screwdriver on a phillips head (or which there are a few on a bullet), you're much less likely to strip it too. I invested in a set of 3 vessel brand JIS drivers and it's been a revelation when working on a Japanese bike or carb.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on July 19, 2023, 06:47:27 pm
Although I've stripped quite a few cycle threads out of various orifices over the years, amassed quite a collection of oddball helicoil kits.

The thing with those JIS screws is you need to use a JIS screwdriver. When you do, they are way better than a phillips or posidrive because they are designed not to cam out. In fact, if you use a JIS screwdriver on a phillips head (or which there are a few on a bullet), you're much less likely to strip it too. I invested in a set of 3 vessel brand JIS drivers and it's been a revelation when working on a Japanese bike or carb.

I’ve been promising myself a new set of JIS screwdrivers for quite some time. I do have a set of JIS screwdriver bits in my 1/4” socket set, which includes a screwdriver handle, but they aren’t good for every job when access is tight.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: axman88 on July 20, 2023, 05:52:04 am
The thing with those JIS screws is you need to use a JIS screwdriver. When you do, they are way better than a phillips or posidrive because they are designed not to cam out. In fact, if you use a JIS screwdriver on a phillips head (or which there are a few on a bullet), you're much less likely to strip it too. I invested in a set of 3 vessel brand JIS drivers and it's been a revelation when working on a Japanese bike or carb.
That's good advice on the driver tips.   I do have a set of JIS drivers, but they are sized for cameras.  I keep putting  moto sized JIS screwdrivers on my list, but I keep losing the lists.

I was thinking that 1/4" hex JIS bits might be a cost effective way to solve the problem.
Like these:  https://www.ebay.com/itm/325684234869

What do you think of that approach?  What sizes are essential?

Do you have a particular series and size recommendation in the Vessel screwdrivers?    https://www.vesseltoolsusa.com/product/screwdriver/1 

Speaking of Vessel, my tool of choice for dealing with those crossdrive is an old, vintage Vessel 2600 impact driver.  It's the baby brother of the more common 2600, with the 8mm hex bits.  The 2600 is shorter, slimmer and has bits with round shafts and double flatted shanks.  I attached a picture.

Do you think perhaps that old vintage impact driver has JIS bits in the set? 
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on July 20, 2023, 07:48:50 am
The #2 is the one I use most often so those 1/4" bits would probably be a good call for almost everything you'd want to do. I use a #1 for the screws on brake fluid reservoirs (If they've not been hopelessly rounded out already by a previous owner). Occasionally use a #3 and can't recall wishing I'd had something bigger.

I don't see them listed on the vessel site you posted. I have a P1, P2 and P3 megadora  (the blue ones but the tang-thru ones would be even better).
https://www.amazon.com/Vessel-Megadora-900-Screwdriver-Original/dp/B000TG8OTY
https://www.amazon.com/Vessel-Megadora-2x100-Screwdriver-930-2-100/dp/B000W9KWF2

If it was sold in the US, I doubt that old set has a JIS in it given you actively have to go looking for them even now. It's tricky to tell by looking, they appear very similar to the phillips ones but with a different angle on the faces.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on July 20, 2023, 09:02:50 am
This is a topic that keeps surfacing on XS650.com - the takeaway message is that countless Japanese bikes have b*ggerd screws because POs have used Phillips drivers. They, the POs, believe the screws have chewed up due to the Japanese using inferior metal but in fact it's their own fault. A Phillips driver is the wrong shape and will inevitably destroy a JIS screwhead. The first I bought was this Vessel Impacta:

(https://i.postimg.cc/mr8H9fZG/Vessel-Impacta.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)

JIS head and it's an impact driver with an internal cam. If you can't get enough torque with your wrist, clout the end with #1 hammer and the driver rotates 15°. Haven't used it all that often but it has been invaluable and indeed a revelation in shifting tight screws on the Yamaha. So I also bought a set of smaller JIS drivers for general use:

(https://i.postimg.cc/nhZKQtb3/Sealey-JIS-set.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)

Readily available, just look on-line, not all that expensive and like good tools in general a worthwhile investment IMHO.



Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: axman88 on July 20, 2023, 05:40:43 pm
They, the POs, believe the screws have chewed up due to the Japanese using inferior metal but in fact it's their own fault. A Phillips driver is the wrong shape and will inevitably destroy a JIS screwhead.

I think what you say is very true, but, I still maintain that the hard socket cap screws I found on my RE UCE's engine are much superior, both in material quality and functionally, to anything I've encountered on my jap built machines.  The big 4 may not be using the lowest grade hardware, but it's not the best either.

One thing a socket head cap screw is happy to do, is to hang off the end of an allen wrench for manuevering into tight quarters, and precise control of angle of entry.  One can "sort of" do this trick with crossdrive or phillips, (via sticky putty, double sided tape, a magnet, heavy sticky grease) but not as reliably.  It sucks when the screw drops off and disappears into the moving parts.

Changing to socket heads is my go-to for fixing buggered screws, but hard to find these in flat or oval head configurations.

The #2 is the one I use most often so those 1/4" bits would probably be a good call for almost everything you'd want to do. I use a #1 for the screws on brake fluid reservoirs (If they've not been hopelessly rounded out already by a previous owner). Occasionally use a #3 and can't recall wishing I'd had something bigger.

I don't see them listed on the vessel site you posted. I have a P1, P2 and P3 megadora  (the blue ones but the tang-thru ones would be even better).
https://www.amazon.com/Vessel-Megadora-900-Screwdriver-Original/dp/B000TG8OTY
https://www.amazon.com/Vessel-Megadora-2x100-Screwdriver-930-2-100/dp/B000W9KWF2

If it was sold in the US, I doubt that old set has a JIS in it given you actively have to go looking for them even now. It's tricky to tell by looking, they appear very similar to the phillips ones but with a different angle on the faces.

Thank you for the additional info.  Looking back through the USA Vessel site, I was not finding ANY JIS hand tools, even from this japanese manufacturer.  Next time I'm in Home Depot, I wonder if I will find anything in JIS?  This has the makings of a good conspiracy theory!

I found a diagram online that depicts the comparative geometry of JIS vs. Phillips.  I attached an image.  It's pretty easy to see why a phillips shaped bit will tear out a JIS shaped socket, but a JIS driver will engage a phillips socket.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on July 20, 2023, 06:18:19 pm
In the 90s, honda made fittings on their flagship bikes that had a socket head with a torx head inside it (so the torx was cut deeper into the head of the fitting and was still available should the allen head round out). Also lots of 1/4 turn dzus style fasteners. Lovely attention to detail.

Since we're on tools. Another really good investment is the Werner Joker spanner. Open spanner one end, ratcheting ring the other with a huge number of clicks (as I recall, it'll ratchet back and forth over 5 degrees) and it's designed to grip the nut in the jaws so you can fish it into and out of a small gap on the end of the spanner if there's no room for your fingers. The jaws are oddly designed too so you can get into nuts in a tight space no matter how the flats are orientated.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on July 21, 2023, 03:42:36 am
The problem with JIS screws is they are found on Japanese motorcycles, which are boring. So, not really a problem for me.  ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: axman88 on July 21, 2023, 08:04:00 pm
This is a topic that keeps surfacing on XS650.com - the takeaway message is that countless Japanese bikes have b*ggerd screws because POs have used Phillips drivers. They, the POs, believe the screws have chewed up due to the Japanese using inferior metal but in fact it's their own fault. A Phillips driver is the wrong shape and will inevitably destroy a JIS screwhead. The first I bought was this Vessel Impacta:

JIS head and it's an impact driver with an internal cam. If you can't get enough torque with your wrist, clout the end with #1 hammer and the driver rotates 15°. Haven't used it all that often but it has been invaluable and indeed a revelation in shifting tight screws on the Yamaha. So I also bought a set of smaller JIS drivers for general use:

I was looking at the Vessel product line and saw the Impacta.  Looks pretty nice. 

I also saw they have a driver with a brown "wood/composite" handle and a shank that runs the full length internally.  This is their 330 series.  I'm attracted to the simplicity.  I often use my screwdrivers in that way, whacking the butt with the hammer to assist penetration of the Kroil I just squirted on, and sometimes the handles don't survive so well.

But, the plot thickens..... 

I noticed that a lot of ads for Vessel drivers state they work for "Phillips and JIS".  While trying to figure out what that meant, I found the following post in the Garage Journal forum.

dnschmidt of Phoenix, AZ states:
"There is no JIS standard anymore. The JIS design was incorporated into the DIN Phillips standard and no longer exists as a separate entity (sort of like a Borg thing).  TOPTUL and all of the quality Asian and European brands are now JIS compatible. It's been this way now for many years and yet the myth lives on. Only in America are Phillips screwdrivers immune to what the rest of the world considers to be a proper Phillips screwdriver. The DIN drivers are not only infinitely better with JIS screws than the American type they are also significantly better on true Phillips screws than the original "Phillips" design. The fit is way tighter."

Folks contributing to that thread were suggesting that Vessel has modified the tip design on current production drivers to comply with the DIN standard, which is compatible with JIS and also does a better job driving american style phillips, than the screwdrivers intended for those. 

So there's DIN phillips, and there's JIS, which I understand are both very close to the same geometry, and then there's  Henry Phillips' 1934 design for a screw that had a head which was designed to kick out the driving bit, rather than be screwed too tight, a fastener design which apparently only 'merica still wants.  https://www.wired.com/2011/07/0707phillips-screw-patent/ 

The same thread also mentions Hozan, Vessel, Sunflag and Wera, as well as Toptul, as all making JIS suitable drivers.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: TonyVanda on July 22, 2023, 08:06:10 am
I changed my main jet from a #110 to #100 (I'm running a Mikuni) and took it for a spin around the hill. My normal quick spin route is about 50k's give or take 10k's or so. It went better and runs good enough to get about. Did the same the other day, going from a #120 to the #110 and when I got back, it was smoking like anything. I thought I might have upset something when I pulled the top end off but today it seemed OK.

Hopefully get out once more before before I head north for a few weeks to get away from this rotten winter cold. I'll tinker more when I get back.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on July 27, 2023, 12:55:07 pm
Help me out, fellas.
The decompressor cable has never worked on my bike because the plastic switch housing on the handlebar was broken. I finally bought a new one from H's and am in the process of fitting it. I'm also installing a new cable.

My question is, how is the cable supposed to run from the valve to the handlebar control? I duplicated the path of the flopping old one but it comes up short and isn't happy when the bars are turned. Right now it just runs outside of the tank and up through the casquette, exiting through the same hole as the clutch cable. I need to find a shorter path somehow.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on July 27, 2023, 01:16:41 pm
Mine goes up under the tank, along the right side of the frame, exits the front of the tank (where you should notice there's a kind of flared bit on the leading edge of the flange for cables to come out through) then up the right side of the steering head into the casquette and out through the casquette to the lever.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: allanfox on July 28, 2023, 10:57:35 am
Help me out, fellas.
The decompressor cable has never worked on my bike because the plastic switch housing on the handlebar was broken. I finally bought a new one from H's and am in the process of fitting it. I'm also installing a new cable.

My question is, how is the cable supposed to run from the valve to the handlebar control? I duplicated the path of the flopping old one but it comes up short and isn't happy when the bars are turned. Right now it just runs outside of the tank and up through the casquette, exiting through the same hole as the clutch cable. I need to find a shorter path somehow.

Of course your handlebars are a factor, mine has the trails bars fitted (Watsonian) so they are wider and the stock decomp cable only just fits, through the Casquette hole and straight down the left side of the tank to the head. Decomp cables may come in different lengths for different handle bars, throttle cables come in two lengths for wide bars.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on July 28, 2023, 12:39:08 pm
Fit an old style handlebar lever for your decompressor cable and move it in a bit. The cable nipple MIGHT need a little modification.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285299771246

You can also get clutch lever assemblies which have an added decomp. lever. This sort of thing.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266022530639

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on July 28, 2023, 12:55:09 pm
I tried one of those old style levers for the decomp. There is too much clutter on the bars for it to fit anywhere useful.

The cable has always been outside the tank/frame, just circling under the tank up to the casquette. Never looked right, and apparently wasn't. Since the bike came to me originally with the tank and cyl head off I had nothing to go by.

Both the original and Hitchcocks cables are the same length. The actual inner cable seems too long and I had to modify the handlebar control to take up the slack. The control I bought is slightly different than the original so that may be the reason (it was a closeout part).

I'll pull the tank off this weekend and route it correctly. That will probably cure it.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on July 28, 2023, 03:25:56 pm
I have a shorty mountain bike brake lever fitted like a second clutch lever on my trials bike for the decompressor. Works really well, especially if I want to use it to pop back down a failed hill climb on engine braking.

I actually have C90 left hand switch gear on my other bullet and the decompressor cable fits perfectly in the choke control.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on August 06, 2023, 06:31:56 pm
I fitted a later model kickstart to my trials bike today, one of the ones with the pivot at the bottom (?electra?). Had to file a flat on the pinch bolt to get it through because the bike it's designed for obviously has a grooved spline on the kickstart shaft.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not. There are pros and cons. Pros are that the kickstart itself is tucked up more out of the way so it doesn't get in the way of my leg. It's also longer so will be easier to kick over with the much smaller engine sprocket I'm using. A huge pro is it clears the footpeg in use so I don't have to flip the peg up out of the way to start the bike.

Cons are that the boss part of the kickstart sticks out more and could catch on obstacles and that it's kind of in the way of the neutral finder when folded in which is something I do use a fair bit, especially when the gearbox is getting hot and latchy when you're further into a trial.

I'll do some testing and report back on this, can't ride it just now as my knee is on the blink.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on August 06, 2023, 09:00:11 pm
Quote
one of the ones with the pivot at the bottom (?electra?)

I think these came in with the EFI models.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: tooseevee on August 07, 2023, 12:23:04 pm
I fitted a later model kickstart to my trials bike today, one of the ones with the pivot at the bottom (?electra?).

       I've traded back & forth with both types since I've had the '08.

        I like the "look" of the solid straight kicker when it's vertical, but it hits the back of my leg with foot on peg. It works just fine at starting the engine.

       I like the longer stroke of the flip-out one & the little bit of added leverage (I've never been over 130 & am 120 now). And it doesn't touch my leg when riding. It also starts the engine just fine. I was used to them before the Enfield; they've been on harleys a lonnnnng time.

     I'll sell both types with bike attached  :)(http://)

 

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on August 07, 2023, 01:49:29 pm
Re-sealed the exhaust of the 350 using some purpose made silicon sealant. A recurring job on this bike. I find it really irritating when the exhaust bangs in the exhaust on the overrun. It’s especially likely on this Electra because of the wasted spark ignition - it fires every time engine goes over TDC; at the end of the exhaust stroke as well at the end of compression. Best leave it to set overnight before riding the bike or it will blow out. However, from past experience it needs the engine warming at a gentle idle, or it stays uncured.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on August 08, 2023, 10:05:20 am
Apologies for the nonsensical third sentence! I tried to edit it but was too late, it had timed out.  :-[
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on August 09, 2023, 08:00:26 pm
Rode my 350 twelve miles home after the clutch cable snapped. Interesting ride, especially as I had to ride through three towns in traffic…..
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on August 10, 2023, 06:04:01 am
Paul that must have been a difficult 12 miles , any bike with no clutch is always tricky, were you changing gears much or just plodding along in mostly one gear ? And which end did the break happen ?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on August 10, 2023, 11:05:40 am
The cable snapped at the handlebar end. The most worrying bit was the first time I set off. I had to “paddle” the bike to get it moving then knocked it into first with the throttle closed. As soon as it went into gear I opened the throttle and “short shifted”. Once I got the hang of it I was able to match the throttle to change right up and down again (it’s a five speed box). Stopping was done by turning off the kill switch and pulling into the side of the road. Not something I’d want to do again. I could have called my breakdown service for recovery but last time I needed them (puncture and damaged tyre) they took almost six hours to get to me. I rode home, swapped bikes and arrived at my destination just an hour and a half later than planned.  ;)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on August 10, 2023, 03:49:35 pm
Yes, had similar the other weekend. Except with my close ratio box and 21t front sprocket, paddling it fast enough to drop it into first was an impossability (usually have to slip the clutch up to 10mph). Happily, one of my mates had a spare triumph tiger 1050 clutch cable which I was able to make work with the aid of some tape and cable ties.

I have now made up a spare clutch and throttle inner cable for both of my bullets with a soldered on bottom nipple and a solderless top nipple that can be run up through the outer and screwed in place if anything like that happens again. Takes up very minimal space in the toolbox in a ziplock bag.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: 1977B1 on August 14, 2023, 01:28:21 pm
A quick question- Can you tighten the nuts of Inner Clutch Case without removing the clutch and alternator? Mine is seeping a bit of oil(I can live with it, but somehow I didn't torque it well).
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on August 14, 2023, 04:58:39 pm
A quick question- Can you tighten the nuts of Inner Clutch Case without removing the clutch and alternator? Mine is seeping a bit of oil(I can live with it, but somehow I didn't torque it well).
Short answer, no. Primary drive sprocket covers two of them even before the alternator is on.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: 1977B1 on August 14, 2023, 07:26:36 pm
I knew it...was hoping against hope!!!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Slappy on August 16, 2023, 02:46:43 pm
I finally got to ride my bike after owing it since 2019
one complete custom rebuild later and a very nervous first ride round the block
came back with clutch needing adjustment, stalling at every junction, and not finding gears, losing gearchange rubber and oil leaks
It was fantastic what a buzz, MOT this Saturday
Dave.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on August 17, 2023, 05:30:52 pm
Changed a front wheel bearing. I mean, It would probably have been ok for a bit longer?

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc-7YMHZJhQlHFo6YKyIzSSAYBmgnCxpe1IzHakhKwarlgPWgrjvjO7j6MY_c6EACU-YiRwn0thX2JQgK2w_zltfgHIo8MVHxJ3HmaDWN-SOGCB2Tb0nsMVyX01QfXmHK5wT6mIbvRnZAcoCjuWbX77D=w1547-h870-s-no)

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc_CoGayMdDIJR4PCoWBUfSj1xRX8cl-FBTevykOxg-j_rTGbNaxMmXld5eHa9i-2h3oQPqzJjsGVZwuvlDIBB-CiLkGcH7q3zIp-T72kALT1Kj6mbch_qcXWrEsoYB5_FZxVUQ-1RpG93Te1sPuW5dh=w1547-h870-s-no)

Odd thing is there was no play on the wheel at all, just rumbling. No sign of where the missing balls have gone, I presume they must have grenaded into dust.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on August 17, 2023, 06:41:58 pm
The ball spacing cage disintegrated, I had this happen on the front wheel of my 500 Pre-Unit "Red Oktobr". The only indication of incipient failure was occasionally the front wheel would wobble a bit and have a wee bit of side play as the balls orbited into and out of position, felt like steering head bearings. Mine originated from some P.O. eejit seating a bearing with a screwdriver and apparently smacked the seal & cage a few times.

Unless you have already checked all of the wheel bearings yourself, don't be surprised if this issue shows up on the rear wheel. The sprocket carrier bearing is always a suspect if your chain tension won't stay put. My P.O. apparently "installed" a whole cheepo wheel bearing set from a blister pack.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on August 17, 2023, 07:20:45 pm
The annoying this is they weren't cheap nasty bearings, they were SKFs from a reputable supplier and I fitted them myself about 6k miles ago using a big socket against the outer race to drive them in. I took the ones out that the wheel came with because they were of unknown make and provenance.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on August 18, 2023, 12:44:59 am
So it's water & grit getting in there, past the outer seal and thru the bearing seals, abrading & corroding the bearing guts. I assume you are doing some deep water crossings? There's not a casting hole short-circuiting the outer seal arrangement?

Possibly a new outer seal & greased disc of leather or plastic behind the outer seal would help catch the grit intrusion, sort of a "double lipped seal" thing. IF there's room. Maybe a greased neoprene foam donut outside of the outer seal could function as a pre-shield. Or as a last recourse just make it a routine maintenance item as you are using it in rough conditions. I doubt the front disc wheel designers planned on actually using it in Trials events.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on August 18, 2023, 08:59:57 pm
OR you could fit stainless steel bearings.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224247984093

Quote
Stainless steel deep groove ball bearings resistant to corrosion from moisture, ideally suited to the food, beverage and pharmaceutical applications. These single row deep groove ball bearings have the same deep raceway grooves and close conformity between raceways and balls as standard deep groove ball bearings. Stainless steel bearings have the same running properties as conventional steel deep groove ball bearings, but have a lower load carrying capacity, stainless steel deep groove ball bearings are available in open and sealed designs from 1 to 50mm.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on August 18, 2023, 09:27:48 pm
Stainless with waterproof boat bearing grease solves the corrosion issue, won't help with grit carried along with the infiltrating water. Better than nothing though!  ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on August 18, 2023, 10:03:19 pm
This was on my road bike though. No real corrosion, I think it was a straight up failure. There's no corrosion, the red colour is what's left of the grease.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: BruLan on August 21, 2023, 03:11:19 pm
Well not all today but within the past two or three weeks,
The Bikes a sixty 5 2003 model which had sat in a Barn for may years and had covered only 2200 km since new, not been on the  since 2017

Cleaned Carb, New Carb mounting rubber.
Removed air filter assembly and fitted Pancake Filter.
New Battery
New Fuel tap , hose and filter
New Plug Points, Condenser and Coil, new points cover.
Removed PAV Valve and emissions malarkey
Removed Sump breather catch bottle, re-routed onto the chain with a one way valve.
New seat & Exhaust
Moved and fitted new Horn (The bracket was cracked on the original)
Fitted a side stand
Gradually changing the Zinc fixings and fasteners for Stainless
Lots off rubbers had perished all replaced

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on August 22, 2023, 03:34:33 am
I have that same seat on mine, but in black. I think I need to raise the back a bit though.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Yinzer on August 23, 2023, 05:55:06 am
Swapped my Interceptor for Dad's Bullet.
Everything is fine except maybe a bit of front brake adjustment.

I'll be able to play with it for a week & make adjustments but surprisingly, It has stayed pretty well in tune for over a year.
4 kicks to start but I didn't remember about pre-kicking (IGN off)
1 kick restarts several times after that. (once with an audience  ;D ;D ;D)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: tooseevee on August 23, 2023, 12:02:23 pm
Swapped my Interceptor for Dad's Bullet.
Everything is fine except maybe a bit of front brake adjustment.

I'll be able to play with it for a week & make adjustments but surprisingly, It has stayed pretty well in tune for over a year.
4 kicks to start but I didn't remember about pre-kicking (IGN off)
1 kick restarts several times after that. (once with an audience  ;D ;D ;D)

       Cool looking little theater.

        Just curious (I am suicideally bored  :)(http://) ) what carb does it have?

         I haven't started the AVL for 2 or 3 weeks now (yard work will put me in the grave), but if the old body tells me so I want to try skipping the two ignition off kicks just for Ss & Gs.

          The real trick with mine is getting that damn piston to pause just past TDC with no decompressor & 9.8:1 comp.

      It's very cool here this morning.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on August 23, 2023, 05:39:52 pm
You could do what we used to do to start my old mate’s methanol powered grass track racer with a 15:1 JAP long stroke engine. Put it in gear and roll it backwards until you feel compression.

That bike didn’t have a kickstarter so it had to be pushed and bump started. If it didn’t go over compression and it fired it would kick back like a mule!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AndyMcP on August 23, 2023, 07:42:45 pm
I cut ‘n’ shut a pair of pattern footrests to relocate the RH foot peg back and up slightly.  The 4 speed box got in the way for me.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Yinzer on August 23, 2023, 08:22:57 pm
...what carb does it have?
Standard Micarb, rejetted for the conical filter & English pipe w/ short baffle.
Haven't done anything much with the standard engine except run it.
Dad doesn't care as long as it's easy to start.

Cool looking little theater.
It has been there since the silent film days & still has the piano on stage left.
They just put in a bar to keep it financially viable.
We've been going there for 5 generations.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on August 31, 2023, 08:58:10 pm
Had a cracking run out on the 612 bullet last weekend. Loaded up my camping gear and started with a run up from Carlisle to Edinburgh after work on the Friday, the A7 was shut so I diverted onto the B-roads through the Ettrick valley which turned out to be a great move, mostly in third gear just winding its way up over the border uplands for about 100 miles.

The following day started on a bit of down note because it was a funeral for one of my bike club members. I don't know him very well but his family wanted a bike escort for the cortege and I'm sure he would have appreciated the noise of 30 bikes being revved either side of the cemetary entrance.

I noticed the bike getting more than a little hot during this, it actually melted some of the fuel line I put between the cooling fins to damp the vibration and was blowing smoke out of the breather. It was running well enough once we left though and the plan was for a camp up in Dumfries and Galloway. Ran fine all the way up over the Dalveen pass which is a piece of road so twisty and undulating you'd think someone had made up if you weren't seeing it. Arrived at our destination after about another 120 miles and I noticed the bike was cutting out when I slowed down for towns. It was still running hotter than usual too.

We set up camp and I thought I'd have a look at it. Plug looked pretty lean and that's when I noticed the valve lifter seemed to be binding so i whipped the tank off and found I'd trapped the cable when I fitted a new choke cable earlier in the week. The valve was closing but I think it was opening slightly on the induction stroke. Not enough to kill the motor and there was enough pressure to hold it shut when running at speed but it was obviously drawing air at lower engine speeds/pressure and running lean. A quick re-route of the cable sorted that out. Had a cracking night wild camping round the fire at one of my favourite spots then set off again next morning.

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc9KfqU6ndlzOl8Mk0km6mS5j85BT_YAhPuPnofm6DQr4Bwg-LjDDNQk62grBtmmrhczcuBCCB8LqfX0KuH2Wm65cY0UNyQzQcnwJBhBP-dhI3TVS-VnSTee4ArEJpMPgmrY5M7YU5QabKyBsgq6HBYs=w1160-h870-s-no)

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc_-YRCU5N3okt75Y5OisHtZNVqxSpoclexQH3SO8LI7pc_xrok3IU2XzeENluxBEUMuMIV5nF8goMTYFzcNM5hrjzz-tzNEIpw2x_mTStDWoYp5rhv5kk9Hxx8TH3Oh2KO-IlvvA013Ffszxm5vOhDu=w1160-h870-s-no)

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc8SyAD4Po4Mq6tTM6MJkM1lwPvX0csLwo1NGmyH9uHapnXNSQWl_JKksg3DGXwMJ_VPYIAO6RfcVug1f0B973cSieLpvruUr7j4939CuR5msJ8C7PTFYHXQF6N370I6zFcnoJKPMncxIo6Nk_imo2Ia=w1160-h870-s-no)

It quickly became apparent that while it was running better, the cutting out was still happening. I did notice the ammeter wasn't so much flicking when kicked over as meandering its way up and down. I've started carrying a capacitor pack on the bike for in the case of a flat battery (it'll run only on the cpacitor in a pinch) so i hooked this in paralell to the battery and normal service was returned.

We took another B-road right across Dumfriesshire, mostly single track but well surfaced and insanely twisty and the bullet was right up at the front of the group leading the way, despite all the others being on modern iron (couple of multistradas, a GSXR11 and two R1250GS). I became more of a rolling roadblock once we hit the A-road running up the West coast but we cruised on up the coast to pick up the Dunoon ferry over to the Kyle of Bute and after stopping for a chippy, went up the Kyle alongside Loch Eck, up to Inverary then inland to find a camping spot at the side of Loch Awe. About 200 miles in total all on dry roads in bright sunshine, the last bit being on faster but very twisty (and mostly empty) A-road.

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc9_IOdGzEEY_Vbkf_Zm6tV5mgt7m3_ZgF15Jf9VVD1xGhkTaB8kPRQZWjQ_bc87YPvcXfid6ww3FUZl5cdVYFPg-1olLIwggTPA8bOmmaP2zXdnmyXXPrTUzmQ6W_ZGCpWMCGjpbvtT-BSyJ4IG5Vcn=w1160-h870-s-no)

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc9gvP7emGI4S-qiDqmBWdA9PIMBo5lEf4qZaywZfStHDMsYX8s4l2jiyQvwfc80sl1fiCzmE3WWp5hI1--Wfeiy_1LNveHyvKL3XCOLkIit0Ln2q338v6A0FW2cnRGAfcCv8QUYHG4-JT6W0Ynu8v-n=w1547-h870-s-no)

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc8J6KTAsHXFGQaRiyGZ4hroFxApR46fKQu8gFj5xTEF_IfmO8sMPzZJJ44pNBd96n265Dq_fOizpztcoX5PJRC7nkWNo6hu0TvrRPCNHn1zHpBVeGFghrE-A4IZcl2Pnbht2dUob5DNS1e2kwlrRVG4=w1547-h870-s-no)

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc-aFeZF5MerRFVe6k7usiNw5mNHZgY0ReBtOGhRvQggsHuuVZkCEdZjBmO29o2gO2uiuFyqg30r6KfqawtJnowV0IOIXZk5WeJQVzhmFp7viu2SMRr-2TmMJP76ATV5gCt1ktRZbKJOezGbetSDsWl8=w1547-h870-s-no)

After yet another fine, dry camp with plenty of beers and a good fire, we packed up for the homeward stretch. Up the Lochgilphead to Oban road then across to Tyndryum which must be one of the best motorcycling stretches in Scotland. The Bullet was on-song and sat at 70-75mph the whole way, no-doubt causing a degree of ammusement to my mates as I stuffed it up the inside and outside of several litre plus touring bikes with the heavily loaded panniers swinging out in the corners.

Then it was the Crienlarrach to Sterling stretch which was busier but not without making good progress and hit the first bit of motorway of the weekend at Stirling. An unavoidable 50 miles or so to get past Glasgow then back onto empty fast b-roads for the last skelp home, about 240 miles for the day.

Bit of a stiff backside the next day and a bit of sunburn on my face but one of the better motorcycling weekends I've had. Once my couple of niggles were sorted out, the bullet didn't miss a beat and only used about 150ml of oil, including the overheating incident. On further investigation, the battery I've been using for over a year since I bought it in Spain isn't even a motorcycle battrery, it's for a backup computer power supply so it's remarkable it lasted this long. Replaced now with a gel one. About 650 miles for the weekend all-in and couldn't be happier with how the bike performed.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Yinzer on September 04, 2023, 07:31:53 am
The Bullet was on-song and sat at 70-75mph the whole way, no-doubt causing a degree of ammusement to my mates...
...About 650 miles for the weekend all-in and couldn't be happier with how the bike performed.

Very cool  ;)
It's incentivizing to know that a well prepared Bullet is capable of such things.
I'm almost ready to do a bit of upgrading on selected bits.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on September 17, 2023, 01:39:57 pm
FItted a tyre to the 18" rim for my trials bike today. Usual hot sweaty mess by the time I got it on.

What really annoys me though is when you buy parts for on a bike that are unfit for the use they are sold for. In this instance, I've fitted a rimlock. Supplied as specific for this size of tyre. Can you see the problem?

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc9E72lBtj22GvF4w1B1b8GKeF0Ljki6CCQki9p9VjI80Gn7olHHmf_Ph9AciIFKiWIPMs2j6NbMvCfw9mdRZYH1WuAGaGVrVgRZCY6rQIghsoAxT6jV7JLeVMpbhW1QaYiEUVk2e9hN9B2LuxkHLRz_=w1547-h870-s-no)

It's going to be hard to clamp that down against the rim with the thread stopping short. It's a pretty chunky tyre bead and a steel rim so it's not like I have a skinny setup here either. I'd send it back as unfit for the purpose intended but that would mean dismounting the tyre again so I've just made a spacer. Fitted a locknut too because I'm uncomfortable with that just being held on with one nut.

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc9VvlvnC8sjfgMgS5kmavtaTq2Vc9XOH_fLYZdQag7x4vb9P3pbAjSq3bqRDxhm_RU6-JsPV007fr6Vhz5X3RJvL0wYG2roSOG1xd8f5HSVxYcNIYjQeXUNhPWE8Ru7hm3F2mstuVxzBXcZCHGsIdxl=w1547-h870-s-no)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on September 17, 2023, 02:38:32 pm
Have you compensated for the mass of all that in the wheel balance?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on September 17, 2023, 03:04:13 pm
Nah, it's doing 35mph tops and with 6psi in, it's all over the place anyway. There's the whole big lump of the rim lock inside the tyre too, you'd need to fit two opposite one another or a HUGE wheel weight to actually balance it. It's got oko puncture slime in the tube so it sort of balances itself out when it's spinning.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on September 17, 2023, 08:15:27 pm
My 350 also has a rimlock in the rear tyre and “slime” sealant in the tube. I made sure the lock sits opposite the tyre valve to help balance it at the time but having put more thought into it when I fitted new tyres a few days ago and bearing in mind I sometimes ride on the motorway, I might now fit something like one of these:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133903716779?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=U4tFSAdATtG&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=_mH0__DERQe&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Yinzer on September 19, 2023, 08:22:58 am
I might now fit something like one of these

I like the vintage look of wrapped plumber's solder used by the ‘ton up boys’  ;D
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on September 19, 2023, 10:03:00 pm
That reminds me…I inherited a reel of that from my late father in law’s garage clearout. The full leaded stuff,  too…..none of this modern lead free rubbish!  ;)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on September 20, 2023, 08:33:17 am
Hey stinkwheel, nice job on making your rim lock work .
There is this option of a spacer that is curved to suit the hump in the rim and help bite up the rim lock, affordable and very effective technology for modern dirt bikes which I suspect that rim lock is suited for .

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281902456512

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Mr_84 on September 20, 2023, 08:40:15 am
A flash red one in use on the front end of an old Honda XR250R .

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: BruLan on September 22, 2023, 02:01:21 pm
10 Minute job today
And remarkably nothing went wrong  :)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on September 22, 2023, 03:48:50 pm
Good for another 10mph those.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: hortoncode3 on September 25, 2023, 09:45:34 pm
Finally, after a summer of convalescing the past 5 months from an Achilles injury FROM my RE kicking me back, I’ve fixed the electrical issue that caused my injury, added oil to the primary, changed the battery, changed out the speedometer drive and cable, and took a nice long test ride. Now the speedo reads 10 mph fast, instead of 5! SIGH. Anyone know how to lube the speedo drive? The replacement is a metal unit and has a zerk on it, although its smaller than standard.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on September 25, 2023, 11:01:34 pm
It's probably the speedo itself or the gearing is wrong. The speedo gearbox and cable doesn't really have an option to not rotate at the same time as the wheel, it's geared directly to the hub. If it tried to do a different speed, you'd strip the gears or snap the cable. A lack of lubrication shouldn't cause inaccuracy.

If it's way off after fitting a new speedo drive, I'd suspect it's got the incorrect gearing. You want a 2:1 for a bullet, there are a variety of other gearings in those metal type speedo drives for different models of bike, I wonder if they got them mixed up? Some are 15:12 and others are 1.25:1, if you're lucky, it'll have the drive ratio stamped on it somewhere, but not with all of them.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Paul W on September 25, 2023, 11:07:12 pm
The speedo on my 350 used to be quite accurate. Then one day the needle seemed to “twang” and from that day onwards it’s over read by up to 15%. The odometer still seems to be quite accurate, as before.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: hortoncode3 on September 27, 2023, 10:26:40 pm
 Hitchcocks was contacted and they state : be glad it works. (I paraphrase)
It's probably the speedo itself or the gearing is wrong. The speedo gearbox and cable doesn't really have an option to not rotate at the same time as the wheel, it's geared directly to the hub. If it tried to do a different speed, you'd strip the gears or snap the cable. A lack of lubrication shouldn't cause inaccuracy.

If it's way off after fitting a new speedo drive, I'd suspect it's got the incorrect gearing. You want a 2:1 for a bullet, there are a variety of other gearings in those metal type speedo drives for different models of bike, I wonder if they got them mixed up? Some are 15:12 and others are 1.25:1, if you're lucky, it'll have the drive ratio stamped on it somewhere, but not with all of them.
It's probably the speedo itself or the gearing is wrong. The speedo gearbox and cable doesn't really have an option to not rotate at the same time as the wheel, it's geared directly to the hub. If it tried to do a different speed, you'd strip the gears or snap the cable. A lack of lubrication shouldn't cause inaccuracy.

If it's way off after fitting a new speedo drive, I'd suspect it's got the incorrect gearing. You want a 2:1 for a bullet, there are a variety of other gearings in those metal type speedo drives for different models of bike, I wonder if they got them mixed up? Some are 15:12 and others are 1.25:1, if you're lucky, it'll have the drive ratio stamped on it somewhere, but not with all of them.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: BruLan on September 28, 2023, 04:06:20 pm
Changed the back indicators , front tomorrow,
The Wire on the LED Indicators is like malnourished cotton, makes connecting lets say challenging
Oh and yes you do need to change the Flasher relay.
That piece of information was not volunteered by the indicator manufacturer
Everyday a School day 
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: allanfox on September 28, 2023, 05:16:12 pm
Look good!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: tooseevee on September 28, 2023, 07:53:53 pm
Finally, after a summer of convalescing the past 5 months from an Achilles injury FROM my RE kicking me back, I’ve fixed the electrical issue ....

      What was your electrical issue? I forget now (watt's knew?) :) :)

        Are you sure it wasn't because you didn't get just past TDC with the key off before you kicked it? & it kicked you?  :)(http://)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: BruLan on September 28, 2023, 08:25:21 pm
Look good!
Thank you !
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on September 28, 2023, 11:29:35 pm
Quote
The Wire on the LED Indicators is like malnourished cotton, makes connecting lets say challenging

Playing on the fact that the LEDs don't draw much by way of current, no doubt.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: BruLan on October 02, 2023, 09:57:15 pm
Took me 90 minutes to Thump around and do a 10 minute round trip to the Post Office.
Came to the conclusion ;-
Its certainly not the best bike, I've ever had, but its definitely the best Bike I've ever had ...
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on October 03, 2023, 12:45:42 am
Bike and owner bonding well, it appears!  ;D

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Yinzer on October 06, 2023, 09:51:14 pm
Dad's bike smacked me a couple times.
I'm not as practiced as he is  :o
Static timing is perfectly set to spec but my technique is probably sloppy.

Always have these boots on so no problem. (Daytona Road Star)
Very $$$ but so is everything nowadays.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on October 06, 2023, 10:28:44 pm
Trick is to swing the kickstart down then hold it down at the bottom of the arc until it's decided if it's going to start properly. It'll only hurt you if it's halfway back up when it kicks back.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: tooseevee on October 07, 2023, 11:59:32 am
Trick is to swing the kickstart down then hold it down at the bottom of the arc until it's decided if it's going to start properly. It'll only hurt you if it's halfway back up when it kicks back.

      What Stinkwheel (I'd love to know the genesis of that handle) sez is absolutely right & required. Don't let it come up until you're SURE it's running.

        Also you have to find that sweet spot just barely past TDC with the key OFF. Then turn the key ON, get the kicker up high & kick hard & smooth all the way down. Your foot should end up a little bit forward of the kicker's BDC & pause until you're sure it's running.

         If you don't get past that 1st spark with the key off, it will KICK you.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on October 07, 2023, 12:54:38 pm
      What Stinkwheel (I'd love to know the genesis of that handle)

As a student, I always used to ride about on smelly old 2-strokes and was often quite short on cash so they'd get lawmower grade 2t oil. Originally a Minsk 125 (I've bought another one recently to do up), then a 350 powervalve (which didn't last long, couldn't afford to keep it in petrol at 20mpg) then a long time on a succession of Jawa 350s. I was always made to go at the back of bike club runs because of the smoke.

Stinkwheel is a term sometimes used for 2-stroke bikes so in the early days of the internet in the early 90's I used that as my pseudonym on the old yahoo bulletin boards which is how Jawa owners discussed how to fix their recalcitrant motors. Not all that dissimilar to this forum to be fair although it all used to degenerate into massive disjointed threads that got buried in nested quotes. And you couldn't post pictures.

The avatar is a picture of a Nac-Mac-Feegle called Rob Anybody MacFeegle from a Terry Pratchett book. Feegles are "pictsies", little blue kilted people with unkempt ginger beards who love stealing drinking and fighting and to whom I have a passing resemblance.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/6016/5970215050_80fe9ec458_m.jpg)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: tooseevee on October 07, 2023, 01:29:20 pm
As a student, I always used to ride about on smelly old 2-strokes and was often quite short on cash so they'd get lawmower grade 2t oil.

Stinkwheel is a term sometimes used for 2-stroke bikes so in the early days of the internet in the early 90's I used that as my pseudonym on the old yahoo bulletin boards which is how Jawa owners discussed how to fix their recalcitrant motors.

     That about covers it. Thanks.

      I wish I had read more Pratchett. I was into Asimov, Vonnegut, Larry Niven, Ken Kesey, McLuhan, Toffler, Dick, Ben Bova, Kerouac, Heinlein, Bradbury, Updike, Piers Anthony, Tom Robbins  & lots of others. Discovering Tolkien around '69 eclipsed them all. Lifelong fan to this day.

      Sorry. Off topic. I'm gone  :)(http://)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: BruLan on October 07, 2023, 03:31:34 pm
Added a Voltmeter on to the top of the electricery box.
Proved quite useful on todays ride to the local biking mecca AKA Matlock Bath.
Pulled into a Petrol station filled up and no electrics, but with the aid of the above knew we had Volts
So open up the box had a fertile around and hey ho magic we can get home
I think its the 'Orrible quality in-line fuse holder
Upgrade incoming.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on October 08, 2023, 08:56:08 pm
All of my OEM fuse holders disintegrated. For about $5 Napa sells these weatherproof Balkamp units that take auto-style ATC/ATO plug-in square fuses. These fuses are available in a wild variety of ampacities. There are also indicating fuses that use a tiny LED that glows when the protective element pops.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/BK_7822023

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/BK_7822184
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on October 09, 2023, 03:13:22 pm
Quote
Upgrade incoming

This might be a better upgrade...

(https://i.postimg.cc/qRPPty66/DSCF8884.jpg)

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on October 22, 2023, 03:19:46 pm
As part of rewiring, going to replace the Boyer Power Box with a simple rec/reg. Little project for today was to make a bracket.

My fabrication tools and indeed fabrication skills are pretty rudimentary. An innocent piece of aluminium sheet being attacked with hand tools:


(https://i.postimg.cc/524dXxYm/PICT0828.jpg)


Don't trust meself to measure, mark, drill - for some reason the holes never end up in the right places so today put a sheet of paper across the frame, rubbed with a pencil, placed the tracing on the work and marked with a centre punch.The (almost) finished bracket: 

(https://i.postimg.cc/85Pjw80d/PICT0841.jpg)

And a mock-up:

(https://i.postimg.cc/TYr5RcgD/PICT0842.jpg)

The bolts pass through, well, had to adjust one hole slightly with a rat tail file but I'm fairly pleased.

Just used some old M6 screws from my odds & sods hardware box - but might even invest in some new ones . . .



Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on October 22, 2023, 03:50:28 pm
Was there any particular reason for giving the Power Box the heave-ho?

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on October 22, 2023, 04:21:54 pm
Was there any particular reason for giving the Power Box the heave-ho?

Recently, the bike was sulking, as in nothing electric worked. I suspected the cheap fuse box. Mate Elliot came over to investigate and found some very puzzling results, such as a good voltage on the red wire into the fuse box. But the same good voltage on the red wire after the fuse box - and this was with the fuse removed. It was his feeling that having the Boyer Box with its unknown character was an impediment to fault diagnosis - clearly, what we were reading was down to capacitance.

The Box has confussed me in the past, when I first had the bike, found the BatteryFighter charger never managed to get to green light condition. Have solved that by adding a charging harness directly connected to the terminals.

But don't need to capacitor function so decided to retire the Box to the shelf for now.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on October 22, 2023, 05:49:30 pm
Due to the ammeter, the charging circuit feeds into the electrical system upstream of the fuse (so it can show charge going into and out of the battery through the ammeter). With a normal reg/rec this is fine because if the fuse blows, it disconnects the battery and the bike conks out.

With a power box, the engine will keep running with 12v in the loom even if the fuse blows. It will also start but none of the accessories work until it fires up.

Obviously this presents some potential safety issues, especially in the case of a short circuit because the fuse blows, but the circuit can remain powered up while the engine is running unless the short is between the battery and the fuse. I noticed this issue with an earlier incarnation of my 612 where i had a self-exciting ignition fitted. Thought I had a lighting issue but a mate said my lights were working as we were riding. I actually had a short on the indicator circuit which had blown the main fuse. It melted all the wiring to that flasher and could easily have started a fire if it hadn't been on something that ran so intermittantly (and I tend to use hand signals anyway).

The solution to this would be to fit a second fuse on the output from the power box (which is what I did for simplicity) OR to move the main fuse/fit a secondary fuse into the output side of the ammeter.

The first case can also present a less dangerous issue because if the "charging" fuse blows, the engine will continue to run on battery power until the battery is flat, then start misfiring and carrying itself on. The only indication this is happening would be a down-dipping ammeter. It'll also continue feeding power into the reg/rec with nowhere for it to go and cook it. Which is exactly what happened to me on a trip to Spain where I landed up charging the battery in the hotel every night. So with a power box or self-exciting ignition of any sort, I'd strongly suggest fitting a second fuse in the ammeter output.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on October 22, 2023, 11:13:00 pm
Another advantage of a separate reg/rectifier is that they're far cheaper than a Boyer Power Box, but you can still have a capacitor wired in separately if you want one.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on October 24, 2023, 02:40:28 pm
Been playing with my crayons again, latest iteration of the wiring diagram.

(https://i.postimg.cc/L4vZryRC/PICT0845.jpg)


That really is a simplified wiring diagram. There's only six block connectors, which I'm hoping to get away with by doubling up and using daisy-chains. For example in the casquette area where all those bulbs would otherwise lead to a plethora of feeds and earths.

There's no main bean warning light and I'm not too sure if that might lead to questions at MoT?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on October 24, 2023, 03:47:14 pm
There's no main bean warning light and I'm not too sure if that might lead to questions at MoT?

It always used to be required but I just checked the manual and there's no mention of it now.

I've mentioned it elsewhere but one trick is to use the ammeter backlight as the main beam tell-tale.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on October 24, 2023, 04:29:44 pm
@ Reply #582 : Nice Job, clean!

This isolates the alternator and battery as a system. You'll want to verify that the Reg/Rec doesn't "bleed down" the battery when shut off.

The ignition is killed via the main switch or kill switch blocking (+) voltage, you aren't using the "back contact (b pallet sw) on the main switch to short the points.

Well done. Check on the Reg/Rec bleed back, if any.

Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on October 24, 2023, 04:50:40 pm
You'll want to verify that the Reg/Rec doesn't "bleed down" the battery when shut off.

Sounds like a very important point - don't want to find the battery has lost all its charge. If leaving the bike for a while, could easily just remove the fuse, but can bleed down happen say overnight? And how would I check this?
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on October 24, 2023, 06:31:50 pm
If you're worried about that, you could always connect the reg/rec to the other side of the ignition switch. That's how it's done on the standard loom. Although it might then keep running when you turn the switch off if it's generating enough oomph direct from the alternator because your ignition switch doesn't directly kill the ignition.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Adrian II on October 24, 2023, 10:40:44 pm
My big head Bullet has a simple switch between the battery + terminal and the reg/rectifier, just in case there is any leakage through the latter.

A.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on October 24, 2023, 10:51:23 pm
"Can bleed down happen say overnight? And how would I check this?"

The DIRECT way to read leakage is IF YOU HAVE A DC Milliamp (mA) Meter, put it in series with battery (+) after the key is off. Back leakage will register as some value. A milliamp is 0.001 Amps, not so much. A drain of 5-20 mA might draw down a small battery overnight.

The indirect method is to check battery voltage drop over a fixed time. Ride it, shut it off, record voltage to nearest 0.1 V or better. Disconnect battery.

The next morning record voltage before you reconnect battery and go riding. This gives you a baseline. Two days of this is better. Returning from a ride the battery will likely be at 13.2V-13.5V, decaying down to 12.8V-13.1V by morning, or similar.

When you have a baseline overnight voltage drop reading figured out, go ride but don't disconnect anything when you get back. Read the voltage in the morning again. if it's within 0.1V-0.2V of the baseline you are probably fine. If it's at 12.0V or less then it's likely there is leakage.

The voltage drop test is a rough 'n ready way to get some idea of an actual problem. A mA meter reading tells you exactly how bad (or not) it is. If it takes a week to see a noticeable battery voltage drop, say down to 11.9V, that may be OK for your usage. A "battery maintainer" can easily handle that.

I'm hoping for a "Not Much" outcome, as your diagram simplifies the system. I like the idea of shutting down by just simply removing the operating voltage. The OEM shorting-the-points-to-ground seems inelegant. We'll see if the OEM Rec/Reg has significant back leakage. I have never checked.



Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on October 25, 2023, 09:59:27 am
Thank you AzCAl. In my ignorance, wuz wondering whether leakage through a rec/reg is a 'thing' and there might be a spec for the unit. So I asked the wind, well Google, and only about two results came up - people trying to find charge loss looking at defective rec/regs.

My conclusions, firstly, ought not the be a problem, secondly, can measure as you suggest, thirdly, if there is significant leakage, can pop the fuse out when the bike is sitting for a day or more.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on October 25, 2023, 05:29:41 pm
Electro-whizzy devices can fail in intermediate states, and component values vary. I agree, ought no to be a problem but individual devices can vary, there is a lot going on inside those epoxy & aluminum cubes. Trust but verify. "Crede sed Verify."
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on November 05, 2023, 02:16:19 pm
I sacked-off the small sprung saddle on the trials bike. While it is reasonably comfortable, it was a bit too high and a bit too wide, I kept catching myself on it as I stand up and when hanging off the side. The cover also invariably came off if I had to dismount in a hurry which is one more thing I could do without dealing with at that point. I'll also be able to brace my legs against the sides of a ridgidly mounted seat when manouvering down steep hills instead of having somethign that wobbles about on springs.

While I generally don't like Wassel stuff, they do make a small, narrow and inexpensive trials seat.

It took more fitting than I expected. The seat has three captive nuts in the base, two at the back, one at the front. I had to make a U-shaped steel bracket for the rear which goes down to the subframe mounts and was spaced with strips of nylon chopping board. I forged a kind of gate hinge barrel thing for the front, the flat of which bolts to the saddle leaving a horizontal barrel sticking down. I sliced the top off the frame seat mount (I can always weld a new one on if needed) to leave two short "ears" sticking up which I drilled for M8 and fitted a bolt through them and the barrel of the bracket.

All seems nice and sturdy and leaves me a lot more room to move about. Not very comfy, it's very hard foam but that will discourage sitting on it. If I do a very long distance trial, I think I'll need to wear cycling shorts.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ADCreHecy-9ZUKU7PGuqcT9oIQKjAldW00pKCZ8K_SUspP4O49Qhh4ij81IHzAj4D7ucNbwHHf_6tIzFI9qo4u-jNkIyg7ycVyTwQio075bD2g9iuL7yMx8h-jq8nWp49Z-zht6YXQX8wG16XvAZF2qiNM4D=w1547-h870-s-no)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on November 05, 2023, 05:41:14 pm
Nice work - I'm liking the grey frame too. Lots of ingenuity on display!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on November 06, 2023, 04:35:17 pm
Trying to save space and tidy up as the Bullet is rewired

(https://i.postimg.cc/x1f4bPRB/PICT0857.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)


That there is a 6-way mini-connector. I'm using it for the common power and common earths in the casquette area. So that's side light, two pilots, speedo and ammeter lights, earths for those five bulbs plus headlamp and horn earths. Power to five bulbs and seven earth connections. 12 wires going into one little block. On the female side, you might see that the brown power supply from the LOSO switch is daisy-chained to two other positions and likewise one black earth daisy-chained to two other positions, one of which also picks up the horn earth, pale green.

To daisy chain, I cut some jumper wires, maybe 3", short bits of heat shrink as insulation, strip the ends, twist a couple together, lick of solder for good conduction, crimp to one mini blade.

On the male side, basically pairs of wires go to each blade. But I'll also put double-bullet connectors on the power and earths for the pilots so it can be took apart again.

The casquette will have this 6-way connector block, a 4-way for power from iggy to all the switches, and two 2-ways for ammeter and turn signals. Hoping to shove all that in without ending up like that cupboard nobody dares open 'coz everything starts to fall out . . .
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: whitehillbilly on November 06, 2023, 07:30:03 pm
Nothing.
Still waiting for Parts to arrive.
Should start trickling in, later in the week.
The Trial Enfield looks nice.

whitehillbilly
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on November 06, 2023, 08:35:31 pm
The Trial Enfield looks nice.

Hopefully going to get it mucky later on in the week.

Waiting for a wheel spacer to arrive so i can set the rear wheel in properly with the new speedo drive setup. I fitted a metal one because I'm fed up replacing plastic ones and they are thicker. I cut some off the original spacer but cocked it up somehow and cut it too short (measure twice, cut once!!).

Then I'll need to re-dish the rear wheel because it's sitting too far over to the right and the spacer width on the hub side is already non-negotiably as close as I dare make it. I was getting away with it slightly offset on the 4.00x19 tyre (fun fact, your wheels don't need to be in the middle of the bike as long as they are aligned paralell with the long axis, look closely at the next Yamaha V-max 1100 you see, they have a 1.5" offset on the rear wheel so the drive shaft clears the tyre). The 400x18 is a bit wider and is rubbing the swingarm, it'll clear but it's tight.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: whitehillbilly on November 07, 2023, 07:37:19 am
Do you have to move the Fuel Tank Back to Increase steering Lock?
Is moving the Hub something you could do?

whitehillbilly
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on November 07, 2023, 07:58:20 am
Do you have to move the Fuel Tank Back to Increase steering Lock?
Is moving the Hub something you could do?

The lock is standard for the moment. Steering lock isn't something I've been aware of as being a limiting factor so far. I think I could probably take a bit off the frame stops if I needed to because the trials tank has a pretty much vertical front to it. The forks would probably hit the end of the front tank bolt first. The tank was a gamble, it's a copy of the works alloy trials tank but made in steel from India because I couldn't justify fitting a £££ alloy tank just to batter the hell out of it. Worked out well though because it fits and is fuel-tight. Only fault was it came painted inside and out in fuel soluable paint.

To move the hub itself, I'd need to put longer spacers on one side and shorter ones on the other. I'd have to start machining down the brake plate and drum to get it any tighter on the left side which is where it would need to move. Offsetting the rim is fine though, lots of standard bikes have a slightly dished wheel, I don't think it'll need to move so far I need different spokes.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: whitehillbilly on November 09, 2023, 09:27:52 am
Start on the oil pump tomorrow, now I don't have to crawl around on the floor!
Will trim front down when I grab more cut off wheels.

whitehillbilly
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on November 09, 2023, 10:34:11 am
Having them on a stand lets you do so much more before you're fed up with it. I've been working on the trials bike in the shed recently because of general disorganisation and too much stuff in the way to get it onto the stand (which had another bike parked on it) and it's just hard work. Sorting that out today as it happens, managed to get myself a lockup for long term storage of stuff i don't need but might come in handy.

It's handy to be able to get the rear wheel up when it's on the stand, both for working on the hub and for turning the engine over to set timing and suchlike. Looks like a bottle jack will fit nicely in that gutter. If you made a top-cap for one with a bit of U-section that fits over the mainstand pivot, it would be really secure.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: allanfox on November 09, 2023, 11:00:20 am
Having them on a stand lets you do so much more before you're fed up with it. I've been working on the trials bike in the shed recently because of general disorganisation and too much stuff in the way to get it onto the stand (which had another bike parked on it) and it's just hard work. Sorting that out today as it happens, managed to get myself a lockup for long term storage of stuff i don't need but might come in handy.

It's handy to be able to get the rear wheel up when it's on the stand, both for working on the hub and for turning the engine over to set timing and suchlike. Looks like a bottle jack will fit nicely in that gutter. If you made a top-cap for one with a bit of U-section that fits over the mainstand pivot, it would be really secure.

I have more bruises and bumps from other bike footrests and handlebar ends, so yes clear as much out as possible to put maximum space between bikes!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on November 09, 2023, 01:12:03 pm
I have more bruises and bumps from other bike footrests and handlebar ends, so yes clear as much out as possible to put maximum space between bikes!

Worst one is when you get a handlebar or lever in a trouser pocket or belt loop then land up stuck.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on November 09, 2023, 02:10:04 pm
Moving crab-wise around the bike you're working on gives the bike behind you the opportunity to trip you up or whack you in the back or poke you in the kidneys . . . if you have the time & enough room to move stuff out the way, it pays to give yourself plenty of space. Which I seem to gradually need more of that as the years go past but that's another topic.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: whitehillbilly on November 09, 2023, 08:41:45 pm
This one works good.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on November 09, 2023, 09:07:59 pm
Lovely old thing. Safer than a hydraulic jack too, it'll stay where it's put with no valves to leak.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on November 13, 2023, 11:50:19 am
Work continues to tidy the wiring:

(https://i.postimg.cc/zBy7jzRy/PICT0865.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)

New rec/reg replaces BB Power box, but mostly the photo shows absence of the insulating tape python that ran along above the frame tube.

Meanwhile, outside the garage:

(https://i.postimg.cc/4NPcYCmq/PICT0866.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)

Unremitting rain falling on saturated ground.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on November 14, 2023, 12:51:44 pm
I wanted to get an exhaust tucked under the engine on the 612 bullet so I can fit a straight kickstart and fit my feet on the pegs properly (which I have already spaed out 1 1/2" from standard). Put it into a local engineers to get them to bend up a new header. As it happens, they managed to re-bend the existing one a bit, weld a piece on the end to align the end can and move the brackets which was a real saving on time and money.

Looks good.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ADCreHdgelsKsB3y9-a0_9sBm0ZkrE2eyDSG_zeVbWX9uk9a7ImCyzMECr-H-O-DwW1UFFXjd0JXpuNft8yvTN35mTAVaQKX5M8-x8tlDjaREfLDFOfWtXjyTNrYVpLSi96cTjpBYpDSQ3MCyJUOp7BnfOIY=w1547-h870-s-no)

More importantly, I'll be able to get a straight swing down on the kickstart which will make me much less prone to my foot slipping off it and will finally allow me to have more than half a foot on the peg. This is the with the cranked over kickstart so i should get 1 to 2" more space.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ADCreHc-97DMSsZmtPpRzaRL-cQ1MIbyBwZbu3r1DJMW5iislxoaidqgC8v8D0ZPzSOXwzxuUE8v1xP9kVBiNvS9P3zBw8yO0nzf-P5jLBCaFE3_HPFAByqdwVZFhgJZYOrJ84t7GgiL0CrAK7kPKoWLfBpA=w1547-h870-s-no)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: TonyVanda on December 05, 2023, 07:56:56 pm
Fitted another bolt to the front fuel tank mount.

Yesterday I took the Bullet out for a spin as it hasn't been out in ages and first it developed a unusual noise, then an all out rattle. The vibration was scary. Straightaway looked at the tank bolt and one of the nuts had rattled off and disappeared. Spewing!

So hobbled home and fitted a temporary bolt and nut. I'm moving north and Ive taken my two other bikes, all the spares and most of the tools up there already so I had to go to the hardware store and grab something that will do the trick until I get up there. Bit rough but it'll do.

Took it out again today and it's running nice (still vibrates normally)  but I'm still struggling with the Mikuni carby tuning. I've always struggled with tuning. Anyway, I'm off to search the forum for some tips, or re-visit the tips I was already given.

Ride safe.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Super45 on January 05, 2024, 03:53:01 pm
First time poster long time listener on this thread

another batch of bits arrived, electric cover now the airbox has made away for a 28mm Amal and cone filter, not keen on the look but as tuning is the way to go its a necessity, few bulbs too arrived too.

this weekend will be mostly fiddling with the Amal to get a decent set up, idles ok but snap the throttle open and it bogs so will try raising the needle and see what occurs as don't react the same with when air slide is in play.

a nice little tool arrived to splay out the end of the exhaust pipe where it enters the head for a better fit as previous owner of the tuned head had been playing with a Dremel. 
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AsFarAsIGet on January 09, 2024, 08:12:41 pm
Today’s mission was to dismantle the second front fork (first dismantled yesterday). This one took some persuasion with the blow torch for the fork spring stud to let go of its grip:)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: stinkwheel on January 09, 2024, 10:40:11 pm
It's a good idea to drill/ream the hole in the bottom of the slider to the correct size and make sure the damper rod threads will fit through it before fitting the slider (just see if it'll fit through the bottom, no need to fit the whole thing over). From experience, they seem to inexplicably shrink slightly between dismantling and reassembly, then you fit the slider and find the end of the damper rod wont go through the hole, resulting in you having to pull your brand new fork seals back off over a sharp edge. It's happened to me several times.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AzCal Retred on January 10, 2024, 02:02:17 am
I have at least 4 sets of seals coming up to re-do. That tip is likely worth $100 & lots of swearing - Thanks!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: AsFarAsIGet on January 12, 2024, 02:19:27 pm
It's a good idea to drill/ream the hole in the bottom of the slider to the correct size and make sure the damper rod threads will fit through it before fitting the slider (just see if it'll fit through the bottom, no need to fit the whole thing over). From experience, they seem to inexplicably shrink slightly between dismantling and reassembly, then you fit the slider and find the end of the damper rod wont go through the hole, resulting in you having to pull your brand new fork seals back off over a sharp edge. It's happened to me several times.

Thank you for the tip! I'll make sure to drill/ream the hole in the slider before reassembling the damper  :)
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Pierric on January 30, 2024, 04:58:47 pm
Today, I took the bike out for a 30 miles ride to the drugstore. Well, they didn't manage to get what I needed but the station close to it was more satisfying for The Bullet, and I filled her tank up with fresh gas and inflated both tyres. She seemed to be happy going back home, buzzing through the forest roads.

Simple stuff, great joy.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: BruLan on March 16, 2024, 01:33:16 pm
Fitted some proper Chain adjusters
Bit of a faff having never removed an RE Wheel before , but hey ho every days a School day
Those Zinc Coated Chocolate Snail Cams really ground my gears
Got these from the reassuringly expensive Hitchcoks about £40 and lovely quality
The reengineering has resumed on the sixty 5
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: BruLan on March 19, 2024, 08:08:21 pm
Escorted Dave Myers on his last ride from home to the Church
Bike cleaned and ready to go
Proud !!
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: Raymond on March 22, 2024, 11:32:38 am
Escorted Dave Myers on his last ride from home to the Church
Bike cleaned and ready to go
Proud !!

That's really nice that you could travel that last journey with him on two wheels.

When my dear departed Mother passed, friend of mine came to the funeral on an old Norton International. A few people looked askance but Gordon said 'Well somebody had to come on a motorbike.'

Mum never owned a car in her life, brought me up on't back of a succession BSA Bantams.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: BruLan on March 22, 2024, 01:43:12 pm
That's really nice that you could travel that last journey with him on two wheels.

When my dear departed Mother passed, friend of mine came to the funeral on an old Norton International. A few people looked askance but Gordon said 'Well somebody had to come on a motorbike.'

Mum never owned a car in her life, brought me up on't back of a succession BSA Bantams.

It was quite fitting, he would have loved it.
His RE 500 Trials Bike was outside hus house too.
Title: Re: What did you do to your Iron Barrel today ?
Post by: ddavidv on March 22, 2024, 07:30:57 pm
Replaced the clutch pack with Hitchcocks 'better' parts. Wow, it doesn't slip when cold anymore. Who'd have thought?