Author Topic: One Of Many Endearing Oddities  (Read 3546 times)

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tooseevee

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on: October 13, 2020, 03:52:02 pm
      Yeah, I know. I probably should put this on "around the Campfire", but what the hell. It's raining.

        I noticed this very early on after the "08 was dropped in my driveway because that's the way my mind works. It stood out like door & fender, etc., gaps on cars and it bothered me a lot in the beginning. Then I realized that, no, it just shows the hand made "quality"* of the bike and that 2 different guys got to buy their dinner because of putting the RE Logo on my gas tank. And that's a "good thing" in any country about any subject. One is cocked one way & the other the other :); in fact neither one of them is parallel to the lower pin stripe  :) NOR a line connecting the center lines of the two end curves :) They don't use ANY line  :) The left side is "sort of" centered :)

         And here are those two things which have become endearing to me rather than "flaws" or "mistakes": 

* Using a sort of ZATAOMM definition.
               
« Last Edit: October 13, 2020, 04:11:39 pm by tooseevee »
RI USA '08 Black AVL Classic.9.8:1 ACEhead/manifold/canister. TM32/Open bottle/hot tube removed. Pertronix Coil. Fed mandates removed. Gr.TCI. Bobber seat. Battery in right side case. Decomp&all doodads removed. '30s Lucas taillight/7" visored headlight. Much blackout & wire/electrical upgrades.


tooseevee

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Reply #1 on: October 13, 2020, 04:21:28 pm
This picture shows the left side better.

RI USA '08 Black AVL Classic.9.8:1 ACEhead/manifold/canister. TM32/Open bottle/hot tube removed. Pertronix Coil. Fed mandates removed. Gr.TCI. Bobber seat. Battery in right side case. Decomp&all doodads removed. '30s Lucas taillight/7" visored headlight. Much blackout & wire/electrical upgrades.


Adrian II

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Reply #2 on: October 13, 2020, 05:04:25 pm
You've put up with it for this long, I don't see you wanting to change it now.

More importantly it seems to have been a good bike mechanically, putting up happily with the extra demands of the Fireball conversion on the bottom end, which suggests that by the end of the 500AVL engine production run they'd found some decent crank pins.

A.
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tooseevee

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Reply #3 on: October 14, 2020, 12:26:14 am
You've put up with it for this long, I don't see you wanting to change it now.

More importantly it seems to have been a good bike mechanically, putting up happily with the extra demands of the Fireball conversion on the bottom end, which suggests that by the end of the 500AVL engine production run they'd found some decent crank pins.

A.

           Oh, no, no, no  :) I'm definitely not "fixing" the tank. Wouldn't dream of it. I could Never bring it back to the quality of the application of the black and the clear coat that was applied by the Indians. The tank is gorgeous finish-wise. You will remember how I protected the tank, wrapping it better than Moses in the bull rushes, when I had to secure it upside down to do the drilling and tapping for the new petcock. There was a reason for that. That tank is flawless except for one small ding from my being careless once with the tip of a socket handle a couple years ago after yet another time I had it off. I beat myself up mercilessly for a while over that.

          Some day when I feel like laying out a longitudinal plumb line (on the bike) I'll show you something else interesting.  Or not  :)
RI USA '08 Black AVL Classic.9.8:1 ACEhead/manifold/canister. TM32/Open bottle/hot tube removed. Pertronix Coil. Fed mandates removed. Gr.TCI. Bobber seat. Battery in right side case. Decomp&all doodads removed. '30s Lucas taillight/7" visored headlight. Much blackout & wire/electrical upgrades.


Stanley

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Reply #4 on: October 14, 2020, 07:41:49 pm
I've also got crooked body parts.
It's ironic that "handmade" was once indicative of quality, while robot-made products are now the thing. I ended up with an IB Bullet because smooth, refined bikes bore me witless. Since health issues keep me from riding much I prefer to smell the roses...and Castrol. When I get home from a ride with no missed shifts after a one-kick start and park the piston at TDC, it's a good day.



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Paul W

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Reply #5 on: October 14, 2020, 08:27:48 pm
The petrol tank on my 350 wasn’t actually built straight. When you sit on the bike it’s noticeably lower on the left side. My left knee has worn the paint thin on that side. The “valance” that protrudes from the front, where the fixing bolt goes through, is welded a few degrees offset when compared to the main shell.
Paul W.


heloego

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Reply #6 on: October 14, 2020, 10:23:32 pm
"Royal Enfield. Asymmetry at its Best"   ;)
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DavidGraves

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Reply #7 on: October 17, 2020, 04:44:36 pm
Deau Chevaux

Wrong place posting....yeah. Go for It! Civil Disobedience at its best.

You have a handsome bike there sir....and I see the lay of the insignia on the tank.

It may be my imagination but your bikes pin stripe appears heavier than mine.

Maybe it was apprentice day in the paint booth.

This whole thread is inspiring and hints at why we own the motorbikes in the first place....

I tend to view my Enfield as a grasp at my fathers world and what little remained of it in my adolescence.

David Graves

North Oregon coast


AzCal Retred

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Reply #8 on: October 18, 2020, 08:49:28 pm
Lessee now - The Electra/AVL gives you a real crankshaft big end, gear oil pumps, a 5-speed transmission, a disc brake up front, a cylinder head with flow potential that the UCE boys are jealous of, an electric starter that doesn't routinely frag itself (what's an electric starter? ;)), and a crank-mounted electronic ignition...and we're concerned over bodywork irregularities? :o Us lowly I.B. dwellers could only dream of such modern problems... ;D ;D ;D



A trifecta of Pre-Unit Bullets: a Red Deluxe 500, a Green Standard 500, and a Black ES 350.


tooseevee

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Reply #9 on: October 19, 2020, 12:15:37 pm
Lessee now - The Electra/AVL gives you a real crankshaft big end, gear oil pumps, a 5-speed transmission, a disc brake up front, a cylinder head with flow potential that the UCE boys are jealous of, an electric starter that doesn't routinely frag itself (what's an electric starter? ;)), and a crank-mounted electronic ignition...and we're concerned over bodywork irregularities? :o Us lowly I.B. dwellers could only dream of such modern problems... ;D ;D ;D

           I'm not the least bit "concerned over bodywork irregularities". Exactly like garage-built harleys, I love this orphan Enfield for exactly the reasons that others out there can't stand them and make idiotic, misinformed or just plain bigoted comments about them*. I don't use the term endearing (as in my Subject Line) very often  :)

            * This is in no way directed at you, AzCal. You are a welcome breath of fresh air here :) Usually  :) ;) I just didn't want you to continue thinking I'm worried about the thickness of a pin stripe.
« Last Edit: October 19, 2020, 12:24:52 pm by tooseevee »
RI USA '08 Black AVL Classic.9.8:1 ACEhead/manifold/canister. TM32/Open bottle/hot tube removed. Pertronix Coil. Fed mandates removed. Gr.TCI. Bobber seat. Battery in right side case. Decomp&all doodads removed. '30s Lucas taillight/7" visored headlight. Much blackout & wire/electrical upgrades.


Adrian II

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Reply #10 on: October 19, 2020, 04:56:39 pm
You either love that AVL Classic/Electra-X engine or you don't. Works for me, I'm happy to share the joys of the 5 speed gearbox with later I.B. Bulleteers. Tooseevee was pleased enough with his to treat it to some of Ace's finest head work, me, I'm onto my second hybrid engine (with enough bits left for a third!).

Now if the build quality had been consistently good these would have been a cult bikes by now. Actually they probably are, but only among a rather smaller group of folks than we might have ended up with.  ;)

A.

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AzCal Retred

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Reply #11 on: October 19, 2020, 05:50:29 pm
It looks to me that the Electra/AVL was the "Swan Song" of the non-unit construction machines. All the mods that the Bullet "needed" to stay competitive in the market look to be there. I think Adrian hit it square on: "Now if the build quality had been consistently good these would have been a cult bikes by now.". It'll take about $2500 to H's to modernize my Red road burner with a 5-speed & front disc, unless I can find used parts cheaply. When the bushing crank finally goes, that'll be another $1500 or so. I'm content with 25-30 BHP, easily doable from the stock motor with a good crank, alloy barrel & forged piston. Points still work for me. Plan "B" is to haunt the Estate sales ads looking for that 20 year old, 1500 mile kitted-up "Grandpa's Bike" that the youthful will beneficiaries want to cash out of... ;D - ACR -
A trifecta of Pre-Unit Bullets: a Red Deluxe 500, a Green Standard 500, and a Black ES 350.


ace.cafe

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Reply #12 on: October 20, 2020, 01:34:14 am
If I may opine on the bearing discussion here, I actually prefer the floating bush DESIGN over the roller big end.

Reasons being that the floating bush has much lower bearing speeds, larger load bearing surface area, less shear on the oil, cooler running, more forgiving for setting bearing clearance, and lower cost.

The problem was that the OEM floating bush has a babbitted coating which flakes off and fails, which really isn't needed.

While Ace never really made a big penetration into the market with our monolithic bronze floating bush with Ace/Carrillo rod, it actually did solve the issues and proved superior to the Alpha roller kit at a lower cost.
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Paul W

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Reply #13 on: October 20, 2020, 06:15:56 am
Ace.cafe,

I’ve always thought that the floating bush was a great idea, for the reasons you’ve stated. My first two bikes were BSAs, both of which had plain bearing bottom ends.....and both failed. Fitting a floating bush effectively halves the bearing face speeds but keeps the same face area.

Hopefully I haven’t just jinxed my 350...... :-X
Paul W.


Adrian II

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Reply #14 on: October 20, 2020, 01:57:11 pm
Bullet Whisperer recently changed an Indian Bullet floating-bush big-end in someone's iron barrel 500 as a precaution, it was still OK after (I think) 80,000 miles. My earlier comments about consistent build quality hold good across their model range. Production-line roulette?

Ace, you didn't think up that monolithic bush back in 2001, did you? (A nice cue for Bilgemaster, there...)

A.
Grumpy Brit still seeking 500 AVL Bullet perfection! Will let you know if I get anywhere near...