[Volvi]

Ok first post on this forum, so treat me gently please lol. Bought an RE 2021 Classic 500 Tribute Black earlier this year. Bikes done 3300 Klm. Am down in Melbourne Australia.

I have to admit defeat at least for now. Intentions were to install a Carberry vibration plate and a 19 tooth F sprocket, by removing right side engine cover for access. However the cord coming from the stator, its couplings were much further down the line then I expected, all the way to other side under fuse cover which is also hard to reach let alone threading it all out and back in to the same place. I suppose only way is to hang engine cover to the side somehow. However I couldnt even get that far. The side cover would not budge after removing all the bolts. Pull, twist and tap of rubber mallet nothing would budge it as if the gasket is made of super glue. So F it I bolted everything back up and installed the fresh oil and will re-visit the project at my next oil change when I know more. Anyone with any experience please chime in. Cheers

[Haggis]

You have to pull against the magnetic forces from the rotor. You really need to disconect the alternator connection though and also the crank position sensor connection. Saves any damage to the wiring especially where it enters the case.
You will also need an oil pump outlet O ring. A new case gasket is handy to have in case you damage the old one.

[symmo]

You will also need a puller for the rotor, don't try and lever it off or by tapping the end of the shaft.
When I did mine I very gently let the cover rest on the side of the engine supported with an old towel rolled up, as I found it too hard to get to the cable connectors to free up the casing completely. also as mentioned do not forget that NEW o-ring and a new gasket.

[Volvi]

Yea I was well prepared for the job. Have magneto puller tool ready, 46mm socket for sprocket, new gasket, new oil sump o rings. Just didnt expect the connectors to be so far down the line. Youtube vid by iridetas seem to access them with ease but his model is a 2017, maybe they changed it on my model. And the case not loosening a fraction surprised me, I didnt want to go all apeshit on it.

[symmo]

Yea I was well prepared for the job. Have magneto puller tool ready, 46mm socket for sprocket, new gasket, new oil sump o rings. Just didnt expect the connectors to be so far down the line. Youtube vid by iridetas seem to access them with ease but his model is a 2017, maybe they changed it on my model. And the case not loosening a fraction surprised me, I didnt want to go all apeshit on it.

My connectors are tucked in behind the tool box that has all the other plugs and relays in so I left well alone and as I said took the case off and rested on the engine, I did have to turn the case over on it self to create slack on the cable. It all worked fine twice actually because I thought the o-ring may have slipped out, it hadn't just me being obsessive and paranoid.

[Haggis]

Mine are just below the battery.
Very easy to get at.

[Guaire]

On my 2014, I put in a closer set of connectors. In the future The disconnection will be much easier.

[danketchpel]

Mine are just below the battery.
Very easy to get at.

I have my timing side cover off right now for a 19T sprocket upgrade / kickstart shaft reseal and the connectors on my 2012 C5 are in the same location as your's. I wish they were out a bit further but it wasn't too bad to disconnect them.

BTW, just in case you need it, the O-ring Hitchcock's sells for the oil pump to side case joint (show in the photo) is 10.5mm x 2.4mm which is a bit of an odd size. I just ordered a few which is why I had the numbers in my memory.

Let us know what you think of the Carberry plate, I considered installing one but the feedback I found seemed to indicate a rather marginal improvement so I decided to skip it this time.

[symmo]

I think the only person who benefits from the Carberry plate is Carberry, the effect is minimal with some wishful thinking thrown in and the satisfaction of knowing or not that you have spent £/$ on something that may or may not be of any benefit. So I just ride happily along thinking it must be good because I bought it, I have seen one with roller bearings as apposed to needle which I think may be better.

[beagle]

I have done what you are wanting to do. The carberry plate was added to help the crank at high revs. The motor was already very smooth. NOTE: You will need a n 18tooth front as they come with 17 as standard, on later bikes...Going to 19 will really make it struggle. Mine is a 21 classic with carberry plate, 18 tooth font, booster plug, iridium spark plug with an after market can. It goes very well and will cruise at 110kpm all day with no vibes. Its a pleasure to ride, even on the motorway...

[Volvi]

As far as I know the 2021 comes with an 18 tooth front sprocket. So 19t is next up. If you have done the carberry plate how did you get along with the stator cable?

[beagle]

Mine had a 17 tooth and I would suggest you double check. I drank beers while a mate fitted it all, however the stator was just tied up from memory. The biggest hassle was cleaning the goop off the engine cases....Also, make sure the chain has stretched a bit to allow the larger cog..

[Haggis]

Best to count your teeth to make sure.
The euro 3 bikes, rear drum brake, came with an 18 front sprocket as standard.
When the euro4 came out, rear disc brake,   the front sprocket was a 17 as standard.

[Richard230]

Best to count your teeth to make sure.
The euro 3 bikes, rear drum brake, came with an 18 front sprocket as standard.
When the euro4 came out, rear disc brake,   the front sprocket was a 17 as standard.

My 2011 Bullet with a drum brake and 19" wheels all around, came from the factory with a 17 tooth front drive sprocket. I doubt the engine would pull the bike up any sort of hill if a 19" sprocket was fitted. 

[Haggis]

Richard230,, there may have been a difference between  the C5 efi classic and the Bullet version. C5 has 19" front and 18" rear wheel. I think the B version had 19" wheels front and rear. Might explain a 17 front sprocket.?

[Richard230]

Richard230,, there may have been a difference between  the C5 efi classic and the Bullet version. C5 has 19" front and 18" rear wheel. I think the B version had 19" wheels front and rear. Might explain a 17 front sprocket.?

That was my thought. The 19" wheel would need a smaller sprocket.

[GunnarS]

Hi all! I have a Classic 2010, later upgraded to the same front geometry as 2012, meaning new front fork and 19 inch front wheel. Still 18 inch rear. When I installed the Carberry reduction plate, I also changed the front sprocket from 18 to 19 (I had 18 as standard). The bike has no problems whatsoever with the larger front sprocket. On the contrary, my experience with the 18 sprocket was  that I barely had any use of the gearbox at all; I could basically switch to 5:th gear already on speed limited city streets. However, one should perhaps consider why RE went down to 17 as standard at some point in time. Was it together with introduction of rear disk brake? Did they change the rear sprocket as well then?

Best regards,
Gunnar

[Richard230]

My 2011 Bullet has a 17-tooth front sprocket. I assume it is because the bike has a 19" rear wheel, which has a rolling diameter larger than the 18" wheel used on the Classic.

[Wide]

For ref... my 2021 c5 classic came with a 17t sprocket standard and it was awful at anywhere above 50 mph....I have changed it to an 18t and its a bit better.... still really only likes cruising at 60 on speedo so inreality 55mph !! I feel it could easily pull with a 19t on and still cope with hills at low speeds just fine.
As for carberry thing... pah... whats the point !!

[Crabsapper]

Awful why?

[Wide]

Because it wouldn't want to go much above 50 without revving its tits off... this isn't an endure bike with a big rear sprocket ... its a road bike that doesn't want to be thrashed to maintain a speed of a laden hgv

[Crabsapper]

I wouldn't say it's revving it's tits off. Mine cruises at 70 easily and hits the limiter at about 80-odd which is about 5700rpm.

[Wide]

I wouldn't say it's revving it's tits off. Mine cruises at 70 easily and hits the limiter at about 80-odd which is about 5700rpm.

With a 17t front sprocket?

[Wide]

I wouldn't say it's revving it's tits off. Mine cruises at 70 easily and hits the limiter at about 80-odd which is about 5700rpm.

Maybe with exhaust noise mine just sounds that then.... but today I went out on my 500... and I sat on a motorway,  which I don't normally do, to see what its like, and with its 18t sprocket, booster lead, iridium spark plug, dna filter and full hitchcocks exhaust...it still only really hits 65 where it sounds comfy.... Will get to 70 fine with little throttle left to twist... 75 after a while and I didn't fancy seeing if I could wring its neck to 80 or more.... maybe I air on the side of caution too much with mechanical sympathy??!!

[axman88]

My 2012 C5 was built in 2011 with 18" wheels front and rear, perhaps the last of the Classic 500s built that way, and also has the earlier "non-offset" front fork.  When I purchased it, it was fitted with a 20 tooth front sprocket.  I assume that the first owner did this.  Until I counted the teeth, I had no idea the bike wasn't running the stock ratio, the bike feels fine.  When I occasionally feel the need to downshift to better accomodate conditions, I do it.    For reference, it is quite flat here in Chicago.  In my urban, surface street riding, I seldom use 5th gear.  4th can take me up to 20 mph over posted limits, very nicely.

On the few occasions I've taken the C5 out on the expressway, the machine cruised comfortably at ~69 mph and the highest speed I've been able to reach so far has been ~75 mph.   Above 70, the steering gets a bit shakey, which I attribute to the reduced trail of the early fork. I expect that the higher 20/38 ratio works against achieving the higher, ~80 mph top speed, that other riders have reported, but I've never had difficulty with insufficient torque, and I'm over 200lbs and not much inclined to tuck at my age.  The bike pulls without stumbling or feathering the clutch in 1rst and has never shown any lack of power other than the top speed, air drag limit.  One of these days I'll try the 18 tooth I've acquired, but I I'll probably stick with the 20 tooth.

[Richard230]

My 2011 Bullet is completely stock except for an after-market muffler that produces the same amount of noise as did the stock muffler. It is just lighter and shorter. It has a 17-tooth counter shaft sprocket. My bike cruises at a steady 65 mph and will reach 70 without too much trouble. I have seen 78 on a GPS speedometer but encountering any hills or a head wind, it will drop back down to 70. However, it is happier at speeds between 50-65 mph which it will hold using 3/4 throttle on level ground, but will need full throttle to maintain 65 up a hill on the freeway.

[Crabsapper]

I did a 2 week UK tour this year on my 2020 Tribute, two-up with luggage. We covered 2400 miles, on all types of roads, usually at 60-65mph.
On occasional motorway sections, a steady 70mph was no problem, with enough in reserve to pass when needed.
On more than one occasion, we held that speed for over an hour. After all, its only about 4600rpm, if I remember correctly from when I had a Tiny-Tach fitted. The UCE engine is more than capable of running at that speed indefinitely IMO.
Bike was standard apart from a FuelX Lite unit.
The biggest help for crusing at 60+ was fitting a Puig screen. It's me that needed that!
I've since converted to carburettor and fitted a Hitchcocks pipe, but that's another story!
Back on topic......for me at least, the standard gearing is perfect.

[Richard230]

My 2011 Bullet, with its 17-tooth rear sprocket, shows 3,200 rpm on a digital tachometer at an actual 60 mph, which if my calculations are correct, would be about 4,200 rpm at 78 mph. Definitely not a high revving model. BTW, the owner's manual claims 82 mph as the bike's top speed. One think you don't have to worry about is hitting the rev limiter on this bike. 

[Keef Sparrow]

I wouldn't say it's revving it's tits off. Mine cruises at 70 easily and hits the limiter at about 80-odd which is about 5700rpm.

My 2020 Bullet Trials hits the rev limiter at 75 MPH (indicated) and won't go any faster even downhill. 65 indicated seems it's 'happy speed' and at 60-65 MPH very is virtually no vibration. Push over 70 and the mirrors blur and rotate out of adjustment, but even then I wouldn't call the vibration bad, but the bike obviously isn't happy. I think the 2020 Trials is undergeared and going up one tooth on the gearbox sprocket would be beneficial.

[beagle]

I found it lost a bit of flexibility around town with the extra tooth up front, but was comfortable at 110 kph. It was a case of operator learning the bike again and I don't notice it now.