Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum
Royal Enfield Motorcycles => Vintage Royal Enfield => Topic started by: luoma on March 07, 2010, 03:36:03 am
-
Anybody else see the Lightning on ebay? I did not know they ever even imported that model to the states. Looks to be in good shape. Rare bike. I think they only made that model for a year or two.
-
Saw that also..wondering maybe if it's a real model or an upgrade kit. Seemed like a decent price was on it. But then again we have nothing to compare it to.
-
I saw that ,he had BSA in the title,would that have been a joint effort between RE and BSA?The motor looks all RE.Tried to Google that came up with 0.
-
For those who haven't seen the sled, here it is.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BSA-classic-2000-royal-enfield-535-lightning-classic_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem1c10b513d3QQitemZ120539386835QQptZUSQ5fmotorcycles
-
If you fo to the India site you can find it. Think it was a home market bike only. But very sharp unit. Notice the speedo is KmH only. That's what gives me my clue in. Wonder if it actually has a title though.
-
And its R/H shift too,,,,,,
-
The 535 was sort of a factory attempt at including some of Fritz Egli's Bullet mods into the factory bike.
In the early to mid-90s, the Swiss motorycle modifying master Egli, of Egli Vincent fame, decided to do his magic on Bullets.
He was a pioneer for the 535cc kit, and the stroker kit with his version being 624cc, and included some various other parts like the Egli distributor and the re-designed external oil lines with the pressure-relief valve in them, and the hi-volume oil pumps.
So, Enfield used some of these Egli-type things on the Lightning engine. The Lightning has the 535cc barrel and piston, and it has the hi-volume oil pumps.
Prior to this, I am pretty sure that all the Bullets had bushings on the distributor shaft, instead of bearings. Egli made a new distributor housing, and put Swiss bearings in it, for making the ignition more precise. The old bushings would wear out quickly, and allow the distributor shaft to move laterally, which caused timing problems. Egli required that this distributor be put in as the first mod, before he would do any further tuning of the engine for any Bullet customers.
Later, the factory began to include the bearings in the distributor, and perhaps the Lightning was the first to have this mod too. I'm not sure.
I have an Egli distributor for the Bullet in my possession. I bought one of the last ones available. It's here on my shelf in brand-new condition. I have thought about making more of these, using mine as the pattern. But, since the new Bullets have the improved distributor with bearings now in the 500 models, it might not be anything but a conversation piece. But it's cool.
(http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/9199910/sn/1344013736/name/n_a)
And here's a picture of the Egli "Super Bullet" 624cc stroker with Egli frame and bodywork.
(http://www.royal-enfield.net/new_bullets/Egli3.jpg)
-
Hard to believe 273 mi. with a pipe that blue and the silicone all over the gearbox cover. ERC
-
Speaking of ebay...Have you all seen the Indian 3 wheel patrol car (RE powered) just listed? I would have a link but am computer dumb.
-
He want's 5 K for the 535 Lightning,anyone know there value?
coinz
-
I think $5k is pushing it.. You can pick up a 500 for under $2k if your patient and buy all the parts to mod it and with a better crank/ bearings resulting in a better bike and still have some money to spare..
A 535 alloy bore kit is only $575 from CMW...
-
A few years back there were 2 Lightning's on e-Bay. Brand new still in the crate and held by US customs. 300 bucks for both but had to be picked within 15 days and either scrapped or shipped out if the country.
If I only had the time I would have scrapped em myself.
If it were me I'd be leery of any Lightning in the US.
CJ
-
Not sure how reliable the year 2000 speed parts or performance mods would have been then,even if factory....Ace is the place now.
-
And i've seen the 2000 models with the different gearbox end covers and left shift,not sure what's going on here.But the idea of buying a Bullet and just upgrading the bit's sounds a good idea
coinz
-
I have been working overseas for awhile, the 2003 Lightening 535 was my first. I still have it, but now I want to modify it. It is a summer project, the only problem is I need to verify that the spare parts for a bullet will fit on it. To be more to the point the custom café-style seat made specifically for the Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle (Part Number Z90637). I googled the specs of both and they seem similar enough, I just need to know before I buy it, the local dealer here is no longer in business. The product states that the seat can be bolted to a classic british style ride with no modifications in 15 minutes, but these bikes have been made in the UK in years. Any suggestions?
-
Hi AgN03,
Welcome aboard.
If the parts are to fit a Redditch built Bullet the manufacturer will point that out.
In general Bullet usage the term "classic" has come to mean two things.
(a) the Indian built Iron Barrel powered bikes
(b) a model of the new UCE powered machined I.E. Clasic, DeLuxe, etc.
To the best of my limited knowledge the Lightning should be built on the same frame as the rest of the Iron Barrel bullets of that year.
Bear In mind that I have only seen them on the web. R.E. never exported them to the States. I know of only one in the US. It showed up on ebay a while back.
-
Hi
I am an owner of a Lightning 535 2001 model and let me tell you what I know about this bike..
The bike does an indicated 130 km/h with an 18T sprocket, oodles of torque, very much more rideable than the 500cc machines, on account of the higher power (25 hp) and much higher torque 3.8 KGM @ 3000 rpm
The Egli design piston has serious issues, and most owners of this bike in India have experienced piston seizure. Many have simply converted their 535s to Std 500s, the availability of pistons and bore kits is also dry in India now, and those dealers who have them are asking for about 500$ US which is more than twice the original price.
I myself rode the bike for about 7000 KM initially, the hardest I ever rode it was 1 hour continuously at about 120 km/h in blistering heat.
After that I had a bad accident and bent the downtube, and rebuilt most of the bike except the engine.
At about 17000 KM we had big end bush failure and found that the piston had developed a crack below the gudgeon pin on both sides, and had to be replaced.
After some 1000 KM the big end bush again got wasted, and needed replacement.
Since then, another 8000 KM or so have been put on the clock and there has been no issue.
I have no idea how so many owners have seized their pistons, but it has happened too often to blame the riders.
If I do manage to seize it, I won't use the stock factory piston but get a better quality one from other sources.
My advice is, forget about getting this model, instead get a 500 and upgrade it with an aftermarket 535 piston and barrel kit.
Regards
Vivek