[Richard230]

Nice!   

[Antipodean Andrew]

Very pleased for you Relic. Great choice of colour. 

[Narada]

Nice pair! 

[Relic]

Very pleased for you Relic. Great choice of colour. 

Somehow I thought you might say that! And yes very pleased with the colour (that's color to our US friends).

Currently avoiding the question at home of when the black 350 is going on the market...cant sell until my new pannier frames arrive. They are in Singapore en-route from India and, if the parcel delays are anything like the shipping container delays through there, it could be September before the frames arrive.

Which coincides with spring in NZ, a much better time to sell motorcycles than winter

[Mark1971]

Fitted a hitchcocks silencer, some Dunlop K70 tyres and removed the front brake caliper as one of its pistons was seized up and causing severe drag. Quite surprised about the brake issue as the bikes only 8 months old and is washed regularly. Still it's great sitting fettling with the bike, certainly beats watching all thd rubbish on TV.

[Guaire]

Fitted a hitchcocks silencer, some Dunlop K70 tyres and removed the front brake caliper as one of its pistons was seized up and causing severe drag. Quite surprised about the brake issue as the bikes only 8 months old and is washed regularly. Still it's great sitting fettling with the bike, certainly beats watching all thd rubbish on TV.

The washing may have created the brake problem.

[Ergyd]

Changed the rear tyre from the K70 to a Heidenau K34.
The wear on the Dunlop was incredible, after only a year, and it never quite felt comfortable...

Already, I'm much more confident with the Heidenau - took the bike for a 400mile camping and fly-fishing weekend trip, and she performed brilliantly.

A great excuse to also try out my new Merlin saddlebags - beautiful objects, loads of space.

[Relic]

Great photos!

What size Heidenau K34 did you fit to the rear wheel? I've just bought a Heidenau K60 110/80/18 for the back of my bike and it looks a lot wider that the Ceat of the same size.

Really hoping it will fit inside the swingarm...

[Ergyd]

Great photos!

What size Heidenau K34 did you fit to the rear wheel?

Thanks Relic - these bikes are just so photogenic, impossible for them NOT to look good!


I fitted same as stock size - 3.50 - 19. Not 100% sure how that translates size-wise, but there's plenty of clearance there. I considered going up to a 4.00, but just seemed unnecessary...

[cupoftee]

Replaced the indicator and neutral lights with leds.
Perfect lumination in day light, well chuffed.
Added a ngk plug cap to get better spark.

[dickim]

Good move on the plug cap, did the same when mine failed to start, pulled the factory metal cap and it fell into pieces

[JohnnieK]

Fitted a new sprocket/drum and new chain. Had to fit the wheel twice after forgetting the one spacer. As I tightened the axle bolt the wheel stopped turning - so I looked around and saw the little spacer lying on the garage floor.   Broke 2 teeth of the sprocket about 2 months ago. Started right up after sitting idle for more that 2 months. Seems to ride a bit better with the new chain and sprocket.

[Guaire]

Good move on the plug cap, did the same when mine failed to start, pulled the factory metal cap and it fell into pieces

  The stock caps are junk. Did you use the zero resistance NGK?

[dickim]

  The stock caps are junk. Did you use the zero resistance NGK?

Sorry-Honestly can't remember, I canabalised one to get me going and went online for an angled (45'?) NGK as angled not available locally. Always go NGK for plugs & caps as never failed me.

[Relic]

Took my new 500 for a 70km ride in the countryside today.

The engine is starting to loosen up nicely although I'm still being careful not to labor or extend the engine during the bedding in process. To that end I've been choosing roads with little traffic, and plenty of opportunity to vary the speeds without annoying other road users.

Compared to my '16 Classic 350:
I'm loving the rear disc brake and the significant increase in torque on the new bike. The OEM Ceat tires are pretty good too; they look to be the same as that fitted to the Bullet Trials model. The exhaust is also something I'm loving; it sounds like a helicopter is following me...
I'm missing the immediate throttle response of the carb'd engine and also the very smooth feel and ride of the old bike in general.

Once the 500 has a couple of thousand k's under it's tires I'm sure it will be a different bike; the vibrations are already much less than felt on the first few rides.