Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum

Royal Enfield Motorcycles => Bullet Iron Barrel => Topic started by: Guaire on March 31, 2013, 04:44:29 am

Title: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: Guaire on March 31, 2013, 04:44:29 am
Hi Everyone - This is my first Enfield. I'm not familiar with the models and abbreviations. What model is this called? It's a 2004, has an electric start, Mikuni carb, K&N filter, 535cc, heavy duty clutch, Boyer-Brandsen electronic ignition, Hitchcock 5 speed trans.
  I've read posts on engine oil and that has helped. What goes in the primary chain case? Does the gearbox get its own oil, if so what and how much?
  I want to be able to identify this model so I can order some oil filters. Any pointers on spark plugs? The previous owner said he will mail me a service manual. If I order one, what model do I have?
  Anyway, I'm looking forward to riding this bike. I go out on local rides with fellows from the ninja250forum.org. Not a lot of high speed, but we cover lots of rural roads in western MD, past Frederick and Thurmont. Likewise, in VA west of DC. If anyone is around this area maybe we could get out for some rides.
  My 'other' bike is a 1989 Yamaha Radian YX600 and a 2002 Honda ST1100.
 I'll see if I can get pics of the RE attached.
Cheers,
Bill
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: High On Octane on March 31, 2013, 05:23:14 am
Welcome to the forum and Nice Bike!  It sounds like the previous owner already did a lot good mods, that Boyer ignition is an excellent upgrade.  Now I'm not as good at identifying all the different models as well as some of the other people on here, but it looks like you have an Iron Barrel Bullet.  A great find none the less!  Congrats!

Scottie
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: Ice on March 31, 2013, 07:50:01 am
Hi Guaire welcome aboard and congrats on your Bullet.

Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: ace.cafe on March 31, 2013, 10:55:46 am
Nice bike!

The model is a 500 ES, and it looks to have been converted from a 4-speed to a 5-speed.
The oil filters will be the same for any of the "Iron Barrel" type Bullets. They are all the same filter. The AVL or UCE type filters will NOT be compatible.
Regular motor oil can be used in the primary chaincase. If you have cluch slip, you can change the primary oil to ATF. Some people prefer ATF, and it's possible that yours may have already had ATF in it.
Fill it up to where it begins to run out of the level plug that's used to check level.
Spark plug is BR8ES.

Beware of sustained speeds over 60mph. It doesn't like that,  and it could seize the engine from inability to get rid of the heat. It's not an interstate highway bike, by any means. It will ride all day at 55mph, but that extra 5-10 mph over a sustained period can kill it.
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: Guaire on March 31, 2013, 06:28:43 pm
Thanks for the info and advice. Now I can get some basic supplies for it.
Bill
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: Mike_D on March 31, 2013, 09:31:24 pm
Shouldn't he be using a B8ES with the Boyer?  Ace I thought I read that's the plug you recommend with the Boyer in a previous thread.  Anyway, that's what I'm using and it works well.....

Congrats on the bike. I called the previous owner like 5 times and he never returned my call.   It was a good price, enjoy!
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: Ice on March 31, 2013, 09:38:36 pm
Guaire
 In 2004 the 5 speed gearbox was standard on the Bullet Sixty-5 and optional on the other models of the Bullet line.

 Yours is an R.E. gearbox which is good news as they are more widely distributed an in far greater numbers than the Hitchcock units.

 Also the UCE uses many of the same parts so in short, parts will be easy to get and readily available for a long, long time in the unlikely event  that you might want them.

Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: ace.cafe on March 31, 2013, 11:06:50 pm
Shouldn't he be using a B8ES with the Boyer?  Ace I thought I read that's the plug you recommend with the Boyer in a previous thread.  Anyway, that's what I'm using and it works well.....

Congrats on the bike. I called the previous owner like 5 times and he never returned my call.   It was a good price, enjoy!
IMO, there really is no advantage to have the resistor plug AND the resistor wire.
However, if you have a good hot coil, it can overcome both resistors, and it will be fine. The only issue which could arise is a weak spark with a weak coil and a double resistor.
I just mentioned the stock plug. I probably should have mentioned the difference, but I didn't really think of it at the time. I was concentrating more on the proper heat range.
So, if he wants to run without the resistor in the plug, he can use B8ES.
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: Guaire on March 31, 2013, 11:26:04 pm
Back in LA, Matt Capri helped me out with an old Beemer I had. Instead of using an R plug for the updated electronic ignition on a /7, he set me up with resistor spark plug cables and regular plugs. That got it right. On that bike and on my Bullet the cap is an NGK. Coincidence? It's a good cap.
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: barenekd on April 01, 2013, 08:22:00 pm
 Welcome to the forum. That's a nice bike! The only thing I see wrong with your bike is the Avon Skidmaster tire on the front. Get a K70 as a replacement before it puts you in a ditch! If you like to ride the twisties, that's not the tire to have!
Are you from Socal? Matt is a good friend of mine.
Bare
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: Guaire on April 02, 2013, 03:50:36 am
Hi Bare - I was born in DC. I spent about 38 years in SoCal. I came back to Arlington in 2003.
  Between Hollywood gigs, I had worked at Century MC in San Pedro. At one point I was commuting to Hwood from Pedro in a car, no bike. I got a used '77 R60/7 at Century. I didn't know much about BMWs. My friend Cindy Rutherford suggested I get myself over to Matt's to get some help for setting up the old Beemer. Matt really helped me.
  I switched to synthetic. He told me to take that BMW oil and use it in my lawn mower. The BMW stock spark plug wires - throw them in the trash. Matt cut a length of resistor spark plug wires, added NGK caps and the electronic ignition worked right. That's some highlights. When it came to the tach not working - "It's old!!!"
  He had taken on being an Aprilia dealer. He outsold everyone. Aprilia was going to fly him to the factory for a couple of weeks. I call Matt "The world's fastest Italian." He was really looking forward to a trip to Italy and hang out with the guys.  It meant a lot to him. He told me, "They say the Japanese are going to design frames by computer. Computer code?! Genetic code!"
  Matt Capri set class records at Bonneville using the BMW K model. He told me, [about the K model], "It took the Krauts to build it. But it took a Wop to make it run!"
I miss being there.
  If anyone is in his neighborhood, stop in the shop in Lomita, CA. It's no surprise that Matt has a friend here. He's enthusiastic about bikes, life, fun and he's brilliant.
 I'm retired from the motion picture industry now. Any one need some quality video editing? I started riding in the 1960s. My dream then was to own a BSA. The Enfield is bringing something good from my past together with something exciting now.
  Do you know if Matt knows about the "ACEing" of the Enfield irons? He got his hands on the K and set records at Bonneville, likewise with the Hinckley Triumph. Why not with the Royal Enfield? At least if he knows the ACE kit is available, he would probably offer it to his RE customers.
 The best tires I ever rode on my three Kawi EX250s were modern Avons. So, it isn't a put down on Avon. But....Bare, those old Avons are kind of spooky. I hear you. I rode BSAs and Triumphs with K70s. I know they are currently manufactured, but, isn't there a 'modern' tire that's better than K70s? Is it a matter of what will fit on the new - old size spoked wheels? Let me know. If that's the case I'll order a set of K70s.
  Chaparral is offering the front K70 in 3.25 x 19 and in 3.50 x 19. Currently, there's a 3.25 on the front. Chaparral is selling the front 3.25 for $76.88 and the rear for $80.88, only in 3.50 x 19. What's the size for my Bullet? I don't think Chaparral will know. Probably better to get a set of whatever will work, to match profiles.

Cheers,
Bill
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: ace.cafe on April 02, 2013, 08:46:20 am
Bill,
Right now we are just finishing up a new higher-performance package that would be aimed at the racing market. Much more radical than our regular Fireball package. Should be out by summer.
We'll be testing it as soon as the headwork is complete.
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: AgentX on April 02, 2013, 11:16:44 am
  Chaparral is offering the front K70 in 3.25 x 19 and in 3.50 x 19. Currently, there's a 3.25 on the front. Chaparral is selling the front 3.25 for $76.88 and the rear for $80.88, only in 3.50 x 19. What's the size for my Bullet? I don't think Chaparral will know. Probably better to get a set of whatever will work, to match profiles.

Cheers,
Bill

They're interchangeable front and rear tires.  Use 3.25 front and 3.5 rear to match your stock profiles.
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: gunbunny on April 05, 2013, 02:54:44 am
Hi Bill, I am in the area, I work in DC and live in Dale City. Maybe we can get a few of the locals together for a ride now the weather is warming up. there are quite a few bullet riders in the area.   Robert
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: Guaire on April 07, 2013, 05:08:21 pm
Sounds good, Gunbunny. I have friends in the ninja250forum.org that might want to get out with us. They don't like going on freeways, except as necessary. We have started runs in Rockville and Point O Rocks. I'm in north Arlington, west of Chain Bridge. DC is a lot closer than Dale City!
Cheers,
Bill
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: barenekd on April 08, 2013, 12:36:39 am
Quote
I had worked at Century MC in San Pedro. At one point I was commuting to Hwood from Pedro in a car, no bike. I got a used '77 R60/7 at Century. I didn't know much about BMWs. My friend Cindy Rutherford suggested I get myself over to Matt's to get some help for setting up the old Beemer. Matt really helped me.

Bill,
Matt has just moved a couple of blocks down the street last year into a bigger, nicer shop. I kinda likes the old one better. It smelled like a good old time motorcycle shop! You probably know his wife died a few years ago and he's been spending more time chasing women than building record breakers! I don't know whether he's building up any RE's or not. He was running some new Triumph stuff the last time I saw him, at the IMS Show in Long Beach. I dont' get down to his shop often as it's 50 miles away, and I don't have too many reasons to go that way. The dealer I got my RE from is 50 the other way. I did give Matt a try, and he was supposed to call me about it, but I never heard from him. Girls were the bigger name on the line, I guess! I did get a '95 Speed Triple from him back when he was in Long Beach (Lakewood?).
 I don't know if you knew that Cindy R from Century died last October. We had a memorial for her in December at the annual Christmas Party. Great turnout. She was a lot of fun!
I moved out here is '79 and commuted to Douglas in Long Beach from Huntington Beach. Not that long a distance, but traffic on the 405 sucked and it didn't take me long to observe that splitting lanes on a bike beat the hell out of sitting in the middle of a bunch of cages. I was down to a Greeves Griffon, so I needed a street bike to participate. I got a Yamaha SR500, and haven't had to commute in a cage since then!
Bare
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: Guaire on April 08, 2013, 03:33:16 am
Bare, the day I flew into Long Beach, my friend who was picking me up handed me a 'Daily Breeze'. Cindy's obit was on the front page. She was my oldest friend in San Pedro. The next day I visited with her son, Tim. He told me about the Dec 9 party. I got some photos from him. If you noticed the DVD of photos playing at Century that day, I made that DVD.
  Good to hear that Matt is running around , period. I had heard when his wife was sick. Not calling back on a potential sale was different than the usual. I commuted to Hollywood on a /7 that I bought at Century. Lane splitting down the 110 was a hoot. One day on the 405, just before the 110 turn off, several cars went NASCAR, right in front of me. Three or four cars were banging, spinning and sliding. Tires were burning rubber, radiators were spewing while the cars spun and moved to the right. I stayed on my lane, put on every brake I had and...... they all moved to my right. I stayed in my lane, no drastic manuevers necessary, then when my lane didn't have any spinning cars, I hit the throttle. What a day.
  A driver who must have been in back of me, did some sign language as he pulled along side. He was thrilled and relieved I didn't do anything to put myself on the grooved concrete.
  Oh well, it's the world's loss that Matt is doing to REs what he did with Triumph and BMW.
  Keep that head gasket happy on that SR500. At Century I did a test ride on one that was being setup for a customer for track work. Pretty perky 500.
 I got to Century back in the old days of the BSAOC SoCal. My 'other bike' is an '02 Honda ST1100. I hope to drive cross country and see the old homestead. I lived in San Pedro, mostly in Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades. I miss it much!
Cheers,
Bill
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: Guaire on April 15, 2013, 06:24:50 pm
I couldn't find a clutch cable ferrule on my left lever to extend its length to on NField Gear. My lower adjuster is VERY extended. I want to lengthen the lever ferrule with a second ferrule. That way I can shorten the adjustment on the lower. The one at the lever is part of the clutch cable. On eBay I found these Triumph parts.  http://www.ebay.com/itm/380597903971?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
I'm thinking they will work.  Any suggestions? Here's some pix showing all this.
Cheers,
Bill
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: ace.cafe on April 15, 2013, 06:34:45 pm
Well, I must say that you have a most unusual looking clutch cable there.
I have never seen any Bullet clutch cable like that one before.

I'd say it is clearly not the right cable.
Maybe it would be worth a try to get the right cable for it, instead of more bodges on to that one.
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: Guaire on April 15, 2013, 06:45:35 pm
Ace - I think it's definitely bodged with that hyper extended adjustment. Is this the cable you wrote about? 
http://nfieldgear.com/enfield-store/maintenance-repair/cables/clutch-cable-5-speed.html
  The PO said he installed a clutch. I'll talk to him this week and ask him about it.
I found all my old Whitworth/BS wrenches and sockets. YAAAAY!
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: ace.cafe on April 15, 2013, 07:02:26 pm
Ace - I think it's definitely bodged with that hyper extended adjustment. Is this the cable you wrote about? 
http://nfieldgear.com/enfield-store/maintenance-repair/cables/clutch-cable-5-speed.html
  The PO said he installed a clutch. I'll talk to him this week and ask him about it.
I found all my old Whitworth/BS wrenches and sockets. YAAAAY!

Well, either that one, or if they still sell the "premium clutch cable", that would be even better.

It's just that after putting all those various extenders and things on it, it just isn't likely to be very good.
After having that much trouble, you will probably feel very relieved to just put on the right cable adjust it correctly, and have it work.
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: Kevin Mahoney on April 15, 2013, 07:13:06 pm
What you see in the pictures is a modification the factory put on the cable to help reduce premature cable breakage. You NEED the ferrule. We do not list most OEM parts on NField gear. Call Tim at 800-201-7472 and he will fix you up.

BTW He has started the arduous task of posting the older OEM parts and drawings on NField Gear. We have looked at doing this for years, but the task is overwhelming. There are a lot of subtle and not so subtle changes in parts and not all are well documented. I doubt he will get much more done until the season slows down, but he made some good headway this winter. We are starting with the Iron Barrel stuff.
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: ace.cafe on April 15, 2013, 08:35:05 pm
Okay, well that's a new one that I wasn't aware of.
Thanks for that factory update, Kevin.
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: cochi on April 15, 2013, 11:51:02 pm
Kevin, great to know that the older parts will be posted in Nfield Gear. Thanks. cochi
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: Guaire on April 17, 2013, 03:05:19 pm
I did a little work yesterday. New chain, cleaned and oiled the K&N air filter.
    I have the RE "Micro Digital" ignition. I want to replace the spark plug wire. The seems in OK condition. Is this a regular spark plug cable with resistors in the NGK cap? Or, a resistor cable? Or, both? I'm using the D8ES plug, not an 'R' plug.
  Thanks to Bare's post, I torqued the axle nuts to 50 lbs.
Cheers,
Bill
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: Guaire on April 17, 2013, 03:14:05 pm
"The seems in OK condition."

Duh. The cap is in OK condition. The cable is stiff. The cable and cap are about 20" in total length, starting from the Lucas coil to the end of the cap.
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: ace.cafe on April 17, 2013, 03:25:41 pm
"The seems in OK condition."

Duh. The cap is in OK condition. The cable is stiff. The cable and cap are about 20" in total length, starting from the Lucas coil to the end of the cap.
These electronic ignitions usually specify that there be some sort of spark suppression. So, if you are not running a resistor plug, then it would probably be a good idea to run a resistor cap or wire.
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: D the D on April 17, 2013, 06:59:38 pm
I think the cable is stiff because it is a copper wire conductor, not a flexible, graphite impregnated suppression cord like most plug wires have these days.
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: Guaire on April 17, 2013, 10:40:36 pm
 That cap is a 5k ohm resistor. My local dealer gave me a new length of spark plug wire. I cleaned the cap and the coil connector. One kick start.
  I'll check how the Mikuni is set up. I believe I'll need a smaller main. The plug will tell.
Title: Re: "New" 2004 in Arlington
Post by: Guaire on May 10, 2013, 08:16:48 pm
I just got a pair of saddlebags. Whaddya think?