[The swede]

Hej “newbie” here with somr question, anyone who knows if parts like tank,fork etc from a 2011 350 Electra classic will fit “bolt on” to my 2002 535 lightning ?

[The swede]

Anyone who has any idea if fuel tank fittings are the same on the 2011 vs 2002 model?

[The swede]

I stumbled upon a fairly descant 350 cc Electra bulllet with low milage from 2011 price around 800-900 euro but not possible to registration due to emissions reg I wounder if it’s worth buying and use as donor for my 2002 since I would like a new tank and seat etc but not sure if the are “bolt on” or they need modifications anybody have som idea and if it’s worth buying

[Bilgemaster]

Aside from the recent unpleasant spate of relentless comment spamming making these Forums all but unusable, I don't believe those interesting "modern-looking" Lightning 535 models were ever exported to North America, where I believe most of our members reside. 350s of any type are also a rarity over here. So this might explain the silence. I doubt many on these boards have ever seen a Lightning 535 or perhaps even ever heard about them. I mean, a Bullet with a factory tachometer? Who'd have thought it possible? I'd only heard of them because someone had posted here a while back seeking a new instrument cluster after a small accident.

I'd assumed those Lightnings were made solely for the Indian home market, sort of a precursor to their Thunderbird, basically bumping up the engine size of the venerable old Iron Barrel Bullet 35 ccs and then dressing her up to resemble a more modern '90s Honda, but maybe a few found their way to Europe?

My hunch is that your best bet towards getting an answer here might be to take several photos of your Lightning's tank from various angles, especially from below, providing key measurements (length, depth and width of channel, relative measurements of fixing points, etc.), post them here, and hope that one of our EU, Australian or Indian members with a 350 tank on the shelf may stumble in here and be willing to compare.

For those who've neither seen nor heard of a "Lightning 535", here's a fair example:

[Adrian II]

You might just get away with it.

First off, the tank. A few of those lightning models have escaped over here to the UK. Along with the AVL 350 Thunderbirds that replaced them, the front tank mount is the same as the normal Bullet, so a classic iron-barrel tank the normal shape certainly will fit. Now of you look at the 350 Electra tank, if it has the pressed steel flange at the front with a ⅜" or 9.52mm hole for the through bolt which passed through the rubber bush pressed into the frame (the bush has a steel inner sleeve), same as the normal Bullet tank, you're good to go. There should also be a couple of welded on mounting tabs at the rear of the tank to line up with the head-steady lug on the frame. Not sure if these use the bolt-one petcocks/fuel taps or take a classic British type screw-in item with the ¼" BSP thread, unless it is a fuel injection model, which would need an adapter plate in place of the fuel pump for you to fit the petcock/fuel tap.

I know the RE have changed the design on more recent fuel tanks, and the front no longer has provision for the through bolt. I THINK this was well after 2011, but I'm not sure when!

Next.

OK, the forks.

The Lightning forks are the same fitting as the classic iron barrel Bullet, they screw into the Lightning's iron top yoke with a right-hand fine thread, I think it's 1⅜" x 24TPI.

The 350 Electra forks may or may not fit, as the Indian factory produced different type of leading axle forks for the UCE 350 Bullet range, some had the same external screw thread on the fork tops as the older models, some had plain tops which bolt into the top yoke. If that Electra has the screw-in forks you can use them in your Lightning top yoke with no problem, I know they even fit some of the old UK built Royal Enfields. With the plain fork tops (these first appeared on late AVL Thunderbirds) you would either have to get a later Thunderbird top yoke (I already have one which I am not using), or get a machine shop to bore out the threaded part of your lightning yoke to 35mm.

Hope this helps.

A.

[DavidGraves]

There is a lovely "Enfield" ( not Royal Enfield) 350 that has been for sale around Seattle for a few years...so some of them made it here.

DG 

[AzCal Retred]

That 2011 350 has the newer 5 speed UCE engine, right? Your 2002 has the non-unit IB/CI engine & 4 speed? If so, the front end is the most valuable part for it's disc brake, unless your machine already has this. But - the conversion is available for about $400 euro already. Tanks are $100 to $300 from everywhere. IF it's the UCE design, and you don't already have a disc brake, you're still going to end up with about $400 worth of stuff you don't need.

Hitchcocks "Parts Book Online" shows the 2002 500's as the CI/IB 4 speed/drum brake design. The last US "Electra" of that ilk was 2008 with 5 speed & disk brake, the UCE motor shows up after that. IF that 350 Electra is really a left-over older non-unit machine, most items should be bolt on. What flavor is it - UCE or non-unit?

[Adrian II]

The 350 Electra's popularity in India saw it transition from an iron barrel to a UCE design. The last iron barrel 350's EVER were made in 2010 (ten years ago? REALLY???), also for the Indian home market, and these were the normal Bullet as far as I know, not the Electra variant.

The front end will be usable on the iron barrel Lightning with careful selection of the fork top yoke. If this particular UCE 350 still has a carburetor (many did until very recently) the tank and petcock will be usable too.

A.