2003 Royal Enfield 500 Deluxe

I think the office looks much improved over when the bike arrived.
Me too Raymond!

I’ve been meaning to ask you, are these some sort of running lights?
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I’ve been meaning to ask you, are these some sort of running lights?
View attachment 216213
Pretty much that - they're referred to as pilot lights.

Light ON/OFF switch on the right h/bar has 3 positions OFF, SIDE, MAIN. Sidelights brings on the side light bulb in the headlamp shell, plus the pilots, plus the tail lamp. Main gives all those plus of course the dipped or full beam headlamp - controlled by the dip switch on the left h/bar.

I usually ride with dipped headlamp and the ammeter tells me that the uprated alternator I fitted copes fine.

But to help it along, I replaced the pilot lights with LED bulbs - they're low wattage but fairly bright. Some PO already replaced the tail lamp with LED.

Had to laugh when I saw Bullet performance discussed. It is said that a Bullet is capable of

60mph - all day
70mph - on occasion
80mph - once.

Of course, there are plenty of tuning options - big bore, long stroke, replacement crankshaft with caged roller big end bearing, camshafts, reworked heads. How fast can you afford to go? Also worth noting that anything more than a moderate performance hike requires thought given to brakes, suspension, etcetera.

For now at least, I'm happy enough with the performance for chuffing about on the lanes around here.
 
Bling alert. For no good reason other than they will look better and perhaps more like a 1940s Redditch Royal Enfield, sourced some curved engine plates.
I know, I know, but sometimes you got to.


View attachment 215495


They're not tightened up yet and can't do that until the exhaust goes back on - took it off to remove the old engine plates. Pictures available earlier in this thread of the flat, squared off ones that were there before.

And while the bike's in this state of undress, good opportunity to fit the hinged footpeg mounts. Fitting the engine plates was a little bit of a struggle, none of the fasteners wanted to line up until I explained to them. But the footrest mounts?

A Tale of Two Rubbers

Knew it would be a struggle to remove the rubber footrests from the old mounts. Made up some detergent & water, coz that can help with tyres and tubes. Tried holding the metal mount in a vice and pulling/wiggling the rubbers - nothing doing. Looked up on-line. Oh yes, you just need to slide a long, thin screwdriver down between the rubber and the shaft. Please, do try not to snigger. And squirt WD40 down the gap, to make sure everything is well lubricated. I give up, snigger if you must.

Nothing doing. Pulling, twisting, jamming in a vice to hold while struggling. There just has to be a method.

Indeed there is - this works:


View attachment 215496


Ten minutes in boiling water. The froth is due to the detergent and WD40, I guess. Pair of leather gloves, grasp the rubber in one hand and the mount in the other, twist and pull. In fact, while it's still hot why not rush out to garage and shove the still warm footrest onto the new mount?


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I offer this to the World, free of charge, no patent - to remove classic rubber footrests from their mounts, simply boil in water for ten minutes. Probably a good idea to have some detergent or WD40 or thin oil in there too.
I really like the new engine plates !!
Just another way to add non chrome bling
 
Pretty much that - they're referred to as pilot lights.

Light ON/OFF switch on the right h/bar has 3 positions OFF, SIDE, MAIN. Sidelights brings on the side light bulb in the headlamp shell, plus the pilots, plus the tail lamp. Main gives all those plus of course the dipped or full beam headlamp - controlled by the dip switch on the left h/bar.

I usually ride with dipped headlamp and the ammeter tells me that the uprated alternator I fitted copes fine.

But to help it along, I replaced the pilot lights with LED bulbs - they're low wattage but fairly bright. Some PO already replaced the tail lamp with LED.

Had to laugh when I saw Bullet performance discussed. It is said that a Bullet is capable of

60mph - all day
70mph - on occasion
80mph - once.

Of course, there are plenty of tuning options - big bore, long stroke, replacement crankshaft with caged roller big end bearing, camshafts, reworked heads. How fast can you afford to go? Also worth noting that anything more than a moderate performance hike requires thought given to brakes, suspension, etcetera.

For now at least, I'm happy enough with the performance for chuffing about on the lanes around here.
Hello Raymond
Love the work and look of the RE.
Regarding the replacement bulbs to LED, what bulbs are used?
I would like to go full LED on my bike, but want to keep the existing housings for the classic look.
Cheers
Ads.
 
Since I've had the bike, been aware that the mounting system for the saddle and rear mudguard leaves a lot to be desired.

T'other day, riding along the A698 Kelso-Jedburgh road, became aware of an unexpected sound. Took the opportunity offered by the next minor road, marked Crailing Church, and came to a halt. Couldn't hear it any more. Took a look around to see if there was anything stuck in the front or rear wheel - nada. Then noticed the r/h mudguard stay hanging loose. Picture taken just now in the back yard:

PICT0328.JPG


The stay should be attached at the top shock mount but the end sheered off. It was clanking over the spokes and has left a polished line around the back tyre. My concern was that it might get trapped in the spokes and cause a Problem - but that didn't happen.

The stay on the other side doing its best but the mudguard has visibly sagged closer to the tyre. I think the PO has favoured style over function by using the two chrome stays which just aren't angled to hold the 'guard up.

Trials bike rear frame loop on order from HItchcocks

loop.jpg

ought to give much better support to the mudguard.
 
Since I've had the bike, been aware that the mounting system for the saddle and rear mudguard leaves a lot to be desired.

T'other day, riding along the A698 Kelso-Jedburgh road, became aware of an unexpected sound. Took the opportunity offered by the next minor road, marked Crailing Church, and came to a halt. Couldn't hear it any more. Took a look around to see if there was anything stuck in the front or rear wheel - nada. Then noticed the r/h mudguard stay hanging loose. Picture taken just now in the back yard:

View attachment 217148


The stay should be attached at the top shock mount but the end sheered off. It was clanking over the spokes and has left a polished line around the back tyre. My concern was that it might get trapped in the spokes and cause a Problem - but that didn't happen.

The stay on the other side doing its best but the mudguard has visibly sagged closer to the tyre. I think the PO has favoured style over function by using the two chrome stays which just aren't angled to hold the 'guard up.

Trials bike rear frame loop on order from HItchcocks

View attachment 217149

ought to give much better support to the mudguard.
Close shave there Raymond. I'm sure you will make a satisfactory repair.
 
Ah, how fings that ain't right teach us new stuff. FX took me a while to realise the M10 bolts wot secure the shocks are not in fact M10 bolts.

Again, you might naïvely think the bolts holding both shocks would be the same? Nope, one is fully-threaded and one is part-threaded. To me, part-threaded is correct, so you have a plain shank in the eye of the shock. With the new frame loop mocked up, it's clearly gonna need longer bolts to pass through the shock and the new bit of frame. Let's check length required, using an M10 bolt I happen to have lying about.

Sure, the lock nuts are M10. But soon found that M10 bolts won't push through the frame or the shocks. Eh, how can zis be? Those M10 lock nuts fit the M10 bolts? Well, of course they do. Bit of time passes, bit of naval language, bit of doing other stuff till the light dawns.

The new stuff I learned today, 3/8 imperial is just a gnat's dong less than 10mm. So the nuts are interchangeable - lock nuts that is, not gnat's nuts. Checking two bolts match by swapping a nut onto both don't mean much. Flippin' 'eck - PO has presumably used 3/8 bolts, coz they fit, they don't match but who's quibbling, and M10 lock nuts, coz he had some?

Now my task looks a bit clearer - I need 3/8" BSF, part-threaded bolts, 2½" long seems about right, plus of course correct lock nuts.

Then, spent much longer than I would have liked just to track down 3/8", part-threaded, 2½" long, BSF bolts plus 3/8" BSF nylock nuts.

It's quite astonishing how thick AI is - you search for 3/8 but Google offers 3/8, 5/8, 3/4, etcetera, you search for BSF but Google offers BSF, UNF, UNC, etcetera, you search for 2½" but Google offers all possible lengths. Spoilt for choice - anything that even partially matches the search string is regurgitated by the bloody computer.

Enough! Pick up again up in a few days.

The bits are ordered and I'm off to help somebody build some Taylorcraft wings - now that really is onwards and upwards. . .
 
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and I'm off to help somebody build some Taylorcraft wings - now that really is onwards and upwards. . .
Pics or it didn't happen.... :sneaky: Hopefully you'll get some stick time for your efforts. Rib stitching?

Yeah, sometimes it frustrates the hell outta me. Search for one particular size and you have to wade through everything but.... grrr.

Sumpin' else to file away in the grey matter.... an M5 and a 10-32 are, for all practical purposes interchangeable also.
 
Today, played about with fitting the Deluxe mudguard using the trials bike subframe.

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There's a huge gap, but took it up with couple lengths of ally tube.

Still waiting for some hardware, but the new subframe does the job and I don't think it spoils the lines of the bike?

Got to be a big improvement over what was on before.
 
Great morning, so far. Cloudy and looming, but thought I'd take a ride over to JD Falla Agricultural Engineers and see if they have locknuts for the suspension bolts. A trip for Miss November - the XS has only made a couple of shopping trips to Galashiels in the past two-three days. Falla is about forty miles round trip so enough to warm the engine properly.

Falla did not have lock nuts for the 3/8" thread, but they did have plain nuts so I bought four. 'Uhm, that will be 24 pence, Sir' the man said. 'Good grief!' I said, handing him a £1 coin, 'Just stick the change in the tin.'

There's a delight in thumbing a nose at the weather and getting away with it. Almost, the rain finally blew in when I was a mile from home.

There's also a delight in using one bike on a mission to buy sommat for another bike. Somebody please explain to me why that is?

Bullet once again back in one piece.

PICT0363.JPGPICT0364.JPG


And the rain that blew in has blown out again now.
 
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Lo
Great morning, so far. Cloudy and looming, but thought I'd take a ride over to JD Falla Agricultural Engineers and see if they have locknuts for the suspension bolts. A trip for Miss November - the XS has only made a couple of shopping trips to Galashiels in the past two-three days. Falla is about forty miles round trip so enough to warm the engine properly.

Falla did not have lock nuts for the 3/8" thread, but they did have plain nuts so I bought four. 'Uhm, that will be 24 pence, Sir' the man said. 'Good grief!' I said, handing him a £1 coin, 'Just stick the change in the tin.'

There's a delight in thumbing a nose at the weather and getting away with it. Almost, the rain finally blew in when I was a mile from home.

There's also a delight in using one bike on a mission to buy sommat for another bike. Somebody please explain to me why that is?

Bullet once again back in one piece.

View attachment 218247View attachment 218248


And the rain that blew in has blown out again now.
Looks good Raymond. I doubt I'll ever get to the U.K., but if you're ever in N.E. Florida, stop in and say hello.
 
Thank you, Skull. Yes, it's the same mudguard and I've tried to mount it at a similar height. The difference is the new frame loop does a much better job of holding the 'guard in place than the chrome struts PO had fitted - mounted to the shock top mounts, they were angled all wrong, the weight at the extremity of mudguard plus rear light and indicators operated perpendicular to the struts so unsurprisingly they sagged after a ride. Was planning to add this bracket


PICT0365.JPG


between the shock mounts, to help take the weight. Made to my design by my friendly engineer in Gala. But events overtook that plan when one of the struts sheared off. Decided to buy the trials bike frame loop and so far pleased with this solution.
 
Today, went to visit Elliot at his new home in Northumberland. This was an adventure - easily the longest run on the Bullet, 110 miles the return trip. And it involved a ten mile stretch of the A1 trunk road. Thursday felt like a good day to go, seems to be fairly quiet on the roads.

Far enough to get uncomfortable - that saddle looks neat but there ain't any padding. The riding position starts to feel awkward, the ends of the handlebar are angled just a smidge too far back so maybe I'll change the bars, possibly try the Suzuki Bandit bars sitting on a shelf. The bike performed fine, nothing broke or fell off, but there is a bit of oil spattered on the the front and right side of the engine. Not a lot, and I think it may be coming from the tappet cover or the oil pipe unions?

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Not really a worry, the amount of oil lost is very small and the leak is not bad enough for the bike to mark its spot.

I've done nearly a thousand miles on the Enfield so it's probably time to start thinking about an oil change. When I do that, probably change the copper washers on the oil pipes and see if that fixes it.
 
Not really a worry, the amount of oil lost is very small and the leak is not bad enough for the bike to mark its spot.

That’s the way my old Triumph was, short rides at moderate speeds and it was pretty clean, but if you pushed it very hard on a longer ride? Well..I knew where all the trouble spots were and it would get a quick wipe with a rag when I got home and a sheet of newspaper underneath while it cooled down. It’s all just part of the charm with older bikes. 🙂
 
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