Correct. Yes, hopefully the nut tightened will sort it all out.
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2003 Royal Enfield 500 Deluxe
- Thread starter Raymond
- Start date
Followed the plan, which kind of came together. Don't enjoy doing things in the wrong order - leads to frustration, or complicated work rounds or having to un-do and re-do jobs. First, fitted the clutch centre nut, rebuilt the clutch, tempo rarely fitted the gearchange mech, used mole grips on the square shift shaft and confirmed the gears change, haven't tried 'em all yet but at least I feel happier that all the g'box bits must be in at least an approximation of the correct arrangement.
With bike in first, able to stomp on the rear brake while brandishing a 1" socket and extension tube in the direction of the rotor nut - it's tight now - and as Jim predicted the clearance is better. Still can't move a 6 thou feeler freely around the whole gap, there are tight spots which will be the fixed magnets (?) but the feeler goes in at all opposite sides so I fink it's reasonably centred.
Rotor nut tight, clutch rebuilt, the only remaining thing was to fully tighten the alternator and pass its wires out towards the rec/reg.
OMG! Dun it before and it's always a Right Royal PITA. There's a hole in the inner chain-case cover, with a rubber grommet to protect the wires. About 20mm long and with, ooh, mebbe 6-7mm hole down the middle. And the hole exits facing the vertical side of the crankcase with a gap just about big enough to get a finger into. Ahem. Cannot get two bullet connectors into the hole in the grommet so you get one through and then really struggle to get the second through, with judicious use of curved pliers to try and pull one end while pushing from the other side. And that's before you get to the thickest part when the protecting sleeve has to go through as well but absolutely will not. This already reads too much like a badly-penned sex manual so I'll give up and just say it took hours, enhanced swearing, some imagination and several changes of approach but finally got the alternator hooked up.
So with nothing else I really need to do in there, slapped the primary cover back on.
That's better, starting look more itself.
And for a laff, here's the loosely fitted change mech complete with uber stylish gear-change lever - they'll all want one.
Starting to believe I might get to the finish line with this self-inflicted job.
With bike in first, able to stomp on the rear brake while brandishing a 1" socket and extension tube in the direction of the rotor nut - it's tight now - and as Jim predicted the clearance is better. Still can't move a 6 thou feeler freely around the whole gap, there are tight spots which will be the fixed magnets (?) but the feeler goes in at all opposite sides so I fink it's reasonably centred.
Rotor nut tight, clutch rebuilt, the only remaining thing was to fully tighten the alternator and pass its wires out towards the rec/reg.
OMG! Dun it before and it's always a Right Royal PITA. There's a hole in the inner chain-case cover, with a rubber grommet to protect the wires. About 20mm long and with, ooh, mebbe 6-7mm hole down the middle. And the hole exits facing the vertical side of the crankcase with a gap just about big enough to get a finger into. Ahem. Cannot get two bullet connectors into the hole in the grommet so you get one through and then really struggle to get the second through, with judicious use of curved pliers to try and pull one end while pushing from the other side. And that's before you get to the thickest part when the protecting sleeve has to go through as well but absolutely will not. This already reads too much like a badly-penned sex manual so I'll give up and just say it took hours, enhanced swearing, some imagination and several changes of approach but finally got the alternator hooked up.
So with nothing else I really need to do in there, slapped the primary cover back on.
That's better, starting look more itself.
And for a laff, here's the loosely fitted change mech complete with uber stylish gear-change lever - they'll all want one.
Starting to believe I might get to the finish line with this self-inflicted job.
Today, not so good.
Loosely fitted the gear lever, which has an actuating arm to move the change mechanism. It moves the mech, but not enough to change gear. Possibly a matter of adjustment?
But worse, loosely fitted the kicker. Moves a very restricted distance then clunks again sommat solid. Move it back in the opposite direction and it clunks too. So you can move the layshaft a small amount, maybe 5° either way, but no sense you're turning the engine.
Both levers fit on the long shaft bottom of the side cover.
I fear something is not correct within. Don't want to open the box up again but . . .
Leaving it for today.
Loosely fitted the gear lever, which has an actuating arm to move the change mechanism. It moves the mech, but not enough to change gear. Possibly a matter of adjustment?
But worse, loosely fitted the kicker. Moves a very restricted distance then clunks again sommat solid. Move it back in the opposite direction and it clunks too. So you can move the layshaft a small amount, maybe 5° either way, but no sense you're turning the engine.
Both levers fit on the long shaft bottom of the side cover.
I fear something is not correct within. Don't want to open the box up again but . . .
Leaving it for today.
Been there Raymond, but you know it has to be opened up again.
Bloody old bikes frustrating the be-Jesus from us.
Bloody old bikes frustrating the be-Jesus from us.
You are of course correct Ads, no avoiding it. But at least, able to drain the gearbox oil now!
Before if you recall it were filled with a diabolical black mixture of grease and oil. Then pulled the inner cover off again to see if I had omitted a spacer from under the k/s sprocket.
No - the spacer is present as it should be.
So why is the temp fitted k/s lever 'stuck'? Took the primary cover of to check all is well under there. Confirmed I am able to turn the motor with a socket on the rotor nut and that the gearbox shafts turn at the same time. Doh - the k/s isn't stuck, you were just not pushing the lever hard enough to move the engine against compression!
Truly, live and learn.
Cleaned up the cover again, painted some Wellseal again, slapped the cover back on again.
And of course, able to pour the oil back in again. All right, so replacing the greasy mess with gearbox oil isn't enough reason to rebuild the gearbox but I am happy to have got to know the box better, and I really am looking forward to the improved gear ratios.
Today will mainly be playing with the change mechanism to try and get it selecting all gears and neutral.
Onwards and upwards.
Before if you recall it were filled with a diabolical black mixture of grease and oil. Then pulled the inner cover off again to see if I had omitted a spacer from under the k/s sprocket.
No - the spacer is present as it should be.
So why is the temp fitted k/s lever 'stuck'? Took the primary cover of to check all is well under there. Confirmed I am able to turn the motor with a socket on the rotor nut and that the gearbox shafts turn at the same time. Doh - the k/s isn't stuck, you were just not pushing the lever hard enough to move the engine against compression!
Truly, live and learn.
Cleaned up the cover again, painted some Wellseal again, slapped the cover back on again.
And of course, able to pour the oil back in again. All right, so replacing the greasy mess with gearbox oil isn't enough reason to rebuild the gearbox but I am happy to have got to know the box better, and I really am looking forward to the improved gear ratios.
Today will mainly be playing with the change mechanism to try and get it selecting all gears and neutral.
Onwards and upwards.
Hmm. Definitely not right yet.
Outer cover temp in place and both gear levers. The little lever at top is the neutral finder, and I can use that manually to shift the box to 4th, 3rd, 2nd and N. Plus a few false neutrals. Once it gets to N, the lever meets the detent pin and won't go to 1st - that is as it should be. Ya might be able to read the Albion gearbox's highly sophisticated digital gear indicator? The little pointer on the Neutral finder is correctly showing the box in N.
But attempting to shift with the foot gear lever doesn't work. Move the lever and there's a 'click' but no shift. Looks a bit like the lever doesn't move the change mech far enough.
And no, it's not practical to ride the bike with only the N finder lever to change gear . . .
Don't know how to adjust, hoping somebody on the RE Community can make some suggestions.
Outer cover temp in place and both gear levers. The little lever at top is the neutral finder, and I can use that manually to shift the box to 4th, 3rd, 2nd and N. Plus a few false neutrals. Once it gets to N, the lever meets the detent pin and won't go to 1st - that is as it should be. Ya might be able to read the Albion gearbox's highly sophisticated digital gear indicator? The little pointer on the Neutral finder is correctly showing the box in N.
But attempting to shift with the foot gear lever doesn't work. Move the lever and there's a 'click' but no shift. Looks a bit like the lever doesn't move the change mech far enough.
And no, it's not practical to ride the bike with only the N finder lever to change gear . . .
Don't know how to adjust, hoping somebody on the RE Community can make some suggestions.
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Sorry to hear its not going right, its not that new hex bolt interfering with the shift lever is it? That's my only suggestion at the moment, sorry if it is too obvious, I just can't see from the images but it does seem to protrude more than the original bolt head.
We're certainly spoiled with our Japanese unit construction motors and gearboxes. For sure.
Made some progress, watched a U-tube vid and noticed the inner ratchet - part of the change mech - was t'other way round. So I've reversed the ratchet and it appears that the gear lever now selects gears. And the odd neutral. So now going to do a bit more reassembly and see if that happy situation continues . . .
We're certainly spoiled with our Japanese gearboxes etc but we're also spoiled with Haynes and other step-by-step manuals.
But I've had enough crawling around on the garage floor for today - tbc.
We're certainly spoiled with our Japanese gearboxes etc but we're also spoiled with Haynes and other step-by-step manuals.
But I've had enough crawling around on the garage floor for today - tbc.
YouTube, where would we be without it. Nice catch Raymond, should be the path forward.
One Royal Enfield Bullet sitting in disgrace.
It dont half look good.
Yesterday, pulled 'er out into the sunshine, intending to start the engine, check everything OK, possibly even test ride to try out the new ratios. Bike has sat for a while, would not start, compression gone AWOL. Probably gummy fuel and maybe sticky rings? Took one hour and a few squirts of easy start to light the fire. Let her warm up, stopped and re-started a few times, settled down to a nice tick-over. Compression had come back again. All good.
Except, oil leaking, dripping from the crankcase to inner chain-case joint. Plus the clutch is dragging, when I selected first the bike stalled. Did that twice, looked at the oil dripping on the flagstones, thought about the work required to reach that gasket, full strip of the primary drive, alternator, clutch and inner chain-case. Shoved the Bullet back in the garage with the very necessary humiliation of a drip tray.
That's it, I'm finished with bloody motorbikes.
Except, oil leaking, dripping from the crankcase to inner chain-case joint. Plus the clutch is dragging, when I selected first the bike stalled. Did that twice, looked at the oil dripping on the flagstones, thought about the work required to reach that gasket, full strip of the primary drive, alternator, clutch and inner chain-case. Shoved the Bullet back in the garage with the very necessary humiliation of a drip tray.
That's it, I'm finished with bloody motorbikes.
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Just think about how happy you’ll be when it’s done. I can’t see you as the PO that gives up and shoves it in a corner for years.
Yep! We’ve been dragged along this far. We can’t leave it here.
Oh well, 'spose somebody's got to fix it and I guess that'll be me. Just sometimes one's enthusiasm to get stuck in with jobs which are messy and finicky can evaporate. Like when you finally manage to get rotor & stator fitted with the 6 thou gap, you think 'Great, with any luck I won't need to touch that again for a very long time' but the Universe knows better than that . . .
At least jobs get easier second/third/fourth time round.
At least jobs get easier second/third/fourth time round.
Were with you all the way Raymond. Taffy & Merlin have been giving me the same issues. More than once I have threatened to sell Taffy, but then reality kicks in and I realise even to sell I have to fix; and then you are in love again. That's how the universe works.
Raymond in a couple of days time 
Aw, it won't take that long. Really it's just a thing that sometimes I need to turn my back and walk away. Turn attention to sommat else and I'm over it by then. As Ads says, if you get really fed up with a bike and decide to sell the flaming thing, you still need to fix it. Or flog it for tuppence ha'penny as a 'project'.Raymond in a couple of days time
But that's not where my relationship with the Slug is at. It's not done enough bad stuff to persuade me it's never going to be anything except a lame duck. This job converting to c/r gearbox is self-inflicted, and so really is most of what I've done to the bike like re-wiring it and uhm, fitting a lovely forged piston. And the subsequent rebuild . . .
With all that work the bike should be gradually getting more reliable. And it is because at first I was unwilling to ride further from home than I could push it however by last summer we were happy enough to go for long runs to visit people.
But it can be frustrating when the bike rewards my well-intentioned bodging with back-yard oil spills.
Don't want to sell the Bullet, not until me knees give out and I can't kick anymore. Don't want to drain the primary which is a messy job and all the rest of it but I will. Family and friends think I enjoy working on the bikes. Sometimes yes but mostly no. Just want to ride it.