I know, It may sound crap.. But Im planning to restore my dads 1988 Royal Enfield EXPLORER..

Its just lying dumped in a corner , in my native... Thought it might be a good retirement gift for my dad..

Any idea where i can source the parts.. Chennai / Bangalore ?

Halogen Bulbs

[quote=prakash_mvpa;174378]
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I tried a Halogen bulb and it burnt the wires .Seems a better wiring and a different bulb holder is needed.switched back to Normal Bulb.
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even i changed to halogen bulb.. i am using ceramic holder which costs around rs.100 per pair. Since this is been used in my bolero for Philips 100/130 W bulbs.No wire burns so far. In my bike i m using osram 55/60W bulbs (not night breaker series)which i got from a frind who came from abroad. But the bulb is not giving me a good result. When i switch on pass/emergency the bulb performs well that means if power is from battery bulb works well but wile running ie power from dynamo its not good.. i think either i ve to change the bulb to some 35/35w or try philips XTreme power as recommended by Sankar(desideeps freind here in tvm).

prakash which halogen bulb did u use?? is it greater that 60W .. if so it requires a relay ( as far as i know) . i think u know all the details.

i need to know which 35/35W halogen bulbs performs well with RE machines??

Thumping Regards
Shine

Ananth,

A very interesting/rare restoration project man. All the very best.

Try Pudupet man. I hate to say this but I am not too sure if you will be able to get new spares/parts for the Explorer. Your best bet would be to find a running example and do a transplant or use some juggad to get it up and running. Regarding the Explorer spares, I guess Chennai would be a better option as all the RE vendors are based out of TN. We'd love to see a restored RE Explorer.

Hi everyone.. been around this forum for a couple of months now.. thought i'd say hi to the bull gang!!
I own a '86 350 and a '97 500... and it's good to see a ownership thread here...

@ananth - interesting retoration... don't know anyone who is attempting this.. will be a tough thing to find spares... after Chennai, coimbatore would be your best bet interms of finding spares... good luck!! will find out if you have hope in bangy on my next visit to JC road..

Yes Jay! I have contacted a few mechanics @ Pudupet.. would be getting a reply in a week r so.. Spares are a big problem, as RE itself said NO.. Even tried with a person working in their factory and he said, it was stopped decadez back and hence not really easy to get the spares.. Having said that, Im determined to give it a try.. lets see what its upto...

Thanks Mate! Even I would visit JC Road this monday.. And i dont think Coimbatore would have such spares as the factory was based out of Chennai, but would ask my friends to look out for.. Thanks anyway!

Alright, 4000 KMs done. She looks as gorgeous as ever.

Firstly, I'd like to delve on the servicing aspect. Horrible is a mild word. At 3K, I dropped her off for servicing. The silencer gasket had conked off again. Actually, with the silencer gasket blown, the bike seemed very smooth although I think more than some back pressure was lost and hence some resultant acceleration. This time, the Brand store service chaps put in two gaskets. Since then, the gasket stays put. They hadn't changed gear oil and the clutch oil and had billed me for it. Ask me how I knew. Another tantrum throwing session ensued with the service manager Mr Sounderrajan intervening and giving the mechanic a dressing down. I refused to buy the clutch oil and gearbox oil from the brand store and instead bought Castrol 20W40 for the clutch and EP90 for the gearbox and changed it on my own. Then they didn't have the o-ring that sits at the tappet cover-decomp junction. So, I had to make a trip to my mechanic for one. Overall, the bike felt worse than before the service. Turned out that the pilot was running too lean and hence she was slightly knocking when I used to whack open the throttle. I richened the pilot settings and cleaned out the float which hd a little dirt. Now she really runs. Also, when I was on shell unleaded she wasn't too smooth. I switched over to HP Power and the change in smoothness is amazing, especially in the mid-top end.

Just a couple of days later, I lowered the handlebar to suit my long rides. After a 60KM on/off road to Manchanabele dam to test(ACIDTEST) the new set-up, I found the clutch lever position uncomfortably high. I lowered it and tightened it a little too much. Result: a broken mount. I got the entire assembly replaced the next day for 630 bucks. Now, after a week, on Friday, the 13th, disaster struck. After work, I was checking the tappet adjustment just because I had nothing to do. While tightening the tappet cover, I heard a slight click, the ominous soung of aluminium cracking. Turned out the tappet cover had cracked. So much so for my timepass. I sealed the old tappet cover with MSeal to prevent oil from leaking and bought a tappet cover from the Brand store and replaced it. Moral of the story: Don't overtighten things on the bull. Apart these minor self induced glitches, life has been nice. Great torque and outdragging ZMAs, Pulsar boys and the occasional R15, especially when there is an incline/flyover ahead, is a major ego booster. Finally, we have a Bull that can show a clean pair of heels to the indo-jappers. Now, I'm contemplating a Shakeel-goldie and a upjet and maybe even a K&N.

Happy Thumping,
Jay

Hi guys, I am new to the Bull brotherhood. I am planning to buy an AVL Machismo 350 or an Electra 5S, second hand. I'm knowledgeable on 4-stroke performance-oriented bikes (i.e. R15, CBR, P220) but not this breed, hence my mechanic will be accompanying me to see bikes as I scout.

I was wondering, if I buy an Electra 4S with a drum, or a Std. 350, could I fit the disc assembly of the 5S/Machismo/T-Bird? Is the mounting point the same or would a wheel change be necessary?

Also, what are some things to look out for when buying a 2nd hand Enfield? And what are basic precautions and things I ought to know about the general running of an Enfield, i.e. oil leaks, basic maintenance issues, etc.

My 3000 Km Report

So, 3000 kilometers done on my ThunderBird TwinSpark.

3000 kilometers, 40 days - not bad i feel for a person having just 6 km daily office commute! The Bike had really performed well over the month and I'm very very satisfied with it. Indeed very much thankful to xBhp for selecting the Best Tourer!

The ride is giving me above 45-48 kmpl, Butter smooth engine - a bit of oil leak, problems with gear shifting, and vibrations above 3.5k RPM. Problems faced would be the oil leak after my OOTY trip and a rough ride last week to Bangalore. The roughness if no more after the second service and oil leaks solved by tightening the screws and also taping up the edges of the engine (wonder how it was done)

Have changed the Long Bazooka Silencer to a Short, Free Flow, Retro Fit Silencer - Costed me 1500 Rupees. The thump has improved and gives a really different feeling on the ThunderBird. Topped up the Oil, changed the Air / Oil filters and the Bike now runs smooth as ever. Also, they did some extra polishing stuff apart from the normal water wash. The revving is very much at ease after changing to the free flow silencer and top speed i managed was around 105 (Speedo Indicated).

The servicing part , to me is a blinder! Im not pretty happy with their service mainly with regard to the way they deal with people / have to book the service schedules atleast a week or ten days before.

Overall, Jubiliant on buying the Bird, great looks, stunning mileage (45+), a wonderful touring machine, Relaxed riding posture... what else do i need!

Happy Riding!!

[quote=shinesudhakaran;177412]i m waiting for replies dudes...

Thumping regards

hello! just saw this well done thumper in delhi. thought I would share these pics here

Default Feedback: Veedol SuperSwift 10W40 semi-synth in Machismo 500

I bought four litres of Veedol SuperSwift Semisynth 10W40 last Thursday from Aroor Udyog, Siddaiah road. I managed to buy the oil at Rs250/liter. I changed the oil+oil filter on my 4350 Km run, LB500 on Saturday and since then, there has been a noticeable increase in smoothness. since then, I've done about 300 Kms, primarily in the city. The engine wasn't flushed with any additive but I drained the oil immediately after going out for a 20 Km high speed spin. This was an unscheduled oil change with the older oil fit to go for another 1000 Ks. The vibes which used to set in at 90 Kph on the speedo have now shifted to 100+. This means that I now have a higher cruising speed with lesser fatigue. +1 for the Veedol blend. The downside is that the rockers make a bigger racket than before. I was prepared for this as a couple of bulleteers had predicted this happening. Coming to the engine temperature, it hasn't decreased and remains the same as before. However, the oil temperature on a fully warm engine is much lesser than that of the earlier mineral oils.I can comfortable touch it without feeling much heat. Previously, the oil used to be pretty hot. So, I guess the oil is working to keep the engine internals cool. I was apprehensive about the Bullets losing some oil through the gaskets like the pulsars do on synthetic blends. Thankfully, it hasn't happened and the oil stays where it has to. I used the same oil for the primary case too and the clutch feel has become better too. No slipping whatsoever and the gearshifts are precise now. The clutch feels a tad more progressive in the stop-go Bangalore traffic conditions. That said, this could also have to do with the gearbox freeing up.Overall, I am pretty pleased with how the oil is behaving. Recommended for the Bulls. I didn't go for a fully synthetic oil like the Agip/Sprinta as I need three litres for every oil change and I change oil at 2000 Kms instead of the factory recommended 3000 clicks. This makes synthetics pretty expensive. So, the Veedol SuperSwift is working out to be a good performance-VFM proposition for me.

hi

hi guys i am from singapore..happen to stumble upon this forum...i am ridin a us version bullet 500cc too..i am customising it to a bobber !

^^^may i have pics pls

hi

hi there i would love to upload it when its done..still in the process. will show you my existing picture of my bike soon !

Hello,


Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 4s (my Wayfarer)
Got delivery on : April 2007
Kilometers done : 20,000 + KMs

Unused time : 4 months (right arm fracture) - it started after like 25 kicks :P

Problems:
* First Servicing - changed battery under warranty - one I got was faulty, manufacturing defect
* Changed the tiny rubber seal inside the shock absorbers twice last year Labour is expensive on this job and the damn rubber costs like Rs 50 for a pair. Change of oil in there also has to be done simultaneously.
* Wheel-out of both front and back done Nov 2008
* March 2009 was very depressing - The bike stopped in the middle of the road - no amount of kicks would get it running - free kicks - no compression found - apparently valve needed replacement - expensive surgery on replacing with new valves cost me Rs 1300. (yeh bhi saala oil peeta hai). Called my mechanic to come over and he started it with some jugaad and we took it to the workshop.



Touchwood - no real problems found like some people complain online about Enfield Cast Irons.

Never had a breakdown on the highway (not even a puncture :P )


Great bike - service it regularly - listen to it - watch it - and learn from it - and it will take care of you.