Hi,

At 50 kmph,the engine RPM would be ~ 3500 for Standard 350 CI, provided there is no loss of power in transmission. I have downloaded this extremely useful excel sheet from a British Royal Enfield forum. Don't remember the source though

regards

ramamoorthy

Hi Rama,
I was hoping for a reply from you. Two things that I would point out in that sheet:
1. it is 3500 rpm at 50 mph (80 kmph).
2. Rear wheel dia is considered as 18", not 19".
Considering this, can we assume that the Indian Edition 350 would be running at 2000 rpm at 50 kmph? (+-200 rpm, maybe)?
That is enough power to charge the battery+power the headlight+ DC lights (barely). Or during daytime, charge the battery comfortably.
But not enough AC power to run 2X55W fog lamps (headlight switched off)

Thank you. but sorry ... my bad... don't know what I was thinking when making earlier reply.

I don't think it would make much difference. 4.00 tyre would have more rubber on it to compensate for the extra one inch loss in diameter when comparing with 3.25 X 19 tire. http://iloapp.hopkins.dk/blog/blog?S...1217284438.pdf Anyway will measuretomorrow.

As far as charging is concerned, I have noticed this in my bullet. As the battery is getting older (read 18 months), the ammeter needle is slightly slanting towards negative when ridden with headlight on. (I have not attached any other electrical load, not even beeper for indicator lamps)

Please check the battery regularly. The mech here advised me to check it every month and fill with distilled water, if necessary. I have found one cell completely discharged two weeks back. Filled with distilled water and voila, everything is alright. Now having trouble with connecting wires from front brake lever to headlight console. Shall replace it next week.

ride safe

ramamoorthy

PS: Have you ever cleaned the breather set-up? I was forced to do it as the rubber tubing going into the black bottle behind battery was cracked and condensate filling oil tank and oil turning into mayonnaise. Had to replace oil after 300 kms
Did a DIY cleaning myself. Covered the crack in the pipe with electrical insulation tape.

all your problems are very minor and can be resolved if checked up with a local mechanic. just check if you have to add a rubber/bush, so that your stand will not bang the silencer.

clutch will become smooth when you cross 1000km and please go ahead with your vellore trip so that your bike's engine will get settled soon. But remember not to cross 70km

enjoy ur TB...

HiRama,
Yes, you are right, the tire won't make much of a difference. Can you just verify this - does the ammeter go to positive at 50 kmph, with all lights on? taillight, HL and instrument lights only. Let us ignore horn, brake lights and indicators (since they aren't used continously). I just want to know if my alternator is ok or not.
My mech. had opened the breather box at 6000 km service. There wasn't much oil in it. Guess I will check it again, since it's 12k now. Why did the oil thicken? It can't be simply bacause of contact with air/ dust. Maybe water entered through the crack?

Hi

Ammeter does go to positive with all lights on in my 2009 STD 350 CI.

My understanding of RE electrical are as under. Please feel free to correct me.

The alternator produces Alternating current or A/C called in common parlance. My STD is 2009 model in which the headlamp is A/C set up and it functions only when the engine (and alternator too) is running. The current from Alternator used for

(1) headlamp after passing through A/C regulator; and
(2) Charging the battery (after passing through rectifier/regulator set up).

Consider two scenarios. The presumption is that the engine RPM is constant and horn, indicator, brake,rear lamps are switched off.

Case 1. When the battery is charging normally, it takes just adequate amount of current from the alternator/rectifier/regulator for charging. So it means adequate current is available for headlamp to burn and then the ammeter will show positive reading.

Case 2: When the battery is not charging normally (fully charged battery is required for operation of ignition coil/spark plug for running the engine), battery would be taking more than current mentioned in the set up, so after taking adequate current for headlamp, the current may not sufficient for charging (it requires more as drain from the battery is more). So ammeter should show slightly less positive reading, even transgressing into negative at times.

So let us put following diagnostics test. Check the wires going to rear lamp, ear lamps, indicator lamps and horn so as to eliminate possibility of short circuit in them. If any short circuit is found in them, correct them first.

Thereafter;

1. Adjust timing/ tune carb

2. Check spark plug

3. Check ignition coil

If above are okay, then

4. Check the battery. If possible replace it with another known battery and check.

If even after this, the ammeter is not showing adequate reading, check A/C regulator/rectifier/regulator set up and correct faults, if any.

THEN WE CAN THINK ABOUT TOUCHING ALTERNATOR.

ride safe

ramamoorthy

ps: I am not too satisfied with the wiring diagram provided by RE with their user's manual. The additional fuse below the seat preventing short circuiting of CB point/capacitor is not mentioned in the diagram

Yes, you are right about the process, mostly.
However, a small difference is that the electrical setup in your (and mine) Std. is split into two parts: AC & DC. The yellow and orange wires from the alternator are for AC, and the two violet ones are for DC. The alternator coils is also split into two parts - some for the AC, the rest for DC. There is no mixing of the AC and DC circuits (except for the ground, which doesn't matter, anyway).
[The older models had a 3 wire altenator, not sure about the setup, though].
So, switching on the headlamp won't affect the battery charging. BUT, since the same switch also switches on the DC lights, that lowers the direct current available to charge the battery.
There are no obvious shorts in the wiring - otherwise a complete battery discharge would have happened by now. It's just that the battery loses 'fully charged' status very quickly, while managing to stay in 'low charge' for a long time. I'll keep investigating ... and updating

Okay, let us take it one step further.. Forget the A/C part and concentrate on D/C part. So battery is 'draining' faster with key 'on' rather than key 'off'. So more power is consumed while running than when bike is not running.

What about ignition switch; I mean the key hole switch. You need the key in "ON" position as well as the left hand switch console to be in "ON" position to complete the circuit and light rear lamp, indicator lamp, ear lamp, speedometer/ammeter as well as CB point.

Remove the big nut on the key-hole thingy and check underneath. If possible try to disable the switches in the left hand switch box and check whether battery is draining faster than it is charging.

My bike had this problem of front brake switch shorting which made the rear lamp glow even when riding normally WITHOUT APPLYING FRONT BRAKE. Had changed the front brake light switch to solve this problem.

regards

ramamoorthy

Cl 350

guys....got my classic 350 a couple of weeks back... still in the "ride in" mode...waiting for the first service...next week probable...so far satisfied with the machine...apart from the thing that the engine needs some time (around 5 mins of ride) to warm up and run smooth....also unsteady idling rpm (that too when the engine is cold...)

Looking out for TRUESTWORTHY RE Mechanic in bangalore

Guys,

I had also posted the same query in the mechanics thread earlier. No response.

I am having a Thunderbird 2008 model and has done 44500 km till date. Have been getting it serviced by the ROYAL ENFIELD BRAND STORE Mechanics for all these years.

Now there is an urge to get it serviced from a local mechanic. Have been hearing a lot of mixed opinions about the below mentioned RE mechanics.

1. Muneer Da -- Nandi Durga road
2. Srinivas -- Basavanagudi
3. Gurunandan --Hebbal
4. Denaker -- Banashankari

Please let me know if there are trustworthy mechanics for RE in Bangalore.

^^ this is news.. but if you are changing the whole assembly, then it should not be an issue. The parts catalog does not specify a different head did it?? So if you change all the parts which are different, they will fit with the old head. No worries.

What is the current price of Bullet 350? Classic one and I see only it as one seater only? Cant we have two seats on it?

And is there any waiting period for it?

You get it as double seater and it can be removed. There is a waiting period of months dont know exactly.

What is the spark plug rating for Machismo/ Thunderbird CDi ignition models? i have the new machismo's User's Manual but spark plug must be different for TCI and CDI ignition models.