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My 1960's style Royal Enfield 500
This style of motorcycle is what I've always considered the essence of what a motorcycle should be
by
John Fuhring
There is a short video regarding the modifications I've made, but I urge you to read the story first
A beautiful Velocette of the early 60s era.
The modern Royal Enfield 500 is the closest thing made today.
I am rather certain that the reason we weren't supposed to have motorcycles is because they were dangerous on the slick and always wet crushed coral roads of Guam and the Navy warned us that if we got hurt off base and ended up in the hospital, we would not be available for duty and be considered AWOL. That was the "official" excuse, but mostly the Naval Authorities wanted our whole lives, our very existence to revolve around the Naval Communications Base there on Guam and to look to the Navy for all our entertainment and the abundant and cheap alcohol that we would copiously guzzle at a beautifully furnished Enlisted Man's Club. Like everybody else, I hung out at the EM Club when I wasn't on duty because that was the nexus of all entertainment and, as did everybody else, I would drink myself stupid every night. After being sufficiently soused, I'd hit my mattress, stinking of mold, in the mosquito infested, non air conditioned barracks, a building with rows and rows of bunks, without even a screen door on the front and just reeking of smoke from burning "joss sticks" that the guys burned in a hopeless attempt to ward off the biting mosquitoes that came in the open doors.
We were not allowed to smoke in our "racks," but some guys always did and when they would fall asleep, the cigarette would start their mattress to smoldering. If you have ever been in a barracks with a burning mattress you know that the smoke is intense and choking and the mattress is impossible to put out. The fire department would hose down the mattress and then drag the whole thing outside where it would eventually catch on fire despite being soaked. The poor forlorn guy who started the fire would wait for the MPs to take him to the brig to await a courts marshal. The rest of us would go back to the barracks after the smoke cleared and after the floor was swabbed down and try to get some sleep. When it was time to go on duty, I'd wake up after sweating all night (or all day, if I had the night watch) in the tropical heat and humidity of Guam.
When I reported for duty, I had better be sober or I'd end up with the other guys in the little jail we called "the brig," Of course I was always sober after sleeping it off and taking a shower (many times cold because the boiler was always breaking down). Before going on duty I'd put on my work uniform and be ready to catch the pickup truck and ride on the benches in the bed with the other guys out to the radio station. During that time, I earned the princely sum of $98.00 a month, but, believe it or not, a guy could pretty much stay drunk when not on duty even with that pittance of a wage because the drinks at the EM Club were so cheap. Lest I forget to mention, every night nerves would get raw and a drunken fight would break out somewhere (usually in that swamp of a barracks) and guys would be Court Marshalled and end up losing stripes and sometimes going to the brig (jail). It was especially serious if you got into a fight with somebody with one more stripe than you had or with the Military Police (MP) thugs. I figured it was simply a matter of time before I got into a fight and ended up there too.
Sweet Geezus, to think that I had gone to Radioman School so I could be in a more "elite" part of the Navy and avoid being put into this sort of drunken, swampy mess. This is when I first started to really hate being in the Navy and wanted to get out just as soon as possible and not even bother with working for a higher rank. I always did my duty, obeyed orders, kept my nose clean, stayed out of trouble, never got so drunk I didn't know what I was doing and waited for that glorious day when I could get that honorable discharge and never have put on that cursed monkey suit that is an enlisted man's uniform. I must admit that I made some friends that were closer to me than my brothers because guys put in these situations do form strong bonds of mutual respect and protection, but that was only later when I asked for and got a better posting at the tiny Radio Barragada station. But that is another story.
After some weeks of listening to drunken bragging every night by a former friend from my hometown who had an extra stripe more than I did, I realized that I too was well on my way to becoming a drunkard, end up as worthless as my former friend and probably wind up in the brig too if I didn't break the daily cycle of work and drinking. Somehow, I knew deep down that I had to take my uniform off and get the hell off the Navy Base for as long and as often as possible as a matter of survival. About this time I discovered that some of the sailors had motorcycles hidden in a clearing in the jungle not far from the entrance to the Base. Normally we didn't have military guards at the gates, but hired Guamanians who had retired from the US Army. They were friendly guys that I just loved to spend time talking to and listening to their stories of Island Life. They would just smile and let us pass if we wanted to walk through the gate and the couple hundred yards to the entrance to the motorcycle clearing. On one such outing I saw a 650 Triumph TR6 for sale and I fell in love. I had my own money from savings I had from the time I sold papers on the streets of Chicago in the 5th grade and so I was able to buy the motorcycle.
A Triumph 650 TR6 very similar to mine
No electric start, but my engine always started with a single kick
I absolutely loved riding that motorcycle because it opened up a whole world of wonderful things to do and to see on Guam and transformed the Island of Guam from the hot and stinking Navy base into a tropical paradise. It also transformed me from a "drunk in training" to a person who had a world of things to see, do and be interest in. I finally had something to do that was better than hanging out at a dark EM Club and drinking myself stupid with all the other drunk sailors I didn't even like. All of a sudden, I could take trips down to a lagoon where I could rent a sailboat, ask them for an anchor, throw it overboard, let the line play out, take down the sails and jump overboard. I would swim around the lagoon with my snorkel gear on and then wait quietly on the surface and in the undisturbed water without me splashing around, the most beautiful Tropical fish would come out. The water would be crystal clear and as warm as bath water so I could float around like that for what seemed a long, long time admiring the coral rocks and the beautiful sea life down there.
If I had the midnight to dawn watch, I'd get off duty in the morning, take off my uniform and roar off on my Triumph to go exploring the Island and stopping and viewing all kinds of interesting things along the way. Once I stopped at a small bridge over a little stream because I saw some movements underneath and went down to investigate. There in the mud were these small fish that had the ability to crawl out on the mud and use their front fins to "walk" on. I had never heard of "mud skippers" before and I didn't know that any other thing besides animals that belonged to phylum Amphibia had evolved this ability. For a couple of hours I watched in fascination as, it seemed to me, that Nature was once again evolving a form of Amphibia separate from the Amphibia that had evolved during the Devonian geologic era, and from one of which our direct ancestor belonged. It was so neat, so fascinating to see Nature recapitulate this evolutionary process and it filled my mind with an indescribable wonder. Of course there were other fascinating places to visit including what was left of old Spanish forts, World War Two battlefields still strewn with blown up vehicles and the flotsam of war. In the early 60's there was a thrilling and popular movie called "The Guns Of Navarone" and here on the North side of Guam with its high coral cliffs, was a real Japanese version that had been blasted into the cliff wall and mounting large Naval Guns and I was able to visit it. Those same coral formations further north had water filled caves too and (if you could get there), you could swim into the caves for a wonderful adventure. I was so free from the Navy that I even took a math course at the Island's Jr. College.
Of course, not all my riding was done during the day where I could stop to study and enjoy sights, but even my night rides were full of wonderful things. One night I was riding along about 40 MPH when this warm, harry, squishy thing hit me in the face and nearly knocked me off the back of my bike. I told the Guamanian Gate guards about the incident and they laughed and they said that I had hit a large and harmless "Fruit Bat." Another time horrible looking creatures would dart toward me and I'd see them in the side of my headlights. When I first encountered them at night they scared the bejezzus out of me because it looked like they were about to jump on me as I whizzed by. Again the Gate Guards laughed and told me that they were "coconut crabs" that are so strong that they can climb up coconut trees, snip off the coconuts and then shred them to get into the eatable parts. If you have ever tried to open a coconut right off the tree with a sharp hatchet, you know that these creatures deserve a deep sense of respect for incredible abilities that they have evolved. Anyway, their muscles are so huge and well developed, they are eaten by the natives as a particular delicacy. On other nights with a full moon, there would be nobody on the roads and so I'd turn off my headlight and zoom around in moonlight nearly as bright as daylight. It was as close to a magical feeling that us mortals may have in life.
It is no exaggeration to write that my Triumph redeemed me and made my stay on Guam not only survivable, but very enjoyable, entertaining, educational and saved me from the pernicious effects, the truly pernicious effects of being in the Navy at that time. For at least a few hours each day I was free, free from the stifling effects of being in uniform and with that marvelous feeling of freedom, that only a motorcycle can give you, while buzzing down the back roads on Guam.
Well, that was a long time ago and as I grew up and grew older, I pretty much stopped riding motorcycles, but I discovered riding horses and you may take my word for it, riding horses is even more exciting and fun than riding motorcycles although much more expensive and your opportunities to ride are limited. I presently have two horses, a good old quarterhorse that neither looks or acts his age and you had better know what you are doing if you dare to get on old Rusty. He has been my friend and servant for many years now, but for my hard and fast riding, I have a Thoroughbred from off the New Zealand racetrack. He too is a lovable animal that takes me to the most marvelous places and he is an adventure to ride together with my diehard friends.
I'm an old geezer now, but I still love to ride and ride fast on horseback, although I don't take as many risks as I used to because every time I take a hard fall and get knocked out, my friends have to take me to the emergency room to be checked out for a concussion. Even though I always (I mean ALWAYS) wear a helmet, us old geezers have to be checked out every time we get knocked out. I love horses, I love my horse riding friends, I love being on a horse and I visit my horses every afternoon to clean their corals and be with them. Horses have a brain and a soul and they work so hard to take us to the most marvelous places we can't possibly see otherwise, I can't help but admire and feel loyal and thankful to them. The one downside is you can't go on a trip riding them on the highway, so to get a portion of the feeling of riding a horse, you need to have a motorcycle. Some other nice things about a motorcycle is that they don't require daily cleaning, hoof trimming and shoeing every few weeks, the daily feeding and all the riding equipment for the horse and for you. If you already own a horse or two, you can add a motorcycle for almost nothing.
For years and years I resisted the temptation to get a motorcycle thinking that I really don't need another hobby, but with time creeping up on me, I have recently wanted to rediscover the marvelous time I had as a young man. Not long ago I saw this brand new and modern, but 60's era motorcycle, made in India, a motorcycle that was the "spitting image" of the beautiful Velocette of my youth AND selling for so incredibly cheap, I had to have one before I became too old to ride. I got a excellent deal on a two year old, brand new Enfield Bullet 500 that hadn't sold and I was simply amazed by it when it arrived from Southern California. It is electronically fuel ejected and there is not a single thing on it, from the welds of the frame to the quality of the components to the finish of the paint that is anything but what I consider high quality and fits the very essence of what an English motorcycle should be. When I'm on the bike listening to the thump, thump, thump of the engine and I'm zooming down the back roads and around curves, the years simply melt away and there I am again on Guam riding my Triumph, because it feels so much like riding that old English bike. For fun, I added some "costume jewelry" to my Enfield to complete that "Velocette look" I remember from so long ago.
My Royal Enfield Bullet 500
A worthy replacement for my 1960s Triumph and
as beautiful as the Velocette (in my opinion)
It is my opinion that this motorcycle retains the
essence
of what I think a motorcycle should look like and should be.
I think that
it is
every bit as beautiful as the Velocette, but it is not exactly the same
as the old British motorcycles of my youth. It is hard to
tell
just by looking, but it doesn't have a troublesome carburetor, but
instead it is electronically fuel injected. The black box
with
the red reflector stuck on it houses the engine control unit (ECU) and
being fuel injected, the engine is more reliable, a little more
powerful and certainly starts easy. Speaking of starting,
this
motorcycle has a modern electric starter the old bikes didn't have, but
it also retains the kick starter, which I love to see and it will start
the engine if you take steps to prepare it to start.
On the left side of the bike, there is an identical black box
that houses the battery that the old bikes did not need or have either.
Another departure from the original is the gas filled shock
absorbers and the front disk brake. Finally, the engine
has hydraulic valve lifters which means that there is no need (or way)
to adjust valves. That is soooo
cool. Deploying the kick stand kills the engine
which is a
safety feature my Triumph didn't have and likewise, my Triumph didn't
have turn signals nor did the head light and tail light come on when
you
turned the key on.
Two modern things I really appreciate is the fuel injection replacing the carburettor and the electric starter. I should also mention that this engine does not have a "dry sump" lubrication system as did most of the old English motorcycles nor does it have a separate gear box. The engine, clutch and gearbox share the same oil that is pumped around from a sump at the bottom of the engine. To prevent contamination of the oil, this engine has two powerful magnets on drain plugs that catch the fine steel particles, it has a screen filter to catch larger particles (like from the clutch) and a cartridge paper filter that catches all the fine particles and keeps the oil clean. This is the first bike I've ever owned with a cartridge filter. Of course, the engine is air cooled and so the oil should be a 15W50 grade and at my next oil change I will switch over to synthetic oil. Although the 500cc engine is air cooled, look at the massive fins on the huge head and the cooling fins elsewhere. Between those fins and the oil that circulates all through the engine and transmission, this engine runs relatively cool and quietly, but with any air cooled engine, the air must be kept moving.
This motorcycle does not have a top speed that is all that fast, but can easily cruse at 65 MPH. At 65 it feels uncommonly stable and the engine doesn't feel or sound like it is screaming or thrashing itself to pieces. Fact is, this is not a highway or "road" bike and if you want to ride a motorcycle all the way from California to Sturgis, South Dakota, this not the bike to take. If you love those scenic, twisty, 55 MPH back roads, this bike may be as perfect for you as it is for me.
By the way, I get a little over 62 MPG on a trip driving mostly at 60-65 (sometimes 70) and that means I can go about 200 miles before the gas situation gets serious. When the warning light comes on and stays on, my tank then has about 1/2 gallons left (about 30 miles) and I don't hesitate to put in more gas because the consequences of running out of gas is dire and expensive in a fuel injected engine. Without gas in the tank, the fuel pump will quickly burn out and although not that hard to replace, it is expensive and you will have to wait a long time for one to arrive.
I have very short legs and while sitting on my Enfield, I really can't touch the ground with both feet flat on the ground. The bike is a bit top heavy and once (just after I got the bike) I dropped it while trying to maneuver it on a gravel patch out at the horse stables. I had earlier broken some ribs in a bad fall from my horse and didn't have the strength on my right side to keep it up when it started to lean. When I dropped the bike, my right leg was caught under and I couldn't get free and lord did it hurt. I finally called out for help and some ladies came over and rescued me. Oh the shame, the shame of being pinned down like that and having to ask ladies to lift the motorcycle off of me. I am so ashamed. I developed a huge swelling on the inside of my right thigh and thought I'd have to have it drained, but it is slowly going down. After that little mishap, I bought one of those ugly black "engine protector" safety bars and you can see in the picture just in front of the engine. Don't laugh because recently I was practicing sudden stops when I did a foolish thing and tried to turn the bike at the same time. The bike flopped over, but the big ugly bar (I had put on the day before) prevented the bike from going over all the way and my leg didn't get caught under this time. By the way, by flopping the bike down like that, I discovered why stupid braggarts are always talking about the the time they "laid the bike down" in an accident. They certainly did not "lay it down" on purpose, but the bike went down because they tried, as if they were driving a car, to turn and brake at the same time and they lost control. Am I sold on ugly safety bars? Oh Yeah, I sure am!
That little accident, where I flopped the bike on its side, taught me, in a most convincing way, something I learned a long time ago, but failed to put into practice on my new bike. Many years ago when I used to drive little English Sports Cars, I discovered that you could avoid things in the road (like other cars or things that have fallen off trucks) by doing one of two things: either swerve without applying the brakes or straighten the car out and hitting the brakes hard, but --- by no means --- do both or you would lose traction and end up sideways or in a spin. With the car out of control, you would either hit what you wanted to avoid or spin off the road. I learned that if you must lose speed to take a corner, you must do your braking BEFORE entering the curve and keep your foot off the brake, no matter what. With a motorcycle, the results of trying to turn and brake at the same time are much more serious and you can end up in the hospital (or worse). If you must slow down while in a curve, you must straighten out the bike, hit the brakes hard, release the brakes and then hope you have enough room to make the turn without leaving your lane.
Another thing I learned a long time ago was to "ride ahead" as far as possible and not look right in front of me. If I look far ahead at an upcoming curve and keep looking ahead at the curve, somehow I go through the curve safely and completely without thinking, as by instinct. Also by looking way ahead, any bad spots or obstacles in the road are automatically compensated for and the ride is so much smoother and safer. One time I drove my horse in his trailer over 200 miles back home without any brakes except the trailer brakes that I applied manually. I was able to do it because I knew the route and I anticipated where the stops, curves, steep hills and where the worse traffic would be and you know, I made it home safely by simply driving very carefully and thinking way ahead. Not long after starting to ride my new motorcycle, I tried this out as a sort of experiment and once again discovered that riding ahead is not only much safer (a very important consideration for motorcyclists), but so much more enjoyable because it lets me enjoy freedom and the scenery while my instinctive brain takes over the control of the bike.
Speaking of instinctive riding, if you want a horse to go somewhere, avoid being "spooked" by something off the trail or jump over something, you must look where you want the horse to go. Horses can see where you are looking and they will look that way too and almost always go where you are looking. If you look down while jumping or directly at something "scary," you will crash, the horse will refuse or will spook and perhaps throw you off. To my surprise, looking where you want to go is just as important when riding a motorcycle. If you look where you want to go and point your nose that way, you will instinctively position your body and your balance so that the motorcycle will go there -- almost like magic. I never used to ride like this until I got my Enfield, but what I learned riding horses sure works well riding motorcycles too and it makes riding just that more fun and relaxing. There is a big difference though, when riding a horse and encountering a bad situation, if you just let the horse figure it out with his own brain, (s)he will usually surprise you by getting you out of an otherwise impossible situation, if you can just hang on and don't fall off. When you encounter a similar situation on a motorcycle, you usually crash because you have no "expert" with millions of years of evolution to help you out.
You know, there is a lot about riding a motorcycle that I have forgotten and even more that I never learned in the first place. I have been watching the MC Rider videos and have been practicing a lot of the recommended maneuvers in an empty parking lot. Believe me, by practicing those suggestions, I have learned a lot of useful things and riding my Enfield is now much safer and easier. MC Rider tells you to practice, practice and do some more practicing and that is sound advice that I too recommend. When I'm out riding, I recall many of the safety tips and I follow them too. As soon as I can, I hope to take the highly popular motorcycle safety class, but in the meantime, I'm gathering all the riding tips I can find and, what is more, I practice them over and over. "The key to learning is repetition and practice" and that is true if you play a musical instrument or ride a motorcycle. The other key is to not be satisfied with practicing the same things over and over, but to push yourself beyond your present state of learning and that is true when learning the more difficult skill of riding a spirited horse.
Before I go on and while I'm speaking of practice, I believe that it is vitally important for every motorcycle rider to practice picking up his/her tipped over bike. I highly recommend finding a soft lawn or rug and (as gently as possible) tip the bike over first on one side and then on the other and then try each the many techniques for picking it up. I find that the old "butt on the seat grabbing the handlebar and something low down and then walking it up" method works best for me, but there are many other techniques and you should watch the videos and try the ones that make sense to you. "There's never a horse that couldn't be rode and never a rider that couldn't be throwed" and I also believe that there has never been a rider who will never drop a bike, so it is best to be ready for that (those) day(s) when it happens. Please read on and you will see why.
Life is short, but full of adventures and fun and we must take risks in order to get as much out of life as possible, but foolish risks will vastly improve the chances that our life will come to a premature end. I think it is well to remember that we don't live just for ourselves, we live for our community, for our friends and for our families too. In a very real sense, we owe it to everybody and especially to the ones who love us and need us and would be devastated by our loss or our crippling, not to risk our bodies irresponsibly. When I was young I was taught that our bodies are "Temples of the Holy Spirit" and must never be abused or risked foolishly. Taking Anatomy and Physiology classes I learned how incredibly wonderful and complex (and fragile) living organisms are. I have learned to have a deep, deep respect for life and especially highly evolved life such as we are.
We are star dust from an ancient star that exploded billions of years ago and somehow, by means of our parent's DNA and the vastly complex and wonderful mechanisms in our mother's eukaryotic egg cells and her female body, some of that dust has marvelously organized itself into sentient beings able to understand and appreciate this marvel. With our bodies returned back to that dust, or with them all busted up, the pleasures of life are impossible to experience. One's life is the "immediate jewel of our soul" and it is everything we ever were, are now and ever will be. Like an "immediate jewel," our lives are very, very precious and very fragile and must not be risked foolishly. Of course, some people urgently desire to believe that our "soul" and our awareness will live on in some kind of "afterlife." Sadly, there is no evidence for that belief beyond some written words preserved from an ancient time when everything we now recognize as natural was considered supernatural, but people desperately want to believe it so adamantly, they recognize no difference between desire and reality. I say, hope what you may, but this is the only life we know for sure and it will be over soon enough, so conserve and protect it and treat your marvelous body with the respect, care and wonder it deserves.
Two modern things I really appreciate is the fuel injection replacing the carburettor and the electric starter. I should also mention that this engine does not have a "dry sump" lubrication system as did most of the old English motorcycles nor does it have a separate gear box. The engine, clutch and gearbox share the same oil that is pumped around from a sump at the bottom of the engine. To prevent contamination of the oil, this engine has two powerful magnets on drain plugs that catch the fine steel particles, it has a screen filter to catch larger particles (like from the clutch) and a cartridge paper filter that catches all the fine particles and keeps the oil clean. This is the first bike I've ever owned with a cartridge filter. Of course, the engine is air cooled and so the oil should be a 15W50 grade and at my next oil change I will switch over to synthetic oil. Although the 500cc engine is air cooled, look at the massive fins on the huge head and the cooling fins elsewhere. Between those fins and the oil that circulates all through the engine and transmission, this engine runs relatively cool and quietly, but with any air cooled engine, the air must be kept moving.
This motorcycle does not have a top speed that is all that fast, but can easily cruse at 65 MPH. At 65 it feels uncommonly stable and the engine doesn't feel or sound like it is screaming or thrashing itself to pieces. Fact is, this is not a highway or "road" bike and if you want to ride a motorcycle all the way from California to Sturgis, South Dakota, this not the bike to take. If you love those scenic, twisty, 55 MPH back roads, this bike may be as perfect for you as it is for me.
By the way, I get a little over 62 MPG on a trip driving mostly at 60-65 (sometimes 70) and that means I can go about 200 miles before the gas situation gets serious. When the warning light comes on and stays on, my tank then has about 1/2 gallons left (about 30 miles) and I don't hesitate to put in more gas because the consequences of running out of gas is dire and expensive in a fuel injected engine. Without gas in the tank, the fuel pump will quickly burn out and although not that hard to replace, it is expensive and you will have to wait a long time for one to arrive.
I have very short legs and while sitting on my Enfield, I really can't touch the ground with both feet flat on the ground. The bike is a bit top heavy and once (just after I got the bike) I dropped it while trying to maneuver it on a gravel patch out at the horse stables. I had earlier broken some ribs in a bad fall from my horse and didn't have the strength on my right side to keep it up when it started to lean. When I dropped the bike, my right leg was caught under and I couldn't get free and lord did it hurt. I finally called out for help and some ladies came over and rescued me. Oh the shame, the shame of being pinned down like that and having to ask ladies to lift the motorcycle off of me. I am so ashamed. I developed a huge swelling on the inside of my right thigh and thought I'd have to have it drained, but it is slowly going down. After that little mishap, I bought one of those ugly black "engine protector" safety bars and you can see in the picture just in front of the engine. Don't laugh because recently I was practicing sudden stops when I did a foolish thing and tried to turn the bike at the same time. The bike flopped over, but the big ugly bar (I had put on the day before) prevented the bike from going over all the way and my leg didn't get caught under this time. By the way, by flopping the bike down like that, I discovered why stupid braggarts are always talking about the the time they "laid the bike down" in an accident. They certainly did not "lay it down" on purpose, but the bike went down because they tried, as if they were driving a car, to turn and brake at the same time and they lost control. Am I sold on ugly safety bars? Oh Yeah, I sure am!
That little accident, where I flopped the bike on its side, taught me, in a most convincing way, something I learned a long time ago, but failed to put into practice on my new bike. Many years ago when I used to drive little English Sports Cars, I discovered that you could avoid things in the road (like other cars or things that have fallen off trucks) by doing one of two things: either swerve without applying the brakes or straighten the car out and hitting the brakes hard, but --- by no means --- do both or you would lose traction and end up sideways or in a spin. With the car out of control, you would either hit what you wanted to avoid or spin off the road. I learned that if you must lose speed to take a corner, you must do your braking BEFORE entering the curve and keep your foot off the brake, no matter what. With a motorcycle, the results of trying to turn and brake at the same time are much more serious and you can end up in the hospital (or worse). If you must slow down while in a curve, you must straighten out the bike, hit the brakes hard, release the brakes and then hope you have enough room to make the turn without leaving your lane.
Another thing I learned a long time ago was to "ride ahead" as far as possible and not look right in front of me. If I look far ahead at an upcoming curve and keep looking ahead at the curve, somehow I go through the curve safely and completely without thinking, as by instinct. Also by looking way ahead, any bad spots or obstacles in the road are automatically compensated for and the ride is so much smoother and safer. One time I drove my horse in his trailer over 200 miles back home without any brakes except the trailer brakes that I applied manually. I was able to do it because I knew the route and I anticipated where the stops, curves, steep hills and where the worse traffic would be and you know, I made it home safely by simply driving very carefully and thinking way ahead. Not long after starting to ride my new motorcycle, I tried this out as a sort of experiment and once again discovered that riding ahead is not only much safer (a very important consideration for motorcyclists), but so much more enjoyable because it lets me enjoy freedom and the scenery while my instinctive brain takes over the control of the bike.
Speaking of instinctive riding, if you want a horse to go somewhere, avoid being "spooked" by something off the trail or jump over something, you must look where you want the horse to go. Horses can see where you are looking and they will look that way too and almost always go where you are looking. If you look down while jumping or directly at something "scary," you will crash, the horse will refuse or will spook and perhaps throw you off. To my surprise, looking where you want to go is just as important when riding a motorcycle. If you look where you want to go and point your nose that way, you will instinctively position your body and your balance so that the motorcycle will go there -- almost like magic. I never used to ride like this until I got my Enfield, but what I learned riding horses sure works well riding motorcycles too and it makes riding just that more fun and relaxing. There is a big difference though, when riding a horse and encountering a bad situation, if you just let the horse figure it out with his own brain, (s)he will usually surprise you by getting you out of an otherwise impossible situation, if you can just hang on and don't fall off. When you encounter a similar situation on a motorcycle, you usually crash because you have no "expert" with millions of years of evolution to help you out.
You know, there is a lot about riding a motorcycle that I have forgotten and even more that I never learned in the first place. I have been watching the MC Rider videos and have been practicing a lot of the recommended maneuvers in an empty parking lot. Believe me, by practicing those suggestions, I have learned a lot of useful things and riding my Enfield is now much safer and easier. MC Rider tells you to practice, practice and do some more practicing and that is sound advice that I too recommend. When I'm out riding, I recall many of the safety tips and I follow them too. As soon as I can, I hope to take the highly popular motorcycle safety class, but in the meantime, I'm gathering all the riding tips I can find and, what is more, I practice them over and over. "The key to learning is repetition and practice" and that is true if you play a musical instrument or ride a motorcycle. The other key is to not be satisfied with practicing the same things over and over, but to push yourself beyond your present state of learning and that is true when learning the more difficult skill of riding a spirited horse.
Before I go on and while I'm speaking of practice, I believe that it is vitally important for every motorcycle rider to practice picking up his/her tipped over bike. I highly recommend finding a soft lawn or rug and (as gently as possible) tip the bike over first on one side and then on the other and then try each the many techniques for picking it up. I find that the old "butt on the seat grabbing the handlebar and something low down and then walking it up" method works best for me, but there are many other techniques and you should watch the videos and try the ones that make sense to you. "There's never a horse that couldn't be rode and never a rider that couldn't be throwed" and I also believe that there has never been a rider who will never drop a bike, so it is best to be ready for that (those) day(s) when it happens. Please read on and you will see why.
Latest
mishap and a good lesson
By
no means am I a "hot shot" nor do I have the motorcycle to be one.
I really enjoy taking it easy and practicing safe driving
because, for me, motorcycle riding should be fun and relaxing and if
I'm always at the limit of traction or leaned over as far as I can and
driving faster than it is safe, that ruins my fun. I know
there
are lots of young fools that get a real thrill out of cheating death
every time they get on a motorcycle and ride on the public streets, but
there is the old saying for those kids,
"there are
old motorcycle riders and their are fast motorcycle riders, but there
are no fast old motorcycle riders," so I take the advice of
the
Harley riders and "live to ride, ride to live." Of course,
when
you are young you think you are immortal and indestructible and can
survive the worst pain and that is why the world's armies have always
wanted young men to feed to the machine guns. I've learned
more
and more over the years and I have also learned just how incredibly
fragile the human body really is, especially when going faster than
your two legs will carry you. Our kind was not evolved to go
fast
and anything above a running speed is something that is new to human
beings, so be a little humble when driving at 55 + on two wheels and
realize that this is actually a very unnatural thing that was not
present during our evolution.
Well, it happened again, I deeply embarrassed
myself
again, but this time on the city streets where other drivers and even
another motorcyclist stopped to help me. Yes, I dropped the
bike
at a stop sign with a car in back of me. Thanks to the engine
protector, I was not trapped under my bike, but my right shoe was
caught and I had to pull it out from underneath the engine protector.
I don't know exactly what happened, but the bike started to
lean
left and somewhat in slow motion. I don't know why it got
away
from me, but evidently I was not paying close enough attention to the
bike and I let all my attention be focused on crossing the
intersection. The bike started to lean and like a fool, I
thought
I could straighten it out, but I just don't have the raw strength when
it gets over so far and I'm not on the bike properly. When it
started to pitch over, I was amazed that I couldn't right it, I failed
to put down the kickstand in time and over she went.
The driver behind me kindly rushed over to see if he could help, but by that time I was free from the bike after being sprawled out on the street for a few seconds. I was sincerely touched by the man's concern and readiness to help me. After beginning to pick up the bike using my butt and legs as suggested, a Harley rider stopped and kindly steadied the bike while I inched it up. Another act of kindness that embarrassed me, but renewed my faith in the humanity and goodness of the vast majority of people. I don't know who those Hispanic men were, but I hope I conveyed my appreciation and thanks for helping me that way.
With everything that happens to me, I learn very important lessons and get ideas for practicing new ways of riding so it won't happen again. I had my left foot way out in case the bike should start to go over when I stopped at the intersection. I thought that by having my leg way out there, I'd be in a stronger position to right the bike if it should start to tip. Boy was that WRONG because by putting my leg out there like that, I guaranteed that the bike would tip and when it did tip, I had no more "leg" to right the bike once again. To compound the situation, I had my right foot off the peg and my butt firmly on the saddle.
On my ride back home and feeling rather stupid, I had the idea that I should have my foot closer to my own center of gravity which means it should have been closer to the bike and not way out there. Well, I practiced that theory over and over again and yes, the bike is much easier to balance or bring into balance if the foot and leg are closer to the bike, but not underneath it. The second thing that I thought I'd try is to get my butt off the seat.
With my butt firmly on the seat, my own body adds greatly to the top heaviness of the bike and makes bringing in into balance almost impossible. Golly, I knew that many years ago while learning to ride with short stirrups on horseback, but it was something that I forgot over the years when riding a motorcycle. Well, the way to get your butt off the saddle is to stand up on the peg(s) or, on horseback, the stirrups and on a bike, you must have a foot on the opposite peg and not on the ground -- absolutely NOT on the ground. When you put weight on the opposite peg, you actually help rock the bike back into balance and greatly help the foot and leg on the other side that is trying to hold the bike up. I tried this over and over again and boy does it work. On slopes that I didn't have the strength to get the bike up from, all of a sudden I could bring it into balance if I'd have my foot on the opposite peg and get my butt off the saddle.
Again, I was so thankful that I had my "ugly engine protector" bars in place because not only did they save me from being trapped under the bike, but they perfectly protected the bike from injury. If you are short and not as strong as you were in the old days or you don't want to wrench your back trying to keep up a bike when it starts tilting, I can't recommend these bars more highly.
Well, guess what? Yes, even with the above training, I dropped the bike again, but this time I dropped it first on one side and then the other and what is more, I dropped it in a store's parking lot in front of people. I was backing the bike out of a parking space when it started to lean to the left and so I put my foot on the right peg and the handlebar straight out to have "maximum leverage." To my amazement and disappointment, the bike continued to lean until it sent me sprawling on the ground and there it lay on its protector bar. As mentioned, I was amazed because I thought I had done everything right. Well, I got the bike up again and was once again touched with the concern and help of bystanders. I got the engine started and at the stop before entering the main road, I dropped it again, but this time on the right side. While waiting for traffic to clear I had been experimenting with balance when I lost it -- do not practice or experiment at a busy intersection -- and again, I thought I was doing all the right things.
When I got home, I again experimented bringing the bike into balance. I practiced on my front lawn and I discovered a very important principle. Earlier I thought that I could bring an over-balanced bike upright by simply having the foot and leg under me and my opposite foot on the peg with the handlebar straight out "for maximum leverage." Well, having the foot and leg directly under me with the opposite foot on the peg is good when the lean is under control, but not good enough when the bike passes a critical angle. At that critical angle and beyond, the handlebar kept straight out is all wrong, all wrong indeed. No, when the bike starts to tip, it is absolutely essential to bring in the handlebar all the way toward you on the side of the bike's tip so that the grip is in line with your back and leg as much as possible.
This idea of bringing the handle bar close to the center of the bike seemed counterintuitive at first, but when the alignment of your body is too far forward by having the handlebar grip too far forward, any "mechanical advantage" of the straight out handlebars is absolutely canceled and over she will go. When your arm, back and leg muscles, bones and joints are not in alignment, all you have is your leg against the seat (the opposite peg is now useless) and that leg to seat force just ain't enough to keep the bike from tipping over, you must also straighten your back and use your upper body muscles to yank the handlebar (and the bike) back up by main strength. Of course, after the bike has gone beyond a certain angle, no amount of strength will prevent the bike from going down and you will be glad you have those protector bars, but with the help of positioning the handlebar properly, you will have a little more time and tip angle to work with to save the bike from going down. Besides that, if all else fails, you may also be able to let the bike down a little softer.
Having said all that, simply pulling up on the handlebar is not enough, you must also lean your upper body to the side opposite the lean of the motorcycle and push down on the opposite handlebar as hard as you can while pulling up on the other side. As mentioned, after a certain point, the bike is going over no matter what you do, but if you work to increase your upper body strength both lifting and pushing down, you will be able to recover the bike from a lean that would normally cause you to drop it. I have been working on that strength and now feel more secure and able to handle the bike.
There is one more thing I'd like to mention at this point. I'm a small guy with short legs and so, for me, this motorcycle is very top heavy and I must always be alert to keep it in balance. Having said that, there is something that really messes me up and that is filling the gas tank up all the way and making it very much more top heavy. To compound the problem, a guy gets used to the bike's balance when the gas tank isn't full (most of the time) and the bike is especially easy to handle just before going to the gas pump. This sudden change after filling up really fools me and it is then that I am in most danger of dropping my bike. In fact, every time I've dropped the bike, it has been just after filling up.
Now, having written all that, letting your bike fall, even if it means it will be damaged, is way, way better than hurting your back or spraining a ligament, tearing a muscle or otherwise messing up your body. Your body is the most precious and expensive thing you own and nothing, absolutely nothing and certainly not a pile of metal that can easily be replaced or fixed is worth getting hurt over. Know when to give up and remember that "discretion is the better part of valor" when it comes to wrecking something you will need for the remainder of your life. If it's too heavy, let it drop.
The driver behind me kindly rushed over to see if he could help, but by that time I was free from the bike after being sprawled out on the street for a few seconds. I was sincerely touched by the man's concern and readiness to help me. After beginning to pick up the bike using my butt and legs as suggested, a Harley rider stopped and kindly steadied the bike while I inched it up. Another act of kindness that embarrassed me, but renewed my faith in the humanity and goodness of the vast majority of people. I don't know who those Hispanic men were, but I hope I conveyed my appreciation and thanks for helping me that way.
With everything that happens to me, I learn very important lessons and get ideas for practicing new ways of riding so it won't happen again. I had my left foot way out in case the bike should start to go over when I stopped at the intersection. I thought that by having my leg way out there, I'd be in a stronger position to right the bike if it should start to tip. Boy was that WRONG because by putting my leg out there like that, I guaranteed that the bike would tip and when it did tip, I had no more "leg" to right the bike once again. To compound the situation, I had my right foot off the peg and my butt firmly on the saddle.
On my ride back home and feeling rather stupid, I had the idea that I should have my foot closer to my own center of gravity which means it should have been closer to the bike and not way out there. Well, I practiced that theory over and over again and yes, the bike is much easier to balance or bring into balance if the foot and leg are closer to the bike, but not underneath it. The second thing that I thought I'd try is to get my butt off the seat.
With my butt firmly on the seat, my own body adds greatly to the top heaviness of the bike and makes bringing in into balance almost impossible. Golly, I knew that many years ago while learning to ride with short stirrups on horseback, but it was something that I forgot over the years when riding a motorcycle. Well, the way to get your butt off the saddle is to stand up on the peg(s) or, on horseback, the stirrups and on a bike, you must have a foot on the opposite peg and not on the ground -- absolutely NOT on the ground. When you put weight on the opposite peg, you actually help rock the bike back into balance and greatly help the foot and leg on the other side that is trying to hold the bike up. I tried this over and over again and boy does it work. On slopes that I didn't have the strength to get the bike up from, all of a sudden I could bring it into balance if I'd have my foot on the opposite peg and get my butt off the saddle.
Again, I was so thankful that I had my "ugly engine protector" bars in place because not only did they save me from being trapped under the bike, but they perfectly protected the bike from injury. If you are short and not as strong as you were in the old days or you don't want to wrench your back trying to keep up a bike when it starts tilting, I can't recommend these bars more highly.
Well, guess what? Yes, even with the above training, I dropped the bike again, but this time I dropped it first on one side and then the other and what is more, I dropped it in a store's parking lot in front of people. I was backing the bike out of a parking space when it started to lean to the left and so I put my foot on the right peg and the handlebar straight out to have "maximum leverage." To my amazement and disappointment, the bike continued to lean until it sent me sprawling on the ground and there it lay on its protector bar. As mentioned, I was amazed because I thought I had done everything right. Well, I got the bike up again and was once again touched with the concern and help of bystanders. I got the engine started and at the stop before entering the main road, I dropped it again, but this time on the right side. While waiting for traffic to clear I had been experimenting with balance when I lost it -- do not practice or experiment at a busy intersection -- and again, I thought I was doing all the right things.
When I got home, I again experimented bringing the bike into balance. I practiced on my front lawn and I discovered a very important principle. Earlier I thought that I could bring an over-balanced bike upright by simply having the foot and leg under me and my opposite foot on the peg with the handlebar straight out "for maximum leverage." Well, having the foot and leg directly under me with the opposite foot on the peg is good when the lean is under control, but not good enough when the bike passes a critical angle. At that critical angle and beyond, the handlebar kept straight out is all wrong, all wrong indeed. No, when the bike starts to tip, it is absolutely essential to bring in the handlebar all the way toward you on the side of the bike's tip so that the grip is in line with your back and leg as much as possible.
This idea of bringing the handle bar close to the center of the bike seemed counterintuitive at first, but when the alignment of your body is too far forward by having the handlebar grip too far forward, any "mechanical advantage" of the straight out handlebars is absolutely canceled and over she will go. When your arm, back and leg muscles, bones and joints are not in alignment, all you have is your leg against the seat (the opposite peg is now useless) and that leg to seat force just ain't enough to keep the bike from tipping over, you must also straighten your back and use your upper body muscles to yank the handlebar (and the bike) back up by main strength. Of course, after the bike has gone beyond a certain angle, no amount of strength will prevent the bike from going down and you will be glad you have those protector bars, but with the help of positioning the handlebar properly, you will have a little more time and tip angle to work with to save the bike from going down. Besides that, if all else fails, you may also be able to let the bike down a little softer.
Having said all that, simply pulling up on the handlebar is not enough, you must also lean your upper body to the side opposite the lean of the motorcycle and push down on the opposite handlebar as hard as you can while pulling up on the other side. As mentioned, after a certain point, the bike is going over no matter what you do, but if you work to increase your upper body strength both lifting and pushing down, you will be able to recover the bike from a lean that would normally cause you to drop it. I have been working on that strength and now feel more secure and able to handle the bike.
There is one more thing I'd like to mention at this point. I'm a small guy with short legs and so, for me, this motorcycle is very top heavy and I must always be alert to keep it in balance. Having said that, there is something that really messes me up and that is filling the gas tank up all the way and making it very much more top heavy. To compound the problem, a guy gets used to the bike's balance when the gas tank isn't full (most of the time) and the bike is especially easy to handle just before going to the gas pump. This sudden change after filling up really fools me and it is then that I am in most danger of dropping my bike. In fact, every time I've dropped the bike, it has been just after filling up.
Now, having written all that, letting your bike fall, even if it means it will be damaged, is way, way better than hurting your back or spraining a ligament, tearing a muscle or otherwise messing up your body. Your body is the most precious and expensive thing you own and nothing, absolutely nothing and certainly not a pile of metal that can easily be replaced or fixed is worth getting hurt over. Know when to give up and remember that "discretion is the better part of valor" when it comes to wrecking something you will need for the remainder of your life. If it's too heavy, let it drop.
To
continue
Life is short, but full of adventures and fun and we must take risks in order to get as much out of life as possible, but foolish risks will vastly improve the chances that our life will come to a premature end. I think it is well to remember that we don't live just for ourselves, we live for our community, for our friends and for our families too. In a very real sense, we owe it to everybody and especially to the ones who love us and need us and would be devastated by our loss or our crippling, not to risk our bodies irresponsibly. When I was young I was taught that our bodies are "Temples of the Holy Spirit" and must never be abused or risked foolishly. Taking Anatomy and Physiology classes I learned how incredibly wonderful and complex (and fragile) living organisms are. I have learned to have a deep, deep respect for life and especially highly evolved life such as we are.
We are star dust from an ancient star that exploded billions of years ago and somehow, by means of our parent's DNA and the vastly complex and wonderful mechanisms in our mother's eukaryotic egg cells and her female body, some of that dust has marvelously organized itself into sentient beings able to understand and appreciate this marvel. With our bodies returned back to that dust, or with them all busted up, the pleasures of life are impossible to experience. One's life is the "immediate jewel of our soul" and it is everything we ever were, are now and ever will be. Like an "immediate jewel," our lives are very, very precious and very fragile and must not be risked foolishly. Of course, some people urgently desire to believe that our "soul" and our awareness will live on in some kind of "afterlife." Sadly, there is no evidence for that belief beyond some written words preserved from an ancient time when everything we now recognize as natural was considered supernatural, but people desperately want to believe it so adamantly, they recognize no difference between desire and reality. I say, hope what you may, but this is the only life we know for sure and it will be over soon enough, so conserve and protect it and treat your marvelous body with the respect, care and wonder it deserves.
Latest modifications
I have vastly improved the visibility of my
motorcycle by
doing a little rewiring, replacing some sockets and using 5 very high
output LED lamps. The first thing I did was to replace the
very
wimpy incandescent bulbs in the two little "parking lights" on top of
the headlight. I used very small, but intense high output LED
amber bulbs that really shine day or night. The modification
was
extremely simple only requiring removal of the original lamps and
putting in the amber LEDs. The other simple modification was
to
replace the original 1157 lamp in the tail light with a high output
pure red LED, but I'll have more to say later.The other modifications I made were somewhat more involved, but still very easy. I opened up the turn signal lamps and removed the reflectors, then I removed the lamp sockets by pushing from the rear with a screw driver. It took some force for the lamp sockets to come out, but they all did. I then replaced the sockets in the reflectors with 1157 lamp sockets. I connected the existing turn signal wire to the bright side of the new 1157 lamps and threaded a new thin wire through the lamp body and the existing sleeve. That new wire was connected into the running light wires on both the front and back. Actually, on my bike the wire bundle that feeds the headlamp has two unused running light sockets and I simply made up a lug and plugged into the "hot side" for these new front running lights. In the rear, I spliced into the running light of the red tail light for my new running lights.
In the front I used super high output amber LEDs for the 1157 lamps and boy do they put out the light. For the rear I used small dome incandescent 1157 lamps. I used these kinds of bulbs in the rear because the filaments of these bulbs draw a lot of current and so by having a mix of high current bulbs and low current bulbs, the flasher operates at a normal flash rate.
The red rear stop and running lamp was an ordinary 1157 bulb, but it got replaced by a super high output pure red LED. This new high output red 1157 LED and the two bright 1157 bulbs in the turn signals really light up the rear end of my bike both night and day and the pure red LED lamp makes the lens glow all over which makes it look really nice. I am more concerned that oncoming and side traffic see me better, so the high output amber LEDs went up front and the still very bright incandescent bulbs went in the rear.
With the modifications I have made, my headlamp is now surrounded by very bright and high output amber LEDs. While I'm driving, both day and night, the front of the bike is all lit up and the turn signals are much more visible both front and rear. I feel that these improvements I've made are not that hard to do, but have made my motorcycle very much easier to spot and, let's face it, drivers have a hard enough time noticing motorcycles under the best of conditions and everything we can do to make ourselves stand out enhances our safety. If you do nothing else, replace the little "parking lights" on top of the headlamp with amber LEDs and the rear 1157 bulb with a high output red LED 1157 lamp.
My latest modification was to add a tachometer. My Triumph of so many decades ago didn't have a speedometer, but it did have a tachometer. I never missed the speedometer, but I would have felt lost without the tachometer and so when my Enfield came without a tachometer, I felt something vital was missing and from the very first I dreamed about fitting a tachometer.
There is very little real estate on the headlight nacelle that makes up the instrument cluster and so a small clock (a very desirable item) and the tachometer has to be mounted on the handlebar. The first tachometer I bought and tried out was a small digital unit that actually looked pretty nice, but the readout was completely washed out in direct sunlight. To make matters impossible, the electronics was designed to have a pulse to the spark coil every revolution of the engine. My engine's ECU puts out one pulse to the spark coil at the power stroke which means it has to make two revolutions per coil pulse and that means that the tach indicates only half the RPMs the engine is actually doing (showing 2000 RPM when the engine is really doing 4000 RPM). For those two reasons, the digital tach had to go.
I searched around for an adjustable tach so I could match its input to my ignition type and found a high quality unit that could be adjusted for any type of motor or coil input waveform. The tachometer I found has a easily readable analogue dial and a high quality stepper motor which means that there is no meter bounce regardless of the level of vibrations the engine creates. Through some simple adjustments, I found a setting where the meter reads perfectly and because it is so large, it is instantly readable with just a quick glance. Since I've had it on my bike, I use it almost exclusively and only glance at the speedometer when I need to know if I'm approaching the speed limit. To say the least, I love having the tachometer and now I feel the instrumentation of my motorcycle is complete.
The down side of the tachometer is what makes it so easy to read, its very large size. It is fully the size of my speedometer and therefore has to be mounted high up on the handlebar which looks kind of ugly. I have even considered removing the speedometer and replacing it with the tachometer as was done on my Triumph so long ago, but, of course, I can't do that. I guess I'm just going to have to get used to how ugly it makes my bike look because the joy and function of having an accurate tachometer far outweighs looks.
By the way, for the first time I ran the engine up to its redline just to see what it would do when it got there. When I approached 5,000 RPM (in 2nd gear) I was expecting the engine to start cutting out, but it continued to climb smoothly past 5,500 and then when I got to exactly 6,000 RPM, the engine just died and the engine breaking slowed me way down to about 20 MPH until I finally put the clutch in. I have to admit I was somewhat confused because I thought the engine would "catch" again after going below 3,000 RPM, but it didn't.
Dogonnit', I thought I might have broken something, so I came to a stop with the clutch in and was surprised that the engine was idling at 1,000 RMP as normal. I put the gearbox into first, revved up the engine and took off as normal and the engine behaved as if nothing had happened (to my great relief). I was smart enough to do this testing on a deserted country road only a mile and a half from my house so I wouldn't be rear ended by traffic and close enough so that I could push the bike home if necessary. Yep, the over speed protection built into the ECU really does work, but at a slightly higher RPM than I thought it would. Also while I was experimenting with speed and RPM, I noticed that even at 70 MPH, the engine still had lots of RPM before it would hit redline, but since I was on a country road and not all that interested in establishing an absolute top speed, I ended my testing right there.
Does having such a high quality tachometer bring added enjoyment to riding my motorcycle? Oh yeah, it does and I consider a tach as almost indispensable!
June 5, 2018
Just for peace of mind, I ordered a vibration reducer plate made for my model of engine. It took
almost a full month to arrive from India although I paid a premium for
it. Any reduction in vibrations is really hard to tell, but I do
seem to be unconsciously revving the engine up higher between shifts
and cruising at 60-70 MPH seems to be easier, so it must "feel"
smoother. Anyway, the large roller bearing that now supports the
flywheel at the end of crankshaft gives me peace of mind and so I think
the addition was worth doing and worth the money.Installing the vibration reduction plate was pretty straight forward and everything came apart pretty easy including the flywheel/magnets. I did have a bit of a chore getting to the two electrical connectors so I could remove the side cover entirely. If you should decide to do this job for yourself, it might be best to have a procedure list that you can check off as you do the work. For example:
Procedure
1. Tilt the bike on its stand and on a slope so you will retain as much oil as possible (unless you wantto drain the oil and change it). Be sure to put a pan under the bike to catch the oil which will drip.
2. Disconnect the two electrical connectors (found under the battery) and zip ties that secure the cables
to the frame.
3. Loosen and remove the bolt/nut and then remove the kick starter.
4. Loosen the right foot peg's nut and rotate the peg counter clockwise.
5. Remove the 10 bolts that secure the cover to the engine.
6. Carefully pry the cover away from the engine and set it to one side. You will probably destroy
the gasket, but you don't need it anyway, you will later use a silicone sealer to make a gasket.
7. With a puller, carefully remove the flywheel/magnets. This will come off very easily.
8. With a hex wrench, remove the three bolts holding the old plate on.
9. Remove the two very thin washers from the old plate and place them on their bearings unless
they are already there.
10. Take the new inner bearing cylinder out of the new plate (if it's still in there).
11. Fit the new plate in the place of the old plate.
12. Torque the three hex bolts moderately tight.
13. Put the new bearing cylinder on the crankshaft with the deep groove facing outward.
14. Put the spring partially inside the bearing cylinder's groove. The end of the spring will stick out.
15. Put on the flywheel and tighten down its nut using the engine compression and striking the
wrench with your hand.
16. After scraping away the old gasket from both surfaces, coat the mating surface of the cover plate
with a silicone sealer (Make A Gasket or similar).
17. Put the rubber wire protector/sealer in its proper groove in the cover plate. It is important you have
it in correctly.
18. Replace the 10 bolts that hold the plate to the engine and torque moderately tight.
19. Put the bike upright and check you have sufficient oil (add as necessary) and then start the engine.
Let it run until warmed while looking for oil drips (unlikely) and test if vibrations are reduced
(hard to tell). Listen for any unusual sounds indicating that you missed a step and something
hasn't been tightened properly (been there, done that).
20. Replace the kick starter, put in the bolt/nut and tighten it down.
21. Rotate the foot peg to its position and tighten it down.
I suggest you print out this page, get a pencil and check each step as you go so you won't forget anything. Don't fail to check off each item as it is completed or you may end up with loose bolts/nuts inside and cause yourself a whole lot more work OR WORSE!
Trouble in Paradise
I have been riding motorized cycles since 1962 (off and
on) and bicycles before that. I've always done my own work on my
bikes and my and on friends' bikes, but in all this time I have never seen
broken sprocket teeth or ever had a problem with a chain that wouldn't flex. Until recently I had over a dozen broken
teeth on two different rear sprockets and the trouble started with only
2,000 miles on the bike.
My youngest brother is not a trained motorcycle mechanic, but he has vast experience and has opened a little repair shop. Brother Joe begged me to throw away the chain and install a new one when I purchased the new sprocket/drum, but wouldn't listen. Oh, no, I considered the chain to be "too new" to require replacing and blamed the broken teeth on the sprocket itself. I have driven years and years on the same chain and never had any trouble, so I wasn't about to listen to my brother. Geez, sometimes I wonder just how dumb and pig-headed I can be sometimes. In my own defense I will say that open mindedness is a good thing, but I am very careful (perhaps too careful) to not have my mind so open that my brain might fall out.
I sent off for a new drum/sprocket (but not a new chain) and it took almost a month for it to come from India by camel caravan. It was supposed to be made out of a superior cast iron, so I confidently put it on the bike. Actually, changing the rear drum/sprocket is a rather straight forward job, but I found it very time consuming and it took me a lot longer, a whole lot longer than I thought it would and before I got everything lined up correctly, I had to use almost my full vocabulary of cuss words. Well I finished the job and confidently took my bike out for a ride. My first indication that I had remaining problems was when I noticed that the bike didn't feel all that smooth. After just a few days of riding, I discovered that the new sprocket had broken some of its teeth. Yeah, broken teeth after just a few days!!! Oh lord, my brother was right, the original Indian chain was nothing but an inflexible piece of junk that "ate" sprockets. I had never experienced a chain problem like this before, so I just couldn't believe it, but there it was.
Well, obviously I need another new sprocket/drum, but this time I thought I'd go "hole hog" and buy a complete set of new front and rear sprockets AND a new chain. I sent off for what I thought was the right package and it arrived in an amazing 4 days all the way from India by air express. The only problem with those new parts is that they were for a different model Enfield from mine and only the rear sprocket/drum would fit. The front steel sprocket was all wrong and the chain was about six inches too short. I only discovered the front sprocket problem after I had the flywheel cover off and saw how different my sprocket was from the new one. While I had the front sprocket uncovered, I looked at it closely and decided that it (being made of a hard steel) might not need replacing after all, but the chain was another matter. The one I received was too short and it was the same brand of Indian chain that had come with the bike. I had no use for the new chain or the new front sprocket, but they were not worth sending back. I sent off for a very good quality Japanese (530 X 120) chain without 'O' rings (on my brother's advice) and waited a week for it to come in.
Getting the new chain "fished" through the front sprocket was a bit of a challenge and the chain got jammed several times. This "simple" job took me a long time (and many cuss words) to complete. Once the new chain was on and lined up, it was about six inches too long, so I borrowed one of brother Joe's chain breakers and removed several links. The chain is still pretty long, but by shoving the rear wheel adjustments back, I can make the chain tight. I will probably take out a link or two later as the chain stretches out, but right now everything is in there just fine and everything runs quietly and smoothly.
I sort of hate write this, but the truth is, I probably contributed to or actually caused the original chain's early failure and its propensity to "eat" sprockets. As mentioned, the original chain was very inflexible, so I did a little investigating. I took a link out and looked very closely at it and was very surprised to find that it was rusted internally to the point that oil wouldn't penetrate into it. I am now of the opinion that my use of a pressure washer to keep the chain clean was a terrible idea. To compound my error, the spray on stuff I used made the chain look like it was lubricated, but it failed to penetrate to where it was needed. From now on I will be using "real" oil and will not "pressure wash" the chain, I promise. My chain oil will be a 0-20 synthetic motor oil I bought for my car (for winter driving). This synthetic oil is light enough to get into tight spaces in the chain, but with great lubricating properties.
How does the new chain and sprocket work now that I have about 500 miles on it? To my surprise, the motorcycle rides much smoother at all road speeds and so far the rear sprocket teeth are unbroken and are showing no wear. There is even less chain noise. If I put the bike up on the center stand and spin the rear wheel, the wheel spins quietly and seeming without friction
My youngest brother is not a trained motorcycle mechanic, but he has vast experience and has opened a little repair shop. Brother Joe begged me to throw away the chain and install a new one when I purchased the new sprocket/drum, but wouldn't listen. Oh, no, I considered the chain to be "too new" to require replacing and blamed the broken teeth on the sprocket itself. I have driven years and years on the same chain and never had any trouble, so I wasn't about to listen to my brother. Geez, sometimes I wonder just how dumb and pig-headed I can be sometimes. In my own defense I will say that open mindedness is a good thing, but I am very careful (perhaps too careful) to not have my mind so open that my brain might fall out.
I sent off for a new drum/sprocket (but not a new chain) and it took almost a month for it to come from India by camel caravan. It was supposed to be made out of a superior cast iron, so I confidently put it on the bike. Actually, changing the rear drum/sprocket is a rather straight forward job, but I found it very time consuming and it took me a lot longer, a whole lot longer than I thought it would and before I got everything lined up correctly, I had to use almost my full vocabulary of cuss words. Well I finished the job and confidently took my bike out for a ride. My first indication that I had remaining problems was when I noticed that the bike didn't feel all that smooth. After just a few days of riding, I discovered that the new sprocket had broken some of its teeth. Yeah, broken teeth after just a few days!!! Oh lord, my brother was right, the original Indian chain was nothing but an inflexible piece of junk that "ate" sprockets. I had never experienced a chain problem like this before, so I just couldn't believe it, but there it was.
Well, obviously I need another new sprocket/drum, but this time I thought I'd go "hole hog" and buy a complete set of new front and rear sprockets AND a new chain. I sent off for what I thought was the right package and it arrived in an amazing 4 days all the way from India by air express. The only problem with those new parts is that they were for a different model Enfield from mine and only the rear sprocket/drum would fit. The front steel sprocket was all wrong and the chain was about six inches too short. I only discovered the front sprocket problem after I had the flywheel cover off and saw how different my sprocket was from the new one. While I had the front sprocket uncovered, I looked at it closely and decided that it (being made of a hard steel) might not need replacing after all, but the chain was another matter. The one I received was too short and it was the same brand of Indian chain that had come with the bike. I had no use for the new chain or the new front sprocket, but they were not worth sending back. I sent off for a very good quality Japanese (530 X 120) chain without 'O' rings (on my brother's advice) and waited a week for it to come in.
Getting the new chain "fished" through the front sprocket was a bit of a challenge and the chain got jammed several times. This "simple" job took me a long time (and many cuss words) to complete. Once the new chain was on and lined up, it was about six inches too long, so I borrowed one of brother Joe's chain breakers and removed several links. The chain is still pretty long, but by shoving the rear wheel adjustments back, I can make the chain tight. I will probably take out a link or two later as the chain stretches out, but right now everything is in there just fine and everything runs quietly and smoothly.
I sort of hate write this, but the truth is, I probably contributed to or actually caused the original chain's early failure and its propensity to "eat" sprockets. As mentioned, the original chain was very inflexible, so I did a little investigating. I took a link out and looked very closely at it and was very surprised to find that it was rusted internally to the point that oil wouldn't penetrate into it. I am now of the opinion that my use of a pressure washer to keep the chain clean was a terrible idea. To compound my error, the spray on stuff I used made the chain look like it was lubricated, but it failed to penetrate to where it was needed. From now on I will be using "real" oil and will not "pressure wash" the chain, I promise. My chain oil will be a 0-20 synthetic motor oil I bought for my car (for winter driving). This synthetic oil is light enough to get into tight spaces in the chain, but with great lubricating properties.
How does the new chain and sprocket work now that I have about 500 miles on it? To my surprise, the motorcycle rides much smoother at all road speeds and so far the rear sprocket teeth are unbroken and are showing no wear. There is even less chain noise. If I put the bike up on the center stand and spin the rear wheel, the wheel spins quietly and seeming without friction
A suggestion
If your chain (especially if it is an Indian chain) is
approaching 1500 miles since it was new or the last time it passed inspection, take the master link out and try
flexing the chain. It should flex smoothly and easily with no binding.
If your chain feels stiff and/or the small steel wheels are not
rotating smoothly, take the chain off and do a deep cleaning in solvent and
a complete lubrication, then test it again. If the chain still feels
stiff, throw it far, far away and get the best quality chain you can
find to replace it. I recommend a good quality 530 Japanese chain and my brother says you shouldn't use an 'O' ring chain.THE END
(for now)