Performance mods for a Royal Enfield Bullet

[SS90]

Lighter rockers?

FFS, be careful who you listen to there mate. Such things are really only going to make a difference on an engine that has several other modifications.

Before even considering lighter internals, consider your carb size.

By your own admission, you not really savvy with the "Ins and Outs" of tuning, so the wise thing to do would be grab a copy of Phil Irvings book "Tuning for speed" it covers stuff from that era, and if you read it cover to cover, you will decided for yourself,not only what actually makes power on an old single banger, but also what you can do for yourself.

Compression is always a place to start( that is, after measuring what you have now), and so is a camshaft.... I am sure you will be able to find a hot cam suitable for "sporty" road riding that already exist, and is well tested...those bikes have been round since Before Rossi was a twinkle in his dads eye.

It has been said already by others (cam compression carb), and with old designed single bangers, there is plenty of room for improvement in this area.

Will make it hard to start though!

[BJ250]

hehehe... thats why I dont want to do anything with the internals at all.. I just want to do the free flow filter and exhaust. And if changing the jets isn't gonna fuck it all up, then that would be an option too. just basic shit that i could do myself and not ruin the bike

I'll hunt for the Tuning for speed book. can never read too much, ey

I have been using the Hitchcocks website to read up on the technical stuff about RE's and nothing bad has happened to the bike yet!
http://www.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/

[calmone]

You say you have been online at Hitchcocks, they also put out a vey comprehensive Manual each year for the Bullet both 350 and 500 versions. It details all that is available in the way of aftermarket bits etc and when to use them.
I have a 350 Bullet with a High Com piston and a few other mods and the small muffler option, but still with standard carb and filter. A little underpowered compared to my previous 1200,s I rode but a fun ride.
They are easy to work on, but can be a little fiddly around the carb , with mixture adjustments etc quite critical.

[BJ250]

I did see the 2010 manual. just gotta send them the international reply coupons so they mail me a catalogue.
I notice that most of their gear comes from India so I am trying to source the parts directly from the Indian dealers if possible. might be able to save quite a bit that way.
The Enfield is definitely underpowered compared to most other bikes but its the fact that the engine is so basic that I really like about it.
what kind of mods have you put into your bullet?

[calmone]

Just the Piston, and the Front Brake mod that Hitchcocks detail, Saddle Seat and Saddle Bags and the small Muffler. It is a Kick Start 2000 model ex India.

[banditrider]

http://www.musketvtwin.com/home.html

[Paul in NZ]

Look - I'll put my grinch hat on...

If you just want to make it go faster and you dont approach the project with a specific goal and look at the bike holistically. You are doomed to waste money and blow stuff up. If you dont want to do that then be happy with what you have which is a pretty good thing as is.

Taking my grinch hat off

The bullet motor can be made to go alarmingly fast for an equally alarming short amount of time) BUT build quality is suspect so before any performance mods, consider stripping it down to make sure everything is dickity pooh. I once got chased by a decrepid Bullet running a 30mm AMAL, megga and modified compression ration and it went real good (no cams or anything tricky) and toped out around 90 to 95mph! BUT the guy had rebuilt the whole bottom end properly, checked the oil delivery was correct (it wasnt) and cleaned up valves and ports.

The other option to adding horsepower is removing weight....


Hitchcocks seem to know a LOT about all this stuff - I doubt they will put you far wrong.

[Grumph]

Paul has pretty well covered it. Put the thing together properly first...
If yours hasn't got electronic ignition, find one & fit it - the points setup is crap.

i had one here i sorted out for a friend and even set up properly it was slow.
A Norton ES2 - 1952- here at the same time was way quicker....

[BJ250]

Thanks for the replies guys.. I took the old girl out for a spin yesterday. planned to go up the road and back - wound up doing a 250km round trip!

That musket vtwin is a sweet bike. that is one dedicated biker for sure with all the work he has put into it.

Thanks Paul. I don't want the bike to go faster, she is perfect already. I'm not into speed. i just want to try and improve on the bike, thats all. Maybe i ought to get myself an old trashed Bullet and experiment on that. I cant find anybody with Enfield knowledge here in Hastings and I'm not savvy enough to strip and rebuild her myself.

Grumph, by electronic ignition, do you mean a push start ignition?

[bsasuper]

Have you tried mounting a J-type jet booster engine?

[BJ250]

hmmm. wasn't there a MiG for sale at Turners recently?

[Paul in NZ]

If you just want to improve it then rebuilding they way it should have been built is the first step. Quality is patchy - yours may be perfect but.... better carb and electronic ignition (not electric start) is a good 1st step. Or just love it for what it is...

[BJ250]

been reading up on the electric ignition and it does sound like a good idea. Will definitely make life easier when it comes to cold starting

thanks everybody for the replies

[Flip]

What a cool project.

I would say a better slip on can and air filter would be a good place to start, but keep in mind the more air you are able to feed the leaner the mixture will get. Keep an eye on your plug colour. You might find that you can get the mixture right(ish) by raising the needle, if not the carb will need a bigger main jet.

It's just my opinion, but I like points ignition, folk seem to like to fit electronics to vehicles because there are other problems with their ignition systems. I can fix points ignition on the side of the road and a spare set of points and condenser takes up no room in my tool kit and is cheap.

Also don't go past running the bike up on a dino, its the only real way to set the ignition and mixture correctly and get the best from the parts you fit to your motor.
Do a web search on performance mods to RE's there will be a wealth of knowledge out there, but don't take too seriously, 2/3rds of it will be crap.

[BJ250]

Thanks Flip. I spotted an Amal carb conversion kit sold by Hitchcocks. it comes with a 30mm Amal MK1 Concentric carburetter and S&B performance filter. that might be the way to go for me right now..

anybody know of any Enfield Bullets going dirt cheap? Even if it needs a bit of work no worries