[bsenroy]

My 500 LB, or Dope, as i call it is three years old and has done close to 50K clicks, 20k of which has been on trips outside of Delhi. Since the beginning i knew that i wouldn't be running this bike in a stock condition, so over the years the following minor mods have been made on the bike:

• Installed the short bottle silencer - a throatier note. Heavy, yet not very loud
• NGK Iridium sparks - I had disconnected the e-starter as it broke down on me twice. The 500LB is not an easy bike to start but tghe NGK has made it slightly easier. Mind you, only slightly though
• Wider motorcross handlebars. I think it has added more balance to the riding posture. On the downside, on higher speeds, the wind-blast is a bit heavy on the chest. Extremely good over rough terrain.
• Installed the K&N air filter. Upjetted the carb in conjunction with that. The reasults were fantastic. There is a pronounced intake roar that is magic to the ears. There is a lag though, akin to a turbo lag. On lower revs, the bike feels normal, but rev it a bit higher, the intake spools and you are thurst forward. The fuel economy has gone down, but ever too slightly (around 2 kmpl).

So now the question is, what else can i do? I am not interested in any aesthetic modifications as i am more than happy with the way the bike looks. This fascination with the looks has also resulted in a quandry. I know that i can easily shed some weight by getting rid of the clunky front and rear mudfards. But i dont wanna

This leads me to a few questions:

• Can i turn it into a twinspark? First of all, that would help with my starting woes and then if i am not mistaken, i can reach highers RPM's on a given gear, which should bode well for the bike. No?
• I have read somewhere that the cat-con can be removed. First of all... err.. where is the thing located? What the pros and cons of having the can-con removed?
• The carb of the Machismo has a compression ratio of 5.5:1 if i am not mistaken. What are the ways by which i can bump it up? Again, what are its pros and cons?

This what i can think of at the moment. Will kleep posting more queries as and when i think of them. Thanks a lot in advance quys. Looking forward to your insights

[navpreet318]

I am surprised why there is a starting problem in your LB?

Mine is a 2009 Model and still starts up on first kick after standing in the garage for about 1.5 months. Yes first kick. And the electric starter has never given up on me. I have done a Leh tour on it and there every start including starts in the morning were done using the electric starter. Yes even in Sarchu.

This has been the most easy to live with bike for me since I bought it. Even though I have planned to sell it multiple number of times, I have ended keeping it with me.


The key to this kind of reliability is I think on time service. Every 3000Kms or 3 months, it is serviced religiously. It gets Motul full synthetic 300V in the engine. Motul gear oil EP90 in the gear box and Most important of them all-900ml of 10W30 oil in the clutch. Yes 900ml.
I read this on a dealer information sheet for the USA dealers of RE. this was to prevent the sprag gear/clutch giving away.

I have used this bike for every kind of road especially offroad tracks with a few crazy friends. Always performed perfectly. No issues at all. I upjetted to 115 size mains and 17.5 pilot along with a stock replacement UNI filter. And there is no lag anywhere throughout the rev range. Just flawless smooth pull.

Now to answer your questions:

1.No. You cannot do that. Even if you switch the heads, and the wiring harness and try this, it will not solve your problems. Infact incur a huge cost as well.

2.Yes it can be removed. I removed it. It is at the end of the long bend pipe. The curved part of the exhaust which comes out of the engine. At the end of it where it is connected with the end can( in your case the short bottle). Ask a local workshop to cover your bendpipe in cloth and fix it in a vice. Then hammer away on the cat. It will come out easily. The guy I want to, took all of 20 minutes for this.

3.Compression ratio of the CARB???? Can you please explain what this is? is there a link on the net on this? any information what this actually is? or what do you mean y this? A carb does not compress the air or the fuel. It simple adds fuel to the air which passes through it. If you mean that you want to increase the fuel which is added to it then you can do so by fiddling with the needle or upjetting even more. But it would only lead to further complications. The air fuel ratio has to have a certain limit. Just adding more fuel will not give the bike more power.

[ArizonaJim]

bsenroy
If your reference to a compression ratio was speaking about the piston/cylinder head compression ratio yes, things can be done to increase it but they involve machining parts.

A higher compression ratio will increase the engines power but at the same time it will force you to buy high octane fuel, usually at a substantially higher price/liter.

The engine will also run hotter under all conditions and it will be more likely to burn its exhaust valve.

I am not sure what size the output or countershaft sprocket is that drives the rear chain and I'm not sure whether you are looking for higher top speeds or faster acceleration.

If a faster acceleration is your goal, reducing the tooth count on the engines output sprocket will accomplish that.
For instance if the output sprocket has 17 teeth you can install a 16 tooth sprocket.

You can also change the rear wheel drive sprocket to one with one or two more teeth.
For instance you could go from a 38 tooth sprocket to a 42 tooth sprocket.

Often changing these drive sprockets will create a need to change the length of the drive chain so if you do this, plan on buying a new chain.
This faster acceleration comes with a price.
Your fuel economy will be noticeably less. Your shift points will be earlier and your top speed will be slightly slower.

[bsenroy]

Thanks a ton Guys!

navpreet318: I totally agree with you. It is a fantastic bike. When i bought it firtst, i was not as appreciative of it as i am now, so it underwent a lot of abuse. But now its different But i had always serviced it regularly. I will look into your engine oil suggestions.

I have had the starting problem with it from day 1. I needed to get the electric starter changed twice before i gave up on it. I also switched to a dry battery as the original one was leaking.

And yes, i dont know why i wrote the 'compression ratio of the carb'. My bad. I meant of the engine of course.. and this brings me to...

ArizonaJim: I had read somewhere that if the comp ratio of the engine is < 11:1, then you can pretty much run it on the standard unleaded petrol we get in the pumps. Any truth in that. I see your point on the heating though!

I had changed my output sprocket to 17. The rear however is the standard one. It has 38 teeth, i presume.

To round up, it is a fabulous bike. It has never let me down, be it in the city or on the open roads. In the current configuration, i have good acceleration, especially from 70-110 kmph. I can cruise at 100-110 and still have some juice to overtake. But above 110, the vibs are bad.

I was just on the lookout for any ways of improving on that. Any ideas?

[ArizonaJim]

I haven't heard of a RE running well on regular grade petrol with a 11:1 compression ratio.
Without first hand experience I cannot say if this is possible or not with a RE engine.

I can say that most of the higher output engines in the automobiles sold in the USA are not running compressions any higher than that and they all require premium grade fuels.

Speaking of compression ratios, my Royal Enfields' 500cc fuel injected UCE engine has a 8.5:1 ratio and it runs fine on our regular grade petrol.

That does not necessarily mean that any Royal Enfield will do this.
One must remember that there are three different basic engine designs used on these bikes and because the ability or inability of a engine to successfully use a high compression ratio is dependent on the size, shape and general design of the combustion chamber, what works well for one may not work well for the others.

[bsenroy]

Hi,

My Mach 500 is just over four years old and it runs beautifully. So far I have installed a K&N intake and have upjetted the stock carb. Will changing over to a larger one, say a VM-34 up the performance?

Also any other ideas as far as performance mods are concerned?

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by bsenroy

Hi,

My Mach 500 is just over four years old and it runs beautifully. So far I have installed a K&N intake and have upjetted the stock carb. Will changing over to a larger one, say a VM-34 up the performance?

Also any other ideas as far as performance mods are concerned?

The VM34 "kit" no doubt is tried and tested, but you should try something more like this instead, for truly explosive power ......



Sending this kit out to a modded 535 rider in Mumbai. Look forward to hearing how it moves once he has it tuned.

[bsenroy]

Originally Posted by ebonho

The VM34 "kit" no doubt is tried and tested, but you should try something more like this instead, for truly explosive power ......

Attachment 1107313

Sending this kit out to a modded 535 rider in Mumbai. Look forward to hearing how it moves once he has it tuned.

This is a VM-34 with a Uni filter, right?

I already have K&N installed, with a free flowing silencer. Can you give me more details on this?

[bsenroy]

Can you give me some more details on your kit?

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by bsenroy

This is a VM-34 with a Uni filter, right?

I already have K&N installed, with a free flowing silencer. Can you give me more details on this?

No. This is a Mikuni TM32 flat slide race carb. Unbelievable throttle response, and flows way better than a VM34.

[bsenroy]

Originally Posted by ebonho

No. This is a Mikuni TM32 flat slide race carb. Unbelievable throttle response, and flows way better than a VM34.

Interesting... How much is it for. without the air filter, that is

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by ebonho

No. This is a Mikuni TM32 flat slide race carb. Unbelievable throttle response, and flows way better than a VM34.

Doc,
From my experience with the flat slides, the mid range suffers with a bit of flooding. They are good for the track/circuits. Would not recommend using the flat sides for the regular city rides.

However these are all the observations I have had from my usage on the RD.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Doc,
From my experience with the flat slides, the mid range suffers with a bit of flooding. They are good for the track/circuits. Would not recommend using the flat sides for the regular city rides.

However these are all the observations I have had from my usage on the RD.

I never had such issues with the flat slide I used to have on my 500. Of course it was a smaller one (a TM29, with power jet). They are tougher to tune than the round slides, I'll give you that. But once you get the balance right, its fantastic. I used mine for a 7 day tour to Himachal once as well. The mileage was not bad as well - 22-23 kmpl. For us Bullet boys, the most addictive thing is the throttle response and the way the bike jumps man. Loved that. Used the quick throttle with that as well, briefly, but found the normal throttle much better, smoother, and more reliable.

[Crankpin]

Originally Posted by bsenroy

This is a VM-34 with a Uni filter, right?

I already have K&N installed, with a free flowing silencer. Can you give me more details on this?

which carburetors are currently on your bike? If not a flatslide even a round slide VM30 could work well. Check your ignition too as a bigger carb with more fuel being fed will need precise ignition to burn off all that fuel..:-)

Mahesh, nice reading your posts here...:-)

Aditya

[Crankpin]

Originally Posted by bsenroy

Interesting... How much is it for. without the air filter, that is

check sudco.com for carburettor prices...!