[neil.jericho]

As part of the usual mid life crisis (the bike's, not mine!), over the last few days, I ordered a few parts for the Continental GT 535.

1. Preload adjusters from Marsh Auto
Ever since I started fiddling with the settings (preload, compression and rebound) on the rear Ohlins suspension of my Triumph, Ive been fascinated by this underappreciated facet of motorcycling. The rear suspension (Paioli) of the GT 535 gives me a lot of adjustability on the preload front. So, Im currently fine with just that level of adjustability. In comparison, the 650 twins only get the limited step adjustment Gabriel shocks.

I was keen on getting preload adjusters for the front as well. I got to know about Marsh Auto from TBHPian ku69rd. After a few months of contemplation, I ordered it a few days ago. Im waiting for Marsh Auto to send me the courier details. I couldnt reach them on the phone, but they did reply to my email confirming that it would be dispatched yesterday.

Here is the link to the product. It costs Rs 2,599.

I'm quite excited about this upgrade!

2. Vibration reduction plate from Carberry
Ive heard about Carberry for a long time and while aimlessly browsing through the internet, I came across their vibration reduction plate. I did a bit of research on international forums and checked user reviews. Customers are happy with it and confirmed that there is a reduction in vibrations.

Here is the link to the product. It costs Rs 3,299 on their own website. It was listed for Rs 3,000 on the Amazon page of Carberry. My bank is currently offering a 15% cashback on all Flipkart and Amazon purchases, so that brought the price down even further.

Is it worth almost Rs 3,000? That is for each one to say. Since I was doing a bunch of other small modifications, I decided to give it a shot. A few years ago, I probably wouldnt have bothered with it.

3. Anti vibration mounts from Hitchcocks
A fellow TBHPian was shopping from some tasty stuff from Hitchcocks and I asked him if I can order something from there as well. That way we could split the shipping. I thought about doing some sprocket changes but decided against it at the last minute. These anti vibration mounts for the speedo should help quell the annoying vibes that I am getting from there right now, in the 2,500 - 3,000 RPM range.

Here is the link to the product..

I also picked up some Amsoil 15W50 engine oil for the Continental GT 535. Feedback on the product has been good all around and I thought Ill give it a try for the upcoming annual service.

The beaut is turning seven soon. Ill be honest, I did seriously consider riding it to Bangalore and selling it in the second half of this year. And then I planned to use that money as part of the payment for a brand spanking new Interceptor 650. A few seasoned riders here have helpfully suggested that I give up the Continental GT 535 and get a 650 twin instead. A large part of me wanted to and still wants to.

But, there is something special about this bike. And though its almost seven years old, its kinda half new. In the last year or two, it has got a new
- chassis
- tire set
- wiring harness
- headlight
- windscreen
- handlebar
- levers
- footpeg
- single seat

Next up is modifying the double seat. I havent got great feedback on the seat modifiers here in Cochin. That said, Im planning to go and see what can be done. I did reach out to Trip Machine, as well as Raw & Rugged, to see if they have any aftermarket seats for the Continental GT 535. Unfortunately, neither of them have any options available for this bike.

Later in the year, I need to get the bike repainted. Ive got a few ideas for a paint job and Im waiting for the Covid situation to settle down before I can get this done. With that my Continental GT 535 should be set for the next 7 years!

[deepfreak15]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

With that my Continental GT 535 should be set for the next 7 years!

I really like the direction you are taking with the captain. You should make the bike as fresh and pretty as possible and keep it around for those special moments and use a new 650 as a daily rider.
I'm really curious about that cranberry plate, so share feedback once installed, might fit one in the Classic 500, if it's compatible ie.

[no_fear]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

A few weeks back I dropped into the Ducati showroom here in Bangalore ..... But my fascination for Ducati began only when I laid my eyes on the 1198SP in the Ducati showroom.

It makes me jealous of the people who can afford it. It makes me angry that the people who can afford it will rarely use it. It invokes primal passion. And for that I am grateful.

@Neil, the world is very small place brother. That very same Ducati that you saw, its the only 1198SP in the country. It spent 2 years sitting in different show rooms, then a few years with a gentleman in Delhi, and now its with me.

Its not often someone quotes a 7 year thread... but this was epic.

I never realized you saw the bike when it was in the showroom. Stumbled on the beginning of your thread. I hope you wont be angry. I do use it a lot !!

[surjaonwheelz]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

1. Preload adjusters from Marsh Auto
I was keen on getting preload adjusters for the front as well.
Here is the link to the product. It costs Rs 2,599.

I'm quite excited about this upgrade!

The beaut is turning seven soon. Ill be honest, I did seriously consider riding it to Bangalore and selling it in the second half of this year. And then I planned to use that money as part of the payment for a brand spanking new Interceptor 650. A few seasoned riders here have helpfully suggested that I give up the Continental GT 535 and get a 650 twin instead. A large part of me wanted to and still wants to.

Next up is modifying the double seat.

Following the preload adjusters for my Interceptor. You already have more parts on your GT for the new 650

Have you checked the new touring seats for the 650, does they fit the 535?

[neil.jericho]

I was under the mistaken impression that my shopping for the Continental GT 535, was done. My dogs, on the other hand, clearly had plans. I woke up one morning to find that one of them had chewed a corner of the rear mudguard and in the process, made it an eyesore. The previous day, I had taken a few pictures to send my FNG, regarding a potential paint scheme and the bite marks were not there. So, this was an overnight gift from my canine companions.

This is the first time in decades of having dogs, that one of them has decided to see what one of our automobiles tasted like. They are usually just content with peeing on the tires.

All things considered, Im glad that the dog chose to chew on the Royal Enfield, and not the Triumph! Now to place an order with JR and Sons for a replacement part.

Furry tales


It wasnt me!

Originally Posted by no_fear

@Neil, the world is very small place brother. That very same Ducati that you saw, its the only 1198SP in the country. It spent 2 years sitting in different show rooms, then a few years with a gentleman in Delhi, and now its with me.

Its not often someone quotes a 7 year thread... but this was epic.

I never realized you saw the bike when it was in the showroom. Stumbled on the beginning of your thread. I hope you wont be angry. I do use it a lot !!

Wow! This really is a small world.

You must let me unashamedly oggle at the beauty, the next time that Im in Delhi.

Originally Posted by deepfreak15

I really like the direction you are taking with the captain. You should make the bike as fresh and pretty as possible and keep it around for those special moments and use a new 650 as a daily rider.
I'm really curious about that cranberry plate, so share feedback once installed, might fit one in the Classic 500, if it's compatible ie.

The plan is to slowly get it back to showroom condition and make it look like I have just taken delivery of it. With a few tasty mods thrown in as well.

Once I install the Carberry plate, Ill be sure to post some feedback on it over here. It fits all UCE engines.

As for the 650 twins, well ......

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

Following the preload adjusters for my Interceptor. You already have more parts on your GT for the new 650

Have you checked the new touring seats for the 650, does they fit the 535?

In the back of my mind, I tell myself that Im doing all this testing in advance for the eventual 650 twin. This will eliminate the trial and error process, if (and when?) I ever get myself that Interceptor Mark 2. The below photograph from their website, does make me think that sleeping in the garage for a week, as punishment, will be worth it!

Lovely

[surjaonwheelz]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

As for the 650 twins, well ......

In the back of my mind, I tell myself that Im doing all this testing in advance for the eventual 650 twin. This will eliminate the trial and error process, if (and when?) I ever get myself that Interceptor Mark 2. The below photograph from their website, does make me think that sleeping in the garage for a week, as punishment, will be worth it!

May your patience be rewarded!

As per rumors, three new bikes on the 650 platform are being developed:
- Cruiser - relaxed
- Roadster - the updated INT650, with step pillion seat, alloy wheels etc. This would be perfect!
- Adv - Tall ask. You might finish another 3 years ownership review of the MarkII, if you get it this year

Cheers,
surjaonwheelz

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Once I install the Carberry plate, Ill be sure to post some feedback on it over here. It fits all UCE engines.

Refrain from making that purchase, I wanted to post in detail but got caught up with work.

Simply put, if you observe reduced vibrations after installing the plate then you have a lot to worry about than mere vibrations. Or it could just be that you're more prone to fall for the placebo.

Regards,
A.P.

[neil.jericho]

I had stopped by my Royal Enfield parts distributor, JR and Sons, to pick up a replacement mud guard for the bike. When I casually enquired about the availability of the fork springs, they checked and told me that they had one pair available. They were surprised that they had it because they usually dont stock up on this particular SKU. Apparently, some customer had ordered it a few months ago and it had finally arrived.

I informed them that the customer who had placed the order was me! With the second wave and lockdowns, they had understandably forgotten to call me and let me know that it had arrived.

I also picked up an oil filter for the next service. And promptly forgot to ask about the mud guard. Here is a breakup of the bill. The price of the oil filter has actually come down by a small amount over the years.

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

Have you checked the new touring seats for the 650, does they fit the 535?

I forgot to reply to you on this. Yes, I did check with other Continental GT 535 owners and they confirmed that the touring seat has a different mounting point and cant be used.

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

May your patience be rewarded!

As per rumors, three new bikes on the 650 platform are being developed:
- Cruiser - relaxed
- Roadster - the updated INT650, with step pillion seat, alloy wheels etc. This would be perfect!
- Adv - Tall ask. You might finish another 3 years ownership review of the MarkII, if you get it this year

The roadster sounds delicious! Hopefully Royal Enfield launches the cruiser and showcases the roadster at EICMA and Rider Mania 2021.

I am keeping my fingers crossed for a crossover variant that ends up being a semi scrambler, along the lines of the BMW R9T Urban GS. I hope Mark Wells and the other good blokes at Royal Enfield are considering this. Maybe they should just showcase a prototype and see how the market reacts.

Signing off with a picture of the Continental GT 535 from a recent ride, because this thread can never have enough pictures. More details in the next post.

[neil.jericho]

The Marsh Auto preload adjusters finally arrived today. I had a good look at them and to my untrained eye, they seem to be pretty well made. Ive attached some pictures of the same. Hopefully, I will be able to get them installed next week.

Well packed in a compact box.


Instructions on the side. These used to be printed on a page separately.


Sticker thrown in.


Bubble wrapped nicely.


Right side up.


Zoomed in.


Side by side.




Upside down.

[neil.jericho]

Recently, I had some free time on my hands and I headed out to do a short afternoon ride. When I found that the roads were virtually empty, I decided to ride a bit more. And a bit more. Eventually I found myself doing the little 95 kilometer loop that I had discovered earlier. This is a mix of national highways, riding through a town, bumpy roads, empty stretches, narrow roads, some long bridges, gently winding roads and everything else in between. Overall, it is a good test of the all round capabilities of a bike for Indian roads. I remember taking the Triumph Tiger 900 through this same loop and finding its suspension to be way too stiff in such mixed conditions.

The weather was great. The traffic was minimal. I barely had to use the brakes at all. It was all about effortlessly shifting between gears and managing the bike's momentum. I dont even think the speeds went beyond 80 kmph at any point of time. Just goes to show that you can have a lot (almost typed ton) of fun on motorcycles, without having to hit high speeds.

The bike was completely in its element and was gliding along brilliantly. I was glad that I picked up the keys to the Continental GT 535 and not the Triumph, that afternoon. It wasnt without any incident though. While cruising at an easy 65 kmph, an old man on a Kinetic Honda just cut across the road, perpendicular to the scant traffic, without looking at either side. Honestly, my first reaction was that if he were a lot closer to each other, I would have t-boned him, or the tires would have lost traction, causing me to take a tumble. Fortunately, the bike reacted extremely well to me dropping the anchors and the Timsuns did a great job in grabbing onto the road. This was the first proper test of these tires in the 2,000+ kms that I have used them and they passed with flying colours.

Later on, as I neared Cochin, a young helmetless chap (with a coconut ponytail on top of his head) who was riding a loud Harley Davidson, kept trying to goad me into road racing with him. Im not sure if I should have felt flattered at the thought of a heavy, 29 HP Royal Enfield motorcycle being considered worthy enough to race a mid rung Harley Davidson motorcycle, or laugh at that. Anyways, he eventually got tired of me not engaging with his antics and wandered off.

With no proper monsoon rains in sight, I should try and squeeze in a bit more riding while I can.

Mileage: I filled up at my usual BPCL petrol pump on the Kaloor Kadavanthra road. Distance covered : 180 kms, of which half was from the afternoon ride. Petrol consumed : 7.3 litres. Mileage: 24.66 kmpl which is definitely on the lower side, considering it was 50% city commuting and 50% highway riding.

[neil.jericho]

The Carberry Vibration Reduction Plate arrived today, after Amazon took its own sweet time to dispatch it. Here are some some pictures of the product. To my knowledge, it fits all UCE engines.

Well packed


Instructions with illustrations


Nice to see that they have given a link to the installation video


Brochure for their engines also thrown in


Interesting


Special tube provided for installation


Flipped over


Nicely bubble wrapped


The star of the show

[wrongturn]

Your love and passion for your CGT535 is admirable and infectious as well. Every time I read your posts and the way you pamper your ride makes me feel like I'm not doing justice to mine and it must feel miserable to my CGT535 to be owned by me, one who doesn't care for it in the same way. Thank God bikes can't read or it would definitely through me off itself in the middle of the road some fine day.

[neil.jericho]

The final piece of the puzzle is here. While placing his own order for a part from Hitchcocks in the UK, deepfreak15 ordered their Anti vibration mounts for me and after it arrived in Bangalore, he promptly sent it across to me. Many thanks buddy!

Looks to be of good quality

While chatting with some TBHPians, I learnt that one of them had installed the Night Eye LED headlight in his preowned Interceptor 650 and found the output to be excellent. It was significantly better than the stock headlight, which he was unhappy with. That reminded me of the fact that I have one extra Osram Night Breaker headlight and one extra Night Eye LED headlight with me. The other two are installed on my Triumph motorcycle. Since both bikes are running H4 bulbs, I can use these spare bulbs on the Continental GT 535. I plan to install them back to back and see which is better suited to the current setup on my Continental GT 535. Im leaning towards the Osram but Ill go with whichever performs better.

Im hoping that everything falls in place and all the work gets done tomorrow.

Theres nothing much else to report, other than the plastic on the new keys dont seem to be of high quality. The OEM keys used to bend disconcertingly, but that problem went away on its own after a few years. Just Royal Enfield things. I had replaced the lock set earlier this year and already the plastic on the new key has cracked on one of the keys. Im just grateful that the rest of the keychain didnt fall off along the way!

With the unpredictable rains, I havent had any chances to take either bike out for short rides. The other day, it was bright and sunny in the afternoon. I tried to sneak in a quick ride and when I stopped for a couple of photos, I realized that I was about to get hit by heavy rains. The normally clear coastline was not visible which meant that extremely heavy rains were ...

Incoming ....


... Sirens blazing ....


... Its here ! All in a span of 1 1/2 minutes

I rode back soaked to the bone and got to test the ventilation of my new Revit jacket. The good news is that the mesh sections work very well. The bad news is that the mesh sections allowed at least 10 litres of fresh rain water to soak my shirt and also passed enough cold air to freeze me. Even my perforated A* boots turned into two expensive Italian buckets. Lesson learnt, I have parked all my leisure riding for the month of August.

Originally Posted by wrongturn

Your love and passion for your CGT535 is admirable and infectious as well.

Thank you for your kind words, wrongturn!

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Theres nothing much else to report, other than the plastic on the new keys dont seem to be of high quality. The OEM keys used to bend disconcertingly, but that problem went away on its own after a few years. Just Royal Enfield things. I had replaced the lock set earlier this year and already the plastic on the new key has cracked on one of the keys. Im just grateful that the rest of the keychain didnt fall off along the way!

Here is a picture of the broken plastic on the 6 month old key. And this is with easy usage and just a couple of other keys in my key chain. Come on Royal Enfield, you need to get your suppliers to up their quality standards on some of these parts.

Anyways, I liked AtheK's flip key conversion project. Let me try and get the same done for this key as well.

In bigger news, I managed to go to F Motors yesterday to get some of the lined up work done. In no particular order, this is what we were able to complete
- Replaced the stock headlight
- Dechromed the tall Royal Enfield visor
- Installed the Anti vibration mounts
- Re-routed the accelerator cables
- Replaced the front fork springs
- Installed the preload adjusters
- Setup the suspension for round 1 of real world trials

We got stuck while trying to replace the link rod for the shifter. It turns out that I might have been given the wrong part by my spares dealer. I'm trying to figure this out and get the correct part number so I can reorder it.

The work that we didn't get to, due to the paucity of time, is the installation of the Carberry vibration reduction plate.

Let me pen down separate posts for each of them later today, since it can be helpful to other owners of the Continental GT 535, as well as the 650 twins. For now, signing off with a picture of the Continental GT 535, because this thread can never have enough photographs.

[neil.jericho]

Im breaking down the work done at F Motors into separate parts with self explanatory pictures.

First off, we decided to finish the work at the front end, since it appeared to be easy enough. This is what we planned to do

1. Replace the stock headlight
2. Dechrome the tall Royal Enfield visor
3. Install the Anti vibration mounts

I had done quite a bit of research on all the parts procured, except the Anti vibration mounts (speedo), from Hitchcocks. Those looked to be plug and play, so I didnt break my head over them. We opened the packet and assumed that they would sit below the clocks. So we removed the tall visor and got to work. I say we, but I limited my contributions to sharing my wit and free advice while taking a lot of photos. Sanju and Vishnu from F Motors did all the hard work.

Visor removed


Here is what it looks like


Removing the clocks


Lifted up and confused

Once we started looking at the bottom of the clocks, we felt that something didnt add up. The anti vibration mounts didnt come with any instructions either. Puzzled, we went back to the Hitchcocks website where we saw this.

Aha! This made a lot more sense. The moment we read the basic description, we laughed and realized we had unnecessarily wasted 5 minutes in brainstorming about how this was supposed to fit. Lesson learnt - always read the instructions, even if it is the simplest of changes.

Loosening the instrument bracket


Loosened


One done, tightening the second piece


Almost done


Now for the other side

Since the visor was removed, we checked how the bike would look as is, and without the chrome. I preferred the dechromed look and thought it would be a welcome change from all the other Interceptors and GT 650s on Kerala's roads.

Kept aside safely while we installed the anti vibration mounts


Here is what the inside of the chrome lip looks like




Lovely

The final step here was to replace the stock bulb that comes with this Minda manufactured older Thunderbird headlight. The output of this unit was better than the stock one. Since I had the extra Osram Night Breaker bulb with me, it was an easy swap. One thing to keep in mind, is that the size of this Thunderbird headlight is a tad smaller than that of the OEM Continental GT 535 unit. Also there is a small bend on one side of the metal dome, that wasnt there in the stock headlight. So its a tight squeeze to get everything in place and get it shut. I remember the mechanic at Republic of Bikers had a tough time with it. We too had a slightly difficult time but with some deft manoevering, it was done quickly.

Minda headlight unit


A closer look at the bulb


The OEM bulb that was removed


The messy internals

Thanks to the rains and the weekend lockdown, I could only do half an hour of very careful night riding. So this is just my initial feedback on all the changes. Ill update this thread as I log more miles.

Results
1. The headlight performance feels better than stock bulb in the Thunderbird unit. I need to ride it a bit more to check the alignment of the low beam and the high beam.
2. Im really digging this look. The chrome lip accentuated the gap between the smaller headlight and the visor. Now its a lot more difficult to see that in the night.
3. This was unexpected but at idle, the otherwise rock solid clocks, were bouncing around! However, when the revs were raised, the clocks appeared to be absolutely steady. So the modification seems to have inverted the earlier behaviour of the clocks. This was when the bike was on the centre stand. While riding, I felt that clocks did move a bit more than before but that was probably down to the stiff suspension setup that we are experimenting with.

Next Steps
1. Post the monsoons, Ill swap out the Osram for the Night Eye LED and see if there is any improvement.
2. No changes expected. If anyone from Royal Enfield is reading this, please come up with an even taller windscreen / visor. The introduction of the Ice Queen and Black Magic windscreens are welcome but the bike (and its owners) are crying out for something more effective.

Next up, Ill be jumping around the timeline without invoking the attention of the TVA. And lastly, Ill share the detailed post on the preload adjusters and the overall suspension settings that we incorporated.