[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by trumpet

Hi guys,

My Bruce has completed 3888 kms. I know it's a little slow. I was wondering about the pros and cons of having a free flow exhaust. This is a EFI 500 - Marine Blue Thunderbird we're talking of here. I just wanted to take the group's view on such a mod.

Experts, please chip in.
VJ/Trumpet

trumpet mate I am no expert but still my two cents about free flow exhaust. First you need to question why do you need a free flow exhaust is it for the sound(which will end up being noise for others around) or power(very marginal and hard to notice) or performance(mileage might go down). If you do long highway rides often then believe me mate you don't want the loud free flow silencer to bang your ears constantly for those hundreds of kms. Besides this it will also be a nuisance to others and you might end up being caught by the traffic police for noise pollution as is been witnessed in Bangalore and Pune especially targeting RE owners. I have serious reservations about the power bump from a free flow silencer which is disguised by increased back pressure on the engine. I have heard from riders using free flow exhaust complaining about low mileage.

As far as the Tbird500 is concerned I have seen a couple of bikes in my riding circle fitted with free flow exhausts with no modifications whatsoever to the air filter. I haven't experienced any power surge except for loud banging sound. Also note that free flow silencer is lighter than the original stock silencer but I don't think the weight difference will make any drastic change to the power to weight ratio. I have all my RE motorcycles on their stock exhaust and especially the Tbird500 as I take it for long rides. I am not against fitting free flow exhaust nor am I discouraging you to add it. Different people have different choices and I respect that. At the end of the day it's your call.

[trumpet]

Dear Navin,

Thanks for the heartfelt explanation. I was just curious on the back pressure (stock engine) generated by the 500, felt if i could ease that in any way, it could increase a little more performance...that's all that i intended.

I am also aware the fact that this could invite legal action at some point. My main intent was the backpressure. I don't like to tinker with stuff - unless it needs to be dealt with.

Thanks anyway...much appreciated.

Trumpet.

[ArizonaJim]

I think navin-v8 pretty well summed it up.

Depending on the weight of the replacement silencer, you could save up to 3kg of weight by removing the OEM silencer.

As for performance gains, a free flowing silencer can improve horsepower at high rev's.
The amount of gain depends largely on the engines camshafts, inlet and exhaust port shape and valve size.

In the case of the Royal Enfield UCE engines, they are designed to produce their power in the low and mid-range rev's so the possible gain in power at high rev's will go largely unnoticed.

I have seen cases of people changing their silencer to a open free flow type and they found that there was a power loss in the mid-range engine speeds, where most people do their riding. Many of them have gone back to the OEM silencer and found the lost power returned.

If you are wishing to lighten your motorcycle or change its appearance like I have done, it is possible to find a few silencers that won't have a negative effect on the engines performance without increasing the noise but I am not aware of which ones in India will do this.

The picture below shows my 2011, G5 (Electra) with a Harley Davidson Sportster silencer on it.

[trumpet]

Thanks very much ArizonaJim and Navin for your replies. As of now i have decided NOT to go with the silencer change and remain with the OEM.


However, i noticed 2 things crop up with Bruce. He has crossed the 4K mark and of late I noticed he doesn't crank (electric) up quite fast as he used to. I am assuming this to be carbon build ups?

Another issue is there seems to be momentary loss of fuel supply. If you are clocking 40kmph and going steady, all of a sudden the engine seems to get fuel starved. The problem is i can't replicate the steps to anyone. It's a one off thing. So my diagnosis goes to the fuel supply or the O2 sensor or some block somewhere. But during the so called black out, the engine never dies.

I just wanted to know what could cause this. I have always filled in petrol from one bunk only. He is anyway due for his 3rd service.

Thanks!
Trumpet

[Endofdayz]

Originally Posted by trumpet

Another issue is there seems to be momentary loss of fuel supply. If you are clocking 40kmph and going steady, all of a sudden the engine seems to get fuel starved.

Thanks!
Trumpet

Well Trumpet,

I owned 2011 desert storm. I had a very similar situation. While steadily cruising at 40 to 50 Kms, sudden jerk as if petrol supply has been cut off. To regain life on Engine we need to engage clutch. This started all of a sudden with 1 yr of ownership. My bike was at showroom minimum 20 times. My patience was tested. they never got to replicate the problem. My bike had become their R&D bike. Literally.

Another problem i had was everytime bike was at service center for 4 to 5 days they gave me scratches and paint chipping as a compliement.

Shot a very stinker mail. they did try to support within their limits but they could not solve the problem. With one stinker mail they did replace side tool box free of cost. However they did nothing for scratches on tank, front and back mud guard. They did offer to repaint the bike which i did not agree to.

During their diagnosis service center did claim to replace spark plug, check wiring completely, change the Fuel injection, change roll over sensor, TPS, Battery check and few more which i dont remember.

After repeated visit and diagnosis of 45 days they refused to accept the issue. during this course of time they had ridden my bike for 1000 kms without replicating issue.

After all sound they blamed me for poor maintenance, bad fuel and what not. Throughout the life cycle of owning this bike i had put fuel only from Shell. they even compared the petrol color they get from indian oil and the shell petrol.

End result: lived with this problem for 2 yrs and sold my bike. I have no clue if new owner is facing this problem. however i'm sure he would have.


Either live with the problem or take RE for task. Upto to you. But they will have no clue where the problem lies.

Only thing that could have been checked is ECU and other critical components by opening up the engine. I dont think they did this.

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

The picture below shows my 2011, G5 (Electra) with a Harley Davidson Sportster silencer on it.

Hmm looks neat, do you mind putting up a video when you have ample time to record it? Would be keen to notice it.

My TB 500 currently has Wild Board Exhaust and does a decent job.

[trumpet]

Hi Endofdayz,

Your post nails my problem. But I shudder to think they are not able to fix it. All i can say is let me try my luck here in Chennai and see if the gods are kind to me. Will update this thread.

[Endofdayz]

Originally Posted by trumpet

Hi Endofdayz,

Your post nails my problem. But I shudder to think they are not able to fix it. All i can say is let me try my luck here in Chennai and see if the gods are kind to me. Will update this thread.

Hi Trumpet,

Any update on this issue. Did you go to service center. Im considering to buy RE 500 CC again. and this issue was bugging me from the day i owned DS 500. Hence would be very keen on understanding what did they conclude.

[trumpet]

Hi Endofdayz,


My bike came back from and i have not experienced it at all after that. The mechanic told me one more thing, as the fuel depletes slowly in the fuel tank, there are cases where the fuel mixture may not be rich, this could trigger that 'moment'.

Right now i have its tank full - so that theory may hold water. Besides that, there's no other problem with the bike.

[Endofdayz]

Originally Posted by trumpet

Hi Endofdayz,


My bike came back from and i have not experienced it at all after that. The mechanic told me one more thing, as the fuel depletes slowly in the fuel tank, there are cases where the fuel mixture may not be rich, this could trigger that 'moment'.

Right now i have its tank full - so that theory may hold water. Besides that, there's no other problem with the bike.

good to hear that. let me know if the issue crops up again.

regards

[trumpet]

Hi folks,

The bird has just completed it's 4th service, everytime just after the service when i ride back, the gear shifter is butter smooth. But within a day or 2 it becomes hard. Now it is H-A-R-D!.

You have to shift to lower gears as the bike comes to a stop, no point in trying to change when the bike is stationary. Believe me, i could do this to a certian extent much earlier on (like 2-3 months back), but after my recent service, its become damn tight.

Do you guys face this issue ? If so, can anything be done at our end instead of going to the service guys again?

Ride safe!
Trumpet

[rajneeesh]

33 Months and no such problems with my TBTS 500 gear shift. Touch Wood.

[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by trumpet

The bird has just completed it's 4th service, everytime just after the service when i ride back, the gear shifter is butter smooth. But within a day or 2 it becomes hard. Now it is H-A-R-D!.

Do you guys face this issue ? If so, can anything be done at our end instead of going to the service guys again?

trumpet mate even I completed my fourth scheduled service a couple of months back. I had this hard shift issue before the first service when the bike was brand new. Post the first free service this gearshift became super smooth. I had a problem while shifting gears which was pin pointed to the clutch setting. Once my clutch cable was set as per factory recommendations the gear shifts came back to normal. Hope this helps.

[ArizonaJim]

@trumpet
As navin_v8 says, the problem is most likely with the clutch adjustment.

To check this out, look at the place where the hand lever stops against the unmovable bracket.
Using light finger pressure, move the lever until resistance is first felt. There should now be a 2-3 mm (.079-.118 inch) gap between the lever and the stop.

If the gap is greater than that, you have found the source of your problems.

You can adjust this gap by finding the lower end of the clutch cable where it attaches to the left side of the engine case.
Notice there are two small hexagon nuts holding the cable to the housing.

Using a 12mm, or adjustable spanner, loosen the nut at the rear (closest to the lower end of the cable) at least one full turn. (With the spanner handle positioned towards the fuel tank move it towards you).
Now, again with the wrench handle upward towards the fuel tank, "tighten" the forward nut with the spanner by again, moving the wrench handle towards you, perhaps 1/2 turn.

Recheck the clutch lever gap with the lever moved only with finger pressure.

Repeat this until the 2-3 mm gap is seen.

By loosening or tightening the forward cable nut you can increase or decrease the size of the gap.

Once the correct gap is achieved, tighten the other hexagon nut at the lower cable end.

This should greatly improve the shifting of your transmission if you remember to fully pull the clutch lever all the way in before attempting to shift.

[trumpet]

Hey guys,

Hope all is well with all of you. Bruce has completed 4500kms on date. It's been a great experience with him. However, i have started noticing 2 things which i wanted to share with you guys here and find out what i should do for that..

1. Charge low indicator.

If for some reason, the engine does not crank, or if u successively engage the starter 3 or 4 times in a row, the display flashes the low battery sign. My question is why does this happen? The normal flow of logic would tell that the battery is not charging well. Can anyone let me know the charging voltage for the TBTS 500? The battery i am using is an Exide that comes stock. Is there a way to increase charge? Or is it simply because Bruce is not having that a great run to charge itself?

2. Bike seems lethargic

I understand this can be a little subjective, but my overall feeling here is that the initial zest for quick pickups seems to be diminished. That normal spurt from a 500 seems missing. I don't know if it is clutch adjustment or something else.

Guys, if you have faced similar issues, please let me know. Just want to see what best can be done. I havent done anything to the bike other than the normal services at the service center. Bruce has completed 4 free services.

Happy riding all
Trumpet!