[sam_boy]

Gurus,

3 months back I changed the stock silencer of my 2001 model Machismo 350 and put the short bottle one. After that my observations are:

1. The silencer is a little too loud for my liking.

2. The smoothness at lower speeds have increased.

3. When I go beyond 65 Kmph the throttle reduces and I feel the pull is not there anymore. When I press the accelerator hard the speed increases with loud noise ( not thump) and the vehicle just drags.

4. Not able to do 80 now. Previously use to do 90 effortlessly.

5. Does not have the real thump. I would prefer a meaty sound ( heavy but not loud) something with a little more bass ( do not know how to put it in words)


So, again I m in hunt for a better silencer. Last time I could not ask any one as I was not really planning for one and when the mechanic suggested one then I trusted him and paid him 900 Rs for the short bottle silencer. Now this time I will use all your expertise to find a good one for my bull.

Please let me know which one I should change to and where in Bangalore I can get it changed.

Thanks a ton in advance for the help.

[datvichrox2]

Originally Posted by Visaster

So you say its a possibility of mixing and matching parts from different models.
That's a breather.
The bike on Pic1 looks and feels good.
I want something like that, but may be with the regular electra tank.

Please keep me updated on your research, we can share ideas to get optimum results of what we want out of our bikes.

Any idea where this bike is ? It will be nice if I could see it in flesh.

So its basically a TBTS with just the Headlight console, side panels and muguards changed?

Thats right. But I am still not sure if any extra mounting points need to be welded. It should be small changes, if not a direct fit. Need to get a closer look.

The bike in the pic does not exist as of now. Its a photo shop job of what I plan to do with my bike.

What you are looking for is similar to Electra-X that was released outside India (plus the TB seat)

The mod that I am planning to do is mostly like RE Lightning. The idea we have in our heads actually existed in some form.

I plan to do the mods only after I am convinced that the engine and drive train are working flawlessly. Mostly after the warranty period.

[Visaster]

Originally Posted by datvichrox2

Thats right. But I am still not sure if any extra mounting points need to be welded. It should be small changes, if not a direct fit. Need to get a closer look.

The bike in the pic does not exist as of now. Its a photo shop job of what I plan to do with my bike.

What you are looking for is similar to Electra-X that was released outside India (plus the TB seat)

The mod that I am planning to do is mostly like RE Lightning. The idea we have in our heads actually existed in some form.

Yeah you are right on. Electra X
That's exactly what I am looking at with only the front half of the thunderbird seat.
I am searching all over the web to get inputs. Best I have got is from you.
I will be doing the cosmetic changes as soon as I get the bike so I can give away the brand new parts esp the tires and seat.

I was told that for any change in the handle bar I need the complete set of cables to be changed costing INR 3000 as the length vary with different handles

[datvichrox2]

Originally Posted by Visaster

Yeah you are right on. Electra X
That's exactly what I am looking at with only the front half of the thunderbird seat.
I am searching all over the web to get inputs. Best I have got is from you.
I will be doing the cosmetic changes as soon as I get the bike so I can give away the brand new parts esp the tires and seat.

I was told that for any change in the handle bar I need the complete set of cables to be changed costing INR 3000 as the length vary with different handles

Glad to be of help!
Hey, I forgot one more important thing. The air filter hose and location of the filter itself . In the TBTS, it is located a little closer to the engine than in the electra, so you will have to swap that as well. I am not sure if this will affect the air going into the carburetor .

Look at the pics closely, the air filter is located inside the bigger boxes, which is in the front for the TBTS, and relatively at the back for the electra. So the length of the pipe/hose connecting the air filter also would vary.

Whatever you do, get it done at an authorized service center, if you care about warranty. Don't let them point a finger at you later.

TB500 which is yet to be launched has a single seat as well, it might be available by the time you get your bike.

[Visaster]

Originally Posted by datvichrox2

Glad to be of help!

Whatever you do, get it done at an authorized service center, if you care about warranty. Don't let them point a finger at you later.

In that case I will end up changing a lot of things on a new bike.
I got to get realistic now.
I have decided to start off from an ELECTRA as the base.
get the mudguards and tires of CL, custom make the single seat(without spring).
the side panels and stuff can wait or I guess I should learn to live with it.

Ofcourse I will get everything done at the authorised service center.
Going there this weekend to have a discussion with the mechanic on the basic cosmetic difference and all the swapping possibilities.

Anyways I have appx 2 months more for delivery of the bike.
Hopefully I have the plan in place by then.
Everyday my liking is changing according to the possibilties and cost effectiveness

[tharian]

Originally Posted by tharian

Thanks Adrian for the suggestion.
Ignition timing was actually checked recently and was found fine. I will get it checked once again this weekend and try different settings.
Yes, it is a 96 CI.
Also was wondering if wrong ignition timing will cause the engine to miss or have starting trouble since I face neither of that.
Now I feel the issue began rather suddenly probably after a service in which the ignition was adjusted .

An update on the knocking/overheating issue on my 96' 500.
Opened the valve covers and everything seems to be fine up there.
Next got the air screw on the carb opened a bit which seems to have helped.
Did a 70 km ride on Sunday with few kms of high revving/high speeds. Engine was knocking a bit but not as bad as before on the way and I was expecting it to get worse on the way back after all the ripping. Surprisingly, there was no knocking at all. However, I was pushing on an emtpy stretch doing around 100kmh on the GPS for around a minute and the engine seemed to be loosing power twice or thrice like it was running low of fuel , but it was like half a second bursts. Not sure if that was related to the tuning.
I was getting around 32 kmpl in city which was not usual for a 500 cast iron since 25kmpl is the normal, I guess it was related to the tuning and knocking as well. Need to check in the next top up if the mileage has decreased, then can be sure that the issue was tuning related.

[Gentle Giant]

Hi Guys,

Can some one give me suggestions on a change of silencer for my bullet please! Its a 2011 Classic 500. I waited all this while as some one suggested I should not change the silencer before i've done atleast 2-3000 kms on the odo. Now the bike has done around 4800 kms. The original silencer seriously compresses the real sound I love about the bullet. I don't mean the loud noise some bullets have but I would like a good thump.

Any suggestions if its safe now to make this switch of silencer. Secondly, where can I procure one. I am based in Mumbai and thirdly, how much would it cost me for this silencer.

Any help / suggestion / advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[nareshtrao]

Originally Posted by Gentle Giant

Any suggestions if its safe now to make this switch of silencer. Secondly, where can I procure one. I am based in Mumbai and thirdly, how much would it cost me for this silencer.

Any help / suggestion / advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Safe to change from day One on the CL series as long as you use the company made spare bent silencer. (The one they show in catalogs etc.)

Costs around 3K Rs. and is available at all authorized spare shops and your service center

[Gentle Giant]

Originally Posted by nareshtrao

Safe to change from day One on the CL series as long as you use the company made spare bent silencer. (The one they show in catalogs etc.)

Costs around 3K Rs. and is available at all authorized spare shops and your service center

Thanks so much, that really clarifies my doubts.

[zaks]

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[datvichrox2]

Thats OK! Looks are subjective. Not sure if you are talking about the electra-x or my TBTS mod, though.

Let me put it this way - the term 'bullet' and the bike itself means different things to different people.

They say the bike is charming, but to each person, the part of the bike that invokes that charm would be different.

It could be the STD350 paint job, the cast iron engine, the thump, or the fat mudguards or the nacelle, or even the TBTS side panels.

For me its the nacelle/casquette - because that is what I am looking at when I am riding and I like to see the headlights along with the lamp cap - yes, the cap makes a difference for me , also the TBTS tank that rests higher, gives a me the big-bike feel.

I hate the twin pod cluster, but I absolutely love the comfortable seats and handle, which was my primary requirement.

I am changing the side boxes because the ones on the TBTS are almost useless and looks bad IMO. The left side chrome box is a dummy, can you believe that. A waste of space.

What I am trying to say is that if you mod the bike, it should satisfy you, the owner, the most, irrespective of what others think. If being appreciated by others gives you the most satisfaction, then you should do your mods according to what most people would like.

The important question is - are you happy?

[adrian]

@ Everyone : Water droplet formation is happening inside the silencer of my bullet and is accelerating the rust build up from the inside. I always clean and polish the outside of the silencer with 3M liquid wax. How to protect the inside of the exhaust pipe from rusting ? Any ideas anyone ?
Regards Adrian

[ricky_1605]

Hey guys today while coming back from Neemrana after doing some offroading I knew the bike was very heated up, we stopped for lunch for about an hour and after that we started our journey to Delhi while coming back I could feel that the bike was losing power when i used to leave throttle to slow down on 5th gear, it seemed that the bike will stop but it didn't, everytime I used to leave the throttle the bike would jerk for 2 secs and then would again gain speed. Can anyone help me with this issue please? Do you think this can be an engine issue?

[ArizonaJim]

adrian: As you know, water is one of the bi-products of gasoline burning and if the silencer is not heated up it will collect in there.
Normally a ride longer than a few km with the engine allowed to run at higher speeds (by using a lower gear) will heat it up to well above the boiling point and it will blow away as steam even on a cool day.

If you are truly concerned about it you could drill 2 or 3 small 1mm holes along the bottom of the silencer to allow the water to escape but if it were mine I would just take it out for a good spirited ride.
That sounds like more fun and it won't produce the bare steel edges that the holes will leave.

ricky 1605: It sounds almost like you bought some contaminated fuel on your trip.
If there was any water in your fuel it could produce the symptoms you describe.
Other things that can do this are an low oil level in the engine or a fouled sparkplug.

[voodoochild]

Originally Posted by ricky_1605

Hey guys today while coming back from Neemrana...

Looks like your carb is dirty. Clean it out, along with the fuel & air filters. Should do the trick.