[ukalia]

Is it possible to fit CL500 ABS assembly in my non-ABS CL500? What other changes will i need to make and how much will it cost approximately?

[Sameey192]

Hi guys
Can anyone pl tell me about the limitations of the PISTON CLEARANCE in RE Classic 500 engine.

[zaks]

Since RE has ceased making 500cc does anybody know how long we can rely on the spares for the same from RE?

[ArizonaJim]

Originally Posted by Sameey192

Hi guys
Can anyone pl tell me about the limitations of the PISTON CLEARANCE in RE Classic 500 engine.

The service manual for the 500cc UCE engine says the piston to cylinder clearance limit is 0,30 mm.

New, the bore size is 84.045-84.075 mm. The piston size is 83.94-83.97 mm.
The service wear limit for the bore is 84.190 mm. The service wear limit for the piston is 83.890 mm.

Pistons are not machined round. They are machined in an elliptical shape so the size limit I gave applies to the major (largest) axis of the piston.
This major axis is on a line that is perpendicular to the wrist (grudge) pin.
When measured parallel with the wrist (grudge) pin the piston will be smaller. There are no sizes or limits for the minor axis of the piston given in the service manual.

[unni246]

Guys am planning to get a used Stealth black beauty CL500 2018 model, run 10K. Owner says hes going abroad.

Now my questions are:

1) How pocket friendly is CL500 and how much in terms of annual service charges..etc? I'm guessing not to expect mileage figures above 30kmpl (which is fine with me as I use 4wheels to office since last year)

2) How easy it would be to maintain the matte Black finish? Ans how is RE's paint job for that matter?

3) This is an ABS model, how effective is ABS from RE?

4) What all to look out for when I go to inspect the ride in person?

Thanks in advance

[Malhi]

Originally Posted by unni246

Guys am planning to get a used Stealth black beauty CL500 2018 model, run 10K. Owner says hes going abroad.

Now my questions are:

1) How pocket friendly is CL500 and how much in terms of annual service charges..etc? I'm guessing not to expect mileage figures above 30kmpl (which is fine with me as I use 4wheels to office since last year)

2) How easy it would be to maintain the matte Black finish? Ans how is RE's paint job for that matter?

3) This is an ABS model, how effective is ABS from RE?

4) What all to look out for when I go to inspect the ride in person?

Thanks in advance

You probably have already made up your mind on buying a 500 but here a couple of things that you should keep in mind.

The 500 engine is much more noisier than the 350. The new 350's are way smoother than before but the 500's haven't changed much

All 500's tend to run rich and hence the spark plugs remain oily black. Not that it's a problem, just putting it out for you.

The engine performs best and is meant for long rides. In heavy city traffic and short rides it just doesn't feel smooth, on the contrary, gets clunky and clattery. The 350 runs like a dream in short distances.

The overall maintenance cost is the same as the 350. In fact, it is advisable that you do the basic service (oil, oil filter and air filter change, chain lube etc.) at home. The services station people are mere amateurs in uniform. Most of us have learnt that the hard way.

The only extra cost burden over the 350 is of the fuel pump replacement. Keep the tank filled up for its longer life.

The matt finish will stay as long as it is not polished or waxed. A simple wash with water and shampoo is all that is required.

Inspection:

10k is enough for an Enfield for it to get into bad shape. However, if the owner has serviced it regularly, ridden it with care and there were no manufacturing defects then 10k is not a lot of kms on the odometer.

Starting from the front-

swipe a finger near the front fork oil seals and check for leakage. Touch the bottom end of the fork because that's where the oil accumulates and is usually not cleaned during a wash.

Carefully inspect the front disc, it should not be scratched.

Check all the switches, lights etc. Switch on the headlight and honk. The horn should be loud if it's dull that means the battery is not okay.

Check inside the tank, it shouldn't be rusted.

Make sure you visit in the morning and cold start the engine yourself. Before starting the engine check the oil level in the glass. A low oil level is a clear indicator of an irresponsible owner. Usually the oil should not be black but the 500 turns new oil into black in no time, so don't get too worked up if you see black oil.

Check below the engine for any damage, welding etc. especially check the drain bolt for leakage and damage. Check the engine head for leakage, if it's a little moist it's fine but it should not be more than that.

Check the seal where the side kick is attached to the block.

Check all the visible rubber pipes for cracks especially the ones below the tank.

Check the front foot pegs, if the bike has ever had a fall the metal would be sticking out of the rubber.

Check all the bolts on the chassis and the engine. They shouldn't have wear marks at 10k, if they do, you gotta stay away.

Check the chassis thoroughly for cracks, paint job etc.

Check the chain and the rear sprocket. A rusty chain is a sign of an irresponsible owner. The sprocket should be in good shape with all the teeth intact and healthy.

Open the battery cover and visually inspect the battery. The battery covers can get really damaged from a leaky battery.

Check the tool box for the tool set and the general condition of the ecu and fuses. There should not be funny wires and tapes on any of the wires.

Swipe your finger in the exhaust pipe and check for soot. Slight black finger is alright, dark finger is a warning sign, wet and dark is a dead bike.

Cold start the bike yourself. The self should be quick and crisp and the bike should start and idle without even touching the accelerator. Check the color of the smoke. Unless you are from a really cold area the smoke should be colorless. Any hint of white, blue or black is a red sign.

The engine will need atleast 20 mins to properly heat up so it is advisable that you go for a long ride. Listen to engine sound carefully, there should be not a lot of extra noises. Revv on idle and check the exhaust for black smoke again.

Check your brakes, abs etc during the test ride.

That's all i can think of at the moment. I hope you find yourself a good one.

Regards,
Malhi.

[unni246]

Originally Posted by Malhi

You probably have already made up your mind on buying a 500 but here a couple of things that you should keep in mind.

The 500 engine is much more noisier than the 350. The new 350's are way smoother than before but the 500's haven't changed much

That's all i can think of at the moment. I hope you find yourself a good one.

Regards,
Malhi.

Thanks a lot for Your detailed pointers, much appreciated!

Actually I have been cherishing a dream of owning the RE someday in life . I have driven the 350 and it did not influence me much, felt it's much suited for the city.

When you suggest 500 to be noisier is it too loud and bad or could be rather taken as an enthusiastic note?

Last bit, I am getting too much advices to opt out of classic due to its EFI and rather go for bullet for the old school carburettor engine + the fuel pumps tend to be a big culprit which could fail often and damn expensive to replace. What are your thoughts?
And apart from engine works can the rest be taken care by any FNG mechanics?

[Malhi]

Originally Posted by unni246

Thanks a lot for Your detailed pointers, much appreciated!

Actually I have been cherishing a dream of owning the RE someday in life . I have driven the 350 and it did not influence me much, felt it's much suited for the city.

When you suggest 500 to be noisier is it too loud and bad or could be rather taken as an enthusiastic note?

Last bit, I am getting too much advices to opt out of classic due to its EFI and rather go for bullet for the old school carburettor engine + the fuel pumps tend to be a big culprit which could fail often and damn expensive to replace. What are your thoughts?
And apart from engine works can the rest be taken care by any FNG mechanics?

Absolutely. The 350 is better suited for the city whereas the 500 is a mile muncher. However, from my 7 years of experience of DS500, I've felt that the 500 is just not meant for stop and go traffic. The low end torque of both 350 and 500 feels almost the same but the sheer 200 kgs of metal, the loud engine noise and the heat from the engine of the 500 makes city ride tiring and cumbersome. On the highway, though, it's a different story. Everything starts making sense as the engine purrs between 70-90 kmph and you fall in love with your bike all over again. You should make your choice accordingly.

The truth is that the fuel pump, like any other mechanical part, will fail sooner or later. In my case it took 7 years and that too because the tank had started to rust from the inside and the bike ran on low fuel for a couple of months.
But this should not be a deal breaker because the fuel pump isn't some Achilles' heel of the bullet. There are a lot of things which go wrong with time and would require your time and monetary investment.

Regular service can be done at home or at your neighborhood garage. Basic service is oil, oil filter and air filter replacement, chain lube and wash. Intermediate level would include brake pad or chain and sprocket or clutch accelerator wires replacement. An advanced level of service would be fork seal and other seals replacement, or engine, piston work or efi, fuel pump work. It only for the third category of work that you need to visit the Re service station.

Personally speaking, buying a bullet is a heart over mind decision. If you have a bucket list of destinations giving you sleepless nights, urging you to "Leave Home" then the bullet is definitely the bike for you. If your sole purpose is practicality then not so much.

Warm regards,
Malhi.

[ashwinprakas]

If the reference is with unmolested motorcycle i.e stock intake/exhaust etc.. then the 350 is more suited for the highways and the 500 is more suited for the hills.

The 350 is a more rev friendly motorcycle compared to the 500 whereas the 500 is a torque bomber, on the crappy swing-arm models you can literally see the swing-arm pull to a side when you crack open the throttle.

Not saying you can't take the 500 on the highways, you can even pull to 130kmph on the speedo with relative ease, but keeping it anywhere over 90kmph for long is the issue, personal discomfort aside there is mechanical fatigue(read parts breaking and needing replacement) that needs to be considered as well. After all you'd have to wonder why my co-rider for the GQ ride(about 8000 km's in under 2 Weeks) sold his relatively new Bullet 500 and picked up a CT100 as soon we got back home.

Irrespective of motorcycle an up-swept exhaust concentrates torque down the rev range and a megaphone exhaust makes it linear and rev high with ease.

The EFI we get on the older Indian Market RE's are pure crap, Indimotard provides a carb conversion kit for around 10k, or if you're into DIY'ing the BS32/33 from the P220/200NS are good candidates.

Ride Safe,
A.P.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

The 350 is a more rev friendly motorcycle compared to the 500 whereas the 500 is a torque bomber, on the crappy swing-arm models you can literally see the swing-arm pull to a side when you crack open the throttle.

Are you sure about this ? If it was moving from side to side, how did you guys ride it around the country?

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Are you sure about this ? If it was moving from side to side, how did you guys ride it around the country?

The swing-arm only pulls to a side when you crack open the throttle from a stand still, after all its a Pushrod from RE and not HD

Jokes aside the old model's swing arm was the 500's Achilles heel until they brought the new model's swing arm to our motorcycles around the time the Trials(Trails?) variants showed up in our market.

As for issues there were more than a handful, even on the very first day even before we crossed 500 km's not one but both front shockers gave up on the relatively new motorcycle that had only 18k km's on the odo at the time and the worst part was that the motorcycle was serviced for a whooping Rs.25k before the ride.

Parts coming loose was a concern Athul had experienced before so he had Zip Tied everything so even when some of the parts got loose they managed to hang on to the motorcycle which were later attended to when servicing the motorcycle, the least expected part to break and fly off was the Key which came free due to ignition units tabs breaking off due to vibrations, but due to his proactive thinking even the key was on a leash tethered to the RVM's.

But yeah, even the 100 wasn't spared from parts coming off, in Rajasthan there was a lot of road work going on at the time and at interstate speeds I was airborne quite a few times due to unexpected roadwork and that did loosen my RVM's which had come loose mostly due to the weight of the RTR ones that I had installed at the time.

A funny incident that I recall at India Gate was a few shop vendors who'd gathered around our motorcycles, after they confirmed mine was indeed a 100 two of them were talking to each other and one was all praises for the 500 while the other talked in favor of the 100, the 500-Fan was all praises(In Hindi which we could comprehend to an extent) and Athul was gleaming with pride, then the 100-Fan said something along the lines of "Tu kya bol raha hai, iska theel bahar aagaya..." Athul was still gleaming but my mind was translating it as the panic slowly set in... 'Theel' means 'Oil', 'Bahar Agaya' means 'came out'.

The second half was taken at a slower pace but nearing the end there was quite some smoke coming from the motorcycle which was sad since he was running on a new Air Filter whereas mine was still running on the old one I'd changed a thousand km's before our ride started, not that I was overconfident but because the ride was as unplanned as it could be.

All things said and done it was heaps of fun, and even though I'd mentioned the 500's downsides, it did have its ups as well, especially when it came to dealing with crosswinds, while I was perched on the fuel tank praying to the Gods, he was completely oblivious to the crosswinds. And during the first half when he was accelerating quite a bit, he was able to stop and take photos when I did non-stop point to point runs.

So to sum it, it's not a bad motorcycle by any means. Just that its not for everyone.

[rahul4321]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Jokes aside the Indian model swing arm was the 500's Achilles heel until they brought the International model's swing arm to our motorcycles around the time the Trials(Trails?) variants showed up in our market.

Interesting. I never knew that the International Model had different Swing Arm's compared to the local models. Why would they do that for a few thousand units as compared to the lakhs of units sold in India? I mean - what cost advantages could possibly arise of doing that for the number of units sold solely in international markets.

I thought it was only the O2 sensor which was the difference between the International Models and the Local Models (500 cc engine). However, I understood that the O2 sensor was a statutory requirement so RE couldnt get around not providing that. However, the different Swing Arm on the International Model is mind boggling.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by rahul4321

Why would they do that for a few thousand units as compared to the lakhs of units sold in India?

Sorry for that, I should've simply referred to them as newer model swing arms.

These showed up first on the dual disc ABS models which if I'm not wrong were first sold in the international market before it was standardized in India.

Edit: Have requested the same to be corrected on my earlier post.

[surjaonwheelz]

Royal Enfield has updated their official Accessories page with Silencers for the Classic range! Being RE they're affordable in the range of 3300-3600 INR. Different cuts (straight, slash, tapered, peashooter) and finishes (black, silver) in combinations are available!

Hence Classic owners now have an official silencer option again.

Keep thumpin'
surjaonwheelz

[Objectiveman]

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

Royal Enfield has updated their official Accessories page with Silencers for the Classic range! Being RE they're affordable in the range of 3300-3600 INR. Different cuts (straight, slash, tapered, peashooter) and finishes (black, silver) in combinations are available!

These are all listed for the Classic 350. Does anyone know if they can be used for the 500?

Thanks.