The Royal Enfield Bullet Blog
Saturday, December 20, 2003
Goldstar Exhaust
When I bought the motorcycle it came with a Goldstar exhaust -- the type with no baffles in it. I figured since I had a couple of spare hours today I'd try to put it on and ride and see how it sounds.
The following is a brief description of the work and tools required.
Tools:
15mm,13mm,10mm sockets
17mm,15mm,13mm,10mm wrenches
2 ratchets
The proceedure was straightforward:
1) Undo muffler clamp bolt and nut at main exhaust pipe.
2) Undo bracket nuts and washers on rear tire frame area.
3) Undo right side passenger peg.
4) Undo nut and washer that holds OEM muffler at transmission area.
5) Slide the OEM muffler off.
OEM removed:
6) Remove the bracket that supported the rear part of the OEM muffler.
7) Reattach nut and washer to bolt under transmission -- this bolt serves as an axle for the left hand shift mechanism.
8) Slide the Goldstar on.
9) Align the rear mounting bracket for the Goldstar with the removed footpeg bolt hole.
10) Reattach the footpeg -- note the goldstar requires a change in orientation of the peg (see the finished picture, the peg no longer rotates up, but forward; other orientations didn't seem to work).
11) Reattach muffler clamp bolt and nut. I used two lock washers to do this.
Now this is JUST attaching the Goldstar muffler. This usually leads to greater air throughput in the engine, which means the mixture will be leaner. A proper job would include rejetting and probably putting on a higher throughput air filter/air box combo.
Just how the air/fuel mixture is changed on my bike depends on many things. For one thing, it may have been set up to run with the Goldstar by the shop; the first owner may have disliked how loud it was and simply switched it out without changing jets back to original. In that case I was running too rich before putting on the Goldstar. On the other hand, the bike might have been set up for the OEM muffler, which doesn't let as much air flow through, and so now with the Goldstar I might be lean. Too rich merely means poor performance, plug fouling, bad news for the environment, bad gas mileage, etc. Too lean can mean doing serious damage to the valve train, so I'm going to check out the mixture before I spend too much time riding with this Goldstar.
What does it sound like?
When idling the bike sounds much deeper and throatier. When accelerating slowly it has a pleasing deep thump. When accelerating more quickly it sounds racous and somewhat tinny -- not really as powerful sounding as you might like. At higher speeds the loudness increases, at lower revs in higher gears it's nice and deep, climbs in pitch at higher revs. The only objections I have about the sound is a) it would piss off the neighbors when I go to work at 6:00 am, and b) you can't hear other engine noises (valve train noises) that you might want to keep tabs on while riding at higher speeds. A bad noise could keep you from doing more damage if you hear it soon enough to kill the motor.
I noted that the idle seemed faster than before. I'm still learning about all that; I'm pretty sure that I have pulled the idle screw out as far as it can go. Perhaps that's the wrong thing to do, but the idle speed does increase as you screw it in further. Alas. A more advanced carb tuning may be in order.
Anyway I DO have to make sure I'm not running too lean, and that I can pass the state inspection. Probably have to have the OEM for that, not sure yet.
The following is a brief description of the work and tools required.
Tools:
15mm,13mm,10mm sockets
17mm,15mm,13mm,10mm wrenches
2 ratchets
The proceedure was straightforward:
1) Undo muffler clamp bolt and nut at main exhaust pipe.
2) Undo bracket nuts and washers on rear tire frame area.
3) Undo right side passenger peg.
4) Undo nut and washer that holds OEM muffler at transmission area.
5) Slide the OEM muffler off.
OEM removed:
6) Remove the bracket that supported the rear part of the OEM muffler.
7) Reattach nut and washer to bolt under transmission -- this bolt serves as an axle for the left hand shift mechanism.
8) Slide the Goldstar on.
9) Align the rear mounting bracket for the Goldstar with the removed footpeg bolt hole.
10) Reattach the footpeg -- note the goldstar requires a change in orientation of the peg (see the finished picture, the peg no longer rotates up, but forward; other orientations didn't seem to work).
11) Reattach muffler clamp bolt and nut. I used two lock washers to do this.
Now this is JUST attaching the Goldstar muffler. This usually leads to greater air throughput in the engine, which means the mixture will be leaner. A proper job would include rejetting and probably putting on a higher throughput air filter/air box combo.
Just how the air/fuel mixture is changed on my bike depends on many things. For one thing, it may have been set up to run with the Goldstar by the shop; the first owner may have disliked how loud it was and simply switched it out without changing jets back to original. In that case I was running too rich before putting on the Goldstar. On the other hand, the bike might have been set up for the OEM muffler, which doesn't let as much air flow through, and so now with the Goldstar I might be lean. Too rich merely means poor performance, plug fouling, bad news for the environment, bad gas mileage, etc. Too lean can mean doing serious damage to the valve train, so I'm going to check out the mixture before I spend too much time riding with this Goldstar.
What does it sound like?
When idling the bike sounds much deeper and throatier. When accelerating slowly it has a pleasing deep thump. When accelerating more quickly it sounds racous and somewhat tinny -- not really as powerful sounding as you might like. At higher speeds the loudness increases, at lower revs in higher gears it's nice and deep, climbs in pitch at higher revs. The only objections I have about the sound is a) it would piss off the neighbors when I go to work at 6:00 am, and b) you can't hear other engine noises (valve train noises) that you might want to keep tabs on while riding at higher speeds. A bad noise could keep you from doing more damage if you hear it soon enough to kill the motor.
I noted that the idle seemed faster than before. I'm still learning about all that; I'm pretty sure that I have pulled the idle screw out as far as it can go. Perhaps that's the wrong thing to do, but the idle speed does increase as you screw it in further. Alas. A more advanced carb tuning may be in order.
Anyway I DO have to make sure I'm not running too lean, and that I can pass the state inspection. Probably have to have the OEM for that, not sure yet.
Tuesday, December 09, 2003
Comanche Trail / Lime Creek Rd
Comanche Trail and Lime Creek Road are both two lane, curvy, twisty roads with lots of elevation changes and chances to practice your braking and cornering techniques.
Comanche Trail leads from RR 620 out to several state parks. It's a fun ride with moderate traffic, not very long but with some breathtaking views -- if you dare to take your eyes of the road. One of the parks, Hippie Hollow, is a clothing optional park. Another is Windy Point (Bob Wentz), where lots of scuba divers go, none of them naked, for better or worse. The map shows Comanche Trail eventually dead ending or turning back on itself, I have not ridden it much past Windy Point. It's a good short ride if you've just gotten your bike and want a quick fun ride in a rather populated part of the Texas Hill Country.
Lime Creek Rd is a longer ride, skirting the north shore of Lake Travis, and more fun. You can leave Comanche Trail Just after you pass The Oasis restaurant, turning right on a short downhill twisty cutover that connects directly to Anderson Mill Rd (RR 2769), turning left (northwest) will take you eventually to a T intersection with Lime Rock Rd. Take a left to follow the shoreline.
I've heard that a lot of sport bikes get out there and buzz around, but I didn't see any on my ride this last Sunday. Lime Creek is a two lane road that runs for some 20 miles, I think, judging by my odometer. It has more turns per mile than any other road in Texas, I have heard. I can attest to many blind curves, many 180 degree turns (2nd gear if you want to live), and this road has fabulous scenery and -- on the Sunday I cruised it -- very little traffic. I encountered only 5 vehicles on the road, except near the intersection by Volente beach. There were some bicyclists here and there. I saw no other motorcycles at all. At one point a large lighthouse came into view. I tried to get a picture of it. It's visible in this reduction:
Lime Creek Rd is a great place to practice your cycling skills or to take a leisurely ride without big crowds.
On the way back, in a section that was bounded on the left by a vertical road cut, I flushed a whitetail deer out of the brush. I slowed immediately in case he darted out onto the road; instead he ran as fast as he could about 100 yards along the road and bounded up the hill when he cleared the road cut. Very nice.
There are two or three places to eat along Comanche Trail and Lime Creek (Volente). This ride could be subtantially longer than I did if you head out southwest away from Cedar Park where Lime Creek ends at RR 1431.
Time: I spent about an hour and a half on the road, including a couple of stops to take pictures.
Comanche Trail leads from RR 620 out to several state parks. It's a fun ride with moderate traffic, not very long but with some breathtaking views -- if you dare to take your eyes of the road. One of the parks, Hippie Hollow, is a clothing optional park. Another is Windy Point (Bob Wentz), where lots of scuba divers go, none of them naked, for better or worse. The map shows Comanche Trail eventually dead ending or turning back on itself, I have not ridden it much past Windy Point. It's a good short ride if you've just gotten your bike and want a quick fun ride in a rather populated part of the Texas Hill Country.
Lime Creek Rd is a longer ride, skirting the north shore of Lake Travis, and more fun. You can leave Comanche Trail Just after you pass The Oasis restaurant, turning right on a short downhill twisty cutover that connects directly to Anderson Mill Rd (RR 2769), turning left (northwest) will take you eventually to a T intersection with Lime Rock Rd. Take a left to follow the shoreline.
I've heard that a lot of sport bikes get out there and buzz around, but I didn't see any on my ride this last Sunday. Lime Creek is a two lane road that runs for some 20 miles, I think, judging by my odometer. It has more turns per mile than any other road in Texas, I have heard. I can attest to many blind curves, many 180 degree turns (2nd gear if you want to live), and this road has fabulous scenery and -- on the Sunday I cruised it -- very little traffic. I encountered only 5 vehicles on the road, except near the intersection by Volente beach. There were some bicyclists here and there. I saw no other motorcycles at all. At one point a large lighthouse came into view. I tried to get a picture of it. It's visible in this reduction:
Lime Creek Rd is a great place to practice your cycling skills or to take a leisurely ride without big crowds.
On the way back, in a section that was bounded on the left by a vertical road cut, I flushed a whitetail deer out of the brush. I slowed immediately in case he darted out onto the road; instead he ran as fast as he could about 100 yards along the road and bounded up the hill when he cleared the road cut. Very nice.
There are two or three places to eat along Comanche Trail and Lime Creek (Volente). This ride could be subtantially longer than I did if you head out southwest away from Cedar Park where Lime Creek ends at RR 1431.
Time: I spent about an hour and a half on the road, including a couple of stops to take pictures.
Saturday, December 06, 2003
I've added a page on the Royal Enfield Bullet lubrication system. It describes how the system works in general and in particular; it also contains a section on service.
Contact me with any corrections that may be in order.
Contact me with any corrections that may be in order.
Thursday, December 04, 2003
703 miles. Had to buy 2.716 G of fuel for $3.80. I'll use these numbers later for a running calculation of gas mileage.
Took it to work yesterday.
It was a beautiful, smooth ride. The Bullet is not a fast motorcycle, you have to develop a riding style that uses low speed to protect you, rather than accelerating out of the way.
I think I was annoying the cars on Loop 360 since I varied between 45 and 60 -- mostly at 50 - 55.
On the way home on Bee Cave Road, at night, the bike started to stutter and miss in the middle of heavy, tail-gaiting traffic in a construction zone. Not the place for the bike to start having problems!
But a quick flip to reserve fixed the problem, and I dodged into a gas station.
One thing I will be doing soon is putting on the 18 tooth primary drive sprocket. It is reputed to give another 5 - 10 mph. I also have some bushings to install at the same time, to shorten the travel of the shifter.
The shifting is good, now. Only have trouble getting into 3rd on occasion, but I'd have to crack the case and look at the dogs and slots to see why. An extra shove up usually does the trick.
Also I figured out how to use the neutral finder. Thanks to Nandan for the free advice! It works great.
One other thing: if I don't keep the bike in neutral at the rather long red lights in Austin, the clutch starts to grab the plates and try to pull the bike forward, even with the clutch lever pulled in all the way. Got to look into it, see if other Bullet owners have that problem.
Took it to work yesterday.
It was a beautiful, smooth ride. The Bullet is not a fast motorcycle, you have to develop a riding style that uses low speed to protect you, rather than accelerating out of the way.
I think I was annoying the cars on Loop 360 since I varied between 45 and 60 -- mostly at 50 - 55.
On the way home on Bee Cave Road, at night, the bike started to stutter and miss in the middle of heavy, tail-gaiting traffic in a construction zone. Not the place for the bike to start having problems!
But a quick flip to reserve fixed the problem, and I dodged into a gas station.
One thing I will be doing soon is putting on the 18 tooth primary drive sprocket. It is reputed to give another 5 - 10 mph. I also have some bushings to install at the same time, to shorten the travel of the shifter.
The shifting is good, now. Only have trouble getting into 3rd on occasion, but I'd have to crack the case and look at the dogs and slots to see why. An extra shove up usually does the trick.
Also I figured out how to use the neutral finder. Thanks to Nandan for the free advice! It works great.
One other thing: if I don't keep the bike in neutral at the rather long red lights in Austin, the clutch starts to grab the plates and try to pull the bike forward, even with the clutch lever pulled in all the way. Got to look into it, see if other Bullet owners have that problem.
