Royal Enfield classic 500, clubman interpretation.

Farmer_John

New Member
This is one of those "what the hell" kind of project posts.

I'm a big fan of big classic British singles, but don't really have the time (or cash...or skill) to resurrect a true classic.

So, Instead of a Goldstar, Manx Norton, Velocette or even something more workmanlike and pedestrian, then making it right

I bought this:

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a 2020 Enfield Classic 500 in lovely stealth black.

First things being first, I ordered up some goodies from Hitchcock's (British Enfield professionals). Cams, valves, springs, Power Comander, complete pipe, a Carberry Vibration reduction plate and turned it all over to my favorite powerjunkie to make the changes.

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The engine, obviously fresh. I wanted to go to a higher compression piston, but there just are not really any options for the standard bore and I'm not real hot on punching a new barrel out to fit an 87mm piston (resulting in a 535cc displacement). But I think the changes that are being added along with some mild porting will result in the gains that I'm going for.
 
Now the Carberry Vibration Reduction plate is an interesting piece.

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You'll notice the cam plate on the bottom is designed to support the cams, but not the crankshaft outboard of the timing side main. The top plate includes a needle bearing that takes care of this. It supports the crank outboard of the main, but inside the electrical rotor. I'v yet to read a negative review of this piece.

You can see the stock part in this photo

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And for now, the stripped head with it's nice new Bronze guides and performance oriented valves zip tied in their spots to go of to the local specialist to have the stock steel guides pressed out, the new ones in and the valves cut in and true.

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And that's where it sits. I visited her today (I've named her Lucy, for my sweet puppy I lost last fall) and installed a 7' headlamp and discovered a set of M bars I ordered didn't have room to mount all the modern switch gear...

I go to waiting mode now...
 
I had a UCE 350 in India but shortly traded it for a '77 which I still have. Never been inside one of the newer engines much. Watching with interest!

Took the Bullet mongrel on the road today, in fact, and for the first time it went long not because something broke, but because nothing did...
 
I had a UCE 350 in India but shortly traded it for a '77 which I still have. Never been inside one of the newer engines much. Watching with interest!

Took the Bullet mongrel on the road today, in fact, and for the first time it went long not because something broke, but because nothing did...

This is my second, but I'm convinced that I've been an Enfield fan in denial most of my life.
 
Subscribed! Can't wait to see how this comes together. I didn't have a chance to ride the 'classic' RE when they did the 650 twin launch, but they sure look sweet. A friend is the marketing lead for the Americas - she and the rest of the RE team seem to be really kicking things into high gear.
 
Subscribed! Can't wait to see how this comes together. I didn't have a chance to ride the 'classic' RE when they did the 650 twin launch, but they sure look sweet. A friend is the marketing lead for the Americas - she and the rest of the RE team seem to be really kicking things into high gear.
Breanna?
 
Gonna keep the hydraulic tappets, or go to solid lifters? I see you're keeping FI, but if you try for a carb retrofit, my Mikuni TM32 is great on my bike, and I may be able to dig up some links from people who tried/made the conversion.

Also, what's the plan for the new seat? (Assuming that is a component of a "clubman interpretation," of course...which may not be so...)

The lack of horizontal rails is a real PITA on this frame. I had a subframe made which provides support for rails/pan; seat fastens down to this and the electrics are inside. We welded nubs onto the shock mounts, to which the rear of the subframe attaches. I know Glassfromthepast does a RE 'glass seat which covers up the space on the frame but forget how they mount it; IIRC they have a plan you can follow for fabricating a support.

http://gftpstore.com/Royal-Enfield-seat-RENBTA-RENBTA.htm

The Hitchcock Continental seat and tank are really nice, too IMHO. But $$$$!
 
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I’m going to stick with the lifters and EFI. Makes my life easier and I’m not trying to build a track bike. From previous experience and knowing guys who went this route, it beats the devil out of 18-20 RWHP...

I did order the clubman saddle for the current C5. It’s quite a nice piece and now have a set of Hyde M bars coming. I don’t think the Ms will require rear sets, but I’ll probably hunt down a set of CGT535 on eBay if I feel the need for them.

And that’s about as far as I’m going to go for now.

A Lyta style tank would look good, but not feasible at this time. Too much cost just for esthetic.

as far as esthetics. , I’m not in total love with the mat black, so much of the things I’m switching out will add some bright work, but I’m not against having the tank sprayed and fitting alloy mudguards.
 
Back in the day [ my day ] we used to fit a complete rear seat subframe and put braces in either side to support the wibbly wobbly swing arm area. I got this tip from Ray Knight who along with the late great Bob Mac successfully raced Connies / Super Meteors at Thruxton and other enduro events in the UK. I subsequently bought these ex. race Connies and turned them into traditional Cafe Racers. The brace mod was actually banned by the authorities for being "non-standard". Here's Bob Mac leaving the pits at Thruxton on what was to become my bike bought via Ted Bloomfield's [ Essex ].
 

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You sir, have become my hero. That is precisely the essence of time that I am trying to pay homage to.

Why thank you kindly .... you will see Tales about the Connie in my "Beachcomber's Tales from the Day" thread.

Another pic of what was later to become my bike.

Your project is certainly doing homage to the bikes of the early 60's ..... keep on keeping on.
 

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Why thank you kindly .... you will see Tales about the Connie in my "Beachcomber's Tales from the Day" thread.

Another pic of what was later to become my bike.

Your project is certainly doing homage to the bikes of the early 60's ..... keep on keeping on.

It's hard to believe that helmets went from those beanies to Bell's full face in only half a dozen years.

BC, when did rearsets start being a common sight on racebikes? Any idea about who the innovator was?
 
It's hard to believe that helmets went from those beanies to Bell's full face in only half a dozen years.

BC, when did rearsets start being a common sight on racebikes? Any idea about who the innovator was?

It's even harder to believe that in my my day a lot of peeps [ not me ] didn't wear helmets at all [ on the road ]. I think rear sets came about as a general answer to the racing crouch position and the necessity to tuck the feet up for ground clearance. I don't think any one person or even country can lay claim to that. By the early 50's rearsets were in common use on road bikes and probably the 40's for race bikes.
 
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