30.000 km report

[arnaud]

Dear people,

Yesterday evening, the odometer proved to be less sensitive to freezing then the Ammeter, and reached a little over 30 K.
When it has reached about twice as much, it makes up for the purchase costs of 320 euros. That is, calculated by the average price difference between petrol and diesel, at a consumption rate of 1-55.
(yes, it is indeed a dutchman's bike )
When compared to an original petrol 500 enfield. which takes about 1-24, the break-even-point will be reached much sooner!

Anyway, according to the maintanance schedule, at 1000 hours (about 70.000km) it needs replacement of the piston rings

If it will reach this point at the trouble free pace as it has done untill now, i'm not sure whether to give it the maintainance or frame it on the wall.

Drive safe!
arnaud

[taildraggin]

Congratulations! Since it's a feat to get a petrol Bullet past 10k miles (16k KM) w/o rebuild, it's probably been more reliable, too...

- Charlie

[andrewaust]

Hey great stuff!



You'll know when piston rings need replacing as starting and smoke should be evident, keeping the oil fresh may see the maintenance go much longer.

I've done just over 10K on my ole Yanclone so I have many K's to reach that milestone .

Will be interesting to see how long one can go before rebuild.


Keep us posted Arnauld



A

[arnaud]

Oil change is important.. we all now from heiko's vid..
You wil notice that starting gets easier and knocking will reduce due to wearing in of the fuel pump from now on. after 15K i noticed better performance in the top half of the RPM range.

I must say that i try to avoid puling from very low RPM's in higher gear or/and heavy load to save the big end. (since the oil pump is not designed to give sufficient pressure at low revving with hot engine)
Also, i am planning to build a breather on the tappet cover (i have the valve but cannot find a fitting nut)

Further, i drilled a hole in a oil plug and placed a magneto in it(the hole being a little deeper then the magneto thickness) so the metal stuff is sticking to that instead of going to the fuel pump and big-end again and again..
Ofcourse, i think this would be really beneficial if i installed it prior to running in

[Cockney Bob]

I think you mean magnet .A magneto is a coil and ignition device.
However you write better English than I can write any other language so fair do.
I get the super strength neodymium magnets and stick them on my sump plug and fuel fiter to catch any rust or metal. I figure better safe than sorry. However it only catches ferrous metal not any other sort circulating so keep changing your oil.
Bob

[arnaud]

I think you mean magnet .A magneto is a coil and ignition device.
However you write better English than I can write any other language so fair do.


You are entirely right.. BSA m21 blues have damaged my writing skills..

I get the super strength neodymium magnets and stick them on my sump plug and fuel fiter to catch any rust or metal. I figure better safe than sorry. However it only catches ferrous metal not any other sort circulating so keep changing your oil.
Bob

Never heard of those magnets..

[Cockney Bob]

They are rare earth super strength magnets about ten times stronger than the ordinary iron type.
You can buy one so strong they warn you not to get near it if you have a pace maker.
If you put it on a metal plare with a hoook you can hang from it .
Even the small ones should not be given to children as you can catch your finger or skin between two and it hurts like hell.
Bob

[arnaud]

And how can one obtain such a specimen?

[Sphere]

Hey Bob, do you use the (strength) 100kg block or the 120kg ring?

I have seen pictures of people hanging from those magnets or attached multiple bicycles to them. It's mind blowing.

I bought me some 8x5mm discs, they are already a pain to take apart. The only downside is that they seem brittle.

[johnfireball]

Hi,
Look it up on ebay, there's a few selling them, I stick them on the sump plugs on my royal enfield. They work a treat.
John.

[Diesel Dave]

If you ave kept the oil changes regular I doubt the rings will be worn past their limit at 70k.

I would check the ring gaps at that mileage and see how much life is left in them - I'm betting they will be about 1/3 worn.

What you will see is a build up of carbon on the piston sides above the top ring - sometimes polished to a mirror finish - don't remove this as it controls oil consumption and makes the piston fit nice and snug in the bore.

I would also check the injector timing as the tappet may have settled/worn and if using European pump diesel then set the timing to about 14 deg static advance.

You will see that the bore will be polished to an almost mirror finish, this is because there is precious little oil filtration so suspended carbon will wear the bore and bearings.

If you have a deep curiosity then check the big end shells for wear, usually it'a good enough to inspect them visually but 'Plastigauge' is cheap and accurate for checking clearances. You just place a piece in the bearing and tighten it up - then dissassemble and check the width that the plastic has squashed to and this will tell you the clearance. Unless you are like me and just want to see how long they will last; it would be just as easy to replace the shells at the same time but make sure you use new big end bolts and nuts.

If being really pedantic then clean out the crank oilways too.

Rebuilding a single cylinder engine is quite easy as there are few specialised tools needed, be aware that the flywheel bolt usually carries a left hand thread and is very tight (200ft/lb's+) so you need either an air gun or a 12v wheel nut gun to remove the bolt. A puller is needed to match the flywheel - I adapted one from a Gilera Scooter and it works fine. Usually you only need to do this if you want to replace the main bearings or get access to the alternator.

Best of luck
Dave

[arnaud]

Hi,
it is a pity that the engine/cylinder are one-way things (connot rebore) but it runs good and as soon as it gets (starting) trouble i will take it apart.
Removing the flywheel with normal spanner poses no problem.
I had to do it twice bevause of the loosening of the screws retaining the rotor(clacketyclacketyclack).
If the optional 15A alternator can be fit in this engine i'd like to know, but maybe i would like to add some windings(IF i cvan get hold of the material) to get a little more juice (so it charges a little sooner in the rpm range with headlight on)
greetz
A.

[taildraggin]

Yanmar lists overbored pistons and rings (.040 and .060?). The 15A alternator and stator are listed in above part link too. The clones appear nearly identical to the originals and it would be a reasonable bet to say the parts will fit.

The only 'wear' on the 1000 hr (25k mile equivalent?) ditch pump engine was the splitting of the rubber valve seals. I found them when lapping the valves (not needed). Guides and rings were fine. You can rebuild all the wearing parts very inexpensively and easily. I cannot think of a simpler, easier, quicker engine to rebuild.

I finally got around to getting the replacement injector tip and will test run the engine this weekend.

- Charlie

[Sphere]

If I found the correct part number it costs 93USD.

[arnaud]

Rubber valve seals? never noticed them! i will take a look next time, but i think it is possible that it is not installed in my UP engine.

Since i am making plans for an other enfield project (there's a cheap -not -running-at-the-moment bike in the vicinity)i was glimpsing at a secondhand kubota 600 engine. It is slightly larger then the 480(but again, maybe large enough not to fit) but also weights 60kg.
I think the petrol engine weights about 30kg?
I'm not keen on suspending twice the weight on the 2 small plates where the gearbox (Thus also half the weight of a diesel engine) is suspended on..
the 17 HP is cool but maybe is the smaller 480 twin(but, also 53kg ro so..) a better choice?

[taildraggin]

I'm going to tie the vertical gearbox plate to the footpeg rod (spacer) to put a some more support on the back end of the engine mount. I think you can get creative under there.

Henry Price's mount might be a good place to start for you. It's beefier and welds up instead of bolting. It also has room for a starter, which you'll probably need.

- Charlie