Acoustics of Royal Enfield CI models

This post will sound funny (even hilarious) to many of us but I thought to share this based on my experience with CI bullet and also based on various issues posted by bullet owners. Here are the various sounds come from bullet, what could be the possible reasons and remedy to it.

  

1. If you listen lot of Hissing sound (snake like sound) from head of engine then it generally it comes the pulse air valve mechanism (also called Euro II pipe). This is normal for CI models post 2006 If sound is very loud then check the damage in rubber air pipe that connect PAV to carburetor manifold for any damage.

Remedy : You can ask mechanic to block the PAV with small iron ball and change the pipe if damaged.

2. Low intensity Popping sound from the silencer when you close the silencer while riding (phatt  phutt … phat …phatt).  4-5 in a row with 1 – 2 second gap . 

Reason: Its sign of lean fuel mixture.

Remedy: Time to retune the carburetor settings.

3. Loud cracker sound from the silencer when you close the silencer while riding (scary enough like gunfire , misfire).    

Reason: Its sign of rich fuel mixture or carbon deposit on spark plug.

Remedy: Time to retune the carburetor settings and change spark plug.

4. Khad..khad..khachad..khachad..khad..khad... sound near engine in Self Starter models (electra 5s ). Prominent from front- left side of engine.

Reason: The mechanic told me this is normal behavior and no solution; also there is nothing to worry.

5. Thhakk.. thhakk...thhakk.. thhakk + tick ...tick...tick in parallel  sound (The noise is similar to that of a sewing machine being peddled) generally comes due to improper tightening of Tappets. This particular sound appears while shifting from 1st to 2nd gear. Sometimes similar sound may appear if trying to run BULL in 2nd or 3rd or 4th gear at a realtively low speed with a pillion.
   Remedy: Time for tappet adjustment.
6. metallic clanking tik-tik-tik.... kinda noise from engine head  . Generally due to PAV mechanism . I have live with this noise. No remedy till date.
7. If You hear single khattt.. sound just after applying brakes and when bike is about to stop or metallic kreeench .. sound , then it is due to rust or dust deposit inside rear drum brakes to due moisture etc . Time to get the rear drum brakes opened and cleaning.
8. Jhannn...jhannn...jhannn...kind of noise on some specific rpm/speed. Definitely a loose nut-bolt etc on any/some of your BULL's accessory or silencer.
9. Some strange metal sound on some specific rpm/speed. Check for some loose bolts for some accessories/chasis/engine or whatever nut bolt etc etc you can check with your bare eyes. Check for the gaps in between some accessories and the chasis/frame. Sometimes accessories like saree guard etc vibrate on some specific rpm and speeds. If you are not able to identify the source of such metallic noises or you dont see any such things then rush to some expert/reliable and good mechanic. Your BULL might be in trouble and need some money from you.

Oil grades for royal enfield electra 5s

After going through various manuals,feedback by fellow riders and experiments myself, here are the grades that I am using in Royal Enfield Electra 5s (CI 2008  model)

1. Engine oil : 20W50   2.25 Litres  [Castrol GTX or valvoline . Both are equally good.] The truth is iron barrel bullet can do with any 20W50 oil . Go whichever you find economical.
2. Clutch Oil : 10W30  500 ml [Available as Hero Honda service centers "Brown" container for Splendour model it is Bharat Petrolium made or you can visit Honda service centre for 10W30 oil]

Update 25-APR-2013 : Since summers are here I and find 10W30 too thin for summers in Delhi . I am using same 20W50 for clutch as well and it is giving good results. 10W30 is good  for winters. 

3. Gear Oil : 90 Grade 450 ml [Castrol or MICO]
4. Front forks : Company says 10W30 but mechanics here use thicker oils because it is too thin after few years of operations of forks. Mechanic said "30-40 no. ka mobil daalte hain hum to " .

Frequency : I change Engine and clutch oil on every service (2500 kms or 4 months whichever is earlier). Gear oil I change on every alternate service.

Note : Few mechanic use the same 20W50 in clutch as well but this is very bad practice, 20W50 is very heavy and contains friction busters that causes clutch plates to stick together . With 20W50 I could feel low pickup. Had to get the clutch plates cleaned with sand paper after 1000kms only.

UPDATE: I have come across various forums and found that people recommend  ~900 ml 10W30 in clutch to avoid sprag clutch failure in self start models. I have added 800 ml as of now and its doing good..

how to tune royal enfield mikcarb vm24 carburetor / bullet carburetor tuning

Basic terminology used :
carburetor : Basic functionality of the carburetor is to mix fuel with air in proper ratio and then feed it in the engine.
Lean Mixture : If Air-fuel mixture supplied by the carburetor has less amount of fuel than required it is said to be lean condition.
Rich Mixture : If Air-fuel mixture supplied by the carburetor has more amount of fuel than required it is said to be rich condition.
Tools : Only one screwdriver will be enough for the job.
Pre-requisites to the tuning : Take your bike for a short ride of 3 to 5 kilometers so that engine can warm up a little.

Warning/Disclaimer : Work with soft hands,Do not over tight any screw otherwise you may damage the threads. I have taken full care while writing but I will not be responsible for any damage to your bike done during the steps. Follow at your own risk.

Locating the carburetor on bike , I have marked in red color in the image below.

Understanding the different screws on the carburetor :
There are three main screws in the carburetor (explained from left to right in image below):
1. Mixture adjustment screw : This is the main screw for adjustment of Air-Fuel ratio.
2. Idle adjustment screw: This is to control the engine RPM at idle condition.
3. Auxiliary Air screw: this is part of emission controlling unit, to my greatest surprise most of the mechanics keep it close always.

Click on the image above to see the exact location of screws.

Effect of these screws on Air-Fuel ratio and engine RPM.

1. Mixture adjustment screw : Rotating this screw clockwise makes Air-Fuel mixture leaner and rotating it anti-clockwise makes Air-Fuel mixture Rich.
2. Idle adjustment screw: Rotating this screw clockwise increases the engine RPM and rotating it anti-clockwise decreases the Engine RPM.
3. Auxiliary Air screw: Rotating this screw anti-clockwise increases the engine RPM.

 

There are two methods for tuning :
1. With no role of auxiliary air screw [Followed by me and most mechanics also]
2. With auxiliary air screw [as per book ]


1. Tuning with no role of auxiliary screw :
Step 1 : Start the bike and let it idle for some time (~40 seconds) to warm up .
Step 2 : Tighten the auxiliary air screw fully clockwise.
Step 3: Increase the engine idle RPM by 20 to 30 % of normal idling. Say around 1500 RPM. This can be achieved by slowly rotating idle screw clockwise i.e. closing it.Here you will have to use your senses like ears and feel the vibrations of bike since this particular method does not have tachometer. 
Step 4 : Fully tight the mixture adjustment screw clockwise. It will make the mixture leanest possible and decrease the engine RPM to the lowest level. You will feel that bike vibrations are also decreasing.
Step 5: Slowly start rotating mixture adjustment screw anti-clockwise (1/8 turn at a time) . This will keep on increasing the engine RPM’s slowly and steadily , keep it opening until a point where engine RPM will become constant. Stop at this point , this is the idle mixture point. The bike is vibrating and humming well.
Hint : In my case this is between 1.5 turn to 2 turn.
[You have reached the optimum mixture of Air-fuel, if you will keep it rotating anticlockwise then it will make mixture richer and richer , and after 4 ,5 rotations you will find the RPM decreasing.]
Step 6 : Making the bike idle normal, rotate the idle adjustment screw anticlockwise slowly until bike RPM becomes normal say 1000 RPM. 

Your tuning is complete. Test the throttle response now, it will be better. If you still feel some hesitation then repeat steps 1-6 again.

2. Tuning with role of auxiliary screw [as per royal enfield electra 5s service manual]:

Although I don’t use this method by one can follow and share the feedback with me.
In this method step 1 to 6 are same as explained above. Only following 2 are additional steps :
Step 7 :  Loosen the auxiliary screw by 1/2 turn (anticlockwise) , it will increase the RPM .
Step 8 : Loosen the idle adjustment screw to make RPM back to normal 1000 RPM.
keep on doing this exercise (step 7 and 8) until turning out auxiliary screw does not increase the engine RPM.

Identifying the optimum mixture by reading the spark plug insulator color.
1. This is how a new spark plug looks like :

2. spark plug color with optimum mixture : [Light brown to chocolate brown] , both are OK. First one is little bit lean.
 
3. spark plug color with rich mixture : [Black with lot of carbon deposit]

4. Following is the image from internet in case of lean mixture :[metallic white with metallic particles deposits ]

Hidden secret : Although everyone calls it tuning. If we speak technically then it is called setting up engine idling. Tuning is bit complicated process which involves upgrading jets . watch this space for more ....

Quest for Perfect Thump

Every bullet owner want the best thump from Bullet. When I bought my Royal Enfield Electra CI 5s I did not had much idea about the effect of silencer on thump. Me being the second owner din have any idea what changes have been made by the previous owner. My bullet was damn loud . Following are the issues I found with the existing silencer :

• The thump was very loud ,specially at the higher speeds. It was not tolerable beyond the speed of 70 kmph.
• The stray dogs in neighborhood find it very unsocial and used to chase the bull every time i pass them :)
• It was difficult to convince any female to be pillion rider.
• Extra attention from the cops, although they never stopped me but the sound was enough for unwanted attention.

Finally I visited my mechanic and asked him the reason for it being so loud and solution. He simply told me that there is no Jaali (Glasswool) in the silencer and also liked the sound of my bull :) 
You can see the hollow silencer here , i am still having it :
 

He told me not to change the silencer but I decided to go for a new silencer. Went to the spare shop and asked for the silencer with jaali. He was surprized “sir aajkal to sab jyaada awwaj wala maangte hain UCE bullets ke liye .” !!! I explained mine is CI bullet and it’s already loud.

Purchased the Ludhiyana made Laxmi udyog silencer for Rs. 600 and got it installed. All the issues were solved but thump was muted now. Even I din like the thump now !!! It was too low , sound like bigger splendour .

In the next service mechanic recommended me to go to a welder and ask him remove only one of the three jaalis from silencer. I asked the welder not to remove all the jaalis but only make small holes across it.
He said “kewal aawaj thodi moti karni hai naa , ye to main karta rehta hoon”. He did the job in a minute.

What welder did : He inserted the welding rod from from backside of silencer and made few holes in  the jaali (muffler) . In this process he had to use 2 -3 welding rods because once the length of rod is reduced , it will can no more reach the jaali.

I installed the silencer again and voila !!!! the perfect,old school dugh dugh dugh dugh sound was finally here :)
I am enjoying every bit of it , sweet thump not so loud , prefect mix of bass and treble .

Tools for Bike/Home/DIY jobs

Following are the tools I have bought for all sort of repairing jobs. I keep on Adding them as and when required.

 

Tools are as following :

1.Screwdrivers (3nos. Normal,electrical tester and Philips)

2. Pliers

3. Nose Pliers

4. Wire stripper

5.Ball hammer

6. Fevi quick

7. Spare spark plug

8. Tape

 

 

9. Triangular File

10. Allen Keys 1 to 10 mm

11. DC cigarette lighter for mobile charging on bike.

 

12. Open end wrench/spanners from 6 to 19 mm

13. Ring spanner 8-9 mm,10-11mm, 13 and 24 mm.

14. Wire soldering iron

15. hand drill mini

 

 

Apart from this I also have following items for multiple jobs :

 

1. Grease remover OKS brand

2. WD-40

3. Bike Chain Lube Motul Brand

4. Spray can

5. Lubricating can (old school)

How to replace/bleed disk fluid in Royal Enfield Electra 5s

Warning :
1.Disk brake fluid is very corrosive and can damage paint so cover the bike parts with some cloth.
2. You should be very careful in following the instructions and have patience otherwise you may end up air in the disk brake system and zero braking.

What we need:

• 100 ml of DOT3 or DOT4 brake fluid. I could find DOT3. Only use from sealed bottle.
• 8 mm Ring spanner [Warning : Open end wrench/spanner will not work here and may damage the nut!!]
• Philips screw driver
• Transparent pipe around 12 inch in length.
• Empty plastic bottle

Step 1: Open the Main Fluid reservoir using Philips screw driver and you will see white plastic cover.

Warning : Be very careful while removing screw with screw driver. first fix the screwdriver properly into screw head use some force downwards as well and then remove it . The head of screw is made of very soft metal and it can get damaged even if screwdriver slip even once !!!! If screw head is damaged , you will not be able to remove it.
 
Step 2 : Remove White cover , you will see rubber diaphragm .

Step 3: Remove Rubber diaphragm and you will be able to see old disk fluid.

Step4: Here is the bleeder nut on the disk brake assembly .
 
Step 5 : Remove the cap from bleeder nut and fix 8 mm spanner to it . Attach it at such an angle so that you can move it freely up and down.
Warning:Don’t open this nut yet.

Step 5:Attach transparent pipe to it and put another end of pipe in to the empty plastic bottle.
 
Step 6: The reservoir should be filled so that air should not be able to enter in disk pipe.
Loose the bleeder nut by pressing the 8 mm spanner downwards.You will see the fluid coming out of the pipe.


Step 7: Be very careful in following step : Press the front brake lever  to increase the pressure in system Keep holding the brake lever completely and tighten the bleeder screw again to prevent air entering in the circuit AND then release the brake lever.
Whenever disk brake lever is pressed you will see old fluid going to the bottle. Make sure you don’t release the brake lever with bleeder nut open otherwise it will suck the air through bleeder nut.Also always keep enough fluid in master cylinder.

Step 8: Top up the Fluid reservoir with fresh fluid from bottle.
 
Repeat the step 6 , 7 and 8 multiple times. i.e. [Loosen bleeder nut ---> press the brake lever—>close the bleeder nut—> top up the main cylinder —>release the brake lever ]
Things to keep in mind :
Never Release the front disk brake lever when bleeder nut is loose.
Never let the Master Fluid reservoir be empty otherwise system may suck air through it.
Eventually you will see fresh fluid ,good in color coming out of pipe and getting stored in to bottle.

Finally all the fluid is clean and fresh in Fluid reservoir .


Tighten the bleeder nut and close everything in order.

 
Dispose off the old fluid carefully. It is highly corrosive in nature.

How to change Gear Box Oil in Royal Enfield Electra 5 s.

Recently I changed the Gear Oil of My RE Bullet Electra 5s. As per user manual one should change it on alternate service for better performance of gears.
This is so fascinating for me that very few bikes have gearbox as separate unit now a days (old school).
I am sorry for the pics from Actual Job .These pics taken later for illustration but still you can easily follow them.
What you need for getting this job done :
1. Gear Oil of 90 grade. I used Castrol Gear Oil which costs Rs. 120. You may use MICO as well .

2. Open Spanner :  14 mm and  18 mm.
3. Oil pan to collect old gear oil. I bought it for Rs 50 and use it specifically for this sort of jobs.

Step 1 : Place the oil pan to collect the old gear oil below the vehicle.
Gear Box is located in the pic below.

Step2: Loosen the Nut on the bottom gear box by 14 mm Spanner .

Wait for 5 minutes so that old oil drains out till last drop and it get collected in the vessel below.One can use plastic mug also.
Step 3: Tight the bottom nut again.
Step 4: Remove the side Nut in picture below by 18 mm spanner.

Step 5: Add 500 ml oil in the Gear box using funnel and close the side nut after the Job.

This was the simplest job one can do. Dispose off the waste oil responsibly. Don’t flush it to drain. It’s toxic in nature and harms the environment. Best thing will be give it to some mechanic.