Topic: Royal Enfield 650

[MauiK3]

Nice rack! I wish I could find a similar rack for my K3 750.
Take your girlfriend out for a nice ride as often as you can, I've always found it makes my wife very happy when we go out, she likes it. You also get lots of thumbs up from others.

[Alan F.]

I haven't ridden with a passenger since I was a teenager, I'm sure it'll be ok. My only concern is that this bike may be a little small for the two of us as we are today. My K8 might be a better bet but it's waiting it's turn patiently.

[Alan F.]

I just cleaned & added dielectric grease to my relays & sockets. Plus that ground wire connector that crosses over them. Also I added some dielectric grease to each of the fuses. I'm gonna need to find a tiny pair of pliers for my toolkit, and a double ended screwdriver.

Valve clearances need to be done soon, when I fired it up the valve clatter was so bad even I could hear it.

I let it idle for 20 minutes in case the loose battery terminals had taught the ECU any bad habits. There was an intermittent miss after the first 5 minutes that lasted until nearly the 15 minute mark before it disappeared. There was a little bit of surging before I shut it down, it's hunting for something or bouncing between 2 points I guess. Correct valve clearances and new oil may make it happier. I haven't looked at the plugs yet.

[Terry in Australia]

Is it still under warranty Alan? My son's not here for me to ask, but from memory it had a pretty generous mileage warranty? Something like 3 years and 60,000 miles?

[Alan F.]

I think it was 3 years & unlimited mileage. I think it's got 5 months left on warranty but I haven't looked into whether or not it's transferable or not.

[MauiK3]

Unfortunate for sure.

[Terry in Australia]

I think it was 3 years & unlimited mileage. I think it's got 5 months left on warranty but I haven't looked into whether or not it's transferable or not.

Yep, you're right, 3 years and unlimited mileage. When Tim took his in for it's first service they replaced the guts of the ignition switch without him having to ask.

[grcamna2]

Alan,would the PO do that for you,or is it a transferable warranty ?

[Alan F.]

I'm not counting on the PO doing anything, he sold the bike because his wife told him to. I'm really not worried about a warranty related issue. It's other drivers that concern me these days.

[grcamna2]

I'm not counting on the PO doing anything, he sold the bike because his wife told him to. I'm really not worried about a warranty related issue. It's other drivers that concern me these days.

You going to do all the work on it yourself ?

A wonderful torquey,durable machine,according to reviews.

[Alan F.]

I don't really count on anything going wrong. Valve adjustments, oil changes and fork seals are regular maintenance as far as I'm concerned.

It may be a 'retro' bike, but the engineering on the newer tech systems is sound. The rest is pretty much late 60s to late 70s tech. Brakes & fuel injection are almost (if not entirely) problem free, the rest is easy to work on. It's just another bike after all.

[Terry in Australia]

Yep, while it might look like a 1960’s bike (Tim was complimented by an old guy here on his “magnificent restoration”) underneath its all new. Contra-rotating balance shaft to smooth out the vibes, overhead cam, EFI, electronic ignition, ABS, leak free engine, good brakes, it’s pretty hard to fault, and for around $10K AUD ($6800 USD) “Ride away, no more to pay”, an absolute bargain. If I didn’t already have one in my garage I’d buy one myself.

[Alan F.]

I've been looking into tires for this thing.

I've got 4,000 miles on the stock Pirelli Phantoms and reports from the RE forums state that they won't last more than 6000 miles.
I'm not interested in experimenting, I'd like to find something in the stock sizes. 100/90-18 and 130/70-18 rims are 2.5" and 3.5"

For around $250 USD I can order an in-stock set of BT-46s and have them in a few days. Those should more than handle the task.
Shinko 712 rear isn't an exact fit so those aren't an option sadly.

But if I want something better off pavement, so far in my search I'd need to stray from stock sizes, or run a mismatched set, which I'd rather not do.

[Terry in Australia]

I personally love the Pirelli phantoms and I’d buy them before BT46’s (I stopped using BT45’s years ago due to the the front tyres scrubbing out long before the rears would wear out) Dunlop K700’s would be a great “dirt friendly” alternative, although I’m not sure about sizes to suit your “modern” rim sizes?

[Alan F.]

I can't seem to find a Dunlop K700 that isn't a sportbike tire. The Pirelli phantom front seems easy to find but the rear seems hard to find.

I think I read the BT46 was designed to overcome the flaws of the BT45..

[Terry in Australia]

Oops, one too many zero’s. Sorry mate, I meant K70.

[Alan F.]

Thanks Terry, I was wondering about that.
Unfortunately 4.00-18 is the widest width they're made in, that'd be a fine front tire but I'd need a 5.00-18 for my 3.5" rear rim.

[Alan F.]

Looks like BT-46s upsized to 110/80-18 front and 140/70-18 rear are a pretty popular upgrade.

Edit:  These are V-rated tires 149mph, and they don't make 110/80-18 in H-rating, it's probably only a few dollars more.

I'll upload this screenshot here so I've got the part numbers when i need them.

[Terry in Australia]

Go for it Alan, if they don't chop out like the old BT45's did, they should be great. I've got that "Once bitten, twice shy" thing going, so I'll stick with Stinko's or Pirelli Sport Demons, they've been fantastic on my Harley Sportster, BMW K100RS SE, and a few more that I've forgotten.

[grcamna2]

I just purchased a set of BT-46 tires for my 83' Suzuki GS750ED; 120/90V17 Rr. & 100/90H16 Fr.

I got them off Ebay separately for a deal;from tire warehouses,Chaparral,etc.

[RAFster122s]

Chaparral has a terrible rep on customer service apparently if you have any issues...

[Alan F.]

I got them off Ebay separately for a deal;from tire warehouses,Chaparral,etc

Looks like my best deal will be separate vendors too.

[Alan F.]

BT-46 Rear 140/70-18 (11640) at Wal-Mart.com
(sold by OEMcycles)
Free shipping for $105.54 
There's no telling if it's in stock though.

11640 is the H rated tire, there seems to be some confusion in what I read was the hot ticket sizes.

Unless it's suddenly ok to mix speed ratings between front & rear tires???

[Terry in Australia]

BT-46 Rear 140/70-18 (11640) at Wal-Mart.com
(sold by OEMcycles)
Free shipping for $105.54 
There's no telling if it's in stock though.

11640 is the H rated tire, there seems to be some confusion in what I read was the hot ticket sizes.

Unless it's suddenly ok to mix speed ratings between front & rear tires???

It's not gonna matter at all mate, they're both rated for speeds higher than your bike is currently capable of, so as long as the tread patterns are gonna play nice with each other (I always buy my tyres in compatible sets) you'll be fine.

[Alan F.]

That's exactly what I was hoping to hear but the only ones talking about it were either selling tires, or riding very fast bikes. I didn't think there was a safety issue mixing them, just always reduce the speed rating one notch for tubeless. This bike can reportedly hit 105 but probably never with me on it.

I'd be moving up from 100/80 front & 130/70 rear to 110/80 front & 140/70 rear to up the fun factor over stock sizes and to add some better capacity for 2up riding if that ever happens. I've read that the stability increase on this bike is dramatic after this change.