Oh dear.

Couldn't quite get the timing right, and examining the auto advance mechanism, found this.

Perfect opportunity to go electronic, methinks :-)

...a bit more work...

New Amal concentric carb fitted, old air box removed, still need to sort the twist grip adjuster though, as it's non standard and leaves no slack in the cable. Timing looked at, and whilst it's at the maximum of the contact breaker's plate adjustment, it's still not spot on. Have procured the tool from Hitchcocks to remove the cam so it can be repositioned, and the locking washer so that the timing can also be set at full advance.

New Lithium battery has been fitted, and a new positive feed cable made up, as the other one was green and holding on by about 4 strands of copper. Redid the rear loom with permanent connectors, rather than the temporary chocblock connector I'd put on, and made up a pair of brackets, then rewired/relocated a new pair of rear indicators. This means I can now use panniers without hiding the indicators, and there's less chrome to polish. Need to paint the new bolts that replaced them - far too shiny :-)

Photo was taken before I angled both the same way, and tightened the nuts :-)

Bonus tip, Rimmel of London's "Black Cab" nail varnish is a good match for a black Enfield, to cover small scratches before the rust sets in. Don't ask how I had Rimmel of London's "Black Cab" nail varnish in my toolbox.

Not Shaggy's fingers.

And lo, there was rack.

And Shaggy saw it was good, and did grin :-)

A bit of a faff to fit though, the front legs needed spreading by about 3/4". Percussive maintenance with large persuader (number 2) and a handy concrete bollard later, sorted. I had to drill the shock absorber mount out slightly to accept the new 10mm bolt too, the old one being 3/8" (9.5mm)

Rack is part number 92541, from Hitchcocks :-

http://www.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/accessory-frame-luggage#part_4341

Enfield MOT...

...passed, no advisories :-)

New clocks

Since the original speedo thought Enf was capable of 80mph and wobbled wildly, I treated her to a new one. Can't quite stretch to a Smiths digital jobbie, so went cheap with a refaced Indian replacement. More readable, much cleaner with bigger numbers, and reports a speed vaguely in the same ballpark as what the bike is doing. 

Only downside is that cheap comes at a price - the odometer is in Kilometres, rather than miles. Not a huge problem, just adds another step to my MPG calculation at the pump. 

Speaking of which, today's fillup comes out at 47.5 MPG. This would be horrendous, if I didn't take into consideration that I'd left the fuel tap on one night and came back to a petrol pond in a fume filled garage. God knows how much I'd lost.

Also added a small clock to the handlebar, so I know exactly how late I am for work. This may be relocated to where the light switch is on the instrument cluster, and have a simpler switch in the front of the left toolbox.

I thought she felt tight...

So, when I bought Enf she had just under 15k on the clock. I was told that she'd had a rebuild done around 10k - there was a receipt for £750 from the previous previous owner, but was just listed as "parts and labour", with no breakdown of what work was carried out.

I contacted the previous previous owner from the address on the V5 copy, and yesterday got a letter back with a phone number, so I've just had a chat. The oil pump had originally failed, so new pumps and spindles were installed, and whilst it was being done they did main bearings, big and little end and rings. He couldn't remember the mileage when this was done, but said that he'd MOT'd it at the same time.

I've just checked the MOTs, and it shows the same mileage as when I bought it, so essentially the guy I bought it from hadn't even put a mile on it since the rebuild!

This fills me with both joy and dread, since I have (a) got a freshly rebuilt engine, and (b) ridden a freshly rebuilt engine with no hint of an attempt at running it in :-)

Luckily I ride like a granny with a load in her knickers, so she hasn't been thrashed too harshly, but I now know to take it easier for the next few hundred miles until she loosens up a bit, and throw lots of fresh oil at her in the meantime.

Royal Enfield meet at CooperB Motorcycles, Easton Maudit

A couple of interesting Enfields at the CooperB meet today. Soaking wet, but there was tea and cake :-)

Why yes, the middle one IS mine :-)

Speedo is now playing up, apparently I can do 80 in second. Did a GPS run though, and it looks like she hits 55 with the valves starting to dance in 3rd, but changing to 4th doesn't pull much more. I can feel an Amal carb conversion coming on sooner than I thought.