Classic 500

After overdosing on them in India three years ago I couldn’t get them out of my head. My first bike when I was a teenager was a free ex army Bullet, totally non road legal which I used around the lanes.🙄🤣. Coming back to the village to retire all these years later I just had to have one. A ‘19 Trials. Yes, brakes are pretty crap but you get use to them and it’s put the fun back into riding for me. Not sure I want to do the long trips I use to but for bimbling about the Lakes it’s ideal for me.
I’ve discovered Hitchcocks.....the RE version of Nippy. 🤣
 

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Our village Fred Dibnah type loves his bikes. He owned an Enfield a few years back. He thought it was a piece of shite :D I hope you enjoy the experience more than he did!
 
If You Want to know anyting about these beloved Enfields then look up Paul Henshaw the Enfield guru! Guess who Hitchcocks send their bikes to be sorted and also Asbo'ed. YouTube away gentlemen !

He aint just Enfields mind, As he is getting my Tribsa to play with :D
 
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If You Want to know anyting about these beloved Enfields then look up Paul Henshaw the Enfield guru! Guess who Hitchcocks send their bikes to be sorted and also Asbo'ed. YouTube away gentlemen !

He aint just Enfields mind, As he is getting my Tribsa to play with :D

Subscribed :thumb2
 
Well I’m home for the weekend, I need to be out on the bike for the DGR tomorrow no matter what the weather so I thought I’d have my second ride on the 500.

I blew away about 30 minutes removing the pannier frames and the pillion seat (the wife looked at it and said “you must be fucking joking”) and went for a 30 mile ride on relatively quiet Lancashire roads. What did I discover? It doesn’t vibrate as much as a lot of you tube videos suggested it would but I’m used to a 500 Husqvarna so pretty much immune to single cylinder vibration, the gearbox is much better than I was led to believe it would be with clutchless changes going up remarkably smooth and it handles relatively well even though I had the back end kick out a bit on a corner after I got a slightly over enthusiastic and misjudged how much it tightened up. Any slide that doesn’t result in a trip across a grass verge is a good slide :D

The brakes are still shit, it’s too quiet for a 500 single, it’s going to take a while for me to accept the lack of what I’ve come to think of as basics such as a trip odometer, a clock and either a satnav or a tank bag base to hold a map but they’re minor details. Overall I like it, it’s hard not to like a bike that never feels as if it’ll get you in trouble with the law and has a nice comfortable riding position with a seat that doesn’t make you feel as if a horse has kicked you in the arse. I’ve not done enough miles to be anywhere near needing to put fuel in it but they’re supposed to be good on fuel. It looks nice in a retro kind of way and the single seat with no pillon perch suits it so unless I’m going to use it for a weekend trip I’ll be leaving the pannier frames and pillion seat off.

It’s a shame they’ve stopped making them because for anyone approaching senility and just wanting to ride around admiring the countryside they’re remarkably good :hippy
 
Its also an odd thing for me as only had mine for a month... or is it two or three? Hmm. Anyhoo am getting used to it and quite liking the exhust
since the baffle vibed its way out of the pipe! The sprung seat on it is still a bit wierd but ok'ish, brakes are shite but i think they all are?
So today i potted around for a couple of miles on it, then
took the Tribsa out which felt quick (in comparison) and finished off going for a pint on the 1150gs, Must admit i loved the progression of all three
Am gonna do it again tomorrow.... Just cos i can. :beerjug:
Have a good run on ya DGR tomorrow AndyB.
 
Well I’m home for the weekend, I need to be out on the bike for the DGR tomorrow no matter what the weather so I thought I’d have my second ride on the 500.

I blew away about 30 minutes removing the pannier frames and the pillion seat (the wife looked at it and said “you must be fucking joking”) and went for a 30 mile ride on relatively quiet Lancashire roads. What did I discover? It doesn’t vibrate as much as a lot of you tube videos suggested it would but I’m used to a 500 Husqvarna so pretty much immune to single cylinder vibration, the gearbox is much better than I was led to believe it would be with clutchless changes going up remarkably smooth and it handles relatively well even though I had the back end kick out a bit on a corner after I got a slightly over enthusiastic and misjudged how much it tightened up. Any slide that doesn’t result in a trip across a grass verge is a good slide :D

The brakes are still shit, it’s too quiet for a 500 single, it’s going to take a while for me to accept the lack of what I’ve come to think of as basics such as a trip odometer, a clock and either a satnav or a tank bag base to hold a map but they’re minor details. Overall I like it, it’s hard not to like a bike that never feels as if it’ll get you in trouble with the law and has a nice comfortable riding position with a seat that doesn’t make you feel as if a horse has kicked you in the arse. I’ve not done enough miles to be anywhere near needing to put fuel in it but they’re supposed to be good on fuel. It looks nice in a retro kind of way and the single seat with no pillon perch suits it so unless I’m going to use it for a weekend trip I’ll be leaving the pannier frames and pillion seat off.

It’s a shame they’ve stopped making them because for anyone approaching senility and just wanting to ride around admiring the countryside they’re remarkably good :hippy

Here you go Andy; this guy talking about the vibes or lack of on his Enfield; he also gets fully what it's al about;; spoken in Gods own dialect; :D. Could'nt post the link but this should point you in the right direction; have a good DGR;:beerjug:
 

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Here's the link Snelly..... I like uncle Stu

https://youtu.be/CZxfUXe_ZzU

He’s great isn’t he?

As Snelly says, he ‘gets it’ and even though a lot of people tell me I’ll be pissed off with it in 6 months I’m not convinced that they’re right with the only note I’d add to that statement being that I don’t think it’s a bike you go out with your mates on because they’ll be the ones pissed off and making rude gestures :D

I will say that it’s very demoralising when a car dragging a tin tent breezes past and that’s a very big incentive to stick to smaller roads and get some miles on the clock.
 
Today has been a blingtastic day and the bike now has a rear rack where the pillion pad was originally, a pair of adjustable levers, an S&B air filter and a dinky little clock so I can see when the pubs are due to open.

I’ve also got an iridium spark plug to fit when I grab a plug spanner from my workshop.

Strangely enough the wife looked at it and pointed out there’s nowhere for her to sit. Unlucky, she can ride her own bikes 😀
 
Either the front brake pads are bedding in after 150 miles or the new levers have made a difference but the amount of feel and stopping power has increased to about 2/10. I’ve found before that fitting dog leg levers improves matters so if it’s down to them it was money well spent. I’m now halfway to the magical 300 mile mark where I can suddenly start to use some of the bikes performance and ride at 50mph which will be something that would have been appreciated by the queue that looked to be be about a mile long behind me on Saturday when I went out for another spell of rolling road block duties.
 
You need one of those "Running In - Please Pass" stickers we used to see back in the 50s :D.

Bob.
 
Today was a big day, the bike had done just over 150 miles and we were going out for a full afternoon tour so I topped it up.

Ok, I’m being nice to it because I’m running it in but by any standards getting over 100mpg is pretty commendable.

I then did another 140 miles but didn’t bother putting any fuel in because I know it won’t need it 😀
 
I meant to stick this screenshot up at the weekend but forgot.

I’ve no doubt it’ll be completely different when I next fill it but I don’t think I got 100mpg out of my moped when I was 16.

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First service booked and that’ll give me the wherewithal to hit the heady heights of 50mph. After that it’s another 800 miles and I can unleash everything but the most important thing is that I can fit the after market ‘silencer’ I’ve bought from Germany that’s about 1/3 of the length of the stock one and doesn’t have much in the way of baffles.

I don’t think the weight difference will matter too much but loud pipes save lives :rob
 


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