Royal Enfield 535 Continental GT tuned by Performance Classics.

Here is a road test of this machine, converted from standard with The Hitchcocks carburettor kit, as well as their performance cams and valves. I took things a step further and shortened the cylinder barrel, to raise the compression ratio and make the squish band areas between the piston crown and cylinder head work properly. The result is a machine which goes rather well !

[@stefanmaslaczyk1259]

I had a 500 Bullet 15 years ago. The castings inside the ports were extremely rough and lumpy. I smoothed them out considerably with a rotary grinder on an electric drill. Smoothed out the cylinder head round the ports. Bought an original 60’s air box and filter from Hitchcock and a few bigger jets to try on the standard 28mm Mikuni carburettor. Great improvement for very little cost but a lot of enjoyable work. The bike ran noticeably smoother and once upjetted about three sizes would clock 90 on the flat. The old Enfield air box flowed more air than a KN filter.

[@paullacey2999]

Wow!That can motor a bit....Love the green paintwork too.....When we are all stuck inside this is a treat to watch!

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@mikeflanagan825]

Really enjoying your videos,since I grew up riding old triumph and bsa and now own a 535 R.I.The rides are good fun! Cheers.

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Thank you!

[@stevekwall925]

Nice job sounds good ,also great camera angle.

[@loknlode]

Sounds like a proper bike now!

[@muruganmark8134]

Beautiful place awesome ride great classic bike !

[@williamnethercott4364]

Looks and sounds impressive!

[@yogiguitar1]

really sweet looker that is. love it sounds great an all

[@khullaasaand]

Holy ffffffffff..... That's super stable!!!!

[@chunkyleejones3831]

Cracking job👍

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Thank you !

[@Yorkshiremadmick]

Warp speed around 8:50 was brilliant Just a blur and sounded British 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Thank you !! [note speedo needle pointing towards ignition key].

[@jorgevillanueva8922]

Nice countryfield view, a little scary for moments on those narrow streets and the trucks on the other side of the road, nice sound of the motorcycle and good driving too, I wish you can post more videos like this. I really like this bike but I have heard severals bad reviews about the Continental 500 GT of RE that makes me doub about purchase this model or wait some months to try the new RE 650 twin engine. Great video!

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Thanks, I may be tuning a yellow 535 GT to the same spec in the near future - this machine is already featured in a couple of my videos. Glad you like the bike and the video!

[@1worldgaming18]

real motorcycles are mono cylinder , girls love them too ''vale'' ;)

[@paulhenshaw4514]

I don't know how much value - if any - this sort of conversion might add, but it vastly improves the performance. With the parts and work to do the job, the cost was around £1500 at the time.

[@jeremyatkinson4976]

Based on what I paid, it reduces the value..... Though the bike was cutting out due to fuel starvation. I fixed it with another tap sans reserve, so it shouldn't happen again.

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Those fuel taps are not very good at all. I don't see how this can reduce the value.

[@jeremyatkinson4976]

@@paulhenshaw4514 Neither can I but I didn't pay a lot.

[@kurniawanpw]

nice job sir

[@malcolmmathers2690]

I'm guessing you were touching the old school ton bythe wind and the vibes very good old chap

[@MrAndrew1953]

I've never ridden one but I imagine one of those with a Hitchcock kit would be a great little green lane/ A road sports bike. Add a small wind deflector screen - grand middle weight blaster.

[@rosstisbury1626]

so much fun

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Oh yes!

[@MegaTubescreamer]

just found this gem of an episode and i knew it would be over pretty rapid like !! great position ,perfect stylish bike, encourages the "phil read" out of your riding paul.😊👍

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Thanks, William!

[@djako3168]

Hi Paul I am currently fitting the same Hitchcock cams & valves , I have shortened the barrel by 1.2 mm to bring the squish band to 1mm from the original 2.28mm , I am now concerned if there will be sufficient valve to piston clearance with the higher lift cams and the shorter barrel . Did you measure the clearance on this engine after your mods ? Do these engines run close valve to piston clearance to warrant testing , or is there plenty to spare ? Thanks

[@paulhenshaw4514]

The valves run pretty close to the piston, but it isn't a problem with this machine. Incidentally, I didn't need to fit the longer pushrods that come with the cams, because the shortened barrel meant they were not needed.

[@geralddavison6307]

Hi, what’s the black cable for that routes from under the l/h side of the petrol tank to behind the clutch cable lug then disappears behind the foot peg ? Just curious ?

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Hi, I think that was the fuel tank breather pipe just incorrectly routed at the time and it had dropped into that position.

[@jeremyatkinson4976]

Having done at least another, is there anything you would further alter on this bike, if you had to do it again?

[@paulhenshaw4514]

I think I would retard the inlet cam, as per the yellow machine I also worked on and filmed a test ride on, but the performance of both is well up to the job now.

[@thecaferacer535]

Hi mate is it an engine out job to do the top end work? Or will the head and barrel slide out and pushrods pull out with the tank off? Thanks and nice video 🤙🏼

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Hi - no need to take the engine out to work on the top end, just take the tank, exhaust and a few other bits out of the way and it is all easy to get at and strip / rebuild.

[@imochasingh6875]

Wow! Was a blurry ride and this one has a speedo which looks like it will jump off the bike. 😀 however it pulls man 😁

[@kenmcarthur2370]

Great review. Could you get Manx performance from this single? Regards Ken. Down under.

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Thanks, I don't know about these, but I have our 500 RE racer giving over 46 BHP @ rear wheel.

[@javiera.c.5792]

Did you ever loose the handlebar while riding to watch the bike behavior? Mine pushes a little bit to the right. Is it normal?

[@ihateemael]

no

[@richardebersole3876]

love it.... would like to know how you have done your compression mod. 🏍⚡⚡⚡

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Just shorten the cylinder barrel.

[@sam195027]

Paul Henshaw can i do this for my classic 350

[@sam195027]

Paul Henshaw what's the top speed 5

[@Mongoose118]

Hi Paul, is this asbo 24? Trying to get a vid of asbo 24, but can't find it. This bike is up for sale. Just need more info on it. Can you help? Regards Mike

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Hi Mike, this is Asbo 24. Check it out from just after 8 mins to see just how well it goes!

[@jeremyatkinson4976]

@@paulhenshaw4514 I've bought it. I'm having to recalibrate to ride it as my other road bikes are a 1942 Norton 16H, a 1954 BSA M21 and a Guzzi Nuovo Falcone in ascending order of speed. On a good day my Guzzi will stagger over 70mph. I do own some japanese singles the most brutal of which is my DMS framed TT540 dirtbike. That's over 50k lighter but nevertheless seems more brutal off idle but then tails off early. It has various back in the day tuning mods favoured by Dick Mann. The 535 is remarkably linear, a very civilised if loud road engine.

[@iandouglas451]

if you don't mind me asking, roughly how much is it to carry out the carburettor and hitchcock conversion please - a broadish 'ball park' figure would be helpful.

[@paulhenshaw4514]

No problem, Ian. Not including purchase prices of any components, gaskets etc, around £150 to fit the carb kit alone, with the head off to swap the valves and refit, add another £250 or so. While the head is off, I can remove, shorten and refit the barrel for another £150. Swapping the cams would also be around £150.

[@iandouglas451]

@@paulhenshaw4514 very helpful, thank you, much appreciated - all sounds pretty reasonable to me.

[@paulhenshaw4514]

@@iandouglas451 Thank you.

[@KolonelKrakazTimeMachine]

Jeez those laneways are narrow... And the bloody hedges... I couldn't get used to the narrow field of vision when I was there last year. Bike seems to go well mate. Are you the bloke with a diesel bullet?

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Thanks. Most of the bikes don't belong to me, I work on them for their owners and do video road tests, most of which I share on here. I have a couple of videos with a diesel Bullet, again not mine, but an occasional visitor, so you are probably right.

[@KolonelKrakazTimeMachine]

Paul Henshaw ah I see. Nice work mate. Keep it up.

[@abdulghaffar1334]

incredible work.....would u recommend a complete perfomance mod for standard bullet 500 carbueratted version..2016 model

[@paulhenshaw4514]

A set of decent cams could work wonders on their own, if you already have a carburettor.

[@abdulghaffar1334]

Paul Henshaw its a stock carb....would u advice if i cud go for a piston and crankshaft mod from hitchcok?? how the cams be modded??

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Just fit the Hitchcocks cams and if possible shorten the cylinder barrel [if the piston crown doesn't reach the top of the barrel at tdc] and that should make a big difference.

[@abdulghaffar1334]

Paul Henshaw thank you, sir.

[@abdulghaffar1334]

where should i connect you for a brief discussion on my bullet??

[@savemoney2000]

Hi Paul Brill job. I have bought the cam kit too and have planned to do the upgrade over this winter. I have also fitted the power commander 5 and K an N filter. I am also planning to increase my front sprocket by 2 teeth. I still plan to use the EFI system. Would I benefit by altering the swish band like you have? I was looking at porting too. Your comments would be appreciated.

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Hi Gerald, it is well worth checking the squish clearance and optimising it. I don't think I would gear up by 2 teethon the front, though, but you could try. No porting work was done on this one, I think the head is well up to handling a good boost in performance 'as is'.

[@janicewatts5888]

Rebuilt my 1953 350 cc Bullet engine way back in 1966! I decided for some insane reason to use the 500cc drive sprocket which had one more tooth. One tooth makes a considerable difference to final drive ratio , which in my case reduced the bikes acceleration, and a couple of mph top speed. Two teeth would have been a disaster! Phil the spill.

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Yes, lots of people still gear them up thinking they will go faster, but they don't, unless you increase the power to go with it !

[@roychang5512]

I had also installed same cam kit this year, and the performance became much better, and the sound of exhaust as well. But only 2 weeks I decided to let the EFI system back because there were some problems emerge. The first is engine will stop suddenly when at idle speed, sometimes I can restart immediately but sometimes can't, it's terrible when in busy traffic road, I have to move the bike to the side, wait and try many times to start the engine. After that I bought Power commander and that also upgrade the performance very well. I think the problem is came from the poor adjustment for the carburettor , the carb needed to adjust continuously and by someone very experienced.

[@hiyadroogs]

+Janice Watts - Interesting. As a Bullet owner with a diesel conversion, I am always incredulous & amused at other diesel Enfield conversions whose owner/builders think that a diesel's modest 3600 rpm working band can be overcome by uprating the drive sprocket by 2 or 3 teeth! A 350 petrol Bullet pulls a 16T sprocket, which with a 406cc diesel will give 52 mph @ 3600, requiring 8 bhp at the back wheel. Since the engine is rated at 8.44 bhp continuous at 3600, & 8.8 bhp maximum, - that's about right for flat terrain. But feeling frustrated at the meagre top speed, builders often fit this modest little engine with an 18, 19, or even a 21T sprocket!! At 3600, these "upgrades" would in theory give 58.3, 61.5, & 68 mph respectively, - which would in turn require 11, 13, & 17 bhp at the back wheel in an Enfield Bullet on the dead level in still air, & all at just 3600. Worse, is that the 52 mph that the engine could attain at its 3600 power peak, is now unattainable, as it would now have to be generated by 3200 in the 18T, 3040 with the 19T, & 2750 rpm with the 21T. The farcical point, is that the long stroke (90 mm) 350 petrol Bullet is producing 19 ft/lbs of torque at 3600 (13 bhp) while the short stroke 406 diesel (70 mm) is producing just 12.5 ft/lbs (8.44 bhp). Most don't seem to understand the relationship between torque, revs, & horsepower. A low torque engine must be allowed to rev out to produce its HP. A tuned engine doesn't necessarily produce more peak torque, but simply carries that torque level higher up the rev band. So even a tuned engine of the same capacity may prefer fewer teeth on the drive sprocket to elevate revs to access the extra power.

[@topcappy100]

Goes like stink! Is it still limited to 5000 odd rpm?

[@paulhenshaw4514]

No, it will go past 6000 rpm in the lower gears.

[@1worldgaming18]

what the cirka top speed with the go faster parts on ??

[@paulhenshaw4514]

It should be good for about 100 mph.

[@1worldgaming18]

no worries then :) thanks for replying

[@adityabhagat9057]

Paul, do you think that balancing the awful flywheels that this ride gets show some more boost to the top speed?

[@paulhenshaw4514]

No, flywheel balance only affects vibration, not performance. Lightening a crank can boost performance, though.

[@adityabhagat9057]

@@paulhenshaw4514 Thanks for replying, Paul. Just one last doubt. Is there any scope for lightening the Flywheel on the GT 535? Or any additional performance mods for more HP gains?

[@paulhenshaw4514]

I suppose the flywheels could be lightened a bit, although they are lighter than the 'Classic' types to begin with. I shortened the cylinder barrel a little on this machine, to boost compression and make the squish areas work properly, as well as fitting the performance cams and carb conversion.

[@adityabhagat9057]

You mentioned you didn't use the hitchcocks pushrods, so what did you to prevent pushrod overlash assuming the stock pushrods are inside her after shortening the cylinder barrel. Also, any comment on converting her to solid lifters instead of hydraulic?

[@paulhenshaw4514]

The performance cams have a smaller base circle than the standard ones, which equated roughly to the height I reduced the barrel by, so restoring the balance with the standard pushrods. I have not tried replacing the hydraulic tappets.

[@pbrucpaul]

Another beautiful British motorbike. Just a question Paul, whatever happened to the Matchless bike? How did it measure up to the other British motorbikes?

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Not British, but quite handy after the modifications! Regarding Matchless, the only one I have had to work on to date was a 'unit' G2 CSR, but I have worked on a few AJS machines of 250, 350, 500 singles and a 650 twin. They seem well made and perform quite well, so I presume the Matchless machines would be the same.

[@pbrucpaul]

@@paulhenshaw4514 You're right Mate, I believe at one point Royal Enfield was British, but then India took it over. Am I right? In any case you do a super job restoring British Motorbikes. Stay safe! Cheers

[@pbrucpaul]

I also heard somewhere that the Matchless gearbox was replicated with Norton and BSA. True?

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Thanks! RE finished in Britain 1970, but kept going in India.

[@paulhenshaw4514]

I have not heard of that one.

[@imochasingh6875]

How's the vibration her?

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Not much vibration.

[@lagerx61]

Puuh , realy fast. What was the top speed? Cause i want a GT 535 for Classic racing.

[@paulhenshaw4514]

I think the two I tuned - the yellow one may be a bit quicker than this one - should reach 100 mph, perhaps a little more.

[@lagerx61]

@@paulhenshaw4514 thank you for answering.

[@iiihamzapoloiii]

Can u pull till 6500 rpm?

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Yes.

[@suzukix5owner]

I'm not a mechanic....But why have you taken the fuel injection off and swapped it for a carb.....Do carbs have better tuning capabilities than fuel injection.

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Yes, they are much easier to work with.

[@sardarferozkhan4447]

What is the top speed.

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Should be good for 100 mph, I would think.

[@adityabhagat7884]

Can these mods get the GT to do the ton?

[@paulhenshaw4514]

I would think so.

[@EliasTheHunter]

This is the important question here!

[@imochasingh6875]

What's the top speed??

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Probably about 100 MPH.

[@craighoward8079]

That looks like it goes like shit off a shovel. Probably quicker than a 612 kit on the iron barrel bullets

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Thanks Craig, I would struggle to argue with that!

[@craighoward8079]

@@paulhenshaw4514 although to be honest I prefer the old iron barrel bullets myself. I wouldn't swap my sixty5 model for a uce one

[@craighoward8079]

And merry Christmas by the way.

[@paulhenshaw4514]

@@craighoward8079 Thanks, and to you!

[@aryabhagat5407]

Paul, can you please help me with some stuff? Am in India but looking to get a Carb Conversion with new Cams from Hitchcocks. MAIN CONCERN here is about squish band mod and the barrel work. How can we work something like this with India-London Connect Also, Have been following your Crank Balancing thread and would want to do that as well as am sure it holds some leverage as far as horrendous vibes are concerned. Currently running on : - K&N Air Filter with an open filter cover (cut the extra plastic off on the top) - Redrooster GT exhaust My EFI has been acting up and I've already trashed the Powertronics ECU as it didn't do anything but refine the delivery on power.

[@ayaannugyal8897]

sir whats the total cost with engine mods & the new carb ? u were going gunzzzz.... cheerz

[@paulhenshaw4514]

The owner of the bike supplied the parts. The carb kit was about £430 and the cams, valves and other bits were about another £400 or so, I think. My work - top end strip, shorten barrel, rebuild and fit cams,valves and carb kit was £700.

[@janicewatts5888]

That's a lot of money to spend for a couple of bhp! I would have put that toward a new bike! Phil the spoil sport

[@paulhenshaw4514]

I can make these machines a good bit faster, a good bit cheaper than the offerings from some sources !

[@mikeflanagan825]

Can you offset the timing like the pre unit engines?