My Mods Thread - 2021 Royal Enfield Continental GT 650

[wachuko]

The emblems on the side covers came with double face tape... because of the slight curvature of the covers, they kept coming unglued in a few spots... Since I have had them on enough to confirm that I like them, went ahead and secured them with rivets. Painted those black to make them disappear as much as I could.



I need to ride this baby... too much work and no play...

 

[wachuko]

Ignition and side cover lock swapped for the new ones. What a difference that made... original ignition switch was acting up. Happy to finally solve this issue.





Now... for the life of me, I can't remember where I placed the USB from Hitchcocks!!! Don't you hate it when that happens!!???

I am not closing this up until I find it... since it plugs into the auxiliary plug inside the headlight....

 

[wachuko]

Okay... found it!! In the process of finding it, got to organize a workbench in the garage

Anyway... Done!!

 

[wachuko]

Will be doing an oil change only due to age and not mileage... Planning a trip in Apr to go to the North Carolina area: Deals Gap, Foothills Parkway, Cherohala Skykway and getting ready well ahead of time. Riding from Ocala, FL to Grayson, GA to meet up with friends and then riding to NC from there.

Got to check all the camping equipment as well.

 

[wachuko]

Doing a few proactive/preventive modifications:

1. Doing the yearly oil change next weekend... due to time not really needed based on miles added to the bike. That will change this year as I have several rides planned.

2. Doing tubeless tires modification using the 3M tape.

• Front: 3M - 1-5-4412N 4412N Sealant Tape, 1" width x 5yd length (1 roll)
• Rear: 3M 4412N Sealant Tape Roll - 2 in. (W) x 15 ft. (L) Translucent, Pressure Sensitive Acrylic Adhesive Sealing Tape. Zero Curing Sealant
• To seal the threads in the spokes to the nipples - Loctite 487234 Threadlocker 290 Penetrating Liquid Tube, Green, 6-ml
• 2 - 8mm valve stems

3. While in there, will replace all wheel bearings with better quality units from Japan

• 4 - NSK 6203-2RS 6203DDU Made in Japan 17X40X12MM Pressed Steel Cage,Deep Groove Ball Bearings
• 1 - 2 PACK NSK 6005DDUCM 6005-2RS Made in Japan 25X47X12MM Pressed Steel Cage,Deep Groove Ball Bearings

4. Replacing clutch and seat cables with Venhill cables:

ROYAL ENFIELD F/L SEAT LOCK CABLE - Product SKU: R01-12-100
ROYAL ENFIELD F/L CLUTCH CABLE - Product SKU: R01-3-103

I did ask them about replacement cables for the throttle but they do not have those available at the moment. Here is their response on that request:

"At this time we do not offer throttle cables as standard catalog items. The bends used on the Enfield cables at the throttle body have flattened threads that correspond to the mounting holes in the bracket for the cables. We do not have the ability to supply those bends. We are working on that, but it will be some time (end of summer?) before we have the ability to offer Enfield throttle cables.

The only way we have to supply Enfield throttle cables at the moment is if we have a factory set to cannibalize parts from. That is quite expensive because the cable set must be sent to England such that we can disassemble it in our workshop and use the needed parts on the new cable set.

Chris
Venhill USA"

5. Replacing the headlight with the Super Meteor 650 LED headlight assembly



6. Received the spare parts I had ordered.. fuel pump assembly and regulator-rectifier. I like having spare parts for peace of mind...

 

[wachuko]

Oil change done... and added some 400 miles in the last two days...

Still waiting on one set of bearings to arrive as well as the headlight and cables... and the Rabaconda tire change machine does not get here until April... so I will be doing the trip to the mountains with the current stock tires and tubed setup. Yeah, laziness on my part, but I do not feel like using tire irons if I have the machine coming soon... So tubeless change will be done after the trip. I only have a little over 1,000 miles on the bike so all should be good.

 

[InterUnited]

Hi Wachuko,

Have you changed over to the Super Meteor headlight? Is that a straightforward swap?

Great looking bike BTW and kudos for guvubg your bike all this love and attention.

 

[wachuko]

Hi Wachuko,

Have you changed over to the Super Meteor headlight? Is that a straightforward swap?

Great looking bike BTW and kudos for guvubg your bike all this love and attention.

Thank you for the kind words.

On the headlight. Should be here next week. Plug is different from the H4 that the Continental GT has. It comes with a wiring adapter but you will need an H4 male end to add to the wiring... Photos are better than words... one sec...

Here you can see the wiring adapter that comes with it... one end goes to the headlight and the other end (all wires) is the one you need to install and H4 male plug/connector for the stock harness, and then, on the remaining wire you will need a blade connector for it... Pretty easy...



This is the end that goes into the new LED headlight:



Crude wiring assignment... Hopefully you get the idea...



Just install this on the other end of the wiring adapter and done! Plug and play to your existing factory H4 plug.



I hope all that made sense. When I get mine I will do a write up with better photos...

 

[InterUnited]

Thanks for the detail. I have a feeling you've a wealth of knowledge on these things. Looking forward to future updates from you and seeing how bike progresses. I have an. INT650 and will be trying to change the headlight and indicators at some point in the future so have vested interest in following your progress.

Would you need to replace the bracket that holds the original light on the forks?

 

[wachuko]

Would you need to replace the bracket that holds the original light on the forks?

No need. This should just drop in the bucket like the stock one. Here, take a look... someone that did this modification already in his Interceptor 650

 

[InterUnited]

I see they've gone for the SM indicators too. I'm thinking along the same lines, including the brake light and indicators for the rear. Thanks for confirming.

 

[wachuko]

I see they've gone for the SM indicators too. I'm thinking along the same lines, including the brake light and indicators for the rear. Thanks for confirming.

Keep in mind you have the Interceptor... some more work required to install them in the handlebars (if that is your plan)... If you are just installing on the stock locations, not an issue. They are super bright and that is what I was looking for.

I will be doing the same in the back. Just have not gotten around to making that change.

EDIT: My mistake... I have Motogadget m-Blaze Disc Bar End LED Turn Signals.... Sorry... You were talking about different light setup...

 

[wachuko]

Way back when, I had ordered some aluminum valves for the tubeless modification... I kept having second thoughts on those as they feel like they can break easily. Last week I ordered stronger ones... So now I have everything to tackle the tubeless setup.



Also ended up ordering the Bridgestone Battlax BT46 Sport Touring Tires, just now from Revzilla, instead of the Michelin Road Classics that I wanted. The Michelin front tire has not been in stock for months (or over a year if not mistaken) .

I will be doing some riding up to Georgia and speeds, just to keep up with traffic, are a bit insane on the way there... So based on feedback, these BT46 should be more stable that the stock Ceats... Good peace of mind.

Rabaconda tire changer ordered but does not get here until the end of April... that sucks... I will be doing the swap the good old fashion way... I want all this installed in the bike as quickly as possible to do proper breaking of the tires before the trip...

 

[wachuko]

Started to remove the wheels to get the tubes and Pirelli tires off. Will be doing tubeless setup while in there...

Front wheel removed... I refused to do this on the floor... I have a hydraulic lift table that was perfect for the task.





Eastbound tools are awesome. Easy to break the bead and to get the tire irons (well aluminum hehehe) in there to start removing the tire.



I am going to enjoy not having to do this ever again with tire irons. Can't wait for the Raconda tire changing machine to arrive.

Also, this Pirelli tire has some stiff sidewalls... I can't imagine doing this on the side of the road. Goodness. Even removing the tube was a royal pain. Removing the valve stem, pushing it in, I just could not get it out! Fought me like a bear...

 

[wachuko]

Tire is off... Cleaned everything twice... then cleaned again twice with acetone... Tape installed.

I will give it a few hours before applying the Loctite on each spoke/nipple...



Initially I had ordered some aluminum stems... when those arrived they looked too flimsy and decided to order another brand. These are much stronger.

 

[wachuko]

Green Loctite 290 wicking sealant applied...

 

[wachuko]

Now to tackle the rear..



I am using all the tools that I carry in the bike to do this work (well, except for the motorcycle jack). Here is the Eastbound tire kit breaking the tire bead...





New valve stem intalled



And got the front wheel out of the way until the tires get here...



Edit: Rear tape installed and spokes/nipples sealed. Rear ready for the new tire... let's hope all this stays sealed as expected...

 

[wachuko]

Cables arrived

 

[wachuko]

New tires mounted!

 

[JBacklund]

Nice! Curious as to why you replaced the Thruxton R. I think of it as the gold standard for cafe bikes.

I also owned a Thruxton R for several seasons. My Thruxton developed a drippy oil leak from the rear of the engine. I had to spend around $400 having the selling dealership's service department repair it, which lasted for several months and very few miles before it started again. The second time it was repaired, it was done by a nearby BMW dealership, and after a short time it was once again spotting up the garage floor beneath it.

By this time, I had had enough, and traded it in for something else.

Problem solved!

Other than that disappointing experience, it was a great bike, fast, light, truly sporty, and dead sexy.