My Orange Royal Enfield- New Bike Thread

[Tricky]

My recent experience with my new 890R Duke disappointed me a bit, and if I’m honest, since then, although the 765RS that replaced it is a really , really great bike, and I really enjoy riding it, it’s got a little something missing for me, and even though I don’t ever see myself owning a modern Royal Enfield, Couchy’s recent experiences with both that and his Honda shopping bike have inspired me in a perverse sort of way, and it got me thinking.
As some of you may remember, back at the end of 2017 KTM needed to reach a particular sales target, and as a result, dumped 100 or so 390 Dukes on the market at more than 30% off list- a few of us including me bought one , and I had some proper fun with it over the year or so that I owned it, both on the road and on track, and I’ve been loving watching SS300 so decided that an RC390 could make another nice little project, particularly as I still have pretty much all of my “ go faster” bits that I’d bought for my 390 Duke



And here it is, the little minx





It’s a 2016 model with just under 1k miles on it, I bought it from an ex-Classic Bike racer (Honda 350 K4s), that had bought it a year or so ago with a view to doing basically what I intend to , ie make a bit faster both in a straight line and around a circuit, have something to ride on the road when he fancied it and do a few trackdays with too.
He hade a start by buying the Tyga exhaust that you see on it, along with a RapidBike Evo black-magic fuelling box, bypassing the ABS and working out how to stop a fault light showing and fitting lots of crash protection and PowerParts rearsets but that’s as far as he got- he has never made it to a trackday , and said he hasn’t enjoyed riding on the road and has decided to concentrate on his Trials instead- he had a lovely old 70’s Bultaco and a current Shaerpa.

Not really ridden it yet- I had a quick thrash around the private road where he lived when I bought it, but that was without a helmet and in my shorts and flip-flops so I can’t really say it’s had a proper test yet, but I’ll tax it over next couple of days and provide a fuller report.

So current plans, in sort of planned order are:

• New oil (Motul 300V for this one) and check valve clearances.

• Get it over to my mates at Dynotech, see how its running with the RapidBike unit (for anyone that’s familiar with the Hilltop story, this is RapidBike’s story too, ie allows it to remain closed loop and adapts automatically to any changes purely from what it gets back from the standard (non wideband) O2 sensor, err, yeah….- anyway, we’ll see and will provide a good baseline- this will be the same dyno that we mapped my 390 Duke on so should make an interesting comparison.

When we’ve done a couple of runs, we’ll remove the RapidBike and whack my Powertronics unit on , along with the quickshifter, see how it runs with my previous custom map, and Powertronics produced ones, and tweak as relevant. I’ve already got a K&N and other modded airbox, which supposedly, with a bit of adjustment gives good gains over the standard and quite restrictive box and trumpet, so that will be on it too.
I love the look of the Tyga exhausts , even with Db killers in they’re a bit loud for my taste,( 98dB @ 5k according to Tyga) , but and they are supposedly decent for power, and they also save a good few kilos over the standard unit so they’ll be staying I think.

• Next will be brakes and suspension-

Brakes will be easy as he’s done the hardest bit, I’ll be installing some Bendix MRR pads and changing fluid
Suspension will be a 5EB R6 rear shock to replace the joke of a standard one, and provide some adjustment options- it’s same length eye to eye, just needs a bit of shimming on one of the mounts and a spring change.
Not worked out what to do with the front yet but going to do a bit of research and come up with a plan- SS300 kit parts or an Adreani kit would be a quarter of what the bike cost so aren’t in the budget for this, its likely to be new springs, play around with pre-load like in the olden days with LC proddy racing (we used old style 5p/ 1 shllling coins on top of the springs for that ), and experiment around with different weights and/or heights of oil if relevant

After that ( assuming I haven't got carried away with new cams and piston, head work etc chasing bhp ) it should just be a matter of a bit more weight saving - lithium battery, maybe see if I can pick up a race fairing, or at least a nosecone cheap so I can dispense with the headlights etc when it ventures onto a track, and of course possibly most important of all, get some nice sticky Dunlop Alphas on it to replace the standard Rosso II s.

That should be enough to going on with for the time being I think, more to follow as I go- roll on Portimao!

[weeksy]

I love that exhaust ! Looks great.

I think i'll be throwing the XSR in the pool after 3 laps now as i'm destryoed by an Enfield and a 390 !

Congratulations !!!

I'll be the first to say "I'm disappointed it's not the 1290"

[Tricky]

Cheers, 1290 is too much of a big heavy lump for me I think , for the moment, anyway

Oh, and I don't reckon you'll have too much to worry about at Portimao - it'll be tougher than you think for this to beat you on the XSR over a lap , poor little thing will be absoloutely flat out everywhere (well, except up the hills )

[weeksy]

Cheers, 1290 is too much of a big heavy lump for me I think , for the moment, anyway

Oh, and I don't reckon you'll have too much to worry about at Portimao - it'll be tougher than you think for this to beat you on the XSR over a lap , poor little thing will be absoloutely flat out everywhere (well, except up the hills )

I've seen you corner... Sure on the drag-strip straight i'll be flying, but the other bits, i see you being pinned and down on the tank flying along !

You fitting the lowers ?

[Tricky]

Cheers, 1290 is too much of a big heavy lump for me I think , for the moment, anyway

Oh, and I don't reckon you'll have too much to worry about at Portimao - it'll be tougher than you think for this to beat you on the XSR over a lap , poor little thing will be absoloutely flat out everywhere (well, except up the hills )

I've seen you corner... Sure on the drag-strip straight i'll be flying, but the other bits, i see you being pinned and down on the tank flying along !

You fitting the lowers ?

We'll see..

RE the lowers, yeah, I will do , only reason they're not on theer at the moment is as I need to buy a blanking panel for the big hole where the standard exhaust box exits, and it looks naff with the hole there IMO

[Supermofo]

Yeah that exhaust is proper Moto3 looking, albeit from a Honda

Edit: Is it me that's wonky, you taking the pic wonky, or the plate hanger wonky? It's triggering my OCD

[KungFooBob]

Should have got one of them new Honda CB350's from India and beaten County at his own game

[Tricky]

Yeah that exhaust is proper Moto3 looking, albeit from a Honda

Edit: Is it me that's wonky, you taking the pic wonky, or the plate hanger wonky? It's triggering my OCD

Dont think the plate hanger is wonky, the reflector definitely is though- it's held on a bending flappy rubber bracket, which is deformed- it's coming off

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

What's the power output likely to be and how much does it weigh?
Race you with my 37 year old 350 2 stroke.

[Tricky]

What's the power output likely to be and how much does it weigh?
Race you with my 37 year old 350 2 stroke.

My 2017 390 Duke produced 39.1 rwhp bog stock, we got that up to a whopping 42.58 (every .01 counts at this level ) with fuelling tweaks and no other changes, but that doesn't really tell the whole story- the big gains were in the midrange.
I expect to do better with this one, with the airbox and exhaust mods and a bit more work, hopefully 45 or so, possibly even 1 or two more
Dry weight of these is 140 odd kilos, so 160ish fuelled, I expect mine to be ~ 10kg less than stock, ready to race, as it were , and you are on mister, I accept that challenge!

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

My 2017 390 Duke produced 39.1 rwhp bog stock, we got that up to a whopping 42.58 (every .01 counts at this level ) with fuelling tweaks and no other changes, but that doesn't really tell the whole story- the big gains were in the midrange.
I expect to do better with this one, with the airbox and exhaust mods and a bit more work, hopefully 45 or so, possibly even 1 or two more
Dry weight of these is 140 odd kilos, so 160ish fuelled, I expect mine to be ~ 10kg less than stock, ready to race, as it were , and you are on mister, I accept that challenge!

That's good power, a standard 1980 RD350LC made 43bhp on Leon Moss's dyno in the mid 80s, a standard YPVS made 49bhp on the same day, so the 390 is making good power for a 4 stroke single. Apparently a 350 YPVS is 143kg dry, so it should be an evenish race (so long as there are no corners, at which point the KTM should eat the wobbly old Yamaha)

[Claude]

I love the idea of one of these as a trackday toy.


(if I did regular trackdays etc)

[weeksy]

I love the idea of one of these as a trackday toy.


(if I did regular trackdays etc)

You've got to be VERY VERY good to get the most out of the power bhp things, like crazy good.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I love the idea of one of these as a trackday toy.


(if I did regular trackdays etc)

You've got to be VERY VERY good to get the most out of the power bhp things, like crazy good.

I'm not sure what that means, but I find it easier to use a low bhp bike on track than a big bhp bike, though it's easier to overtake on a big power bike, I suppose it depends on what you want out of a trackday, for me it's about going round corners as fast as I can rather than straight line speed.

[weeksy]

I love the idea of one of these as a trackday toy.


(if I did regular trackdays etc)

You've got to be VERY VERY good to get the most out of the power bhp things, like crazy good.

I'm not sure what that means, but I find it easier to use a low bhp bike on track than a big bhp bike, though it's easier to overtake on a big power bike, I suppose it depends on what you want out of a trackday, for me it's about going round corners as fast as I can rather than straight line speed.

IN simple terms, to run with the group, it's pretty damn tough on bikes that are underpowered.

[Tricky]

My 2017 390 Duke produced 39.1 rwhp bog stock, we got that up to a whopping 42.58 (every .01 counts at this level ) with fuelling tweaks and no other changes, but that doesn't really tell the whole story- the big gains were in the midrange.
I expect to do better with this one, with the airbox and exhaust mods and a bit more work, hopefully 45 or so, possibly even 1 or two more
Dry weight of these is 140 odd kilos, so 160ish fuelled, I expect mine to be ~ 10kg less than stock, ready to race, as it were , and you are on mister, I accept that challenge!

That's good power, a standard 1980 RD350LC made 43bhp on Leon Moss's dyno in the mid 80s, a standard YPVS made 49bhp on the same day, so the 390 is making good power for a 4 stroke single. Apparently a 350 YPVS is 143kg dry, so it should be an evenish race (so long as there are no corners, at which point the KTM should eat the wobbly old Yamaha)

Well maybe your wobbly old Yamaha yep, but a YPVS can still be made to go round corners and get around a circuit at a decent speed without needing expensive special bits- way back in the late '80s I could get mine around Brands Indy in the 57s and Snetterton in sub 1:20 - and that was of course on 1980s tyres

[weeksy]

My 2017 390 Duke produced 39.1 rwhp bog stock, we got that up to a whopping 42.58 (every .01 counts at this level ) with fuelling tweaks and no other changes, but that doesn't really tell the whole story- the big gains were in the midrange.
I expect to do better with this one, with the airbox and exhaust mods and a bit more work, hopefully 45 or so, possibly even 1 or two more
Dry weight of these is 140 odd kilos, so 160ish fuelled, I expect mine to be ~ 10kg less than stock, ready to race, as it were , and you are on mister, I accept that challenge!

That's good power, a standard 1980 RD350LC made 43bhp on Leon Moss's dyno in the mid 80s, a standard YPVS made 49bhp on the same day, so the 390 is making good power for a 4 stroke single. Apparently a 350 YPVS is 143kg dry, so it should be an evenish race (so long as there are no corners, at which point the KTM should eat the wobbly old Yamaha)

Well maybe your wobbly old Yamaha yep, but a YPVS can still be made to go round corners and get around a circuit at a decent speed without needing expensive special bits- way back in the late '80s I could get mine around Brands Indy in the 57s and Snetterton in sub 1:20 - and that was of course on 1980s tyres

I struggled to manage that at Brands on a GSXR750. If i'd known you had timings i'd have checked yours at Brands on the 765, would have been interesting to know.

[crust]

We should have a chat about the tuning.

Depending on where the figures come from my 350 'may' be around the 40 mark as standard and there's a number of tuning options to get more.

[Claude]

You've got to be VERY VERY good to get the most out of the power bhp things, like crazy good.

I'm not sure what that means, but I find it easier to use a low bhp bike on track than a big bhp bike, though it's easier to overtake on a big power bike, I suppose it depends on what you want out of a trackday, for me it's about going round corners as fast as I can rather than straight line speed.

IN simple terms, to run with the group, it's pretty damn tough on bikes that are underpowered.

Last time at Pembrey when Smixxy had her 390 the SV couldn't pass on the straights, I was surprised how much poke the lil ktm had!

[Tricky]

That's good power, a standard 1980 RD350LC made 43bhp on Leon Moss's dyno in the mid 80s, a standard YPVS made 49bhp on the same day, so the 390 is making good power for a 4 stroke single. Apparently a 350 YPVS is 143kg dry, so it should be an evenish race (so long as there are no corners, at which point the KTM should eat the wobbly old Yamaha)

Well maybe your wobbly old Yamaha yep, but a YPVS can still be made to go round corners and get around a circuit at a decent speed without needing expensive special bits- way back in the late '80s I could get mine around Brands Indy in the 57s and Snetterton in sub 1:20 - and that was of course on 1980s tyres

I struggled to manage that at Brands on a GSXR750. If i'd known you had timings i'd have checked yours at Brands on the 765, would have been interesting to know.

Depressing for me more like!
- I very much doubt I was too much under my old 1980s times on the 765.
Could do 50.x on the ZX10 at my trackday peak, 10-12 years ago, but never quite managed to break into the 40s, and I never will now I guess, I'm definitely not getting quicker with age!

We should have a chat about the tuning.

Depending on where the figures come from my 350 'may' be around the 40 mark as standard and there's a number of tuning options to get more.

Defo- and hopefully that will be this week-end eh, if the weather gods are with us