Thumper is repaired!
He’s been out of action for about nine months. My fault really because I am a bit of a duffer as far as electrics go. Thumper simply died on me and realising it was electrical, I had to involve myself in wire chasing and connections and possible short circuits. The wires and the connections are not that much of a problem, but a short circuit could be anywhere and generally where you least expect it. I dallied. Reluctant to get started on such a mission. I dallied for about nine months. Like being pregnant…
Two days ago, I got going on the problem.
The battery was showing 12 volts on my multimeter. So that should be OK. I had no power to the headstock though.. so one might think the main fuse was broken. So I changed that. No result.
I chased all my wiring up to the headstock No breaks, no shorts, no loose connections.
I looked for things that lie after that point. Into the headlamp, where all the main wiring is routed through a veritable birds nest of tangled wiring. No result.
And so it went on. Hopeless.
Finally, hairless and confused, I consulted a forum on the internet. Praise for my efforts but little help. Then a smart old fellah who knows Royal Enfields inside out suggested that it might be the battery after all. I was very sceptical of all of this because, as I said, the battery was showing me 12 volts.
I connected a battery charger to the system and tried the ignition. Suddenly, there was power all through the system. Lights, horn, indicators, everything seemed to work.
Scratching my head now, I could not understand this but I decided a new battery may well be the answer to all of this. I still don’t know why.
I bought a new battery. I hooked it all up yesterday. I let it charge for an hour to be sure the thing was fully charged. They seldom are ‘as bought’. Then I removed the charger and tentatively put the ignition key in.
The starting routine for a Royal Enfield Bullet 500 is as follows:
Ignition on, fuel on, set the engine to run on the cut-out switch and open the start helper on the carburettor. Decompress the engine with the valve lifter and kick the machine over two or three times. This gets fuel into the cylinder. Close the decompressor making sure the piston is just past top dead centre and then give it a kick over with the kick starter. I follow this ritual slavishly. It usually works.
And, JOY OF JOYS, he started right up. One kick!
I ran around my shed with my arms in the air, whooping with glee while Thumper barked his thunder within the confines of the iShed. My good lady heard the noise and stuck her head out of the back door to join me in my celebration dance. Well, not really, she just laughed at me… So did the dogs. They had that “Dad’s gone mad” look on their little canine faces.
I took Thumper out in glorious sunshine for a quick run around the neighbourhood. All is well again. And seeing that the weather is particularly good right now, I’m off to the coast before long.
You know you’re a happy biker when you have dead flies on your teeth…
The Exile Files 