Royal Enfield


Royal Enfield Continental GT 535


SPECS

Built 2014
Purchased September 2015, new
Engine 535cc, 1 Cylinder, 4-Stroke, 2-V OHV, Air-cooled
Power 29 hp / 21 kw at 5,100 rpm
Torque 44 Nm at 4,000 rpm
Transmission 5 Speed, 7 plates wet clutch, Chain drive
Brakes front 2 piston floating caliper, 300 mm floating disc
Brakes rear 1 piston floating caliper, 240 mm disc
Tires front 100/90-18 Pirelli Speed Demon
Tires rear 130/70-18 Pirelli Speed Demon
Curb weight 185 kg

UPGRADES AND ALTERATIONS

ENGINE, EXHAUST

   Sport exhaust
   The Continental GT comes with a heavy, big and aesthetically rather unpleasant           
   muffler which I replaced with a Sports Silencer GT from NFIELD GEAR. This muffler   
   was a bit to noisy for my taste so I disassembled it, installed a drag pipe mini baffle
   from SAM POWER SPORTS and repacked with fiber glass.

   Exhaust heat shield
   Contrary to the OEM muffler, the Sports Silencer does not have a heat shield, and
   after burning my leg a couple of times I designed and installed a heat shield made
   from polished aluminum rods.

   Evaporation emission control system
   For California, the Continental GT is equipped with a black plastic charcoal canister
   mounted right in front of the engine. The canister and all the hoses connected to it look
   rather ugly and I removed the whole system.   

FRAME

   Engine Bay
   The engine bay area (the area in front of the air filter and battery) looked quite
   messy with cables, connectors etc. and I designed/installed a cover from polished
   aluminum which gives it a much cleaner look. 

   Front fender 
   In order to emphasis the “classic” style I designed/installed an aluminum “license
   plate” with the label “GT 535” which follows the curvature of the front fender.

   Rear fender 
   I removed the OEM black plastic extension of the rear fender and designed/installed
   an aluminum license plate holder (painted black) with mounting points for the rear
   blinkers.
 

   Splash guard 
   In order to prevent the engine getting hit from debris picked up by the front wheel,
   I designed/installed a stainless steel splash guard mounted to the frame in front of the
   engine housing. 
 

    Chain guard
    The OEM chain guard is made from plastic and shows poor fitting. I designed/installed
    a new chain guard made from aluminum, painted in black.

    Rearview mirrors
     I replaced the OEM rearview mirrors with round 3in black mirrors mounted to the ends
    of the handlebars. 

   Paddock Stand
   I installed two paddock stand mounting points to accommodate a paddock Stand. 

    Decals 
   The red left and right side covers looked a bit to plain to me and I applied “Continental
   GT” decals (the same as on the top of the gas tank) from HITCHCOCKS to both.
 

ELECTRIC/ELECTRONICS

   Headlight
   I replaced the original headlight with a 7in version from NFIELD GEAR. This headlight is
   a bit deeper than the OEM version and requires an additional extension ring between
   the original housing and the new headlight. 

   Daylight running lights
   The US version of the Continental GT comes with daylight running lights, which means
   that the lights are switched on with ignition, rendering the light switch obsolete.
   This is accomplished by a electrical coupling inserted in the power supply to the lights.
   Since I like to be in control, and since my bike sometimes showed the red battery low
   indicator, I removed this coupling an now can turn on/off the headlights with the light
   switch.

   Blinkers
   I replaced the original front and rear blinkers with shorter, bullet shaped versions.

   Horns 
   The Continental GT comes with two (!) horns mounted on heavy steel holders right in
   front of the cylinder. I removed the horns and holders and mounted one horn
   underneath (“invisible”) the gas tank
.

   Instruments
   The speedometer shows the speed in km/h in large, white numbers on the outside scale
   of the speedometer. Mph’s are displayed in small grey numbers on grey background on
   the inside scale and are almost not visible during daylight. (At night with the
   speedometer illuminated it’s a bit better, but still hard to read.)  I opened the
   speedometer housing and installed red markers for all significant mph speeds (35mph,
   45mph etc.)
 

   Garage door opener
   I installed a “hidden” garage door opener between the frame and the left front end of the
   gas tank.
     

   Float charger
   In order to keep the battery charged and conditioned during periods of non-operation I
   installed a permanent connecter to a float charger. (Remark.: I would recommend to use

   a float charger vs. a trickle charger).