The Bullet Board

I don't know about you, but after about a year of riding and parking a bullet, the centre stand gets a bit wobbly and starts to lean to one side. Later the centre stand no longer keeps the rear wheel off the ground. After consulting folks on this board and the Classic board, it is clear that the problem is that over time the steel rear engine plates get fatigued and the spindle for the centre stand causes the hole in the steel plates to "oval" which in turn causes the centre stand to get wobbly. I don't know if this is a problem for the UCE or Interceptor bikes, but it is a common problem for the Bullet Models.

I tried to find a source for new steel Lower rear engine plates, Hitchcock's had the plate for the right side, but none remained for the left. So, I ordered a new right side engine plated. It is unclear what the difference between the Indian/UK engine plates and the USA version of the engine plates, but apparently there is some difference. When my right side plate cam in, I realized that I would have to get the rear wheel off the ground while I removed the center stand bolts. I looked online and found several China paddock stand for sale from $50-$150 or more. But then, I had a great "idea" to practice my welding by making a "paddock" stand to lift the rear wheel off the ground. I had an old bed frame in the basement that had been there for at least 20 years and I decided it was time to put it to work. I took the angle iron from the bed frame and cut it to the lengths which seemed about right and started the build. I found out quickly that my welding skills were not up to the 8th grade shop class, but, I kept at it as can be seen in the photo below:
As you might expect, the paddock stand was about 2 inches shorter than it needed to be.....oh well. I pushed on by placing boards under the stand.

Once the rear wheel was off the ground, it was time to remove the centre stand, start this by removing the exhaust pipe and silencer. Easy job. Then remove the rear shaft that is the mid-attachment bolt for the silencer. When this rear shaft is removed, it releases two larger cylindrical spacers (2 inch each) and one small spacer (1/4 inch) along with several washers. If I remember correctly, this was a 13 mm or 1/2 inch nut. Then move on to removing the stand springs, this was easy using a standard brake tool. Once that is completed, the foot pegs need to come off. After that the foot peg shaft must be removed, this required some force from a rubber hammer and a brass drift to drive this shaft through the spacer tube (approx. 6 inch long) and out the other side. Next there is a bolt or shaft that passed under the engine through 4 upside down "rabbit ear" protrusions on the bottom of the engine. This shaft does not need to be removed at this point, just loosened such that it releases clamping pressure on either side of the rear engine plates. Finally, there are two 13 mm bolts on the front of each engine plate that need be removed. Once one of these bolt is off, the 1/4 inch shaft can be driven through the engine case out the other side with a small diameter brass drift. Now, the rear lower engine plates are free and must be levered out from the rear using a pri-bar or large screw driver. Take your time, it has been in there a long time. Once out, examine the engine plates and observe the distortion of the centre stand spindle holes. The assembly should look like the photos below. When you disassemble this you will also see that the new plate has a metal tab (1 cm X 1 cm) welded onto each plate. These metal tabs take the brunt of the force from the centre stand and over time get distorted or may break the weld entirely. See the top of each plate in the photo.

After I removed the center stand spindle from the assembly, I noticed two groves in the at each end of the spindle. I assumed that these groves were factory spec. However, after looking at a new spindle online, I realized that this grove was gouged into the spindle over years of use. Not having a factory spindle on hand, I went out to the hardware store and was able to find a 5/8 ths inch diameter steel rod that could act as a spindle. I believe the spindle is really 16 mm diameter so the 5/8ths rod left a little play. If you plan to do this repair, you should see if Tim can get hold of the proper spindle. That would fit a bit better. Also, I had to drill holes through the steel rod perpendicular to long axis of the shaft, sounds simple, but trying to hold a round shaft still while drilling is three or four hand job. If Tim can find a ready made shaft for you, that would save lots of swearing.

The spirit of the Royal Enfield is the riders ability to maintain and accentuate their personal riding experience..I am quite in awe of your diligence in fixing your bike...Cheers to you, sir!