There is one thing that I’ve wanted to do ever since I’ve bought the bullet in July ’09, that is the Leh/Ladakh trip. The stock bike that comes from the factory, though adequate, left me wanting for more. I’ve been Googling the mods that one can do on the Machismo 500. Now, more than 10 months later, I have a few mods that I’ve been able to get done and here is a summary of all.
Seating:
I’m a short guy. About 5.9 and the stock seat on the bullet, although, sufficient, left me uncomfortable. Especially on the signals when I have to put my foot, where I found myself doing a balancing act on my toes. So, not surprisingly, this was the first mod I tried. Mithun from HSR services told me to go to “Rao Seats” in Shivajinagar to get the best seats. A quick asking around people, and everybody told me to go to Rao. I got the split seats set from him and put on my bike right away. There was a world of a difference.
Never would I have ever thought that just an inch or two off the seat will make such a difference!! I could now place both my feet flat on the road when waiting for the signal to turn green. And whats more, I could put the stand of my bike without having to get down.
- Cost of two split seats: Rs. 1600/- INR.
- Ease of use: Amazing riding comfort and confidence.
- My Rating: 5 star
Action Shots:
Handle bar:
Next came the handle bar. Although the handle bar on Machismo is the best in trade (for its class of bikes), it was still a little stiff for me. A quick round go Googling again, lead me to this. I had seen Shiv riding with the RD bar when he did IBA and called him up. Picking his brains for a while and thats it, my mind was made up. I went to Thirumala Auto Accessories on JC Road and got the handle bar fit.
An hour later, I rode away from the shop with the gleaming new handlebar and another boost in my riding comfort,which also resulted in a more confident ride.
- Cost of RD Handlebar: Rs. 150/- INR
- Fitting charges: Rs. 150/- INR
- Ease of use: Amazing riding comfort and confidence.
- My Rating: 5 star!
Fog lights:
With the above two mods, my riding comfort and confidence skyrocketed. But there was still something that kept nagging at the back of my mind. I had done a few rides which involved riding in the night. And there was also that ride to Sringeri, where I encountered fog for the first time. The stock lights that come with Machismo 500 LB are just plain useless @ night. With them, you’re riding blind anyway.
Before the Sringeri ride, there was a wave of fog light installations that started in the group, but none of it grabed my attention. A little more googling led me to Hella site. I spoke to the sales manager in Delhi and Chennai. The product, although good, the cost was prohibitive. A set of 2 Hella MicroDe lights was a whopping 5.5k INR! So that option went down the drain as well.
Then, one day, I was just ogling at my Swift VXi and an idea hit me like a bolt out of the blue! A quick googling again, led me to Alok Kulkarni, who had put the fog lamps of a Scorpio on his bike and got his job done from the famous Anthony of Mumbai. With that settled, I ripped out the fogs from my car and headed over to Vijay’s garage. We had to do some work to get the clamps made as we did not get anything ready made. A day’s work and presto, the lights were installed. Wiring done and I was on cloud number 9!!
- Cost of Fog Lamps: Rs. 2100/- INR for a set of 2 (but free for me as I ripped them out of my car).
- Cost of Switches: Rs. 20/- INR
- Cost of Mounting clamp: Rs. 500/- INR.
- Cost of Wire: Rs. 15/- INR.
- Ease of use: Great visibility, and looks just plain awesome
- My Rating: 5 Star!
Action Shots:
12v Accessory Socket and Switches:
After the lights were added, I was still a bit unhappy. Primarily, because the positioning of the switches. The lights are mounted on my leg guard and the switches under them. Switching on/off meant I had to bent down and operate the switches one at a time, which leads to loss in concentration and for me personally, was a pain in the a$$.
Another thought that kept nagging me was a puncture kit. So I headed over to JC road and bought the spanner, tyre removing rods, patches, sand paper, vulcanizing fluid, valves and the valve key. The idea of carrying around the foot pump did not appeal to me, so I did not buy. Also, I knew that BB has a pump and he can carry it, I have the rest of the kit. Then, I found Slime’s Power Sport Tire Inflator. I’m still trying to buy this, but its not available in India. Meanwhile, a colleague of mine got Coido as a gift. I quickly borrowed it and tested with my car. Worked like a charm. Now how to get it to work with the bike, as there may not always be a car traveling with us.
The problem with Coido was that, unlike Slime, it came only with the 12v accessory socket plug. Again, I had seen one on Shiv’s bike, but it was a contraption and not safe to mount it under the seat. I went to JC road, bought one cheap socket, and been thinking ways of fitting it on the bike, to no avail. I would ideally, like to put it in the right toolbox compartment on my Mach 500LB, but the air filter was in it, so that ruled it out unless I put a conical KnN filter and removed the pancake filter to get the box.
Yesterday, when Vijay was servicing my bike, he had an idea and told me that I can run the bike on the Standard 350′s air filter, which will also give me access to the box to put the 12v accessory socket. What an idea sirji!! That’s it, I took Vijay’s bike (A lightning 535 and wow, what a bike!!) and got the spares from JC road.
With the newly acquired real estate, Vijay fit the socket in there and after some cajoling, he also put the switches to my fog lamps there. Wallah, my dream of getting a 12V Accessory Socket and a more intuitive positioning of the fog lamps switches was fulfilled.
- Cost of 12v Accessory Socket: Rs. 120/- INR.
- Cost of Switches for the lamps: Rs. 100/- INR.
- Cost of Wire: Rs. 32/- INR.
- Vijay’s ingenuity in fixing the switches – Priceless
- Ease of use: Placement of the switches now allows me to switch on/off at anytime without compromising anything
- My Rating: 10 star!!!
Action Shots:
12V Socket with lighter and switches:
12V Socket – Covered for rain protection:
Head light:
After all this, I still ran with the under powered stock headlight and decided to fix that once and for all. I bought the AutoPal dome and it comes with the p43t socket, unlike the stock p45t socket on the Mach 500 LB. Next, I bought the Phillips H4 Xtreme Power bulbs (a set of 2) and presto! A new world revealed. The light is really powerful, but not the white light, which is irritating.
- Cost of Phillips H4 extreme power – Rs. 1400/- INR for a set of two.
- Cost of AutoPal dome with p43t socket – Rs. 150 INR odd.
Very Nicely written. I tried putting RD handlebar on my machismo500 but it was hindering with tank bag which I usually carry for long rides. Reverted to stock.
Thinking of trying lightning 535′s handlebar. Lets see what happens.
I have been looking for some good headlight mod. I guess I will try the one you did.
Thanks !
brother thats an awesome job u ve done with ur mach…looks like u and the beast are ready to take on the himalayas…i ve got the same problem with height man…am pretty short and i own an electra 5s…i ve seen many seats but none to my liking..but the splits tht u ve put on ur bike look so sweet man…and i liked it especially cuz these are not the spring coiled ones tht increase the height..am desperate to get those seats so can u please give me the phone number and address of the shop there?please do leave me a reply as soon as possible…my email is prathick.ramesh@gmail.com…if possible jus gimme a call and i ll call u back…+919700457274
Grt mods dude. Also u hve explained the things quite beautifully. I would like put up the fog lamps since i often ride in the night. I ride to Pune almost on all the weekends. I start on friday after my office hrs, nd always end up riding under lights.
Where r u currently based, would like to have a look at ur bike. Also do tell me if you had to do nay changes with batteries and the standard wiring harnesses. I feel with additional instruments like fog lamps and power sockets, will put more pressure on the battery!
Sorry Manjunath, I completely missed out this comment.
I am based in Bangalore and you are more than welcome to have a looksie.
The battery and wiring are all OEM. All the mods done on the bike are listed here. Except for these mods, the bike is all stock.
Is H4 socket the same as P45t? I own a Mach 350 and wanted to fit an osram nightbreaker myself.
Deejayz, I find your blog very helpful – I am no biker, forget being a bullet-eer – but I wanna get there! I am buying a 2009 Machismo 500 from another bullet geek and am excited to lay my hands on the same. Will ping you for help on mods if ok with you.
Cheers!
Guys,
Sorry for the delayed replies. I was a bit busy and not updating the blog.
@Albert – The Philips H4 bulb that I’m talking about uses a p43t socket unlike the stock P45t socket on the Mach 500. I had to change the dome of the headlight to be able to fit the Philips H4s.
@Chetan – Sure buddy. Leave a comment here or send me an email if you have any questions.
Cheers,
DeeJay
Hey… very interesting post. I especially like the 12V Socket with lighter and switcheS. i THINK I WILL GET THEM DONE!
But the thing is, i was looking for engine mods like bigger carbs, K&N filters, better exhaust systems etc. Do you have any idea where i can find some knowledge on this?
@Bodhisatva – Thanks for the comments.
About the engine mods, I do not believe in fiddling around with the engine and this being a Mach 500, I am very satisfied with the performance. But that’s me.
But there is plenty of information available on the internet regarding engine mods. Check out http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=210374878223 for exhaust mods. This guy makes custom exhausts and knows what he’s talking about.
These are some great mods for Machismo. I could not have found this site at a better time!
The headlight on my machismo 500 needs to be replaced. As usual the original replacement from RE is not available LOL. Does this Autopal unit with p43t fit without any obstruction from speedo cable?
Hey Satish, it fits w/o any obstruction and you’ll enjoy it greatly
Hi Deejay,
Your blog is informative. I came across your contact thru bcmtouring forum, Do you still have your bullet luggage carrier to be sold? I am interested in buying them.
Ravi, that was sold off long back. However, I have something else for sale now – the bike
Let me know if you know someone who is interested.
Cheers,
DeeJay
Ravi, that was sold long time ago. However, if you, or someone you know, is interested, the bike is up for sale.
Cheers,
DeeJay
Awesome illustration brother.
Can you give me this Vijay’s location.
I would like to take mine there for the mods.
Vijay is located on Banaswadi Main road. Here is a google maps link to his location – Click!
Devan,
Here is the google maps link to Vijay’s garage. Click!
Hi Deejay i would like to have a look at your machismo, i am trying to contact you and wondering how to … please contact me on this.
Thanks
Hey Vikram. Will call you tomorrow.
Vikram, will call you tomorrow. Removing your number from the comment.
Cheers,
DeeJay
I WANT TO BUY ONE ROYAL ENFIELD CLASSIC 350.HOW IS THIS BIKE IN TERMS OF RIDING COMFORT,MAITENANCE COST,MILEAGE & DURABILITY.PLEASE SUGGEST ME,WHICH IS THE BEST BIKE AMONG ROYAL ENFIELD-Classic350,Electra & Std Bullet.MY REQUIREMENT IS 60 KM/DAY FOR 5 DAYS/WEEK IN MUMBAI CITY HIGHWAY.THANK YOU.
I AM TOO KEEN TO BUY RE CLASSIC 350 AT THE EARLIEST IN MUMBAI.BUT, THE WAITING TIME FOR IT IS 8 to 10 MONTHS.CAN U PLEASE GUIDE ME HOW TO REDUCE THE WAITING PERIOD FOR CLASSIC 350.THANK YOU.
Hi RK,
All of the RE models that you have mentioned are technically the same, with the differences being mainly cosmetic and riding ergonomics.
Comfort wise all the RE bikes are great, except for the fact that you’ll have to get used to the vibration, which in my opinion is not much of a bother. I would suggest you to go for a test ride of all the vehicles and then decide for yourself.
Cost of maintenance is very manageable unless you tinker around with the bike and do performance mods on it. The stock RE bike is easy on the pocket maintenance wise. The mileage of the new UCE engines is much better than the AVL engines. My bike was an AVL 500cc LB and it was giving me an economy of ~30 kmpl. So UCE will most definitely give you more than that.
Regarding the waiting period of the Classic series, there is nothing much you can do but to wait it out. Unless of course you know someone at RE who can pull some string for you. Either that, or I suggest you wait it out
Cheers.
Thanks for sharing all the info on the modification. Even more happy to see that you found my blog on handlebar and seats useful. Thanks for linking my blog too.
Thump safe bro
subu.ps
Thanks Subodh. Your article was one of the things which helped me in deciding.
Thanks for stopping by. Let me know when come to Bangalore next time.
Hello Deejay,
Awesome information and thanks for the same…. By the way, you were saying that you are selling your bike? Is it still available and what is the price?? Am looking for Mach LB 500 and luckily you have one
Thanks in advance,
Sowgath
Hi Deejay,
Thank you for information it’s very helpful..
by the way you were saying that you want to sell your bike… is it still available, if yes am interested to buy… plz let me know the price or call me at xxxxxxxxxx.
Thanks in advance,
Sowgath