Royal Enfield Classic 350 REborn. HEELTOE Gear lever review & Stainless Free flow Exhaust sound test 

Out of around 50 bikes, I have only had one that came with a heal/toe shifter and floorboards. It was a 1985 Honda Goldwing, a long time ago. I bought it used. Though nowhere near as big as later Goldwings, it was a big bike. The ride home was horrible, and I seriously wondered if I had made a big mistake. It felt like I was riding the Titanic, instead of a motorcycle. It was almost uncontrollable. It did not feel anything like a motorcycle. I did not know at the time that this setup was aftermarket. I quickly found out after joining a couple of Goldwing forums that the bike had actually came with a regular shifter and pegs. I went to eBay, and sure enough found a normal shifter and pegs for it, and ordered them. I pretty much let it sit there until they came in, and I installed them. Wow. What a change. The bike suddenly felt 300 pounds lighter, and actually handled very well. It handled better than I thought a bike that size should handle. It was fun to ride. All because I replaced the floorboards and heel/toe shifter with a normal shifter and pegs. I do have a 1979 Vespa P200E, which has both a hand clutch in the normal position, and also a twist grip shifter, also on the left side. It is quite clunky, but that is the way all those old Vespas are, and that is a large part of the appeal of all vintage vehicles to me. Unlike the heel/toe shifter, it didn't take me long to learn the Vespa shifter. Changing gears made a distinct clunk. You have to use the shifter, clutch, and throttle together to get anything resembling a proper gear change. I've had a ton of Japanese bikes, actually several tons, and I never changed the exhaust on any of them. I currently have three Harleys, and they all have aftermarket exhausts, which were on them when I bought them used. Had they not been, I would have installed an aftermarket exhaust. I did the same thing with my 2013 RE Bullet 500, which I bought new. It came with this HUGE, heavy, long, super quiet, and extremely ugly exhaust. It was so heavy it had actually bent the bracket. I ordered a new exhaust for it the day after getting it home. I left the baffle out, without even trying it with the baffle in place. It sounded perfect. The baffle went in the trash. I just replaced the muffler, not the header pipe. Unfortunately the UCE bikes have a straight header pipe instead of the beautifully curved header pipe the old iron barrel bikes had, and the old pipe won't fit the newer bikes, so I'm stuck with it. Actually, a free flow pipe does make an engine run hotter, because it increases airflow through the engine, but not fuel flow, which results in the engine running leaner. And leaner means hotter. I solved that issue by replacing the WAY too lean EFI with a properly jetted carburetor, which richened up the air/fuel mixture considerably. All the way from the 14:1 range of the stock setup, to a 12:1 range the way I have it now. That's a lot more fuel mixed with the air than any newer bike of vehicle of any kind has. The 12:1 range is what bikes and cars used back in the '50s and '60s, before the advent of the EPA. It's called "fattening up" the air fuel mixture. The extra fuel not only makes more power, but it cools the engine down, and eliminates sputtering and hesitation. For a couple of decades, I was seriously into air cooled VWs, and living in a place where the temperature is 110 degrees F for half the year, I learned you had to run them really rich to prevent melting the engine down, so rich that it fouled plugs and decreased power. It was the only way to keep them alive. And yes, I actually measured the temperatures, both oil temperatures and cylinder head temperatures. Increasing the amount of fuel in the air/fuel mixture dramatically cooled the engines down. I don't even try to ride the Enfield in temperatures like that. I am no longer capable of riding or driving in those kinds of temperatures, so during the summer it's air conditioned cars in the daytime, and if you want to ride, you have to do it at night.

First thing I fitted on my SM650 a heal"n"toe gear shifter. Personally I think it's so comfortable to use and totally unrestricts your foot ware. Keep up the good work👍

Remember my Harley mechanic recommending I remove the heal shifter when I bought my bike. He said guys tend to hammer on them bending the shifter fork inside transmission. Just be gentle boys. 🤓

A beautiful motorcycle with proper functional mudguards. It sounds good either with or without baffles...very hard to tell the difference on youtube. Possibly slightly better without. I'm currently considering getting a heel toe shifter for my Springfield after damaging my new boots. Great videos.

Well you done it again! I've bought and fitted the ss exhaust and my word it sounds great. took the bike for a 50 mile run today it was fun listening the the sound as you wind the throttle open coming out of sharp roundabouts or just riding a long at steady speed hearing clearly each time the engine fires. The bike now sounds as good as it looks.

Howdy from across the pond. I'll say this about my series on the classic 350 that you mentioned. Big thanks by the way! People seem to think I'm trying to turn the 350 into a sport bike by strapping it with performance parts. Was never the goal. Doesn't matter how many times i describe the purpose. Honestly the only reason i even tested the temps Pre vs Post fuelx on my bike was because i kept hearing people comment about the header changing color rapidly due to heat. That and everyone saying that the Fuelx didn't do a thing and it was all placebo. Clearly from a 200 degree F difference, something is clearly happening after the install that i'm sure of. I don't quite understand the point of the PRO variant of that product but maybe one day i'll install one on a scram and see what the deal is with that. Appreciate the mention for sure! Take care

I love the shifter on my Meteor 350 but with these wider footpegs it was so hard to use the heel shiter. With the original ones shifting is no problem. I wear sneakers. :)

Brilliant video as always Stuart and I remember the heel - toe shifters on Honda 90's, and I think they still are. Exhaust sounds lovely 😃👍🏻

Just closed my eyes and listened......beautiful I could almost smell it fantastic

I had heel shifter on the 350 I rode around Nepal last year. I'm a bit long legged for comfort, but got used to it. Not for fast shifting. I don't mind a few scuffs on fancy boots. It's a tell for a motorcyclist. I've got that pipe on the Bullet too. Nice!

Always thoroughly tested and explained. Well done

Thanks, Stu! Great info as always. I appreciate your thorough, measured approach.

I had a heel/toe shifter years ago and detested it. If I bought a bike with one on I would get rid of it. Each to their own.

Thanks a lot Stuart for this video. The bike looks and sounds wonderful. I have just booked my Bullet 350 in Standard Black shade, and will definitely follow all the modifications that you have done. Eagerly waiting for your Fuel-X installation video. There are of course other videos out there, but none that match your standards. Thanks in advance! Warm Regards from Japan

With the heel/toe gear shifter I have always changed gear by pressing both down with the toe and changing up by shifting my foot to use the toe instead of trying to press down with the heel.

Very informative as usual Stu, Thanks, i did the baffles in and out on my Classic 500 but it was far to loud with baffles out, it sounded great on tickover though.

Sounds sweet, baffle in or out.👍

Definitely baffles out good system 👍

Nice presentation as always! I like the baffles out tone best, a tad bit deeper sounding.

On the exhaust test Stu I thought that it sounded a lot better with the baffles in! & most definitely suited the bike! Good video 👍🏻

Morning Stu. Another good video . The only bike I’ve ridden was my Dads 60’s Suzuki. As far as I remember it didn’t give me any problems. Not sure I’d want one on my Interceptor though. I like the sound of your new exhaust. There isn’t much difference baffle in or out but I prefer without. The sound reminds me of the 50’s 60’s singles I had as a teen.

Hello Stuart,,Thank You for all you share here. I am huge fan of yours way across the pond in S.California. My sound vote from my ear is "baffel out". I went through 4 different mufflers for my Interceptor due to my obsession with sound but visual look as well. I settled for a muffler that looked so nice but had permanent baffel,,so i had to cut it out from the inside!! Love Your stuff Stuart..please keep it up!! Most Sincerely, SCH

I agree with your final thoughts on the exhaust. It sounds more classic to me. Lovely deep brrraaatttt!! Perfect.

I have the heel/toe shifter on my classic 500 mainly because I have the crashbars from a bullet trial replica on the bike and the standard shifter lever hits the crashbars. I do use it as a normal shifter because as you said I have almost no feedback. But it clears the crashbars so it fine for me and looks cool

Hallo Stuart, my Ural outfit has this system. I love it.

Just giving you a heads up. I have to subscribe after every video. Keep up the good work.

I have the H&T on the Meteor and love it. Recently added an upgrade kit with rose joint linkage and precision shifter axel which has transformed the shifting to "exceptional". Most ppl find the Classic comes with the standard shifter fitted too low. I think this is because H&T shifters are fitted as standard for the Indian market (maybe?) I like the H&T so much I'm designing an add on for my Hunter. As for the exhaust system. It looks beautifully made, but in Germany I would probably have to change it for a day every 2 years for the TüV. Not worth the hassle.

The new exhaust sound really good! In the tropics most (small) motorbikes have heal n toe shifters so you can ride with flipflops :)

Stu, I liked the new intro music! My very first exposure to the Heel / Toe shifter (w/floor boards) was my 02 V-Star Classic. I was not at all a fan in the beginning. I adjusted the height of the toe end of the shifter and ignored the heel end. But once I started using the total heel/toe shifter, I got accustomed to it, and I ended up liking that set up. I only wish I knew about the heel & toe shifter for the Classic 350 last summer. I traveled 100 miles to a Royal Enfield dealer I had scheduled a test ride with. The OEM shifter was not compatible with my boots and I was not able to shift gears safely, so I canxed the test ride after the sales rep was not able to get a tech to adjust the shifter for me. He told me it was a design flaw on RE's part. I wanted to then test ride a newly arrived Hunter 350, but the dealership had not gotten them road worthy. The trip was a bust. Now that I know there is a heel toe shifter available, I am rethinking getting a Classic 350. Thank you for this video! Glad you had a chance to check out the FuelX Lite video. That kid was very clear about his test goals and results, and yes, how anybody got confused as to his purpose is beyond me too. Good choice on the exhaust BTW.

I got my dad this exhaust for his meteor 350 have to say it sounds rather good .I personally prefer it with the baffle in I think with it out when driving around towns and housing estates it's a bit on the loud side.

They do have one for the classic 500!! I have one waiting to be fitted first warm weekend.

I had a heal tow shifter on a very early Honda Shadow and had no issues with using it at all. The pegs where slightly forward Would definitely go back to using them again

Lovely bike, sounds good stock, even better with that exhaust fitted, to my ear better baffles out, although nothing in it. Be interesting to see how the stainless steel ages and changes colour. Wife wants me to get a classic after she saw and tested the pillion, so looks like will have an RE in the garage soon.

The baffle rounds off the "snap" a little. It does indeed sound like a vintage single, baffle out. A quality sound. 👍

I'm busy making a heel and toe for Mrs H's Hunter, as due to a badly damaged foot I can't bear the pressure of upshifting on the top of my foot - this was actually why I bought a Meteor, didn't expect to love it so much! The Hunter shifter isn't straightforward due to the footpeg bracket.

Nice boots, Stu! You couldn't have them without the heel-toe shifter... 😁😁 On a more serious note, my Meteor 350 comes with a heel-toe shifter, and I like it. It took a bit of getting used to, as it's the first bike I've had with one, but I've come to like it. I can't imagine living without one.

Thanks Stu. If it's still a bit "fruity" for some even with baffles in I've used heat sensitive wadding to good effect before. You wrap a couple of turns around the baffle and secure with a few twists of thin wire. Refit the baffle and start the bike up. The wadding puffs up as it gets hot and you can hear the muting effect. It then stays in this state. Obviously you can adjust the effect almost infinitely by using less or more wadding as you wish. I got mine from *bay 🙄

Played through a blue tooth speaker definitely sounds a lower frequency without baffles. Very worthwhile upgrade.

A very pleasing exhaust note. Slightly lower in tone without the baffle I think but not much difference. Looking forward to your Fuel X review. I have one ready to fit to my Classic 500. I only use Super Unleaded in all my vehicles and whilst you have the benefit of a much longer shelf life with Super Unleaded (great with low mileage vehicles), the increased refinement and octane rating does make engines run slightly warmer, so I'm hoping the Fuel X will cool this.

Nice looking exhaust. Much more in keeping with the bike's period look. Definitely baffles out, especially as you accelerate off, away into the distance. Really nice. Err, just make sure you put the baffles in if you ever ride through St Mary Mead, now. Don't want to be upsetting Miss Marple, the Vicar or Matron on her bicycle, with the wicker basket at the front. I can almost hear 'Housewive's Choice' through an open window of a rose covered thatched cottage as you ride past. Just need Harold Macmillan telling everyone, '... they'd never had it so good!' 'It's an Empire thing, don'tcha know! Wot, wot'.😉 Another fine presentation, Mr Fillingham. 👍

Sounds better with the baffles in, from what I could hear.

Your bike looks and sounds great. Also your comments about heat make complete sense, I fried my arm on my Interceptor silencer (cats get v hot but hold much of the heat in) yet my old 790 Bonnie used to look like "Hell Boy" at night because the single skin downpipes got red hot near the exhaust ports, exacerbated by the air injection I'd guess.

Like many riders there, I had a heel/toe shifter on my little Skygo Earl Classic 150 in the Philippines. Due to the hot and humid conditions, lots of the locals still ride wearing Kamakazi safety boots (flip-flops), though the rules say closed footwear. Changing gear with wearing flip-flops (or lightweight closed footwear) means that a heel/toe shifter is the only comfortable way. They do take a little adjusting-to compared to a conventional shifter, but they are entirely practical.

I have the Hitchcock exhaust on my Classic 500. I prefer the sound when the baffle is in. It is a subtle difference but the baffle makes for a more pleasant thump.

On my Meteor 350 I put on the Red Rooster de-cat exhaust. It seems to be a little quieter than the stock exhaust with the baffle in, at least while easing around the neighborhood. It does have a noticeable growl out on the highway. But with the baffle out it's loud. Funny thing is there is 2 cross pins up half way inside the muffler for the law enforcement " Night Stick Test" for checking open exhaust. 😎

You described the sounds and differences well. To me, the volume was virtually the same. But I did like the deeper tone without the baffle. Baffle-in was a bit more of a flat or “blat” sound. Still a good sound in and of itself but the comparison makes the baffle-out a winner. I also like the idea of dropping a few pounds with the new exhaust. That can only be a good thing!

Heel & toe shifters are standard equipment on most, if not all underbones, (step-thru's), in South East Asia I've had four since moving to the Philippines and they all had H&T shifters.

Thanks!

Morning Uncle Stu. Thanks for sharing the exhaust information, nice to hear the difference baffled and not baffled. I have been on the fence about fitting this system, mainly due to the looks as mentioned. If it was able to be fitted with the original heat shields, I think it would look “fuller”, but that is just something to get used to. Thanks again.

Bike sounds good with baffles in or out, just a subtle difference and not offensive at all. Heal shifter, I can see the advantages but I've never taken to them although happy to accept I didn't stick at it

when i had a royal enfield 650 interceptor i fitted a stainless 2 into one stinger exhaust loads more bottom end and mid range and unlike the oem system it cools down so much quicker

I can affirm that the wider pegs affects the heel shift. I put those pegs on my Meteor 350 and found that I was having more false neutral issues. I ended up training myself to upshift by pulling my foot back and pushing the heel pad with my toe. It only took maybe a day or two for it to become a habit, and now I don't think about it. 😎

Had heel and toe on my honda benly . Hated it.

My 78 cali has footboards and heel & toe , i find toe & toe suits me just fine , tap up , tap down

Baffle out sounds. Waaaay better

That bike looks superb, even better with the new zorst! 😀👏👍🏍 One advantage of the new system is you can always strap your fish and chips to it and they’ll be hot when you get home! 😂🏍

Tried a h&t shifter, couldn't get on with it. Moved the OE lever up one tooth on the spline and got the clearance I needed around the lever for my boots.

Afternoon Stewart. Put my headphones on for this! Honestly, in or out she sounds nice? Safe cruising till next time sir 👍😊...

Interesting to see the heel and toe changer as I’ve got limited mobility following an off 15yrs ago but having watched you changing I’m not sure if my ankle would compress that much

All RE bikes which comes out in the Indian market, comes with default heel-toe gear changer. You should easily get it from the company spares as well. My Classic 500 came with it. I completely agree, the round type foot pegs are much easier to change the gears. Also regarding the exhaust system, I have the upswept from company that was available during my initial purchase of my C500 during 2011. I have the same panniers and bracket that you have in your "Mule" from the company and the upswept doesn't foul with it. May be you can check if that look is something that you can live with or like better.

Exhaust sounds great baffles in maybe more back pressure? But if in started to rattle in I would remove it.

I test rode one of these classic 350s on monday, and my only real complaint about it was the shifter. I've got some rather large feet (US 14 4E wide) and it felt rather awkward with the standard position of the shifter.

Love them on my classic 350 and ct 125, clean shifts every time .

I tried the heel/toe shifter but it’s not for me, as for the exhaust I’ve had one on my Classic for over a year and love the sound. I prefer baffle out but if you don’t replace the small nut and bolt in the hole you get a twittering sound on slow over runs. My clamp locked up or “galled” when tightening resulting in snapping the bolt so a little copper or graphite grease is a good idea, Hitchcocks replaced this FOC .

Be interesting to have a nicely run in standard 350 and a fully air filter...pipe...cam ...electronics....changed 350 ....drag race each other to 60mph to see the gain🤔🤔

If memory serves, Honda used Toe/heel shifters on their earlier models during the sixties..Certainly a 60s C90 l used for work had such. l don't remember any issues with it. Perhaps most of the potential customers required work transportation rather than 'Bikers' Bikes....certainly in the Far East.....

I mess up changes on the Classic 350 all the time. Don't know if it's me or the bike. Not long after the bike was launched, a number of commentators said the changer is fitted at the wrong angle for optimum performance, and re-fitted it at a different point on the splines. Perhaps a heel-toe arrangement will cure that? Last one I had was on a Honda Cub.

Baffle in, for mine.

How to take care of canvas panniers of Royal Enfield kindly make a video on that please

Very very good if i didn't know better you would think you'r riding a restored 60 year old machine.

People will complain about anything. " The stainless isn't stainless anough " Good morning from the east coast of the US.

I like it baffle in Stuart. Are you going to put the Kent cam in?

Stuart, on fuel injected bikes as the yours, the on-board computer should compensate for changes to the back-pressure generated by the exhaust (within reason, of course) in order to keep it running inside the operating temperature envelope, so the entire conversation is a bit of a moot point. On older, carbureted bikes, the rider would have to change the jets inside the carburetor themself in order accomplish the same effect; otherwise, it would run lean and hot as the ratio of air to fuel changes when more air can enter the combustion chamber without increasing the charge of fuel accordingly. EFI makes so many things easier, at the expense of simplicity. Trade offs, trade offs.

Thank you very much for referring to the video in which one of the users replaces the free-flow and installs "fuel x lite", correct me if I misunderstood you, do you think that it is not the fuel x module that is the reason for the drop in exhaust gas and engine temperature, but is it caused by replacing the free flow exhaust pipe? Thank you

Personally I’m not keen on heel/toe shifters. I’ve had them on several cruiser bikes & found that I ended up changing up by accident quite a lot. In fairness all the cruisers had footboards, which I think make unintentional heel shifts easier.

Stuart, are you not wary of your shoe laces twisting around your gear lever? Had it happen to me last week and would have bought a farm, luckily the lace broke and I saved the bike and some embarrassment. 😂

Having the Hiscox exhort on how does that effect having a MOT ?

Dear Stuart, I've been following your channel for 4 years seen all your bikes, however a question I'd like to ask is the 350 classic equal to the 500 you have? I'm thinking of getting a new Bullet but not sure should I hang on until they might bring another 500 out or would the 350 be enough with a few mods to release its potential?

👍

Is the lighter weight free flow exhaust noticeable when handling and maneuvering the bike around when not actually on the bike? Like when maneuvering around in a garage.

It's alarming that there are so many owners of motorcycles/motor vehicles that are clueless about combustion mixture and exhaust and are reluctant to be better informed.

@stuartfillingham Wouldn't be interesting compare RE 350 classic with direct competitors from Honda and Benelli?

Hi Stuart, Can I ask if you checked the weight of the original exhaust system in comparison to the Free flow exhaust - I'd be interested to fid out - Thanks in advance

Between the Interceptor 650 and Classic 350, which one is more enjoyable motorcycle for you?

Do those foot rest fit the 650? I find the 650s narrow and uncomfortable when I am riding when standing.

Fuel X on a Euro 5?

Dear Stuart, I have the dna air filter, fuelx lite and performance camshaft ready to install but the exhaust system is too expensive to import to my country (Chile) so i cannot afford it at the momment, is it neccesary to do the exhaust upgrade if i want the other components to work? Hope you or someone with more knowledge than me on this bike could answer me 😢

I've never understood heel and toe shifters until you mentioned that they keep your shoes tidy 🤦🤣

We live in a world filled with high educated people, lightning fast communication… Common sense, one cannot buy or get a degree in it, or daddy’s 💵 cannot get it. It is knowledge that builds up by years of experience, learning and listening to other people (in “primitive “ societies younger people listen to what elders say, so one doesn’t have to invent warm water every day…) How can one even think that this pipe gets hotter than the original one? The new pipe is hollow, empty inside… Probably it will be explained like this on Facebook, X… A workshop manual is most interesting. (A paper manual A4 format, many times used previous century (=classic)).

Now young man don't go all in on us and start wearing flipflops

Hi there friend, just got a signals 350, and noticed a high pitch tone coming from the fuel pump constantly while the engine is running, is this normal please, and do the ones you have ridden do this, tks

It sounds more 'manly', with the baffles out.

Lovely 👍

And now you can ride your bike with flip flops!