Royal Enfield Bullet 500 classic | GTAMotorcycle.com

Royal Enfield Bullet 500 classic

rinomato1

rinomato1

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I am truly in love with the classic styling and design of this machine absolutely lovely. has anyone had the chance to ride one? and If so how was it?
 
haven't ridden one, but interested in the brand
this being my last winter in this hemisphere
RE is the best option for where I plan to be: well supported brand

they are slow, and have a poor rep for reliability
lots of reviews on youtube, mostly from India
you know if an Indian dude is saying it's slow....it's effing slow!
the upside is they can be maintained and repaired with a basic tool kit

like TK says, check the new twin 650's
not much more power
but design and QC are much improved
 
TK4 said:
They are slow, with a less than stellar reliability record. Look at the new 650 instead.
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they're produced in india and. are like super popular over there for commuting and what not. just a lovely visual design aesthetically very classic lines
 
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You havent mentioned a budget only styling and design, if budget allows, I would suggest a triumph, like a proper english gentleman.
 
bummer
something from the inside came out
made a nice inspection window for the primary drive

not the only brand with that feature
z8Sg3sL.jpg
 
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I like the brand and have ridden several, the newer 650's are a complete quantum leap for the brand, its just better in several ways. The 500's if you find a newer one went to fuel injection (around 6yrs ago?) and are easier to start and run. The older 500's have lots of challenges, are not really reliable BY JAPANESE COMPARISON, but by Indian standards seem acceptable.
They are slow compared to other machines , but who wants to go fast on one?, its a 500 single.

Dont think because they are massively popular in India that that is any indicator, India charges enormous importation taxes on any motorcycle not produced in country. Hence the Enfield built at home is a hit, its a commuter tool the masses can dream about, its a step up from the 97 passenger bus.
 
rinomato1 said:
they're produced in india and. are like super popular over there for commuting and what not. just a lovely visual design aesthetically very classic lines
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Just got back from India and these were much more rare than cheap little 125cc bikes.

I think they sound funny. I believe they have a huge single cylinder if I'm remembering correctly? Maybe that's why.
 
TK4 said:
I owned one - the only way it would hit 100 mph was off a cliff. Nostalgia ain't what it used to be...
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Many moons ago I owned a Triumph 500 5T. Same analogy for me. Back then we had a club called "The Ton Up Club" Tried as hard I could could never get there.

"Off a cliff" fits very nicely. Thank you. :) also the memories of that bike. Ended up catching fire.
 
An Indian buddy of mine imported one a few years back, it was a nut and bolt rebuilt/restored imported from India, it was his childhood dream to own one however he couldn't muster the courage to ride the thing (or maybe to tell his wife he would be riding) so he gave me the bike. I have ridden it a few times over the last few years and can say it turns heads and puts a smile on my face.

What to expect:
  • It will turn heads. People will want to know about the bike when parked. It's fun around town.
  • Relatively easy to service, cheap and plentiful parts (although you may have to wait for them to come from India).
  • Fairly rugged, and reliable even the roughest Ontario roads won't scare the bike.
  • It's not a daily driver, you cannot reasonably tour the countryside
  • Road manners and performance similar to a 60s era VW beetle.
 
Mad Mike said:
An Indian buddy of mine imported one a few years back, it was a nut and bolt rebuilt/restored imported from India, it was his childhood dream to own one however he couldn't muster the courage to ride the thing (or maybe to tell his wife he would be riding) so he gave me the bike. I have ridden it a few times over the last few years and can say it turns heads and puts a smile on my face.

What to expect:
  • It will turn heads. People will want to know about the bike when parked. It's fun around town.
  • Relatively easy to service, cheap and plentiful parts (although you may have to wait for them to come from India).
  • Fairly rugged, and reliable even the roughest Ontario roads won't scare the bike.
  • It's not a daily driver, you cannot reasonably tour the countryside
  • Road manners and performance similar to a 60s era VW beetle.
Click to expand...


for me it would be more of a novelty, i seen one a few years back at a car show and I just fell in love with it. I did all I could to learn about the machine and then as I did some digging I found out that they don't really have a huge dealer presence here in North America and there are only a few people who bring in the bike. that being said upon further research I hear that the bikes are sturdy and can take and handle abuse. If parts are somewhat available and there are a good/decent network of people who can work on the machine I'd pull the trigger
 
bigpoppa said:
You havent mentioned a budget only styling and design, if budget allows, I would suggest a triumph, like a proper english gentleman.
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no budget needed I love the look and appeal of the machine theres a certain je ne sais about it. I love triumphs as well but they dont have the appeal that this machine has to me. triumphs are ultra modern where as this reminds me of a 60s vw bug
 
rinomato1 said:
no budget needed I love the look and appeal of the machine theres a certain je ne sais about it. I love triumphs as well but they dont have the appeal that this machine has to me. triumphs are ultra modern where as this reminds me of a 60s vw bug
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If you like agriculture feel, I would recommend Harley over RE, but thats just me
 
rinomato1 said:
for me it would be more of a novelty, i seen one a few years back at a car show and I just fell in love with it. I did all I could to learn about the machine and then as I did some digging I found out that they don't really have a huge dealer presence here in North America and there are only a few people who bring in the bike. that being said upon further research I hear that the bikes are sturdy and can take and handle abuse. If parts are somewhat available and there are a good/decent network of people who can work on the machine I'd pull the trigger
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There are lots of people who can work on these bikes. When you ride one you guys from India come up to you all the time -- they want to talk about the bike, about 1/2 will offer help for free if you ever need it. Parts are easy to get and , the main issue is they can take 2-3 weeks to get. There are also more farkles available for a Bullet than you will find for a KLR, and more bling than you will find for a Harley.

As a novelty bike it's cheap and pretty cool.
 
rinomato1 said:
...........for me it would be more of a novelty............ no dealer presence here in North America ............sturdy and can take and handle abuse. If parts are somewhat available and there are a good/decent network of people who can work on the machine I'd pull the trigger...............
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Really? These bikes have 1960 -70's British build quality and performance and will spend lots of time broken down and waiting for parts. Remember that the UK bike industry was total crap and went bankrupt when the Japanese redefined design and build quality. Just because they are popular in India means absolutely nothing here in the NA market. If you are looking for a hobby of tinkering with cheaply built sub par bikes and not actually riding ........then purchase one and spend half the season fixing it vs. riding it.
 
Mad Mike said:
There are lots of people who can work on these bikes. When you ride one you guys from India come up to you all the time -- they want to talk about the bike, about 1/2 will offer help for free if you ever need it. Parts are easy to get and , the main issue is they can take 2-3 weeks to get. There are also more farkles available for a Bullet than you will find for a KLR, and more bling than you will find for a Harley.

As a novelty bike it's cheap and pretty cool.
Click to expand...

Well ain't nothing wrong with free help lol. I would most certainly hold these people on their offers hahha.. but yes. it certainly looks like the bike does gave a lot of parts available so it's definitely more appealing now
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