Royal Enfield Bullet 500 classic | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Royal Enfield Bullet 500 classic

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The problem regarding price/value. You can get a two/three year old low km Bonneville (as an example) used for around 8K. yes it is comparing used to new and the used bike will be out of warranty but you get the retro look but a much better bike, that is a good trade-off IMO.

I also see some 2018 Ducati Scramblers dipping below 9K...again a much better set of parts than the 8K RE--while still getting a retro vibe.
 
crankcall said:
Yup, nothing special there. Not a lot special in the w800 Kwai or an entry level scrambler . Or base model bonne either. It’s basic motorcycling , 1960/70’s ish .
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Oh it's special all right, when they go out of their way to ignore the last 4 decades of development in basic design.
Callipers that push from both sides are good, one sided callipers are bad, that one was fully proven 20 years ago.

Mount a 4-pot with a stainless hose on the front and they would no longer have to make excuses for it having a mediocre brake.
 
Except they dont make excuses, its just a brake. When the English had wrung all the use out of the tooling it went off to India. Not Unlike Yamaha's storied RD350 which was made for decades in India after Yamaha hung it up. Skinny silly tires, terrible fuel range and average brakes. It is 40yr old tech, nobody cares. Thats kind of the point.
 
starting to sound like a Harley thread
except this is about a 500 lb obsolete bike priced at 8K
not a 900 lb one priced at 20K
 
J_F said:
starting to sound like a Harley thread
except this is about a 500 lb obsolete bike priced at 8K
not a 900 lb one priced at 20K
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I just like the overall nostalgic look and I'm going to say very utilitarian feel of a motorcycle of that era. it's pure nostalgic and clearly it would be just a novelty for me
 
I like them too - RE
and HD

just drawing a paralell to the appeal of both brands
and how comparing them to more technically advanced bikes is a moot point

although the philosophies and marketing are different

HD sells through lifestyle branding with Heritage
RE sells mainly to a domestic market where a bike is an appliance

end result of the product is similar
 
crankcall said:
Not Unlike Yamaha's storied RD350 which was made for decades in India
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The Rajdoot 350 was NOT a RD350. It mostly looked the same but the porting was WAY different for the kerosene the Indians call gas and it had drum brakes.
You can still buy Rajdoot cylinders NEW, so some of the RD guys have bought them, ported the bejesuses out of them, only to find the cylinder liners are made of cheese.

The Indian Enfields are an exact replica of the 65 year old design of the English Enfields... just made from Indian metal.
The Radjoot was an Indian redesign of the RD to be cheaper on the Indian market and so they'd run on the available fuel, AND made from Indian metal.
 
Is a fact that as of April 2019 any motorcycle built in India larger then 125cc requires ABS.
Forty year old brake designs and cam operated drum brake are no longer going to cut it, even in an underdeveloped country.
 
If I were you I would wait until I got where I was going and see what is available when you get there. There are lots of models from the big 4 Japanese brands sold elsewhere in the world that we don't ever get to see here. Something from them might grab you eye and you would have the Japanese reliability. I personally LOVE the Yamaha SR400 but it doesn't come here to Canada. I'd love to have one though. Many other smaller displacement bikes available overseas. Wait and see.
 
crankcall said:
Is the RE really overpriced? its 8k. You cant buy much of any road motorbike (new) for 8k in the 500-650cc range. It certainly a niche bike here, for all the reasons that have been given.

I do get the giggles when you see an ad for one used on kijiji. "rare bike" " classic british engineering" "maintained by expert mechanic"
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Heads up, for those planning a RE purchase.
RE is now focusing on the 350 range of bikes (singles) and the 650s (twins).
The Manager at the RE outlet stated that the 500s are being dropped.
I saw the 350s with cat converters and it is ugly, the exhaust downpipe looks almost like a python that has just ingested a large animal.
Surprisingly they come with LED headlamps as an optional extra. Add all the toys and you get an inroads price of INR 200K (or INR 2 lakhs in the local lingo)

"four wheels good, two wheels better"
 
Yeah, discontinuing the Classic as of March 2020. A motorcycle first produced for WWII, turned into a postman's delivery vehicle, then sold to the masses. Has to be the longest production run for a motorcycle in history. I wish I could buy one, but too many toys right now.
 
crankcall said:
Is the RE really overpriced? its 8k.
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$7490 out the door new for my 2018 CB500x that I took across the country last June. Yup RE is overpriced.

But still there is an appeal with that look.

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and that seat. :coffee:
 
MacDoc said:
$7490 out the door new for my 2018 CB500x that I took across the country last June. Yup RE is overpriced.

But still there is an appeal with that look.

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and that seat. :coffee:
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It just has such an appeal to it, visually , mechanically and beleive it or not the name associated with Royal Enfield lots of history
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