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MouthShut Score

92%
4.14 

Mileage:

Comfort:

Reliability:

Road Grip:

Appeal:

Rs. 1,78,016 (Ex-Showroom)

Royal Enfield

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The Real Bullet
Mar 26, 2009 04:20 PM 23793 Views
(Updated Mar 27, 2009 10:42 AM)

Mileage:

Comfort:

Reliability:

Road Grip:

Appeal:

Among the circle of Bullet riders I really wonder how many have heard of the Royal Enfield 500. I am not surprised if there aren't any. This was a bike that had a very quiet stint in the market. It probably sold the least of any Indian bike launched.


That's because in our country all we really do care about is fuel efficiency. The word “performance” does not exist. Even today, after so many years we don't have a affordable high capacity motor bike on sale. The modern incarnation of the 500, the Machismo500 Lean Burn is nowhere near the word called Performance. It sure has power and torque but common, 24 bhp is nowhere near the category of being powerful. This sort of power from a 500cc mill in today's world is a shame.


Getting back to the bike being reviewed here, the Royal Enfield 500 was the 2nd bike to be launched in the country that did have some sort of performance. It was nowhere near the Yamaha 350 but that's because of its old school engine design and construction.


This bike & today's Cast Iron engine Bullets sold in the market are still based on the old 1960sengine design. There has been no progress as such. The only thing that has improved on a genuine level is the paint quality. The overall fit and finish is horrible on the current bikes being sold.Its strange that the bike still has a lot a buyers but things have improved over the years in terms of engine reliability & more reliable electrical systems.


The last year of the 500cc cast iron was around 2002. It was phased out due to very poor reliability & the sales did not help either. Die hard Enfield fans still bought the bike and took it straight to the local expert Enfield garage and took care of problems. Those who bought it like a regular Honda ended up selling it in less than a year.


The bike I have is a 1994 model and I am the third owner of the bike. It has taken me a while to enjoy this bike. The stock electrical system is a rather useless 6 volts. This means that the head lamps can't be used over prolonged periods as it runs down the battery. Using the horn more than you should is also enough to kill the battery and once the battery runs down you really aren't going anywhere. The old school points electrical system depends heavily on the battery to keep the bike running. I upgraded my electrical system to 12volts after I bought the bike and the lights are finally of good use and there are no more issues with the bike dieing out of the blue.


Back in 2002 23bhp was awesome cause we had nothing like it. I don't quite remember the torque though it is something this bike has in dollops. The torque and horse power combined made this a real Bullet. Calling the 350 a Bullet is a big joke.


The engine is not high revving in any sense of it but it can cruise at a genuine 100 kmph without any stress on the engine. Top whack is 120 kmph but getting to this speed requires a degree of skill on this bike. Over do it and you can be sure the engine will seize or some mechanical bits on the engine will fail. Its not an engine that enjoys high rotations speeds for a prolonged period.


Let me remind you that is still an engine based on the old school push rod engine. All the mechanical bits are meant for relaxed cruising.This is not a drag bike. This is a bike for lovers of narrow winding roads.The gearbox, oh boy. For those not accustomed with the right hand side gearbox on Royal Enfields it is going to be a challenge understanding how it works. Its 4 speeds but you don't just shift gears as and when you feel like. You need to watch the engine speed and shift accordingly.


There is a neutral between every gear and only an ace can avoid this and shift as a slick shifting gear box. I am not expert but in 7 months of riding my bike I have not had many false neutrals and gear slips. Gear slips occur when you have not slotted in the gear properly. Shift at the wrong rpm and you going to get a cracking sound from the gear box. If this happens too often you can be sure of destroying the gearbox in no time. There is a neutral finder too.


I guess Enfield had to provide this knowing there will be a bunch of people who don't care about the working of the gearbox and hence will need once. So with this feature in place you can shift from 4th straight to neutral. Using the neutral finder requires a technique as well. I don't use it at all. I drop gears based on speed & requirement.Its easier done this way on an Enfield.


The neutral finder is there for situations when cruising in 4th and you had to stop all of a sudden. Its there cause you simply cannot shift from 4thto neutral as you would do on a Honda. Once the bike comes to a stand still I is impossible to shift up. The shift lever will not nudge in most cases. At the same time this gear box is considered the best and most user friendly for lovers of the bike.


Handling is beautiful. Its no corner carver though some will disagree on this. If you want to corner go get a sports bike like the Yamaha R15 as a minimum. Its easy to do peg scraping on a Enfield and for some ace riders the feeling compares to no other. Its next to impossible to dump this bike unless you over do it or you are an inexperienced rider.


The grip and confidence you get is quite amazing for such a heavy motor bike but then heavier bikes are known for their stability. Straight line stability that this bikes offer is still way ahead of anything still sold in the market. The same cannot be said for the brakes on the 500. Its hopeless for the speeds and acceleration this bike can do.The bike needed disc brakes as standard back then buy typical to Royal Enfield practices it was sold as optional equipment and quite expensive too. Rs. 8000 extra for disc brakes for a bike that was already priced at a lac was just way too much.


Reliability; I can't say too much about this. Its best to carry all regular spares. Cable snaps and blown bulbs was a regular feature on the 500. Over the years the overall quality of spares have improved but its still best to carry clutch and throttle cables at all times even if your doing just city rounds.


Maintaining a 500 does not require much. Keep oil levels in check, tuning in check, Battery nice &juiced up, electrical points free of moisture & perfectly adjusted and bike will be trouble free. Off course, all this was never possible if you dumped your bike at the so called Royal Enfield Authorized Garages. Chances are if you gave it to them you would end up with more problems. Its no surprise that there are just a handful of mechanics that can handle this bike and this is probably the most annoying bit of owning a Enfield.


For lovers of the Bullet exhaust note, nothing comes close to the beat of the 500cc. Its got a nice solid beat even on the stock exhaust.This is the true Bullet of all motorbikes Royal Enfield India ever made. It had the power, torque and gave you the feeling of ruling every road. There was a time Royal Enfield India used the ad line “Everyone makes way for the Bullet”, the 500 is the bike that lead the way.


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