Feb 15, 2007 06:20 PM
7599 Views
Bike Bike Bike Bike Bike Bike Bike Bike Bike Bike Bike Bike Bike Bike Bike Bike Bike Bike Bike Bike This is a great bike for people who are interested in long distance biking and who will love biking because they are a bikers.
This bike needs no introduction and it does not require anyone to speak for it. It speaks for itself
A. Road stability
This bike is stable on the road. You will not find any other bike as stable as this. The tires could
have been wider but theexisting configuration
is enough to thrill you in biking pleasure.
B. Riding Comfort
So comfortable that you can ride it all day. It is equally comfortable for both rider and spacious for pillion. The gears and engine is smooth. The beat is something you will relish on your travel.
C. Maintenance
This is an area to be improved upon by Royal Enfield. The spares are archaic and leaves a lot to desire. You will have minor irritants like Indicator bulb getting fused, brake lights not working etc. These are very minor when compared to the driving pleasure.
D. Overall performance
Overall this bike should not be looked and admired but owned and driven. The proof(though not required) may be getting featured as best bike in wheels of BBC(Indian edition)
There are some myths about Bullet which I would like to clarify as below:
- It is too heavy to handle. I cannot even put stand comfortably.
This is only a matter of practise - If you apply pressure at the correct point and at the right time, the vehicle sinks in stand gracefully. You have to learn to leverage the weight for stability and driving pleasure. My dad is a skinny short bugger and seeing him taking off on the bullet is often surprising to people who see him for the first time. My cousin is 14 years old, 55 Kgs, 5’3’’ and he manages to take Bullet 500 for groceries. Saying Bullet is only for big macho men is crap.
- It is too costly. I cant afford.
Bullet standard(Bullet STD 350 and Bullet 500) are the best models. They cost 55K and 62K respectively. They offer more value than any bike.
- It does not have the pick up when I need.
Come with me. I can take my bullet 500 from zero to 60 in 7 seconds. Yes, I have demonstrated. Only thing is you have to know how to handle. One piece of info Till date no bike has matched RX100 in its pick up. If it is not for the pollution .
- Gears on right and brakes on left.
This is not a concern. It takes about 3 days to get used to this. Probably a week if you are used big time to 100cc bikes. Shelling out 9K for thunderbird for this purpose may not be justified. Ah! There is 5th gear. But you cab get to go on 5th only at 60 Kmph - Only on highways. STD 350 keeps things simple and great. You can have disc brakes, raised handle bars as add ons to standard after you got used to it.
- Bullet is a zero maintenance vehicle
On the contrary, the maintenance part is more than you usually assume. Minor irritants like Indicator lamps fusing out, Brake light not functioning will become a regular feature. When will Bullet improve on spares - when pigs fly - may be.
Cheers,
