Royal Enfield Bullet Classic 500: Spunky Thumper

Photography: Kunal Khadse      18 Jan 2009

54 years to the day the original Bullet rolled out from Redditch, Royal Enfield now has an all-new single cylinder motorcycle. Adil Jal Darukhanawala needed to not just have his eyes checked but also got a reality dose after an extensive test aboard this latest big bore machine.

Now let's get one thing straight at the very beginning, I reason I liked Royal Enfields too much, not to really ride them long, was that they were of the vintage kind, were soft oldies who spewed oil, vibrated a lot, had iffy suspension and so-so brakes. Of course they rode daintily as long as one didn't give them much stick, coming close to doing the ton meant a serious chore of tightening all nuts and bolts after one came back home and yes, also cleaning out the sump for the de rigueur oil leak. The one thing which many people did say about the bike was its beat, just like Harley's phased out exhaust notes, the Bullet thump is one of the most pleasurable exhaust audios one can never tire of hearing but hey I also want a bike which makes me feel good. I am nostalgic all right but I needed something more than just what the old Bullet was capable of delivering.

Someone somewhere within Royal Enfield must have got into my subconscious and heard the anguish (or maybe the sarcasm) for when I happened to get aboard one of the new Classics early this year - in Germany of all places! And was astounded. In fact many, if not all, of my gripes about Royal Enfields and Bullets were dispatched but as the Bullet with the all new fuel injected engine was yet operating in an European state of tune, I didn't want to raise expectations and nor did I want to go overboard in my desire till I experienced firing this Bullet on our roads.

Now I am not a violent person, believing more in the non-violent form of sustained reasoning to put my point of view across. Using this approach, I blagged myself a quickie ride aboard one of the new Classic 500s on the short track at the Royal Enfield works in Chennai. It was immediately like I had known this bike all my life and very similar to the one I rode in Germany barring for Indian rubber on it. Getting it to Pune was therefore imperative and lo behold, we had one bike all to ourselves for the winter in the super new classic green shade.

Now there are diehard Bulleteers in our midst but more often than not they have given up and converted to the mainstream. When the new Bullet Classic did come up though it seemed a role reversal of sorts was just unfolding. Riders who thought a two-wheeled green meanie had to be a Kawasaki were pleasantly astonished to hear the loud muffled boom of a single cylinder machine in an even more likeable shade of green. Man this bike seemed familiar yet it somehow was also different and let us use this as the start of a journey capable of unraveling an eye, mind and heart opener! Yes folks, this is a high caliber Bullet which you and me can buy, own and enjoy firing! - down most stretches of roads, for sure.

Configuration & Make-up: Traditional art form

No doubt the style genes are all mid-1950s brought upto date with modern must-have bits adorned in an unobtrusive manner. Now there is nothing to describe the styling of a Royal Enfield Bullet as long as you don't take in the cruisers which to me remain something totally against the character of this brand. The new Bullet Classic 500 plus its 350cc version do continue the same theme with rounded tank and massively plush saddle. However you do have to look at and identify new details which make the new package so very different. The chassis is identical to the one honed over the last half century but the swing arm and suspension components are different. The style shrouds for these might yet hark back to the mid-1950s but their innards have modern pistons, valves and springs to offer new age damping characteristics while yet giving a good decent ride. Overall the metallurgy has improved immensely and with the firm now having put in modern production engineering methods, the consistency of chassis alignment is pretty much up to speed with equivalent Japanese tackle. Never thought I would be saying this but you have to hand it to R L Ravichandran, the affable CEO of Royal Enfield and Siddharth Lal, the young scion who heads Eicher. The duo is the perfect foil as they did just about everything to change the bike while retaining its traditional character and appeal.

The new Classic 500 carries the traditional Bullet headlamp nacelle with its pilot lamps and large speedo integrated in one unit. The handlebar is not a sporty one nor does it intend to be, endowing the rider with an upright comfortable perch while not taking anything away from ease of steering. The seating position on the Bullet is so old school and so very welcome now given the bike is reliable, refined, powerful, responsive and pleasing to ride! The new engine, which we will get to in a jiffy, is key to this but on the ergonomics front, the single saddle seat for the rider and the squarish squab for the pillion give this bike bucket loads of character and charm. I think if I were to buy and own such a bike, I would junk the pillion squab for good and replace the present single saddle for a more Harley-esque version, better endowed but beautifully sculpted and I think this would suit not just the Classic to a T but also make this bike the best long distance mile-muncher which surely is its true calling in life.