[arun1100]

Thank you all for the kind words!

Here are few pics from yesterday's ride in the Bullet along with Bhpian Sujith1100 in his R15, Bhpian Karthik1100 in my Unicorn and Bhpian funkykar in his RX 135. We went on a 200 kms ride along the Hyderabad highway at 10pm and returned back at 4am. The 51 year old Bullet rode perfectly!

[SulemanP]

Originally Posted by arun1100

Bullets rarely die!

This is epic story of the vehicle, its owner & the thirst to it back. I enjoyed reading the post and the most epic sentence is "Bullets rarely die!" this is so true, you proved it to be true

Enjoy your rides

[Hammer & Anvil]

What a fantastic story. Congratulations are in order. I am missing my Hero Honda from 1987.... and have hopes that i will find it one day.

Originally Posted by arun1100

Story of our 1971 Royal Enfield Bullet!

Prelude!
It's not often we get lucky to

[rajeevsulu]

Wow! Some lost and found tale! You are lucky that the bike was not stripped down and sold off. My friends Rx100 was stolen in pondy and the found the chassis in cuddalore and the engine and gearbox had supposedly been sold to the then active LTTE for use on their speedboat

[arun1100]

It's 2 years since the Bullet came home and I have am having great time riding this motorcycle regularly. Bhpian Funkykar is assisting me in sourcing good quality spares which will be used for the upcoming restoration. Here are some pics taken recently.

[katsumoto]

Your story in cortoq.

https://www.cartoq.com/son-finds-dad...oom-condition/

Nice one.

[tdc-blast]

I can associate with the happiness on your father's face. His memories of youth are associated with the bike. It was a prized possession during the 1970's, few could afford it. I inherited my father's enfield of 1969. Any change in the thump and he could recognize the problem in the the bike. He is no more with us, but the thump continues.
It was joy to see those pictures of restoration. But liked the first pic of your father with the bullet in early years.
It's inspiring to see people like you who are willing to put in the hard work and dedication to ensure these treasures live on for future generations to appreciate. Your restored Royal Enfield will undoubtedly turn heads and be a source of pride and joy. Kudos to you for your passion and perseverance! 🏍👏✨

[arun1100]

Restoration of the Bullet to it's full glory! - May 2023 to April 2024

Quoting my post from Sept 2021

Originally Posted by arun1100

Restoration Plan:
Now that the Bullet is home, the next thing was to restore it to full glory. The options were to just do the mechanical repairs or do a complete ground-up restoration. I was not very keen on doing a complete restoration primarily due to covid constraints, also due to lack of time to follow up on the restoration. Moreover, the Bullet was running fine - the Mysore to Bangalore ride proved the Bullet was quite a runner.

Dad and I decided to leave the Bullet at Mehboob garage for quick mechanical restoration and correcting the overdone body/ cosmetics of the Bullet. As I said in the previous post, this is the garage Dad used to visit in the '70s and '80s! Dad met the chief mechanic after 3 decades and briefed him of the expectation from the quick restoration. The mechanic was happy to work on the Bullet again and obliged to do their best.

Kindly read the first post of this thread to know how I acquired this motorcycle! Two years after the Bullet was found, purchased and partly restored, it was time for the complete restoration. The Bullet ran flawlessly during the last two years post the quick restoration. The Bullet being my daily ride and considering the Bullet was now 52 years old and me touching 40, I felt it was the right time for doing up the ground-up restoration.

The Bullet was serviced at Mehboob garage since '80s, I decided to get the restoration done at the same garage. In May 2023, I visited Mr. Syed and Nawaaz of Mehboob garage and told them about my aspirations of the Bullet and what I expected of the restoration. They inspected the Bullet and gave some info on the works to be done and approximate costs and the timeline for restoration to complete.

My expectation from the Bullet is a perfectly done up engine with any modern bits to make it more reliable and, should look like a 1971 Bullet. Some exceptions from originality are ok with me like the cosmetics, latest type meters, switches, handle etc which are modern but OE from RE.

With the understanding and expectations clear between the Garage people and me, we started off with the restoration!

Restoration begins! - May 2023

Mr. Syed, owner of the Mehboob Garage


Closely inspecting to estimate the works to be done


Nawaaz also inspects


Selfie with the Bullet before it was dismantled!


In few hours time, the entire Bullet was split into parts






Chassis


All the parts which are not needed by the garage are loaded in my car for safe storage


The Engine being dismantled




Heavy crank of 9.1 kgs


Mr. Syed examines the engine parts


Daughter Yashna. During a regular visit to the garage.

Bullet's Body and Chassis work - July 2023

The body parts' tinkering were done


Tool boxes


Corroded parts were patch welded


Chassis being worked upon




Body parts prep work before the painting




At the painter's garage.


Seen here are the painted parts of other vehicles

Stickering on the painted body parts - November 2023

Here's my Bullet's tank painted and ready for applying the sticker. Lacquering is pending.


Mr. Syed applying the various stickers


Rear mudguard. Sample tail light was fixed to know the position of the sticker to be stuck


Yashna with the painted tool box!


Sticker applied


Here's the completely painted tool box

[arun1100]

Bullet's Engine Assembly - Feb 2024

9 months after the restoration started, the body parts and engine components were ready. Plan was to assemble the engine and place it on the chassis frame and complete the fitting of the body parts.

The engine casings were buffed, all the nuts/ bolts were chromed/ zinc plated, the silencer pipe, muffler were chromed. The required mechanical parts like the bearings, head, bore, gearbox parts, packing kit etc were all kept ready and then started the engine's assembly. I was fortunate enough to witness the assembly of the complete engine as seen in the pics below.

Mr. Syed starts off assembling the engine


New bearings




Fitting the crank


Applying the sealant on packing


Assembling of the engine begins!




Partly assembled engine sits on the chassis


Bore and head assembled






Nawaaz is fitting the clutch case


Coil and clutch asembled


Clutch case cover


Carburettor is fitted and we were not getting close to starting the engine




Karak chai at the garage, late in the night during the engine's assembly


Engine oil for the Bullet!


Filling the Engine oil


Engine and the components were all assembled.


Now it was time to fire the engine. Here's the video of the first start!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u10N...ature=youtu.be

[arun1100]

Bullet's body assembly, electricals and cosmetic parts - March 2024

Since the engine was assembled and fixed on the chassis, the last phase of the restoration was to fix the two new wheels, adjust the brakes, fit the tank, tool boxes, meters and fit rest of the body parts. Appreciate Royal Enfield's efforts to supply OE parts of older model of Bullets. All the new parts fitted were from RE and all the parts had the dealer code on the part - 2328 as Mehboob Garage is RE Authorized service center.

11 months into the restoration, my daughter, me were all excited to see the restored Bullet. I spent lot of hours all through the restoration at the garage monitoring the restoration tasks and will cherish this forever!

Yashna with the Bullet's new tyres!


Posing with the Bullet


Nawaaz starts assembling the body parts


Tool boxes being fitted


Treats served at the garage during my long duration visit at the garage!


Front wheel being fitted


Lights lit as the wiring and connection were complete!


Fixing of the silencer pipe


Final inspection




Petrol being filled.


Finally, the finishing moments.


Selfie with Yashna during our garage visits


GIF of the various OE parts used in the restoration. All are RE OE parts


Team photo with the Restored Bullet! Each one of them have put in real efforts in finishing this restoration

[arun1100]

Gleaming Bullet back at home - April 2024

15 years of searching the lost Bullet, then finding and enjoying the motorcycle. Close to a year of restoration and how much I missed this motorcycle!! All I was hoping for was for the restoration to complete on-time and the restored Bullet to be the way I had expected.

11 months of efforts from Mehboob garage and countless hours spent by me at the garage, finally the Bullet was back home and happy to say, my parents, wife were surprised to see the outcome of the restoration. I always enjoyed the process of restoration and witnessing by being at the garage in-person. The restoration experience has been wonderful although frustrating many a times due to the unprecedented delay in completing the works. Next task is to get the documents updated by getting the Fitness test done. Looking forward for some memorable rides with my family's heritage motorcycle!

Back home after the fresh restoration!


Rear simple stock look


RE's OE Meter console


Buffed and shining engine!


First long ride with the restored Bullet!


Break time!


Long way to go with the Bullet


Bullet parked alongside my 1960 Ambassador Mark1. Two Black beauties!


Bullet's parking area

Dad and his beloved Motorcycle!

Dad invited his old friends home to see the restored Bullet!


Man and his Machine!


Collage of two pics 50 years apart!
Pic of Dad, his friend and the Bullet taken in 1974.
And latest pic of Dad and the Bullet taken in 2024.



Dad's Classics United!
1997 Bajaj Chetak || 1991 Premier Padmini Economy || 1971 Enfield Bullet


Thank you for reading, ride safe!

Best Regards,
Arun Srinivasan

[SithDefender]

The effort and love behind this restoration is heartwarming. That video of the engine starting up was just music to the ears! And yes, how cool is it that Royal Enfield still supplies all these original parts. There is a different nostalgia to these old Bullets. And beyond that, the smiles all around complete the picture. Kudos to Mehboob garage for the meticulous work they have performed too!

[Chisels121]

Awesome restoration Sir. One day I will also do a similar restoration to my grandpa's '70 vespa 150 which he owned for 46 years. It has not been touched after 2011 but I am sure a general oil change would restart the engine.

Also, I hate mentioning this but to my eyes the original green colour of your bullet looked way more regal than the current black. Didn't the 2012 electra and standard came in green colour or the halcyon green of the current classic would have been awesome choices.

Happy Riding
Regards
Chisels

[Vaastav]

A heartwarming story and a lovely restoration. The Bullet looks as good as new, so kudos to the workmen for a great result.
It is heartening when companies continue to support their old models, since it alleviates the headache of having to hunt for old parts etc. RE and Yamaha are examples that readily spring to mind when it comes to examples of OEM support for discontinued models.
I wish you many happy miles on your bike and may it continue to Go like a Bullet...

[Kkumar]

A wonderful article. Hats off for the efforts that you have put to full fill your dream. By the looks of it, the workmanship looks par excellence. All the best and keep on munching miles.