[PrideRed]

The Bullet Journey



I am not a seasoned rider neither I have done long rides in the past or plan to do in future. That said I have experience riding for quite sometime now. I grew up seeing the Yezdi Roadking and Kawasaki RTZ. None in family circle had a Royal Enfield but the appearance, stance and sound – a big fan. Fast forward, I got my first bike - a Pulsar 150 in Flame red shade. Being my first bike, Electra/Bullet was never in radar, heck I learnt to ride bike in Pulsar. Round light, muscular tank, peppy engine- bike became an instant hit. While I loved the CBZ, somehow could not match the aura of Pulsar . Bike was not available in my hometown and had to book it from Manipal. Since I did not know riding, had to ride as pillion while Dad did ride the bike back home. Did not take me much time to learn and bike was my companion for 5+ years. I used to often ride Bengaluru- Puttur during college days and bike did not give up even once.

5 years later, I upgraded my bike to Pulsar 200 when it was launched. While I wanted a Bullet or an Electra, plethora of issues that one would have to go through was a deterrent. Yet again had to let go off the RE dream. I used bike for couple of years and sold it when car usage increased. For a brief time, didn’t have a two-wheeler until I got a used Activa back in hometown. Activa purchase was soon followed by another new Activa 3G, which was bought for city errands in Bengaluru. A bike was never in consideration. After around 5 years, let go off the Activa and was looking for Aprillia SR150. Found a well maintained one in OLX. I had this for 5 years and scooter clocked only 6K KMs before selling . With age catching up, lack of use case- did not bother to buy a two-wheeler again.

At my workplace, many auto manufacturers demo their vehicles as its inside a techpark, some two-wheeler manufacturers also offer test ride. One of the days RE had displayed the bullet and Classic, I took the price sheet for reference but didn’t bother to take it forward. After couple of months, Hero was offering test ride and I with my son took Xpulse for a test ride. It was almost 2 years since I rode anything and more than 3 years since I rode a bike. My last experience was riding a Jawa and Meteor in Jaisalmer. While I liked the idea of riding, Xpulse or ADV was not my cup of tea. I checked few bikes like Xpulse, Speed400, Honda CB350 for some time and then gave up as I felt that I would not ride much after getting one. That said, came across a nice low run Honda highness CB 350, test rode one and found it in line with idea of riding a bike. Bike was comfortable, decent power and had features but I could not connect with bike. One must rev the bike and frequent gear shifts were a mismatch with the type of bike. Another ride and felt the bike lacks character. Idea of buying bike got dropped again.

A month later, I was at a shopping complex, after finishing shopping, noticed neighbouring shop was a RE showroom. Me and daughter were casually checking out the bike, and sales advisor came and asked If I would like to test ride any of the bike. I asked for Bullet, they said Bullet has gone out, but they had classic 350. Took it for a spin and loved the ride. Comfortable, deep bassy exhaust note, oodles of low-end torque and riding posture felt perfect.While classic looked great, Bullet was a childhood dream. Asked for price list and told dealer will come next day to check the stock. Next day, me and wife went to stock yard where they had lot of bikes. While I liked the seat design and vintage taillight of Batallion black Bullet, the seat was too soft and lacked dual channel ABS. They had one piece of Maroon and I liked the color , Would have preferred the vintage tail lamp though. Came back to showroom and made the payment and asked to install few basic accessories like sump guard, crash guard and backrest. To my surprise, advisor told bike will be ready for deliver by 5PM in the evening same day! Reached showroom at around 6PM and noticed bike was ready for delivery with all accessories included. Delivery was simple affair and took bike back home. Bike was delivered with temporary registration. Was told permanent registration would take a week or two more.

I must say, a big thumps up to Jagadamba motors, right from casual visit to delivery to permanent registration, experience was very good. I was not forced on any accessory, and they followed up and kept me posted in a timely manner till bike got permanent registration.

@Showroom before delivery





The Bike

Paint finish is great, but gets scratched quite easily



Positives

- Looks great, especially if you like the vintage design.
- Fit and finish is good may be a notch below Honda/Triumph.
- Lovely engine gearbox combo. Makes for a nice leisure ride.
- Comfortable for two. Seats offer good support and right firmness.
- Suspension is great and soaks bumps quite well.
- For 195KG motorcycle, handles reasonably.
-
Negatives

- Even after paying 2.7L, no tubeless tires!
- Engine is not smoothest of the lot.
- Brakes are average especially the rear ones.
- Frequent service interval, needs to be serviced every 6 months.
- 6th gear would have made for nice cruise on highway.
- Clutch is a bit heavy to operate.

Appearance

Current bullet is almost same as the Classic 350. Not that the latter looks bad, but difference is minimal. That said the paint scheme and seat make the bike standout. For most, it might be hard to distinguish current bullet from the previous generations one, which to me is a good thing. While the bike is a looker, it’s quite common on Indian roads and hence not an attention magnet. Paint quality is decent and chrome finish on engine, mirror, wheels etc. go very well. I love the finish on the silencer and appears to be made well. Except for few bits like ugly welding joints, most of the bike appears ro be well made and finish is good. Difference between say a Honda/Triumph is not much, latter still scores a notch higher.

Riding the bike

Bike has covered close to 1000KM in 3 months and most of the ride has been within city. Straight line stability is quite good and feels planted. Bad roads are handled quite well, at the same time suspension is not overtly soft. Handling on corners is decent, though the bike does not like to be pushed too hard. I must mention the seats, they are quite supportive and are firm enough. I wish the handlebar was bit more closer . Footpegs are placed quite well.

Like riding bullet at 50-70KM/Hr. At these speeds there is nice thump, and bike is happy cruising in 5th gear. Even when speed drops to 40KM/Hr one need not change gear and bike won't stall in 5th gear. Gear shifts are smooth and finding neutral is quite easy. I like the conventional heel and toe shifter which is quite intuitive to use. On highway one can cruise all day at 90KM/Hr and may be even 100KM/Hr. At these speeds though there is no thump, I do like the exhaust note. Given the weight, crosswinds doesnot affect stability as much.

Engine doesnot like to be revved. You have to gradually build speed . Engine reminds me of diesel engine , oodles of torque but is hesitant to revv quickly. While Engine is smoother than previous gen, there still a bit of tappet sound and definitely not as refined as Japanese engine. Found it actually smoother than my Aprillia scooter engine which was way too noisy.

Other observations

- While I haven’t measured using tankful method, fuel efficiency is somewhere around 30-35KMPL. Fuel gauge is not very accurate keeps fluctuating a bit.

- I like the Halogen headlight, it’s quite powerful for city rides and goes well with vintage theme of motorcycle.

- Indicators are chrome finished and are halogen too and appears to be solid.

- Tiger eyes lights are halogen and look nice. These are not DRL and lights up along with headlight. There is no separate switch to turn these off.

- MID has basic info- 2 trip meters, a digital clock and ODO. There is service reminder indicator, which can be turned off.

- Speedo console is almost same as old bullets.

- Bike came with CEAT tube type tyres, these are quite good. Offers decent grip and looks neat.

- Round toggle switches for headlight and engine start/stop takes some time getting used to.

- While the horn is single piece unit, its loud and unmistakably Bullet.

Service

First free service is quite short at 500KM/45 days and what’s more surprising is RE recommends oil and filter change. Got this done are Jagadamba motors and experience was quite good. There was no optional extra added and bill came to 1000Rs. Fuel cap does not openly smoothly, and I missed mentioning this, as expected they did not rectify. Second issue I had was clutch lever play was on higher side, again I missed to mention. After getting bike home, got clutch corrected using tools provided.

Bullet is a simple bike. It does not have features neither the engine is refined as say Honda 350. Its not as fast as say a commuter 150cc bike and at times even an Activa may speed past you. It has mere 20HP and weighs close to 200KG. In this modern age with so many more modern retro bikes like Speed400, CB350, RE’s own Guerilla etc. does bullet makes sense? Well, I was initially of same impression and had tried out few other bikes over a long period, but nothing clicked. Someone wants to ride fast, nimble to handle, Speed 400 is a great choice, for someone who likes refined big commuter bike-CB350 may be. For me its cruising at 50-70KM/Hr with that bassy thump and a relaxed ride - had to be bullet. Extra power, nimble handling , squeezing through traffic or reaching the destination quicker, these were never in consideration. Be it riding to office (which is a 5KM ride) or weekend ride to favorite restaurant with my wife, bullet does makes for an experience. Yes, It’s not perfect and is probably dated by todays standard for many, but every time I ride – experience makes for its short comings.

Few more pictures taken during leisure ride

[Phantom 510]

That's one lovely motorcycle you have. Nothing like a slow revving long stroke motor from RE. Power and torque figures may look underwhelming on the paper but really shines with it's usable power delivery in the real world. It shines in the scenarios where high strung 'sporty' motorcycles gasp for breath. I have been riding one (Electra UCE MY2018) for almost 7 years now and has really impressed me as an owner.

[prasanna_indaje]

Welcome back to the word of motorcycling. Hoping to ride together soon

[EasyRider Suraj]

If you like the old style tail light from Batallion black variant, you can get it installed from showroom as its an official accessory for Bullet.

[knrn]

Hi pride.
Congratulations on your new purchase.
I was delighted to read your thoughts and sentiments on this motorcycle. True it has its flaws but that is what makes it endearing. Myself being an owner of the Bullet since 2012 and counting- it too is my daily ride to work. I prefer this over my Cars. A bullet connects deep. Congratulations once again and happy miles.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by Phantom 510

That's one lovely motorcycle you have. Nothing like a slow revving long stroke motor from RE. Power and torque figures may look underwhelming on the paper but really shines with it's usable power delivery in the real world. It shines in the scenarios where high strung 'sporty' motorcycles gasp for breath.

Yes, it is low on power and probably even a 125cc scooter or a 110cc bike can easily speed past you. As you mentioned it was never about speed or handling.

Video below sums up Bullet quite well for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3hO02XPN6U&t=264s

Originally Posted by prasanna_indaje

Welcome back to the word of motorcycling. Hoping to ride together soon

Thank you, I know a ride is due. With Bullet though, I might have to start couple of hours in advance to reach the destination on time and match your pace

Below are some perks of riding, should motivate to ride along.

Originally Posted by EasyRider Suraj

If you like the old style tail light from Batallion black variant, you can get it installed from showroom as its an official accessory for Bullet.

I had checked during delivery if they could install, I was told its out of stock. Will check again.

Originally Posted by knrn

. Myself being an owner of the Bullet since 2012 and counting- it too is my daily ride to work. I prefer this over my Cars. A bullet connects deep. Congratulations once again and happy miles.

Thank you. My ride to work is about 10-15min, I reach quicker in car but somehow like riding bullet provided its not raining.

[Oppanna]

Heartiest Congratulations and welcome back to the world of motorcycling.

Both our locations match

I think we should ride sometime soon. Have been interacting with @prasanna_indaje for sometime now but never got a chance to catch up!

[punjabitiger]

Congratulations on the Bullet!

I have been trying to decide between the Bullet, Classic 350 and the new KTM ADV390.

Weird comparison, I know. KTM is the most practical but Bullet is what speaks to the heart; to the little child inside me. They are such different bikes that other than both having 2 wheels, there is nothing really in common between them.

[Freespirit27]

Those are some nice angles you caught in the snaps, especially the ones close to sunrise/sunset and the 'frontish' one on a clear day!

I must say you have decided to own the ride for all the right reasons and for that it will never disappoint you while always keeping you engaged.

Happy riding the true indian thumper!

.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by Oppanna

Heartiest Congratulations and welcome back to the world of motorcycling.
I think we should ride sometime soon. Have been interacting with @prasanna_indaje for sometime now but never got a chance to catch up!

Thank you for the wishes. Sure we can plan to catch up.

Originally Posted by punjabitiger

Congratulations on the Bullet!
I have been trying to decide between the Bullet, Classic 350 and the new KTM ADV390.

Thank you for the wishes. Both bikes you mentioned are poles apart. I would suggest look at intended use and your idea of riding, this should help to buy one.

Originally Posted by Freespirit27

Those are some nice angles you caught in the snaps, especially the ones close to sunrise/sunset and the 'frontish' one on a clear day!

Happy riding the true indian thumper!

Thank you. Bike is mostly used for short leisurely weekend ride or to work. With bullet I visit places which brings back old memories and would never dare to drive a car to those location.

[Ford_d_Kool]

Congratulations again PrideRed! I too bought a black bullet standard last month and completely concur with your observations. My ownership review is coming soon!

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Yes, It’s not perfect and is probably dated by todays standard for many, but every time I ride – experience makes for its short comings.

Beautiful motorcycle.

RE have really nailed this New Bullet. A part of me wants to get rid of my Interceptor and go back to the simple, timeless lines of a Bullet. Such is the beauty of this motorcycle. The new frame, new engine, improved electricals are all welcome additions. There is no motorcycle in the world that offers so much room and comfort for the rider and the pillion. Thats what makes the Bullet unique. You sit on a wide flat seat, legs parallel to the foot pegs. Makes for a very comfortable position.

Granted, this bike isn't for everyone. For those looking for more power and a higher top end, there are heaps of other options out there. I'm glad RE didn't push too hard on outright performance cause that would defeat the purpose of such a motorcycle. The Bullet was never meant to be a dragster. It is meant to take you from Point A to B in the most unhurried manner. Thats what makes it enjoyable.

All the best.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Granted, this bike isn't for everyone. For those looking for more power and a higher top end, there are heaps of other options out there. I'm glad RE didn't push too hard on outright performance cause that would defeat the purpose of such a motorcycle. The Bullet was never meant to be a dragster. It is meant to take you from Point A to B in the most unhurried manner. Thats what makes it enjoyable.

All the best.

Thank you. If it was about performance, I would have happily picked a Triumph Speed, such a VFM bike. For me going fast was never the idea of riding.

I actually quite liked the Jawa, however my experience riding it was very poor. While the bike looked great, could not connect with it, atleast didn't get the feel/vibe of old Roadking/Jawa.