[ranjitnair77]

Originally Posted by john doe

Hi, Very nice looking 500:-)

Where do you service it in Pune? And where did you buy it from: the long gone Raisoni?

Talking about heat, my bike runs so hot, I am sure I can poach an egg on it!

I got mine from Perfect Motors on East Street. They shut down a while back. For the last 8 years or so, my bike is serviced by Rafiq who has a small workshop in the Bhawani Peth area, close to Swargate. He is fantastic when it comes to older Bullets.

Your bike should't run so hot. I use mine in fairly heavy traffic every day from Shivajinagar to Kothrud and back. Is is running too lean?

[tharian]

Originally Posted by ranjitnair77

Thanks !


So I hopped over to the showroom one day and rode a Thunderbird (which was launched fairly recently), a STD 350 and a Lightning 535 (which was being phased out), back to back. Absolutely loved the pulling power of the 535 but wanted the classic look so booked the 500 'blind' without ever seeing or riding one. .

Riding a 535 and choosing a 500 is very difficult to do. But you did the right thing in terms of less worries since most of the 535's from the day they were released and replaced by the Thunderbird had overheating/seizing issues. Brand new bikes used to be parked at the service center with the engine totally stripped. When I picked up my 350 back in 2002, we were actually spoilt for choice with the different engine variants and models.(STD 350/500/Electra, Machismo/TB, 535)

Originally Posted by ranjitnair77

My 500 has the big 500 printed on the side boxes, perhaps that changed too. I believe the subsequent 500 'refresh' in black with thicker chrome mudguards with a self starter (that never worked) had the Bullet 500 sticker..

That's surprising since 2002 and after , all the models had Royal Enfield on the tanks and Bullet 350/500/Electra/Machismo on the tool boxes. Anyway, not that it is important.

Originally Posted by ranjitnair77

It shouldn't overheat too much. I've seen some overheating in traffic jams, between the 5-10 minute mark. Lots of heat from the head and the clutch heats up too and goes all gooey.

Fantastic to see that you have a 96 model. Have you posted a picture of your 500? Would love to see it.

My bike is totally fine in traffic. Its on long trips and after hours of continuous riding that it starts overheating and that is if I cross a certain speed for some duration.

There are few pictures of my 500 on this thread, in the last few pages especially.

Please post the right side picture of your bike as well.

[john doe]

Originally Posted by ranjitnair77

For the last 8 years or so, my bike is serviced by Rafiq....

Your bike should't run so hot. I use mine in fairly heavy traffic every day from Shivajinagar to Kothrud and back. Is is running too lean?

Rafiq is quite famous ( the old guy , right?) for older bullets. Only thing I hear about him is that he wants to rebuild every engine that he has not worked on before, i.e., all new customers. That is why I have never gone to him.

My bike is not lean, just burns more oil that it should. Could that cause the hot running? Most likely not. I am still puzzled.

We should catch up, I live in Aundh. Can you use the PM feature yet of the forum?

[ranjitnair77]

Originally Posted by tharian

Please post the right side picture of your bike as well.

Happy to oblige

Originally Posted by john doe

Rafiq is quite famous ( the old guy , right?) for older bullets. Only thing I hear about him is that he wants to rebuild every engine that he has not worked on before, i.e., all new customers. That is why I have never gone to him.

My bike is not lean, just burns more oil that it should. Could that cause the hot running? Most likely not. I am still puzzled.

We should catch up, I live in Aundh. Can you use the PM feature yet of the forum?

Not very old. I think he should be in his early 60s.

He is quite a character. Very soft spoken and has had the same staff for a number of years. Can appear to be quite vague and absent minded and tends to take his time in getting the job done, so you cannot rush him. The ideal way to interact is to tell him the symptoms, let him take a test ride and diagnose the problem. He is slightly more expensive than the usual mechanics.

He does have the tendency to complain about the engine but is flexible enough to not push for a rebuild unless absolutely necessary. His phone number is +91 98505 33411.

I don't think I have PM rights yet (3 posts away). Happy to catch up with a fellow 500 owner. My email id is ranjit.nair@gmail.com

[jeeva]

Friends on their way from Wayanad, Kerala to the Himalayas.
6 bullets and the darling - a 68 model G2.

[Fullrevs]

Took a 100km ride on my DS 500. Was a nice summers afternoon and i thoroughly enjoyed the bull munching the miles.

Me and my Blue Bird.

[Harshwardhan]

This is my father's Bullet.













He purchased this, used, sometime in the late 80s.

This was his primary mode of transportation up till 2001, and then after that occasionally for leisure and recreational rides.

Its been used less and less ever since. Now, although not formally accepted by him, he has been advised to avoid two wheelers as much as possible. Its been very rarely used in the last two years or so. That too only when he ordered me to go for a ride or take him for a ride.

He goes on while I dust off and try to start it up "chalaya kar bhai, khade khade kharaab hogi. khara sona hai, made in england!".

I have never been much of a bike guy, I have been happily zipping around in my splendor that he got me 15yrs ago. I used to take the bullet out for rides just to prevent my father from riding it himself. But lately the weekly rides to prevent the bullet from dying have become more and more enjoyable. I now cheerily take it out whenever the weather is good or even to just clear my mind. It has come to represent the time I take for myself and not just as a means to get somewhere.

I now see why my father likes it so much.


I do have some queries for the more knowledgeable people out here.
(I am a bit skeptic about the things the mechanic says)

"100% England model hai, aajkal nahi milti yeh" - true/false?
(Its a 100% England Model, These are not available anymore)

Is it really a 60s make? worth preserving the way it is?
(I was thinking of changing a few things. the brakes for one, horrible lock prone brakes a different seat maybe.. and a lock. it has never ever had a lock!)

[john doe]

Looking at the brakes and espcially the rear mudguard, your dad may be right about it being a 60"s model, albeit a late 60's model.

But I don't think the "made in England" part is accurate :-)

By the way : Why no front no. plate? And you are allowed to ride a bike with POLICE written on it, though you aren't one?

[ArizonaJim]

Based on the photos of the motorcycles built by Royal Enfield in the book "Royal Enfield- By Miles The Best" by Gordon G. May, 1962 was the last year that style single cylinder engine was produced in England. The book shows all of the motorcycles built by Royal Enfield from 1930 thru 1970.

Although Royal Enfield did produce some 350cc singles after 1962 they were the Unit Construction style with the transmission built into the engine.

The front brake drum and hub are a bit of a puzzlement.
With the exception of a 1955 scrambles Bullet that was exported to the USA in 1955, the last year that setup was used on a RE larger than a 250cc, appears to be 1954 when both the 350cc and the 500cc Bullet used it.

I don't see a rear mud guard with that squared off shape in any of the photos but that does not mean it was not made by Royal Enfield. Motorcycle companies often made short runs of special features like that to meet the local needs of their customers.

The turn signal indicators would not have been on one of the RE's in the 1960's but they may have been added at any time later due to licensing requirements.

The best indication of the vintage would be the engine serial number and (if it has one) the frame serial number.

There are a few people in the UK that have some data that relates these serial numbers with the year the motorcycle was made.

[Harshwardhan]

Thank you Jim!
The numbers on the frame -

[vishalrr]

The new and the old in my stable

[basuroy]

Jim is correct that complete made in England bikes were stopped in 1962. However they exported whatever spare part they had be it barrel crank or something else to india and these were used in the indian bikes for the first few years , there is no way to tell that.

The made in England bullets(as in imported to India and extremely rare) looked different -
1. headlamp nacelle was of a different shape .
2. The timing cover had "royal enfield" engraved on it .
3. The bike was slammed as compared to indian bullet or should I say the indian bullet was jacked up for better ground clearance due to inferior road condition here as well as initially , the bikes were intended only for army use which involves bad terrain .

There are other differences but these are the most apparent .

There is absolutely no doubt that the bike in possession of harshwardhan is a classic(pre 1970 ) , the drum brake(it is very rare to see a bike from that era still on the original rims - even if you change the brakes , retain the original set as they are a rarity ) and the mudguard shape are major indicators , the turn signals which back then were not stock are likely retrofitted . A proper classic that bike is , the original Indian enfields were more or less england spec since all the machinery imported were still fresh . Later productions because of imperfection in manufacturing equipment(due to wear and tear maybe) were plagued with issues - cam gear backlash being one .

[ArizonaJim]

The "G2" in the serial number might be something to go on.

I don't know a great deal about the early Royal Enfields but again, the book I referenced above shows the G2 Bullet as being made from 1948 thru 1957.
The 1948 vintage was a hard tail motorcycle but the 1949 was one of the first motorcycles put into full production that employed a rear swing arm.
The headlight nacelle was not similar to the motorcycle shown above.

The headlight casquette (nacelle) with the twin "eyes" was first used in 1954 and the G2 Bullet was one of the models that had it.
As I mentioned, this 1954 Bullet also was still using the narrow front brake on one side with the spokes running down to the spindle on the opposite side.

If this is truly a 1954 G2 Bullet it is in immaculate condition for its age and is a rare bird indeed.

[Harshwardhan]

Jim and basuroy, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom.

The brakes are not up-to modern standards but they are no way unusable. I will try and preserve it as much as possible.

Most importantly I will take much better care of it from now on.

Again, many thanks.