Replaced my 1995 Royal Enfield Machismo 350 with a 2017 Classic 350

The transition was deliberately kept as swift as possible in order to avoid any reconsideration.

BHPian SgtGAWD recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

It has been quite a while since my last post. The summer vacation and the anticipation of semester exams had kept me from posting. However, with the exams being postponed indefinitely now due to ongoing Panchayat polls now in WB, I finally have no excuse to not update this thread .

Without further delay, let me share the main update-- My 1995 Bullet 350 is no more (with me). She has been replaced with a 2017 BS4 C350. With that out of the way, let me get to the details.

The decision:

In my last post, I hinted at my intentions to replace the Bullet. However, I decided that I did not need to rush ahead with my decision this time and proceeded at a slower pace. I put up an advert for my motorcycle and informed a few people in the community about my decision. I had decided upon a price of 55 to 60k. This amount was decided after taking into consideration the total amount of Rs 57480 that I had spent on the motorcycle (excluding fuel and including the price of the motorcycle) The responses were few and the prices I was offered were way below my expectations with the incomplete paperwork proving to be a huge hurdle. So I continued to use the Bullet as usual. I did use it more as it was performing really well after the oil change. The Motul oil was performing great and the gearbox felt smoother than before. The motorcycle performed so well in fact that I logged 300-350 kms in 45 days (the motorcycle had run 750-800 kms in the last 1 year of ownership)

After a fun ride in the rain.

Moment of appreciation in the parking lot.

God has his own plans for everyone and he had a good one for me. Word got around in family circles about my Bullet and soon enough, someone was interested. I was contacted by a police officer previously posted in my hometown and he asked me about the details and more photographs of the motorcycle. He liked the Bullet and offered to buy it. He was soon to be transferred elsewhere and the Bullet would be kept in my hometown for him to be used whenever he returned on leave. I agreed on the condition that I shall hand over the motorcycle to him once I am able to source a replacement. I did this because I did not want to rush into buying an unsatisfactory machine again.

A glance at it's future home.

The transition:

Thus my search for a UCE RE began. As mentioned previously, I was inclined to get a STD or Electra sheerly due to the nostalgia factor. However, as anticipated their unavailability in the 2nd hand market forced me to consider C350s as well. I had scoured the market for a C500 a few years back and knew a few dealers. I visited them and test-rode a couple of C350s. They were mostly BS3 models in rough shape and long story short, I zeroed in on a 2017 BS4 C350 with 23787 kms for Rs. 1.05 L. I will now go into great detail about it in this thread and in all probability anywhere because the Classic is a ubiquitous machine and has been well-documented by better writers in greater depth before. Another ownership review will be a drop in the ocean.

The transition was deliberately kept as swift as possible in order to avoid any reconsideration. I took out both the machines and washed them before proceeding to transfer a few of the goodies that I had installed on my bullet over to the Classic. The G2 handlebar, RVMs, and the crashguard were transferred and I managed to strip the RH yoke while swapping the handlebar [recurrent issue- this was the 3rd time this happened]. I decided to go to my mechanic to get it fixed. On my way to the mechanic, the bolt holding the right fork to the nacelle decided to come loose and fell off. I stopped and looked around for a good 10 minutes before cursing my fate and riding slowly and carefully to my mechanic. Upon hearing about me selling off the motorcycle, he remarked that I could've kept it in storage for future restoration. Even I had considered that however space and budgetary constraints would not allow it. So I simply smiled back. He proceeded to install the new yoke and a spare rusted bolt from his heap. He charged me Rs 80 for the bolt which I grudgingly paid all the while reminding myself why I had gone forward with my decision and thinking to myself that my saga with unscrupulous mechanics ends here.

C350 seeks blessings from his predecessor.

All three rides- oldest to newest lined up.

Work in progress.

Parts swap culminates.

I handed over the motorcycle that very evening. The new owner was unable to come and sent 2 constables to collect the Bullet. I briefed them thoroughly about the starting procedure and the shifting pattern and told them to wait while I got the papers and the box of spares that I had accumulated over the span of ownership. I returned to find them hopelessly kicking away in vain and proceeded to take the reins and started it effortlessly to which one of the constables confessed that he had ridden around nothing but a R15 till now. I smiled and proceeded to re-explain the starting ritual to them. I wondered how the Police department had evolved where a decade back, all the cops we knew either had Enfields or rode one as a part of the job. My musings were interrupted by a loud roar of the engine as the constable had finally managed to start the Bullet albeit with too much throttle input. My heart ached as I heard the poor engine scream at an RPM that its British designers had never intended it to run at-- especially after 28 years of its life. I immediately told him to let go of the throttle and briefed him about the perils of too much throttle at startup (broken ankles). I advised him to take a spin around the block before embarking on the ride back home with his pillion and he obliged. He returned grinning ear to ear and I wished them luck (they needed it badly) as they thumped out of sight.

Closing thoughts:

It has been 2 months since I parted with my Bullet. I have slowly and tastefully added to the Classic, partly to suit my tastes and habits but mostly due to the wrenching addiction that my Bullet developed. The initial few days were okay when there was some work to be done on the machine but soon enough, I found myself venturing into the garage to tinker with it needlessly (and messing things up on occasions ). I mention this because I feel that there is a void in my garage and I have even resorted to riding around aimlessly just to hit the 500kms mark to lube the chain. All cables have been lubed thrice at least and the rear wheel balanced twice and the exhaust has been removed innumerable times to experiment with various combinations and permutations of filters and steel wool to extract the same note as the mighty CI engine. I have purchased all the possible tools I could in order to work better on my motorcycle but alas, there exists nothing to be done. I most definitely don't miss my Bullet but I do miss the experience I had with it where there was something to be wrenched on before every ride and something to be fixed after. Commuting and overall reliability have really improved with the Classic however I tend to feel less involved with the machine at times just due to the fact that I haven't extensively wrenched upon it. In no way is this the machine's fault- it is a beautiful machine and I am more than happy with it and plan to retain it for a long time (although I have been secretly lusting after the Triumph Speed 400 for the past few weeks).

Present avatar.

I have been ardently reading RE threads religiously on TBHP for the last 5 years (even before I was accepted into the hallowed community or was old enough to ride-- even before I knew how to ride). Everyone has their own beautiful story of owning a CI Bullet and even though not as passionate and emotional as the vastly better stories out there, this was mine- this was my journey of transforming an ignored vintage to a daily driver (almost ) and everything in between. The Bullet may be gone but I am still happy to be a part of the larger RE community (once they accept me after the sacrilege of selling a CI)

Cheers

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