Starting my 1995 Bullet 350 after 6 months of neglect

I put the spark plug back in and 10 or 15 kicks later, my Bullet 350 sputtered back to life after 6 months of utter neglect.

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“Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans” -John Lennon

I never thought that I would be updating this thread ever again after selling off my Bullet 350 but here I am.

24th September 2023: I received a call from one of my acquaintances whom I had informed about my decision to sell my Bullet months ago. He was interested in buying my machine and inquired whether I was still willing to sell. I informed him with a heavy heart that it had already been sold in May and was with the new owner. However, he was really adamant about having my Bullet and asked me about the new owner. By the stroke of sheer luck, he happened to know the new owner as he was his subordinate and asked me to inform him of his interest in the machine. I went ahead and called up the current owner of my Bullet and he was happy to let it go if his senior was willing to take it. However, he did inform me that the motorcycle had been sitting for the last 5 months and was not ridden in between. Both the owners wanted me to get the Bullet and deliver it 73 km away to the new owner as they did not want to trust anyone else with this.

I reach the new owner’s place and his associate hands me over the keys to the Bullet. I find it in an empty corner of the parking, covered in dust and the saddest bit, ON ITS SIDE STAND. On a closer inspection, I discovered that the chrome parts had developed a thin layer of rust. I proceeded to bring the motorcycle out in the open from the abysmal corner it had called home from the last few months and dusted it off. I opened the fuel cap and saw that the rubber washer had disintegrated. I proceeded to pour in 5 litres of fuel and checked the ampere meter for a charge. Luckily the needle deflected and I didn’t have a dead battery. I pulled the choke and began kicking. 20 kicks later, I felt I should check the spark plug for spark and proceeded to open it. The spark was very weak and I decided to reduce the spark plug gap and clean it with a rag before reinstalling it. I put the spark plug back in and 10 or 15 kicks later, my Bullet 350 sputtered back to life after 6 months of utter neglect. The breather pipe was busted hence the tremendous wheezing sound from the engine. Here is a video of her idling in the parking lot.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=E6QM6HUXuxo

I went ahead and packed my tools and asked the owner’s associate to come with me as I was sceptical of the machine’s reliability on the upcoming 70 km road trip. He followed me on his R15 to my mechanic whom I wanted to inspect the motorcycle before I set off on this unexpected journey. I found my mechanic to be chilling inside and watching a cricket match with some cops and he seemed irritated by my presence. I asked him to inspect the machine for once and received a look of disdain. He barked orders at one of his boys to look at the machine. A 15-16 y/o guy came out and looked cluelessly at the motorcycle and I was reminded again about the plethora of reasons that led me to sell off my vehicle. I remembered how one of the fork nuts had rattled itself loose on the last day of ownership and asked the boy to tighten both the nuts and lube the chain. I asked him to tape up the breather pipe too in order to stop the wheezing and he went inside to fetch the tape from my mechanic who upon listening to the issue replied with “tape nei” (I don’t have tape) .At this point, I just gave up, paid him, and left. I’d leave the motorcycle on the roadside in case anything went wrong and just ask the new owner to pick it up. I had no incentive to do this favour except for the chance to see and ride my first motorcycle again (more on that later). With these thoughts buzzing in my head, I rode off.

My Bullet felt different because I had gotten used to riding the C350 and I had swapped the handlebar before selling off the motorcycle. The shifter situation did not bother me as I’d get used to it within no time and I always kept my right foot under the gear lever to prevent me from reflexively stomping on it during emergency braking. As I rode it, I felt the familiar knocking sound creep in whenever I accelerated past 40 kmph. The most I could do was 60 kmph before the knocking reached a concerning volume. The R15 soon realised that he’d have to slow down and ride beside me. The first half of the route was open highways on the AH 45 till Uluberia and I felt the knocking sound fade as the engine warmed up. I could comfortably take the motorcycle to 80 kmph now and cruise at that speed.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ei5W2MpiLtQ

As I reached Uluberia and looked down to look at the odometer, I realised the speedo needle had stopped working and the speedo was stuck at 20 kmph. However, the odometer was still going strong somehow. We took a right from AH 45 and I entered rural roads where I maintained a speed of 45 kmph as I thumped along. It was here that I could feel the thumps more distinctly, especially after coming from a C350 and I started to fall in love with the motorcycle all over again. It felt like reliving your high school relationship and all those memories of me taking the Bullet to my school back in Class 12 flooded my mind. I remembered the countless evenings I had spent in my garage inspecting, fixing, dismantling, and modifying things all the while having no clue how most of the stuff worked or what was really needed. It was partly trial and error and mostly the inexplicable urge of a clueless but excited teenager to work on his “project bike”. Although I could not imagine myself owning and using the Bullet now given my limited garage space and need for a reliable mode of transport, I was soaking in every bit of this once-in-a-lifetime ride as it unfolded.

We briefly stopped at Amta and my co-rider informed me that we still had 25-30 kms to cover. We proceeded to hydrate and stretch before riding again. The sun began to set as we rode along the monsoon roads and I fell in love with the road and my Bullet. The engine had fully warmed up by then and there was no knocking sound anywhere in the rev range. All there was to hear was the sweet thump, the CI clatter, and the unholy racket that the breather pipe made. Soon darkness descended and I had to switch on the headlight. At first, I thought that the headlight had died due to the lack of illumination on the road ahead. I bent forward and placed my hand in front of the headlamp and saw a faint glow. Then I remembered the magic of the AC headlight on the Bullet. I had gotten used to my NightEye LED setup on the C350 and this initially felt like a safety hazard. However, I remembered that I had ridden around like this for a year and a half and never felt the headlights to be inadequate back then and continued riding. The roads reached a point where there were no streetlights and all I could see was the faint glow of my halogen on the R15 in front of me and the manly thump reverberating through the villages and my entire body. I thanked God for this surreal experience and prayed that it never ended. We stopped for another time along the road for tea and snacks and I took some photos of the Bullet as we neared the culmination of this special journey. We reached our destination 30 minutes later and I flicked the kill switch. The Bullet hadn’t even stalled once in the 70 kms it had covered and it had left me surprised. I proceeded to brief the new owner about the rituals associated with a CI Bullet and it took him 15 minutes to get the basics and ride it around. However, it would take him a lot more practice to get used to the beautiful quirks of this machine. I left soon after.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=YqU3wzxspQc

I still cannot get over how nice the Michelin looks at the rear

Photos I took at the first stop. The R15 is visible in the background

The new owner trying out a CI for the first time

This sudden rendezvous with my first motorcycle left me with a truly enriching experience. While returning home that day, I realised that I had gone on the longest motorcycle ride of my life so far on my first motorcycle without a single hiccup. My fear of the Bullet breaking down and leaving me stranded is well documented in my ownership experience and was one of the reasons I had sold it off (the non-existent paperwork being the main). Although there was some truth to the reliability qualms and the Bullet had disappointed me a number of times before and during rides, I felt that I had never put faith in the machine and pushed it to its limits or at least did what it was designed to do. I had always let my fear prevent me from truly discovering what the machine was capable of and blamed it on the general opinion of obsolescence surrounding old motorcycles. Although I was very happy with my C350 and cherish the convenience it offers while retaining the RE charm, I had a newfound regard for the CI engine in my heart. My mind wandered towards the idea of another CI, perhaps a more reliable Electra or an AVL with a CI block and head. Reality soon dawned and I realised that I am happy with my UCE for now– not out of reluctance, the UCE is really an improved and fun engine. Nevertheless, the experience of taking my first motorcycle on a road trip was special. It was akin to reuniting with your first love from high school after marriage– and CI Bullets are as good as exes get

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