Bullet UCE INTERMOT unveiling Comments Thread!

[icarus]

I like the new bike except for the silencer (I prefer the straight one) and the ugly tail light.

[Hoosier Daddy]

The RE site now has alot of info and pictures of the new Bullet.  The short, upswept silencer is an "off road only" option.  Maybe I've had my '01 long enough. Onward and upward.

[Brian]

For those asking about the kickstart, I noticed that at www.bulletclassic.com, under "Specifications", under "Engine", they list "Starting: Electric" with no mention of a kickstart. And the pictures on that website also do not include a kickstart.

Maybe if it was in the original UCE design, they might sell a kickstart as an option? The ks was one of the really unique things that was making me look forward to this bike, it'd be a pity for it to have been dropped enirely 

[Land Surveyor]

The pictures show a "blank" spot where the kick ought to come out. Reminds me of the Suzuki I bought in the late 80s. similar blank spot. That model never had a kickstarter.  Think of it as vestigial.  Oh, well,  it can always be bump-started.

[LJRead]

If they sell 50,000 units of the new UCE, and they save even just $10/unit by not including the kick start lever, they effectively make $500,000  more in profit - that is- if that many people are willing to buy the bike without kick start (I for one wouldn' be).

Is that called "false economy"?

[Brian]

True, one can always bump start in a pinch I suppose... thumbing a button or rolling it off really lacks the "cool" of kicking it over, though.

And regarding your (completely hypothetical  ) false economy, if they're making $5k on each bike, it'll only take 100 people worldwide to decide they don't want it for lack of kickstart to negate their gains.

[doomed1]

For those asking about the kickstart, I noticed that at www.bulletclassic.com, under "Specifications", under "Engine", they list "Starting: Electric" with no mention of a kickstart. And the pictures on that website also do not include a kickstart.

Maybe if it was in the original UCE design, they might sell a kickstart as an option? The ks was one of the really unique things that was making me look forward to this bike, it'd be a pity for it to have been dropped enirely 

yeah, i noticed that too. i do hope they provide an option for the US market, i mean, it's already in the design of the engine, it's just a matter of drilling a hole and putting on the lever. hopefully there will at least be a kick starter kit not long after it gets a domestic release. i hope Kevin could make a mention about such an option and if he asked about it at the dealer meeting...

[coinzy]

Also i think it'll be gloves off now for the reviewers now,instead of the past soft type reviews from testers who had a close affinity to this type of bike and friendships with dealers.I think it will be compared to other bikes already marked,so first thing it needs is a trip meter,
the coinz

[TBDN]

I hope they have a bike at the Rosemont show in feb. I shall look forward to checking it out there. Just some comments:

1. I like the bike as it is - the single seat is enough for a nostalgic bike putting out 28 BHp and I would love to ride mine by myself during the summer

2. The electric start is also perfectly fine. If they offer a kick start, that is OK. Frankly, I don't care if they don't, but Rpoyal Enfield will have to think about the majority here who seem to want kick starters

3. I like the disk brake as well. No, it does not look traditional, but it is certainly a safer option while riding. This is a new bike and not an antique - an improvement should not be condemned

And now, a question for Enfield - when the hay are you going to start selling it?

[Brian]

And now, a question for Enfield - when the hay are you going to start selling it?

Not only when, but how much $$ 

[PhilJ]

Saturday my best friend and also my dealer came down with a "the last 'Iron' for us to deliver to an old vet about 100 miles west, on Sunday.

After delivering and also picking up a couple of BSA , Bultaco, DOTs, Cottons etc. and getting back to the house we were looking at the new UCEs. My friend noted that the engine case appeared to be powder coated and the muffler was on the same side of the bike as the chain, which gave the appearance of being off balanced, and no provision for a dual seat.

He made a good argument that he thought that the bikes at Intermot were probably not a final design. Just the engine being powder coated may indicate that, as any chipping or otherwise damage to the finnish would make the bike appear older or just plain crappy looking. Not a good design if that is the case. But made for a very nice show bike.

Since the emphasis on the web was a trip into the past, one would think that a kick start would probably not be omitted.

In any case, the bikes coming into the US will probably be different.

So the wait continues for the "real" UCE Classic.

[rotorwrench]

The right side of the motor looks very much like the unit 350 Bullet made from 1963 thru 66 as well as the Crusader & Continental GT 250s of the day. The two big exceptions are the 1955 style frame is still the same, and the left side case is completely different.

The unit 350s had a kick start set up on the right side on the rear center area of the case. I just hope the transmission is built better that the old unit 350s. They had some reliability problems back then. Also they never produced a 500 Bullet in unit construction due to the transmission problems with the smaller models. It couldn't take the extra power.

[PhilJ]

In those 45 years there have been so many improvements in metallurgy and machining that that possibility seems remote.

[Bath Bullet]

In those 45 years there have been so many improvements in metallurgy and machining that that possibility seems remote.

I hope you are right on that, I think on reflection I would wait atleast a year before buying one, after all its totally new & different from anything else to come out of the Indian factory
I think on that note its about time the warranty was brought more into line with other manufactures too, 1 year or less than 7500mls might just about have been acceptable on an iron classic, but on a 'modern' bike with higher initial costs, higher parts & labour if things do go wrong, it needs to be better, and transfereable to a second owner.
To me better warranties show more faith in the product from the manufactures too.

[PhilJ]

SB,

I don't think it's that much different. Take the AVL for example, it's been in production for a few years. Mine has given zero problems and I didn't break it in according to the book as the book showed the same break in as for an "Iron". They are not the same. Different manufacturing process. CNC machining means better tolerances that the iron has to be coaxed into. Plus, no iron barrel. While I say I didn't follow the books break in doesn't mean I flogged it either. I took is easy enough. Rode it by the seat of my pants and did it in a shorter interval.

Phil