Thinking in a RE Bullet Classic 07...

[donkey]

That's my problem... I'm thinking to buy a Bullet Classic 07 for daily city use (and some little routes), but it's really reliable for this porpouse? My dealer tell me that it's ok, some friends that know-a-cousin-friend tells me Bullets is only for looking. Bullet will be the only daily bike for me, and the vehicle for going to work. I love it, but I don't want a mistake.  True opinions, please.

Regards from Spain boys! And a round of beers!

[RagMan]

OK, the truth - people who don't know Bullets say that they are not very good, not reliable, and not worth buying.. So, they don't buy them.  I have one, that is a '99 model, that I am very happy with,despite the kickstart only.. I am buying another, in January, that has an electric start, and converting the '99 to a trials bike - that must show that I trust the machines.

Commuting to work - on side roads, keeping the speed down, no racing like a crotch rocketeer, and you will do fine - The Bullet doesn't like freeways, racing the engine, or running at WOT.

Give it proper maintenance and it will last you forever  - there are 1950s enfields running round asia, doing far more work than most in the west ever do, and they are still doing it.   I would, at a moments notice, go on an extended trip, on my Bullet, without hesitation - I trust it completely - it is more stable than most bikes I have ridden, and the engine is simple. 

So, you have the opinion of a person who admires Royal Enfields, But, I would not go on a freeway, or treat it with negligence.

[VMAX]

I'm sure there, let me re-phrase that, I know there are RE owners/riders that have far more experience with/on this bike then I. However, I bought my Classic because: 1.  I liked the looks. 2. The research I did & owners I spoke with gave me the final push to decide in favor of my Classic 500 ES because of reliability. I ride my rig to work & back (16 mi RT). Most of the route is good country roads, some small town traffic and a little bit of 4 lane (6 mi RT). I enjoy it.

Making your choice is like picking a good wine or beer. What one person likes may not be what you like. Only you know the conditions you will be driving in; your style of riding; your experience (I'm fairly new to motorcycles); and your mechanical ability or access to good mechanical input.

This forum is a good source. Lots of experience here. The opinions & info provided are pretty well thought out an honest.

Which ever way you go, ride safe & check 6.  

[deejay]

Here's my thoughts...

The RE Bullet Classic requires more maintenance than modern bikes. If you do not keep up on the maintenance it will become unreliable. If you maintain it properly, then it will be a great runner and very reliable. I ride mine almost everyday (except for the winter).

[donkey]

Thanks guys!
This will be not my first bike. Now I have a single café racer kick only (you can see in http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=ctCnL6MaWgU ) and a modern Triumph Legend. The Triumph is always required a dealer $ervice mantenaince, but the café is on my hands. I only run fast with the café, because is a solo riding bike, sporty, classic and I love it. Triumph is both my girl and I, some routes, but this in this year, beacuse of job, I only rode it for going to work, a pity (and I am some boring with it now). I love classic simple motorcycles, I love the Bullet. I will ride it for daily, 10 km in city, maybe some open road limit to 100 (riding it to 80 maybe), but bassicaly city roads and some little routes in country roadas or minor roads limit to 80 km/h (years ago a I had too a 125cc bike, same performances as Bullet, but with low torque, of course).  But I want to know every little detail before I have it (in this days I am reading the 4 speed service manual, and all the things of interval manteinance, oils type, ignition points, etc). I have a 1974 Mini too with coil ingnition and points that are not desjusted easily, I have no problems with this or oil leaks, but this is another history...

Thank you so much again. Any others opinions are welcome.

[Spitting Bull]

I bought my RE (a 350 kickstart) as a leisure bike.  I work from home, so don't have to depend on it for daily transport.  I enjoy maintaining it myself though I'm not neurotic about it.  I do all the recommended checks, adjustments and changes at the recommended mileages, and I keep the bike clean and dry. I haven't done any "go faster" modifications.

The thing is that although I don't have to, I find myself going everywhere I can on it.  With the basic recommended maintenance it's very reliable.  In 10,000 km I've had two breakdowns:

1 - engine cut out.  A wire had come loose from the coil.  Found and permanently fixed within 5 minutes.

2 - headlight stopped working.  Came home on sidelights and found a loose connection inside the headlamp shell.  Permanently fixed it and all other connections I could see.

The only other problems I've encountered have been the result of trying to ride the bike too fast, for too long, with too much oil in the system.  Cure - don't overfill with oil and avoid long periods of high-speed running.  (No freeways).

Against a background of regular maintenance, and riding within the limitations of the machine I can confidently get the bike out in the expectation of a first-kick start and go anywhere I want with no doubts about getting there and back, whether it's a 5 mile run to the shops or a 200 mile run on a Sunday.

A friend of mine has a 500 electric start.  It's a real workhorse and he uses it all year round.  In the (UK) winter he sprays everything with protective gunge and just carries on.

Three guys here recently took their REs on a 17 day run through Portugal, Spain and Andorra and back. They covered 4066 miles. They used 57.8 Imperial Gallons of petrol, averaging 70.34 miles per Imperial Gallon.  They spent 96.15 hours riding and covered the whole distance at an average speed of 43.6 m.p.h. They rode a 500 Bullet electric start, a 535 Lightning and a 500 Electra. They weren't on new bikes - in fact, the 500 Bullet ES had been rebuilt by its rider having been purchased as a collection of bits in several boxes.  They suffered a handful of minor mechanical problems all cured at the side of the road - an oil leak from a union pipe cured by replacing the copper washer, an exhaust valve seizing after a long hot climb, cured by letting it cool and readjusting the push-rod.  The rebuilt bike was using a lot of oil, so they just kept adding it as necessary and it completed the trip.  Of course, they checked and adjusted the bikes throughout the trip, but it does show that you can ride these bikes further than the end of the street if you look after them.

Tom

[dewjantim]

My RE 500 Classic kick start has only left me stranded once in 6 years. It was a bad condenser, a $3 fix. Sounds like the RE would be perfect for your needs. It is a very comfortable motorbike and I have gone over 300 miles in one day on mine. Just put in good gas and change oil frequently and adjust valves, points, chain, as needed. It will be a reliable steed and last a long time. By the way, nice cafe bike. I have an SR500 cafe and it is a lot of fun......Dew.

[t120rbullet]

some friends that know-a-cousin-friend tells me Bullets is only for looking.

Almost all the bad things that I have heard about bullets have been from people that never even road one much less owned one. The rest of the bad things that I have heard have been from people that tried to turn their bullet into a hayabusa or a gold star!
I would put them into the category with all of the old British bikes of that era as far as reliability goes. If you don't maintain it and caress it lovingly on a regular basis it will treat you bad.
All that said mine is 8 yrs old and has never let me down yet.
And yea, they are total eye-candy with the added bonus of being a great handling bike to ride.
CJ   

[luoma]

I think everybody else has said it better than I could Donkey. But, please remember, when peope say the RE requires more maintenance than other bikes, that is not the same as saying they require more repairs. They are not flimsy bikes. On the contrary, they are overbuilt and under engineered. Most of my riding has been on plder bikes, so the RE doesn't seem any more difficult to maintain: adjust the valves, change the oil, keep the chain snug, check for loose nuts and bolts. I ride the wheels off mine and never have a problem. It has been more reliable than my Honda 305 scrambler, Suzuki X-6 Hustler, GS550 etc. Also, the RE is more fun to ride than anything else I have owned. If you end up having to take a longer route to work and back to avoid fast roads, that's a good thing. I would be willing to bet that after a short while, you will be looking for even longer routes so you can get more time in the saddle before having to stop riding and go to work.

[hutch]

I belong to a Suzuki Savage forum and a couple of people on there are thinking of buying Bullets. People were coming on and bashing them bad. None actualy own one,I take that back, one did own one but sold it because he said it performed like a Honda 90 and when he souped it up it was unrliable. The rest just heard they were frail and of poor quality. I own both bikes and came a bit unglued. I had to straighten that out. I told them that the Bullet was first introduced in 1933 and have been built fo 74 years and counting, so that says a lot.How easy they are to maintain. Like not having to pull the gas tank to change the spark plug. The Bullet has accessories  and go fast parts for days, unlike the Savage that you can buy a windshield for and a couple of mufflers. The Savage is so lean from the factory it backfires and when you rejet and put a high flo muffler it sound like a shotgun going off on decel. It takes forever to get rid of that if you ever do. They ride like a 1 ton truck, handle like a raked chopper, and only get about 50mpg. In stock form with the belt drive they aren't much faster on top end than a Bullet, but do accelerate faster. I changed mine to chain, after being told I was nuts, and solved the high rpm problem at 70mph. I also told them of my riding and owning every bike you can imagine in 40 years. When I thought about it, I had never been stranded on a British bike. Of the 8 bikes I own now 4 are running and 3 of them are British, 2 of those are a 67 Enfield and my Bullet. I had to quit before they got mad, so I sent a PM to the guy thinking of trading his Savage for a Bullet. I compared the bikes to the AK47 and M16. The Savage is like the M16, as long as everything is perfect it will run, the Bullet is like the AK47 and can be out of time and adjustment and will still get you home. And is easy to fix when you get there. I couldn't stress enough that The Bullet was not a speed machine, but was dependable, economical, fixable and that since the Savage is not for interstate use either, the only advantage of the Savage is you get to the 55mph speed limit faster. I also told one guy that if they took a Savage to India and tried to ride the same roads and carry the same loads on it like the Bullet does everyday that they would be a pile of scap iron in no time.. Go to Suzuki Savage.com as a visitor, then go to the cafe, click on "The offer has been made" post and check it out. I think I may have a few people mad, but I hate people giving bad info with no experience.       Hutch

[donkey]

In a french publication I was read than the new Bullets inyection will mount a Suzuki Savage unit. The notice also included a photo. I will tray to scan and post it. My dealer told me this will be the last year for Classic Bullet in Europe, because of the Euro3 (not the Electra). The Classic rebirth again in 2009 with important changes.

Thanks to all. Now I am so decided. I will talk w/ my dealer next week!

[hutch]

In a french publication I was read than the new Bullets inyection will mount a Suzuki Savage unit. The notice also included a photo. I will tray to scan and post it. My dealer told me this will be the last year for Classic Bullet in Europe, because of the Euro3 (not the Electra). The Classic rebirth again in 2009 with important changes.

Thanks to all. Now I am so decided. I will talk w/ my dealer next week!

That is right about the Classic iron motor being phased out in Europe first and not until 2009 here. The Electra with the lean burn(epa) motor will still be available, but has very few parts available due to only coming out in 2005 if I remember correctly. I just went to the Savage forum and I guess one of 2 things happened, either I made everybody mad or they couldn't argue with first hand knowledge from a Bullet and Savage owner. There has been no replies since my post straightening them out about the Bullet. Of course most people are still working, so tomorrow will tell if I start getting hate post.    Hutch

[LJRead]

Living in a developing country adds good reasons to buy - especially since we live, literally, in the slow lane.  I had an R E Indian 42 cu. in back in the late fifties and it was a beautiful bike with a huge amount of speed.  Now the single cylinder idea is appealing - one carb, one muffler and so on.  We have a few Japanese bikes here and when I see them I cringe at how stuffed in everything looks.  Maybe they never need maintenance, but I rather doubt it.  I had a Honda 350 while I lived in New Zealand back in the seventies and it too was a good bike, with plenty of power, but about then Honda came out with a low cc four cylinder, maybe very smooth running, but then four of everything to keep in tune.  I had to replace a muffler on the Honda and it cost more than a week's pay in that low income country.  R E is perfect for places like Tonga and India, where it serves as a work horse, maybe Spain is the same way, but more developed, obviously.  By the way, my new bike (R E Thunderbird) is now in Singapore and on its way - can't wait!

[donkey]

Spain is not a developig country. Is so far from India at this sense. Anyway, Spain is vast and so different from another region to other, but cities liike Granada, Madrid, Barcelona, San Sebastian and others are plenty of the 21st century. I live in a full capitalist country, our consume level and stress is the same as yours, jajaja.
But we have little towns and villages in the country a little away from  this modern civilization that calls consumers to the citizens, you know what I mean to say. Anayway ¿do you know Chris Stewar, the first drummer from Genesis? He lives now in the Alpujarras in Granada, Andalucia, and his story is a real novel... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Driving-Over-Lemons-Optimist-Andalucia/dp/0953522709
http://www.sortof.co.uk/Lemons/
http://www.babellibros.com/html/libro.php?codigo=LC610220013

[LJRead]

Well, I'm quite aware Spain is modern, but I grew up reading Hemingway, and even Don Quixote  and such, so the impressions are still there.  Must be wonderful there and like middle America, with great places to ride.  Still, along these lines, I think we should all think of alternative living, the way things are going, and to me, downsizing from the monster bikes to something more in keeping with simplicity makes sense.  All the best to you in Spain.