New Royal Enfield B5, definitely "other brand".

[alarue]

Picked up a Bullet 500 a couple of weeks ago. About 340 miles on it now. Changed the oil this morning before riding to work.

Sport touring? Would have been sporty 50 years ago, I suppose. Touring? I got a fairly large luggage rack, and plan to mount a top case on it. They tour all over India on these things, so I don't expect it to be a problem.

(I've never toured, anyway; Mostly I just commute.)

Got a few "artsy" pictures of it. I'm going to take some local scenic shots while it's still naked, and install the rack tomorrow (I hope). I'll have to get some sort of windshield, too, before it gets cold out. (Not that it ever gets really cold here.)

[County Tar]

Nice.  What is the cruising speed?  Can it go 60?

[alarue]

Dunno if you're kidding or not. The old ones probably wouldn't do over 65, but they're fuel injected now. It does 70 easily. Been varying the speed until it's broken in, but had it up to almost 80 once and it wasn't finished.

[falconati]

I love the look of this bike.

[County Tar]

Dunno if you're kidding or not. The old ones probably wouldn't do over 65, but they're fuel injected now. It does 70 easily. Been varying the speed until it's broken in, but had it up to almost 80 once and it wasn't finished.

Actually I wasn't kidding.  I didn't know it was a fuelly.  The old ones were just a little too slow.  

[nevinfs327]

Nice bike - really like the look of the Enfields. Need to ride one some day. Look forward to seeing your touring set up.

[Rincewind]

Neat artsy pics of your Bullet.  Congrats and keep us updated on how it goes.  I tested one of those about 10-years ago - charming but a bit unnerving braking performance at the time.  And it seemed like quite the drill just to start it up, though I'm sure old timers will laugh at that.  Maybe the start-up is more straightforward with the new EFI.  

Yep this is a BIG bike in its native country!  I saw them all over the place when I lived in India.  

[atadaskew]

I'm gonna be the party pooper here...

The local dealership threw me the keys to their demo bike.  It was the matte army green version with the solo tractor seat.
Looks pretty from a few feet away.  Close up the finish is very agricultural with machining marks and exposed wiring and connectors.  Comfy scooter like riding position.  Very up right and easy to control in traffic.
Nice thumpy feel to the motor.  The gear box feels tight upshifting, but really loose and floppy downshifting.  Suspension is adequate at slow speeds.  Brakes the same.  Engine did not have much steam to it, felt most comfortable putting around at 30-45mph.  Which I'm sure is the design brief.  I think I got it up to maybe 60 but it felt like it would not like to do that for long.

My beef with it is it, obviously, really feels like a made in India bike, but is priced like a made in Japan bike, albeit without any of the made in Japan performance or build quality.  I think the MSRP is $5500 or so.  Which to me is insane for what you're getting unless what you want is a bike for people to stare at.
OTD it was I think $6500.

I'm guessing these bikes are something in the $3000 range in India.  Which feels about right.

[Orson]

$6500 is $3000 in 1980 dollars.

you wuz using the wrong dollars  

[scottzilla]

I love the look of this bike.

1987 KZ 305LTD.  

[alarue]

I'm gonna be the party pooper here...

The local dealership threw me the keys to their demo bike.  It was the matte army green version with the solo tractor seat.
Looks pretty from a few feet away.  Close up the finish is very agricultural with machining marks and exposed wiring and connectors.  Comfy scooter like riding position.  Very up right and easy to control in traffic.
Nice thumpy feel to the motor.  The gear box feels tight upshifting, but really loose and floppy downshifting.  Suspension is adequate at slow speeds.  Brakes the same.  Engine did not have much steam to it, felt most comfortable putting around at 30-45mph.  Which I'm sure is the design brief.  I think I got it up to maybe 60 but it felt like it would not like to do that for long.

My beef with it is it, obviously, really feels like a made in India bike, but is priced like a made in Japan bike, albeit without any of the made in Japan performance or build quality.  I think the MSRP is $5500 or so.  Which to me is insane for what you're getting unless what you want is a bike for people to stare at.
OTD it was I think $6500.

I'm guessing these bikes are something in the $3000 range in India.  Which feels about right.

I'll agree with you about the "agricultural" look. I have 500 miles on it now and have been commuting on it. No problem getting up to 75, but I'm normally running 65-70. I hit a false neutral when upshifting now and then, so I am learning to be deliberate.

And it is priced like a Japanese 500, except that there aren't any more Japanese 500s AFAIK. I really considered buying a used GS500, which can be had in good shape for under $2000, but the motorcycling disease can't be explained. Nah, I can't justify the purchase, but you can't justify buying a motorcycle anyway, unless you sell a car to do it. Maybe this bike isn't worth what it sells for, but then the 2-year unlimited miles may take care of that.

Maybe not worth the money, but I'm attached already. I enjoy riding it more than any bike I've had so far, including the FZ1. Maybe it's time to admit that I'm an old guy, but I'm only 51. I'm a youngster over on the Enfield board!

That's a lot of "maybes". Let's just say that I'm inexplicably happy with it, and hope it's reliable enough that I stay that way.

[atadaskew]

 Let's just say that I'm inexplicably happy with it..

Ultimately that's all that matters.
 

[Rogue]

I like the retro look of the Bullet 500.  But it lists for $6600!  

That's too much for this bike.  About 50% too high for its performance which is basically 250cc-like from the road tests.  

[Papa Lazarou]

Good bikes. The electrics on the earlier Indian ones were dodgy and the 50s Brit made ones were better made but-a big 500 single that looks like that and gets 80mpg? What's not to like?

[Mr.Black]

Ultimately that's all that matters.
 

 

[alarue]

Woah, the thread came back!

I have the B5 model which apparently lists for $5999 now, but it was $5499 a few months ago when I bought it. Not sure how much difference that makes to you or anybody else, but in my cheapskate mind it made sense at that price. Now, at $500 more, I probably wouldn't have done it.

It is priced about where the last Japanese 500s were (Ninja 500 and Suzuki GS500), but those models aren't available anymore, at least in the States.

Regarding performance vs. a 250, part of me says it would have made more sense to buy a new CBR250R, but this bike fits me. If my mindset were such that I would have been willing to spend more, a Bonneville would have been on my list of bikes to look at. And maybe I should have shopped used.

Anyway, I'm still happy.

Regarding the fuel mileage, I'm averaging 59 mpg on my freeway commute. Some guys get 70 or 80, but they aren't riding on the freeway.

[Chuck 500]

Just came across this thread.  Glad to hear you are like the Royal Enfield.