First traffic trip on a bullet!

[anupbhatk]

Yippee!! I bought my first gear bike 2 weeks back - Enfield Machismo A350 and I am already in awe of owning a bull! Yup, it's a second hand bull and I only started learning to ride gear bikes 6 weeks back!

Gave it for service on monday and got it back today..put in disc brakes in the front. The rear wheel was bent, so got it rectified.

Took it to office today! Riding a bull for the first time in rush hour traffic was quite an experience! So many starts! Aarrgghh!! I hadn't even rode any other bike in traffic! I created a traffic jam in every traffic signal!

Was tired half-way through to office when I handed over my bull to my expert bike-rider friend and took his Splendor.

My friend effortlessly rode the bull and I started struggling with the gears n brakes on the Splendor. Traffic was maddening and it didn't help my cause at all. Did a couple of wheelies(1st gear thing!) in front of the cops, but they were least bothered!

I managed to finally reach office and breathed a sigh of relief! I had lost all my confidence and was contemplating selling off my bull. But then, some calm words from few of my close buddies brought me back to my senses and I shot away the idea of selling my bull.

So, any fellow bulleteers over here faced a similar problem?

[rev_hard]

Anup, the first week or so will be tiring and frustrating. Within a week however, you will have learnt all the nuances of your bullet and will find it rather inconvenient to ride any other bike.

Also, too many smilies bro. Forum rules are meant to be adhered to. Please read them ASAP.

[lohithrao]

Welcome dude... good to know that you have started the journey of bikes with a bull!

Take it easy, you will get used to it soon...have fun and ride safe!

[esteemer]

Congrats on the buy and enjoy the bull.
Interesting first day experience

[jkdas]

A350 was my first bike. Loved the way it delivers power when you compare it with STD Bullet. Be it A350 or STD, you need to get used to the gear shift as you may miss gear now and then if you are new to the bike.

Enjoy your ride.

[anupbhatk]

Thanks for the advices guys! My confidence is growing. I will however take my bull back to the mechanic to have it fine tuned. Something seems wrong with the clutch. I also hear a "woooooov" sound when I rev.

Any of you know what might be causing this sound?

[susan3004]

Originally Posted by anupbhatk

Thanks for the advices guys! My confidence is growing. I will however take my bull back to the mechanic to have it fine tuned. Something seems wrong with the clutch. I also hear a "woooooov" sound when I rev.

Any of you know what might be causing this sound?

Where exactly is that sound coming from???
I hope it is from somewhere inside the bike only!

[Sankar]

Take it easy with the Bull, and don't make any hasty decisions to sell off the bike.

I've been in your shoes some time back when i bought the bike from the mad man. Since i couldn't ride it it was Jk who rode the bike all the way from Banaswadi to Bannerghatta. When i used to take the bike in Blore traffic i used to miss gears, stall, misfires everything... i just couldn't ride it the way i wanted to. I thought i had bought something which couldn't be handled by me and what have i gotten myself into. Believe me this was the exact thought i had in my mind.

But as we grew old together i got the hang of her and she got the hang of me. These days i dance on the Bullet as if i was born riding one! Now not riding one makes me depressed.

It's all in the mind. If you think you can then of course you can.

About that sound in the engine, could you describe it further. Is it a metallic noise? Is it constant continuous? Does it sound like a grinding noise?

[anupbhatk]

@Sankar - I didn't take the bull to office today fearing the same I had experienced y'day. But, the traffic was so smooth today and I cursed myself for not having taken the bull. Will take the bull tomorrow to office and will brave all odds! LOL! I sound like Mel Gibson from Braveheart!

Anyway, will get back to you on that "wooooov" thing. First time I heard it was from right below the petrol tank(not near the seat...below the handle). So, will look out for it again and any other glitches.

@susan3004 - The bike came from the bike only..hehe

[anupbhatk]

Typo! The "sound" came from the bike!

[lohithrao]

Anup, seems like its coming from clutch. nothing major get a good service done.

[redfire]

Man, never sell the bull because of this silly reason. You will become a master of the 'Bull' arts soon. I ride a 500 and as Sankar told can take her to anywhere any time. When I took my bull from showroom 4 years back (it was my first bull and had never ridden a bull more than couple of KMs before that) I felt the same. Two of my friends were following me on their bikes and they helped me in traffic. what I did was to take her out after 10 PM to my favourite road and ride. Within a week I used to take her to near by junction and so on. So ride, ride and ride. Simply that.

[anupbhatk]

I took my bull to office today! Rode it in traffic and rode it confidently! The bike did stall but I wasn't bothered. Looks like the bike hates falling into neutral. Need to get this sorted out.

@Lohithrao - I couldn't hear that sound today but did notice the petrol tank being a tad loose n wobbly. I hope the sound only came bcoz of the tanks vibration. Will anyway get it checked.

@redfire - I got the same advice from the bull's previous owner. He told me to be calm and just keep riding the bike. Eventually, you will know how to ride the bike properly.

Day 2 was good! My confidence is now growing!

[aburagohain]

anup, take one day out before you give the bike for service and ride around someplace where the roads require you to shift frequently, outskirts of the city is a good option, going on a straight smooth drive will not hone your skills much. take a backup buddy on another bike should things go wrong, though nothing much to worry. learning is faster when things are rough, after service it'll be a breeze for you.

be extra careful with that disc you got fitted, one finger is all you need to pull the brake lever, never ever grip the disk brakes, pretty easy to skid.

for stop and go traffic where you need to change from 1st to neutral, use the heel toe technique, heel on neutral finder and toe pressing gear lever down to 2nd, you'd be able to find neutral very easily and forget the stalls. practice at a stationary position as long as it takes to get it right, put 1st and then immediately come back to neutral using heel toe combination.

if the bike stalls with a thashh sound, it may be difficult to start again immediately, remedy is to give a few kicks on the kick starter while keeping the decompression lever fully pressed.

good for you that you started geared bikes on the bull, the unlearning needed of avoiding quick throttle blips for riders of other bikes will not be there for you. quick throttle blips will give you the thashh sound stalling described above on the bull, so be gentle and firm with the throttle and you'll enjoy the ride much more.

one more precaution to take is to move the handle bar on the kick lever side away, that means starting the bike with the front wheel turned in the direction opposite to the kick lever side of the bike. not very common with experience but as a new rider to the bull, kick-backs can happen and this strategy works well to keep your knee safe should there be an unexpected back throw.

a few techniques here and there and the bull will be tamed in no time. i am sure many a member can help you with their tried and tested and mastered techniques over time.

always remember, the bull is not for traffic light dashes, but to thump away on open roads and win in the longer run, that's the character of this particular machine many fall in love with for life.

cheers to your new ride, enjoy!

[kph]

Originally Posted by anupbhatk

Yippee!! I bought my first gear bike 2 weeks back - Enfield

Smart choice brother. Ride it for one week and say what you feel. It will be an addiction there after. Be prepared for that. All the best.