[Majumdarda]

This is the first time I am penning down my thoughts. So please help me with your suggestions and improvement opportunities.

At last, my school life dream has been realized. I am now the proud owner of a Royal Enfield Bullet 500, Forest Green

First things first, The Name. After much discussion and then long discussions, we (Wife, Sister in Law, her husband, common friend and I) have decided to name our Bullet 500 as, "Amun-Ra".

Amun-Ra was delivered to us at around 4:30 PM with the Odometer reading as 11 km. The atmosphere at Brahma Motors was fine, cordial and with a smiling face they departed us good bye! With a caution to fill up the tanks at the earliest, and a reminder to come back for the first free servicing at 500 Kilometers. Exchanged pleasantries and off we drove off the dealership. The first thing wifey whispered was "At-last." Yes, my school life dream was at last realized. At the nearest fuel pump, the attendant was surprised by the color of the Bullet and I informed him about the new model. He was quite amused and provided some free advise (like keep the handle straight when filling up, as the sensors log the most accurate data at that position.) Am not sure how valid is that, but Amun-Ra does not have a fuel indicator, so why bother. The tank is of 13.5 liters with 10 Liters available for use (2 in reserve and 1.5 unusable, might be in pipes, )

We headed straight to the Khadki Kaali Bari for the Pujas. Here a very funny incident happened. The Puja was over by approx 6:30 PM and as I decided to go for a drive, realized that my footwear is gone. Just vanished from the shoe-rack. Night time search yielded no positive results, and I was stranded. With my jeans rolled up,and without the shoes , imagine someone driving a Bullet. In my school days, I have seen a similar attire (lungi in place of jeans) worn by the local milkmen in his Jawa Yezdi. Over here I am their latest avatar. Riding the streets of Pune with jeans rolled up and no footwear, Milkman with Amun-Ra

Anyways the date was auspicious (5th October, Starting of Navratri). Near and dear ones informed that loosing an old footwear on this date is considered auspicious. Also it was a blessing in disguise and I got a new pair gifted the following day . I will now be able to enjoy the Durga Pujas with Amun_Ra to take me to places. What more could I have asked for?

From the evening of the 5th till the afternoon of 7th, I have ridden Amun-Ra for about 160 odd kilometers.
The feeling is awesome and mind blowing. For the first few kilometers, I was driving in and around 40, but the urge to push a bit was always there. and within no time I was in 80. The feeling was just mind blowing, with the accompanying thump it was just heavenly. Though I quickly brought down the speed to 50 (and intend to drive in that range for the first 500 kilometers), but the little bit of "bullet feel" was enough to give me feats .

Loved the following:-

• Motorcycle can be started quite smoothly by kick-start. Not that hard as I had expected. Electric start is also present, but Kick starting a Bullet feels so Royale.

• Pick up is awesome. You just twist the accelerator, and the raw power is felt immediately.

• I have not found any observable vibrations in the lower body part in the 40-50 kph zone.

• Handling is butter smooth and throttle response is on the positive side

• Disk brake has a good bite and it gives confidence to move on.

• Seats are comfortable for city ride, but I believe the seating position plays a role. Recessed seating habit on this motorcycle will lead to pain in shoulder joints.

• Forest Green color is more evident under the sunlight. At shade, it looks a shade of black though.

Scope of improvement :-

• Legendary Thump is on the smoother side. Though I like it after riding the Pulsar for 9 years, but obviously it is not what one would expect from a legendary Royal Enfield Bullet.

• No Fuel indicator. The amp indicator probably could make way for the fuel indicator

• Neutral indicator does not glow up all the time (though the motorcycle is in Neutral position)

• Fog tends to get accumulated in the AMP Meter.

• Rear view image from the mirror might force the rider to believe that objects in mirror are located on top of some active earthquake. It shakes like crazy.

Currently My Amun-Ra is all covered up, waiting for the next time I take him for a ride. Will happen soon as I have my night shifts coming up :- Empty roads and 500 CC Amun-Ra for company, Deadly Combination.

Below are some of the pictures captured till date. Please help me with your suggestions, observations to make the reading more lively, more informative.

All soaked in rains, waiting for the Pooja to commence



A closer look



After the Pooja



Next morning, under the clear blue sky





I like the stance in this picture



On the afternoon of 10th October,after fixing one of my prized possessions. I had brought them way back, when I had planned of owning a Eon. But unfortunately it did not materialize. But the TEAM-BHP stickers have remained with me since then. Here they are, on the front number plate



and at the rear



214 kilometers covered till date and lots more to come along



Say Hi to Amun-Ra



Doesn't this image convey a feel of audacity?



The old charming look of a Bullet



Shining glory



Bullet 500



In there, lies the heart



The parting shoot



With a promise to come with more

[aah78]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Motorbikes Section. Thanks for sharing!

[bhp4putuval]

Congrats on being a RE owner! The bike looks definitely eye catching (I was smiling ear to ear on seeing the pictures). I must agree that forest green is very difficult to identify. It looks black to me.

How many months did you have to wait till you got hold of this vehicle? You also mentioned that this is a new color offered by RE. So did you mean to say that this color was already available at the time of your booking?

I can see additional fittings on the bike. How much did it cost you at the time of the delivery for these additional fittings? Of course, the final question, how much did it cost you, OTR price?

You said that the first service is due at 500 Kms. It must be one month or 500Kms. Correct me if I am wrong.

Anyway, congrats once again and wish you a maintenance free, fuel efficient and a long time ownership.

[raghu.t.k]

Congrats and an interesting name for the machine.

The footwear incidents reminds me of loosing my footwear in Kerala at one of the temples and walking around Cochin in Hawaii bathroom chappals !!

[ArizonaJim]

Congratulations on your new Bullet.

While you are admiring it, take the time to try to tighten all of the exposed nuts and bolts.

I'm sure they were tight when it left the factory but the big 500 singles vibrations can loosen the nuts and bolts. This is especially true during the initial break in before it starts to smooth out and the vibrations decrease.

Have fun riding Amun-Ra !!

[tharian]

Congrats on the Std 500.
Something I would see as the true successor of the original CI 500 .

Enjoy the bike and make sure you pile on kms when ever you can . The more an Enfield runs, the better it gets.
And make sure you go for the short bottle muffler. You will enjoy riding more .
I like the looks the originality of this bike coupled with the UCE 500.
Someone who does not know of this model sees the good old Standard at the signal and when it turns green, its gone.

Regards

[mobius 1]

Amun-Ra looks superb ! Welcome to the RE family Majumdarda .

Somehow the bullet 500 still manages to capture the old world bullet charm of RE.
The green paintjob does manage to make it stand out from the standard 350.

I think this is an excellent buy , would personally prefer the bullet 500 over classic 500 any day !

[ebonho]

Congrats on a superb looking standard Bullet bro!

Good to see the simple and classic and timeless "500" legacy carried forward.

[john doe]

Lovely choice of bike as well as colour!!! Congratulations.

Some random thoughts:
1. The petrol pump attendant was talking crap with you about the handle position for a very simple reason: he was mostly conning you while pumping fuel. This trick is the reason that long time Punekars look like a frozen statue looking at the petrol pump meter, not responding even a bit to anything spoken by the attendants !

2. Mirrors are as you described in 9 out of ten Enfields. Just fit the Bajaj Avenger mirrors. Better looks as well as performance.

3. There are a lot of posts on this forum which are clear that one must use the Electric start as far as possible ( is it only in the morning or all day, can't remember).

[Majumdarda]

Originally Posted by bhp4putuval

Congrats on being a RE owner! ...

Thank you bhp4putuval for your kind wishes. With regards to your queries :-

The forest green color will only look as a darker shade of green only when you have the motorcycle under the sun. For other times, it will look to be a shade of black. Bullet 500 has been released in two colors by the RE. One is black with silver pin stripping and the other is forest green with golden pin stripping. I opted for the later one.

I had made advance booking at the dealership in the month of May. At that time, the motorcycle was being launched in phase manner in South and North India.

There has just been one additional fitting, the crash bar. It costs rupees : 1500. I also did buy a RE motorcycle cover for rupees 862. The quality is ok. Though I cannot cover the motorcycle right after a ride, as the silencer is pretty hot, but 30 minutes wait is ok. The cover covers Amun-Ra from head to toe, with ample room for air. Final On road Price paid : Rupees 159849.

The first servicing is due at 500 kms or 45 +/- 8 days. Till last night I have already covered approx 250 km. I will have to keep Amun-Ra parked for some time as I intend to go Pandal hoping, riding him. Lets see.

For the Fuel Efficient part, I am not too sure how much I will actually get. I have heard that the Chrome 500 gives approx 30 to 35. But that one is EFI. Lets see how it turns out to be. But to be frank, we do not ride a RE with the fuel gauge in mind. Do we?

Originally Posted by raghu.t.k

Congrats and an interesting name for the machine...

Thank you raghu.t.k. But this ride will definitely be remembered for a pretty long time.

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

Congratulations on your new Bullet.
... Have fun riding Amun-Ra !!

Thank you ArizonaJim. At least the mirrors might need some tightening, I presume. The way they vibrate! By the way, do others also face the same isue. I do not intend to take off the mirrors as they complement the overall look and feel, but the way the images vibrate, it is currently serving no purpose at all.

Originally Posted by tharian

Congrats on the Std 500.
... Regards

Thank you tharian. I can already feel the addiction of riding Amun-Ra. Please excuse my ignorance, but "short bottle muffler", is it a addon (like the rocket silencers) or do I have to install another piece of hardware, after removing the stock silencers? Currently the torque is immense and after riding the Pulsar for 9 long years, I will take some time to get accustomed to this new power range.

Originally Posted by mobius 1

Amun-Ra looks superb ! Welcome to the RE family Majumdarda .

Thank you mobius 1. The look of the old bullet needs no introduction. My mother in law had a bullet at their house in the past. So when I informed her about my motorcyle, she was more than happy. Long rides atop Amun-Ra is definitely on the cards .

[rulerofsun]

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

At the nearest fuel pump, the attendant was surprised by the color of the Bullet and I informed him about the new model. He was quite amused and provided some free advise (like keep the handle straight when filling up, as the sensors log the most accurate data at that position.) Am not sure how valid is that, but Amun-Ra does not have a fuel indicator, so why bother. The tank is of 13.5 liters with 10 Liters available for use (2 in reserve and 1.5 unusable, might be in pipes, )

The Tank is 13.5 liters and you have two liters in reserve which is correct. The fuel pump requires around a liter to be submerged. AFAIK Yours is a carb model and hence should will not require this (The fuel pump is in the Classic and Thunder Bird series). So yours should be an effective 11 liter useable tank.

I used to have a hand me down 350 which was the same color. I will have to dig out a photo. It was bought by my mama in 1981 ( I was 5 years old) and I got it in 1996 . After which I bought two more bullets.

1 I lost to an accident :( and the other sold to a friend when I moved out of the city. The green bike was sent back to my native for my cousin to learn riding and now has been converted in to a chrome model.

Your post brought back a lot of nostalgic moments.

Regards
RoS

[Majumdarda]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Congrats on a superb looking standard Bullet bro!...

Thank you ebonho.

Originally Posted by john doe

...Lovely choice of bike as well as colour!!! Congratulations.

Thank you john doe.
I think I can also be termed as a long time "Punekar". Have been staying in this lovely city for the past 13 years. So I am pretty aware of this age-old trick of the pump attendants.
I do not want to change the mirrors right now, but now as you have told that changing the mirrors is the only option, will probably do the same in the near future.
With regards to the ES, as far as I have read, one needs to start in the early morning or after a prolong gap. Now this brings to another question.

Whenever I head for my hometown, it is at least for 2 weeks. Now after returning, starting my Pulsar is a Herculean task, as the ES will not work and the KS takes a heavy toll on my legs. Does the RE also behave in a similar fashion? Or can I ES the Motorcycle after two weeks, with ease ?

Originally Posted by rulerofsun

...Your post brought back a lot of nostalgic moments...

Thank you rulerofsun. Amun-Ra is indeed Carb engine. But in the Owner's manual it says that Dead Stock of petrol is .75 liters. Not too sure why the dead stock is required?
I will be waiting for the photo from your end. Was that a forest green or army green?

[tharian]

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

Please excuse my ignorance, but "short bottle muffler", is it a addon (like the rocket silencers) or do I have to install another piece of hardware, after removing the stock silencers?

Imagine the upswept exhaust that is an option on the Classics, but the same pipe being straight and not raised. The muffler or chamber is what I was referring as 'bottle'.
The reason I suggested this was becuase it would compliment the looks and model of the bike more than the original stock muffler which was made to adhere to noise pollution.
The torque would me more or less the same , but the feel and sound would change to the better.
Attached a picture so you know which one I am talking about.

Regards

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

I think I can also be termed as a long time "Punekar". Have been staying in this lovely city for the past 13 years. So I am pretty aware of this age-old trick of the pump attendants.

Can you guys (jon doe, majumdarda) please educate me on this trick by the petrol attendants? I have been living in Pune for 25 years now and do not know of it.

[Majumdarda]

Originally Posted by tharian

...it would compliment the looks and model of the bike more than the original stock muffler which was made to adhere to noise pollution.
...

Thank you tharian. I now have a good understanding of what you actually mean. I am noting this down for future changes.

Originally Posted by ebonho

Can you guys (jon doe, majumdarda) please educate me on this trick by the petrol attendants? I have been living in Pune for 25 years now and do not know of it.

The trick that the attendants play is pretty simple. They will give you less amount of fuel for the price you pay. Either the meter reading will be pre-calculated (I mean it already has some units and the meter starts after that) or they will keep you engrossed in small talk, quickly fill up in the mean time and by the time you have a look, the pipe-hook is already in the cradle. There might be other ways too, but the best way is to have a look at the meter reading with vigilant eyes. Also try to fill up from a pump that is closer to your residence, so that the attendants know you pretty well. I usually fill up at the pump opposite the Daichi in Pimpri. Earlier it was speed from Chinchwad chowk.