[adityadeva]

Prologue

I learnt riding a motorcycle on my father's Enfield Standard 350 in 1994. I was just 17 then and lacked the maturity to appreciate the fine qualities that the Bullet possessed. My father sold off the Bullet after he met with an accident. His explanation for selling off the thumper was " Either you lose money filling petrol or you lose money on maintenance". This shattered my dream of riding it to college and showing off . But it left the seed for owning a bullet in me.

The entire credit of me being a driver and an owner of a Bullet goes to my father, for, he was the one who taught me how to ride one and own it too. This Bullet is a reminder of the good times I had during the long drives in my formative years with him and in other words it embodies his spirit and his love for me.

Buying decision
Fast forward to 2015, 22 years later, the seed of the dormant desire to own the Bullet germinated in me. My 11 year old pulsar 150 ( 5 gears, electric start and front Disc brakes are a must) was not good enough for a ride to my office 53 kms from home. There is no better bike suited to me than a Bullet for such long rides. I set my heart on the Classic 350 black and my father booked one for me on 3rd Nov 2015. Booking period was a longish 5 months.

By end of January, I happened to ride a couple of C350's and lost my patience. One owner of c3 told me that looks apart, classics were not suited for the long rides for tall guys. I was sceptical and took his bull for a 10km drive and felt it was OK. By this time I was vigorously reading bhp threads of the likes of majumdarda's Amun Ra and Tharians Electra completing 1 lakh plus kms on clock. I sure was impressed by Tharians Electra and also heard that the new engine was relatively maintenance free.

A Special thanks to Tharian for his thread ( A bible on electra and prompt upkeep of bullet) which has played a decisive role in my switching of choice from classic 350 to Electra. Also navin_v8 had chipped in some prompt inputs to my queries.

I went to Royal Enfield Brand Store Edappally, Kochi in Kerala and took test drive on electra and c3. Undoubtedly Electra was comfortable. In the showroom under the spotlight I saw the DEEP GREEN Electra gleaming. The pull was irresistible and the decision to switch was instantaneous. My father (also the main sponsor; rest co-sponsored by better half) had already made payment for the C350, but the staff at the showroom were very cooperative. On agreeing that the difference of amount between C350 and Electra will be made available to me as a cheque within 45 days, also an email from me requesting a change of model from Classic to Electra, they went ahead with billing for the Electra.

D-Day
The call for delivery came on 23rd Feb 2016. Saw the bull washed clean and gleaming under afternoon sun in a Deep Green hue. As Mr Nithin of sales was explaining the what's what of the bull, I noticed that water had crept into the toolbox where the fuse assembly was enclosed! The pilot lamps failed to switch on, so the handing over of keys got deferred till the bike came back after all issues rectified. To cut the story short, the keys were delivered to the hands of yours truly.

Application for anticipatory Bail
Since yours truly is in possession of only a humble mobile phone camera with an 8 Mega Pixel sensor, the quality of pictures is a compromise. Currently I'm not in a position to beg borrow or steal a good camera either.

[adityadeva]

First impressions

The engine
The power plant of the Electra is a single-cylinder, twin spark plug, air-cooled, 346cc pushrod UCE engine. The engine is shared by both the Classic 350 and the Standard 350. As per the sales assistant, the Bullet Standard has a crank heavier by around 2 kgs compared to its other two siblings.

Slot the key and twist it clockwise. Switch on the engine kill switch to run. Push the Electra start button and the engine fires to life with a prominent shake. It settles down to a nice idle.

The initial shake of the engine feels agrarian by modern standards, but then onwards it makes a smooth addictive thump with muted tappet noises.

In my Electra, the thump is prominent compared with similar Classic 350's and I've dumped all my pre-concieved intentions to change to a Megaphone exhaust or a short bottle one. The thump which is the very character of the bullet is not like the earlier CI (everybody says it), especially at lower speeds, but once we gain speed and accelerate, the thump comes into the picture. We loose the thump while decelerating and the ratchet of tappet noises kicks in. In a well-tuned CI engine, the tappet noises are absent and thump alone triumphs. But, I am satisfied with the thump the Deep Green offers.

Twist the wrist and the bike lunges forward with a significant rush of power. The engine is eager to be driven fast with each of the 19 horses galloping under you. But driving at a sedate 50 kmph gives a kick and you are transported back in time. This is no machine for road races, it is to enjoy life sipping it slowly.

Gearbox and Transmission
The gear shift pattern is universal - 1 down, all up and slots fairly correctly. Shifting gears is a bit rubbery initially and the quality of the shift is steadily getting better after each passing mile. Finding neutral is a bit hard though, I'm not adept in finding it while running. The final transmission is via a duplex chain which sits on the right side. The chain is not fully covered with a chain guard like my Pulsar 150.

Since it was the run-in period, I religiously rode below 50 till first the 100 kms and have not ventured above 60. The Bull is eager to pull forward and the thump is addictive while running on speeds above 40. Of course, the low speed thump cannot be compared with a well-tuned CI engine. Nevertheless, one never gets disappointed. There is adequate torque and no urgency to downshift while slowing down a bit. I love the dignified sound the factory silencer gives and am quite happy with it.

[adityadeva]

Ride and Handling

Ride
The ride is slightly on the stiffer side while riding solo, but once my wife and son climb (literally) on the Bull, it improves and the bike skims over small surface irregularities of the road. Riding solo it's a bit on the harsh side. The culprit seems to be tyre pressure which is 22/32 psi (front/back) for pillion and 20/30 psi for solo (as per the owners' manual). Seems that they have filled the tyres to the driver+pillion setting as standard. Yet, I clearly remember gliding over a foot-wide pothole sitting behind my father on our old Bullet. Nothing of that sort can be told with my brief stint with this Electra. At slow speeds, the imperfections of the road are slightly transmitted to your posterior (but better than Pulsar). Any ride of more than 30 minutes will render your bum numb (this is due to lack of blood circulation and also true for my pulsar within 15 minutes of riding). Shifting positions is highly recommended. Also, I'm heavily built, weighing around 88 kgs. So, its quite possible that my weight is the culprit.

Handling
After riding around on a pulsar 150 for 11 years, the handling of the Bullet doesn't inspire confidence. While straight line stability is excellent and class leading, snappy driving in city is not the Bullet's forte. That doesn't mean that it's entirely a nightmare in city traffic. It's just that the Bullet simply munches miles on highway.

Seats
The adequately wide saddle can seat two people comfortably. A kid (my 9 year old son) can be accommodated with some 'adjustment'. The ribbed seat is very prudently padded on firm and good for long drives. I have put on hold all the ideas of doing a plush upholstery on top of it for the time being. The grab rail behind the pillion could have been a more beefy a la standard 500, but, you get what you pay for. One sits high on the Electra. I'm 5' 11", yet I cannot plant both my feet down. The curve of the seat generously accommodates average riders and offers comfort on long rides, numbing effect apart.

[adityadeva]

The electricals
My biggest grouse with Royal Enfield with regard to electricals was that Electra was given only an 8AH 12V battery, downgrading it from 14AH 12V which was similar to the Classic.

One of my 'anticipated disappointments' was the 35/35W halogen lamp for head light over the Classic 350's 60/55W halogen unit. But, the headlamps is powerful and bright even with the 35/35W bulb. I'm yet to test them in long drives in national highways but initial impression are promising and definitely looks much better compared to pulsar. on Rural and Municipal roads, they are more than adequate.

the pilot lamps are ornamental at best and seldom have any illuminative value, I'm definitely thinking of swapping them with LED ones. The indicators are clear lens types with orange coloured 2W bulbs. Brake lights are also 2W bulbs. All these are quite bright.

The fuse assembly sits inside the left triangular tool box (which contains basic tools). When the bike was being delivered to me, water was inside this Tool box and the pilot lamps were not working initially. Sales Assistant Mr. Nithin told me that water will enter this box during water wash. I think Royal Enfield should definitely do something to solve this issue. In my Deep Green, the left tool box showed some difficulty in closing. Hence, the overall fit is not up to the mark.

[adityadeva]

Brakes
The front brake is a hydraulically activated 280 mm ventilated disk with a 2-pot caliper. While the front brake has adequate bite, the rear could also have sported a disk brake for a bike weighing more than 180 kilos. The rear brake is a vintage 153 mm internally expanding drum, which is foot-operated. Nevertheless, it does the job.









Mirrors
The chrome-plated round mirrors sure look retro and add to the overall old world look of the bike. They are vibration-free till one reaches 40 kmph. Thereafter, the reflection is like that in a turbulent lake as vibrations start creeping in progressively with speed. Also, the mirror area is slightly inadequate. If any retro-looking vibration-free mirrors are available, I'll surely consider replacing them in a while.





Horn
The factory-fitted single horn, while looking good, sounds meek like mickey mouse and is not in sync with the character and look of the bike. I'll surely be replacing it at the earliest.



The secret of the right side trianglular box - air filter







Gas-filled dampers of the rear coil spring suspension. I hope the ride smoothens out after a few more kilometers.

[adityadeva]

Fit and Finish
The overall fit and finish of the bike is acceptable, but there is a lot of room for improvement. The paint job looks good enough.

The colour - magic black is magic indeed. The bike looks like a normal black bullet till one rides it under the sun or finds it under a spotlight in the showroom. Under such lighting, the bike gleams in a deep bottle green metallic colour that blows away lovers of the deep green shade. Compared to other bikes, the petrol tank of the Bullet is very much visible during normal rides and hence, the colour sure brings joy to green-loving guys like me.

The quality of switch gear does not look good enough for a bike that costs above Rs. 1.25 lakhs. The new pulsars have very high quality switch gear and plastic parts in comparison and are illuminated along with pilot / headlamps - RE guys please note. Retro does not mean one should sacrifice practical benefits of the modern age that we are living in.

Summing Up
The Bullet has definitely brought a new found zest in life. My son loves it the most and eagerly hops on for the shortest ride he can do along with me. The bike delivers what is expected. There is no comparison between my Pulsar and the Bull - they are poles apart. The Bullet was and would always be an aspiration and dream that I had looked forward to and surely, I am living my dream.

If anybody is buying a Bullet just for the sake of the retro image and expecting normal bike like characteristics, then please excuse. This is all about emotions, old world charm and going back in time when things were a bit slow. This is all about sipping life like a cappuccino, just relax and the thump etches each memory into you and your loved ones' DNA. You just re-live those memories when you ride the Bullet and in that process, you gain some new sweet ones too.

The odo touching first hundred kilometers, religiously driven under 50 kmph. Thereafter, the speedo has hovered around 60 a few times, the addictive acceleration together with the thump clouds the mind and one tends to thump ahead.

As of date, Deep Green has clocked 283 odd kms.

[Zappo]

Thank you for sharing your review with us. Keep adding your impressions on this thread as you keep riding and adding kilometers to the Odo.

[adrian]

Congratulations on your new Electra and may you have miles and miles of hassle free ownership of your machine.

[@Chaand]

Congratulations on your new ride. Looking forward to a great ownership experience from your side.

As an aside, I just took a test drive of the classic 500 yesterday. This was the first time in my life I rode one and I was expecting a harsh ride, but was pleasantly surprised to find it smooth. The gearshifts were indeed rubbery and I had difficulty in slotting into Neutral as well. Is this a common initial issue with RE's?

The horn is indeed very tinny and better get it replaced at the earliest.

[anandpkumar]

Congratulations on the Electra!

The Electra certainly has that classic royal enfield look that has been carried forward for decades. Timeless beauty!

Ride safe.

[The Great]

Originally Posted by adityadeva

Electra

Congratulations and welcome aboard the Bulletier fraternity sir.

The Electra is indeed a very simple yet very elegant looking Enfield. No dramatic paint schemes or overdose of chrome, just the right amount of everything. The 3d monogram gives it a real classy look.

Do follow the breakin procedure, and hope that your relationship with your bike lasts for decades to come. Cheers !!

Originally Posted by @Chaand

I just took a test drive of the classic 500 yesterday. This was the first time in my life I rode one and I was expecting a harsh ride, but was pleasantly surprised to find it smooth. The gearshifts were indeed rubbery and I had difficulty in slotting into Neutral as well. Is this a common initial issue with RE's?

The Classic 500 is very very smooth to drive. The throttle response and the feel of the engine building up to the power is enjoyably silky compared to other carbureted versions.

The gear shifts have a very nice action on the C500 and I have never faced any problem slotting it into neutral, maybe because you were riding a test drive machine hence it must have not been a good one at that.

The major problem with Royal Enfield is that 90% of their test bikes are not maintained properly. Be it anywhere.

[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by adityadeva

Prologue
I learnt driving a motorcycle on my father's Enfield standard 350 in 1994. My father sold off the bullet after he met with an accident. But it left the seed for owning a bullet in me.

Mate first of all congrats to you on buying the RE Electra(underdog from RE's stable). There are very few people who opt for Electra and I appreciate your choice. Ask me mate, once bitten by RE bug it is very difficult to let go. Also that your father had one makes the urge even more stronger. I still have my 1996 Standard Bullet CI 350 (bought second hand in 2010).

Saw the bull washed As Mr Nithin of sales was explaining the what's what of the bull, I noticed that water had crept into toolbox where fuse assembly was enclosed. The pilot lamps failed to switch on.

Mate mark my words for future reference, Never Ever resort to pressure washing on RE's. Give a stern instruction to the service staff No Pressure Washing whenever you take your bike for service. Pressure washing does more harm than good. Pressure washing should be directed only towards wheels, under the mudguards and under the engine as those are hard to reach places.

The engine is shared by both classic 350 and standard 350. As per the sales assistant bullet standard has crank heavier by around 2kgs compared to the other two siblings.

I am not sure as to weight specifications but yes the Standard Bullet UCE has a heavier crank compared to other 350cc motorcycles from RE. But that's ok as the lighter crank will make the throttle response quicker and will help in greater pick up.

The initial shake of the engine feels agrarian by modern standards, but then onwards its smooth addictive thump with muted tappet noises.

It's a pushrod big single mate so it will behave like that. Still the refinement RE have achieved on this pushrod single is commendable. It will become even more smooth after you clock up the miles.

Shifting gears is a bit rubbery initially and the quality of shift is steadily getting better after each passing mile. Finding neutral is a bit hard though, I'm not adept in finding it while running.

After the running in period the gearshifts will improve and will become butter smooth. The neutral will also slot in correctly, give it some time and you will know what I am saying.

Since it's run in period, I religiously drove below 50 till first 100 kms and have not ventured above 60. The bull is eager to pull forward and the thump is addictive while running on speeds above forty. Ofcourse low speed thump cannot be compared with a well tuned CI engine, nevertheless one never gets disappointed. There is adequate torque and there is no urgency to downshift whilst slowing down a bit. I love the dignified sound the factory silencer gives and am quite happy with it.

Mate don't compare the CI with UCE as both use different metallurgy and will behave differently. Instead enjoy your UCE which I can see you are. Stock silencer is the best for your daily run of more than 50 kms. Your ears and mind will thank you apart from others around who will appreciate you sticking to the stock exhaust instead of those monstrosities called "performance" silencer which do not increase the performance in any which way.

Ride is slightly on the stiffer side whilst riding solo. Riding solo is bit on harsh side, the culprit seems to be tyre pressure which is 22/32 psi (front/back) for pillion and 20/30 psi for solo (as per the owners manual).

As you've rightly mentioned get the tyre pressure checked and adjusted to single rider configuration for comfort. Also get your preloaded rear suspension adjusted to level 3 using a C spanner or get it adjusted during your first service. The ride will become marginally smoother.

Yet, I clearly remember gliding over a foot wide pot hole sitting behind my father on our old bullet. Nothing of that sort can be told with my brief stint with this Electra. In slow speeds the imperfections of the road are slightly transmitted to your posterior (but better than pulsar). Any ride of more than 30 minutes will render your bum numb ( this is due to lack of blood circulation and true for my pulsar within 15 minutes of drive), shifting positions is highly recommended. also I'm heavy build weighing around 88 kgs so, its quite possible that my weight is the culprit.

The older CI's had a heavy duty oil filled rear suspension which used to dampen the rides while being two up. While it used to make rides a bit harsher as compared to gas shocks while riding solo. Your Electra comes with gas filled shock absorber with preload adjuster. Get the preload adjustment done to suit your riding style. The front telescopic fork suspension on the Electra is one of the best from RE's stable and second only to the Thunderbird. In fact it is identical to the one's that used to come on Tbird AVL and first generation Tbird UCE. And No your weight is not the culprit as I weigh around the same as you. Get your rear suspension preload adjusted to level 3.

My biggest grouse with Royal Enfield Motors with regard to electricals was that Electra was given only an 8 AH 12 V battery, downgrading it from 14 AH 12 V similar to classic.

Mate don't worry about the battery amperage as the same 12V 8Amp battery is fitted on the new Tbird350. If the make is Amaron MF Gel battery then you are lucky, as the cranking power of that battery is amazing(notwithstanding 8 amps vis a vis 14 amps) apart from its shelf life and quality. Enjoy your motorcycle and do not think about low amperage as long as the cranking power is there.

One of my 'anticipated disappointments' was the 35/35 W halogen lamp for head light over classic 350's 60/55 W halogens.

Like your stock grab rail these too can be upgraded to a higher wattage, so no worries there. But do keep in mind about the warranty issues if you want to switch over. RE's now come with 2 years standard warranty if I am not wrong.

Fuse Assembly sits inside the left triangular tool box (which contains basic tools). When the Bike was being delivered to me, water was inside this Tool box and pilot lamps were not working initially. Sales Assistant Mr.Nithin told me that water will enter this box during water wash.

I would mention again that ask the service staff Not To Pressure Wash without your permission.

The Front Brake is a Hydraulic activated 280 mm ventilated disk with 2 pot caliper. While the Front braking has adequate bite, the rear brakes could also have sported a disk brake for a bike scaling wrong side of 180 kilos. The rear brakes are anyways vintage 153 mm internally expanding drum brakes which are foot operated, nevertheless does the duty.

Use the braking ratio of 6(Front):4(Rear) or 7(F):3(R) whichever you are comfortable with. I use 6:4 ratio and find the braking adequate on my RE's.

Thereafter the reflection is like that in a turbulent lake as vibrations start creeping in progressively with speed. Also mirror area is slightly inadequate. If any retro looking vibration free mirrors are available, I'll surely consider replacing them in a while.

If you want form over function bundled with retro looks you can opt for Bajaj Avenger mirrors they come both in chrome and black. I have been using them since the last 6 years and have been hugely satisfied with them. Another option is Vespa rectangular mirrors which looks more classy, but I cannot comment on its usefulness as I have never tried them.

The factory fitted single horn, while looking good, sounds meek like mickey mouse and are not in sync with character and look of the bike. I'll surely be replacing them at the earliest.

If you believe in value for money then go for the robust Uno Minda K-95 twin horns which are robust and will last for a very long time, also they are waterproof. I have fitted them on my two Standard CI Bullets and they have been there since the last 6 years and 1 year respectively.

Gas filled dampers of the Rear coil spring suspension. I hope the ride smoothens out after a few more kilometers.

Wait till the first service and ask the service staff to adjust the preload tension to level 3.

Odo touching first hundred kilometers, religiously driven under 50 kmph. Thereafter the speedo has hovered near around 60 a few times, the addictive acceleration together with the thump clouds the mind and one tends to thump ahead.

I always advice to new RE buyers to run in their engine well to have a life long good engine. I personally run in my new motorcycles especially RE's till about 3000 kms to have a healthy engine for a lifetime.

Originally Posted by @Chaand

As an aside, I just took a test drive of the classic 500 yesterday. This was the first time in my life I rode one and I was expecting a harsh ride, but was pleasantly surprised to find it smooth. The gearshifts were indeed rubbery and I had difficulty in slotting into Neutral as well. Is this a common initial issue with RE's?

Mate all the RE's except the Standard Bullet 350 comes with a gas charged rear suspension with preload adjuster. Meaning the rear suspension can be adjusted for damping as per ones need which will make the ride marginally better. Also the 500cc engines are inherently smoother than their 350cc siblings. The gearshifts on a brand new motorcycle are rubbery and will not slot in smoothly. This gets taken care of after the first service by the time which the transmission and gears have run in making them smoother. This is what I have seen from my experience.

[rahulba]

Congrats on being electrified.

A friend of mine also picked up an Electra couple of weeks back. I tested the same for good 20 kms and your ownership thread has just voiced out my opinion about the bike. I think one of the reasons behind not so confident ride is rear skinny tyre which doesn't have any grip at all. It even sends the tile gaps (if driven over) to the rider and that's not confident inspiring at all. Coming from CBZ Star, I also has the same verdict on quality of the bike with respect to switches, mirrors and etc.

Keeping -ve's aside, the best part I liked about the bike is how it pickups from the low speed and build the momentum. It is built to do long journeys for sure.

I also want to own a RE someday but it is the maintenance part of it that makes me stay away from it. I hope Himalayan is different from all previous RE in terms of reliability.

All the best for your road trips on this dhug dhug bike.

[DEEPSAM]

Folks, Is there a Bullet 350 ES or is the Electra mentioned as Bullet 350 ES in the specification documents ?

[adityadeva]

Thanks navin_v8 for your very valuable feedback point by point.

I would definitely go by them.

I'm driving up to speeds of 60, never crossing that limit. I hope I'm doing justice to the engine during run in period.

Originally Posted by DEEPSAM

Folks, Is there a Bullet 350 ES or is the Electra mentioned as Bullet 350 ES in the specification documents ?

To the best of my knowledge the standard 350 doesn't come with an electric start.