[ac 427]

Originally Posted by Gordon

Spitfire: Anybody today can have a Bullet. All you need is money. Not true passion and knowledge. Most buy Enfields for one of these reasons:

• Thump.
• Comfort.
• The name.
• and other "weird" ideas and logics that they have heard - for example "MANLY" bike.

It is true that when you don't the thump, it feels like something is missing. But we must also remember that, thump is not everything in a Bullet.

NO OFFENSE TO ANYONE.
I remember something very well. If you watch the Cool Wall on Top Gear you'll know well. Why were cars taken down to the "UNCOOL" section?! Because most people who buy them today are not because of what the car is, or its heritage, or its pedigree or the passion with which it was built but because they just have the money to buy the car. They act like wanna-be's who know it all. Its the same with the Royal Enfield today. Owners of yesteryear Enfields and newer Enfields likewise.

I fail to get the essense of your post...

Do you mean to say people who are only passionate, know about the history, its lineage, its designers and all those details should buy the bull or rather any other car / two-wheeler ?

ac

[Gordon]

My point is:

People who have no basis on their "logic", who have ONLY heard from other people about:

"MANLY BIKE"
"THUMP BIKE"
"CRUISER BIKE"
"ROYAL ENFIELD NAME SOUNDS ROYAL"
"I HAVE THE MONEY FOR IT"
"IT CAN CRUISE AT 20kmph IN FOURTH GEAR"
"CAST IRON IS 50 YEARS OLD, SO BUY IT"
zzzzzzzz

These people buy Royal Enfields, and then speak about all of the above and judge all other bikes. Condemn any other bike that Royal Enfield will launch, will stick to their utter nonsense crappy ideas about THUMP, TRADITIONAL crap and spread nonsense. And above all guide others with this nonsense.

These people who have no knowledge will then try to talk about history, what is a true bullet, what is thump, etc etc...when they don't know anything. They bought it for reasons given above.

AND YES - people who are only passionate, know about the history, its lineage, its designers and all those details OR HAVE CORRECT KNOWLEDGE SHOULD SPEAK about matters. Not otherwise.

I have actually heard a guy who owns a mint condition 1970 Enfield say - "Royal Enfield is launching stupid bikes today. The real Bullet has thump. Royal Enfields are built so that you can cruise. All you need is a comfortable seat". Most don't even know what a cafe racer is. When they see my bike they say - "What a stupid modification! Only one person can sit. And its so uncomfortable! Bullets are not supposed to be this way. What are you trying to do?! Make it like Hayabusa?!"

And when I had the oil seal leak - they tell me: "its just leaving its mark. let it be"..........BULLCRAP!

[ac 427]

Originally Posted by Gordon

My point is:

People who have no basis on their "logic", who have ONLY heard from other people about:

"MANLY BIKE"
"THUMP BIKE"
"CRUISER BIKE"
"ROYAL ENFIELD NAME SOUNDS ROYAL"
"I HAVE THE MONEY FOR IT"
"IT CAN CRUISE AT 20kmph IN FOURTH GEAR"
"CAST IRON IS 50 YEARS OLD, SO BUY IT"
zzzzzzzz

These people buy Royal Enfields, and then speak about all of the above and judge all other bikes. Condemn any other bike that Royal Enfield will launch, will stick to their utter nonsense crappy ideas about THUMP, TRADITIONAL crap and spread nonsense. And above all guide others with this nonsense.

These people who have no knowledge will then try to talk about history, what is a true bullet, what is thump, etc etc...when they don't know anything. They bought it for reasons given above.

AND YES - people who are only passionate, know about the history, its lineage, its designers and all those details OR HAVE CORRECT KNOWLEDGE SHOULD SPEAK about matters. Not otherwise.

'Something big betwen your legs'
'For the men & not the boys'
.... list is endless.

Completely agree with you. But we are in a forum, where everyone has a right to speak, if you do not like what is being said ignore it, if you think its wrong correct it, but you cant ask someone who is on the forum to not give his point of view.

Cheers,
ac

[Gordon]

but you cant ask someone who is on the forum to not give his point of view

Most look at Team-BHP as a correct, unbiased and reliable source of information. When one advices and says "I have a Bullet for 1000kms and I am the right person to advice you", one must be sure of himself. Because the information is going out to a lot of people. Now when someone mentions "STANDARD 350 IS THE BIKE TO BUY", a fellow member may read it. For all you know he'll go and place an order for it. What happens later?! Inside 1000kms he has serious issues. Whom will he blame?! Team-BHP!

[Spitfire]

WHOA!! guys.

I think because of the problems the Bullet has the owner starts spending more time with the bike.

Initially its a pain, then it becomes a routine, then it becomes a part of your life and once there you dont feel like letting go.

Also ac427, being an ex-owner of a Bullet. If today i get another the busted seals or the lack of quality wont bother me cause i know whats expected.

A new owner who has not being there and done that (i know, i know) will be freaked out to see oil pouring out of a bike just after he bought it from the showroom.

Oh and about passion, its not the sole preserve of RD or Bullet owners, i have a lot of passion for my tricycle which i still treasure. So the bit about plastic toys and crap is not called for.

[Gregory]

Originally Posted by Gordon

My point is:

People who have no basis on their "logic", who have ONLY heard from other people about:

"MANLY BIKE"
"THUMP BIKE"
"CRUISER BIKE"
"ROYAL ENFIELD NAME SOUNDS ROYAL"
"I HAVE THE MONEY FOR IT"
"IT CAN CRUISE AT 20kmph IN FOURTH GEAR"
"CAST IRON IS 50 YEARS OLD, SO BUY IT"
zzzzzzzz

These people buy Royal Enfields, and then speak about all of the above and judge all other bikes. Condemn any other bike that Royal Enfield will launch, will stick to their utter nonsense crappy ideas about THUMP, TRADITIONAL crap and spread nonsense. And above all guide others with this nonsense.

These people who have no knowledge will then try to talk about history, what is a true bullet, what is thump, etc etc...when they don't know anything. They bought it for reasons given above.

AND YES - people who are only passionate, know about the history, its lineage, its designers and all those details OR HAVE CORRECT KNOWLEDGE SHOULD SPEAK about matters. Not otherwise.

I have actually heard a guy who owns a mint condition 1970 Enfield say - "Royal Enfield is launching stupid bikes today. The real Bullet has thump. Royal Enfields are built so that you can cruise. All you need is a comfortable seat". Most don't even know what a cafe racer is. When they see my bike they say - "What a stupid modification! Only one person can sit. And its so uncomfortable! Bullets are not supposed to be this way. What are you trying to do?! Make it like Hayabusa?!"

And when I had the oil seal leak - they tell me: "its just leaving its mark. let it be"..........BULLCRAP!

WOW Gordon ! You are a bullet owner and you are actually making sense!
Few months ago in another topic I had a rather unplesant argument with some bullet owners when I said that bullets didnt meet the QC that other bikes have today and that they were very overpriced for what they offered.
Oil leaks and other trouble within the first 30 days of owing one? Come paying so much we can expect some improvement, rather we should demand some improvement...
Even cheap chinese bikes dont give this much trouble.
RE has to improve in QC and R&D, to hell with thump, we want better bikes.
I feel that the tbts is a move in the right direction for RE but they have a long way to go..

Oh and about passion, its not the sole preserve of RD or Bullet owners, i have a lot of passion for my tricycle which i still treasure. So the bit about plastic toys and crap is not called for.

[Gordon]

Gregory,

Royal Enfield parts have improved through the years.

And I dont agree with "hell with the thump". What thumps, let it thump. If new bikes don't thump, but offer better efficiency, power, lesser or no trips to the workshop and reliability then dont care about the thump.

Enfields were not made for the "thump". Its the other way round. If its not there, its not there. If a Bullet today doesn't have a single sided drum brake, will one say its not a Bullet because Bullets back then came with single sided drum? Today if it comes with disc and not a front drum brake, is it rational to say "arre there is a disc brake in your bike? You arent man enough to have a weak drum brake. Sissy relying on a disc"?

Likewise if a new Royal Enfield doesnt have the thump, but has a newer engine that can take on any older engine then its just blatantly stupid to say that "it lacks thump and is not a real mans bike".

[ac 427]

Originally Posted by Gordon

Gregory,

Royal Enfield parts have improved through the years.

And I dont agree with "hell with the thump". What thumps, let it thump. If new bikes don't thump, but offer better efficiency, power, lesser or no trips to the workshop and reliability then dont care about the thump.

Enfields were not made for the "thump". Its the other way round. If its not there, its not there. If a Bullet today doesn't have a single sided drum brake, will one say its not a Bullet because Bullets back then came with single sided drum? Today if it comes with disc and not a front drum brake, is it rational to say "arre there is a disc brake in your bike? You arent man enough to have a weak drum brake. Sissy relying on a disc"?

Likewise if a new Royal Enfield doesnt have the thump, but has a newer engine that can take on any older engine then its just blatantly stupid to say that "it lacks thump and is not a real mans bike".

That is your perspective, for me what appeals to me is the sound (thump) of the bike. And if it sounds good for me it works. And my 83 Std sounds like nothing else i have heard.

And you can't compare the drum brake to the thump of the bike. The thump is the character of the bullet. It is known by it. The brake is NOT the character of the bike. So for me that argument doesn't work.

Having said so, one should not go crazy over the 'thump' and pull down the non-thumpy bulls. THey each have their pros and cons

And as passionate an auto-enthusiast you are i expect you will know this, but this is for everyone else, Harley Davidson tired to even trade mark the sound their v-twins made, they failed is a secondary thing, But the point I am making is, they understood that the Sound was the character of the HD, similarly for me the sound (or the thump) is the charcater of the Bullet, and hence for me specially no-thump leads to no bullet.

cheers,
ac

[bblost]

July would be 6 years of owning a Tb.
Countless friends with different RE bikes. Some stock, some modded, some that no one can understand.
Miles have flown on countless rides.
Remained on the bike for crazy amounts of time.
Some rides returned with more dirt on my face than my palms.
Some times with enough grease on me, that would be called a grease monkey.

But never has one thing ever made sense to me.
This thing they call as thump.
I can hear it loud, sometimes subtle.
Sometimes mocking, sometimes roaring.

But never has it meant much to me.
At the speeds I ride, the breeze alone, is singing to me.

[Gordon]

Having said so, one should not go crazy over the 'thump' and pull down the non-thumpy bulls. THey each have their pros and cons

True.

And as passionate an auto-enthusiast you are i expect you will know this, but this is for everyone else, Harley Davidson tired to even trade mark the sound their v-twins made, they failed is a secondary thing, But the point I am making is, they understood that the Sound was the character of the HD, similarly for me the sound (or the thump) is the charcater of the Bullet, and hence for me specially no-thump leads to no bullet.

Explain "thump".

[deepclutch]

Like it or not ,the exhaust beat or thump of the bullet std which attracts many a young guys.some opens the silencer,some uses alternate make silencer to achieve maximum noise.Heck ,A friend of Mine said ,he rides Bullet Std Hearing to Music(Thump).
--
and If this bullet is so hard to maintain etc etc ,why I see Bullets still owned by many a elders for 2-3-4 decades?.I cannot understand.I own a electra 4S .it ain't a big deal as new bulleteers sound.Ofcourse ,maintanence will be more,frequent oil change et al.

[chopsi]

Planning on a RE where do you guys think it makes more sense have been a biker for donkeys years now since 83 (if you include the moped year) and used to ride my elder brothers bullets too, but that was before i got my license.

have a R1 here in dubai and wanted a thumper/brit bike, but my queries have told me its not affordable to me so i am thinking the next best thing is a bullet/RE 350 or 500 gears on right and left dont matter.

i want to convert it in a bobber/ cafe racer any ideas guys? the cost ofcourse is an issue.

will be riding it whenever i am in town so will keep her either in Delhi or Pune.

my brother had a if i remember right 1957 model too which could start without a battery since it had a whats it called Magneto/Dynamo and he had done some cosmetic mods with a megaphone silencer and really small mudguards and his seat then sold it to the hardware shop in Mains street in Pune (Abdeally) if i remember right

getting her if she is up for sale else guys help

[chopsi]

need help guys am based in dubai and planned on a british thumper but the prices quoted are atrocious (upto 4 lakhs for rusted pieces of metal)

so i have decided on a bullet/ RE and need to know where will be better pune or delhi for options regards to cost and choce of bike delhi or pune.

am based in dubai and my ride here is a 2002 R1. This Bullet is planned as my ride in india and want to do mod it wither a cafe racer or a bobber.

am ok with the old 350 or even the AVL engined models 350/500 both are acceptable as the speed fiend in me is satisfied with R1 weekends in dubai. and just want to putter...? ouch thump along at cruising speeds. saw the adverts for the classic shaped single seated bike in one of the threads started by puffydamgcdragon and she's a beauty.
My brother had a '57 (if i rememeber right) bullet, on which he had done some cosmetic changes with a sleeker/smaller mudguards, a low rider seat and megaphone exhausts.
the bike did not need a battery as it had a wachoocallit magneto/dynamo and it was sold to the hardware store in mainstreet of pune (Abdeally).

if that one is for sale i am getting it

[Gordon]

Explain "thump".

No reply?

Originally Posted by deepclutch

Like it or not ,the exhaust beat or thump of the bullet std which attracts many a young guys.

Exactly. Which is why for them everything revolves around the "thump" and not what a Royal Enfield or Bullet is. They equate Bullet to thump.

Originally Posted by deepclutch

and If this bullet is so hard to maintain etc etc ,why I see Bullets still owned by many a elders for 2-3-4 decades?.I cannot understand.I own a electra 4S .it ain't a big deal as new bulleteers sound.Ofcourse ,maintanence will be more,frequent oil change et al.

You think they retain the bike only for the thump?! They retain it for various reasons: at that time they had no variants, they had problems but they kept the bike because of the comfort, some keep it because for the love of the Enfield.

[SAMUDRA]

If you are interested in Bullet then go for the Thunderbird TwinSpark, as that is only bullet as of now that comes with the Unit Construction Engine (UCE).

Also as per my sources in RE, all the bullet model is expected to have UCE in the coming days in order to pass the emission norms. there were talks wrt to the discontinuation of the Iron core engine as all Bullet fans feel that is the heart of bullet thumps, but if Bullet has to survive it's legacy then it should change according to the time (this is my personal opinion and sorry to break the hearts of hardcore bullet fans)

the pro's and con's about this engine are as follows
Some Pro's
1. Unit Construction Engine - Clutch and gear will be housed in the same compartment (not delving into the details here)
2. Better mileage - company says - min 45, but some owners have personally told me that they get from 40- 47 and one particular guy told me that he got 50+ on one of his long drives
3. no seperate oils for gear box
4. Issues of oozing engine / break oil is rare (but I have seen some TBTS having this problem)
5. 19+ bhp

one major Con that I would like to tell you is

1. Currently there are not much mechanics around who can repair this bike so you have to take it to the showroom for any repairs.

hope the above details helps.

T-BHP members, please correct me if I'm wrong with any of the details mentioned above.

Cheers,
Chetan