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[svenkateshsmart]

Venkatesh - I have met you and I sort of understand why you think the Thunderbird might suit you. Believe me, it is not about massiveness of frame when riding a Bullet. The shortest and slimmest people manage to handle it pretty well. It is just about developing a feel for the machine.

Moreover, the Thunderbird's ergonomics is just not right. It does not promote an easy, straight, sitting posture like the Classic Bullet. And so there are issues. Also the handlebar is placed at such an angle that you may develop wrist pain after 2 to 3 hours of riding. These are things that can only be experienced on slightly longer rides. The best thing would be to try and borrow a Bullet and see if you can take it for a longer distance - say upto Mahabalipuram and then make up your mind.

The Thunderbird also has a softer seat which is alluring to start with. But softer the seat, the more your back aches after a long ride!

Just as in audio, there is no substitute for experiencing it yourself .

Hi venkatesh,

You should own a Bullet atleast once in your life. I had the 350 Standard for 6 years.You feel exclusive when you ride a bullet.The envious looks you get at the signal stops makes you feel snobbish even if you are not one..
I used to ride 25+25 Kms daily and never used to feel tired. At the age of 22 i too aspired for the Yezdi but since it had a long waiting time i opted for the then newly introduced Rajdoot Deluxe.Then the Bullet,a Hero Honda and a Pulsar 150 and now a Pulsar 180.But nothing can match the Bullet.

cheers,
sri

Edit: +1 to what Bala says. You are a normally built young man. I have seen men with smaller frames than you handle the beast with ease.You need not have any concerns there.

Hi,

Thatz a log of reassurance and encouragement, feel like being home!, though I have none in my family who has any hobby other than watching TV
serials.

I am a person who loves to ride long distances. I go to my college which is 100 kms from Chennai on Mondays and weekends in my pulsar.

I will surely pick my machine down the road and will keep you posted, as I am running out of bucks due to my AV stuffs.

Cheers!

 

[stevieboy]

santhol,

that rd 350 ah nothing can touch it. terrific pickup if you were'nt careful the pillion rider would fall off in quick accelerations! nothing can touch it. very few on the road now. sigh... good ole times in pune

 

[suri]

santhol,

that rd 350 ah nothing can touch it. terrific pickup if you were'nt careful the pillion rider would fall off in quick accelerations! nothing can touch it. very few on the road now. sigh... good ole times in pune

yes, but that bike was tuned by mechanics holding their two palms to the exhausts - i still remember a trip to agumbe screwed by improper setting!

 

[iaudio]

Tuned back to this thread after a while to see that it has become the audiophile bike thread!
Svenkatesh, best of both worlds, go get an Electra 5s. Smooth shifter with sweet ol cast Iron engine! Of course, it clatters more than std350 and has slightly less lugging ability but the disc brake and gear shift make up for it.

 

[theironhorse]

I GOT AN ENFIELD 350 1967... N I LOVE IT... ( the ironhorse ) thats what it means..

registration number RRQ 3848..... rajasthan ..jaipur.. now in hyderabad*** got it here wid my car for my bike trips..

dont go for the thunderbird...go for a standard...or elctra... thunderbird does not appeal.and nutin like a bullet...
with its hissing silencer and to meet the emission norms manufact. have intoduced the vaccum value..that takes
off the beat of the bike..go for the standard and change the silencer to one of indore made or neemach made..see
it roars to life..

 

[thevortex]

Venkatesh - if at all it is important you must know that the cast iron bullets are going to be (if not already) discontinued from the production line. Soon they are going to be antiques. Collector items, what not.

I would say - get the Standard Bullet or get an Electra 4s. Where is the joy in riding a Bullet with the gear on the normal side? The good thing though is that once you start riding a 4 gear Bullet with the gearshift on the other side, you will get used to anything. You can switch bikes and ride without worry.

 

[grubyhalo]

...
I would say - get the standard bullet or get an electra 4s. Where is the joy in riding a bullet with the gear on the normal side? the good thing though is that once you start riding a 4 gear bullet with the gearshift on the other side, you will get used to anything. You can switch bikes and ride without worry.

+1

 

[santhosh]

santhol,

that rd 350 ah nothing can touch it. terrific pickup if you were'nt careful the pillion rider would fall off in quick accelerations! nothing can touch it. very few on the road now. sigh... good ole times in pune

Yes buddy, the acceleration on these two strokers give me a high. More so today, because I use it only on weekends. That reminds me that weekend is round the corner:yahoo:.

yes, but that bike was tuned by mechanics holding their two palms to the exhausts - i still remember a trip to agumbe screwed by improper setting!

That is a classic problem with the old Contact Breakerless Points system. Timing is all important in the RD350 since it has two engines, two carbuerators and two sliencers. It is very important that both the engines have the same timing if not you are screwed sooner or later. Luckily today, the mechs use a timing gun. I know my mech for the last 17 years and have seen him tuning just by listening to the beats of the silencer. While many have converted their bikes to modern CDI Ignition systems, I am still on good old points.

 

[santhosh]

Good to see so many Bullet fans\owners - iaudio, thevortex, ironhorse, srikarkav, grubyhalo, svenkateshsmart, myself. I am also glad that many share the same view about the T-bird

go for the standard and change the silencer to one of indore made or neemach made..see
it roars to life..

Is that the NorthIndian equivalent of the goldie (a la BSA Goldstar) that is popular in Bangalore and Pune?

 

[svenkateshsmart]

Hi,

I managed to get a thunderbird of one of my friends' brother, who is in dubai and his father starts and rides it for 2-3kms once in a weekhyeah:. Make is 2007. I will be having this machine for about a month or 2:yahoo::yahoo::yahoo: I already started liking this machine, but will only settle down with models as suggested by our forum members.

I will post the photos of that soon here, i know I am very excited!:yahoo:

The more I think of not spending, the more I do the opposite!

Cheers!

 

[theironhorse]

what city are you in santhol2 ...so i can help you with the locations for the silencers..also here in hyd we get them by the same name as indore made..however neemach is not so popular here..

 

[santhosh]

The more I think of not spending, the more I do the opposite!

:lol:

what city are you in santhol2 ...so i can help you with the locations for the silencers..also here in hyd we get them by the same name as indore made..however neemach is not so popular here..

Thanks theironhorse, I don't need one as I own a RD350. I am just a RE fan, infact any post war vintage bike especially English bikes.

BTW, there is a popular custom silencer for the bullet called Goldie in Bangalore. The name comes from the BSA Goldstar which has a similar shape.

 

[theironhorse]

thc for the info..will chk on to it

 

[trittya]

Hi,

The picture you have posted really turns me on. Feel like going for a loan and grabbing one right away!:licklips: I feel as if I am seeing a 2-wheeled "Hummer":licklips:

Enfield is enfield! I wish they are more proactive and customer-friendly and provide customers a wide variety of options to buy their products like others.

Thanks all of you for your support and providing me a warm welcome! I feel like being home!

Well guys, I rode a bullet first in 1982 when i was just over 12 yrs. Owned three thumpers since 1992. Have known the innards of a bullet quite well, save the gearbox bit. Yeah, REM has undergone tremendous degradation in quality control esp metallurgy. No more good old 'british steel' there. To cut a long story short, try and get a pre 74 model, the older, the better and mind you, everything in a bullet can be changed legally except the left side of the engine crankcase and the frame as this is where the engine No and chassis No are punched.
Now, on the UCE classic 350/500
Would have bought it for its looks but passed it due to these reasons:-
* Brake and gearchange on the wrong side, to any die hard bulleteer, thats not a bullet and theres no option to switch as this UCE has been designed from scratch that way and thers hardly any modding possible.
* The thump is missing, whats the pt of getting a thumper with no thump?
* Fuel injection and twin spark plugs is ok for refinement and performance but takes away the joy of tinkering, repairing, servicing or modding your ride at home or by a roadside mechanic. Will have to take it to the auth service centre for want of new fangled diagnostic eqpt required.

Pm me, anyone and I ll tell you why you should get a pre 74 and how to restore/mod it.