Hi Scott,
The Enfield looks nice and is OK for short rides around town. It's beautiful and has a nice exjaust note (if you like thumpers). On the other hand, it has many drawbacks...
It's terribly slow and overheats easily in the summer. It can leak oil from new, and handles as it was 30 years ago.
There have been more than 100 improvement points on the Bullet in the last two years, so that warranty claims have decreased by far. The Bullet though wasn't the best bike of the original Royal Enfield in the first place. It was the budget single cylinder (together with the 350) and not even the best one according to Classic Bikes. It seems the Indian company didn't have a market for a 650 twin like the Interceptor.
See this :
http://www.george-dockray.com/enfield/posters/Interceptor_Ad.jpg
You can see the old range of Royal Enfields in brochures here:
http://www.george-dockray.com/enfield/posters/posters.html
I like this kind of bikes and they have become popular in Greece lately, basically among artists or people who want something different to ride. It's impoprtant to have a good authorised dealer nearby, and have good relations with him!
I rode it while a friend was testing it for a magazine and it was very similar to my BMW R26 of 1957! OK it was faster but not by much! It will top at 110 km/h and it feels as the engine will blow, 80 km/h (50 mph) is a good speed. The 350 is slower but it can keep 80 as well. The bike relies on torque to accelerate rather than HP, and you can get away from light quite fast at first but the cars will catch up with you very soon. It requires different kind of riding and keeping long distances. The brakes are almost the same as they were back then, all cars have ABS these days though... see my point? The Bullet seemd to have better brakes than my BMW though, I don't remember if it has twin leading shoe or single.
In Greece you can get original classic bikes like the BMW R26 or R27 in fair condition at around 2000 USD, so they are a viable prospective. These bikes are much better engineered, don't ever brake down if serviced properly, they never leak, they are more beautiful, and they are more than 40 years old (mine is 44).
Before you buy one, examine it thoroughly, I ve seen new ones in the dealer, and they were leaking! The importer in Greece takes care of such quality control problems himself before selling the bike. Oh and make sure you test ride it for as much as you can to find out if you like the 'old bike' feeling.
I'll try to get some pictures of my BMWs some of these days...
Aris
The Enfield looks nice and is OK for short rides around town. It's beautiful and has a nice exjaust note (if you like thumpers). On the other hand, it has many drawbacks...
It's terribly slow and overheats easily in the summer. It can leak oil from new, and handles as it was 30 years ago.
There have been more than 100 improvement points on the Bullet in the last two years, so that warranty claims have decreased by far. The Bullet though wasn't the best bike of the original Royal Enfield in the first place. It was the budget single cylinder (together with the 350) and not even the best one according to Classic Bikes. It seems the Indian company didn't have a market for a 650 twin like the Interceptor.
See this :
http://www.george-dockray.com/enfield/posters/Interceptor_Ad.jpg
You can see the old range of Royal Enfields in brochures here:
http://www.george-dockray.com/enfield/posters/posters.html
I like this kind of bikes and they have become popular in Greece lately, basically among artists or people who want something different to ride. It's impoprtant to have a good authorised dealer nearby, and have good relations with him!
I rode it while a friend was testing it for a magazine and it was very similar to my BMW R26 of 1957! OK it was faster but not by much! It will top at 110 km/h and it feels as the engine will blow, 80 km/h (50 mph) is a good speed. The 350 is slower but it can keep 80 as well. The bike relies on torque to accelerate rather than HP, and you can get away from light quite fast at first but the cars will catch up with you very soon. It requires different kind of riding and keeping long distances. The brakes are almost the same as they were back then, all cars have ABS these days though... see my point? The Bullet seemd to have better brakes than my BMW though, I don't remember if it has twin leading shoe or single.
In Greece you can get original classic bikes like the BMW R26 or R27 in fair condition at around 2000 USD, so they are a viable prospective. These bikes are much better engineered, don't ever brake down if serviced properly, they never leak, they are more beautiful, and they are more than 40 years old (mine is 44).
Before you buy one, examine it thoroughly, I ve seen new ones in the dealer, and they were leaking! The importer in Greece takes care of such quality control problems himself before selling the bike. Oh and make sure you test ride it for as much as you can to find out if you like the 'old bike' feeling.
I'll try to get some pictures of my BMWs some of these days...
Aris
