Royal Enfield Bullet Classic 500 EFI

Hello All
… Mr Corbin – I am sorry that you have been offended – occasionally we indians get a little fired up and use sentence structures that may sound like we are being aggressive – I assure you that its all in the spirit of debate and nothing personal.
I am sure Mr Bala Chandran did not mean to offend you – so do not take matters to heart.
We are a passionate lot here – our frustrations do come out from time to time because we get upset WITH OUR FELLOW INDIANS behavior toward “export” markets versus local markets.
I remember about a year and a half ago I ripped “another one” into Royal Enfield for the very reason Mr Bala was trying (perhaps unsuccessfully) to express – the fact that for decades Indian bullet fans put up with utter junk thrown at us from RE – leaking bikes, rusting parts, lousy spares, terrible service, nauseous build – quality, foul electrics, and overall expensive junk.
It is the maniacal support from Indian riders that kept RE afloat all those trying years …. yet, I noted with considerable hurt, they chose to deliver the first presumably quality product to the Export market and not to us.
That was the cause of the angst – please do not feel it was targeting you.
Having said as much – can ANYONE please give me an accurate account of an actual owership experience of either of these new bikes ? I am tempted to buy my first RE in decades – having substandard experiences in the past; but am very very worried to have a white elephant on my hands
please – anyone ? oil , seizures, rust, gremlins in the electrics, gearbox with its own mind, failures of parts – you know, the normal RE experience thus far …. does UCE really address all this

hi,every bull (et) rider,all folks who can afford it pls buy it, only machos ride it, don’t wait the 500 classic is here iam loving it,iam buying it, all other poor bikers will envy it.oh iam really excited soon i will be joining the BULL CLUB

“All I can say about the 500 EFI is, Oh Gosh, enjoyed & booked it!”….
‘Its the FOOD FOR THE POWER & PERFORMANCE HUNGRY’

Post Owning it i say “I Live my life as an Exclamation, not an Explanation.”

Cheers,
Rahil Shariff

Greetings from sunny Australia! A bit of background info…I’m 54 years old and last June I had a nasty accident (highsided off my Ducati while accelerating round a bumpy corner) that left me with a shoulder blade in 17 pieces, shattered collar bone, 8 broken ribs, a ruptured spleen, torn liver, bruised brain, severed little finger and crushed ring finger. Round about Xmas time I was well enough to start looking for another bike and my thoughts were running towards getting an old 1960′s or 70′s Triumph to restore and ride.In a stroke of good fortune the only classic bike dealership is also the states Royal Enfield distributer. Gazing through the window I saw the C5 Classic and I just went “WOW!!!”. In my opinion they are one of the most beautifully styled bikes I’ve seen, up there with a ’69 Bonneville, a 916 Ducati and the MV Agusta. I took it for a test ride, build quality looked good, the paint looked thick and lustrous, it started straight away and the fuelling from the EFI was faultless. Needless to say I left a deposit and ordered one in burgandy! I pick it up next Tuesday and I can’t wait!! I’ll post again after I ride it home.Cheers!

Can I know the mileage of this bike……..

Hey Charley

Thats fantastic !!
I am happy for you man .
Can you mail me some pics on falconhill@mac.com

Also I would like to follow the bike’s ownership experience through you before I finally sell my 250 (which currently rocks but is a small bore Honda Karizma and lacks the big bike feel that I love) and spring for one
Cheers mate
ride safe
Ocean

Hello Charlie,
I am so happy for you that you own one of these Classic 500. I went to India in Dec 09 for 10 days but cant stop myself from buying one of this.
If possible, could you please email me some pictures of your Enfield to me at paul@dayatransport.com
I am in Canada and we are expecting these Motorcycles here sometime in March 2010.
Thanks

Hello, I want to thank Nadir for emailing me and for his kind words and encouragement! I am very appreciative. With regards to the Bullet Classic, I am still enjoying this machine as much as I was the first day that I picked it up! Three months after having collected the bike the first 1100 released bikes were recalled due to a fault in the clutch! It seems that the wrong size sproket was used and thus,some of these bikes were experiencing near fatal seizures! My bike’s serial number was on the list and despite having experienced no major problems thee was a persisting whizzing sound that came and went. Once my bike even lost power as I was joining traffic on the highway and I had to pull into the hard shoulder. Royal Enfield Ireland collected my bike for me and changed the clutch entirely and then delivered it back to me! Great service if only they hadn’t damaged my bike whilst trying to fix it! I received several scratches and they didn’t even return some of the wiring into its rightful place!To make matters worse, the stock battery supplied with the bike was returned (he hadn’t put it on the first time because he had no acid for the battery)but didn’t fit so the store owner JAMMED the battery cover back on twisting it and wrecking the top rubber mount! Suffice it to say I have not gone back to him anjd have been doing my own servicing since. Since changing the clutch the above noise has gone completely and the bike itself is as always a real show winner and rides like a dream! I did experience recently only a brief moment when the bike suddenly lost power, but it was so brief that I don’t know what to attribute it too. On another note, I bought a second hand Harley Davidson Motorcycle last week. It is a 2008 Nightster Sportster with only 2000 miles on the clock. The stock two up seat on the Harley is so bad I cannot bare to use it! So now I am waiting for my new seat to arrive. It goes to show you doesn’t it, that Royal Enfield is doing something right because I have never once been uncomfortable on its sprung saddle! The Royal Enfield is a bike I would love to keep for the rest of my life…and hopefully that will be a very very long life indeed. Someone else who I believe frequents this sight, Radhey, recently collected his RE Classic EFI too. His came with a kickstand! You ared very lucky to have the kickstand. The bikes supplied here in the EU do not even have the provision neccessary to add one! Anyways, I wish you all the best and safe riding! Cheers, M. Corbin

hi guys i am one of u royal enfield fans and when i saw that beast my hearttt started pounding with the gravi of having it
with all my effort i hve convinced my parent to but it but unforunately the service is slow and bad so it will take atleast 5 months

Hi Guys

What is the price on this one? I am looking to import one to South Africa. The only Enfield dealer in South Africa sadly closed as they could not afford the rent.

Hello Zain
yes the classic 500 efi and C 5 are exactly the same.
Unit Construction Engine (UCE) is the new bullet
technology now on all bullets .
The 500 stands apart because of Kihin EFI . I personally
am unsure this is a huge advantage .
There is a 350 UCE C also which is carbed
that version is smoother but with less torque
and mid range punch than the 500 efi

Hi Guys

Ocean Breeze thanks for the feeback there. Much appreciated mate!

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a few dealers in India? I am looking to import one to South Africa. Which dealers are reputable with great service?

By the way I really enjoy reading all your posts guys.

Later

Hey I Leave in Nepal, and heard about diesel bullet. Is it true and what’s the specification & where can i buy it. And finally Price.

Thx dude. But I was bit impress with my friend dad as he rolls with his diesel RE Bullet. Which was imported from England? I really love its overall performance especially on High way as high in Nepal has lots of up then down. Seeing his RE bullet really gives a big blow job to the truckers on highways though being 20 yrs old.

one of my friend advised me that, model start from royal enfield thunder bird are making a vibrational noise in engine during ideal position of the bullet. whether the same problem is occurring in 2009 Classic 500CC??

DOUBLE SEAT(FLAT TYPE)IS GOOD

My wife bought me the new 500efi C5 for christmas it has been nothing but trouble the air intake cover lock has broken 4 times in 8 months denting and scratching the cover. The original petrol tank leaked every time it was filled, it spits more oil out of the breather than it uses if the oil in the motor is above the low fill mark the chain guard has rubbed the paint off the frame. the front brake cable has rubbed the front guard back to bare metal, the front guard was not put on correctly and has rubbed the paint off the front forks and front guard.The bike runs great for the first ten minutes but after that the highest speed it will go is 100kmh at full throttle. The bike has been back to the dealer has had 4 services 4 spark plugs 3 air filter has cost a small fortune to try and fix the problems the bike has. The manual states 132kmh what a load of rubbish. If i could afford it i would go back to a jap bike, i would not or could not sell this bike to anybody as my conscience would not allow me to rip off somebody else the way i have been ripped by royal enfield.
S.Healey

Hey s. healey !! Man do not ever go with Bullet buy some Plastic toy Cauzzz u r not made for BULLET. RE Bullet actually hates you. HAHAHAHAHA.

Mr Healey – I am astounded . I agree with Charley’s comments – the UCE 500C i have is trouble free .May I ask if you have driven it rough ? sometimes what happens if we are used to Jap bikes is that our expectations are somewhat more stressful on older technology or design.
Chances are if you rode the Bullet hard and fast initially she is just not up to that .
Second is that the fools who assembled it may have done probably the world’s shoddiest job .

Either way I think you should take it up with Mr Siddharth Lal – Managing Director of RE India . The adddress is on the website – let him know because this is not the standard response I am seeing to the UCE 500 C
good luck

Just to let you know the bike was run in as per manufacture instruction, has been serviced twice as much as recommended by RE.
The fuel tank has been replaced, it was faulty,part of the chain guard was cut out but frame was not re-painted. The front guard was moved with front guard and front forks being re-spayed with enamel paint from RE really bad colour match the guard was put too far to the right scratching guard and front forks in new position. The side cover was replaced but the lock once again broke denting and scratching new side cover a 2 new locks have been sent and I was told to maybe tape the cover shut. I asked RE for a colour number so I could by some paint and get the bike repaired properly RE could not give me a colour number so I have to get paint custom matched. As to the bike building up oil pressure somebody I spoke to said the problem may be in the breather chamber and that maybe the oil return route may be blocked. Should I buy a new gasket kit remove right engine cover and breather chamber cover to check out, any advise would be much appreciated, as a comment I love the bike and I will get the bike to the condition it deserves to be no thanks to RE .
thanks S.Healey