The legendary Bullet, the name struck awe in me ever since I was a school boy. I always knew I would end up owning one no matter how long that takes. SO after years of convincing and negotiations I finally made me dad to agree on getting me a new bullet in college. Though the choices in the royal enfield stable were many I wanted to get either the 500 or the standard version as my friends in kerala recommended it the most to me.
While standard is the hottest thing in kerala it is not the same in bangalore. Since bullet 500 was out of the question ( the stupid showroom guy told my dad 500 is just a standard bullet with more power and engine capacity. dont get it for kids ) so I decided to get the electra the one step higher to the standard. This was in 2004. It was my first ever ride on a bullet and I was thrilled.
I went to the showroom to get the bike on delivery date. On the way back it just died on me. Suddenly I was filled with apprehension for I had heard bullet being a dufficult bike. But after a few kick starts and thousands of obscenities yelled at me by the traffic ( Yeah thats right , the engine died on me at the centre of the road ). I reached home a confused man as to whether I should have listened to my cousins asking me to take the karizma.
But as I soon realised, no bike made me feel the way I do on the bullet. The street presence and the legendary thumping just got me addicted. Hell it commands respect. I got a custom made silencer that gives a louder thump and changed the handle bar to a shorter one. That was all the the modifications I have done on the bike. Somehow I feel the bike looks better without a mag wheel. The ride comfort on the bike is one of the best with great seating position and great suspension with its gas shocks. I have gone on numerous road trips not to reach a destination. just for the pure pleasure of riding the bullet. The bike is nicely powered to get a good acceleration and quick overtakes. No bulleteer ever rides his bullet on its highest speed so I too didnt bother on its high speed. CRuising at 90 allday long was no issue to the bullet and that kept me satisfied,
Well that brings us to the downside, something always keep happening to this bike, be it its refusal to start , some wierd noise in the engine, the vibrations or at times just dying on me on the road when I least expect it. I usually visit the showroom service centre an average of 3 days per week!! Many experiened bulleteers have adviced me that this will resolve with time and that I should treat it royally as each bullet has its own character. Being the bullet fan that I am I listened to this in awe but the logical side of me rubbished this with ’ if all the other mass produced bikes in the world behave exactly the same why not the bullet ??
But choosing a low mileage giving , maintenance hassle filled , technologically outdated bike in this modern times of self start, good mileage and practically maintenance free bikes itself shows bulleters dont reason with logic, they follow their heart. Thats what I did too. I kept riding my bullet each time just a small ride making me forgive all its shortcomings. I never looked at another bike as I was content with my bullet except fot the sweaty arrival in college in case it doesnt start in the morning or if it dies on me on the way. But fate made me to drop a friend to his home on his unicorn and I fell in love with it. So I got myself an unicorn as a second bike for the times when I just need easy riding ( self start is a blessing !! ) with smooth refined engine with vibration free ride and when the bullet shows me attitude in urgent situations. ( I have written the review for the unicorn seperately ).
i still ride the bullet and I still keep it in tip top shape. No way I am ever going to give up my bullet no matter what hassles it throws at me. Now 4 years and 35000 kms later I still stand by my decision to own my first love - the bullet.