Sometime since I wrote a review.
I recently got myself a test-ride on the new Bullet Electra 5S. I am going to build up on the experience and help fellow readers make up their minds before they venture out on buying an Enfield. While I probably wont bring any new information as such to this review, since Bullets have been around since time immemorial and everyone knows the Bullet qualities and quirks.
A cult classic. Thats what it is. I am not talking about the Bullet 350 (which is one too) but I am talking about Robert Pirsig’s ’’The Zen And Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance’’. So why am I talking about this legendary book? Because reading this book would come as close to the experience of riding an Enfield.
The book is about the memoirs of a road trip by the author. The undulating terrain of the American Badlands and a sweeping ode to the adventure nexus between a man and his motorcycle. An Enfield experience in this sense is no different. Pirsig talks about the intricacies of living with an uncivilised but simple beast. What is so ’civilised’ anyway? The CB Points on his bike, the cold starts, the in-out of the simple mechanics. All issues that Bullet owners come across sometime in their lives. The author looks at motorcycling as a necessary liberation activity for people who can handle it. He has a steadfast belief about his simple motorcycle. His riding companions in the book look at the difficulties of motorcycling as an unnecessary evil.
The Bullet is also of a similar mould. Its datedness is its biggest positive if you ask me. Its not the appeal of ’machismo’ that RE wants to sell this icon on, its the simplicity of this machine that sub-consciously makes it the icon it is. Like Pirsig says technology is sometimes abhorrent as it breaks man away from the basics of life. Man’s biggest advantage is his ingenuity to tackle challenges that might crop up without warning in life - likewise in an Enfield too. Technology takes away that essence and compromises it with pace. Pace for what?
Pirsig’s book is a must-read for everyone, though its title might be a misnomer. Bullet lovers must invariably read this. Its a simple yet extremely elegant piece of work. Same as the Bullet. You would wonder if the book is about the philosophy of life or motorcycling. I would say it is still about motorcycling, because in essence motorcycling gets you in touch with yourself like nothing else.
The Electra is the genre-defining 350’s much improved version. With TCI and Mikuni carb. And for good reason much better than it. Some die-hard thumpers will ostracize me for saying this but I feel Electra outdoes the 350. The 350 is pure. Putting more reliability in a bike doesn’t take away the purity if you ask me. Then comes the point like Pirsig elevates to in his book - How much of technology and development is actually a no-no? There is a an infinite sense of accomodation for technology in our lives, we will jump at the latest ’developments’ without wondering if we really need to distance ourselves that extra-bit from being ’basic’ . These days every field is technology driven and for good technology has indeed changed life.
Bullet, where art thou?
The Bullet is not that bad of an option when you have 100-150-180 plonks that do their job well but miss the character of motorcycling hook-line and sinker. But please don’t do the disservice of comparing such different standards like Bullets and Pulsars, its nothing but sheer naiveity. No Pulsars, no HHs, no nothing compares to a Bullet. Not because it is an ego-balloon but it is a true ’veteran’ of the real motorcycling era. And veterans maybe slow, maybe unhealthy, maybe old but they are the ones who gave us what we have. And in the case of Enfield it has given us enough for five decades albeit in a way that we fail to comprehend. Is the Bullet cult a cover-up for the bikes weaknesses? Is it just a tottering bike that comes at a premium price? What is the justification, it doesn’t look like value-for-money to any logical person?
Yes and no. Yes because the Bullet is a little expensive than its worth in all that it gives. NO because no amount of money can guarantee you the Bullet experience.
So whats the USP? Whats the experience? What are you buying into? I will tell you why you shouldn’t buy a Bullet...
Okay for the beginners to the ultimate ’Bullet experience’ I would say don’t buy this because it is ego-viagra, don’t buy this because it will make you ’the king of the road’, don’t buy this because RE advertises a punk-ass with Che Guevera proclaimed straightly on the t-shirt, don’t buy it because you think you are buying into this ’rebel without a cause’ personality. You can’t buy the experience.
Because in fact there is NO such Bullet experience. Instead it is about experiencing the Bullet. What actually happens is when your ego balloons as you turn the decomp and bring the thumper to life, you are getting in touch with yourself.
Now think about it, what is it that you expect in life, more so with your motorcycle? A little abandon, a caution to the wind, air in the hair, risk and everything that lends some justification for an otherwise bland ’consumerist’ experience called modern life.
The Enfield does that, gets you in touch with yourself. For that matter of fact any great adventurer will tell you that the real deal about adventure is actually sub-consciously motivated. It is about exploring the limits of your own personality and experiencing nature, women or motorcycles is actually about experiencing ’yourself’.
This may sound like a pretty tall order for a bike. Well what do you expect? Pulsars, HHs and the likes don’t sell you motorcycling-LSD like the Bullet. They all might be good bikes, but are all from the consumerist age where the inclination for consumer and producer is the ’pseudo-experience’. But whatever they might sell you in their ads, these bikes don’t have a halo of ’experience’ over them. Why? Ride a Bullet and you will know.
I am not going to the technical details, there are quite a few on this forum anyway. As a Bulleteer I will tell you how it feels to ride one.
The Bullet Electra on these lines is a fine machine indeed. It is as basic as the 350. Plus added reliability minus the CBs. Good for the Bullet. The sound is good, don’t expect pre-90s thump on this bike. The norms have changed and so have the bikes. But still the Electra is a sweet sounder. Not that fast, not that efficient and definitely not that reliable. We are talking this in context of the HHs and Pulsars you might invariably compare it with.
Trust me, this bike won’t get you women. This bike won’t get you drag-race titles. Won’t get you a new found personality either. What this bike does is that it gets the best out of you. How is that for some pre-consumerist era thinking? Its not because of its incompetence or its failure to live up with the modern standards. It is because this bike is about not bothering for the ’unnecessary bells and whistles’ sh*t in life.
So chew on this for a while before you plan to indulge yourself in the ’experience’.
Cost: Electra (4 Speed) - Rs 75570, (4Spd/dsc) Rs 79973, (4spd/ES) Rs 81123, (4sPD/DSC/es) Rs 85535, (5 Spd) Rs 77705, (5spd/dsc) Rs 82139, (5spd/ES) Rs 83255, (5Spd/dsc/ES) Rs 87673
All prices on-road Hyderabad.
Mileage: 32-37 kmpl (driven with some sanity)
GO FOR THE DISCS. ITS WORTH IT. Check out the Machismo (drum) at Rs 79615, (dsc) at Rs 84342. Machismo gives more mileage (+5 max), vibrations, pickup and top speed. Looks cool though.