I’ve always been a bike guy.... to be precise.... I’ve always been a ’big’ bike guy. In India, this restricts you to just 3 or 4 choices. While a Yamaha RD350 is what turns me on totally, I had to be practical as well when I decided to buy a new bike. This left me with only the Karizma and the Royal Enfield range. While the Karizma is good looking, fast and modern, I feel these newer Jap bikes lack a distinctive personality and character. Royal Enfield now has an interesting line-up. You have the the Bullet 350 Std (CB Point model), the Electra (TCI Ignition), the Machismo (AVL, 5 Speed), the Thunderbird Cruiser (AVL, 5 Speed) and the Bullet 500. I wrote off the 500 first, I found it unaffordable. Next were the Machismo & Thunderbird. Both these come with newer, lean-burn, aluminium engines with a 5 speed shifter on the left side. They’ve got loads of chrome and seem to be selling in large numbers. Again, they were ruled out because the new engine sounds a tin-pot in comparison with the meaty thump the older, cast-iron one produced. I found the Std too ’plain jane’ looking with its drab, black, oversized mudguards... kinda reminded me of my doodhwallah’s bike. So the Electra it was!!! The Bullet Electra shares the engine and old, 4 speed gearbox with the Std. But that’s where the similarity ends. My Electra is a beauty in Magic Black. In the sunlight, she glints a stunning metallic, dark green and appears pitch black at night. She has lotsa very macho looking chrome and makes heads turn wherever she goes. The gold, metal RE logo on the tank is a real stunner! Quality of the switchgear is good, a far cry from what RE used to offer. The Electra has a new Transitorized Coil Ignition (TCI) system. This ensures you never have starting trouble, even on cold, wet mornings. It can also take more add-ons on the electrical system. Many still don’t know that she now has an Electric Start option. While it’s more fun cranking her the good ol’ way, the ES works like a charm. It is helpful in stop n go traffic like we have in Mumbai. You should see the looks you get from puzzled fellow riders at the traffic lights when you suddenly gun her to life... as if by magic! Wow! The ES has added an irritating clatter to the engine noise. It reduces with use and by the second service, my bike engine was super smooth, super silent! The Electra comes with a good looking glass-wool silencer. It gives out a nice meaty thump, still not as good as the Std model though. The old 4 speed shifter is the same. I like it on the ’’other’’ side too, not too many people are comfy with this and your bike doesn’t get borrowed by every Tom, Dick & Harry in the friends circle. The unique neutral finder lever is real nice. It’s not available on the 5 speed models. The gearbox is rather clunky and it has a mind of its own but thats the fun part. The Bullet is no road rocket. She is big and powerful alright, but make no mistake... she is no rocket. Give her time and a good length of road and she’ll give you a top whack of a li’l over a 105kmph. The front disc brake is very useful getting her to stop, ’coz she’s like a lumbering giant. Many would find the top speed disappointing from a 350cc, but that’s not what you buy a bullet for! Go get yourself a Pulsar 180! My bike gives me 32 - 35 kmpl in the city and nearly 40kmpl on the highway. Decent! The Bullet is also a very comfortable bike to be on. The Electra has gas-filled hydraulic shocks at the rear, excellent! A Bullet says a lot about its owner. The bike is an extension of your personality. To sum things up, you have to ’learn’ to tame this bike, learn to control her and learn to love her. Sometimes, you’ll need to coax and cajole her into getting her to do what you want to. But then, you do that to your girlfriend too, right? And like your girlfriend, this baby won’t let you down either.