2015 Royal Enfield Bullet
The Royal Enfield Classic 500 is the perfect motorcycle for a beginner or for anyone wanting to get back on a bike after many years of driving around in a "cage" (what motorcyclists derisively call a car).
At only 412 pounds, it is an easy motorcycle to grab hold of, easy to sit on, easy to operate and there's not nearly enough horsepower to get you in any trouble. It's the perfect conveyance for all those "rides of gentlemen" where everybody wears vests, mustache wax and monocles. Royal Enfield has over a hundred years of history to guarantee cachet, and it has style enough for rides and groups where style is important (even where it's more important than performance).
Royal Enfield started out as simply Enfield in the 19th century making parts for bicycles and for the Lee-Enfield bolt-action rifle, the latter a staple of British and Commonwealth troops for decades. The tagline "Made Like A Gun" and the cannon featured on the logo reflect this. Maybe the "Bullet" model does, too, but that would take a lot more research to verify, so let's just say they made gun parts. Granted a royal license by no less a majesty than Queen Victoria herself, the Royal Enfield name came online in 1890. Depending on which source you cite, and there are two completely separate sources just on Royal Enfield's own website, the company started making motorcycles either in 1901 or 1909. In either case, they've been at it a long time. One reference says the first Royal Enfield "motorized bicycle" was built in 1901. In 1909 came the first "motor-cycle," as opposed to "motorized bicycle." Moto-historians, send us your hate mail. The 1909 motor-cycle put out 2 1/4 hp from a Swiss-sourced V-twin engine. By 1911, Royal Enfield had upped output to a staggering 2 3/4 hp -- and added a two-speed gearbox.
Now fast forward to 2016: Here we are staring at a mighty 27-hp 500-cc upright single-cylinder Royal Enfield Classic 500. You'd think over a hundred years of technological development would have resulted in more than 27 hp. You can buy street-legal motorcycles nowadays that make over 200 hp. Is Royal Enfield wallowing in Victorian technology, refusing to be dragged into the modern world? Yes, and that's the whole point of this bike.
The Classic 500 is as anachronistic as anything on two wheels. There is no fluid-actuated anything on this bike, no adjustable valve timing and lift/duration, no Inertial Measuring Unit to calculate drift and predict imminent wheelies. A concession to fuel injection seems almost insulting, but there it is.
The Bullet model name may or may not be a reference to Enfield's armament history.
What's it like to ride?
That depends entirely on your point of view. If you appreciate the ancient history of the marque, you will love its somewhat quirky handling and nostalgic lack of power. If you climb onto it expecting a modern bike with modern features, you might be ... surprised. From the latter perspective, you could say this feels like the oldest motorcycle you've ridden in years. You'd point out that the front of the frame has a single downtube instead of the more "normal" two downtubes, which could explain -- at least partially -- why the whole thing shimmies just a little at freeway speeds. But nostalgia doesn't explain why the front tire is so easily pulled side to side on freeway grooves. Nor why the engine really has to try to get up to any kind of speed on an open highway.
Yes, the engine: Despite electronic fuel injection, it doesn't start with confidence but sort of rattles to life, eventually firing the single piston up and down. The old joke is that on a Royal Enfield the piston remains stationary and the bike goes up and down. There may be some truth behind that humor. Peak power of 27.2 hp comes at 5,250 rpm, which is way up on the tach. The more usable 30.5 lb-ft of torque peaks at only 4,000 rpm but is felt just above idle. That means, around town, you can shift up pretty much whenever you want. The clutch engages way out at the end of clutch-lever travel but with easy action so that you don't have to be a meaty-pawed biker hooligan to operate it.
We rode it around town for a week and found it's perfect in that setting. Once you get up on the freeway, however, you will find yourself planning passes way in advance, weeks ahead if you can. It's freeway-legal, but you might not want to spend a lot of time on the freeway -- take surface streets instead. It's more like a scooter in that regard.
Handling? We took it all the way up Angeles Crest Highway midweek when the place was empty and found that it behaves much like a motorcycle, only slower. We were winding it out a lot more. Everything on a Royal Enfield happens much more slowly than on almost any other bike, even those 300-cc street bikes so many manufacturers make nowadays.
Do I want one?
As we said, this would be an excellent beginner's bike. It's light, easy to operate and better at slow speeds than fast. Anyone who is looking to go fast should get another bike. But for learners, specifically for hipsters seeking something to ride to their next Gentlemen's Whatever, this would give you the cachet you seek while not taking very much experience to make it go down the road. There are many motorcycles in the 300-or-so-cc class and costing around $5,000-or-so-dollars, but they lack the character of the Classic 500.
Vehicle Model Information
ON SALE: Now
BASE PRICE: $5,499
POWERTRAIN: 499-cc upright single cylinder, five-speed manual, RWD
OUTPUT: 27.2 hp @ 5,250 rpm, 30.5 lb ft at 4,000 rpm
CURB WEIGHT: 412 lb
FUEL ECONOMY: 68.3 mpg (AW)
PROS: Fashionable, easy-to-ride bike with excellent cachet
CONS: Shakes a lot, seat came apart, not much power
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Source: https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/a1858811/ride-review-royal-enfield-classic-500/
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