I m surprised that Enfields are being replaced by Japanese bikes, not chinese ones. In South America, Japanese bikes are such a luxury for local populations...

I met an Austrian girl travelling on an Enflield around South America when i got there first time. Her hands didn t look that dirty

Here's a thread nicked from a forum of British Bullet riders. It gives a reasonable picture of what Bullet ownership is like I think. We're not talking the massive 200, 000 kms that people sometimes put on Transalps etc, but it shows that they do go reasonable distances without the endless problems people seem to experience when they rent them off, dare I say it, companies in India with rather relaxed attitudes to servicing...




Posted By Paul On 2008-08-14 At 09:12:03

Folks,
There is always talk of Bullets being tempermental well lets put this to rest!!!
Also that some have put many miles on the clock.

Well how many miles on your Bullets. I would love to hear of 30000 plus.

Come on boys let me have your numbers


Paul


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Follow Ups
Posted By trevorch On 2008-08-14 At 10:54:42


Nov.2007 on the Road 500 Classic - 5,900KM to date. Rgds TrevorCH

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Posted By Don On 2008-08-14 At 11:26:37


My 1959 350 Airflow Bullet was bought second hand in 1976 mileage unknown as the speedo was broken and has done 42000 miles in my ownership to date with no work done on the bottom end but has had a rebore and new valves and guides.

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Posted By John R On 2008-08-14 At 12:10:36


'89 350. About 64000 miles. It has had new valves and guides and samrats. Reliable enough for day to day use, the only major problems have been recent cable breakages - not surprising when they were probably nearly 20yrs old.
And this is from the days when they were supposed to have dodgy build quality. I think it was well run in and maintained from the off.

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Posted By Dave T On 2008-08-14 At 12:10:45


30,000kms, 2002 350 classic, never missed a beat, never even had to adjust the valves, only had to replace the rear sprocket bearing after 7000 kms. used every day for commuting and generally running around, happy riding, ans contrary to what you sometimes read on this site, it's not all doom & gloom. enjoy the ride, cheers, Dave

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Posted By Matt C On 2008-08-14 At 12:26:08


11,000 km. A few niggly electrical faults but nothing major. Regular servicing seems to keep it happy and reliable. Perhaps a little romantically, I hope to keep it the rest of my life.

Matt

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Posted By kevin s On 2008-08-14 At 12:35:52


39000 km 2004 sixty 5, no problems, burns a little oil, clutch slips sometimes. No real work other than oil change & grease.

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Posted By coinzy On 2008-08-14 At 23:08:17


Mine got to 13000km before the big end went.
the coinz

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Posted By Leon Novello On 2008-08-15 At 08:52:15


23000kms, about 17000 with the iridium spark plug still in there.
Leon. AUS.

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Posted By Jorma Kontio On 2008-08-15 At 18:50:46


Electra 2005 19778 km. Half of that commuting: rear brake shoes just went..



Matt

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*Disclaimer* - I am not saying my bike is better than your bike. I am not saying my way is better than your way. I am not mocking your religion/politics/other belief system. When reading my post imagine me sitting behind a frothing pint of ale, smiling and offering you a bag of peanuts. This is the sentiment in which my post is made. Please accept it as such!

Hero Honda are built locally in India so are not imported from Japan. Likewise Bajaj Kawasaki, India Yamaha and Suzuki India. They all have easily accessible websites if anyone is thinking of flying into India and buying a bike locally. (But after viewing HH's, my computer got attacked and it's just a load of jazzy graphics and annoying muzak.)

I have no axe to grind either way, I like old bikes but I'm a duff mechanic so prefer modern reliability. For what bobbyslob paid for his '96 Enfield and service (practically a complete rebuild), he could have bought a brand new Hero Honda but two-up with luggage on a 125 would still have been hard work.

You pays your money, you takes your choice.