Royal Enfield Bullet 500 Classic Independence Day Motorcycle Ride

[RoyalEnfieldfahrer]

Nice ride, my friend overseas, and beautiful motorcycle.

[hoohoohoblin]

@RoyalEnfieldfahrer Thanks!

[TheJobmathew]

Hi Yours like Royal Enfield bullet is available in states?How you maintaining your bike?Is parts available in their?can i bring my Royal Enfield from India to Texas?

[hoohoohoblin]

@TheJobmathew There are dealers in California and Texas, so you can order parts locally there. I buy parts on eBay shipped from India. They are factory parts, and the price is low. I don't know how hard it is to import a motorcycle from India to Texas. You would have to check Texas laws. It would be easier to sell your Enfield in India and then buy another one when you get to Texas.

[HotelBushranger]

Hi mate, are you running standard compression pistons? They sound like 8s or so.

[hoohoohoblin]

@HotelBushranger I think they're the stock pistons. The bike came from a police impound auction, and it has a bunch of custom parts on it, but I don't know if the original owner replaced the pistons.

[MrRowanMess]

You celebrate independence from the British by riding a British motorcycle? Other than that great video.

[hoohoohoblin]

@MrRowanMess Ha ha ha! Excellent point. I wonder how people in India celebrate their independence from the British.

[shankssk]

@hoohoohoblin By selling more Bullets to the British :)

Nice bike though. How much did you pay for it?

[hoohoohoblin]

@shankssk $2,300. Royal Enfields weren't sold in every US state, so if you live in a state where they were sold, you can find good ones for $2,000 - $3,000. There were no dealers in California when I bought mine, so they are rare here and I bought the first one I found for sale, even though the clutch was shot and it has high mileage.

[autobot69000]

nice bike!

but at 0:27 i thought you had a crash.

[hoohoohoblin]

@autobot69000 You're right. It does look like that. I was shooting with a small Canon camera in my hand, so it was pretty shaky. I should edit a new version and end it at :27 and call it Terrible Royal Enfield Motorcycle Crash. I bet it would get a lot more views than this video.

[KNO3CS]

Yay! Good times on two wheels!

[MickBentonPDX]

There not stock signals on there am I right...? looks better

Cheers for posting.

[hoohoohoblin]

@MickBentonPDX You're right. They're mini bullet-shaped turn signals. I think you can get them from Royal Enfiield, but a lot of other places sell them as well. They're really cheap, but they look good and work well.

[MickBentonPDX]

There not stock signals on there am I right...? looks better

Cheers for posting.

[MickBentonPDX]

There not stock signals on there am I right...? looks better

Cheers for posting

[jjneet]

Nice Enfield. I have a 2007 that I bought new. It's at 3000 miles now. Yours doesn't have the electric start, and I think you're better off without it as they are known to give problems. Your bike looks great with the solo seat.

[slaughtur]

as in same engine as the electra x

[slaughtur]

the new UCE engines have flexible piston rings. less wear on the barrel. but i love your morotcycle. its a Cast iron 500. i don see many of em in india!!i had the option to get the CI 500 but my young blood made me buy the AVL powered Thunder bird(bullet electra x in the US i think).

[hoohoohoblin]

@slaughtur Royal Enfield has definitely been making improvements. The 2011 models are tougher, faster and more reliable than the old ones. I still like my old classic model for riding around town.

[slaughtur]

@hoohoohoblin The improvements are nice an everything but the new models somehow lack character. kids get enfields now a days with electric starters. i have seen guys riding the new models struggle to kick start my bike.lol. i had the option for an electric starter but i opted for the old school way.lol

[LostandFoundTravel]

From the beat up Bullets I've seen in India, this bike will run forever given just a little love.

[annnnnnnnnnnnas]

you no why bullet rocks ..cause its made INDIA !!!...\m/ JAI HO \m/

[unimogman404]

You have a nice Royal Enfield and I think you did a good job with the video. Keep on riding , keep on posting and  ignore negative comments. I have a video of myself on my bike; you are welcome to go see it ! Have a good day !

[hoohoohoblin]

@unimogman404 Thanks for the support. On the internet a lot of angry people have the chance to say mean things to others without any fear of retribution, so negative comments are part of the territory, and I don't take them personally. I checked out your videos. I like your old Chang Jiang BMW. Whenever I see one for sale around here I'm tempted to buy it, but I'm sticking with the Royal Enfield for now. 

[arcanacelestia]

Why have you posted a video which is smothered in wind noise? Get a sock for your microphone, then re-make the video and then re-poste the video. Idiot.

[hoohoohoblin]

@arcanacelestia Sorry I wasted 2 minutes and 45 seconds of your life with my video. The sound is terrible. I made the video using an old Canon digital picture camera, hand-held while riding because my real video camera was broken, then pasted it together with Windows Movie Maker. I didn't think anyone would actually watch it but it has tens of thoutsands of views. I made a much better video of me riding my Suzuki, with the sound muted and samba music playing, but it has almost no views.

[arcanacelestia]

@hoohoohoblin Your bike is beautiful. Microphone socks are big fluffy covers which you put over big microphones to stop the sound track being smothered by the sound of the wind blowing on the microphone. If you are using a little camera where the sound gets to the built in microphone through a little hole in the body of the camera, then you must cover the hole with a 1cm diameter hemisphere of open cell foam, and then cup your hand over the foam to protect it from direct impact by wind.

[unimogman404]

@arcanacelestia : What have you posted ( from you ) on Youtube to treat people of idiot ? Not very nice !

[pveg65]

Love the way it looks with the solo saddle.

[hoohoohoblin]

@pveg65 Thanks. People always ask what kind it is. It's a Le Pera spurng solo saddle. Royal Enfield makes nice solo seats too. A solo seat really makes the motorcycle look great.

[fusilier45]

Alrite mate,nice video,Im after getting a new bike soon and really fancy an old English or German motorbike,would you recommend the Enfield on reliabilty?Also I know that its not a speed machine by any standards but what kind of speeds can be expected?(Im 175cm tall and around 11 stone)Will it be able to cruise at 70 mph on the motorway?Would be grateful for your knowledge and advice,thanks

[hoohoohoblin]

Royal Enfiield claims their newest EFI C5 motorcycles can handle sustained high speeds, and the engines are more reliable than the older ones like mine. Older Enfields in stock form can't handle much high-speed use. I'd recommend getting a new one. Same classic look, but better reliability. Old Moto-Guzzis are great old classic-looking bikes with high reliability and high-speed capability. And they're rare enough that people everywhere will appreciate it when you ride in on it.

[fusilier45]

Thanks for the advice mate,yes I was looking into getting a Moto Guzzi or any European bike such as BMW or a British bike,and Im told that all models of Guzzi have at least one reverse gear lol,thanks again

[dirtyjew1974]

@hoohoohoblin are the 2010 enfields more than 500cc's and if not then how do they maintaing higher speeds? I weigh a bit over 200lbs so would it do fine for my weight also at higher speeds, would it be ok for interstate riding?

[hiyadroogs]

@dirtyjew1974 The 500cc carburetor bikes had 22 bhp, while the new fuel injected ones are rated @ 28 bhp. I believe the barrel & head of the new bikes are now both made of alloy, which promotes better cooling. The ignition system is also electronic. These factors contribute to greater & more consistent higher speed reliability.

[iPlan8]

reallly nice bike.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[hoohoohoblin]

Thanks. I love this motorcycle, and sometimes it loves me back.

[kopkiller2]

Hi

Nice gloves you wearing in this video!

Can I ask, what's the brand and where you got it?

Regards

Kjetil

Norway

[hoohoohoblin]

Those are my favorite gloves, and the most comfortable ones I've ever had. They are the same color as Speed Racer's. I got them at a swap meet in a parking lot for $10. They are made of deer skin, which is a lot softer than cow leather. I don't remember the brand name, but they are just simple work gloves. A long time ago I had some really good pig skin work gloves I bought at a lumberyard, which were great for motorcycling. Check your local lumberyard for work gloves.

[kopkiller2]

Hi and thank you.

I found some on ebay.

Really cheap too...

Kjetil

[gordonemoore]

That's what cell phones and credit cards are for. (wink)

[gordonemoore]

I suggest you go online to Classic Motor Works, the RE importer. You can get parts and service manuals and a comprehensive troubleshooting DVD. Sign up for their free e-mail newsletter as well.

Even if you don't do your own work, the manuals will help whoever does.

Don't worry too much about something going wrong with it. These things are built like anvils and about as complicated. They do take a little maintenance once in a while like any old-fashioned bike.

[hoohoohoblin]

Thanks. I bought their DVD when I bought the bike, and it's a great reference. I've been riding the bike around town this weekend, and it's behaving nicely. I'm still too nervous about something going wrong to do my usual 100 mile loop through the mountains on it, but I'll get there.

[gordonemoore]

If you go find someplace that works on old English motorcycles, they'll know what they're looking at when they see your RE. There's not very many of them in CA and no dealers or clubs that I know of.

I had to screw around with DMV to get my plate but it wasn't hard. I don't want to go into the details here. Heh.

I bought mine from a friend with 228 miles on it for $3500. I've got about 1000 mi on it now and it hasn't skipped a beat and doesn't leak.

[gordonemoore]

I've had an '01 500 Classic in red and chrome for a year now and I love it. Did you have any trouble getting a CA license plate?

I'm up by Lake Tahoe.

[hoohoohoblin]

I bought it from a guy who bought it at an auction and didn't know anything about the bike. I got a pile of paperwork with it, took it to the DMV and got my plates. It had been registered in California before it was impounded and auctioned off, so they didn't give me any trouble. The odometer reads 22,000 miles. I paid $2,300 for it. I need to find an Enfield owner in LA so I can have them take a ride and tell me if there's anythign wrong with the bike.