[shinerunner75]

hey the prices seem fair to me.you could buy a suzuki tu 250 but it dosnt have the power of a 500 single.to the purist i love old bullets and the avl.I was really wanting a classic cast iron bullet.Well money is the problem so traded a truck for a bunch of old triumphs and mics junk.got a bonnie chopper and a hd flh.both look classic both need fixed every other time i ride.kinda hard to find parts in a small town.gas prices kill me  im ok on every thing else so a reliable bullet that gets exellent gas milage and looks good is great.and im gonna own one we are luky we can still get a bike that dosent look like a plastic toy.be safe out there

[Bankerdanny]

Don't be too sure about the power shinerunner.

Suzuki doesn't list the power on its web site, but I would bet the HP is equal to or better than the RE, while the Bullet wins on Torque.

The overall performance of the two bikes will probably be very similar.

[UK-Classics]

Yes - I agree (probably not much in HP) torque certainly better on RE. 

For the most part those that want an RE are not really comparing it with Jap bikes anyway. Saying that -  I was in a dealer in Ireland recently & he was not very hopeful for sales over there of the new G5/C5 - he said the new prices would put people off when they are sitting next to his Jap bikes.

He said he would get a C5 in to put in the window - more as a talking point & see if it generated interest. He was certainly disappointed in the pricing of the new machines.

 I guess RE dealers will not be able to sell the same volume of bikes as previous due to no 'cheap' bikes being available anymore.

[vineys]

  I have to agree with RAKE, who cares about a kick start? Pushing a button sounds like a much better way to go...I still have scars on my shins fron trying to kickstart tempermental dirt bikes with teethy footpegs back in the 70's......
   I think Royal Enfields are going to enjoy a large new popularity with the new 2009 UCE bikes. The pricing is fantastic - the nostalgic thing is really "going on", and old farts like me have more money than the 20 somethings and their silly crotch rockets......OK, OK, some of us are dying off & are content to sit around and drink Geritol....but not me...I don';t care what my wife says, I WILL be buying a new 2009 Classic in Teal. Come and visit me and my new bike to keep me company after she divorces me...
 

[ace.cafe]

Don't be too sure about the power shinerunner.

Suzuki doesn't list the power on its web site, but I would bet the HP is equal to or better than the RE, while the Bullet wins on Torque.

The overall performance of the two bikes will probably be very similar.

Some Googling shows previous Japanese market TU250 models at around 20hp and 14 ft/lbs torque.
Perhaps the newest ones may have a little more.
But the UCE Bullet is going to have probably 25% more hp, and twice the torque of the TU250, or in that neighborhood. The UCE Bullet has 30 ft/lbs torque, and is supposed to have about 25-27hp in bottled-up stock form. A simple exhaust replacement is claimed to put it over 30hp.
That's pretty decent power for a Bullet.  I'll bet it goes pretty good.

[Blltrdr]

Some Googling shows previous Japanese market TU250 models at around 20hp and 14 ft/lbs torque.
Perhaps the newest ones may have a little more.
But the UCE Bullet is going to have probably 25% more hp, and twice the torque of the TU250, or in that neighborhood. The UCE Bullet has 30 ft/lbs torque, and is supposed to have about 25-27hp in bottled-up stock form. A simple exhaust replacement is claimed to put it over 30hp.
That's pretty decent power for a Bullet.  I'll bet it goes pretty good.

 Ace, if what your quoting is correct then it would definitely justify the UCE's price point. Look at the hoops ya gotta jump through to squeeze that kind of performance out of an iron-barrel Bullet. Man, if I keep reading post like yours I'm going to start saving some of them wood nickels and get in line, it might be a long one!   Blltrdr

[Alaroyal]

I think the biggest concern for Enfield will be the price versus bikes like the two Suzukis. I'm sure the Bullet UCE will be stouter that the Suzi 250, but not as strong as the Suzi 650 single, HP or torque.  Also, the 250 weighs probably 50 lbs less than the Enfield, and the 650 weighs about the same.

But the price for the 250 is only 3500.00 MSRP, and only 4600.00 MSRP for the S40, and it would be easy to get some discount off those prices.

I know brand loyalty will mean a lot, the accessories available for the Enfield will be better, at least OEM items, and certainly the retro factor for the RE is better; I may get  a C5 for that reason.

It just depends on whether potential customers for REs make objective comparisons, and how well the new G5/C5 stand up to those comparisons if they are made.

[Blltrdr]

  SKUZUKI huh? People will flock for miles just to get a glimpse of that S40 every time you park it! You probably will have to hire some security to fight off all the women dying to ride on back with you. Man, don't forget the puddin' bowl and the scarf or you won't fit in; you've got to look the part when you ride down the road on that single. Harken back to yesteryear.... I mean yesterday ! And I can't get that designation out of my mind, S40 S40 S40 S40 S40 S40 S40 S40 S40 S40 S40 S40 S40 S40 S40.... Man it just rolls of my tongue like some well spoken French!  I'll be right back I think I hear one coming down the road; sorry, false alarm, some kid had lost his balloon! If I buy one I can't be Blltrdr anymore, alas S40rdr has mucho more charm anyway. Kinda rolls of your tongue, not!

[Alaroyal]

I only mentioned the Suzi because someone else mentioned it previously in this post, and because it IS a mechanical competetitor to the RE. And if the "S40" name isn't very exciting, which it's not, it could always be referred to by its origial name, "Savage".  Would that make it ride better? 

I have always enjoyed the brand loyalty that is apparent on forums; trucks, cars, bikes, guitars, you name it, and I've also seen this on Suzi S40/ Savage forums.  Lots of those folks apparently own REs AND S40s, but some of the Savage people are VERY passionate about their bikes, and are proud of how much power they've been able to get out of one, and the customizing the've done, just like here, Honda, HD, any other forums.

But, I'll stick with my original statement, no matter how much brand loyalty anyone has, or how much cool any bike displays, or the tradition involved, those are all SUBJECTIVE factors.  Certainly they are important, and all you have to do is look at Harley Davidson to know that "perceived cool" has a very real financial value. As I said, I may get a C5 just because of subjective reasons.

But things like how much power, brakes, cost, reliability, etc., are objective factors, and I have always given a lot of consideration to those things, too.  This is a discussion that will never have a resolution, because it its founded on personal opinions, but my only point, originally, was just to make some objective comparisons between the RE and Suzi bikes. 

I know that someone who is a Royal Enfield person will not very go into a store like my RE dealer's, (who are VERY nice people that also sold me my Gold WIng, and also sell Suzis and Kaws) and end up buying a Savage instead of a Bullet.  BUT, someone who wants a nice, smaller bike, and sees them side by side, may well look at the engine size, belt versus chain drive, Japanese rep. for reliability, and be unable to see what would make a RE 500 single cost probably at least 2000.00 dollars more than the Suzuki 650 single.

By the way, If you bought one, you could STILL be Blltrdr, if you kept your Bullet, AND you could go onto a S40 forum and be Savagerdr. That ain't too shabby!  I'm Alawing, Alasport, Alanomad, Alaroyal, depending on where you find me. As far as gals, well, my experience of many years has been that gettin' a gal onto a bike is more about me than whatever I was riding.     

" It's not WHAT you ride, it's THAT you that "   

[Blltrdr]

  SAVAGE! Hmmm, depending how you say it, it does sound French. Now that makes all the difference in the world! I'll rush on down to the showroom and tell the salesman in my best French accent that I want to buy a SAVAGE. And with my new found coolness and beret I will be irresistible to those who cross my path. Maybe the dealer will throw in a Django Reinhardt and a Edith Piaff cd if I buy the TU 250 too! I hope the TU is called PETIT SAVAGE; that would be a big bonus!  Savagerdr

[Kevin Mahoney]

While this may seem like heresy, I wouldn't mind owning one of the new Suzuki 250's my self. It would go into a rather large and growing group of bikes that I own, but I think it is a cool bike. Not as cool as an RE of course, but cool nonetheless

[Blltrdr]

 Kevin, are you trying to tell me to give up my dream of writing for SNL or Leno! I thought I had some good stuff there.   Blltrdr

[Kevin Mahoney]

Keep writing is was good.

[ace.cafe]

I can't buy Japanese motorcycles.

I've actually attempted to do it a couple of times, and even got as far as going into a Suzuki dealership once, in 1980.
I just couldn't do it.
I left there with a basket-case Ducati 750 that he had collecting dust in the back of his warehouse. I preferred to buy that, and push it home on foot for 2.5 miles, than to buy a new Suzuki that I had enough money in my pocket for.

I've lived my entire motorcycling life without a single Japanese motorcycle, and now that I have the Classic Bullet and a bunch of spares, I think I can finish out that way.

A lifetime motorcyclist, without ever owning a rice-burner.
I rather like that.
Never really accepted the idea that the Japanese "took over" the motorcycle industry, and I always dug my heels in against it. I never liked what they offered, and they killed many of the marques that I favored.
I won't buy any of them.

[Kevin Mahoney]

I will humbly have to to admit that I have mid 1960's Yamaha 250 and an X-6 Hustler in my stable. Takes me back to the days where a 250 would impress girls.