[Ice]

Hi AgN03,
 
 Welcome aboard.

 If the parts are to fit a Redditch built Bullet the manufacturer will point that out.

In general Bullet usage the term "classic" has come to mean two things.

(a) the Indian built Iron Barrel powered bikes
(b) a model of the new UCE powered machined I.E. Clasic, DeLuxe, etc.

 To the best of my limited knowledge the Lightning should be built on the same frame as the rest of the Iron Barrel bullets of that year.

 Bear In mind that I have only seen them on the web.  R.E. never exported them to the States. I know of only one in the US. It showed up on ebay a while back.



 

[rep_movsd]

Hi

I am an owner of a Lightning 535 2001 model and let me tell you what I know about this bike..

The bike does an indicated 130 km/h with an 18T sprocket, oodles of torque, very much more rideable than the 500cc machines, on account of the higher power (25 hp) and much higher torque 3.8 KGM @ 3000 rpm

The Egli design piston has serious issues, and most owners of this bike in India have experienced piston seizure. Many have simply converted their 535s to Std 500s, the availability of pistons and bore kits is also dry in India now, and those dealers who have them are asking for about 500$ US which is more than twice the original price.

I myself rode the bike for about 7000 KM initially, the hardest I ever rode it was 1 hour continuously at about 120 km/h in blistering heat.

After that I had a bad accident and bent the downtube, and rebuilt most of the bike except the engine.

At about 17000 KM we had big end bush failure and found that the piston had developed a crack below the gudgeon pin on both sides, and had to be replaced.

After some 1000 KM the big end bush again got wasted, and needed replacement.

Since then, another 8000 KM or so have been put on the clock and there has been no issue.
I have no idea how so many owners have seized their pistons, but it has happened too often to blame the riders.
If I do manage to seize it, I won't use the stock factory piston but get a better quality one from other sources.

My advice is, forget about getting this model, instead get a 500 and upgrade it with an aftermarket 535 piston and barrel kit.

Regards
Vivek