Hello All.
Last Friday I took delivery of a new Bullet Classic C5, in Black/White. Here are my observations.
Definitely a very cool bike. I love the quick nimble handling on back roads. The short frame and Rake with the torque really take me back to my Triumph/Norton days. I am also in the process of ordering the Cozy for it. Hope to have it in by this next weekend coming for a fitment.
About me, I have been riding for 'bout 35 years. Have owned a ton of different Marks. Have restored bikes and cars. Love Vintage anything, currently restoring a ’68 Chevy C20. This past week I sold my Harley Road King Police and did not want to be without a bike. So I was looking for a Vintage Triumph, I had one with a sidecar back in the early 80's. While I was searching eBay and Craig’s list for a project I stumbled across an Enfield for sale. Did not realize they were still available. Did a bit more research, found this website, the Enfield site and then and found out there was a dealer a half hour away from me! With the improvements made to the Bullet in the last couple of years I decided that one needed to have my name on it. Looking forward to logging some hours on it.
IMHO it is actually more fun to ride than the Road King. A lot more Nimble. It also does not drag as often around reasonable corners.
I think the HP to weight ratio is a bit higher on the Bullet as well. The Road King is a cruiser, but the Enfield is a Rider! You ride on a Road King, you ride with the Bullet!
I did not feel as some have, that I need to mess with the gearing. I have changed out sprockets in the past as I only ride solo, period. But when the Bullet slid up into 5th gear on my local roads I did not feel the need to shift again. I lugged it down on corners and hills and it picked right up without having to shift it.
One downside is that there is no Trip Odometer on it. I am customary to use it to mark fuel consumption and know how much fuel is left. I guess I can get used to the fuel light. Would like to have a Voltmeter as well, but I can work that in somewhere.
The Rear Drum Brake is a bit of an eye opener the first time you apply it. I adjusted it up a bit, but the Front Disc is very quick and 70 percent of your stopping power is in the front wheel anyway.
The quality of assembly looks very good. Hardware is proper, the castings fit together well. The paint is nice and consistent. The Decals used in the Badges are sealed under a layer or two of clear coat. The finish of the Transmission Cover and Primary Cover needed a bit of elbow grease and I had to use a Cratex to work out some of the casting marks in them so they would polish up proper. I had to remind myself it is not a Chrome Plated Stamped Steel part but true Old School Cast Aluminum. There are not however any pores in the castings so they polish up very well.
The chrome on the Wheels and pieces of trim is a bit industrial looking, not show quality, but it fits the oval look of the machine.
I have also not experienced the "False Neutral" phenomenon nor has it slipped out of gear on me. Perhaps my years of running some pretty loose gear trains cause me to be deliberate in my shifting.
I do find the engine noise in the Valve train to be a bit disconcerting. It only has 700 miles on it now, so I know it needs to break in a bit, but I am planning to check the valve clearance as soon as I can (probably before I run it again) to at least benchmark it. It sort of sounds like an overhead cam timing chain slap. But only when it is cold. When it warms up it goes away.
I think this bike would be a great candidate for a Belt Drive conversion kit, both primary and secondary. It would benifit greatly from the higher efficiency of the belts. I estimate the Rear Wheel HP would increase by about 10 percent. And would reduce the Maintenance even more.
One question I have from other C5 owners. On the Handlebars, throttle side, are the switches for the Headlight/Parking Lights. They do not do anything? They are marked headlight/parking, but the Headlights and Parking lights come on with the ignition. So I thought perhaps they were for when you were parked, but the ignition does not have an "accessory" position, just on and off. Anyone else see this or do I have a minor wiring issue to solve?
Also wondering if I received the correct owners manual. Mine is for the Bullet EFI. on the 2nd page it indicates part number 597444 Dec/'08. Is there an owners manual for the C5 or is this it?
All in all a fine Motorbike. It gets lots of attention and is a very fair price. I am hoping the network of spare parts is adequate, based on this website it looks pretty good.
Happy Riding and light winds!