Royal Enfield

We recently got our scone-grabbers on a brace of Enfields: the latest version of the Bullet Classic, plus the new 500cc Bullet Electra. But before we get into the details, let's take a quick walk through history...

In this day and age, any bike form that can trace back its history to 1898 definitely earns the tag 'historic'. Royal Enfield was originally a branch of an English company called Eadie and started life building three-wheelers with De Dion engines. Its first motorcycles carried small Minerva powerplants above the front wheel and the firm eventually became a major manufacturer over the ensuing decades.

 It has quite a proud competition history, but succumbed (like much of British industry) to poor investment and management, plus savage overseas competition from other manufacturers. By 1967, the proud Brit firm had been sold, including all the tooling, to its Madras branch in India.

The Indian company flourished and was exporting bikes back to Britain as early as 1976. Its mainstay model was the Bullet, a very simple, robust, single-cylinder four-stroke in 350 and 500cc guise. The bike was originally produced in the 1930s, using an engine penned by Tony Wilson-Jones - then the company's chief designer.

That powerplant, in modified but still very recognizable form, is what powers the Enfield Bullet Classic today. However it is gradually being overtaken by the Electra engine, which was developed with the assistance of AVL, an Austrian powertrain engineering firm. The Electra engine has been in production in 350 form for some time (it is popular on the Indian domestic market) and has only re4cently become available as a 500cc.

CLASSIC
Let's just wander back to the Classic for the moment. This machine has been readily available in Australia for a couple of decades now and has seen some gradual improvements over time. By far the two most significant have been a lift in build quality - particularly over the last 4-5 years -- and the recent adoption of a modern 5-speed gearbox. The latter, on its own, has transformed the bike.

 Specifications are still quite modest. The power claim is 22 horses, pushing around 168 kilos dry. There's drum brakes at both ends, basic suspension, and a 14.5 litre fuel tank. Fuel consumption is good, varying from 17 to 19 km/lt depending on how it's being ridden. Kickstart-only and electric start models are available, priced at $7100/7500 plus ORC.

It needs regular TLC -- servicing is very simple but is recommended every 3000km, and it can pay to clear the oil breather more frequently.

I've ridden several of these things over the years and have generally enjoyed them. They take a different mindset to the harem-scarem enjoyed by your average sports bike - you sit back and putter gently along, trying to think back to a gentler and less frenetic age. It's the sort of thing that is quite therapeutic for a lazy Sunday afternoon ride.

Now the gearbox has been sorted out - its shift action is slow but completely accurate - it's also quite a good commuter.

Reliability isn't a drama and it's a small and narrow package to thread through the traffic.

 Handling is fine, if not exciting. Suspension action is quite basic, while the steering is slowish. The rear square section Avon tyre works better than looks would suggest, though the stock rubber is not great in the wet.

One thing you get used to very quickly with the Bullet is that you will get to meet lots of people. Some want to congratulate you on the fine restoration of a old motorbike, while a surprising number want to discuss their own Bullet experiences. One young chap spent time telling me how much he enjoyed the one he owned during a holiday in India, and how ridiculously cheap it was to maintain over there. I think he quoted $5 for a service!

ELECTRA
The main visual differences between the Electra and the Classic is the latter has pinstriping on the fuel tank, black fins on the engine, and a drum instead of the new disc front brake.

However the changes to the new bike go a lot further than that. The engine is now running solid state ignition, plus a slightly larger 29mm CV carb. We don't have an actual horsepower claim at this stage, but are told it's up a little. Weight and fuel figures are quite similar, though there's now a disk brake, very different rear suspension, wheels and tyres. The gearbox is the same 5-speed that's now in the Classic.

 So what's it like? Service intervals have been doubled, while fuel consumption seems on average to be about 2km/lt better.

Performance is up significantly. It's still far from being a rocketship, but will hold good highway speeds far more convincingly than the Classic and, on that basis alone, would make a far better touring bike.

Steering is improved considerably by the different profile tyres (modern round-section Avons), aided by higher footpegs and therefore a lot more cornering clearance. The only downside to the footpeg positioning is that tall folk find the Electra a little less comfortable than the Classic.

Suspension has been improved by several degrees at the rear and the whole package is now a very respectable handler. You can chuck it into a turn at speed and be very confident about how things will turn out. Braking is a few notches stronger than for the Classic, with good feel at the front end.

 We struck a minor electrical glitch on our machine - it blew a couple of fuses - but this was fixed and our experience over the years says this is not typical of the breed.

Overall the Electra is a better and more viable package in modern traffic and has terrific potential as a learner approved motorcycle. It handles like a real bike and is a lot of fun to ride.

Pricing is $8495 plus ORC, which seems god value. See www.royalenfield.com.au.