England: Royal Enfield
 

I am going to be moving overseas in the summer for 2 years and I wanted to pick up a bike for travel as opposed to a car. I will be using transit mostly, but for my weekends and long trips into Europe I want a bike. What is your opinion on Royal Enfield Bullets?

Just looked at wikipedia and the new; post 2007, models look good with the new 5 speed transmision and fuel injection.

A friend of mine has a 2007 and after about 3,000 miles all of the rubber parts on the engine had broken down and it started to spit oil out onto the ground, we checked it over and it was going to be rather costly to replace everything that needed to be done.

The Royal Enfield is an excellent diesel conversion bike. Many have done it...do a search. That would get awesome mileage. I like the antique look that these bikes have too.
I would like to own one, but they are quite rare in my area.

It has been available from the factory as a diesel.

The Enfield diesel is very sluggisch and unsuitable for motorway use, but it doesn't use much fuel.

I wish it was available in the US as a Diesel.

I have owned a 2003 Bullet 500cc. You can find 350cc ones in Europe. I would say that this bike would be a poor choice for your intentions.

"Royal Enfield. Untainted by technology" :D

The standard pre-2010 Bullet is essentially a new 1955 British motorcycle but with awful Indian metallurgy & still has the British random electrical gremlins. Seriously the bolt threads seem to be made of peanut butter. :) The Electra model w/ the aluminum engine is a bit better & has a front disc brake. Yes, the standard has drum bakes. You will have to do regular, frequent maintenance & carry some spare parts.

These are made for secondary roads @ 55mph or less.


For your purpose, I'd recommend an older (70's or 80"s) Japanese bike.

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