Greetings from India (Bulletwalla)

[Bulletwalla]

Hi one and all, fell upon this forum and thought, hey I am that.

So I left NZ some years back and have ended up living in India. Soon after arriving I needed to get on the road and the only thing that resembled a bike over here was the Royal Enfield Bullets. So in 2006 I got a 500cc and hmmm, such a bad bike, a lemon, a pup, but India has some great rides and when your bike is running hot; then even an Enfield is a good ride.

A few weeks back I bought the business Bulletwallas, it rebuild and customises RE Bullets. I figured that I would at least get a good bike out of it. Well like a builders house or a painters house, they never quite get finished, so I have 2 bikes in pieces, both will be cool one day soon and about 20 bikes about to be built. So in theory I do not need a bike of 'my own' as any day I have a different bike to ride.

Riding in Delhi is really crazy as in most parts of India, like a trail bike race against the clock dodging these urban and rural undomesticated animals. Had the impression once of comparing drivers and vehicles to different types of animals and how they behave, such as a donkey stopping in the middle of the road, or a cow doing similar, while a driver will do that to talk on his phone and even stop at the medium barrier in the middle of a highway to talk to someone on the opposite lane or even run to a shop to get something to eat.

Riding in India takes 150% concentration, I ain't fooling and if you survive India, you can ride any where.

[tri boy]

Welcome to the site.
Don't be too hard on the Enfields. They have served India proud, and their lazy power, and soft suspension really suit the country roads.
I don't envy you riding in Delhi, (Tata truck passing Tata truck, passing two cars, that are passing a motorbike, that has started overtaking a Oxen cart, that is swerving to avoid a cow on the road). Now thats commuting.
Get those bullets into the country side and passes, and they really come into their stride.

Is Lalle Singh still hiring Bullets in New Delhi?

[Taz]

Hi and welcome.

India has always been one of my dream destinations to ride and explore. Just got to get thru the child raising years first. Maybe one day I'll come knocking on your door to hire an enfield for a month?

[portokiwi]

Welcome to KBer mate. Yes driving in India is like Thiland, Afghanistan, Pakistan..... Crazy drivers.
Enjoy the site.

[pete376403]

can you get R/Enfield sidecars (ie suppled by the factory)?

[portokiwi]

Talking of sidecars.... There was a rely nice side car in the middle of a minefield just out side Kabul Afghanistan when I was there...
It lookd good. Just couldnt get near it.

[Pedrostt500]

Welcome if you can handle the streets of Delhi then KB madness will be a breeze.

[maybe]

Almost bought the enfield with a side car just couldnt quite do it though maybe a bit later on.

[breakaway]

Is this you?

[fire eyes]

welcomeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[Bulletwalla]

Well thanks for the greetings, warms the cockles.

Handling the streets of Delhi is all relative, one does it until it handles you a slappn.

To answer some questions, yes Lali Singh does still hire bikes and we have sometimes supply him when he and others are short of bikes.

As for side cars, we have supplied a few in the past, not sure where they came from as it was just before my involvement but I do have a source of them and these dinky single wheel luggage trailers.

For me Bullets are a love hate relationship, hate them when they don't start which is often and love them when after a week or so of sitting out in the rain after 3 kicks they fire up and off you go. Having the option of riding a different bike pretty much daily keeps you wondering about these things. Riding something that I have just bought when someone says it was such a great bike and oh my god what a dog it is grinding through Karol Bagh. They have a personality, sometimes they inherit the owners, so riding someone else's is like wearing their shoes, the wrinkles don't fit your feet.

I do enjoy my thunderbird, though it does not look like a TBird, hate the plastic look of them, but I had occasion to do a 10 hour non stop ride on one and I did really enjoy it, even hitting a wet greasy patch and spinning over the road amongst the trucks was a breeze. Thank god for the full buffalo skin riding leathers and big boots that I was wearing. That buffalo did not even show a scratch from the road. The return night journey began with me loosing my lights so it was up the rear end of trucks and buses for 10 hours until arriving in Delhi at 4.30 am. So that ride was as a std TBird but since then I had it set up for riding to Ladakh, it never made it as I got sick for a few months. Anyway I have a 21 ltr tank fitted and high elevated straight bars and trail bike tyres, it is bitumen biting and so nimble even though it is on 18" tyres and you feel so high up, it just weaves in and out and then you are gone.

So at present that bike is in bits and I will be happy to get it all painted and complete the customising and assembled, suppose then I will sell it.