Royal Enfield Bullet 500, which year?

[penzancenewlyn]

Hi there,

I am new to the forum but have been following it with avid interest for quite some time! Having been well and truly bitten by the bug after driving through Asia from the UK last year, I have decided it may well be time to swap four wheels for two.

Those two will be sitting under a Classic Royal Enfield Bullet 500, a bike which it has been a dream of mine to own and travel with for quite some time! Having looked around a bit, and I know there are simply hundreds of dealers there but has anyone had much experience with Indian-based company bulletwallas?

I have had a look at their facebook page and some of the bikes they produce look quite formidable and after a couple of emails to them, they appear to be able to 'customise'/restore a 500 to something that is a bit tougher ( shinier, of course ) and a bit more ready to head overland.

Before I do open the can of worms about their reliability, I am aware of the TLC that is required to run them but it seems that no matter how many Yams or KTM's I see I simply cannot seem to shake off the idea of an enfield, and, in my opinion part of the charm of running them..........

After some correspondence it seems I will be able to get one over to the UK, completely built up and customised for around £2600. I have had a look around in the UK and a comparative model appears to set me back a bit more, without the customisations ( 21 Litre Tank, 18 Tooth sprocket, Gas shockers, enduro tyres and more ). Does this appear to be a worthy option?

Which brings me onto my next question, I would like something tax exempt, but which isn't going to fall apart, are there any particular years I should avoid? Ok so they've been made roughly the same for the best part of a century, but post 1970 are there any shockers?

I know, of course, I could buy one for 50p, restore it and customise it to perfection, however, I do lack the necessary money to grab all the modifications in the UK and the price from Bullet wallas appears very decent.

So, Bullet Wallas, good? Which year ( 1970-onwards ) ? (Anyone have one fully equipped for overland and for sale in the UK?!?!)

I do intend at some point to ride it back to where it was made, but in the meantime the West coast of Norway is in my sights......

Many Thanks,
Tom