Vintage & Classic Bikes

[sudipto]

Recently an American friend of mine Mitch came down to Calcutta from the US and wanted to go around the country on my Bullet. Those who don't know Royal Enfield's Bullets are still made in India. The basic design is still WWII English with brake and gear shift pedal on sides where you don't expect them to be. Mine is mid-70s model but then there is hardly any difference between a mid 40s Bullet and a mid 70s one.
I agreed provided we could get the bike to start (it wasn't even touched by anyone in the last couple of years, not to talk about starting) and my friend agreed to pay for its reconditioning.

So on Friday last, the two of us (Mitch and I) and my good old ghetto mechanic Md Khalil went to the bike (it was parked in another part of the city and not where I live). It took us more time to clear the cobwebs around the bike than for Khalil to start it !!!!

He took a total of what must have been around 15/20 minutes to start it. And finally after he ensured there was current flow and petrol flow, it took him just a half kick to start the bike. Not even a full kick, mind you.

For firing up the bike we needed a new battery and some petrol in the tank. When we realised the battery switch was not working we had to make it direct. The fuel tap had to be cleared with a big blow of air from Khalil's mouth and the plastic pipe that takes fuel from the carb to the engine had become brittle and had to be replaced.

Surprise of surprise even the tyre tube were intact. Khalil just filled in air from a nearby compressor shop and it was fine. He rode it for 6/7 km to his garage.

Here are a few shots of the bike just after it was cleared of all the cobwebs and some of the dirt but before the historic start. Unfortunately, the camera wasn't ready when the bike actually started.

I will keep posting more pictures and details of the project as we go along. As of now we have
New battery
New spark plug
New fuel tap (from carb to engine)
New distributor cover (tacky plastic - nothing critical for movement)

The file size being highly restrictive I am posting a very small image.

[Chris Longhurst]

Are you planning to do a concours restore, or just enough to turn it into a daily rider?

[sudipto]

Sorry about the long delay in posting up. By restoration I meant making it roadworthy. It is an old design bike and everything about it is old even though the OE parts are new   . Maintaining this bike in India is not a major challenge because there are millions of them on the road and all parts are available pretty easily.
The bike meanwhile is up and running and as of now my friend Mitch is in Bangladesh with her and she is moving perfectly fine. I am really happy about it.