Back from India.
Whew. It honestly did feel like going that far.
So now that I'm back from 3+ hour first ride date, I can tell you this - I didn't get any, which is good because it sure looks promising in the long run:)
The dealer basically made it clear I could have the bike for the whole day if I wanted - and so we took off through the fine city of Tel Aviv, east out of town towards the mountains and all the way back. 3 and something hours (worthy of note is the fact that other dealers only allow about a half hour test ride, if at all) with ~150kms overall. Here's what they gave me to ride (a Bullet EFI Classic):
The Good:
The Overall - the look, the feel, the sound, the vibe - the bike acts and feels like it should, a real beast. It has a very noble exhaust note, it attracts alot of attention on the street and it has a very intuitive and extremely comfortable riding position. It's a mature vehicle that knows itself and its potential rider well.
The POWER - holy cow, you gotta feel the might that pushes this bike forward! 41N/m at 4000 rpm is no joke, no joke indeed. It can take you up on a very steep climb in 5th gear and at a happily stable 110kph without as much as slightly increasing the rpm. Go up to a 4th gear inside the city and watch the windows vibrate on the nearby cars and the first story cafes ;)
The Handling - the 18" wheels are a whole new world of their own to explore. The bike grabs the road very soundly, the handling is crisp, solid and reliable. It might be less agile in heavy traffic or other tight situations than the Burgman with its 14"/13" wheels, but there's nothing like laying down a wide and a steep corner without having to worry about rolling over to the next lane, or just rolling over.
The Comfy - surprisingly enough (to me at least), the Bullet is very comfortable to ride, even on a windy freeway. I would even go as far as claiming that it's more comfortable than the Burgman (blasphemy!). After a 3 hour ride with almost no pit stops inbetween, I climbed off the bike in the Royal Enfield dealership in Tel Aviv with only a very subtle pain in the back (and a slightly bruised leg ;P), whereas on Burgman I would be totally malfunctioning all over the body after about an hours' ride.
The Soft - the shock absorbers, probably oriented on the glorious indian autobahns, swallow even the most horrid deformations of the fine israeli roads without as much as a squeak. It's a big step up from the Burgman, which would rattle like an empty beer can over the tiniest crack in the pavement.
The Smell - I'm not sure how to put this exactly, but when the bike smells like a machine should smell, it does that something for me. The Burgman smells like a modern car, of plastics and air fresheners , the Bullet smells like a train - of steel, gas and hot oil. I really like it, for some reason.
And of course, The Bad:
The Speed - as was pretty much obvious, the 27.5HP are just not enough to push the 185kgs of dry weight anywhere near the limit. I didn't manage to squeeze more than 120kph (~75mph) under even the most favorable conditions. Even considering that the bike they gave me has definitely seen better days, I doubt that even a new machine can go over the 140kph threshold (the speed dial promises 160).
The Vibrations - on the Burgman, I really (and literally) had no idea at all what did "vibrations" mean - that's until I got on the freeway with the Bullet. The vibrations are a pain in the ass, the arms, the legs, the head, everywhere. Not only that you feel like someone's trying to shake your brains out of your nose and ears, you often cannot tell at all what exactly is going on in your view mirrors. Is it a car or a semi trailer or a bus stop there? Is there two or three of them?.. The good thing is that you get used to it pretty fast.
The Wind - imagine that you are driving a car. Without the roof and the windshield, and you're sitting on the hood. That's what riding a bullet feels like. It has absolutely zero wind protection. At 80+ kph (~50mph) I felt the wind tearing me off the saddle and pushing my hands off the handlebars. You can lie down on the gas tank, which only slightly helps the wind problem (albeit contributes with some of that sporty adrenaline feel), but it's still too much to take for long periods of time, and it wasn't even a particularly windy day.
The Info - the dials "board" is severely lacking on information it can provide. There is a one single analog speedometer dial, an analog (!) odometer inside it, and a small dial with a fuel and the injection indicator lamps. No fuel meter and no rpm meter (which could be especially handy on a manual gearbox). The minimalistic data board is a part of the overall style, obviously, but I honestly wouldn't mind at least a separate rpm dial.
The Royal Enfield company, back when it was based in the UK had a slogan - "Built like a Gun" (the company started in the early 20th century as a small arms manufacturer). Overall, I'd say that this is exactly what the Bullet is, it's a gun - or at least built like one. It's sturdy, hard and loud. It shines on the sun, it slides easily into your hand and it fits it perfectly. It's my kind of a ride, there is no doubt about it.
I would prefer the Electra Deluxe personally, if I had to make a choice, and the dealer can get me set up with a brand new bike, everything included, for 39k NIS (~10k USD) which is really cheap for this tariff-choked country. For now I'll put my little Burgman up for sale anyhow, see what comes out of it, and then the time will tell.
So now that I'm back from 3+ hour first ride date, I can tell you this - I didn't get any, which is good because it sure looks promising in the long run:)
The dealer basically made it clear I could have the bike for the whole day if I wanted - and so we took off through the fine city of Tel Aviv, east out of town towards the mountains and all the way back. 3 and something hours (worthy of note is the fact that other dealers only allow about a half hour test ride, if at all) with ~150kms overall. Here's what they gave me to ride (a Bullet EFI Classic):
The Good:
The Overall - the look, the feel, the sound, the vibe - the bike acts and feels like it should, a real beast. It has a very noble exhaust note, it attracts alot of attention on the street and it has a very intuitive and extremely comfortable riding position. It's a mature vehicle that knows itself and its potential rider well.
The POWER - holy cow, you gotta feel the might that pushes this bike forward! 41N/m at 4000 rpm is no joke, no joke indeed. It can take you up on a very steep climb in 5th gear and at a happily stable 110kph without as much as slightly increasing the rpm. Go up to a 4th gear inside the city and watch the windows vibrate on the nearby cars and the first story cafes ;)
The Handling - the 18" wheels are a whole new world of their own to explore. The bike grabs the road very soundly, the handling is crisp, solid and reliable. It might be less agile in heavy traffic or other tight situations than the Burgman with its 14"/13" wheels, but there's nothing like laying down a wide and a steep corner without having to worry about rolling over to the next lane, or just rolling over.
The Comfy - surprisingly enough (to me at least), the Bullet is very comfortable to ride, even on a windy freeway. I would even go as far as claiming that it's more comfortable than the Burgman (blasphemy!). After a 3 hour ride with almost no pit stops inbetween, I climbed off the bike in the Royal Enfield dealership in Tel Aviv with only a very subtle pain in the back (and a slightly bruised leg ;P), whereas on Burgman I would be totally malfunctioning all over the body after about an hours' ride.
The Soft - the shock absorbers, probably oriented on the glorious indian autobahns, swallow even the most horrid deformations of the fine israeli roads without as much as a squeak. It's a big step up from the Burgman, which would rattle like an empty beer can over the tiniest crack in the pavement.
The Smell - I'm not sure how to put this exactly, but when the bike smells like a machine should smell, it does that something for me. The Burgman smells like a modern car, of plastics and air fresheners , the Bullet smells like a train - of steel, gas and hot oil. I really like it, for some reason.
And of course, The Bad:
The Speed - as was pretty much obvious, the 27.5HP are just not enough to push the 185kgs of dry weight anywhere near the limit. I didn't manage to squeeze more than 120kph (~75mph) under even the most favorable conditions. Even considering that the bike they gave me has definitely seen better days, I doubt that even a new machine can go over the 140kph threshold (the speed dial promises 160).
The Vibrations - on the Burgman, I really (and literally) had no idea at all what did "vibrations" mean - that's until I got on the freeway with the Bullet. The vibrations are a pain in the ass, the arms, the legs, the head, everywhere. Not only that you feel like someone's trying to shake your brains out of your nose and ears, you often cannot tell at all what exactly is going on in your view mirrors. Is it a car or a semi trailer or a bus stop there? Is there two or three of them?.. The good thing is that you get used to it pretty fast.
The Wind - imagine that you are driving a car. Without the roof and the windshield, and you're sitting on the hood. That's what riding a bullet feels like. It has absolutely zero wind protection. At 80+ kph (~50mph) I felt the wind tearing me off the saddle and pushing my hands off the handlebars. You can lie down on the gas tank, which only slightly helps the wind problem (albeit contributes with some of that sporty adrenaline feel), but it's still too much to take for long periods of time, and it wasn't even a particularly windy day.
The Info - the dials "board" is severely lacking on information it can provide. There is a one single analog speedometer dial, an analog (!) odometer inside it, and a small dial with a fuel and the injection indicator lamps. No fuel meter and no rpm meter (which could be especially handy on a manual gearbox). The minimalistic data board is a part of the overall style, obviously, but I honestly wouldn't mind at least a separate rpm dial.
The Royal Enfield company, back when it was based in the UK had a slogan - "Built like a Gun" (the company started in the early 20th century as a small arms manufacturer). Overall, I'd say that this is exactly what the Bullet is, it's a gun - or at least built like one. It's sturdy, hard and loud. It shines on the sun, it slides easily into your hand and it fits it perfectly. It's my kind of a ride, there is no doubt about it.
I would prefer the Electra Deluxe personally, if I had to make a choice, and the dealer can get me set up with a brand new bike, everything included, for 39k NIS (~10k USD) which is really cheap for this tariff-choked country. For now I'll put my little Burgman up for sale anyhow, see what comes out of it, and then the time will tell.