Hitchcocks Forum

Well here it is:


It's a 1955 350 Bullet. Now on the road, registered and going well. I built this from a rusty wreck purchased from Ebay. All the parts are correct for the year but as most of the expense in a rebuild is paint and chrome I've just fitted the replacement parts as they are but after any repairs have been done. The only exception is the frame, when I got the bike the lower frame in the area of the gearbox was very rusty so I got the whole frame blasted to ensure it wasn't badly damaged. It turned out to be fine so I repainted the frame and swinging arm in the correct Ploychromatic Silver colour. The engine is completely rebuilt with a new roller big-end and bearings. Samrat rockers etc. The magdyno is newly rebuilt and it has a DVR solid state regulator. I can't find a right hand toolbox at the moment (not at a sensible price!) but I'll fit one when I find one or swap for a left if anyone has one? It's been fun finding the parts and building it but it's time for it to go as I need the space for other projects. I will put it up for sale officially when I've done a few more miles.

REgards, Mark

Good work Mark M . Are you going to keep the original Front end colour. regards

ET, not sure what you mean? I have left all the parts the colour they were when they got to me, some may be original colours or underneath later paint. Most were already painted black except the air filter box which as you can see is a very attractive orange!

REgards, Mark

Brilliant, I remember this one on e bay at the time. Wasn't it stored half in/half out of a shed so the back end was in the rain?

Chris, that's the one. The back end was gone (saddle, toolboxes, chainguard, mudguard and stays, also the rear wheel,) but the swinging arm was there although very badly rusted. These early 350s had a very lightly built swinging arm unlike the 500s which was massive and this one was totally rotted. Chris T kindly sent me a much more solid replacement which you can see on the bike. I did it really as an exercise in how interchangeable parts are between Redditch and Indian as this model, the 1955 350 is the one that RE GB sent out to be built in India, check the pictures and you'll see what I mean. I actually wrote it up for an online magazine at the time but that finished before I did!

REgards, Mark

Nice work Mark M and I can now see how that type of side stand fits.

Nice work Mark

One thing I’d say is 50’s seats definitely look better than the indian stepped seats that’s for sure

Thanks for your comments. The saddle was a case in point, although it was well re-covered when I got it (the original pre-1956 saddles didn't have the white piping) it had been fitted with terrible strip steel mounting brackets welded to the bent originals. I had to carefully remove the new bits, bend the original side brackets back to correct shape then make a new front bracket and weld it together before riveting it onto the base. It took a while to work out and make but I enjoyed the challenge and another original part salvaged!

REgards, Mark

Lovely job Mark. I predict a lot of enjoyment pootling around the lanes on that.

Hi Mark i got what you mean .. i know it will be good to listen engine. thumps...thumps..