Hitchcocks Forum

Hi all... anyone knows the story of which year the Indian made Bullet 500 was developed and introduced to the Indian home market?... regards Jacob

The first Indian-built 500s date back to the very late 1980s, Gordon May's book "Made in India" suggests 1988.

A.

Thanks Adrian... Want I have read so far is development of the 500cc takes place during '88/'89 and sale of the first Indian made 500cc model takes place in India in late 1989. But I need a much more precise account of the beginning of the 500cc story in India. I have Gordons book, but it tells only the above mentioned. Maybe someone in this forum knows more about the details?.. regards Jacob

Jacob,

in the absence of hard information, I suspect that the export market was the main driver for the 500's reappearance. My understanding is that, regardless of the following the various 500/535 models have had in India, the 350 Bullet was always a bigger seller on the home market.

Now we have the situation where the 500 Bullets are being discontinued because the 350s can be put through the next round of emissions regulations more economically than the 500s. No 350s for Europe, though!

A.

Adrian, I guess you are right about the 350cc being the most popular model in India, but they made the 500 for the indian market as well. I have a 2003 home market KS 500cc. The reason I ask about the introduction of the indian made 500cc is that I would like to restore one of the very first 500cc models in India for a nice trip back home to Denmark. Being one of the very first ones will make it much cheaper to register at home.

I suspect that Danish and UK rules on personal imports and registration for road use may differ, but finding not just a 1989/90-ish 500 but one with all of its documents in order will probably be the key to your success.

A.

It's not the only key to succes, the year of production means a lot to how much money the registration fee wil end up being. And the difference is big. On top comes all the indian paperwork. It seems to be an impossible project, but I strongly believe it's doable. Patience may also be a key to succes. regards Jacob

You might want to contact Lalli Singh and see if he can help.

http://lallisingh.com/home.htm

A.

I allready spoke to Lalli and other people in Delhi about the project, but no one has been able to inform me fully on the very early history of the indian made 500cc. Dealing with all the paper work is an entirely different and much more challenging story. Early production and sales history is my main concern right now.

All of the Redditch / Indian Bullet history is a grey area - the transition from English made / Indian assembled bikes during the 1960's / early 1970's is tricky - and there are 350 numbered bikes which seem to have perfect 500 conversions around too. Indian 500 bikes were introduced in 1988 but as with all Indian bikes - the history is sketchy at best !