Hitchcocks Forum

I'm looking to buy a new Bullet 500 and I particularly like the look of the new Classic. However, the difference in price between the Bullet Standard 500 (£4000 or thereabouts) and the Classic (£5200 or thereabouts) seems a bit extreme. Is the Bullet 500 Standard built to the same spec. as the Classic? If so, it seems I could buy the cheaper Bullet and then buy (from Hitchcocks) various parts (single seat, rear carrier, saddlebags, fishtail exhaust-end, front mudguard number plate, etc) and end up with a visually better bike (in my humble opinion!) and still have change in my pocket rather than if I purchased the more expensive Classic. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

curly message,if you intend buying a new enfield with a full 2 year warranty,just watch how many engine enhancing parts you fit as the warranty could be compromised!!anyway for what its worth there are only 3 genuine models the rest are watsonian remasters which are soon to come to an end fury woodsman etc all to be ditched on the basis of customise your own at great cost no doubt,i would go for the base model which in my opinion is best value for money ,i would remove the rear mudguard as it is the hideous 350 valanced type and fit a classic 500 type with rounded supporting brackets job done then enjoy the ride all the best paul.

They are all to the same spec, the engine is the same.

Curly, as Paul and Pete say all the new factory Enfields that are available in the UK are the same - bar small differences in a few cycle parts and a couple of pieces of tinware.
The reason that the Bullet 500 (or B5) is less expensive is because it's marketed by WS in the UK, at a lower margin, as a range lead-in model.
In fact the B5 has more of the features of the (top of range) Classic C5 model than the mid-range Electra E5 model!
Either way they are great bikes to ride and you'll have no end of fun plundering our hosts catalogue to make the bike your own!
Best of luck.

Hi Curly, the basic model (B5) is the one to go foe. the Classic (C5) has stability problems. The B5 is the iron barrel frame which handles better. If you get one pull all the electrical connectors apart and ensure the locks on each connector is fully home and use something like ACF50 to protect surfaces. Make sure all nuts and bolts are done up properly and you will have no troubles. They are a lovely bike to ride providing you remember its a 1950's style ride.

Cheers, Shappers.

Sorry Shappers but I have to disagree with you. ALL the new EFI UCE bikes have a new frame that, although looking similar, is rather different from the original iron barrel or AVL engined-bikes frames. The swing arm mounts are considerably stronger as is the arm itself - both being made from thicker section steel. The engine mounting plates are all of thicker section material and there are other areas where the EFI frame has been 'beefed up' in conparison.
The B5 EFI uses the same frame and componants as the C5 EFI and E5 EFI models. The only differences are tinware and the odd cycle part - for styling purposes.
Having ridden all of these bikes extensively I could not find any handling differences between them, although the 'old' pattern Avon tyres on the B5 did feel a little bit egdy when heeled over.
As far as C5 stability goes there has been a lot said about that. I have ridden about a half a dozen C5 examples and did not find any issues of stability. There is no doubt that the 18" wheels makie the bike drop into corners quicker and more 'twitchy' which takes a few miles to get used to but having ridden these at speed on the motorway for may miles I can assure you that the C5 does not have 'stability problems'. Tyre pressure is more critical with the smaller wheels, to be fair.
I note that shipments of C5 from the factory will now have different front forks and 19" wheels - but have been advised that these were to satisfy the lucrative US market that prefered (or required) the front end to be taller...?

Hi STU, you answered the stability issue yourself, the Americans insisted on the changes because of the crap frame geometry on the C5. I solved part of the problem on my own C5 by making new yokes to increase the trail by an inch and putting a 350 section front tyre on it.

Shappers.

Thanks for all your replies, lads. I've always liked the look of the Bullets but have been put off by the reliability issues - These newer models all get good reviews and I'll probably take the plunge and buy a new Bullet 500 (standard) in the new year.
Good to know there's an advice line to hand on this site!

Curly, when you get your new B5 please do sign in to this forum and let us know how you're getting on with it.

Shappers, I'm guessing that the person who told you that the B5 'is the iron barrel frame' is the same person who told you that 'the Americans insisted on the changes because of the crap frame geometry'! Your source of information is mistaken on both counts.

I didn't answer the stability issue myself because there isn't one. I suspect that it is your source of information that told you there is a problem with frame geometry too! You have spent an amount of time and money on new yokes and tyre when all you needed to do was adjust tyre pressures and check a few fasteners (all well documented on Google etc).

There was an issue with swing arm bearings, which could cause some issues but even if necessary replacing these would have been a simpler job than making new yokes!

Like I said, I have ridden many many examples of the C5 and other EFI Enfields on all roads including M'ways. No stability issues - ever. Not on one of them.
My Electra XS used to shake it's head above 70mph, but I corrected this by raising the front tyre pressure - apparantly the opposite of what you need to do with the C5.

We have one of those early UCE's with the swingarm bushes totally shot at 6000ks. New bits on the way