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[bernieke]

Hi,

I currently have the opportunity to buy a 1960 big head bullet 500, first owner, 45.000km, 100% original, well maintained and in pretty much perfect condition, for 7.000 euro.

The problem, apart from the price, is I want a bike to ride and tinker with, not to put in a museum...

My other option would be to get a cast iron India-built 500 (I see several available in Belgium for an asking price of 3.500 euro, which I imagine I should be able to talk down a bit), and later on "upgrade" it with fi. the performance kit and belt drive. In the end it'll probably cost me as much, but I'd have gotten to tinker and, most importantly for the WAF, the cost up front would be a lot less...

Which do you think would make the "better" motorcycle? I've read much about how the English metallurgy, finish, ... was much better than what they did in India, but does this still hold against the 1995-2010 built machines? And what after applying the Hitchcocks upgrades?

Which would you choose, resale value not taken into account?

And finally, how does the price of the big head seem to you, high, low, acceptable?

[ChrisD]

Bernieke
I have a 1996 500 Indian – cannot comment on the Big Head but if I had the money, that’s what I’d go for (it would still need a lot of work to make a bike capable of keeping up with modern roads).
My 500cc has been a source of endless issues, with poor metal, poor wiring, bad design by India and generally a continuing loss of money. BUT I have learnt a lot about fixing bikes that I didn’t know before and I have the satisfaction of making a heap of junk work OK.
Comparing my 500cc against a mates 2003 500cc iron barrel (the “65” model), that is a better bike. Most of the poor India issues had been ironed out by then and the 5-speed gearbox makes it a worthy commuter and the old-style iron barrel makes it possible to upgrade from a much better better starting point. Electric starter works too!
Cheers, ChrisD

[Chris Tindal]

I'd go for the Bighead, simple, easy to maintain, good spares and something a bit different from your average Indian Bullet. On the other hand, I have an Indian 500 engine in a Redditch frame and had no problems with it over the years, it just keeps plodding on and I do wring its neck sometimes, so not all Indian bikes are bad. £6000 is a bit steep, but if it's in good nick it would be good value to me.

[jefrs]

An old bike can be a fun hobby, and it can turn into a money pit. You can spend a fortune doing it up and it will still be worth no more than you paid for it.

[Adrian]

Big Head Bullets occasionally come up for sale a little cheaper on ebay in the UK. I would consider one at the right price and not too far away. The "right price" would factor in the cost of rebuilding/rebalancing the crank with a steel con-rod and roller big-end in case I fancied riding it in a manner inappropriate for a 55 year-old original!



As for Jefrs, comments, what price do you put the bike you want? Is re-sale likely to be an issue for you?



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[bernieke]

Hi Adrian,


This would be item 90125A on this site I assume? (Plus whatever cost I'm charged by the shop to do the fitting and rebalancing.)


Thanks for the input so far guys!


I'm going to go ahead and buy the big head, I'm meeting the guy on Saturday to hopefully reduce the price a little and to close the deal.


Thanks again, really useful stuff!

[Adrian]

Hi,



that is one of the options. I went for the same steel rod but with the later needle roller big end for my current project, though that saddled Bullet Whisperer (who built the engine for me) with much fun and games sorting out different outer races, so the ready to fit option has some appeal. If you you don't want to go through the ordeal of getting the existing crank split, balanced, reassembled and trued, then the deluxe option is one of our host's performance 500 cranks (imperial mainshaft bearings version, catalogue number 200160B), all done for you, but at a £££ premium!



Good call on going for the Big Head, maybe you could post some pictures soon? Whereabouts in Belgium are you?



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[bernieke]

I'll happily post pictures as soon as I get the bike. Try and stop me :p


I live in Wortegem-Petegem, the Flemish Ardennes.

[jefrs]

Prices on the UK market seem to top out around the price of a brand new one about £5000 and down to roughly £1600 for something with two wheels that runs. The market doesn't really go higher than that irrespective of year and model, or condition.



The 1960 will give you the pleasure of owning an original bike with hopefully little work needed. What does 100% original mean? - modern 12V conversion for lighting is sensible, so are modern tyre compounds. It may have little mileage (because kilometreage doesn't work as a word ) but some parts and fittings do age badly. Do look at the state of the wiring insulation, cracks and exposed copper; anything made of rubber or plastics, including the innards of the switches and electrical parts, bulb sockets, grommets.



The indian bike although cheaper may require a lot more work, and hence money, a lot of it. It really depends on how much rebuilding you fancy doing. Some folks get more pleasure rebuilding than they do riding, creating a bike from a pile of bits found in a shed for instance.



The performance of the old models is really rather sedate compared to the latest ones. You would be well to take a test ride on the bikes, and to get a comparison on one of the new models with (NB) a couple of thousand miles on the clock.



It is possible to retro-fit a carburettor to the EFI models but I'm none too sure you can fit EFI to a carburettor model, it would need the alternator/crank sensor, several other sensors and ecu added. If you want FI, get an EFI to start with, and tinker with that. Used EFI are coming on the market with low mileage because new owners don't like having to run them in.

[Adrian]

bernieke,



there are some Belgian Bullet owners on the French forum http://www.royalenfieldlesite.fr/forum/ , including a few from Flanders. Do you ever go to the other side of Belgium for the classic/vintage racing at Chimay and Gedinne?



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