Forum

[Bullet Train]

"Strange you say 'he'. I've always referred to me bikes as 'she'. ?" Re: names. In times past, it always seemed colloquial to call all vehicles "she" or "old girl". Truckers, Car Racers ect all usually had a name plastered somewhere. Like Jon64, I did think of "Harry" for my Bullet, as in Harry Enfield the comedian. Remember him? Great comedian from the 80's era. Think you need to be of a certain age for that one though, as most folks today wouldn't remember the Loasdamoney era? I've read of other Bullets called Ethel, Ernie, Bertie (reminds me of Basset(s) liquorice Allsorts. Remember them?). Even Elsie, but that one was always reserved for us hooligans in the early 80's riding YAM 350LC's? Yonk's ago, the Zed Thou was my Big Zed, and my 550 Katana was my Little Kat? And so I'm told, if you own a Matchless (I have a G11) it's called a Matchbox? Happy Days....Bullet Train (that's the name of MY trusted steed!).

[Winkie]

Hi Jon64. Stick with us and ignore the cynics. I had British bikes when they were relatively new and there is no doubt that their quality was, to say the least, variable - even amongst allegedly similar bikes. They could be made reliable and long lasting by careful re-building to standards that the outdated factories could never afford to aspire to, but rebores, etc., at 20-30k miles 0r less were very common. There was the odd bike that struggled to 10k and others that could do 50k plus with minimal attention, but these were the exception.
I had a friend with a brand new twin from a Birmingham factory - somewhere in Small Heath - that was carefully run in and maintained but still required two rebuilds by the factory within the guarantee period, so by these standards your Enfield is doing well! I shall be more than happy if mine can run to a similar milleage before a re-bore - I never managed anything like that on my own British singles!

[Riggers]

If some of us think Enfield quality is crap listen to this one. In the early 70s I morgaged my young self to the hilt and bought a BSA Rocket Three. It was the best looking bike I think I have ever seen, but the biggest heap of junk ever to leave Small Heath. Here are JUST SOME if its faults. Chain gard catching on chain. Rear wheel bearing failure. Rear conical hub cracked. Fasher unit faiure. Excessive 'back lash' in gearbox. Clutch shaft break up due to previous fault. Borg and Beck clutch unit failure. Three spokes broken in back wheel. Speedo drive failure. Paint faded on tank. Switch gear failure. The list goes on and on and on, and all this was in its first few thousand miles. In the end I gave up on it, 'cos I wanted a bike to ride, not spend all my time and money fixing (remember you only got 6 months guarantee in those days). I traded it in for a 650 four stroke Yamaha twin and started enjoying life! Compared to THAT bike Enfield quality is outstanding. (Thanks for the good wishes Jon).

[Les H]

Hi Riggers, I reckon you bought your Rocket 3 at about the same time I bought my Norton Commando Roadster. I also loved the look of that original version with the beautiful red painwork and Raygun silencers, plus that superb engine sound and performance. The later versions didn't look as nice IMO. It was far too expensive for me compared to the Norton, but I would have loved one. The Norton's poor build quality was also similar to your BSA...Yes British products at that time were abysmal. They're all worth a small fortune nowadays though...CU.

[rustygman]

so let's clarify here, if i ride my 350 regularly (I do) and change the oil at the correct intervals (I do) and don't thrash it (I don't) how many miles could i expect to get out of it before problems arise. Its obviously a good un with 10,000 miles and no problems so far. Is a metric 100,000 too much to ask?

[Riggers]

Well I once saw a guy from the Ford Motor Co on TV saying that as long as oil and filters (including air filter) are changed at the recommended intervals a modern engine should go on indefinitely. But then again is a Bullet a 'modern' engine?

[taper]

just to put another angle on the he/she names my bullet is refered to as the deceased untill resurection is completed,which should be very soon now,my theory is as long as the bike has a pulse then operate as soon as is practical to prolong active life and keep enjoying the challenge.

[Jon64]

Well, Isn't it funny how really good and interesting threads can start to flow out of one like this
I'm not going anywhere, I will still be around and watching and joining in on all that is going on in Enfield land. I do think these bikes on the whole can make the 100K mile mark. I'm a great believer that when using these bikes, one has to accept what it is, its limitations and what it's capable of and remember the time the design came from. Things were very different, traffic, traffic speeds and people, were on the whole, not in the rush to get somewhere that we find our selves in today.
Ridden with the above in mind, they can be a good companion/friend (male or female lol )who will be dependable and always there when needed.
To be honest, the rebore probably has come at the best time as next year I've been planning to ride with a mate, who has a 2007 RE Electra, down to the south of France for a touring holiday. I've always wanted to travel abroad on a bike and this will be my first toe in the water so to speak. I can't think of a better bike I'd rather go on.
I will let you all know how everything goes with the work on Harry.
Anyway, after a sticky start, I'm feeling really glad that I posted, thank you.

Regards, Jon

[rado53]

Well done Jon. That sort of milage is good for such an old design. Here's to the next 43,000
By the way my old VFR800Fi did a decent 83,000 miles and never broke down once although I did knock out a regulator/rectifier but I still limped home.
regards,
Alan

[m1ks]

Just a quick note on madmikes post above.
You sing the praises of your Norton as being of high mileage without the need for strip/rebuild etc, (which i'm sure from the description is a beautiful bike), yet by your own admission in the post above it is not a norton 'as received from the factory'.
it's a Fastidiously, lovingly rebuilt Norton, with carefully lapped in sealing and mating faces and has, (no doubt), been treated very kindly and never used for an everyday commute with the occassional hurried runs that brings.
So in essence it's been rebuilt better than it ever was from the factory?
I have no problem with that, we've (most of us anyway), had or have a bike we'd love to do that with knowing it's as near to perfect as we'll ever get, i'm just pointing out it's hardly fair comparison to a 500, (or 350) bullet that's used (by the OP's info), as a daily hack and all the harsh inclement weather and occasional hurried use this brings.
Not looking for arguments, just felt I had to mention that.