ROYAL ENFIELD 350 BULLET
Royal Enfield originally designed their 350 Bullet to excel off-road. Henry Gregson found a greenlaner which has been fettled for the Fells…
Royal Enfield originally designed their 350 Bullet to excel off-road. Henry Gregson found a green-laner which has been fettled for the Fells…
We’ve all had them. Those ‘Doh!’ moments when you know you made a mistake. Nothing massive, but if you’d given something a little bit more thought then the decision would have been a different one. I have made plenty of these in my lifetime and my latest one was a real howler.
A short while ago, my daughter-in-law asked if I was interested in purchasing a Royal Enfield Bullet, adding that ‘it’s not an Indian one.’ No price was mentioned, but a contact phone number for the seller was passed on. I certainly would have been interested, but my ‘financial controller’ certainly would not. So I promised to make contact with the seller and pass the word around.
Ringing the seller, he informed me that he had owned the Bullet for almost thirty years and it had been converted to green-lane trim for use on the trails around his home village. Sadly riding the green lanes in his area has been banned and so reluctantly the bike was up for sale and at a very attractive price. The first friend I contacted with news of the machine expressed an interest.
Two days later we were on our way to the Dales to view the bike, with me acting as a human sat-nav!
As we arrived the Bullet was wheeled out of the garage for us to admire. It was one of those moments when your jaw inadvertently drops open in surprise. What a little beauty the bike was! Modifications for trail use included trials tyres, alloy rims, trials bars and exhaust, concentric carb, stainless steel mudguards, a home-made luggage rack, folding trials style footrests, a single seat and a neat pillion pad on the rear mudguard which gave the bike a real vintage look. The seller assured us that his wife had once travelled pillion for over 100 miles in a day on that pad. These Yorkshire people really are made of stern stuff…
The engine was clean and the bike started easily for the seller to demonstrate by riding up and down the road for us. No trail bike that gets used is immaculate, but this one certainly carried its age well and we immediately fell in love with it. The asking
price was so reasonable that the bike was bought with no attempt to reduce the requested sum. We travelled home again with me cursing myself for not being a braver soul. Would buying the Bullet have been worth a couple of weeks of ‘silent mealtimes’? Oh yes !
Although Indian-built Bullets are now extremely familiar among British riders, the original single-cylinder 350s are seldom seen these days. Enfield Bullets have a long and illustrious history: the Royal Enfield Company was founded in 1901. The Bullet has been in continuous production in one form or another since 1948, which gives it the longest production run of any motorcycle model in the world. Production commenced at the Royal Enfield works in Redditch, then in the 1950s the Indian government identified the Bullet as being the ideal machine for their military and police requirements. A very large order was placed which resulted in the company opening a factory in Madras (modern Chennai). This factory continued to produce the Bullet when Royal Enfield ceased motorcycle production in England in 1970.
This particular Redditch-built 350 was registered during 1956 and incorporates magneto ignition, even though the Bullet was redesigned and equipped with an alternator during that year. Styled to look very much like a classic trials bike, most of the modifications made to the machine have been cosmetic. Some small practical changes have also been made, such as the re-shaping and strengthening of the kickstart lever so it can cleanly clear the new footrests.
A few days after our initial viewing the Bullet arrived at its new home. A little fettling was required as the rear tyre required replacing and there was some clutch slip evident. Also, the Bullet’s new owner has a problem with one of his knees, so he set about moving the prop stand to the opposite side of the bike to aid getting on and off the machine. Oil levels were checked and with a minimum amount of work the bike was ready for a short ride.
First impressions were very favourable. The Bullet starts easily once the manual advance/ retard has been correctly set and the carb tickled, and it quickly settles down to a steady tickover. Acceleration can be described as ‘reasonable’ rather than ‘rapid’. The Bullet is happy to cruise at around 45 to 50mph because the gearing is still as originally supplied for its intended purpose of road use. This would be far too high for trials but seems to work acceptably well for green lane use,
giving lively performance on hard-packed trails and firmer surfaces.
The clutch is light and first gear can be selected silently from a standstill. The gearchange on the four-speed Albion gearbox is on the slow side, but reliable and firm. The neutral-finder lever is a novelty, one which enables neutral to be found immediately from any gear position. A very worthwhile addition, eliminating what can often be a frustrating chore.
On the road, the Bullet really is great fun to ride. With its single sprung seat added to the swinging arm rear suspension it is ‘ride all day’ comfortable and more than adequate at cushioning bumpy tracks too. Even the brakes, which are totally inadequate for modern road conditions, seem just right for trail use, where their lack of bite becomes an advantage.
The previous owner has done an excellent job in his conversion of this machine. It is a well thought-out and sorted package and I can fully understand why he kept the bike for so long. Just like a Dales farmer and his faithful dog, this bike must have seemed so much at home roaming the fells. And, of course, I let it get away…
Right: The 350 Bullet attracted lots of attention at the 1948 Earl’s Court Show. Its ‘exclusive features’ included a detachable rear mudguard, Enfield’s rubber-block cush drive which ‘smooths out chain snatch and adds considerably to the life of both chain and tyres,’ the spring frame which ‘supplies perfect lateral rigidity without increasing wheelbase or weight’, the neutral finder and a ‘scientifically designed’ air cleaner