The Mighty Madras Marauder

Thought that I'd share this with you, (thanks to Steve at Stockers for the moody monochrome look ;-) ), it's my 1994 500 Bullet, that is very much my daily driver. Bought a little over 3 years ago, it has carried me over 19,000 miles or 30,000 km since then, in all weathers. I gave up driving cars 5 years ago, so this is my primary means of year round transport. Whilst I may be tempting fate here, I will say that those miles have been trouble free, other than the odd cable break.
I'm saying this to try and redress the balance somewhat in favour of the Royal Enfield. They have gained a reputation over the years, in the UK anyhow, of being slow and unreliable. They are certainly not fast by any definition of the word, but the second part of the statement, I find hard to justify. Yes, there is more opportunity to get your hands dirty keeping 'em fettled, but it is old technology, and must be expected. It is not, nor does it try to be, a modern machine that converts fuel into distance at the press of a button without any owner input other than directional control. To own, ride and maintain an Enfield teaches anyone the fundamentals of the four stroke engined motorcycle. It is very much a what you see is what you get, experience.

With this hard tail now available from Hitchcock's Motorcycles, the leading supplier of Enfield stuff in the UK, the potential in the Bobber world for these bikes has just opened up. I've yet to see a custom rigid Bullet out there, but it's a pretty sure thing that someone, somewhere is working away in a shed.