Vaibhav, my enfield buddy from Bangalore, craved for a bullet motorcycle after a long 8 years of stay in the US. We picked up a nice 2005 Bullet 500cc from Paradise, CA last weekend. Original plan was to ride the 200 odd miles home on the same day, but thanks to the freezing cold, rain and gusty winds, we only made it to Folsom by nightfall. Left the bike with Vaibhav’s cousin brother there for the week and went back there yesterday.
Saturday started well. Cloudy weather, no rain. Soulful breakfast at Ihop. We needed to fix the sticking throttle first. Borrowed tools from a tire shop, removed the tank and took care of the pinched throttle cable. Problem solved. The mechanics and a few customers stopped by to admire the bike.
We took some country roads to avoid the major freeways. And boy that was a good decision. CA-160 and CA-4 was fantastic. Two lanes, no traffic, lush greenery everywhere. An Indian guy followed us taking photos for a few minutes, totally dumbstruck seeing a bullet. On a photo break, a passing patrol officer stopped to check out the bike.
After 165 blissful miles we were home. Went to Kragen to pick up some necesssary tools and got to work on the bike. We did the following, including a late night visit to walmart for more tools:
1. Carb adjust for idle speed.
2. Front brake cable lubing and brake adjust (clockwise rotation of the link shaft).
3. Oil change to Pennzoil 20w/50 non-synth. Planning to do again after 1000mi to change oil filter.
4. Air filter check (no dirt right now),
5. Pushrod tappets adjustment.
6. Clutch cable tension adjustment.
7. Rear wheel alignment and chain tension adjustment.
8. Replace spark plugs.
The bike is much better after front brake adjustment and rear wheel alignment.
#1 by Francesco Gallarotti on April 11, 2010 - 5:40 am
A real fun weekend for you
Glad to hear that… See? That is one thing that would have never happened to you had you been living still in Long Island. You must be thankful for living in CA!
Curiosity… how do you do rear wheel alignment all by yourself at home? For cars it requires such a complex apparatus that I can’t imagine how do you do it on your own on a bike…
#2 by therider on April 11, 2010 - 5:26 pm
Francesco, It could have been easier to own a bullet in long island due to the slow 55 limit on freeways and the I-495 parking lot parkway
Wheel alignment on a bullet means rear wheel only. It is surprisingly easy and am sure if I can do a show and tell you will understand it in 5 minutes. Don’t know how it is checked in cars and I don’t care to know since they are now all computerized.
#3 by oliver on April 26, 2010 - 8:56 am
Nothing can ever beat an Enfield, my favorite bike,have u seen the new classic ?
#4 by motorcycle accessories in need on February 1, 2011 - 11:35 pm
I was searching for Enfield bike rider experiences and I found this blog. I have a Honda motorcycle that needs to be repaired and my cousin want to buy it, so I have decided to sell it to my cousin and buy a new motorcycle. As I have read in many blogs Enfield is a great one.
#5 by Jeanette on May 24, 2011 - 3:14 pm
I’ve always wanted to get a motorcycle, but I’ve never even been on one before. It seems like they are easier to keep running than a car as long as you know how to fix things on them.
I hope Vaibhav enjoys the new bike.