AND YOU KNOW WHY THEY CALL ME AL

ROAD TRIP: Here's a cast iron reason to buy the new Bullet 500 - an all-new, aluminium engine.

The Royal Enfield Bullet is popularly called a modern vintage. It's made brand new but the design is ages old. But, this is the new Royal Enfield Bullet Machismo 500. It is as rider-friendly as an Enfield can get. Standard equipment consists of an electric starter and gearshift on the left side, just like on any Pulsar. According to Enfield, it is more reliable and leaks less oil and you can ride it to work and feel very cool about it. This bike is a result of a new company policy and as R. L Ravichandran, CEO, Royal Enfield, says, the company is currently concentrating on making the bikes more reliable, finally stopping oil leaks and getting more power out of the engines.

Taken for a ride

As an introduction to the new 500 Machismo, a group of journalists were taken for a ride on the Mumbai-Goa road. This is the second motor from Royal Enfield's lean-burn (LB) engine family, the first being the 350cc version found in the Thunderbird and the new Machismo. This engine's architecture is similar to the LB 350 engine but is quite different from the old cast-iron block 500cc motor. While the stroke remains the same, the bore has been upped taking displacement 499cc up from 349cc. Valve diameters are optimised for better torque and fuel efficiency rather than outright power. Lubrication is looked after by the gear-driven oil pump taken from the LB 350. The engine block and head are now made out of aluminium alloy to reduce weight and make for cooling. As a result of these changes, power is up 2bhp to 24bhp and max torque is now a hefty 4.1kgm. Peak torque arrives at 3000rpm but where the old 500's torque delivery would flatten out soon after, the new bike maintains linear torque right up to near its redline. Also, the old bike's contact breaker point ignition system has been replaced by a transistorised coil system. General quality level has improved too, especially the weld scars, which appeared far neater than any previous Enfield.

Riding the bike, it is apparent, thanks to the high seating, short riders will have trouble keeping both legs flat on the ground. Being short, I would rather prefer a lower seat. Neutral is easy enough to pick on the five-speed gearbox and then it's time to thumb the electric starter. The heavy internals turn a bit before it catches and the bike settles into a lumpy and rather fast idle. The familiar Bullet 'thump' is missing and that's when I notice the long silencer. A pity. The seat and silencer don't really go with the classic Bullet character. The bike's torque makes itself felt through the early morning Panjim traffic and gearshifting is minimal.

Traffic clears up and we move on to roads that this bike feels more at home on. This 500 is a great highway bike, the engine eager and more willing to rev than the old 500, boosted by a thick spread of torque that appears to be everywhere in the rev band. It's a relaxed cruiser, easily maintaining 80kph. If you need to overtake, simply roll on the throttle and it chugs smartly forward from 80kph to go on to a speedo-indicated 120kph in fifth gear.

The rest of the bike is unchanged. It uses the same tubular frame and telescopic front forks. The rear shocks are gas-charged and adjustable so a rider can adjust them to his weight. Sadly, the ribbed MRF front tyres don't inspire confidence, especially under hard braking. A switch to grippier aftermarket tyres would make riding better. The suspension at both ends is on the softer side, while superb straightline stability is very good. You can confidently slam this bike through potholes without the bike losing its line.

Oil stays in

Bullets have traditionally been known as oil leakers. But, I was thrilled to see that after two days of hard riding, the oil stayed where it belonged - inside the engine. This engine is built to the same specifications as the export version, so better quality gaskets have helped reduce oil leaks.

But this bike still has some traditional quirks, vibration levels remain high, due to which the mirrors become useless at anything above 50kph.

At Rs 1.05 lakh, it's also India's most expensive pair of wheels. But if you are looking for something with loads of character and oodles of classic charisma or the perfect tool to traverse long distances with, then this bike has few equals.