Enfield Bullet 350 2002 side stand

[Kruzer]

Hi guys!

Finally managed to go for a short ride on the Bullet 350 I bought a few weeks ago, in between breaks in rain we are having today!

I thought I’d panic cos of the right hand gear selection but it was ok…my left for did push the rear brake lever down thinking it was going to change gear, but after just a few 100 feet down the road, I picked it up!

Even though it’s 350, it’s definitely not a bike built for speed…my Honda Shadow 125 and Yamaha Virago 250 seem to be more nimble and faster, around town.

Anyway, I’m totally happy with it, and I love all it’s crankiness!

Talking of crankiness, I didn’t bother to check the side stand when I bought it….the stand does work, but where it should stop when extended, it just carries on swinging past the stop point. I looked underneath the stand and found that the small lip of the metal bracket that stops the stand arm, has snapped off…probably a case of previous owner mishandling the bike.

I ordered a brand new stand from an eBay seller in India who said his stand would fit my bike but, as I thought all along, it didn’t!

If you look at the one fitted to my bike, you can see it has a tubular part that slides on a hexagon shaped pillar under the bike…allowing the footrest rod to fit snugly against the stand bracket.

The new one doesn’t have that tubular part. So after spending valuable time taking off the old one and trying to fit the new one on, I decided to take the old one to a local welder to see if he can weld a piece of metal on it to act as a stop for the stand arm.

If that’s not possible, does anyone here know where I can get a new stand like the original fitted to my bike pls?

Im attaching pics of the old stand and the one I ordered.
PS first pic is the original one, second pic is the new one

Cheers!

 

[Eatmore Mudd]

Local welding shop...you're on the right path.

 

[Kruzer]

Hi guys!

Finally managed to go for a short ride on the Bullet 350 I bought a few weeks ago, in between breaks in rain we are having today!

I thought I’d panic cos of the right hand gear selection but it was ok…my left for did push the rear brake lever down thinking it was going to change gear, but after just a few 100 feet down the road, I picked it up!

Even though it’s 350, it’s definitely not a bike built for speed…my Honda Shadow 125 and Yamaha Virago 250 seem to be more nimble and faster, around town.

Anyway, I’m totally happy with it, and I love all it’s crankiness!

Talking of crankiness, I didn’t bother to check the side stand when I bought it….the stand does work, but where it should stop when extended, it just carries on swinging past the stop point. I looked underneath the stand and found that the small lip of the metal bracket that stops the stand arm, has snapped off…probably a case of previous owner mishandling the bike.

I ordered a brand new stand from an eBay seller in India who said his stand would fit my bike but, as I thought all along, it didn’t!

If you look at the one fitted to my bike, you can see it has a tubular part that slides on a hexagon shaped pillar under the bike…allowing the footrest rod to fit snugly against the stand bracket.

The new one doesn’t have that tubular part. So after spending valuable time taking off the old one and trying to fit the new one on, I decided to take the old one to a local welder to see if he can weld a piece of metal on it to act as a stop for the stand arm.

If that’s not possible, does anyone here know where I can get a new stand like the original fitted to my bike pls?

Im attaching pics of the old stand and the one I ordered.
PS first pic is the original one, second pic is the new one

Cheers!

PS should have looked harder! I found the exact item in stock with Hitchcocks Enfield spares in Solihull! £27 inc postage! Job done!!

 

[Woodstock]

PS should have looked harder! I found the exact item in stock with Hitchcocks Enfield spares in Solihull! £27 inc postage! Job done!!

Hitchcocks is amazing. Glad you came right.

 

[Kruzer]

Hitchcocks is amazing. Glad you came right.

Just wanted to say how much I love my new used Enfield!
I also have a question nobody has been able to answer definitively. But that’s at the end of this post!

For now, being used more shall we say modern bikes like my Honda and Yamahas, where all I need do when ready for a ride, is press the start button and off we jolly well go!

With this here 350 Bullet, I can say that sometimes, you can’t bank on going for a ride on it, cos there’s no guarantee it’s gonna start!

You have to approach it with faith and obedience, rather like serving a Mistress!
If you’re too shy to say aloud how pretty she is, all the curves in the right places…the bike that is….you must think it in your mind, cos I’m sure it can read my mind!

Having done that, you gently hold her handles, rather like holding her hips, and gently pump the kickstart a few times.

Then sometimes, not always, it may offer a cough to acknowledge the care you have given it. Most times it won’t even do that.

So you pump the kick again, then on this model, gently press the plunger on top of the cylinder head once, and again gently move the kick a tad, finally sending telepathic kisses to the bike, as if she has to be ready now after all that care you’ve given her, and give the kick a go.

Again, most times, Mistress Enfield isn’t pleased enough , so you go through the whole lot again.

Finally, she will cough and fire into life!

Such a hassle, but nobody said keeping a Mistress is easy!

Once started and idling, I find it vibrates so much that I’ve actually observed her move very very slowly backwards on its centre stand, due to the vibration! True fact.

Then the real fun starts, when she lets you sit astride her and you get ready to go.

Peopke walking and driving by, look to where that dug-dug-dug thump-thump sound is coming from, and see you in that ancient bike. Some are surprised, some smile, some just look!

Having ridden her a good few times now, the gears sometimes don’t engage, sometimes clunk into place.
And when it’s time to brake, I was shocked to find she didn’t stop immediately, having been used to much more efficient bikes! Those drums all round cannot be trusted.

So I take her down lovely country lanes where I live, as well as congested traffic laden roads, holding her bars as you would hold aMistress by the hand.

But for all her quirks, I’m in love with Mistress Enfield!

My poor Honda and Yamahas haven’t been touched ever since I bought her!

Back to reality now….

The bike came to me with just the fuel tank bolt but no nuts on one end. Strange.
Try as I might, none of the M7 or M8 nuts in my toolbox fitted. Do the Enfields use the old Imperial Whitworth sizes? I didn’t have any so I tried the axle nuts off my bicycle wheel spares…they fitted exactly!

Now, when I bought the bike, it came with a black and silver number plate, not the usual black on yellow type.

The DVLA website says that vintage class bikes can use the black and silver only.
My bike was registered in 2002 in the uk, but I’m sure it’s an Indian bike that’s been imported here, on account of the mileage and parts fitted to it.

It also has an MOT till next year so I assume the number plate is legal? Does anyone know?
I haven’t been stopped by the law so far but I don’t want to risk riding it if the plate is illegal?

Just some of the pleasures and tribulations of riding the Miss…erm…the Enfield…!!