Faults:

After riding this motorcycle through the winter, with snow, fog, ice and pouring rain, I was surprised to find nothing had gone wrong!

General Comments:

The Royal Enfield 350 Bullet is a motorcycle that just works.

None of the Enfield's parts set the world alight 60 years after they were designed, but when all of those parts are put together in one machine, something quite remarkable happens.

The 350 is the smaller of the two engines, and yet pulls happily even with a pillion and luggage. The four speed box (although requiring an amount of practice) is easy enough to negotiate, and provides a ratio for all occasions. The neutral selector is perfect, especially when running the bike in.

To try and race this bike down the lanes is really to miss what it does best. And that is to make every journey easy, the bike will warn you "bit quick here" or "cambers all wrong on this corner" It's like your mate just looking over you and chatting back to you the whole while. There's no "I'll just trust the tyres on this bend" moments so don't rush, enjoy the road listen to the standard doff doff doff as you pull away, cruise at 50 to 55mph and still turn in nearly 90 to the gallon, I've got 104mpg at 40mph!

So turn up at your destination after 2 hours in the saddle and be able to move, walk, talk and be looking forward to another 2 hours riding home.

The finish on mine was OK, some small paint blemishes, but it hasn't deteriorated over the winter. Just keep it clean and protect the engine with WD40.

Enfields need to be looked after, but they are simple and the dealer support is just first rate, I was allowed to watch my 1st service (done for free) and ask as many questions as I liked. It took the dealer most of the morning, and they provided tea and biscuits, and passed on many top tips.

The best £2000 I've ever spent.

Faults:

No problems at all in standard trim, but did prove difficult to start when fitted with aftermarket carb and exhaust.

General Comments:

I bought the 350 Classic about a year ago on the basis of the way it looked. Had heard stories that the finish was not great, but have found after a winter spent outside that it's actually a pretty well made bike.

Acceleration is seriously slow for the 350, but runs along OK at about 55mph. Top speed is 65-70mph. Upgrading the exhaust and airfilter and jets gave another 5mph or so and made quite a bit of difference to acceleration. This really helps the engine rev-out and sound less like a lawnmower.

Handling is really good, very stable with easy steering although the forks are a bit harsh. The drum brakes were alarmingly bad when new but have since bedded in and are now actually pretty good. The left foot braking does take quite a bit of getting used to as does the right foot, one up, three down gearchange. Gearchange is worst I have ever come across, but part of agricultural charm.

You can still buy these new for about £2,000 in the UK, but recommend spending a bit extra on the beefier 500.