I’ve been riding my Royal Enfield Bullet for about a week now. Here are a fee things I have learned:

  1. Check your tyre-pressure religiously. Low pressure will lead to the inner tube moving and then rip the valve off. (No worries though, provided you have a nee tube, some tools and some elbow and tyre grease, you can actually fix it easily.)

  2. Never trust the previous owner’s engine oil recommendations. He recommended using regular 20w40 synthetic. I checked the manual and it actually wants 20/50 mineral oil. Thankfully he only put a few hundred miles on it and was good in terms of oil changes. However after filling it with the correct oil, there is a notable sound difference. It actually sounds much healthier.

  3. If you know how, a bullet will start on the first kick. Always. (provided its points are set right, …) Just make sure your cylinder is just past top dead centre (the ammeter helps) and give it a complete turn over.

  4. The best way to check if your fuel valve is working is to keep it turned off. Your engine will cut out just as you want to leave a traffic light.

  5. Don’t go too heavy on the throttle at startup, you will flood your carburettor. (No worries though, just open it up and empty it out. That’s what tools are for.)

  6. If you have the right (chilled) mindset this thing is the most fun on two wheels it’s possible to have.

  7. Youtube is a gigantic resource for finding stuff out about how things work. Just vet the info via manuals and other sources.