Its been close to ten years of riding the ThunderDuck. Well here is the replacement for this motorcycle, a new Bullet 500.

As the only travel motorcycle over this period, ThunderDuck has served pretty well. Its been with us on some amazing experiences and has had its ups and downs. After lusting, waiting, justifying, looking longingly at my bank balance… I came to the decision that to travel and experience India two-up comfortably and fully loaded, nothing really beats a Royal Enfield, to this day. At least, from a value for money point of view.

On our Himalayan ride, 2 years ago it became clear that we really needed at least a 500cc version to better enjoy the terrain. The 350, though it performed relatively well on that ride, really showed its lack of power (and age) while getting closer to the high altitude passes.

The reason for which I decided to go with yet another RE remain scarily similar to the reasons to choose a Thunderbird 350 a decade ago, in the first place. The Bullet 500 is the simplest of the models in the RE stable, with a carb and no EFI. Given that I’ll be modifying certain parts to suit our needs it made sense to start with the cheapest version and build it to what I need.

Surprising how so much changes over the years, but nothing seems to change. Both, in terms of traveling needs and Royal Enfields.

New 46 Gallery – HotFix