For sale: A Royal Enfield with no blinkers

A 2000 Royal Enfield Bullet Deluxe is on sale on eBay in Milwaukee, Wis., with only two little problems, according to the seller: a small tear in the seat and "the blinkers rattled off after a few miles (I still have them, but they are in pieces)."

Based on my experience, the missing blinkers are no surprise.

As he delivered my shiny new Royal Enfield Bullet, my dealer pointed to the turn signals and mentioned, "you know, we do sell nice replacements for those."

I considered it a moment, remembering that I had dropped a motorcycle twice (once on each side) during motorcycle training class. "Well, let me knock these off first!" I replied.

Luckily, I haven't dropped my Bullet, but the turn signals came off anyway, in the course of 40,000 miles.

The plastic stalks snapped. Maybe vibration was to blame but I really think the the stalks just reverted back to their origin as soybeans or recycled refrigerator cartons. They seemed to become brittle with age; you can crumble the originals from mine with your fingers.

The big (some say ugly) turn signals are required by U.S. road regulations, but once they're in the hands of owners many are replaced with more tasteful looking items. If the used bike you're considering comes with after-market blinkers you probably should consider that a definite improvement.

Royal Enfield no doubt thought the original turn signals an inexpensive way to meet regulations, in the realization that many would get replaced anyway. But they did let down the character of the bike, which is otherwise largely Made of Metal, and proud of it.

Royal Enfield 350 is traditional size

There is a special romance to the 350cc Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle. Most Royal Enfields sold in the U.S. are 500cc. But the original Bullet, in England, was a 350, and most of the many thousands sold in India always have been.

Owners claim their 350s have a nicer, gentler "thump," are more reliable and almost as fast.

Some of the 350cc Bullets available now in the U.S. were imported privately from India so, if you want one, you either have to be prepared to deal with that (is the paperwork really in order?) or make sure that the bike is one of the 350s officially imported.

Just such an "honest" 350 Bullet has gone up for sale on CraigsList in Boulder City, Nev. It is a 2000 model, Avon gray, and is advertised as having only 589 miles. Asking price is $2,000.

do we know it is a legitimate import? Simple: it has the shift lever on the left, as U.S. laws require. This was accomplished by running a goofy shaft under the bike to carry the motion to the four-speed transmission, which is on the right. Four-speed Royal Enfields in India have their shift levers on the right.