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Author: John Lecy
Copyright © 2006 Marine Outlet Center Inc. All rights reserved.
Revised:
June 12, 2008


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The Royal Enfield Bullet, in its present form, was first
introduced in Britain in 1949 as a 350cc bike. It incorporated an
innovative design element, swing arm suspension. This feature along
with its extremely strong single cylinder engine allowed it to excel
as a trials bike. The 500cc model was introduced in Britain during
the 1950's, winning hundreds of races. This brought the Bullet
international recognition and orders came into the factory in
Redditch, England from all over the world.
In 1954 the Indian government placed an order for 800 Bullets
for "immediate service" on the Pakistani border. This order placed
an incredible burden on the factory, but it was met. The Bullet
proved very successful in India, and the government placed orders
for 1955 and 1956 of a similar magnitude. This caused the home
factory to make the decision to set up a factory in India.
In 1955 an Indian partner was found and trainees were sent to
Redditch to learn the production methods. At first, knock down units
were shipped to Madras where they were assembled. By 1956 a full
factory had been established in India and the Enfield India, Ltd.
began producing the Enfield Bullet in its entirety. In India they
produced the machine they had been trained to make, the 1955 Bullet.
They made the same bike in 1955, 1966, 1976, 1986 and 1999. The
demand for this great old motorcycle has never stopped. Every year
they have produced over 10,000 motorcycles, all a 1955 Bullet.
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Royal Enfield History