Lot Ended
Description
From a deceased estate; just five owners from new, the current since
1979; lightly restored in 2017; lots of history; original number plate
As British as
Big Ben, the Royal Enfield Bullet was so right from the outset that it remains
in production in India to this day, the design virtually unchanged for over
seven decades.
Other
than the ground-breaking swing-arm rear suspension with hydraulic shock
absorbers – a vast improvement on the ‘rigid’ frames of the pre-war era – the
1948 Bullet was a simple and sturdy design that just worked.
At its heart lay a 346cc single-cylinder, OHV,
four-stroke engine, noted for its heavy crankshaft, which gave gobs of low-end
grunt and a signature slow and rhythmic ‘thump’.
Available in road, trials or scrambles versions, with equipment and
gearing to suit the application, there was even a racer in the mid-1950s. The
500cc Bullet joined the range in 1953 and both versions remained in production
in Redditch until 1962.
Supplied new by
Comerfords Ltd of Thames Ditton in April 1953, this Bullet 350 has had just five
local owners since, the current owner buying it way back in 1979 from a gent in
Guildford for the princely sum of £200.
It
comes with a good file of invoices to show regular upkeep over the last 40
years, including what looks like an engine rebuild in 1995 and a more
comprehensive restoration in 2017.
On offer here
from a deceased estate, it also comes with a buff logbook detailing all the
previous owners; various old MOTs and tax discs; a couple of Royal Enfield
transfers for the fuel tank; maintenance invoices; 1979 purchase invoice; period
instruction manual and parts catalogues, plus a Pitman’s book on the marque.
Retaining its original Surrey-issue number
plate, TPA 485, which is transferable, according to the V5C, this classic
British single is on offer here from the same stable as the two Douglas machines
and the Auto-Wheel elsewhere in this catalogue (Lots 207; 208; 209). There is no
reserve so the best bid takes it home.
Consigned by James
Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com