[3] Its frame was also considerably different, having centre-spring girder front forks, being among a new range of models from Royal Enfield that featured them, along with a saddle-type fuel tank.

After competition success the 350 cc Royal Enfield Bullet was bought by the British Army for dispatch riders and 3,000 were also supplied to the RAF during the Second World War.

Power transmission was via the same four-speed Albion gearbox as the previous model, with a unique 'neutral-finder' lever the rider could press from any gear other than first to shift to neutral.

The headlight assembly was enclosed with the speedometer and ammeter into a nacelle, which also served as the attachment of the front suspension as well as the handlebars.

[1] In 1949, the Indian Army ordered Royal Enfield Bullets for border patrol use and the company decided to open a factory in Madras.

[3] In 1955, Royal Enfield carried out some retooling and redesign at their Redditch plant, in the UK, to modernise the Bullet, and in 1959 some changes were made to the gear ratios.

[citation needed] Other variations from the unit 250 include a 46 tooth rear sprocket, an outrigger bearing on the primary side crankcase a four plate clutch, and wider gear cogs.

Enfield India Ltd. continued production of the 1955 Bullet design almost unchanged, re-introducing it to the British market in 1977 under the name 'Enfield'.

Under the newly appointed CEO of Enfield India, Siddhartha Lal, Eicher undertook major investment in the ailing firm.

A new model, available in more colours and chrome accents, CDI electronic ignition, and gas-charged shock absorbers - but with the same engine and gearbox as the Standard - was launched.

A major addition with the Electra was the Electric Start, which resulted in a bulkier engine package, and which was not without mechanical and reliability complications.

The engine did succeed in the Thunderbird model, a chopper style cruiser from Royal Enfield Motors.

Also seen was the introduction of a disc-brake on the front wheel as a factory option domestically in India and standard on all exported models.

The introduction of a five-speed, left foot change gearbox meant that Royal Enfield could 'fix' one of the long-standing quirks of the Bullet design; the original foot-brake is on the left-side while the gearchange is on the right (as was the custom with British bikes).

Accordingly, the Bullet Machismo 350 was equipped with this left foot change gearbox and a big hit in the foreign markets as it was rich in design and the first chrome model on an Enfield.

Sales figures indicated that Indian Bullet customers had shunned the new gearbox, foregoing even the attraction of five-speed transmission to keep the gearshift traditional.

In 2007 and 2008, a limited edition, heavily accessorised 500cc lean-burn Machismo 350 and 500 was produced where the motorcycle features 20.85 Nm of torque at 3000 rpm, unique 19 -inch wheels, 280 mm front disc brake & the same engine chassis configuration being exported to Europe, USA & Australia.

The 350 cc UCE found use in the domestic model Thunderbird TwinSpark in a configuration with two sparkplugs per cylinder, with an integrated 5-speed left-shift gearbox.

In 2011 a third export model, the B5, was introduced combining the newer 500 cc UCE engine with the traditional Indian domestic tank and frame.

In 2017 Royal Enfield equipped Bullet 500 models with Euro 4 compliance which included ABS brakes for front and rear and a better emission control system.

[13] Swiss motorcycle tuner and Royal Enfield distributor Fritz W. Egli made a custom Bullet using Egli's central tube frame constructed from nickel-plated chromium-molybdenum steel, and a longer stroke crankshaft (105 mm) engine with special main bearings, dry clutch, timing belt primary drive, and 36 mm Keihin flat-slide carburettors.