1951 Royal Enfield 346cc Bullet Trials

• Highly original Royal Enfield Bullet
• Used to compete in the Beamish Trial
• Magneto was rewound in 2013

"By 1948 when every other British factory, excluding Douglas, was still messing around with rigid trials and road machines, Royal Enfield too a giant step forward by scrapping theirs and staking their future on the springer." – Don Morley, Classic British Trials Bikes.

Enfield revived the Bullet name in 1948 for a sensational new '350' sports bike with swinging-arm rear suspension. After the prototypes' successful debut in the 1948 Colmore Cup trial, won by Bill Lomas, the Bullet went on to achieve its first major international success in the ISDT later in the year. Royal Enfield's success in post-war trials owed much to its being first in the field with swinging-arm rear suspension, but arguably more to the talents of works rider Johnny Brittain, ably aided by the likes of Tom Ellis, Jack Stocker, Stan Holmes, Don Evans and his younger brother Pat. Despite early works successes in one-day trials, the springer Bullet was viewed with suspicion by the off-road community and sales were sluggish. Fortunately, Enfield's policy of supporting foreign teams at the ISDT, and the fact that between 1948 and 1956 the Bullet won no fewer than 26 ISDT gold medals, ensured a healthy stream of orders, from foreign customers at least.

This highly original Royal Enfield Bullet is recorded in the factory ledger as despatched to Jenkins & Purser in Southampton in December 1951. It is not listed as a trials model, but that does not necessarily mean that it is not (see email printout on file). The machine appears standard and unrestored; the seat is not original but otherwise the cycle parts are what would be expected on a factory-built trials model.

Previous owner Tony Barrett's email states that he purchased the machine in April 2012 and that it had been off the road for some 30 years. Some restoration work was carried out by the previous owner, and the colour changed from red to grey. The vendor has used the Enfield to compete in the Beamish Trial among a few other events in the North West. The engine is said to run well, with only a little smoke on cold starts, and sounds healthy with no undue mechanical noise. All gears select as they should. The magneto was rewound in 2013 and is said to produce a healthy spark. Offered with a V5C document.
Key not required