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By far the UCE is the best ever engine produced for the royal enfield till date.

Royal Enfield produced cast iron engines till the late 90s, then AVL engines were introduced from 2000 onwards and the UCE as we all know is the latest entrant of all the 3.

Cast Iron engines and AVL engines had seperate Engine compartment, gearbox, and clutch cases. Whereas the latest UCE engine has all the components installed together. The result was that there is much less power loss due to the construction.

The cast iron engines were built to last a lifetime. The construction of the barrel was rock solid. Though it had a long list of niggling problems which many bulletiers, over a period of time, started to enjoy doing it as a DIY job.
Like adjusting the tappets, cleaning the points and so on. The bike tends to feel nervous at most times, making it dangerous as well as adventurous in terms of handling, you just cant predict how the bike will behave on the next turn, and mastering that art is thrilling to many. In theory this engine asks for the most amount of maintenance like a baby. It depends on you weather you want that, enjoy doing stuff yourself, making the mechanic your best friend for most of your weekends or just want to enjoy the thrill, thumping sound and ego of a bullet.

AVL engines were supposedly better than the cast iron engines as they had the barrels made of aluminium, but all other parts remained the same. It was not a huge improvement over the previous engine in terms of maintenance, only the fuel efficiency improved by a little margin. There was also a particular lot of AVL engines that was called back by royal enfield and replaced the bikes to a very few due to a manufacturing defect. But that stamped the AVL engine on the whole as bad. Though in practicality it was better than the cast iron engine, but it doesn't suffice the bullet experience on the whole.

Unit construction engine or the UCE is the best of the lot in terms of technology. The engine produces more bhp than previous versions and is the most fuel efficient of the 3 due to the nature of its construction. The changes brought in this version are the best suited to any biker (for ex the right side gear shifter, lighter engine, fuel injection etc etc).

The huge difference between all the 3 is the THUMP which actually is the main emotion behind owning a Bullet and a normal Bike. The natural thump of the cast iron engine is the sweetest sounding of all. This, i believe, is the biggest factor about a bullet.... all other things kept apart.

So if you go for peoples opinions, each of them may differ weather good or bad. It is you who has to decide what you want or rather why do you want a bullet. Follow your heart and you will get your answer.

IMHO, going for a bullet is a decision taken by your heart and not your head! This is especially true when it comes to the Right side Geared ones. I believe you should go in for the RHS gear Bulls. They are a dream to ride on (even with soo many factors "The Great" had mentioned that might deter a person). The point is you would get used to them and even start living with them. They dont matter at all. I have a 2009 cast iron Electra 5s and a 1988 Std 4s, and I am just talking out of experience and love here.

Coming to your question of which [year of production] to go for, I would say there is no specific rule to this. Go for the one that is in good engine condition. Take a known mechanic and have him test drive the bull. One TD should be enuff to check if you should go for it or not. Also, always be ready to spend atleast 10k to 15k other than what you have purchased it for. There will be few things you would want to set right before you start using it. How much to pay is something very very relative and depends on a lot of factors like which state you are buying it from, which model and whom are you purchasing from. So all the best and njoy the thump! its an awesome feel. For any help, you could always PM me.

Well,

Truly said sir, its difficult to give an unbiased opinion about the Cast Iron one. I was trying to be honest .... but then in real world it surely is the "Legend", cant take that away from it !

Owned a cast iron one myself too !!

Awesome! I agree... Its believe the bull is infectious too....

Hey All,

I had bought an Royal Enfield Machismo 350, 2005 make two days back. I would like some help in knowing my bike deeply and to know whether there are any problems and tips for improving my bike efficiency and life. when in reserve fuel my bike lags a bit when i shift the gear and apply thrust. I feel a missing while gear shifting. This happens only when in reserve fuel mode.And i have seen black spots in my engine side after riding for a while. I think its oil spots. How can i make my ride out of these. Thanks in Advance.

Greetings on becoming a bullet owner.

The reserve lag is mostly common. One solution what worked for me was to clean the tank first, let it dry and then epoxy coat it inside (cost about Rs.150/- to Rs. 200/-). The reason being the dust and/ or rust particles forming at the bottom of the tank thereby clogging the carb. If you don't have the time for that put some oil in the petrol tank (about 20 to 30ml) with 4 liters of petrol. And then get the carb cleaned once u get to reserve again.

The oil spot problem is again common to bullets. For this you will have to live with the fact that the oil droppings wont completely stop. Good original oil-seals would minimize that to an extent.

I heard the last lot of std(with cast iron engines) bullets produced uptill april 2010 had heavy crank cases but someone please help me from which year the heavy crank ones were produced, exactly the time period in which those models were made ; please bullet gurus enlighten me

Whether one wants to own a bullet or not is a question one should answer himself. I know I am going to be stoned to death here for saying this, but I see no novelty in owning one. I am being brutally frank here because I am measuring all things on abstract terms. The thump of a RE the sound and the so called performance ( or the lack of it ; yeah stone me to death further) does nt attract me at all. If you are one like me, stay away from it!!!
It will never keep you happy. If you are one of those who love the feel of an RE and the fact that you are actually riding a classic helps you look beyond its obvious short comings don't think twice before buying it. In my opinion there are two kinds of people in INDIA. One who love RE and yet another batch who don't. Depends on which side you are.

For me the only RE that makes any sort of sense in today's world is the 500 cc. 350 just not appeals to me due to its performance ( or lack of it). But the. I m again trying to quantify the joys of biking in abstract terms here. If you are not one like me, go ahead by all means but be prepared to care for yiur beast and it will keep you happy..

All the best and wishing you a very happy ownership of the beast.

EDIT: Oops This is an old thread. Wonder why I commented on it!!

sorry for replying so late, AFAIK, the late 70's was the end to the legendary heavy cranks..... From then on the bulls got lighter and lighter, Engine per se. Please correct me if I am wrong!