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Back in our December 2010 issue, we reviewed a Royal Enfield G5 Bullet. The bike was (very kindly) provided by Marty Mataya of Go Moto in Osseo Minnesota. The G5 was a lot of fun and worked VERY well. So well, in fact, that I bought one. This series of articles will include my experiences and opinions on this machine. I will also document modifications to the Enfield. Last month, the bike was stock and Royal Enfield leather saddlebags were added. This month, a passenger seat, clock and some checkerboard went on the machine. I wish I could say that I've been putting gobs and gobs of miles on the Royal Enfield C5 but it's been a kind of crappy spring here in the Twin Cities so far - cold (which I don't mind) and heavy wet snow in April (which I do mind, very much). At least I've managed to get in enough riding to start tracking fuel economy. My first tank of fuel returned 58 miles per gallon. Not bad at all considering the mix of riding and the fact that the engine is not yet broken in.
Next to be added was a clock. I chose the Clocks4Bikes version and you can see the full review HERE. This next bit was a tough one. The Royal Enfield Bullet C5 comes with a solo seat and a pretty comfortable one at that. I really like the look of the bike with that solo seat. Of course carrying a passenger was not an option. After seeing the bike and the huge smile on my face after riding the bike, my wife Beverly wanted seating accommodation. If it were up to me, I'd have purchased another Royal Enfield for her, but I knew that wasn't going to happen so I elected to sacrifice the beautiful "line" of the naked rear fender and add a seat. Royal Enfield offers a pillion pad that mounts to the rear fender and requires drilling two holes. They do NOT recommend this seat for anything more than short trips ($99.95). They also offer a double seat that would replace the front seat and add passenger capabilities called the English dual seat, it retails for $305.95. At the recommendation of Marty from Go Moto, I went with the separately framed rear seat at $159.95.
The metal frame comes colour-matched for your Bullet C5 and is very robust. It has a front mount that fits with a retaining bolt through a tube already in place under the factory front seat. The rear attachment utilized the top mount of the rear shock absorbers. On the starboard side a longer bolt is needed which is provided with the seat. Gaining access to replace that bolt involves some un-bolting of existing components. The rear seat kit fit perfectly. The colour-match was excellent. Once installed, the seat rides above the rear fender without contacting it. Bev was very happy and it's nothing like as ugly as I was afraid it would be.
Watch for more updates and opinions in the coming months. David L. Harrington
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The
Royal Enfield leather saddle bags are smallish (12.5" X 10" X 3.5")
and mount by straps to the rail that follows the rear fender. They are
made of nicely finished thick leather and retail for $229.95. Royal
Enfield (and aftermarket) bags are available that are larger, but I
don't intend on doing a lot of long distance touring with this bike and
wanted a little storage space for around town use. 
Now
we come to the checkerboard. I have reflective checkerboard on all my
motorcycles and scooters. It's an excellent way to enhance your visibility
to others on the road and, yes, it's just sort of my "thing". The vast
majority of people who know me say that I am ruining the looks of my
bikes, but I disagree. When I first got the Enfield, the rear light
housing was the only thing that jumped out at me as being ugly about the
bike. I had been considering which chrome housing to order when a good
friend made a suggestion (thanks Dennis). In point of fact it was
as much a slam against me as a suggestion but I like to think I see the
good in what people say. Dennis mentioned that since I was going to
destroy the bike with hideous checkerboard, the least I could do would be
to checkerboard the ugliest part of the bike (we agreed it was the rear
light housing). I think it all worked out fairly well - I have my
reflective checkerboard and nothing "pretty" was damaged in the process.
