The MCN Test: Royal Enfield's new Bullet 350 meets its ancestors

Honda’s Cub is recognised as the bike responsible for providing accessible motorised transport to the world.

But there’s a far more understated bike, and one that started life in Britain, which has done more than its fair share to help people get around: the Royal Enfield Bullet.

Nearly 4.5 million have been made since the name was first used in 1932.

Although it has to be said, the vast majority were built in India and not Redditch.

With Royal Enfield launching an all-new Bullet 350 for 2024, we thought the time was right to celebrate this multi-national success story and bring together three generations to tell the tale of the Bullet.

Alongside the all-new Bullet, we have an original British-built Bullet that launched the brand (and introduced some pretty radical new technology) and an Indian-built model that helped form the foundations for Enfield’s current success.

So how did the story start and why does the Bullet deserve to be held in such high acclaim?