Scrambled Royal Enfield Bullet 500 Showcases Classic MX Looks With Husqvarna Flavors

To complicate matters further, his schedule was packed to the brim with commissions from various clients, leaving little time for him to focus on this endeavor. Needless to say, time management was of utmost importance here, and David somehow found a way to make it all come together in due time. As the project’s donor, he went with a Royal Enfield Bullet 500 fresh off the assembly line.

But, as they so often say, we are our own worst enemies. Zima took delivery of the Bullet 500, placed it on the workbench, and had it dismantled in preparation for the real fun to get underway. However, he began having second thoughts about unleashing the grinder on the pristine framework of a brand-new bike, which is quite understandable if you ask me. David’s older brother eventually decided to lend a helping hand.

You see, he also knows his way around a bit of customization, and it was he who’d first sparked our protagonist’s interest in motorcycles many years ago. So, in typical older brother fashion, he snuck into the workshop one day and had the Bullet’s subframe chopped off without a hint of remorse. This left David with no choice but to crack on, and things were soon progressing at lightning pace.

For starters, he busied himself with fabricating a new loop-style subframe, which brought about a perfectly level bone line. It looks infinitely better than the stock part and is supported by a pair of high-grade aftermarket shocks from YSS. These bad boys come with adjustable preload and progressive springs, raising the Enfield’s rear end for a more appealing posture.

Tarozzi foot pegs are attached to the main skeleton down low, but the project’s author also installed fresh gussets and engine mounts to make the frame mods come full circle. Although his initial plan involved a front-end swap to Honda XL500 componentry, time constraints got in the way and caused him to rethink his strategy. In the end, David kept the factory forks and front brake caliper while ditching the OEM headlight housing.

A full custom setup was then fitted where it had once been, comprising handmade upper fork sleeves, a replacement headlight, and a rounded number board with retro motocross vibes. Lower down, we come across a high-mounted fender attached to the bottom triple clamp, while the cockpit area flaunts a chrome-plated Tommaselli handlebar.

For some extra stopping power, the front brake was upgraded with a larger rotor and an aftermarket master cylinder, but Sir Zima did away with the ABS system. Working our way southward, we’re greeted by the repurposed gas tank of a vintage Honda, which required some extensive tweaking to play nice with the Bullet 500’s original fuel pump. The filler cap was taken from a Jawa and polished to a mirror finish prior to installation.

Right behind the fuel tank lies a generously-padded seat fabricated by a local upholstery expert, along with a new rear fender and integrated taillight further back. There’s a circular number plate fitted on the right-hand side, while the factory storage box on the left has been retained and integrated into the subframe triangle. It is now home to a lithium-ion battery and Motogadget’s mo.Unit Blue controller, around which the entire electronics suite has been rewired.

Staying true to the scrambler theme, David wrapped the Bullet’s wheels in a pair of dual-purpose Michelin Sirac tires. Internally, the bike’s 499cc single-cylinder mill remains completely unchanged, but some fresh breathing equipment lets it benefit from additional airflow. We find a K&N pod filter on the intake side of things, and the standard exhaust system made way for a bespoke high-mounted substitute.

The pipework was built from scratch using stainless-steel, with a bit of added heat wrap to keep temperatures in check near the rider’s leg. For the finishing touches, Rod Motorcycles’ proprietary switches were placed onto the Tommaselli handlebar, and the specimen’s fuel tank got wrapped in a livery reminiscent of old-school Husqvarnas. The red base was used on the under-seat storage box, as well.

On the other hand, the number boards were both painted yellow for contrast, while a matte-grey finish was laid over the frame, swingarm, and fork sleeves. Now, we’ll have you know David won the competition he entered with this stunning Royal Enfield, but there’s a catch. He was the only builder to submit an entry to the build-off, so the victory came by default. It certainly wasn’t as sweet as a proper win, but working on this project still offered a great deal of satisfaction.