Phoenix - The Lightning 535 restoration project Part 1

Bought for Rs. 41000 on the 10th of January 2009 after a loooooooooong wait and a short search, this is what I brought home:



(Pardon the background, these pics were taken outside the mechanic's shop.)

The speedometer cable had come out and was attached by a piece of wire, the front brake was non existent, the seats had holes in them, the handle grips, though original and looking good, were lumpy and uncomfortable, the rear tire was bald, the silencer was broken and the back-rest was missing. The biggest eyesore were the red skulls in the place of the beautiful gold Royal Enfield emblems. Add to all that, there were 5 different keys for 6 locks - each one in worse shape than the other.
All the above notwithstanding, to me, she was the most beautiful bike I laid eyes on!
Yeah, I believe in love at first sight! (For the second time in my life... ;)
And so does Mueen but he'll tell you about that in another post.

Left in the capable hands of Muneer Bhai of Muneer Bullet Garage, it's shaping up beautifully.
The old broken silencer has been replaced by a Goldstar style silencer. (Goldie according to Muneer Bhai). The plan was to get the bike in a condition good enough to ride to Ooty and back. And once we were back, work would start in earnest.

Muneer bhai on the other hand (Bless his heart) had a different idea about 'tightning nuts and bolts'. Burraaqh was almost completely stripped and rebuilt. I was to leave Burraaqh with Muneer bhai on Thursday morning and collect it back the same evening. Its Tuesday night as I type this and Burraqqh is still with Muneer bhai. I daresay, when we get back, all that remains to be done is plating of the engine and painting of the tank and sheilds.

As of now, apart from the brand new 'Goldie', the handle grips have been changed. I appreciate Muneer bhai taking initiative but had I know he was changing the grips, I would have got original ones with the two chrome bands. The back tire and tube have been replaced with stock heavy duty tire - MRF Nylogrip Plus 3.5x19. The speedometer is upto speed with the entire assembly having been taken apart, cleaned thorroughly and put back together. We're planning to ride it with a carrier and get the backrest fixed after we return from Ooty.
I take delivery of Burraaqh tomorrow and hope to ride it for a couple of days before we hit the highway. I'm pretty kicked about the keys. I got a set of 6 locks for Burraqqh all with one key. Was available off the shelf with Sandhya Auto Spares - supposedly the best stockists of Bullet parts. I'll update the costs incurred at the end of the project.

Keep watching this space for further updates...