Rusted Royal Enfield reborn in restoration

Five years parked outdoors left this Royal Enfield rusty.

Remarkable photos of the "rebirth" of a rusty 1981 Royal Enfield Bullet 350 in India caught my attention on the Team-BHP website recently.

A contributor who signs himself H. Vishwanathan shared the story and pictures of the motorcycle, which is older than he is.

He was looking for a Royal Enfield Bullet in good condition when a friend told him he knew of a motorcycle that had been parked for five years after its owner gave it away and moved to Singapore. The writer took his mechanic along to see it.

"Sunday morning at around 10 a.m. we went to his place and we see the bike standing in the open fully rusted and in a very bad shape," he writes. But the mechanic saw value in the motorcycle and it was purchased.

Imagine this as the starting point of a restoration!

"Once we reached the mechanic's shop and unloaded the bike, there were some customers at the garage who had a look at the bike and asked me why had I picked up such an old and corroded bike. They were not sure if the bike could be restored back to its original beauty. This was the question in my mind too," the new owner admits.

You can read the full saga and see many more pictures on the Team-BHP website. In particular, check out the amazing "After" pictures of the motorcycle as restored.

Whether or not you like the style you have to admire the restoration.

I can't stop staring at the "Before" pictures of the motorcycle as found and wonder if I would have had such courage.