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The Bullet is exported to many countries. The UK and Germany definitely. Don't really know about France. You could write to them at royalenfield.com and find out.
In the old days when I was a kid, on the backside of my maternal ancestral home in Mumbai was the workshop of Allibhai Premji, one of the largest packers and exporters of Bullets worldwide for foreigners. I grew up during our vacations with the sound of Bullets being tuned. They would build these massive wooden pallets and crates to ack the brand new shiny machines into before shipping them all over the world.
Of course this was a fantastic high margin business in the days when the rupee was very weak. Premjis would buy the bikes in Indian rupees, and sell to the foreigners in foreign exchange - and not just a simple currency conversion either.
The other guy famous for this was Lalli Singh in New Delhi with a very similar operation.
Royal Enfield finally became wise to the business they were potentially not tapping into, as well the homologation rules of the foreign countries caught up, as did those of the Indian authorities. So Royal Enfield began setting up partnerships and franchisees and dealer networks abroad officially, with the bikes customised to meet the norms of the foreign countries (electricals, tyres, lights, shift patterns, the works).
And Royal Enfield began selling these bikes directly abroad. Without middlemen shippers.
To give you an example, the C5 (Classic 500 with the new Unit Construction Engine) costs around 2.2 to 2.6 thousand Euro here in India, while abroad it is sold for 7.5 to 7.8 thousand Euro. That is the difference!
Frankly, at that price, unless you are specifically a classic bike buff, you are better off buying a modern thumper like the fantastic KTM Duke 690 or the others like the Kawasaki KLR 650, the Suzuki DR 650, or the Honda XR 650. All better bikes overall.
P.S. Just checked the website. The Bullet is sold in France. You can even key in your state and city and theey will give you a dealer address.
The other commonly used option is to hire a Bullet while you are here. There are tons of guys running Bullet rentals and tours to the mountains all over. I can help you if you wish.
In the old days when I was a kid, on the backside of my maternal ancestral home in Mumbai was the workshop of Allibhai Premji, one of the largest packers and exporters of Bullets worldwide for foreigners. I grew up during our vacations with the sound of Bullets being tuned. They would build these massive wooden pallets and crates to ack the brand new shiny machines into before shipping them all over the world.
Of course this was a fantastic high margin business in the days when the rupee was very weak. Premjis would buy the bikes in Indian rupees, and sell to the foreigners in foreign exchange - and not just a simple currency conversion either.
The other guy famous for this was Lalli Singh in New Delhi with a very similar operation.
Royal Enfield finally became wise to the business they were potentially not tapping into, as well the homologation rules of the foreign countries caught up, as did those of the Indian authorities. So Royal Enfield began setting up partnerships and franchisees and dealer networks abroad officially, with the bikes customised to meet the norms of the foreign countries (electricals, tyres, lights, shift patterns, the works).
And Royal Enfield began selling these bikes directly abroad. Without middlemen shippers.
To give you an example, the C5 (Classic 500 with the new Unit Construction Engine) costs around 2.2 to 2.6 thousand Euro here in India, while abroad it is sold for 7.5 to 7.8 thousand Euro. That is the difference!
Frankly, at that price, unless you are specifically a classic bike buff, you are better off buying a modern thumper like the fantastic KTM Duke 690 or the others like the Kawasaki KLR 650, the Suzuki DR 650, or the Honda XR 650. All better bikes overall.
P.S. Just checked the website. The Bullet is sold in France. You can even key in your state and city and theey will give you a dealer address.
The other commonly used option is to hire a Bullet while you are here. There are tons of guys running Bullet rentals and tours to the mountains all over. I can help you if you wish.