| Author | Message | ||
     Natexlh1000 |
I was just curious if anyone here had any experience with these modern antiques. My Indian friend swears by them but he has a tendency to paint things a bit more lovely than they actually are. (Yes I got him to buy an M2 and he loves it) | ||
| Leftcoastal |
It would be a great thing to get, especially at this time of year when we all tend to overindulge and put on a few pounds. Like most British Twins of the era, the Royal Enfields and the Indian badged versions of the same bike mandated that their owners spend a large proportion of their 'riding' time actually pushing the often-inoperative machines. Thus the advantage of ownership of them for their calorie burning properties. Correctly restored, they are a beauty to behold! (Just use the Buell to ride, and keep the Enfield in the living room to admire.)(Oh yeah - keep a drip pan under it!) Sorry for any disillusionment - a good friend of mine had one back in '72, I helped him build it in to a chopper. We put a wide glide from one of my Panheads on it and other silly shit that was so in-fashion for the day. On the couple of days that he got it to run, it ran GREAT! Maybe a bad example of the breed, when I think back! AL | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Back in the day, the Royal Indianfields, as we called them, were considered to be entirely second rate when compared to the more popular English models, such as Norton, Triumph, Matchless and BSA. Unlike present day Triumphs, the current models, manufactured in India, are even less reliable than the originals, and that is really saying something. In addition, they certainly have not benefited from an extremely awkward attempt to move the shift pedal to the left side. Enthusiasts, if one may use that term, occasionally convert them back to right hand shift in order to be able to use the gearbox. Without putting too fine a point on it, this is probably the worst new motorcycle available in the USA this time. | ||
| Leftcoastal |
Additionally: "I've pushed enough British twins enough to know better than to actually own one" Al Keaton 1952 - - Overheard at a vintage motorcycle show, Dec. 2005 In keeping with this entirely unwarranted squelch of another's enthusiasm and interest - finding usable parts ("spares" Al said, using his best British language impersonation) for these once scarce-now extinct machinery will likely be like finding penguins in the Sahara. The really do have a cool-looking motor, though! All tall and kinda squared off and filling the frame nicely. I just remembered - My friend George Gray (better known as the American host of "The Weakest Link" TV show) had one that was the police version with the 16" wheels and larger fenders. He rode the crap out of it! It actually ran, and with remarkable regularity! Maybe there is hope? Nah - probably just a fluke. AL | ||
| Woody1911a1 |
ummmm how'd he push so many if he never actually owned one ? trying to refrain from remarking how ..... nm sorry but to make such blanket uninformed statements about a breed of motorcycles i grew up on . thems fighting words ;-P | ||
| Djkaplan |
A brand new Royal Enfield is great for showing how bad the good old days were. | ||
| Woody1911a1 |
an indian enfeild is how you judge some of the best motorcycles that were ever made ? i'd offer you a beer to chat bout it but i'd have to see youre id first ;-P | ||
| Leftcoastal |
All my friends, 'back in the day' would buy used, often abused, Triumphs and BSAs, with an occasional Norton and that aforementioned Indian/Enfield. I stuck with my American V-twins. We'd go riding. I'd bring tools. We pushed the Brit bikes. (Xener what? diode? thefukizzat?) We'd see these nice Brit bikes go by, running great, but I'm betting those bikes were bought new and hadn't yet befell the endless tinkering and 'tuning' that turned such nice bikes into lawn ornaments, after a fashion. That said - I ALWAYS got home from those rides on my Harley or Indian. Not so with those other guys on the Imports. I've even towed a few back behind Panheads and a Chief- There's a complete science there all to itself! Don't get me wrong here - I LOVE the looks and sound of those great pre-70's Brit bikes - and the bikes are wonderful things, but we did have to do a lot of pushing to get 'em running again! I'll bet Woody's bikes that he grew up on were all tuned and worked on by a lot more apt mechanic than the bozos I used to run with! AL | ||
| Woody1911a1 |
"I'll bet Woody's bikes that he grew up on were all tuned and worked on by a lot more apt mechanic than the bozos I used to run with! " omg nooo quite the contrary . owned 3 triumphs , a 500 ,650 and 750 . still have the 500 , a tracker converted to street . 50 now and getting back into riding but when i was growing up the british twins ruled . reliable like we know today , hell no , and yea you could always tell where a brit bike was parked by the oil stain , but never in the thousands of miles i'd put on them did i ever have to "PUSH" any . closest was limping home on one cylinder cause of a rubbed through wire and the only time any ever saw a dealer while i owned was a stator failure . and BTW hope you know the crack about thems fighting words was all in good fun  | ||
| Leftcoastal |
Like to see a photo of that 'tracker', Woody! I'll bet my statement is still true about the mechanic - even if you do (& did) your own work! AL PS - I got the 'good fun' regarding the fightin' words! | ||
| Woody1911a1 |
those bikes had soul . by todays standards of cycles , hey who cares . the grin factor of twisting the throttle of a brit twin is alot like what i've heard you guys describe your buells . hey i found this forum after buying a blast . was just so i'd have a ride , but really loving it . waiting for parts for the old un and bought a 02 thunderbird . gonna keep my blast just because its a blast to ride . rice burners might have the specs but they'll never have soul like the brits and buells | ||
| Cowboy |
My dimes worth. I rode Nortons in the 70's. They always brough me home if I went in daylite, but the damn lighting system has left me in the dark to many times to mention. | ||
| Woody1911a1 |
why do the british drink warm beer ? because they have lucas refridgerators ;-P | ||
| Road_thing |
"Norton?" Did somebody say "Norton?" Here's mine:  rt | ||
| Bomber |
the lil singles they're selling are pretty good, actually, for a 45 year old scoot -- not sure I'd go trans-continental with one, but that's far more a statement about my arthritic self than it is about the bike the factory is rumored to be on the verge of closing, but that rumor is almost old enoigh to vote | ||
| Aeholton |
My dad had one that he was quite proud of. It had the shifter on the right and brake on left. He grew up with Velocettes, BSA's and Norton's in England. It was a nice looking bike. I rode it a couple of times. Not bad...handled like an old bike. Perfect for 45-50mph cruises through the countryside. Here's a picture of it:  | ||
| Rex |
I like the new ones from India....I think they look great, and they have upgraded a lot of the parts. Still need to be careful with them, I believe. Would love to have one with the aluminum cafe racer tank...REX | ||
| Ezblast |
Plan to change the cyl after long 60mph+ cruises - lol GT - JBOTDS! EZ  | ||
| Tramp |
I just realized you were referring to the Enfields manuafactured in India, s opposed to the 1950s Indian Parallel twins of various british manufacture, as in the arrow, etc. ... the 1950s Indian Motorcycle co. British and American Twins were all grenades | ||
| Bud |
I did drive a Indian Enfield ( a bullet ) for a short period Even before the dealer delivered it, he made several changes to make it reliable But never the less, it is a crapy bike, and cheap build ( to Indian market specks ) Front drum brake was oval , chrome works has rust over it after one night in the rain Stock it will run just 60 m/h max. It was fun to drive it , you have a lot off people asking how old it is , but stay off the highway | ||
| Bud |
btw.. some crazy dutch guy casted new cases for it to make it a 1000 cc v-twin | ||
| Rotchcrocket51 |
Here is a picture of my dad on his Royal Enfield Indian taken "back in the day". This was taken after he had crashed and repainted it. It went into a speed wobble and he thought the best thing to do was speed up. That didn't work and it spit him off.  |
