| Author | Message | ||
     Trojan |
Maybe it is my advancing years, or being fitted for a new pair of rose tinted spectacles....but I really really like this bike  http://royalenfield.com/continentalgt/ It may only have 30bhp but it looks lovely and sounds cool too. At a price substantially cheaper than both the Bonneville and Kawasaki W800 it would allow for some tuning/customising/personalisation too.......... Now where did I put that pudding basin helmet, white silk scarf and woolly socks | ||
| Hughlysses |
It certainly looks good. How's the build quality these days? I know they've come a long ways since they first started exporting them. It'd also be interesting to know how much more power you can get with minor tweaks like an exhaust and re-jetting (or is it FI?). | ||
| Jaimec |
It's fuel injected, Hugh. It has to be in order to meet Euro and US emissions standards these days. Still has a working kick starter, though! Just don't try it with a completely dead battery. | ||
| Teeps |
What's not to like, if you accept it for what it is, and not try to make it into something it isn't. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Oh dear Matt, I think it may be contagious, I rather like it too. | ||
| Sparky |
It was displayed at last year's IMS in Long Beach, CA. It's really a nice looking, updated nostalgic bike. | ||
| Pwnzor |
I like it. | ||
| Fahren |
I like it, except for the hipster, uber-cool advertising on the web site; I "saw" an extra "i" in GT World: "GiT World"... | ||
| Patches |
You can Buy an 883 Iron for that Price. | ||
| Rocket_in_uk |
Well you could settle for 57mph top speed and 200mpg with the oil burner kit!  Rocket in England | ||
| Cyclonedon |
Lakeshore Harley-Davidson was a dealer and everybody that saw those Royal Enfield models use to laugh at them. Their technology was even behind Harley-Davidson. How about the front drum brakes? Never let technology get in the way of your motorcycle. lol | ||
| Cityxslicker |
there is a 1980 yami cafe 650 at the shop that is giving me needs. damn thing is pristine... nobody will confess to how long it has been sitting in that corner of the 'storage' area - nor none that know its origin...... it is damn sexy though - orange to boot. sumo vs cafe ...... the battle of the moto star belly sneetches. the enfield is nice, I suspect the yami is cheaper..... w000t | ||
| Trojan |
You can Buy an 883 Iron for that Price exactly, no contest I'll take the Enfield please. | ||
| Rocket_in_uk |
Enfield has come a long way in very recent years and I agree with Matt. No contest. I'll take the 883 Iron please Rocket in England | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
A friend of mine recently bought an Enfield Bullet. I just couldn't wait to give it a try!! So I took it for a bit of a spin, hoping to recall the great feeling of classic English iron of my youth - the Matchless G 80, the ES2, the Venom - you know what I mean, right? In any event, that did not happen. Not at all. In fact, it was the only motorcycle I have ever ridden that was simply no fun at all. My friend didn't like it much either, and sold it shortly thereafter. Just my .02¢ | ||
| Trojan |
The new Continental GT is very different from the current range of Enfield Bullet models thankfully. New improved engine, new chassis, better components etc make this a very different bike indeed. Having said that, don't expect a GSXR1000 in terms of performance The new Enfield will apprently cruise at 80 and do in excess of 100mph (eventually), handels well and stops nicely.......but it is definitely not a sports bike, which is why I like it In fact, it was the only motorcycle I have ever ridden that was simply no fun at all. I was once loaned a H-D Big Twin softail classic thing with horrible fringed leather saddle bags and tombstone screen. The footboards weren't hinged and even a relatively simple corner had the boards scraping. I rode this monstrosity to Whitby across the North Yorks Moors, (a road guaranteed to make any bike feel good) and seriously considered leaving it there in the harbour and getting the train home. It was HORRIBLE and cost a stupid amount of money. The ONLY thing it did well was to go very very slowly (I had trouble keeping up with an 883 Sportster across the moors). Brakes were diabolical and handling was a foreign term completely. At least the Enfield doesn't cost more than a yamaha R1 so I can live with pedestrian performance for that price  | ||
| Jaimec |
I've come to the conclusion that a motorcycle doesn't NEED the kind of acceleration that yanks your arms out of their sockets when you twist the throttle. More important is how well the suspension keeps the chassis under control, how well the brakes work, and how easy it is to roll it through the turns. My TMAX taught me that and my new C650GT is continuing the lesson. My buddy on his CBR1000RR was shocked when I pipped right past him on a highway entrance ramp the other week. | ||
| Kenm123t |
LOL Jaimec your attitude is aging lol What happened to more hp the better. We had a delivery pickup a 4 banger Ranger great little truck but you never drove the Interstate if you wanted to live The 6 axle Krupp cranes would blow it away on enterance  ramps lol | ||
| Trojan |
As we are all travelling through space at around 1040mph already, any speed we might add to that by riding motorcycles is pretty pathetic really (in fact if you ride against the earths rotation you are still really going backwards flat out in top gear anyway), so I don't mind having a bike that will barely break the ton really Just don't ride on long straight roads..........Speed is a relative concept | ||
| Sifo |
I think it's a cool looking bike. I also agree that I don't need tons of power to have fun. I do wonder about the handling, with a chassis that appears to be forgotten technology. I find myself kind of drawn toward some of the smaller beginner bikes, that would be cheap to acquire, and easy to upgrade suspension. Then ride that slow bike fast! | ||
| Rocket_in_uk |
The problem riding a Buell like mine, if another bike comes past I'm compelled to pass back and show them which bike is boss! I'm getting to old for this shit too! Rocket in England | ||
| Kenm123t |
if you want slow a buddy has a Ural side hack fun but slow. Its a step back in time If you respect its limitations its a lot of fun to cruise A1A with your sweety in the side car | ||
| Rocket_in_uk |
I'm well aware of how much trouble one can get into with a sidecar even at low speed! I worked for Neval Motorcycles as I've told years ago on BadWeB. Part of my job was to build the bike up out of the crate. Bars and switch gear to fix etc. Convert the lights to use anything but Russian made bulbs, and UK compliant lenses. We made some adjustment to the rocker shaft posts, the carb settings, battery and stuff. Then we'd chop all the sidecar mounting lugs off the chassis. Grind and clean. Turn upside down and weld them back on again. Same for the bike. Fit sidecar to the left side. Set it up and put body on. Test ride! I've not ridden a chair in many years now but back then I could get the chair in the air with passenger and ride along on two wheels. Motorcrossing them in a quarry was great fun too but I left that to the boss and played crash test dummy in the chair. Speaking of which, my old boss Nev Mason, as just written and published his biography. A fantastic read I have to admit. \newurl{http://nevmasonbooks.com/index.php/reviews} Rocket in England (Message edited by rocket_in_uk on September 17, 2013) (Message edited by rocket_in_uk on September 17, 2013) | ||
| Ezblast |
I'll wait for the single rear shock and front fork brace - lol - seen it on proto-types - lol EZ | ||
| Hughlysses |
Road test up at Cycleworld.com: http://www.cycleworld.com/2013/09/18/2014-royal-en field-continental-gt-first-ride-review-photos/ | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Thanks Hugh, nice road test. Cycle World was gracious enough not to mention that several English five hundreds of over fifty years ago were faster and more stylish than the present RE Continental. Take for example this Velocette Thruxton which I used to own, which claimed 41 hp and 110 mph top speed.  Ah, those were the days!  By the way, a certain Eric Buell was a big Velocette fan back in the day, or so I am told. | ||
| Jaimec |
Any relation to Erik?  | ||
| Patches |
Just cannot see in any way that a 2014 Royal Enfield Motorcycle is worth $7295.00 +/- (Suggested MSRP not set) in todays Market in the US of A. P.S. MSRP on a 2014 H-D 883 Iron Sportster is $8399.00 +/-. "WARNING" Just an Personal Interpretation of what I've seen on the Sinnerweb. Opinions are like A-holes, Everybody has One. | ||
| Xb1125r |
is that a bicycle! | ||
| Xb1125r |
you would have to be a a Royal dumb ass to pay that much for that bike after all the britts still have a queen |
