Anybody Ride a Royal Enfield?

[commuterdude]

Interesting bikes.   It looks like they are coming out w/ fuel injection on a couple of models this year!    They have some amazing cafe/scrambler parts to go on their bikes.   Plus, like, 22 horsepower.    Wonder how they compare maintenance wise to a GS?  500 cc singles.    http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/models/kits/continental.html

[bill14224]

Royal Enfields make our GS's seem like Gixxer 1000's! 

Very handsome and distinguished-looking bikes though, especially for tiddlers.

[fred]

One of my coworkers just spent a month riding across India on a Royal Enfield. He was not impressed by their power or quality.

[Cal Price]

I met a guy in England who bought his from the factory gate in India and rode it back to UK and has since done two European tours on it. When he bought it he changed the tyres and cables straight away as he said the stock stuff was rubbish, he was subsequently very happy with it. Given the political developments of the last ten years finding a safe route from India to Europe could be a bit of a challenge.

I believe that the British firm "Watsonian" who make sidecars are importing parts from India and adding/adapting some of their own to manufacture variations of the 500cc model at their factory only a few miles from the origional Enfield site. They are marketing bikes and combinations and seem to have a waiting list for them.

[applecrew]

 
I sat on one at the NYC motorcycle show... what a crappy seat!  Cool looking, ... but kind of raw in finish.  Erm... thanks, but not my cup of tea.

[vorBH]

Sorry, thats an ugly bike...the enfields or wtv

[theGrinch]

Nick Sanders rode one around the world and you can get them fixed really cheap and easy in India, part situation over here is not as good, dunno about the US.
In the EU no more carbed bikes due to emission restrictions, hence no more GSes and Enfiled had to change to fuel injected.

As far as I know they're high maintenance but easy enough to do if you know what you're doing. Was considering one for a sidecar bike, but prob gonna go for the URAL 750 one day instead.

And I don't know if you guys have heard of Fritz Egli, but apart from awesome frames, he's also the god of carb tuning. He got said "around the world Enfield" up to 80mph - but Nick said it was rather scary as the brakes are not up for it.

So yes, it looks retro (mainly because it is) but seems to be a bit more "fiddle with it in the garage" than "ride it around".

[The Buddha]

Nick Sanders rode one around the world and you can get them fixed really cheap and easy in India, part situation over here is not as good, dunno about the US.
In the EU no more carbed bikes due to emission restrictions, hence no more GSes and Enfiled had to change to fuel injected.

As far as I know they're high maintenance but easy enough to do if you know what you're doing. Was considering one for a sidecar bike, but prob gonna go for the URAL 750 one day instead.

And I don't know if you guys have heard of Fritz Egli, but apart from awesome frames, he's also the god of carb tuning. He got said "around the world Enfield" up to 80mph - but Nick said it was rather scary as the brakes are not up for it.

So yes, it looks retro (mainly because it is) but seems to be a bit more "fiddle with it in the garage" than "ride it around".

Even in India they are - were considered hard to ride and hard to maintain.
The 80's saw 50 and 100CC 2 strokes en masse from Jap firms, 90's did the same with 4 stroke, and enfield nearly died.
Suddenly the british started buying those and selling all over, then a bigger engineering firm Escorts India buys it from a small company Easun Engineering, and all of a sudden I see an en masse ad campain "isn't it time you started living in the past" BS.
Anyway Easun that owned it from 1960's to the late 90's was from my city ... I left in 92, they left in 99 or so ... mu hahaha ...Madras, India.
Anyway, they are considered high maintenance there too. but its a symbol that you have arrived, while still staying grungy and grimy.
Cool.
Buddha.