Who has a new Royal Enfield?

[lazylightnin717]

Metal tanks. no E10 issues !

Hand painting of the Royal Enfield Tank

As a painter and tattoo artist I gotta say

WOW 

That's a hell of a hand right there

[xcaptainxbloodx]

heavy, slow, solid machines that do an EXCELLENT job of replicating the riding experience one would get in the 50s. the EFI has eliminated the tinkering that the early US market carb'ed ones had but all in all its not a bike I would really want to do more than parade about on. they look great, have a cool history and all, but when it comes down to it they just dont really perform all that way.

for less cash and less headache I would pickup a TU250 from suzuki and mod the ever loving piss out of it.



if you need more power you can pickup a used bonneville/thruxton/scrambler for under 5k...

[ian48th]

for less cash and less headache I would pickup a TU250 from suzuki and mod the ever loving piss out of it.

True, and that would make a lot more sense.  More work, though.  Reminds me of my first bike, a 1980 KZ250LTD.  It kinda sucked, but I would ride it around grassy fields, gravel roads, and anything else I could find.  Only occasionally do that on the Monster.

I rode an Enfield last year and it was alright.  Keep it under about 5,000 RPMs and 60mph and it's fine!  A friend of mine sells them at his dealership and they're popular with the older riders. 

[krolik]

I rode an Enfield last year and it was alright.  Keep it under about 5,000 RPMs and 60mph and it's fine! 

That was pretty much my experience with a R.E. Keep it in it's comfort zone and its a pleasent ride.

[Ohm3d]

I looked at them at the locat ducati dealer, IMO they look like retooled old castings... the assembly and materials look cheap with a poor finish... I dont ever see myself riding one let alone owning one... I'll save my money for another Ducati

[Goat_Herder]

No FHE with Royal Enfield.  But why not consider the original that the R.E. tried to copy - the Triumph Bonneville.  The new Bonneville (2001+) has all the modern bits yet retained much of the styling cue from the good old days.  It's great bike for around town with plenty of pick up.  Does the twisty adequately (for my ability at least).  The late 2000's came with an engine upgrade and 2008/9? came with fuel injection.  IMO, it's the best modern retro bike you can find here (Kawasaki's W800 comes in close second). 

[Travman]

No FHE with Royal Enfield.  But why not consider the original that the R.E. tried to copy - the Triumph Bonneville.  The new Bonneville (2001+)

? The only connection between the two is their British heritage. A little Royal Enfield history may be in order.

[xcaptainxbloodx]

No FHE with Royal Enfield.  But why not consider the original that the R.E. tried to copy - the Triumph Bonneville.

royal enfield is the oldest motorcycle brand in the world and the bullet has had the longest production run in the world.

they are about as original as it gets, they had not changed the design of their bikes for ~50 years until they started looking at international export and decided to re-tool with things like disc brakes and EFI.

[Duc Buz]

I always wanted to cafe one of these suckers and see how much performace one could get of it until it blew up.  I also dig the scrambler/trials set up available for them.

[Goat_Herder]

royal enfield is the oldest motorcycle brand in the world and the bullet has had the longest production run in the world.

they are about as original as it gets, they had not changed the design of their bikes for ~50 years until they started looking at international export and decided to re-tool with things like disc brakes and EFI.

I stand corrected.  I am always amazed at the depth of knowledge on this board.   

[Travman]

Royal Enfield did have a twin cylinder Triumph Bonneville rival though back in the 60's called the Interceptor 750.  This engine was different from other contemporary British twins is that the crankshaft was dynamically balanced from the factory which made these bikes one of the smoothest British twin engines ever.  Also they were 736cc when the Triumph and BSA big twins were 650 cc.  So they were considered big bikes.  

I think the current Royal Enfield of India should expand their range and consider developing a new version of the Interceptor.

1968 Interceptor

[akmnstr]

The interceptor, rare and beautiful.  I second the motion to bring it back.

[Travman]

Jay Leno likes modern Royal Enfields.  He was impressed with how smooth it was.

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/at-the-garage/motorcycles/2011-royal-enfield-bullet-g5-deluxe/

[turbodude]

No FHE with Royal Enfield.  But why not consider the original that the R.E. tried to copy - the Triumph Bonneville.  The new Bonneville (2001+) has all the modern bits yet retained much of the styling cue from the good old days.  It's great bike for around town with plenty of pick up.  Does the twisty adequately (for my ability at least).  The late 2000's came with an engine upgrade and 2008/9? came with fuel injection.  IMO, it's the best modern retro bike you can find here (Kawasaki's W800 comes in close second). 

These Triumph's are a great value.  You can buy them in the $2K-$3K range.  They are smooth reliable and super easy to work on.  My uncle has one as a second bike to a ginormous vtx 1800 and every time he rides the triupmh he comments on how easy it is to ride. 

[Duc Buz]

Royal Enfield did have a twin cylinder Triumph Bonneville rival though back in the 60's called the Interceptor 750.  This engine was different from other contemporary British twins is that the crankshaft was dynamically balanced from the factory which made these bikes one of the smoothest British twin engines ever.  Also they were 736cc when the Triumph and BSA big twins were 650 cc.  So they were considered big bikes.  

I think the current Royal Enfield of India should expand their range and consider developing a new version of the Interceptor.

1968 Interceptor

Wow.