Harley-Davidson 99, Royal Enfield 2

Harley-Davidson store inside Union Station, Washington, D.C.

My road trip from Florida to Washington, D.C. allowed me to visit two Royal Enfield dealerships. Both were friendly. One was amazing. One was bare bones. Had I wanted, I could have stopped in an untold number of Harley-Davidson dealerships, all over the top.

Every exit on I-95, it seemed, featured a huge billboard advertising the town's Harley dealership. Now, keep in mind that very few billboards on U.S. roads anymore advertise Chevrolet dealerships. Harley is making a huge effort.

The most dramatic example I saw was Battlefield Harley-Davidson in Gettysburg, Penn. Gettysburg, of course, is the location of the largest Civil War battle. In 1863 165,000 soldiers visited this little community in Southern Pennsylvania. Only 114,000 of them walked away.

Battlefield Harley-Davidson has the billboard out on the main road. But it also has ads in almost every piece of tourist literature I picked up, often the major advertisement in some. One ad showed a picture of a man in the full uniform of a Union officer riding a full-dress Harley. Battlefield Harley-Davidson is fully engaged.

One ad noted that there is "always something" going on at Battlefield Harley-Davidson. Another promises "fun for the entire family." The dealership obviously participates in every special occasion at Gettysburg.

And why not? It looks like a fun operation, totally devoted to its product and its community. I'll write more about the Royal Enfield dealerships I visited but no account of my road trip would have been complete without a nod to Harley's example of how to sell motorcycles.

I assume there is no need to mention the presence of Harley-Davidson stores in airports and (in Washington, DC) even at the train station. They're just selling t-shirts but they're fun, too.

Roadtrip in search of Royal Enfield roads

The opportunity to drive from Florida to Washington, D.C. inspired me to watch for roads appropriate for my Royal Enfield Bullet. I was in my car, of a course, and a good thing too, since the East Coast experienced unseasonably cold temperatures this week.

There was good news and bad. The good news was that even though I deliberately drove at Bullet friendly speeds for long stretches, other traffic didn't seem bothered. Other drivers just flowed around me.


The bad news is that the stoplight hell of chain stores and fast-food franchises spans entire states. In Central Florida, where I supposed there would be only blue highways free of development, a series of "golf villages" has sprouted, spawning visual monotony and maddening traffic.

When I did get far enough afield to be alone on the road, services vanished. The Low Fuel Warning light became a constant companion. I stopped at what looked like a charming mom-and-pop motel for the night and stepped into a room dirtier and more depressing than any I found in a trip through Morocco 30-plus years ago. No wonder people prefer the brand name places along the interstate.


The cafes and restaurants I passed on the side roads were usually boarded up and dark. But I could have eaten the identical nationally advertised meal at any of a half-dozen chain establishments at every freeway overpass. What a strange land we have become: you can travel yet never experience anything unfamiliar no matter how far you go.

At least we can change the vehicle. Next time, I'll take the bike.

Royal Enfield inspires roadside repairs

My Royal Enfield Bullet never goes anywhere without a bungee cord in the tool box, but I've only had to take it out once, when the spring that holds up the center stand snapped at 30,000 miles. Brian Wittling's long-range tours of National Parks across the U.S. required a bit more creativity. He shared these pictures of instant repairs that kept him going.

The pictures need no captions. Duct tape is always the universal tool, and baling wire is handy. One British biker once commented that he prided himself on always being able to fix his motorcycle with whatever "supplies" he could find strewn along the roadside.


You could fill a workshop with nuts and bolts of all sizes by taking a short walk down the gutter of any American highway. Apparently most vehicles are designed with splendid redundancy, because they kept going regardless of what fell off.

When my Bullet's shift lever twice fell off in half a mile I determined that it was so well oiled that no amount of wiping and tightening could ensure it stayed on. I noticed it was tapped at the center, however, and a bit of scrounging along the gutter found a screw and washer that fit. Now the shift lever could not escape. The screw and washer are part of my Bullet still, as a back up to a thorough job of cleaning and tightening.

It's clear that the most important piece of equipment on a Royal Enfield is the active, creative mind of its determined rider.

Handy bottle trick deals with dry sumping

Now that my Royal Enfield Bullet doesn't commute to work every day, it will "wet sump." That is, oil in the timing gears halfway up the motor gradually leaks down into the crankshaft space below the piston. On starting, any oil here is flung against the bottom of the piston, finds its way into the combustion chamber and is burned off in a cloud of white smoke.

It's embarrassing. It coats the spark plug with oil. And it's also potentially harmful to the motor. One school of thought has it that the scavenger oil pump assigned to keep the dry sump clear is overtaxed by this sudden load of thick, cold oil at start-up and could strip its gears. Meanwhile, the lack of oil in the upper parts of the engine is contributing to wear there.

The best way to solve this problem might be to ride every day, keeping the seepage effect to a minimum. But since even I can't do that here in Florida, it's unrealistic to expect people in colder parts of the country to do it through the winter.

Luckily, Royal Enfield provides a separate drain plug for the dry sump: the forward drain plug. Drain the few ounces of oil accumulated there, pour it back into the oil tank under the dipstick/cap, and all is well. Except, well, it's a messy job.

Early in the history of U.S. imports of Royal Enfields to the United States, Kevin Mahoney of Classic Motorworks learned of a handy way to do it. On May 21, 1999, he posted this tip on the CMW web site:

"When your Bullet has not been started for a period of time it is common for a fair amount of oil to seep out of the system and fill the 'dry-sump' crankcase. This happens on many British bikes and Harleys. This is evidenced in a Harley by a puddle of oil on the floor (larger than usual) and in the Bullet by a smoking exhaust and sometimes oil from the tailpipe. This is a normal condition. It can be eliminated or reduced by doing the following. Take a 1 gallon plastic milk container and cut the top 1/2 off. Place it under the front of the engine, loosen the sump drain bolt (the most forward placed of the drain bolts) and drain off the oil which has collected in the sump. You will find that the sump plug fits perfectly in hole which used to be the handle! When the oil has drained, pour it back into the oil tank or top it off with fresh oil."

Sounds good. I decided to give it a try. First it was necessary to visualize exactly what Kevin was suggesting: don't cut off the entire top of the milk jug; leave as much "meat" as you can, cutting across the handle to leave a nice hole for the sump plug to sit in.

The first surprise I encountered is how flimsy a plastic milk jug is when you cut off much of the top. It's wobbly and weak. Still, it worked as Kevin predicted as far as collecting the oil and holding the sump plug.

But when I went to pour the collected oil back into the oil tank the milk jug deformed unevenly and spilled most of the oil on the ground. I might have been OK if I had poured it carefully into a funnel rather than trying to aim directly at the narrow oil tank opening.

This is one tip that is not yet ready for prime time. I'm keeping my eyes open for a plastic bottle with more strength.

Modern classics sell in classic modern land

New Royal Enfield dealership in Prague.

Writing from Europe, my daughters told me that Prague is "awesome." I found out how right they were when I visited the capital of the Czech Republic myself last year. The scenery was wonderful, the people were friendly, the prices were friendly and the beer was marvelous. I didn't see a lot of motorcycles on the streets, though, so I was surprised to learn that Prague has its own new Royal Enfield dealership.

The Czech Republic is the western half of what was Czechoslovakia, after Slovakia peacefully separated. A museum in Prague details how the Czech people suffered under Communism and how they eventually won their freedom with gentle courage and determination. Today the Czech Republic is an exciting, fast modernizing land with an ancient history.

Tomáš Černý of Moto Classic in Prague filled me in on what the prospects there are for Royal Enfield:

"At the beginning I would like to say that Central Europe is very fast developing region and the motorcycle business follows the trend with about 15 per cent sales increase per year. We started the distribution of Royal Enfields here one month ago. We still cannot judge how it will work because the winter is coming. So far we have met expectations.

"All of our customers so far are people about 50 years of age who already have one or two bikes and they want to have Enfield because it is something special and because it reminds them of the '60s. Enfield evokes memories of Czech Jawa motorcycles that were popular all over the world. Jawa production is almost dead today because of bad management. Enfield offers what other producers don't have: a classic, single-cylinder, four-stroke bike in retro style.

"There are about 45 Enfields in the Czech Republic. Most of these people went to India and drove the whole way back on the bike. These people will probably not buy our brand new model because they made the journey to save money but they are an important base to spread the relevant information to the rest.

Motorcycle museum in Cesky Krumlov.

Černý said Czech people will adopt well to maintaining their Enfields: "Thanks to Communist times, when almost nothing was available to buy in the market, people learned to be very clever with their hands and it is still a tradition here to work physically on something instead of hiring someone to do it. But this will slightly change with the growing level of living.

"We try to be competitive with distributors in Germany, Poland and Austria. To settle the price is not easy because the Czech Republic is not on the Euro. But I think people will buy from us because of the guarantee period and other advantages.

"Royal Enfield is not a very well known brand because of general lack of marketing. It is our job to change that. The 'Jawa look' will help us a lot.

Not a tourist brochure: just my camera on self timer during my visit last year! Anyone can make great pictures in the Czech countryside.

"Motorcycling is popular here and the country is beautiful. I can really recommend the south, with many ancient places, castles, rivers, forests. Wherever you step here you see either beautiful nature or history. One exception is the northwest part of the country, where the coal mines are.

Street in Cesky Krumlov. Overhead passageway let the lord of the castle come and go without being seen by his subjects.

"Cesky Krumlov is an amazing (preserved) city near the southern border. The whole triangle between Pisek, Ceske Budejovice and Susice is a beautiful place to spend a holiday."

And what about the beer?

"Ceske Budejovice (Budweiss) is the place where 'the real Budweiser' is made," Černý said.

Cheers! (Or, in Czech: "Na zdravi!)

Rare Royal Enfield Fury still sought after

Imagine a Royal Enfield Bullet that could keep up with the fastest bikes then available? Such a machine existed in the 1960s and, in America, you could buy it from the factory. It was the Royal Enfield Fury and it remains a kind of Holy Grail even today for those who would make their Bullets go faster.

Ian Chadwick's authoritative history of Royal Enfield describes the Fury this way:

"The Royal Enfield Fury, produced (between 1959 and 1963) for the U.S. market, is essentially the same bike as the Bullet (both 350 and 500cc models), capable of reaching the 100 mph mark (a 350cc Enfield tuned by Steve Lindsell in the late 1970s reached 95.64 mph).

"It differed from the Bullet by having a larger inlet port, an Alfin aluminum alloy barrel with cast liner (instead of the Bullet's iron) and a higher compression piston (8.9:1 instead of 7.3:1). It also had a flange for mounting an optional rev counter, an 18-inch rear and 19-inch front wheel. Between 1959 and 1963, only 191 machines were made. The 500cc boasted a 40 bhp output, up from the UK models' production of 27 bhp. A 600cc model was also made for a short period."

Furys were real, but they're hard to find. The picture above is of one that was re-imported into the UK and came up for sale there in April.

People won't stop looking, though. The following ad appeared recently on CraigsList in Denver:

"Does anybody have a Royal Enfield Fury they may be willing to part with. Fury motor? Fury cylinder head? Any Royal Enfield flat track items? Thanks."

The would-be buyer is under no illusions that he will get instant results. He is Kenneth Hargens, and he told me:

"I always admired those folks who raced the Royal Enfield brand. I realize that the fastest Royal Enfield singles were those that had the 'doghouse' or Fury head. I have a well-beaten vintage Royal Enfield and I would like to increase its performance with the Fury cylinder head. It is rare to see one advertised for sale."

Hargens says he has 62 vintage and classic motorcycles in his collection and "I'll just have to be content with blasting around the hills to the music of the shorty megaphone on my Goldstar!!"

If anyone has Fury items for sale, please contact Hargens through his CraigsList ad.

Royal Enfield: to buy or not to buy?

"It's a creature from another age."

It all started with a simple question from a member: should he get a Royal Enfield Bullet for his wife to ride? Replies on the JockeyJournal.com forum quickly fell into the usual camps: "sure, go ahead," and "they're too slow, too cranky and not worth the money."

Some spoke from experience. Others had just heard reports. One Royal Enfield owner spoke with calm authority: JL, the owner of the bike shown above.

"I love my Bullet, my wife loves hers, too. Whether you will depends on your enthusiasm and expertise. They've been our main transport for four years and many thousands of miles, and we'll probably never part with them. (They're not worth much, anyway!) Despite all this I have no illusions about them; the quality is pretty low. Don't be fooled by the new ones either, they're not much better, and to me it's not worth putting up with the problems for what looks like an ugly '70s commuter.

"Plus points: Attracts a crowd every time you go out. Points ignition, kick starter, simplicity etc. Reliability (yes, really. We've stopped twice in 35,000 miles. Blown fuse, blown condenser. Had spares with me.) Incredibly cheap parts. Can be geared up (lots). Cool looks. I've lowered mine a couple of inches, changed the ugly seat and painted over the cheesy chrome.

"Minus points: Attracts a crowd of boring old men every time you go out. You will need lots of those cheap parts. (If you do a lot of hard miles like we do; daily commute, 1,500-mile camping trips, etc.) Pretty slow. We tend to cruise at 60ish, although we've ended up on some cool roads because of that."

Although especially well put, JL's comments won't surprise anyone who follows Royal Enfield forums. He did make one point that probably is especially important, but often overlooked: Price:

"If you buy one really cheap like we did, you may grow very fond of it, but if you pay too much you'll be forever cursing it."

Also instructive was JL's response to a member who had heard a story of an Enfield always being in the shop:

"I don't think a shop gives you an accurate idea of your average Enfield's reliability. The sort of person who has a shop look after his bike is always going to struggle with an Enfield. People who are interested in their own bike, and capable of moronically simple maintenance don't seem to have too many problems. Also, the 40-mph thing is just plain horseshit. If you read my earlier post you'll see I have absolutely no illusions about these bikes, but if you think of it as a brand-new 1955 bike rather than as a 2008 Honda, you shouldn't be too disappointed, as long as (crucially) you didn't pay too much."

The picture of JL's bike caused another forum member to comment: "JL's pic really captures the spirit of the old beast. It's a creature from another age, an age without freeways or many high quality roads. Like a Model T or something."

JL describes himself as a "bike mechanic,'' residing "near Pengenffordd" in the UK. Naturally, I had to check Pengenffordd on Google maps to see if it is a real place. Apparently so. And it looks like fantastic Royal Enfield country.

Royal Enfields: Follow this blog!

If you read http://www.royalenfields/ please do me a favor and click "Follow This Blog" above the collection of little faces in the sidebar column to the right. By doing so, you'll be updated every time I post a new item here.

You'll be able to choose to follow this blog anonymously, if you prefer. But, if you're a blogger yourself, this is your chance to let me and my readers know what you have to offer. You can stop following this blog at any time with a simple click.

Even if you're not a blogger, there are only a few quick steps to take to activate this feature. You'll be walked through it automatically.

The Follow This Blog widget is a relatively new feature created by Google. It is expected to catch on fast and become the new way that users follow blogs and web pages. I think you'll like it. Click now.

Royal Enfield takes to the green lanes

Those of us who ride our Royal Enfields from stoplight to stoplight on suburban streets can only envy those who motor the English country lanes these motorcycles were designed to run.

Here's a video posted on therevcounter.com by "Great British Rob" of Lincolnshire. A group of riders, one on a Royal Enfield, went "green-laning" Sept. 11. They let the Royal Enfield lead, so it shows up from time to time in this "handlebar" video. Here's how Rob, 41, describes the ride:

"Just a few of us out and about around Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire (England). I was out on my XR650R which was a pig in the real sense of the word with it being so slimy and slippery. Most of the tracks were hard packed underneath with like a thin layer of mud and slime on top. Tyres would not dig in and this made the throttle pointless. Spent most of the day trying to stop the back wheel over-taking the front wheel. My mate on his old Royal Enfield was leaving me for dead cause he could get traction while I was just spinning sideways. Bloody good laugh though."

The video is plenty jumpy, as you'd expect from the handlebar mount, but look past that to the lovely countryside ahead. Enjoy.

Found: Royal Enfield twin for $1,000

Found on CraigsList: a 2001 Royal Enfield Bullet with a Yamaha twin motor in it. The asking price is only $1,000 "or best offer."

The price seems almost too good to be true, and where did this rare bird come from, anyway? I emailed the seller, who replies:

"We really have no idea what the story is behind the Enfield getting the Yamaha motor. It is a SX650 twin motor. The bike has been through a few different owners (which is why we have no title).

"We actually bought it under the impression it was an Enfield. We were very disappointed when it turned out not to be. We didn't want a Yamaha.

"So anyway, the previous owners could not keep the bike running. We guess they have no knowledge of how to work on any bike and my boyfriend does. It is running now and is pretty fast but it still will not keep a charge. We have the paper work to title the bike."

The pictures are low resolution but seem to show a professionally turned out bike. The ad says it needs a battery and a shift lever repair. The ad is out of South Bend, Ind. The seller gives her phone number as 574-217-8345. If you're interested, call now. And let us know how it works out. The seller messaged me: "Please tell everyone we don't really have the space for it anymore."

A scooter taught him to love motorcycles

The picture is fuzzy but my memory of the Vespa is sharp.

Vespas are true classics, but too many of the scooters running around my town look like baby Ninja motorcycles. Most are just pretending, but I know that many modern scooters are fast enough to justify their looks. Even Vespas today come powerful enough to keep up with U.S. traffic.

It was a Vespa, that one scooter I've ever ridden, that taught me to love motorcycles. It was a battered rental, on the Greek island of Corfu. The year was 1976, and my wife and I were looking forward to having a day of personal vehicular transportation after months of traveling on a Eurail Pass.

The little red two-stroke carried us around the island nicely until it came up against a steep switchback in the mountains. The road surface by this time had given way to ruts peppered with loose rocks the size of baseballs. The scooter and I saw the hill coming up at the same instant. I sighed. The scooter died. It wasn't even going to try.

I asked my wife to get off, got a running start, and just gripped the handlebars. My chest banged on the seat as the scooter bounded over the ruts and rocks. Largely freed of my weight, it towed me up the hill, but it was a wild ride.

The July sun was hot by then, and I was very proud that we weren't going to have to push the scooter up the hill after all. My wife didn't see it that way.

"You left me to walk up!" she complained. It was very funny. If not for the scooter and her comment, would I even remember that fine day, 32 years ago?
Today, as I ride my Royal Enfield, always within its own endearing limitations, I feel certain I am building memories for the future. Every trip an adventure!

Shiny Royal Enfield is reward for Patience

Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words. I spotted the photo of the satiny Royal Enfield Bullet above on Motorcycle-Journal.com and had to write the owner to ask how he did it. D.B. Owen of Bakersfield, Calif., was kind enough to respond:

"It took hundreds and hundreds of hours of good old-fashioned elbow grease, and being an obsessive compulsive, anal retentive crazy person also helps."

The beautiful 2001 kick-start Deluxe 500 is appropriately named Patience, Owen said, and he has owned Patience since new.

"She has been my obsession since I laid my eyes on her, and we have had over 28,000 miles of pleasure together.

"She has been lovingly customized from the frame out by myself over a 3 1/2 year period, and I think she has turned out absolutely beautiful. All the aluminum was hand worked and polished. I did all the paint except for the gas tank. Every nut and bolt was hand fabricated, and polished by myself from stainless steel. I fabricated the seat mounts, horn mount, coil mount, tool bag mount, mudflaps, and the list goes on and on."

Owen describes himself as an ex-trucker and says motorcycles are his passion: "The rest passes time." It shows.

Truly a labor of love. Suppose Royal Enfield Bullets came from the factory looking like this: what would they cost?!

He wears his feelings under his sleeve

The picture of the young man with the "Made Like a Gun" tattoo comes to us from Royal Enfield dealer Peter Askey of Uncommon Motorcycles near Erie, Pennsylvania. The picture is labeled simply "Sam -- Made Like a Gun."

Askey wouldn't tell us who the fellow is. All he would say is "we have loyal customers." And, yes, I asked if it was a real tattoo.

"It's real," Askey said.

Will new Royal Enfield hurt brand loyalty?

A "genuine" Indian Bullet.

Royal Enfield's 55 years of successfully making and selling motorcycles in India was bound to create fierce brand loyalty. I noted in a previous posting that Indians seem as excited as everyone else that a new Bullet 500 Classic will go on sale in 2009. However, all over the world, but particularly in India, the changes to the product were also bound to raise questions.

Is a Royal Enfield Bullet a Bullet if:

• The motor is not cast iron?
• There is no kick start?
• There is no carburetor?
• There is no right-side shift?
• There is no neutral finder?
• There is no separate transmission?

The short answer is that a Royal Enfield Bullet is anything Royal Enfield India says it is. Why should anyone care, particularly in India, where the decisions are made? One answer is that the changes may seem to be foisted on India for the sake of the small international market. Blogger Ujjwal Dey writes:

"Outside India due to various regulations AVL, lean burn and UCE and twinspark are the norm for export Enfields with the stupid left side gear shift. But India, the home and temple that idolises Enfields and particularly Bullets (cast iron is a Bullet, everything else are weird things imitating Bullets) too will see the demise of Bullets."

But, again, why should Dey care what new Bullets are like, since many thousands of vintage Bullets exist to satisfy his preferences? His answer:

"I don’t want to be some legend who is an exclusive owner of a classic bike, I want everyone to be able to buy and enjoy it."

That is the answer of a passionate fan. Passion never goes out of style. But, more to the point, Dey predicts that Royal Enfield, having given up its "legacy," will suffer in competition with other makes as they enter the Indian market. Since Indian customers, not the export market, make the vast majority of Royal Enfield purchases, they will decide the future.

Here in the United States, we remember that Harley-Davidson was once in the position of having let down its legend. The company returned to success by improving its product while retaining the appeal of its tradition. It may be that improved Royal Enfields will retain their legacy internationally if they continue to be accepted as "genuine" in their home market. Here again, Indians will decide the matter. We shall see.

Enfields 'contribute' to challenging ride

River crossing in Lahaul Valley on way to 12,500-foot elevation.

Neale Bayly photo.

Stories of riding Royal Enfields on the India/Enfield Challenge begin to crowd the Internet this time of year. The seven-day motorcycle ride through Northern India into the Himalaya Mountains is popular with Brits, but Americans get in on it, too. One such account is by Speed Channel TV personality Neale Bayly, of Charlotte, N.C.

Bayly's experiences include riding in 41 countries and doing 200 miles per hour on a Hayabusa. But his story from India is similar to others in the description of the Royal Enfield motorcycles. As Bayly relates:

"The Enfield itself is a cantankerous old beast. Treat her with love and affection, gently nurture her along and she will perform just fine. Ask her to start in a hurry from cold, or change down from second to first on a steep, blind, hairpin turn and it is a definite no. There was a rumor that the Enfield 500 we were riding had four gears on the right hand side, and a front and rear brake. In reality there was a back brake, and on the odd occasion when the moon was in correct alignment she had all four gears.

"We soon learned to dry out the rear brakes after river crossings, as no rear brakes meant no brakes at all. She leaked oil, vibrated and rattled but bumping along in India she was the perfect bike for the job. The Enfield 350 riders seemed to have the most problems, and there was some form of breakdown or other on every day except the last. This was how Ron, our friend
from Florida, became 'The Saint,' as he quickly assumed position as head mechanic, fixing the Royal Enfield carnage that was littering the Indian roads.

"In all fairness, the bikes were extremely old and worn when we started so the breakdowns came as no surprise. I also think the lads rode a little too hard and would have had better luck being easier on the old beasts."

Bayly's story notes that riders were injured when missed shifts and missing brakes put them over cliffs and into rocks. For those not badly hurt, this sort of thing always seems to figure in these stories as part of the fun. No one ever seems to explain why Enfields in India have no front braking power, while, elsewhere in the world, they do. It must be part of the challenge.

Bayly writes of the beauty and friendship he experienced on the ride. "It lifted ordinary people to perform incredible deeds." He adds that it raised $50,000 for cancer victims in India, a splendid bonus.

Be it a thump or a purr, sound is a turn-on

Maserati in Miami Beach. Can you hear it?

"Buyers want authenticity. They expect exclusivity."

Are we talking about Royal Enfield motorcycles? No, the speaker was Jeff Ehoodin, public relations manager for Maserati USA. He addressed the press Friday at the Maserati display at the South Florida International Auto Show, in Miami Beach, Fla.

There were few motorcycles of any sort at the show, although a vintage Triumph Daytona found its way into "Memory Lane." But lovers of any honest machinery might find they agree with Ehoodin.

A Maserati GranTurismo S packs 433 horsepower and an electro-actuated transaxle gearbox. But Ehoodin pointed the press to the Bose sound system, which features two large knobs and works "intuitively, like the radios we grew up with."

"You're driving the car; you're not screwing around with a piece of electronics."

He touted the Pininfarina styling of Maseratis, which evokes their heritage. I happen to like the portholes in the fenders, but what really appealed to me were the wheels. At 183 mph you wouldn't want wires, but these were the next best thing in my opinion, with spokes that refer to the Maserati trident emblem.

Maserati showed four models in Miami Beach and each had a unique set of wheels, yet each design was a variation on the trident theme.

The nicest treat was when Ehoodin briefly fired up the 4.7-liter V8. I wish I had a sound file of it for you. I would describe it as primal, yet machine made, not animal. Just perfect.

Ehoodin naturally brought up the famous Hiscox insurance company study earlier this year that found the sound of a Maserati increased testosterone in 100 per cent of women participants. The sound of a Volkswagen Polo had an opposite effect. You get what you pay for, I guess.

I can only say that, like the thump of a Royal Enfield, the sound of the Maserati was authentic. Real authentic.

Factory tour video technical difficulty

I apologize that the Royal Enfield factory tour video in the post below may not be working or not working well. The Jumpcut.com program I used to assemble the movie may have a glitch, or the problem may be me. If the video is not working for you, or is jumpy or the sound is bad, those of you who have Yahoo passwords might prefer to just go to the Jumpcut.com web site and see it there.

But give the video below a chance, first. It may work for you and is well worth a look. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Again, my apologies.

Royal Enfield factory builds the Bullet

Kevin Mahoney of Classic Motorworks shared this video of workers in Chennai, India, assembling the world famous Royal Enfield Bullet. The "home movie" captures the sounds as well as the sights inside the factory. Turn up your speakers to appreciate what it must be like working there. Even out on the test track the hammering from the factory is ever present.

Even in U.S., Royal Enfield = adventure

Last of Four Parts

Brian Wittling rode his Royal Enfield Bullet more than 10,000 miles and visited 139 parks in the United States inside one year, earning an Iron Butt Association citation.

Other Royal Enfields have covered more miles, other riders have faced more dangers. But Wittling's accomplishment strikes me as the perfect American adventure. It is the ultimate answer to what you can do with a Royal Enfield in the United States, if you're willing.

Not everyone sees the point. When Wittling announced on a Yahoo message board in 2003 that he intended to attempt this ride, one member asked: "What's the point in visiting all those national parks and not stopping to smell the roses?"

The answer seems to be that Wittling enjoys challenging himself this way. He has done other epic trips with other vehicles. While he considers what he has done worthy of mention, he doesn't boast. Here's how he put it in an email to me:

"It still sort of baffles me that anyone looks up to my journeys as some kind of great adventure. I was just a guy riding my bike. What else are you supposed to do with it? What do my 'detractors' think people did with these bikes in 1955, I wonder?

"One time a shop refused to sell me a 1956 VW Beetle because I intended to make it my daily driver! He said it would be 'too dangerous' with its skinny brakes, in the rain and whatnot. What, did he think people kept them in the garage and never drove them in the '50s? It sort of reminds me of that."

In 2009, Wittling says he plans to ride a Royal Enfield in an attempt to do the IBA's "Ultimate Coast to Coast" trip. That would be Key West, Florida to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in 30 days.

Adventure? I give him points for even considering such a thing.

All pictures by Brian Wittling.

Royal Enfield adventurer turns for home

Brian Wittling's Bullet at Great Sand Dunes National Park.

Part Three

By the fifth day, it was clear that Brian Wittling's effort to ride a Royal Enfield to national parks in the American West and back to Missouri in only 10 days was impossible. Running out of time, he turned back without reaching Los Angeles. But bike and rider, worn and hurt in a crash, still had to make it home. And he continued to document his journey by having his national park passport stamped at each one. His log of his 2003 journey resumes:

"Day 6: Hit Hoover Dam, up through Lake Mead NRA and then to Utah. At Zion I pass one of those roadside radar things that show you your speed. It says 25; my speedo says like "45". I get out my GPS, and sure enough, learn that my speedo has been reading 20-25 mph TOO FAST! No wonder it seemed like it was taking FOREVER to get anywhere!

At Zion, I'm sweating like a hog. I go from there to Cedar Breaks (10,000-plus elevation) and freeze my ass off. Totally worth it. I was the only one there and Zen out for what seemed like hours until a very nice (and pretty) ranger came by to check on me and let me know she was closing up for the night. They are expecting a storm also, so I'd better get to some lower elevations for the night unless I enjoy riding street bikes in the snow.

Day 7: Rain, cold, more rain, colder yet. Suffer miles of dirt road/construction at Bryce Canyon. Freeze over a mountain pass soaking wet all day long. And I mean FREEZE. So cold I could not feel my hands other than occasional pins and needles.

Day 8: More rain, cold. Get to Four Corners, where I have to chase down the guy with access to the stamp. He stamps my book with the wrong month/day. Made it to Mesa Verde, where I was told I came in right after some other biker in full motocross gear came in looking for the stamp, and totally went berserk to the point that the checkout girls went into their "safe room" while a ranger asked him to leave.

Started having MAJOR difficulty with clutch dragging, can't shift, can't adjust cable any farther. Install new heavy duty cable, no joy; call dealer, instructs me on how to adjust the adjuster. OK for now. More rain, cold. Now it's dark, 40F according to town bank sign. Go over Wolf Creek Pass in steady rain, freezing cold. Road work, no pavement, rain, oncoming traffic blinding and hogging road. Stop at FIRST motel I see. Little old lady takes pity on me, sits me next to wood stove and cooks up the BEST stew I've ever had.

Day 9: 45F when I set off for the day, get rained on a little more, over another pass, visit Great Sand Dunes. Still VERY hard to shift. Closing in on Garden City, Kan. discover week-old headlight is burned out. No low beam. Ride through town looking for hotel with no clutch at all. All I can think of is a Pizza Hut pan pizza with bread sticks and a dinner salad. Check into hotel, go to Pizza Hut, they are OUT of pan dough, bread sticks and lettuce. I wanted to cry. Clif bars and MRE's for nine days straight will do that to ya I guess.

Day 10: Ride all the way across Kansas with no clutch whatsoever. I got REAL good at power shifting and making unplanned right turns. After visiting Tallgrass Prairie NP, old man in truck frantically signals to me to pull over. I look down to discover brake pedal dragging down the road below me. Stop, re-assemble stupid linkage for right-hand brake conversion and also notice that the drive chain has about 5 inches of play in it, so much play it's dragging on the frame of the bike. Get out tools to adjust chain, discover that the factory tool kit does not provide the proper tools to perform this most elementary of maintenance tasks. Now the clutch is loose again. I don't care. I ride on to Iola, Kan. Calmly, like a Zen Master.

I proceed eastward into the darkness. At Fort Scott, Kan. I hit the brakes to turn, and ALL the lights go out. There's a short in the brake lamp.

Day 11: Call mechanic/dealer, who convinces me my ride is over. It's still 173 miles to Rolla, Mo., where he is. Rent huge U-Haul for $200 to drop off bike at Interstate Motorcycles, and continue to St. Louis. Get home and unload the casualties from the back of the truck: leather saddlebags, scorched, burned, abraded and oiled; Aerostitch Roadcrafter, oily and stinky; helmet stinky, bugged up and a few new scratches; boots with a LOT more crud and stink than a week ago; and the brave magnetic tank bag, road-worn and ejected so many times on the trip.

But you know what? It still KICKED ASS."

Next: Looking back.

Brian Wittling's Bullet after his ride.

Riding a Royal Enfield across the West

Brian Wittling photo: riding into a Texas sunset.

Part Two

Brian Wittling planned to ride his Royal Enfield Bullet across the Western United States and back to Missouri in only 10 days. Doing this would mean 10-12 hours a day in the saddle every day and it would demand reliability and endurance from a motorcycle renown for its quirky nature.

Royal Enfield fans he contacted on the Yahoo message board urged him to reconsider. He went anyway. On Oct. 8, 2003, list members learned what had happened in a post Wittling labeled "I Left My Arse in Tucumcari." He added "I haven't seen the 'twig & berries' since Day 9."

Wittling meant to complete an official Iron Butt Association challenge: the National Parks Tour Master award. The rider must visit 50 national parks, memorials, preserves, etc. in at least 25 different states in one year. Visits are documented by using the National Parks Passport program, in which a book is stamped at each place visited. This trip, Wittling hoped, would give him up to 30 stamps in 10 states. But getting the stamps added complexity to his route and timing. Here are excerpts from his earthy account of his adventure:

"Barely, in one piece. Let me relate to you the sequence of events:

Day 1: Rode for 16 HOURS straight (from St. Louis), and didn't even reach Oklahoma City.

Day 2: No alarm clock in the hotel, so I set the alarm on my PDA, which suffers some sort of fatal error, does not go off, I don't wake up till 10:30 when the maid knocks on the door, and the batteries are totally drained. I loose all my phone numbers and addresses for the trip, so cannot electronically record my trip data. Get lost through Oklahoma City, miss stamp for Oklahoma City memorial. Get hit by a car in small town west of Oklahoma City trying to stay on old Route 66. No damage to me or bike, but still sucks.

An hour or so later I'm riding along Route 66 and the seat suddenly drops a couple inches. Find the front seat bracket broken in half from some sort of metal fatigue. From this point on I'm sitting on a crooked seat, with the front bit digging into my Johnson, cutting off circulation. Now I'll probably get nut cancer or something.

Get to Washita Battlefield right as they are closing, beg gift shop lady to let me in so I can get the stamp. Proceed to Lake Meredith NRA in Texas, get there way after dark, wander around various marinas looking for stamp. No one has a clue. Probably in the visitors' office, only open 8-5 Monday through Friday. Bollocks! Get newspaper, go to visitors' office, and take picture of myself and my bike, holding newspaper to prove I was there on that day. Hope the IBA accepts it.

Only get to Amarillo, Tex. this day; should be in Albuquerque by now. Stay at crappy motor-court, but the proprietors are formerly from India, and absolutely have about a meltdown that I'm there on a Bullet. Funny.

Day 3: Crash bike rather harshly in dirt/rock "road" after pavement SUDDENLY ends on I-40 service road trying to get to Tucumcari. Attempted to ride it out, but the bike does a big hula-dance thing under me and finally the front wheel slides out. Busted windshield, bent foot peg, something in shoulder torn. Crash and detour/back-tracking delay me a couple hours. Get to Albuquerque at sunset, finally get room and meet up with friends Cletus and Michelle for dinner. In bed EARLY. Thankfully Cletus is able to TIG weld my seat bracket. It's now probably the most solid object on the whole bike.

Bullet at El Morro National Monument in New Mexico.

Day 4: Made it to Petroglyph, El Morro, El Mapias, and Painted Desert/Petrified Forest. Forced to ride for hundred miles or so on the interstate however. Jackrabbit was CLOSED during normal business hours - result: I ran out of gas and had to PUSH the Enfield one mile or so to a truck stop in Winslow. No girl in a flat-bed Ford even slowed down to take a look. A few hundred other good 'ole boys in trucks with probably big cans of gas in the back flew by, though. None stopped to help. Made it to Flagstaff.

Day 5: This is the Point of No Return. I make it to Oatman, Ariz., see some burros and have to turn north and start coming home. No way I'm making it to LA and back in time. Riding down from Oatman into the Mojave Valley is like riding into an OVEN, even at night. I continue to Las Vegas, and get purposely run off the road onto the shoulder by a trucker wanting to do 80-plus."
Giving up his plan to make it all the way to California did not mean it was all downhill from there. Wittling's biggest challenges were still ahead.

Next: Hot, cold and wet.

A Royal Enfield adventure in America

Brian Wittling's heavily loaded Royal Enfield Bullet with Enfield artillery pieces at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, Missouri, near the beginning of his cross-country adventure.

Part One

"My Ass Hurts Just Thinking About This." That was the title of the post Brian Wittling wrote introducing members of the Royal Enfield Yahoo message board to his intention to ride his Royal Enfield Bullet through 10 states in only 10 days. It was Sept. 15, 2003.

Brian wrote: "I will have 10 days to complete a 5,000-mile, 10-state round trip to California and back. Yes, you read that right. That means I must average about 500 miles per day, for 10 days straight.

"My route out will consist of old Route 66 paralleling I-44 to Santa Monica, Calif. and the road back will take me through Death Valley, Las Vegas, and across Utah before hooking up with US 50, which sort of parallels I-70.

"Along the way, I'll experience temperatures ranging from the 20s (Colorado) to over 100! (Death Valley). Which means I'll be going from wearing nothing but my skivvies and the 'stich to probably every article of clothing I bring with me. Luckily, most of the trip will be spent in glorious high 60s to mid-70s.

"The Bullet plods along nicely at about 60 mph, but even so, with the side roads and the planned stops, it still means I will have to spend approximately 10-12 hours a day actually riding. Ouch. I guess we'll see just how comfortable that springer seat REALLY is, eh? I'm thinking I should count on spending a night or two at the 'Iron Butt Motel' (helmet and gear still on, slumped over the bike on the side of the road or rest stop)."

He signed himself "Crazy Brian."

Wittling received lots of encouragement from members of the board, but not everyone agreed it was a good idea. One member named Jan wrote:

"Brian!

"With all due respect and all that, it's a cool thing you're doing and all -- but what's the point really??? You will only wear yourself and the bike out and press the envelope of your butt (and mind) to the brink. There will be very little enjoyment if you travel a vast distance like that under a time pressure like that. I know, I was there once myself -- before I had a few close calls and lost a dozen of my friends in wrecks, got bored and grew up.

"Mr. Murphy will be calling ALL the shots. If you HAVE to do a certain distance every day, be very sure you'll only do it on ONE of the 10 days. The first one..."

Wittling was undeterred. Lack of vacation time kept him from taking longer, he wrote. It was his life, after all. He was just challenging himself, not daring anyone else to try it.

But he also was challenging the standard notion of what a rider and a Royal Enfield could do, or even attempt. Others around the world have crossed wider deserts or climbed higher mountains on a Royal Enfield. But Wittling's plan was to attempt a peculiarly American adventure.

List members learned what happened less than a month later.

Next: "I Left My Arse in Tucumcari."

A young man and his Royal Enfield Indian

Brad Bird posted this picture on line as he recalled his 1959 Indian motorcycle. Motorcycles marketed by Indian in 1959 were made by Royal Enfield. The young "James Dean" and the big bad British twin packed so much attitude, I asked him about the picture. He replied:

"That was me back in 1971 . I got the Indian in trade for a 1969 Honda 90 that was in basket case condition. I got it from Gary Roe, who at the time was a high school student with me, but he came to own and build up the Hillsboro, Ore. Suzuki shop.

"The bike had bald knobbies on it, and you had to push start it , but it fired up first push. I didn't have a endorsement yet, but I took it to school, and got dared by Gary to chew up the school lawn with it. I took the dare and did a couple runs with it at lunch hour. Got caught and had to pay $25 for lawn repair and got suspended for10 days. But it was worth it.

"That bike handled great. I was only about 140 pounds and I could still throw that bike sideways, and made great rooster tails through the lawn.

"I ended up trading it for a '66 Honda 305 , and a 1964 Corvair. Picture was taken in Cornileus, Ore. in 1971."

Royal Enfield racing results official

Racing Royal Enfield motorcycles for speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats? Sounds like something that might have happened in the 1950s. But Dan Holmes and his Classic Motorcycle Association team did it successfully this September.

Results of the American Motorcyclist Association 2008 Bub Speed Trials are on the web now. They list a record of 109.622 mph for rider John Szoldrak on the Classic Motorworks USA Royal Enfield, sponsored by Classic Motorcycle Association. A one-way record of 110 mph was set in an American Historic Racing Association category, Holmes says. But a third record the team set didn't last -- and Holmes was left thinking a fourth is in reach for next time.

He explains:

"Our gas record in special construction was usurped on a later run; we held it for a very brief period of time and, while it was posted at the meet , we lost it on Saturday when we left. We were told that there would be no record runs on Saturday and we were scheduled to fly out so that is the way it goes.

"The AHRMA record stands at 110 as a one way record and the AMA record stands at 109 . We are a little disappointed and yet happy. I really feel the overall was a success and yet there was so much more we would like to have accomplished. That's racing!

"In any event we are making plans for next year and we hope to set new records in the gas and fuel class for special construction partially streamlined. We feel like it is ours to have -- we will likely get them. We are also talking about a RE streamliner; time will tell."

Not long after returning from the Salt Flats Holmes was injured while riding a Whizzer-style bike he built. His injuries were severe. "I am slowly recovering and it really stinks to be immobilized," he writes.