Imagining a new look for Royal Enfields

Chris Bartlett has an eye for the retro style of Royal Enfield motorcycles. A frequent contributor to Flickr, he recently posted a slideshow of cleverly imagined variations on his own Royal Enfield Bullet.

So far, none of these schemes is real. Bartlett tells me he used the Adobe PhotoShop program to try to help him decide whether to go with a black seat on his bike. Becoming inspired, he tried out the painted tank logo of the new Royal Enfield Classic 500s, painted hubs and rims and whitewall tires as well.

PhotoShop is a program Bartlett uses often in his imagineering work for Epic Games. You can read more about him here.

I've selected just four of his designs (there are more) and labelled them A, B, C and D. Let's see. I think I prefer A. Or, maybe D. Or... well, they're all good.


While he was at it, Bartlett took a picture of a Military model Royal Enfield and adjusted the monochromatic Olive Drab paint job. Imagine a yellow Military! You can see what it would look like in his slideshow.

PhotoShoping designs is a challenge (I've tried it) but still easier than doing the job for real. Bartlett recently fitted a "Model A" style stoplight to the rear fender of his bike, only to have it fall off on a ride.

Beloved Royal Enfield ready for new owner

UPDATE: Mike Munly tells me that his brother's Royal Enfield has been sold. Read on to see why it was such a special motorcycle:

A special 2006 Royal Enfield Bullet Classic for sale on CraigsList in Yakima, Wash. caught my eye. It is very clean, tastefully accessorized, and the body color pannier boxes in shiny carriers are unusual. It is advertised as having 1,100 miles, always garaged and in great condition. I wrote to ask for more details but was unprepared for the touching response.

"My brother purchased the bike on Sept. 12, 2007," Mike Munly wrote me.

"He rode the bike for about five months and put 1,100 miles on it. In May of 2008 he got very sick and could not ride the bike any longer. While in the hospital he would talk about the bike and said that he couldn't wait to get home and ride it again. Unfortunately he never did go home and ride the bike again. He passed away on Sept. 12, 2008 exactly a year to the day he bought the Royal Enfield. It is ironic that his warranty and the Royal Enfield's warranty ran out on the same day.

"My brother's name was Wally Munly. He was 65 when he passed away. We have kept some of his things like a few of his favorite guns and some of the tools. He was a good mechanic and liked the outdoors.

"He loved to motorcycle and throughout his life he had a number of them. I remember when he was a kid he rode Indians and BSA's. He always had a passion for those bikes and the Royal Enfield gave him that same feeling.

"It's almost eight months now since he passed away and time for the bike to have a new owner. Many people have contacted me and shown interest and some of them just want to talk about the bike and what it means to them. I have had some older guys like myself talk about the great bikes they used to ride. Everyone that sees the bike says the same thing, 'what a cool bike.' I agree it is a cool bike and I can see why my brother liked to ride it. Now every time I see a Royal Enfield I stop and say 'what a cool bike.'

"It is a big regret that we don't have a picture of Wally with the bike. When he bought it and brought it by to show it off, none of us were thinking that he wouldn't ride it for years. It is a reminder to us that life is truly short and we shouldn't take things for granted.

"As I was working with his things after his passing I really for the first time got him. Like your other readers, he has the accessory manuals and the service manual and I know he spent many hours going through both of them.

"I don't want to take up all of your time but it is still hard to believe that Wally isn't there for the family things. He was in the hospital for four months and I saw him at least once a day and many days more than once. I think we all got to know and understand him even better through that time.

"Sometime during his last week he had a very good few hours. My wife and I were talking to him about his bikes and cars and I made the statement that he was 'hell on wheels' He broke out into a big smile and shook his head as if he was remembering some of the things that he had done. He did things his way but he always had friends. Some of his old riding buddies have called to talk about him and share their stories."

Royal Enfield Military gets neat café look

Clever fellow! Hard as it is to imagine, an owner has outfitted his 1999 Royal Enfield Military motorcycle in semi-café style. It's quite attractive, actually. And it's for sale now, on CraigsList, in Moline, Ill. for $2,800. The owner is even throwing in a café-style helmet (olive drab, naturally!) and two pairs of goggles, one of them genuine antique.

The motorcycle has 3,704 miles and is in Chicago, Ill. The owner says he is willing to consider trading for a Volvo station wagon or other car.

The seller lists a host of mechanical and cosmetic upgrades to the café-style Military. You can have the original panniers it came with, if you want. But it's the unusual combination of styles that surprises. The café handlebars and single rear-view mirror are probably worth a good 5 mph at the top end, too.

For sale: Is this Enfield a bad penny?

A 2003 Royal Enfield motorcycle for sale on eBay (the ad expires soon, unless it is renewed) has been for sale since at least December, 2008. That's when I first started watching this ordinary looking bike with an extraordinary history. It is a Bullet 500, on sale in Dewey, Ariz., with only 332 miles showing on the odometer. The Buy It-Now price is $3,200.

The seller has excellent feedback ratings on eBay and he is obviously a very honest person. In his early ads (on Craigslist) he explained that the bike was imported piece by piece from India in 2003, and then assembled. It is registered as a 1955, he says.

The seller dropped this long story from his later ads, but he piped right up with it when questioned on eBay. He took the bike in trade, he says, admitting he doesn't know much about the bike.

What he may be overlooking is that buyers could be frightened off by the the motorcycle's provenience. Was it really ever one bike?

Is the paperwork really in order? Whatever it is, it is not a 1955, as it is registered. Would there be a problem when the buyer wants to sell? Who knows?

The seller could hide all this information easily, hoping to find a buyer who doesn't ask too many questions. To his credit, he hasn't hesitated to state the facts as he knows them. The seller says the bike has a clear 1955 Arizona title with matching numbers.

Are you feeling lucky?

For sale: A Royal Enfield with no blinkers

A 2000 Royal Enfield Bullet Deluxe is on sale on eBay in Milwaukee, Wis. The bike has only two little problems, according to the owner: a small tear in the seat and "the blinkers rattled off after a few miles (I still have them, but they are in pieces)."

In my experience, the missing turn signals are no surprise.

As he delivered my shiny new Royal Enfield Bullet, my dealer pointed to the turn signals and mentioned, "you know, we do sell nice replacements for those."

I considered it a moment, remembering that I had dropped a motorcycle twice (once on each side) during motorcycle training class. "Well, let me knock these off first!" I replied.

Luckily, I haven't dropped my Bullet, but the turn signals came off anyway, in the course of 40,000 miles.

The plastic stalks snapped. Maybe vibration was to blame but I really think the the stalks just reverted back to their origin as soybeans or recycled refrigerator cartons. They seemed to become brittle with age; you can crumble the originals from mine with your fingers.

The big (some say ugly) turn signals are required by U.S. road regulations, but once they're in the hands of owners many are replaced with more tasteful looking items. If the used bike you're considering comes with after-market blinkers you probably should consider that a definite improvement.

Royal Enfield no doubt thought the original turn signals an inexpensive way to meet regulations, in the realization that many would get replaced anyway. But they did let down the character of the bike, which is otherwise largely Made of Metal, and proud of it.

For sale: An honest Royal Enfield 350

What should I buy? A Royal Enfield Bullet 350 or the 500? That was the single question most prospective buyers asked when I started looking to buy one in 2000. For me, there was only one answer:

"All I have is the 500," my local dealer told me. "There is absolutely no market in the U.S. for the 350." So I bought a 500cc Bullet and I've been very happy.

But there is a special romance that attaches to the only slightly smaller 350cc Bullet. Owners praise is gentler "thump" and insist that it's more reliable (being, presumably, under less stress) and very nearly as fast.

Some of the 350cc Bullets available now in the U.S. were imported privately from India so, if you want one, you either have to be prepared to deal with that (is the paperwork really in order?) or make sure that the bike is one of the 350s officially imported.

Just such an "honest" 350 Bullet has gone up for sale on CraigsList in Boulder City, Nev. It is a 2000 model, Avon gray, and is advertised as having only 589 miles. Asking price is $2,000.

How do we know it is a legitimate import? Simple: it has the shift lever on the left, as U.S. laws require. This was accomplished by running a goofy shaft under the bike to carry the motion to the four-speed transmission, which is on the right. Royal Enfields from India had shift levers fitted directly to the transmission.

Many owners of left-shift Bullets have removed this "bodge" and converted their bikes to shift on the right, as intended. It works better that way. No one would deliberately convert a right-shift Bullet to left shift. So, while a right-shift bike is not necessarily a private import, we know that every left-shift four-speed Bullet must be legit.

The 350 Bullet is time-honored. Many thousands of 350cc Bullets were built in India over the decades since 1955. The 500cc model is a relatively recent addition and mostly for export. The 350 created the "Legend," of which Royal Enfield is so proud.

The history goes back even farther, to England. There, in the 1940s and '50s, 350cc was thought about right for a standard motorcycle. No need to go larger, unless you planned to haul a sidecar. Royal Enfield in England did not introduce a 500cc Bullet until 1953, just before the 350cc model went off to be built in India. India did not create its own 500cc model until 1989.

For sale: Royal Enfield retro custom

One of the most remarkable looking Royal Enfield motorcycles I've seen is for sale on CraigsList in Maynard, Mass. It has a custom retro appearance with all new paint and leather work, plus performance modifications. The asking price is $4,900.


The bike is a kick-start only 2000 model, with 9,000 miles. It was completely redone by Thomas Cummings, a custom furniture maker in Maynard, which is west of Boston. Here's his description of what he did:


"I stripped it down to the bone and rebuilt it; it is better than factory. New flat slide JLP Carb. Total new top end with top of the line parts with larger cylinder 537cc many new parts updating the engine. It looks just like a 1955 except for the color. It has top of the line new 'Power arc' ignition that can be reprogrammed to adjust the advance curve. It has wider than normal whitewall tires. I switched it back to the original right-side shift. The seats are top grade leather with solid brass rivets, matching leather grips.


"The paint is Dupont’s best, with three full base coats of white, then three coats of orange color, then clear coated, then the gold leaf trim was added, clear coated again, then it was pin-striped and decaled, then three more clear top coats."


The pictures show a striking motorcycle in a color scheme that, although not pastel, reminds me of the new retro Bullet 500 Classic Royal Enfield will bring to the U.S. this year. Especially retro looking are the blinkers and lights Cummings made and the rear fender from a 350 Bullet.

Pete ponders a UCE manual after all

UPDATE: Pete Snidal now says he is considering producing an owner's manual for the new Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycles with the unit constructed engine (UCE).

Snidal told me he didn't think the new Royal Enfield would need a manual since it is not "a Do-It-Yourself" kind of motorcycle. Apparently he has changed his mind.

"Yes, I think I have," Snidal wrote to me. "It'll be a while, though, because I have to accumulate a mess of second-hand experience of the new model, and that will take time.

"I don't anticipate doing one that can be called a Workshop Manual, either. More an owner's manual, which I think is appropriate, due to the different nature of the bike and therefore the different nature of the folk to whom it will appeal."

Snidal is the author of owner's and workshop manuals for the classic Indian made Bullets. They enabled owners without great experience to do basic chores with confidence. While those Bullets needed and benefited from involved tending, the new UCE models are designed to minimize maintenance.

Enthusiasm for the new model seems to be a big part of the motivation for Snidal. He wrote on the Royal Enfield Yahoo message board to say:

"I've been looking at what I could find (and that's quite a bit!) on the new UCE, and I have to admit that I'm impressed. So impressed that I think I just may do a manual on it -- but I'm going to wait till the results are in from as many directions as I can muster... If I had the time/money/access, I'd LOVE to spend this summer intimate caress mode with a new UCE!"

Tribute to life in 1940s includes Flying Flea

A Flickr picture of a Royal Enfield Flying Flea on display in the Frome Museum in Somerset, Britain, drew me to a remarkable series of photos of World War II re-enactor Andy Chant.

This young man assembled the museum display, featuring the Royal Enfield. Even more amazing, he has turned himself and even his apartment into convincing portraits of the 1940s.

"I'm 21 and live in rural Somerset, England, currently working for a solicitor's firm," says Chant in his profile. "I've always had an interest in the 1940s, and I have been a British WW2 re-enactor for several years now," he told me.

His Flickr photos are almost startling for their realism, although the digital color photography instantly clues you in that they are a tribute to the times, not the real thing.

Part of the realism is his youth, of course. Chant (who signs himself on Flickr as Andy Baille-Smith) looks the part of the trim young soldier, alternately devil-may-care or deadly serious.

But, even without a human element, the photos of his apartment make you feel you really are "there" in wartime Britain.

His museum display at Frome continues to the end of April, and is part of the museum program "Remembering the 40s." It includes the Royal Enfield Flying Flea, designed as a civilian motorcycle but pressed into service during the war for duties including airborne drops.

"The bike belongs to my dad who displays it at military vehicle shows in England along with a couple of wartime Matchless G3L's," Chant said.

"This one was brought back from Arnhem where it it was probably parachuted in during Operation Market Garden. It has been civilianised a bit after the War, but Chris (my dad) is gradually getting the parts. This one was manufactured in 1943."

Chant also contributes to a Flickr group that shoots interesting photos of World War II bunkers. You'll find a link to it on his page. Also on his page is a picture of him at 17, posing as a Dispatch rider next to a Matchless.

Author plans no manual for new bike

Leaning over the brand new 2009 Royal Enfield Bullet, Royal Enfield engineer Hari Kumar was demonstrating how a dealer can use software on a laptop computer to diagnose problems. I asked him what a rider could do on the roadside if and when the Malfunction Indicator Lamp (idiot light) comes on.

Kumar pointed to the five connections to sensors around the bike. The rider could make sure they're all still connected. That's all.

Designed to be trouble free, the new unit constructed engine (UCE) Royal Enfields are also designed to do without intervention by the rider. That's why Pete Snidal, author of the definitive owner's and workshop manual for Bullets of the past, plans no edition for the UCE.

"It won't be a bike for the DIY (do-it-yourself) kinda guy, so no manual required. At least not from me," Snidal told me.

He is prepared to believe it is possible the new Royal Enfields could get by without one.

"My first impression is that they did remarkably well incorporating present-day tech with the basic spirit of the original Bullet..." he said. "I'm pretty impressed with the Japness of the whole thing! Obvious where they got their ideas from, but then it seems like yesterday I was looking at the first Kaw(asaki) imitation BSA 650, and we know what a fine job they started doing from there. It IS a global world out there these days; no reason why India couldn't get an oar in the water."

The old-time Bullets, in production virtually unchanged in India for 50 years, needed occasional tinkering by owners, and Snidal's manual helped them do it right. Properly cared for and rebuilt when necessary, those Bullets could last seemingly forever. Therefore, they aren't going away anytime soon.

"I have a feeling there'll still be a lot of Bullets on the road after the last UCE dies," Snidal said.

Old roads and Royal Enfields go together

The rider of an old-fashioned motorcycle naturally seeks old-fashioned roads. So I hit the brakes when I saw the sign for "Historic Jungle Trail" running off State Road 510 near Vero Beach, Florida.

Jungle Trail is unpaved, dusty white dirt running into a forest of Australian pine trees. Beyond those pines, for much of its length, are the golf courses and mansions of Orchid, Florida, one of the wealthiest communities in the United States. Gradually, though, the road comes out into the sort of scrub land that must have greeted the first motorcyclists to visit the state in the Twentieth Century.




Once known as State Road 252, Jungle Trail was built in the 1920s and '30s to bring citrus fruit from farms to packing houses. Only 7.5 miles remain on the part I drove. The road is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It owes its continued existence in part to naturalists who managed to get Teddy Roosevelt to name tiny Pelican Island as the very first National Wildlife Refuge.

Unless you have a boat, Jungle Trail is the only way to see Pelican Island. The pelicans were not roosting when I visited, but I wasn't disappointed because it was the road that interested me. How much had it changed in 60 years?

For years, I commuted to work on another road that had served the citrus fields, Orange Drive in Davie, Florida. I considered the paved but narrow road along a canal a real respite from city traffic and a sort of journey into the past. My opinion changed, a bit, when an old-timer along the road noted that he and his wife used to take a trip up Orange Drive when it was time for their babies to be born: the potholes tended to encourage things to get moving.

So it's likely that the motorcyclists of the previous century found Jungle Trail harder going than I did. Here's a photo from the Florida state archives of a man resting on his motorcycle and sidecar on a dirt road in Volusia County, Florida, sometime early in that century. The road looks far more challenging than Jungle Trail is today.

Armenian cooking, recipes in new blog

Screenwriter and wit Doug Kalajian and his wife Robyn recently launched their blog TheArmenianKitchen.com

This is the place to look for Armenian cooking, Armenian recipes, Armenian food, tips, stories and other fun. I know Doug and Robyn and have sampled their cooking. They say they are preserving their Armenian heritage "one recipe at a time." The results will be delicious.

My fond hope is to sample some of the test cooking.

His Royal Enfield V-twin near ready to ride

Aniket Vardhan, the young man in Columbus, Ohio who built his own Royal Enfield 700cc V-twin motor from two 350 motors, says he is two weeks away from having a rideable motorcycle.

Vardhan's accomplishment, seen on YouTube, has brought attention from around the world. Yes, the Carberry firm in Australia is doing a V-twin from two 500cc Royal Enfield motors. But the fact that one young man could do something similar in a borrowed workshop truly captures the imagination. Here's his latest update:

"Well, not much longer! I just got back from the shop a few minutes ago; the motor is completely test mounted in the bike with the newly made mounting plates with modified hole positions. The cut frame top tube has been connected and the timing cover has been re-installed after dismantling to check how things looked.

"Need to reposition a couple of mounts for the seat and gas tank, complete the electricals, lengthen the drive chain (bigger output sprocket and slight change in engine position compared to stock).

"This phase did take a bit of time as I had to check and recheck that alignment and access to top end was not hindered -- you can still remove rocker covers, head and cylinders with motor in frame, a must for tinkering ease, making sure that none of the fasteners fouled with anything etc.

"All this is done and seems to have worked according to plan.

"It really should be only a week or 2 before she's rideable!"

Vardhan is originally from New Delhi. He came to the U.S. in 1999 for a master's degree in Industrial Design. He left his job as an assistant professor of Industrial Design at an art and design school in Columbus in July, 2008. He says his dream has been creating a Royal Enfield V-twin. As the world saw in the YouTube video, he is thrilled. His excitement is contagious.

Book shows Britain's motorcycles at war

Britain approached war in 1939 expecting motorcycles to play a key role. A mechanized army would escape the costly trench warfare of World War I. To prepare for mobile combat, the War Department spent the years between the wars testing the best machines the British motorcycle industry could produce.

The testing was tough. The frame of a pretty Royal Enfield Model B twisted. It was built too light, but other motorcycles were judged too heavy. A decade of time, money and effort went into choosing the very best equipment for the British soldier. Royal Enfield, Norton, Matchless, Rudge, Triumph, Sunbeam, Ariel, BSA and New Imperial all competed. In the end, the winner was: necessity.

The British Army lost much of its best equipment in the evacuation from Dunkirk. To re-equip, Britain rounded up civilian machines, often still in civilian colors, and remounted its dispatch riders and reconnaissance units.

All manufacturers provided what they could. The little 125cc Royal Enfield even went to war in a metal cage, dropped by parachute to airborne troops. The result of necessity and creativity is that British military motorcycles existed in terrific variety on every front. Pictures of them are fascinating.

Gavin Birch has mined the archives of the Imperial War Museum for Images of War, Motorcycles at War, a Pen & Sword military book. Chapters on German and American motorcycles are included, but naturally, given the source of the pictures, they tend to show them in use by British soldiers.

This is a book about the motorcycles of World War II, although the Great War and inter-war years are mentioned. Not surprisingly, the book is printed in black and white, as nearly all the photos must have been, and the mud-splattered olive-drab motorcycles all turn out about the same shade of gray. It's hard to tell one from another except where the manufacturer cleverly included an unobtrusive brand name where the military markings wouldn't obliterate it.

This is a problem for Birch, as he quite often doesn't have adequate caption information to go by. We might be told the hometown of the soldier in the picture, but not what machine he's riding.

Not many of the pictures in Motorcycles at War actually show warfare. Some were technical pictures and some were pure propaganda. Birch does his best, as when he notes that the cover picture of airborne troops unpacking their motorcycles is obviously posed, since no parachute rigging is attached.

In the end, the pictures are priceless but the captions are so aggravating that the book loses authority.

I am especially grateful for the solution to one mystery, however. For years I've treasured a cartoon image I came across on the Internet with no source or information listed. A troop of obviously British Army motorcyclists is shown roaring along, aiming submachine guns attached to their bikes. It is a stirring but fanciful illustration. Incredibly, it is not complete fiction.

Motorcycles at War includes photos that obviously inspired the image. Birch explains that the "Tommy gun motorcyclists" were tested, but never used in war.


Some of the images in Motorcycles at War and many more can be found and even purchased on the web site of the Imperial War Museum. Just search for motorcycle / Tommy gun, for instance, and you'll see thumbnails of your choices.

Vintage motorcycles shine on site

Vintage motorcycles, shows, auctions and rides are the focus of a site I've just discovered, Vintage-rider.

It's an attractive and active site, based in Florida, as am I, so I may be biased. It will be very handy having a calendar of events. There is a lot of content on Vintage-rider well worth exploring. I found "Clare in Italy" (above) entertaining.

The site currently features their slide show (below) on the recent Dania Beach Antique Motorcycle Show. I was delighted to see that a few of the early shots are pictures I made for The Sun-Sentinel newspaper.

What's missing from my tool kit? 3 things

There is no use being didactic about what you should carry in your Royal Enfield motorcycle tool kit. Your choices, like mine, will tell you more about your psychology than the motorcycle's likely ills.

For instance, I make room for the 11/32nds screwdriver socket wrench because it is ideal for setting the timing on a test run. That's an infrequent job, and usually done on a special outing, so it would be easy to keep the tool in my garage and pull it out only when needed. But the fact is that I don't want to bother having to look for it, so I keep it in the Bullet's tool kit because I'm lazy!

The number of cloths and wipes I've squirreled away on the Bullet is loony. Every roadside repair is likely to be a greasy mess, but carrying eight rags and towels is just eating up room.

And why am I carrying the tire prying irons if I don't have a spare inner tube or even a patching kit? (For that matter, I also don't have a tire pump to re-inflate a repaired tube.) The reason is simple: the pry bars came with my tool kit from the factory and, sentimentally, I like to keep the original tools together.

This applies to the factory-supplied tube wrenches I carry. They're fairly crude, and the one that fits the spark plug is a sloppy fit. I prefer to baby my spark plug with a socket that caresses it with a foam insert. But my foam filled socket is kept in my garage, where it will be of no use roadside.

It's silly of me to not carry any screwdrivers. True, the Leatherman tool on my belt provides them, but the folding nature of the tool means they are somewhat weak; they could never be used to pry anything apart. Also, it's awkward getting the tool into small places to use them.

The "missing tool" most complained about in the factory kit is the lack of any wrench or socket big enough to remove the big rear axle snub nut . I don't have any wrench in my garage that will do the job and yet fit into the Bullet's tool boxes -- a seeming dilemma. My excuse for not worrying about this is that I don't think I will ever need that tool roadside.

Why? Because the Bullet's Quick Detach rear wheel can be removed without loosening the snub nut. Remove the castellated nut (a factory wrench does fit that) and "pull" out the axle. The wheel now comes off and you can stand on the tire sidewalls to get it off the rim and pull out the inner tube for repair or replacement.

Thing is, you probably are going to have to "gently" hammer on the axle to get it out; and I don't carry a hammer. If I had a wrench big enough to remove the axle snub nut, I suppose I could use it as a hammer!

The biggest waste of space in my tool kit is the tiny jar of motor oil (it's actually a 35mm film container). That little oil will never "top up" a Bullet seriously low on oil. If a bit of oil is needed for lubrication, I could always get it off the dipstick.

I used to carry my spare inner tube, but I didn't like the way it had to fold and pinch to fit into the tool box.

The biggest shortcoming in my kit is pointed out in the comment by StL Stadtroller (see previous item). I have no electrical repair tape or tape of any kind for that matter.

The comment from Chris Bartlett notes that he carries a flashlight. That is an awfully important item on a dark night. For the moment, I'm going to say that the miniature flashlight on my keyring will suffice.

So, the "Three Things" I most need to add to my tool kit, in my opinion:

• Screwdrivers.


• Electrical tape.


• Tire inflator/patcher.

What's in your motorcycle tool kit?

Classic Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycles came with two spacious tool boxes. The factory supplied a tool kit, one spare fuse and some bikes even carried a spare inner tube when customers picked them up.

Experience quickly taught riders that more was needed. I learned fast that it was essential to carry a spare clutch cable. But that wasn't all I found necessary. I recently inventoried my tool boxes to discover that the main thing I had added was rags for wiping up after roadside repairs!

Although the list of things I carry is long, it is by no means satisfactory. I notice that I have left out at least three essentials. Can you guess what they are? Here's what I DO have:

Left tool box

• Leather fanny pack to contain tools.
• 1 rag to cushion fanny pack inside tool box.
• 3 additional rags.
• Factory Whitworth wrenches.
• Tube sockets and bar to turn them.
• Adjustable spanner.
• Pliers.
• Spark plug gaping tool.
• Bent bit of metal for feeling for piston at TDC.
• Tire prying irons.
• Screwdriver socket for adjusting points set.
• Tiny bottle of motor oil.
• Bungee cord.
• See-through plastic pouch to contain supplies.
• Allen wrench for tightening controls on handlebars.
• Wet wipe (probably long since dried up).
• 2 paper rags.
• Box of 20 Amp fuses (5).
• Chain master link.
• Tire valve cap with wrench end.
• Spark plug (pre-gapped).
• Bolt for left-side shift bodge.
• Clutch lever cable retainer.

Right tool box

• Owner's manual.
• Insurance card.
• Registration.
• Wet wipe (probably long since dried up).
• Throttle cable.
• Clutch cable.
• Plastic bags to keep these dry.

Next time: What's missing? If you'd like to guess what I have in mind, let me just add that I always wear a Leatherman tool, which provides standard and Phillip's screwdrivers, another pliers and a knife.

Dawn's early light shines on Royal Enfield

I'll get around to Royal Enfield motorcycles in just a moment. But first, consider the creatures of the field. Each day, as spring approached, they must have noticed that human beings slept a bit later and started a little slower.

To the birds and even the cats and dogs of our suburbs, the day starts with the dawn, not with the chime of an alarm clock. How blissfully peaceful it must have seemed for them, waking to a sunny silence unbroken by the clatter of human activity. Each day the humans seemed to sleep a bit longer.

And then, all at once, Sunday morning and especially this Monday morning, the humans, almost all of them here in the United States, jerked into wakefulness a full hour earlier, with the sun still below the horizon. The roar of traffic and, yes, the throb of motorcycles pierced the dawn.

Do you think they wonder how we do it? To them, birds navigating thousands of miles across oceans is unremarkable. But the ability of all human beings to arise at the same moment, and to change that moment universally by an entire hour on the same morning must seem incredible.

The truth is, we too wonder why we do it, when the alarm sounds an hour earlier on Monday morning. I am unemployed, with no time clock to punch, but, thankfully, my spouse still has a job. I get up to show moral support and make the coffee.

Like many of you, I motorcycle, bicycle, hike and canoe to get closer to the natural world. Riding a Royal Enfield motorcycle lets me slow down the march of time to a pace more suited to appreciation.

But it is hard to appreciate having to startle myself awake an hour earlier for Daylight Savings Time.

Surprise! Inder trailer holds a LOT of stuff

It looks like a magic act. In fact, these pictures illustrate how much you can pack into the one-wheeled Inder trailer, offered for Royal Enfield motorcycles.

Classic Motorworks shot these pictures in response to my question about how much fits. Even Kevin Mahoney, Classic Motorworks president, was surprised.

According to Classic, the little trailer holds "nearly two cubic feet" of stuff, and they proved it!

The cute trailers are on sale right now at Classic for $999 plus $150 for shipping. Regular price is $1,299. The price includes attachment hardware for Royal Enfield motorcycles and a fold-down stand to keep the trailer upright when it's not attached to your motorcycle.

Classic is the sole distributor of the Inder trailers for North America. Here's some background on Inder, provided by Mahoney:

"They are in the Punjab region of India (north). They were large LML dealers, which is the company in India that makes the Stella (a license-built Vespa scooter). Because of that they were very familiar with the Stella colors. They are not familiar with Royal Enfield colors, which is why I didn't get any in Royal Enfield colors. He could do Stella colors so I bought a few.

"Fortunately the vendor has a real paint booth and uses DuPont paint so the next step is to try some Royal Enfield colors. This is not as easy as it sounds. OEM paint systems are different than what is used in the field for repair work. For example Royal Enfield paint is baked on and the trailer paint isn't. It will take some experimenting to get it right."

The Inder trailer has a bunch of lights, from the big taillight to the little bullet lights on the sides and big round fixtures on side stalks. I asked Mahoney what they're for.

"The orange ones that are on stalks are reflectors. They are like your appendix: an appendage from another time. The middle light is the brake light and the two other lights are turn signals. Inside the trailer are the wires from each component. There is no wiring harness. It is up to the customer to decide what they want to use it with and how they want to wire it. For example, do they want to use a trailer loom like a boat trailer, or some other arrangement."

Attaching the trailer itself is easy, Mahoney said. On the Royal Enfield "it is a bolt-on deal."

The single wheel is pneumatic and turns on real wheel bearings. There is a suspension system: the wheel moves on a swing arm cushioned by a rubber bumper. The stand provided is to hold the trailer up when it is disconnected from the bike. You don't need it when the trailer is attached to the motorcycle.

The Inder trailer is truly a vintage item. It is modeled after PAv trailers made in Czechoslovakia during the 1960s and '70s for Jawa motorcycles. Comparing those early PAv trailers to the Inder it is hard to tell the difference. The prototype for the PAv was aluminum, but production models were steel, like the Inder. Early Czech trailers had lift-off lids without hinges and you sometimes see pictures of them with a cute little rack mounted on top. How much storage room do you need?

"One other thing to note is that because the trailer has one wheel it leans with the bike and you hardly know it is there," Mahoney said.

Update: After a comment (below) from a reader I looked for a good video of a single-wheel trailer in use, leaning with a motorcycle. I didn't have much luck, although the Uni-Go video recommended by a different reader actually does show the combination turning.

It happens with very little drama. I guess that's good, but it doesn't make exciting video. You have to look closely.

Here's a fun YouTube video of a single-wheeled trailer in use, in a straight line:

A mad letter from Enfield's Major Bunty

I was the proud recipient recently of a personal email from the most famous Royal Enfield personality who probably never existed. Yes, I mean Maj. Bertram "Bunty" Golightly, the (probably) fictional British Army officer whose outrageous comments on motorcycles, women and booze have entertained fans of Royal Enfields on at least two Yahoo message boards.

The Major's latest posts on the Bullet-Mania group have described his efforts to recapture the Golightly family estate, Blotto Hall. He is also working on a homemade motorcycle fairing, its headlight opening crafted by blasting with a shotgun.

I wrote the Major, who claims to be in his 80's, to ask for a more up-to-date photo of himself to use on this blog. No picture was forthcoming, but the reply paints a nice mental picture of Bunty. Here's the letter:

My Dear Mr Blasco ,

(I shall ask Mrs Slackcrumpet to type this slowly so that you, as a foreigner, may be better able to understand.)

How awfully kind of you to write from the former colonies and welcome poor old Bunty back into the Bullet-Mania fold, however such curiosity from a colonial rustic makes one fear that you may indeed be in the employ of the Inland Revenue — The Swines! Your collusion with the manual peddling cad Snidal is doubly suspicious — quite so! So forgive me if I am a trifle circumspect — d'ye see?

There is no photograph of meself, as I have banned the use of nasty Jappo technology on the estate — harrumph. However if I should be fortunate to, once again, resume my country seat, you will be permitted to send over your personal artist to paint a miniature of my portrait which hangs (or used to hang) on the great staircase of Blotto Hall. I suggest that you instruct him to bring over a contribution in the form of a suitable beverage (if such a thing exists in America) as painting can be deuced thirsty work for meself .

Anyroad Blasco, I'm a busy fellow these days and have to run along and count the result of today's peasant shoot. I believe I had 12 brace and a picnicker; there were two of 'em but I think I only winged the second one — might have to send out the hounds to finish him orf.

Your servant, Bunty, MBH etc. etc.

Want to know more about the delightful Major? Here are links to previous posts about him:

Bunty's banner still flies
Royal Enfield's Bunty Golightly -- didn't
Bunty was Royal Enfield's major major
Enfield's Bunty never said "die"
He met the man behind Bunty
Bunty's 10 Commandments