Happy ending: His Royal Enfield is back

Storybook endings happen in the world of motorcycles, too. When Malcolm Fisher of the United Kingdom announced to the Royal Enfield Yahoo group that he just purchased a Royal Enfield he'd sold, I asked for full details.

Fisher lives in Cannock, Staffordshire. Here's his story:

"I didn't ever see a Royal Enfield Bullet until around 2004. It will have been winter 2004 because I'd just been put off work (I was an 18-wheeler driver) by two heart attacks in September, 2004.

"My wife and I were walking to the local hospital, and this black bike came down the road towards us. I walk slowly with a stick, so I notice lots of things faster people might miss! But this bike was pretty hard to miss as the exhaust note was glorious. The bike looked superb, as good as new; then I was amazed to see that the bike was in fact brand new! We watched the fellow thump away, and I said to my wife, if I survive my operation (quintuple bypass and ablation) I'm going to get one of those bikes.

"I had to wait 'til '05 for surgery as part of my heart is pretty dead due to the attacks, and I have heart disease to this day, but thank God I'm still here.

"After the year it took me to get over my op, I decided now was the time to get a bike. I researched the Bullet on the Internet, and was aghast at the horror stories I was reading, all about bulls tumbling to bits and general unreliability. I even found an R.E. dealers in Kiddeminster to go and see one for real. The seat was hard and the kickstart dug into my leg. I said to my wife, no way will I buy one of these. But the thought of them would not leave me.

"Then one day a friend and I were riding out, it was cold, and we decided to visit a Stafford bike dealers called Chell's. They were very old established and sold Japanese bikes, all the main brands. By a quirk of fate, he had three Bullets in the shop! Two 500 Sixty-5 Models, and my beautiful 500 ES De Luxe! I was instantly drawn to them.

"Cyril told me that a dealer in Stoke-on-Trent had gone bust, and the UK Importers had collected the bikes from the store. They knew the owner of Chells, and had decided to call in for a chat or something. Anyway, they had the bikes in boxes on a trailer.

"Cyril is a man that likes to do a deal, and he told me that he settled a price and bought all three there and then, never having had anything to do with Bullets before. Well, I couldn’t buy a bike without a test ride, and these were definitely not available to demo. So I called Watsonians at Blockley, and they kindly offered to demo me two bullets, a Sixty-5 and an Electra. They didn’t have any classics available. As soon as I rode them I liked them. But of course, I didn’t buy an Electra or Sixty-5, it had to be the four-speed classic!

Victoria in 2006.

"Well, I had a roller coaster relationship with my bull, who I named Victoria, after the Indian steam train in the film Northwest Frontier. A genuine love-hate relationship developed and many times I threatened to burn the bike, or sell her. But every time I wanted to sell her and was offered a deal, I just could not. It was only when a Big Twin Harley came at a deal price I couldn’t resist did I part with her. Oh yes, it was from a childhood dream to own a Milwaukee V-Twin; but soon the gloss wore off the Harley, and I wanted my Bullet back!

"I never dreamed I would ever see her again, let alone own her, and so I consoled myself by getting a cheap '91 Royal Enfield 500 Superstar off eBay last year. Last winter I finally got fed up and sold my Harley, and sold it for a good price of £5850, so I got my money back, which was a first for motorcycles I've ever owned and sold!

"My Superstar is in a nut-and-bolt restoration and a 612 conversion with belt-drive racing clutch and all the works! That bike is still in (very shiny) bits. But, I still had a bit left in the kitty for another bike to ride. My mate said why don't you phone and see what Cyril's got in? So I did, and they said that today (Saturday, April 11), a Bullet was coming in, as a part exchange on a Harley!

"You've guessed it — it turned out to be my own very sorely missed De Luxe. The bloke dropped it off at 10 and got his Harley (another weird fact was he came from Stoke-on-Trent, where Victoria came from!). I was over at Chell’s by 11:30, did a deal for £1600 there and then, and at 3 p.m. I was back in the saddle of my dearly beloved, with a 12 months MOT and like I never was away.

"I'm convinced that there was a karma type thing going on here. It’s great to have her back, and I’ll not ever sell the bike again!"