Royal Enfield's Maj. "Bunty" presses on, regardless

Maj. Bunty?

Just when all seemed lost, who should rush once more into the breach but Maj. Bunty Golightly MBH, Defender of the Kickstart, Companion of the Royal Floatchamber!

The good major is possibly the Internet's most devout living fan of Royal Enfield motorcycles — a status he has achieved despite in all probability being a completely fictional character.

Maj. Golightly appears (as far as I can tell) only in occasional postings on Yahoo Group message boards devoted to Royal Enfields.

Recently, Yahoo imposed a new Groups format that has left users across the Internet gasping in rage. Important features they depended on seemed to disappear. But "Bunty" (as readers know him) has not disappeared.

While the situation is not yet firmly in hand, the major has made it clear that he, at least, is still standing.

In a message posted recently on the Royal Enfield Yahoo Group, he fires a volley across the bow of a contributor who suggests stuffing a Yamaha twin cylinder motor into a Royal Enfield Bullet frame.

"Ye Gods," he opens, "...The Yamahaha engined Enfield is an abomination..."

In line with standard operating procedure, his post is complete with appreciative references to lusty barmaids, unappreciative references to "tartish" Triumph motorcycles and a politically incorrect swipe at the Japanese.

Apparently, all is well with Bunty. Carry on.

The major's postings, always bracing (and often outrageous), come and go. After first appearing in August, 2000, he seemed to disappear from Yahoo in 2005. In January, 2006, fearing the major had gone for good, I compiled all of his postings into a file entitled "Hand Salute!" in the Files section of the Yahoo Royal Enfield Group.

Another group member, Michael Bevins, unwittingly did the same thing in 2007, compiling the postings into a file he called "Maj. Bunty Golightly."

I am delighted to discover that Yahoo's new format did not erase these compilations. They're still there, on the Royal Enfield Yahoo Group, for your pleasure. (Click the "More" button to find "Files" and then scroll way, way down to find them.)

Both files make for — as Bunty might say — dashed good reading.

I've suggested that Bunty's creator, whoever he is, patterns the major after the pre-war British cartoon character Col. Blimp.

Col. Blimp may outrank Maj. Golightly, but in the ranks of blowhards, the major nearly surpasses him.

In the ranks of Royal Enfield motorcyclists — fictional ones, at least — Bunty remains unsurpassed.