Selling Royal Enfield Interceptors back in the day helped young brothers build a leading dealership

Foglio brothers still possess banner from '60s dealership.

Tony Foglio Sr. and his brother Jim opened a Royal Enfield dealership in Weirton, W.Va., 35 miles west of Pittsburgh, in 1968. They called it Foley Cycle Center. It became the most successful U.S. dealership at selling Royal Enfield Interceptors.

Tony was gracious enough to tell me the story and provide the pictures you see here. He wrote:

"My brother Jim was racing a BSA 650 Hornet, the one with the fiberglass tank, and my oldest brother had bought a 1965 Royal Enfield that he bought from a small dealer named Cliff Jenkins. He made a chopper out of it, as you did in those days.

"The original reason we chose to become Royal Enfield dealers was that you only had to buy a couple of bikes. Anything else, and you would have had to have had a pile of money."

Royal Enfield Interceptors.

Foglio was 24 years old, and he and his brother worked in the steel mills. Selling motorcycles would be something they would do on the side.

"We had $1,000 apiece to put into it. We went to Bristol, Pa., to meet with the distributor, Gene Shillingford and Sons, and bought two Interceptors and two Sachs motorcycles, German dirt bikes. We (continued) to sell them until we couldn't get them anymore, and we were the largest RE dealer in the states.

"And we raced them; drag raced them. The Interceptor would get into the lower 13 seconds, stock. My brother was really good and I think he got into the high 12s. That's one way we sold them. We'd talk to the guys on Harleys and we'd say, 'OK, if we beat you, come buy one.' Sold a lot of bikes that way.

Tony Foglio's 1969 Interceptor.

"It was the prettiest bike ever made. In those days whatever year you sold them was the year of registration. The only difference between the '69s and the '70s was that the '70s had oil coolers on them, and they took off the pretty velocity stacks and put air cleaners on them. Of course, we went ahead and took the air cleaners off and put velocity stacks on. It was a great look.

Oil cooler on Royal Enfield Interceptor.

"We didn't know the end was coming. We had the head engineer from Enfield come out to have lunch with us. I don't remember if he came to us, because we were the biggest dealer, or we went to Bristol to see him. We told him they should make them 900 or 1000cc, to compete with the Harleys. The Interceptor's bottom end was bulletproof; they could have handled it. But he said, no, they couldn't do that.

"Why? Because the limit to race at the Isle of Mann is 800cc. I asked how many Royal Enfields they would race at the Isle of Mann and he said 'one.' I couldn't believe that they would keep all those motorcycles under 800cc (to suit) one race."

Interceptor's 150-mph speedometer.

Did the engineer know that the end was coming?

"Well, we didn't ask, and he didn't tell. But I can't imagine him coming all the way to Canada and the U.S. to see all the distributors if they knew it was going to end; although he might have picked up some information about what was coming.

"When the end came it was really alright with us business wise, because in 1970 we picked up a Suzuki franchise. And we did real well. We went from probably a 1,000 square foot building to a 20,000 square foot building."

It wasn't clear, at first, that Japanese motorcycles were to become the wave of the future.

"I didn't like them at all. They were two-stroke, they smoked and they made that ring-a-ding noise. The Interceptors were great handling and they had all that bottom end, and then you go to two strokes and it's all top end.

"The Suzuki 500s had pressed steel tanks and quality was mediocre. But the thing was, the number of cc's they were, that is about what they cost us: $500. We might have been paying $1,000 or $1,200 for an Interceptor, I don't remember. I think we sold them for around $1,500.

"That was a lot of money. You could buy a fully loaded new Volkswagen for $2,000.

"The Japanese were great marketers, and it didn't take them long. They took mediocre stuff and in a few years were making stuff you couldn't compete with.

The prettiest bike ever made.

"The British bikes were all good bikes, mostly all small displacement. That was the road racing genre in Europe and they wouldn't or couldn't change that fast enough.

"The Interceptors had the lousiest brakes in the world; you needed some room to get stopped. Riders who'd been on Japanese motorcycles would come test them and you'd see them go down the road and stop; they'd hit the brake instead of the gearshift, which was on the right instead of the left.

"The only real problem we ever had with them was a nylon tab in the primary chain tensioner. If you ran them hard you'd go through those pretty fast and there'd be the sound of metal on metal."

What about the made-in-India Enfields?

"In 2001 I was in India and I went to the factory; I didn't know you could tour it, but there was a showroom and they had both the 350 and the 500 and a 350 diesel that astounded me. Did you want to take a ride? And I said sure and I went for a ride — of course I was on the wrong side of the road.

"But I was very impressed. I didn't think it would, but the 500 had the same sound and feel as the Interceptor. I wasn't real pleased with the metallurgy of the engine or the fenders. I had the thought of opening a dealership in California but, at the time, there was one state where you couldn't sell them and that was California. But I understand they're now making a heck of a bike, with a new engine."

In the mid-1970s the Foglios sold the motorcycle dealership and Tony moved to California in 1980. He found Christ through a Billy Graham Crusade and eventually became a pastor, founding the Sonrise Church. His son took over as pastor when he retired.

The three Foglio brothers got back into Royal Enfields, finding between them a 1970 and two 1969s. These were immaculate motorcycles, with early production numbers. "We found bikes that had been from our dealership, but they were beat to death," Tony said.

The Foglio brothers back on two wheels.

The brothers posed for a remarkable picture beside their motorcycles, with the sun reflecting from the chrome tanks. Tony wore a 40-year-old leather motorcycle jacket , but they rode rarely and he decided to find a new home for his Interceptor. It sold on eBay recently, to a man in Michigan named Jack. Tony is confident it will be appreciated.

"I didn't sell it so much as put it out for adoption," he said.

Joe, Jimmy and Tony Foglio.

Dealer develops modern Royal Enfield flat tracker

Royal Enfield flat tracker/street tracker project.

This is a preview picture of the new Royal Enfield flattracker/streettracker in the works at Doug Douglas Motorcycles in San Bernardino, Calif. Art Guilfoil of Doug Douglas plans to offer kit parts to help you build one of your own — and it could even be street legal, he says.

"It's got a ways to go to be complete but we've come along far enough to show what it looks like," Guilfoil posted on the Flattrack forum.

He offered details there and on Facebook:

"We hope to have the chassis complete for track testing in February. If it turns out as expected we'll go forward with our plans to manufacture our conversion pieces.

"As for power, the standard Indian Bullet weighs over 400 pounds. We have this down to 285 but as you can see we left the center stand on for now, it still has the stock (heavy) steel tank and many more items yet to change to make 'race' weight. We expect to get it under 265 which is what a good stock frame (Yamaha) TT500 weighs.

"A stock TT500 has 28 horsepower and the Royal Enfield is also 28. With some good tuning and some serious hard part development it's not a huge stretch to think we can get it to perform as a hoped up TT500 does. This is not going to be a half-miler against full modern 450s, but it could work really well as a short tracker we think.

"For now the goal is simply to leave the motor alone as we make the chassis work right. We have a good start I think but only riding will prove that out. We expect the stock frame will need some bracing added in certain weak places so watching for stress fractures is needed before we add power.

"We're going to do this right guys. It's a long term machine and hopefully will be the answer to a vintage bike with modern engine reliability, street legal, electric start, etc. There's not only a market for that, it should make some smiles."

In line with keeping it street legal, note in the picture that the wiring and tubing for the (mandatory in California) evaporative emissions controls continues to dangle; will the canister simply be relocated?

Guilfoil notes that, while the motorcycle would look vintage, with its modern Unit Constructed Engine it wouldn't race in vintage classes:

"When I wrote 'vintage bike' I'm meaning the overall look and the namesake. I have no hopes of this being legal in vintage racing. Nor would I want it to be racing vintage.

"I know some people will be disappointed it can't race vintage but others will be glad it has modern attributes as well. The overall idea for us is a bike that may fit some classes in various flattrack racing, though for most  it's a great streettracker."

Selling a Royal Enfield motorcycle on eBay: Why offend the world in the process?

Selling a Royal Enfield motorcycle on the Internet creates the likelihood that your ad will be seen by people around the world.

You may not want to sell your motorcycle outside your own country, but that's no reason to take a chance that your wording may offend someone needlessly. Hang it, it's just not polite, even if you pride yourself on plain speaking.

Here's the wording from one Royal Enfield motorcycle ad, now long expired:

"I see no reason to sell this bike internationally as I am suspicious of bidders from dirty little countries who could find this very bike for a third of the price and avoid paying shipping that rivals three times the per capita income of people living in hell holes who would like nothing more than to see our country in flames. In other words, don’t try to pull a scam, overseas bidders. Thanks for looking and GOD BLESS AMERICA!"

Judging from the rest of his ad, this seller was trying to be funny. He used a light tone throughout, and even accused himself of being the sort of guy who "has been known to cuss in front of children."

His purpose was not to offend, but to scare off the sort of would-be thieves who open their pitch with an offer to buy a motorcycle that, logically, would be of no interest to them.

But the message, as written, was offensive. I emailed the seller to suggest that he consider toning down the wording of his ad, since it read more harshly than he probably intended.

I didn't expect a pleasant response. No one likes criticism, especially from strangers, eBay doesn't forbid expression of opinions and I have business of my own to mind.

To my pleasant surprise, the seller took my suggestion and removed the paragraph. That generous action really renewed my faith in the community of people who use the Internet with good intentions.

We might not agree on everything, but I would shake that fellow's hand any day.

Royal Enfield ad was fun to recreate

Recreation of classic Royal Enfield advertisement.

You may recognize the motorcycle in this picture — it's a Royal Enfield Bullet — but who is the rider?

The rider is me, trying to recreate the well known Royal Enfield advertising image of the well dressed motorcyclist enjoying a spin on his G2 Bullet.

My motorcycle is not a G2 but a 1999 made-in-India Royal Enfield, about as close as you can come this side of a swinging arm rear suspension.

The gay blade in the 1940s-era advertisement was the creation of an artist who could control perspective, posture and expression without going out in the rain.

Photographer Anna Blasco.

My photographer was my daughter Anna, who had to try to create approximately the same effect by holding her camera on the ground.

The Adobe PhotoShop program did the rest.

I posed with the angle of my head wrong but the thing that bothers me the most is the position of the headlight in the photo. The Bullet's casquette places the headlight higher, but it also looks to me as though the artist tucked the G2 headlight in a bit.

Perhaps he meant to draw your eye away from it to the rider's big smile.

I was holding still for the photo. I have too little hair left for it to blow in the wind (I admit I added a little on top with PhotoShop).

Besides, I was not going to ride a moving Bullet within three feet of my daughter.

Bow tie was rejected.

Anna found the jacket and vest for me in a resale shop, and my wife Bonnie created a cravat for me out of one of her scarves.

A clip-on bow tie and flat cap were considered for the shoot, but ultimately rejected as being not true to the original.

Anna did have the advantage of Florida sunshine for her photo.

I do look happy, don't I?

Should have buttoned that darn jacket.

Motorcycles rev up the decor at Iron Horse Tap

Classic Norton motorcycle hangs in the window.

Knowing my interest in British motorcycles and British (and other) varieties of beer, my daughter Anna made sure I got to see the Iron Horse Tap Room on a recent visit to Washington, D.C.

Any bar that cares enough to hang a Norton motorcycle in the window definitely captures my interest. There was only time for a quick stroll around the interior, appreciating the motorcycles on display.

1963 Triumph Thunderbird on display.

All are safely out of touch, thanks to the incredibly high ceilings in this upstairs-downstairs bar. Not many are rare models. But they'd be fun to contemplate, along with the rest of the motor-head decor. It would be a good place to drink and reminisce about all the motorcycle adventures you never really had.

For full details, see the complete review of the Iron Horse by Fritz Hahn on the Washington Post website.

Motorcycles everywhere at Iron Horse Tap.

On my visit I noticed that the motorcycles on display were getting a bit dusty. Otherwise, Iron Horse hasn't quite captured the patina of an old-timey pub.

On Yelp, John A. of Arlington, Va. called it: "just a big, cavernous room with a high ceiling and some taps."

Iron Horse Tap Room: Motorcycles are the theme.

Maybe so, but, I wouldn't have decorated it any differently. Again, on Yelp, Trevor M. of Rockville, Md. called it: "What you wish your man cave could be."

But, then, he added: "It's a motorcycle bar without it actually being one." That seems accurate. Football was the main attraction (on the bar's many screens) the afternoon we visited.

The Iron Horse Tap Room is at 507 Seventh St. NW, Washington, D.C. Phone is 202-347-7665. They open at 4 p.m. Iron Horse doesn't serve food, but you're welcome to bring in take-out.

For a list of what's on tap, go to the Iron Horse website.

Lift one for me.

Designer customized Royal Enfield but preserved its spirit

Royal Enfield Bullet 350 custom.

Here is a Royal Enfield motorcycle that shows how subtle changes can accomplish expressive results.

It is the work of Vaibhav Gadade, 32, an industrial designer who leads design work at Mahindra Navistar, builder of big, high performance trucks, in Pune, India. He calls this motorcycle "Dark Matter."

I commented when I saw the pictures that the subdued paint and markings tend to pull the eye toward the brilliant polish of the mechanical parts at the center of the motorcycle.

Just because the design elements are low-key doesn't mean they were easy to accomplish, however.

Horn covers and signals provide dabs of color.

Vaibhav was kind enough to share the story behind the certain something in the appearance of this motorcycle.

"I have always wanted to ride the Royal Enfield, for it is a cult bike here in India, especially the standard 350 with the right shift. Not everyone could kick start one, nor could everyone find their way out of the false neutrals. I looked up with awe and admiration to those who rode one.

"After a few months of savings, I picked up a used 1996 standard in decent shape with an OK engine. I did some cosmetic upgrades to it, got new rims and wheels and that served me well for a couple of years 'til I learned to ride it well and realized I needed an engine job. Changed the block and piston and that lasted a couple of more years.

Just a bit of paint outlines the front brake.

"Finally, 10 months back, I said to myself, I need to make this as good as new and better. I stripped it all, down to the last nut and bolt, and thought of applying some of my design skills to give it a new spin.

"But it is easy to go overboard with design. Some of these chopper-like mods done here in India butcher the soul of the Bullet. I knew one thing: that it had to look like essentially the same classic British thumper

"I thought of doing a pearl white metallic, but then decided to take the risk with flat black. Applying flats can be very tricky as touch-ups are impossible in case you get any dust or nick something while painting. I had a local painter with a paint shop but he had no experience doing a flat. I had theoretical experience developing flat black color for the bumpers of our trucks, so I took the risk anyway.

There's constant interplay between flat black and shiny parts.

"I thought of anodizing the engine covers, but to find a supplier to do a one-off job was proving time consuming. Hence I decided to keep it buffed and the rest of the parts, like the exhaust pipe, silencer, turn indicators, side stand, crash guards, etc. were kept chrome. One, this would give a rich offset to the flat black, and, two, all those parts would be easy to replace from the market in case of damage.

"The tail lamp is the phantom style and sort of popular as a mod job on Bullets here. Kind of takes away the bulk of the stock tail lamp and number plate cluster and adds sleekness to the rear end, especially if you are wanting to put on a solo seat.

"The seat itself was brought off the shelf and is well made and quite comfortable. The stickers were again purposefully subdued in color to blend in with the color and are sandwiched between the clear coat and base coats.

"It now also has a new block and piston and new bushes for crank and gudgeon pin. Any play between these components was removed and also new SKF engine bearings were put in instead of the OEM bearings. The SKF's were five times more costly, but then, I thought, if I am at the innermost component, and God knows I don't want to be here again for a really long time, then what the heck. The last item added was a new carb; all possible attempts to service the old one failed.

"All in all, I like the way it looks, and it for sure rides better than new. I have been stopped a couple of times by admirers during my daily commute to work and Sunday morning rides. Feels good. Big credit to my mechanic and painter.

Vaibhav and his customized Royal Enfield.

"You are right about the subtle changes that transform the bike so beautifully. It is all a matter of retaining the bike's spirit."

Royal Enfield café racer looks ready to run

Special touches make this Royal Enfield racer really red.

Doug Nassif, of Bismarck, N.D., is the proud owner of a 2008 Royal Enfield Bullet with the café racer kit, customized to his liking. He was kind enough to share these pictures of his red racer. He gives a lot of credit to the unusual Royal Enfield dealership that built it for him:

"Bob Pilz at Scoots4u in Lakemoor, Ill., and his staff are geniuses at the conversions; he bought all the remaining iron barrel bikes he could, so I bought one as the donor bike and he landed the kit.

"Took about three months through the summer. I didn't like the (kit's original) flyscreen, headlight ears or the air filter, so I changed them with Bob's help. I always put a grill over the headlight and I always put Norton 'S' exhaust covers on; two easy pieces of 'gingerbread.'

"Pieces that were easy to powdercoat were sandblasted (mild grit) and made red.

"The plan is to show the machine at 2011 Spring bike shows, then, when North Dakota finally warms up, ride the thing.

"We Royal Enfield enthusiasts love these bikes; much better than today's fare, which sound like vacuum cleaners or hair driers.

"As for myself, I'm in the shale oil and minerals business in North Dakota. Always loved motorcycles and I believe that to a certain extent, everyone does. It is a carryover from the day of the horse. First bike: Allstate (Puch) 250."

Red mesh over headlight really catches the eye.

Bob Pilz of Scoots4u confirmed Doug's story:

"Scoots4u is an authorized Royal Enfield and Ural dealer," he wrote me. "My staff and I come from a motorcycle back ground. All of us have ridden for years. Some as kids and all as teens. Currently, I have two friends that I've known since the mid '70s working with me. We met while all of us were working at a Harley and Honda shop in Elgin, Ill. To supplement the motorcycle business, I am also a sailboat dealer. We are dealers for Catalina, Precision, Hobie Cat, Honda and Nissan Marine. I own and operate a 94-slip marina on the Chain-O-Lakes here in Northern Illinois.

"As to the shop, if you check my Scoots4u website, it pretty well explains the philosophy. We came from an old school, mom-and-pop kind of shop. I have carried that experience here to my shop. Nothing fancy, polished, or slick about Scoots4u.

"We presently have about 15 new Royal Enfields in stock. When production of the cast iron motor stopped in 2008, I bought what the U.S. distributor had left for myself. We have four new cast iron Enfields left in stock. We also have some AVL powered Enfields in the the old style frame. The kits that are available for the cast iron bikes will also fit the AVL models.

"We also have three used Enfields in stock. One is an AVL model and two are cast iron. The two cast irons are pretty sweet to begin with. One is a new and unregistered 2003, I think, with a Trials kit on it. The other is a 1995 Military with about 2,300 miles on it. Both would be four-speeds with kick start only.

"The café kit as offered through Royal Enfield USA runs about $3,200 and includes rear sets for the footpegs to get you into a bit more aggressive riding position. Labor for us to install the kit is around $2,000. If a person is reasonably handy, they can install the kit themselves but it does take some patience and modification even though it is called a kit. New cast iron bikes that we have in stock are running about $5,500."

I did enjoy reading Pilz' introduction on his website, which emphasizes that, while he'd be glad to meet you if you drop by his store, he "won't remember your name" and won't call you later to try to hound you into a purchase!

"You'll probably have to tell me if you want to make a purchase. I like to sell the way I like to be sold," he writes, on the website.

What a terrific attitude.

Royal Enfield three-wheeled motorcycle quite a stretch

It is almost cheating to write a blog about Royal Enfield motorcycles and use pictures of Royal Enfield motorcycles taken in India. The breadth of beauty and creativity in the land that builds these motorcycles offers an unbelievable diversity of images.

Unbelievable is the right word for this three-wheeled Royal Enfield, found on the Facebook page Bullet. under "Bullet's Photos."

Three wheels. Three brakes! Almost unlimited seating.

Incredibly, it still has its centerstand, although it is hard to believe it would work even if you could lift the motorcycle onto it.

It could not fail to remind me of my own proposal for a stretched Royal Enfield Bullet (above). But my concept was created in PhotoShop, whereas the three-wheeled motorcycle, for better or worse, is clearly real.

Royal Enfield chopper puts the disk brake in back

Royal Enfield chopper has oversize rear disk brake.

Fantastic, a Royal Enfield hard-tail chopper, spotted on the blog Corpses From Hell Motorcycle Gang.

The motorcycle is from Yokohama, Japan, according to them.

Dig the oversize rear disk brake, while the front wheel gets by with what appears to be the stock drum brake. Looney, but lovely, I say.

What I especially like about this Royal Enfield chopper is that it retains the trademark Royal Enfield nacelle, pilot lights and all. No mistaking this beast for something else.

But I can't ignore my least favorite facet of motorcycle photography: A plastic garbage can! At the center of the photo? The can is on wheels, fellows; get it out of there before you snap the picture!

Otherwise, fantastic. The web address on the poster behind the motorcycle is StoopMotorcycles.

It's a Japanese language site, but we see a gallery of pictures shot while creating this Royal Enfield custom. The pictures are well worth a look.

How does Inder trailer compare to the PAV original?

It's difficult to make a direct comparison between the original PAV 40 trailers of the 1960s and '70s and the modern day Inder trailer sold for Royal Enfield motorcycles.

Why even bother comparing them, when you would have to look long and hard to find a PAV for sale in the United States, and even then you might have a restoration project on your hands?

In contrast, just have your credit card ready when you order an Inder trailer from Royal Enfield USA, and it comes complete with the hardware you need to attach it to your Royal Enfield Bullet.

Why compare them? You may as well ask why blogs exist. To make you crazy, of course! Look, at least this isn't a blog about the World Series history of the Chicago Cubs.

The manufacturer's production plate shown here is from the excellent website SingleWheel.com

PAV 41 production plate.

Translated from Czech, it includes this information:

Establishment of local industry Kovozavody
Made in Semily, Czechoslovakia
Type: PAV 41
Useful Load: 30 kg 
Max. Speed: 70 kmph 
Max. Weight: 49 kg 
Production Year: 1972

A chart containing the PAV specifications I was able to find around the Internet raises questions about how the measuring was done (or, perhaps, it raises questions about how accurate were my conversions from Metric to 'Merican). The figures here for the Inder trailer were provided by Er.Jatinder Singh of Inder Exports.

	PAV 40	Inder
Total length	47.7 inches	52 inches
Total width	24.4 inches	28 inches
Total height	23.6 inches	31 inches
Curb weight	44 pounds	77 pounds
Useful load	66 pounds	Not given
Total weight	110 pounds	Not given
Load space	3.8 cubic feet	3.6 cubic feet
Max. speed	43.5 mph	Not given

 Obviously, the total height and curb weights indicated here are probably apples-to-oranges somehow.

The trailers are substantially the same otherwise. Note that the load volume figures are essentially the same. Royal Enfield USA only advertises "nearly two cubic feet" of space for the Inder trailer, but Inder itself claims a PAV-like three-and-a-half.

Trolling for information I came across some interesting tidbits, many from the well done Swedish website for the PAV. For instance:

1. The PAV motorcycle trailer arose to meet the needs of holiday travelers in a Communist country in which private cars were out of reach for most people. Small capacity motorcycles and scooters were easier to obtain, but would have been overburdened with heavy luggage.

2. From 1959 to 1968 there were two adjustable springs on the bottom of the trailer, providing suspension. From 1969 they were replaced with two rubber cushions (the Inder trailer seems to use a single large rubber cushion).

3. Early lids were loose. They were got a hinge in about 1969. It's fairly simple to add hinges to the old lids.

4. PAV is correctly "PAv" but the lowercase "v" is hardly ever used in discussing the trailers. PAV is pronounced "paff."

5. Trailers were made in the mid-to-late '50s in Czechoslovakia that predated the PAV 40 design. The PAV 40 debuted in 1958 or '59. At some point the PAV 41 replaced the PAV 40 and production continued into the 1970s.

6. The PAV is not the only way to build a motorcycle trailer, maybe not even the best. This Czech language site has many fascinating pictures of old single and double-wheeled motorcycle trailers, some with elaborate swinging arm suspensions.

Original PAV trailers inspired Inder trailers sold today for Royal Enfield motorcycles

PAV 40 advertisement translates from Czech as "semi-trailer truck for motorcycles and scooters."

The Inder trailers made in India and available in the U.S. for Royal Enfield motorcycles were inspired by the PAV 40 and 41 trailers, built for Jawa and other motorcycles in Czechoslovakia, starting in the 1950s.

Modern Inder trailer available from Royal Enfield USA.

While the resemblance is clear, right down to the cute little "antenna" side marker lights, the originals have unique appeal.

When I spotted one for sale in Portland recently I wrote to the seller, asking what makes them so special.

To my surprise, he replied with few words, but a vast collection of pictures.

A gathering of six PAV motorcycle trailers.

One picture showed a yard full of PAVs that he told me all went to one Swiss buyer.

Original PAV trailer design.

Another picture showed the first PAV model, from the early 1950s.

"Pardon the brief reply," the seller wrote. "I used to import these PAV 40 and PAV 41 trailers. I was a buyer in Europe, and have brought in around 40-plus of these over the years. They are now harder to find, but that is what happens when something gains popularity."

I've organized many of the other PAV trailer photographs he sent me into the slideshow, below.



He offered the PAV he was selling for $1,500 and the price was firm (the ad is no longer running).

"Now, in Europe, they are to be found selling for close to $1,000 U.S. (or the comparable amount in Euro)," he wrote, "and they are being reproduced in Australia, as well as the ones that you know about from India. The proportions of the Indian ones are very different."

Indeed, to my eye the PAV trailers seem more rounded and sleek than the Inder version. Royal Enfield USA sells the Inder trailers for about $1,000, including the hardware needed to attach them to the Royal Enfield motorcycle

My correspondent said he was happy to provide the pictures, since "enthusiasts of these things are all over the place, and a new fan is born every click of the mouse, it seems."

As for the Inder copy, he appreciates the necessity: "seeing as the PAV are so rare now, how else are we going to enjoy the convenience of them?"

Although the man I wrote to didn't want his name used, he did send me a picture of his amazing tandem powered bicycle.

Bicycle built for two has a two-stroke motor.

"It is a 1952 Moto Narcisse Laguin Sport Tandem with 125cc two-stroke engine and three-speed gearbox — all the while, a three speed bicycle. I found it in a barn in Normandy, France. If this machine is mentioned in the blog, that is as good as my name. Just mention me as a collector, and your readers will know who I am. This machine is the only one in the U.S., and one of four known to exist worldwide. The PAV is attached to it now."

Tandem bicycle with trailer.

Now THAT is remarkable.

You can read more about the history of PAV trailers at this link.

Royal Enfield: Best looking Retro Standard Motorcycle?

Royal Enfield Bullet Classic 500.

Motorcycle Daily.com asks its readers to choose "The Best Looking Retro Standard" motorcycle from among Royal Enfield, Honda, Ducati, Bonneville and Kawasaki.

It's not a poll: they're asking readers to make their choices (some readers are choosing to rank all five in order of desirability) and explain why. So far, at least, the comments are thoughtful and considerate.

Ducati GT 1000.

Most seem to like the looks of the Royal Enfield but think the motorcycle itself too small or too slow. In a contest for "Best Looking," I'd say that is still a victory.

Honda CB1100F.

I think the editors gave Royal Enfield a bit of an advantage in the pictures they chose, since it is the only motorcycle shown without its mirrors. Some of the other pictures seemed to highlight how geeky mirrors can be. So, in reproducing the pictures here I have erased the mirrors to even things up.

Of course you would not ride without mirrors, but, then, we all know severely near-sighted people who vainly remove their eyeglasses for photos.

Kawasaki W800.

It is not my intention to encourage you to rush over to Motorcycle Daily to stuff the ballot box for Royal Enfield. There isn't really any ballot box to stuff.

Triumph Bonneville

But it is an interesting subject. Comments, anyone?

Some nearly new Royal Enfield parts end up on the shelf

The rear tail light assembly from a Royal Enfield Bullet is for sale in Mt. Rainier, Md.

The optimistic seller writes that "I believe it is from a new Royal Enfield (the ones currently being imported from India) as it came out of a trash pile in a house where an Enfield was garaged. First cash gets the assembly for your bike!"

He wants $100 for it and perhaps he will get a taker, but I doubt it. There is a reason the tail light assembly was in the trash: lots of Royal Enfield owners replace the standard fitment with nicer looking after market items.

The seller doesn't realize how many of these things are on shelves in garages, or stuffed in attic crawl spaces across America.

There they share space with the bazooka mufflers and dual seats that are often pulled off and replaced with aftermarket silencers and sprung single seats.

This creates a treasure trove of nearly new (but largely unwanted) Royal Enfield parts.

So, when yet another plastic turn signal stalk snapped on my 1999 Bullet, another Royal Enfield owner that very day offered me two cherry turn signals that had been cluttering his garage. He wouldn't accept my offer of payment.

I guess there is an advantage to keeping your Royal Enfield stock.

Twin pipes on a single-cylinder Royal Enfield? Why not?

Royal Enfield J2: twin ports.

Something seems to fascinate people about putting dual exhausts on a single-cylinder Royal Enfield Bullet.

Royal Enfield itself used twin exhausts on the single-cylinder J2 model, from 1949 to 1956. That rigid frame, 500cc sidecar puller needed two silencers, since it had twin exhaust ports. It was open for discussion whether this added any real power; some said that back pressure was reduced too much.

2003 Bullet with twin-port head.

In 2003 Royal Enfield USA even had a few twin-port heads made up for the Bullets it imported from India. Royal Enfield USA President Kevin Mahoney said they added no performance, but sounded and looked cool with their dual exhausts.

A dummy second exhaust pipe.

Looking cool was the only point to the made-in-India chopper I wrote about here recently. This machine extended an apparently functionless second exhaust pipe to the rear of the cylinder.

A less controversial idea turned up in a picture of another custom Royal Enfield out of India, this one the work of Ricardo Pereira, a very talented customiser in Bangalore. Nishal Lama wrote about it Pereira's work on myBangalore.com

This one works.

Here the second exhaust pops up out of the first; no doubt it does function to change the sound of the motorcycle, at least.

This little exhaust modification is only a tiny fraction of the work Pereira does. It's well worth looking at the myBangalore.com gallery of his Royal Enfield "street rods" — he specifies that they "are not really chopper." Whatever you call them, they are lovely.

Finally, there is the new 2011 Royal Enfield Fury, created for the UK by Watsonian Squire. It is a very distinctive looking motorcycle, inspired by the U.S.-only model of 1959 and '60, but with upgrades like a digital dashboard and — something else the original never had — dual exhausts.

UK-only Fury uses twin silencers.

"The Fury is the first new model in 40 years to feature twin silencers, which allow the 499cc single-cylinder engine to breathe more freely, producing a distinctive exhaust note," Watsonian Squire states on its official blog.

I've stared a lot at the pictures of the Fury, but I can't see where the siamese connection is to the original single exhaust.

Few would deny that twin pipes pack a visual punch, whether they add power or not.

(You can read more about the original made-for-the-USA Fury and a made-in-India Fury I bet you never heard of on Jorge Pullin's blog, My Royal Enfields.)

Royal Enfield Super Meteor Chief has new owner looking for information

A motorcycle called a "Super Meteor Chief" recently showed up for sale in an eBay ad listed on this blog. I didn't know anything about it except that a Super Meteor was a pretty special Royal Enfield twin, and a Chief was a pretty special Indian motorcycle built by Royal Enfield and sold in the United States in the 1950s.

The owner, in New York, seemed to possess documentation of what he had, so I didn't question why an Indian Chief would have "Royal Enfield" on the tank.

The motorcycle disappeared from eBay, but the new owner has now brought it to my attention in an email. Jaak Eijkelenberg of the Netherlands wrote that he had been inspired to seek out an Indian motorcycle by a visit to the museum and workshop of Tony "Indian" Leenes, in Lemmer, the Netherlands.

Leenes' passion is customizing and restoring Indian motorcycles. He builds custom Indians to order; projects can take a year to complete but the goal is getting "that last detail" perfect.

Eijkelenberg wrote:

"My name is Jaak (Jack). I'm 53 and live in the Netherlands, close to the borders of Belgium and Germany. I’m married and we have one daughter. My hobby is the '50s and '60s, so we own a ’62 T-Bird, ’65 Corvair, and a Harley Road King. The house we live in includes jukeboxes from the '50s. I’m lucky because my lovely wife Linda likes these things too.

"A few months ago we drove the Harley to Tony 'Indian' Leenes' museum in the Netherlands. He has restored a Royal Enfield Indian Woodsman. On the way home the bike was still in my mind. Looking again and again at pictures of that Enfield over the next few days I made myself a promise to buy just such a bike.

"The chance to buy one came very quick. I was looking on eBay USA and saw an Enfield that was good for such a project. The owner wrote on eBay:

"'Up for bid is a 1959 Royal Enfield Indian I've owned for 28 years. This bike ran up 'til day I parked it in the garage some 15 years ago. Not running now; did not even try. I do have a full front fender but no correct rear. No gauges but everything on motor, brakes and drive train are there. Title is clear. I have info on the correct dating of this bike: it was a late 1958 early '59 Chief sent to Brockhouse, England, engine number SM9196 and frame number 7550. This bike is one of only eight Super Meteor Chiefs and is the last model number of the batch.'"

The eBay ad even included a photo of documents clearly referring to a Super Meteor Chief, but not laying out what the difference may be between a Super Meteor Chief and any other Chief.

Eijkelenberg, it turns out, has the same sort of question I did about the Super Meteor Chief:

"I would like to see an original picture of what it looked liked from the factory in 1959," he wrote.

Based on what he finds out, he hopes to have Tony Leenes rebuild it for him with a little of the Old School bobber look.

I asked Chris Overton, a close observer of Royal Enfield twins, about the bike. He replied:

"The Enfield logo on the tank is custom painting and as Enfield as the headlight bracket.  Over the last 50 years the identities of many bikes has blurred.  After all, without the tank badges it is hard to tell.  A fellow in Michigan recently bought a Trailblazer that turned out to be a Chief from the serial numbers. I bought an Indian Westerner and found from the Club's records it is an even rarer Enfield Fury."

Can any of you readers provide some guidance?