For sale: Very rare Royal Enfield twin port

A very rare and unusual Royal Enfield motorcycle is up for sale in Roswell, Ga. The 2003 black Deluxe has many upgrades, from electronic ignition and a close-ratio gear set to the right-side shift conversion. But what really makes this single-cylinder Royal Enfield Bullet unusual are its twin-port exhausts.

Instead of one exhaust port in the head, and one exhaust pipe, this Bullet has two. Yes, it's a gimmick, but it's a gimmick with an interesting history. The British motorcycle industry experimented with this interesting configuration before World War II, turning out bikes that promised more performance and extra style. AJS/Matchless, Cotton, New-Hudson and, yes, Royal Enfield, offered versions.

This Royal Enfield Bullet is probably one created for Kevin Mahoney of Classic Motorworks, the U.S. importer of Royal Enfields. It is now owned by Chris Sherman of Roswell, which is near Atlanta, Ga. It is for sale on CraigsList. The advertised price is $4,950.

"It's interesting being named 'Sherman' in Atlanta. I get that a lot," Chris says. He likes the Bullet but is moving and wants to sell it. He plans to ask the buyer to give him first crack if it ever goes up for sale in the future.

"I spent years tracking it down on Google before I found it," he says. "As soon as I even heard of it I knew it would look fantastic."

Chris wanted a Bullet with extra performance because "people don't remember this about Atlanta, but we do have quite a few hills here." Aside from the dual ports, his Bullet has 600cc, a custom piston created by Royal Enfield guru George Helm, the Miracle Clutch, Venom tires and "anything else I could change out. Literally, anything they had, I got it." It now has 2,700 miles on it.

The twin-port has "quite a bit of torque," Chris says, but he adds that this is because he had the left-side port partially restricted. That's historically valid: the great twin-port motorcycles of the past never proved they had much of a performance advantage.

Kevin Mahoney left this comment on one Internet message board in 2006: "I can attest to the fact that the Twin Port head will not give a performance enhancement (as was noted when we sold the few I had made). My experience with one has shown me that it uses more fuel (probably running right through) and sounds and look very cool, but no faster."

The twin ports delivered on style, at least. The opportunity to have two shiny mufflers decorating a motorcycle is hard to overlook. And what a conversation piece. Chris confirms this: in a biker bar surrounded by dozens of Harleys, his Enfield is the one people talk about.

That happens to Royal Enfield riders all the time in the U.S. In the case of this motorcycle, however, it might even be true if the bar was surrounded by dozens of Royal Enfields.

It is a rare bird. You can contact Chris at 678-459-8783 or 770-804-8789.

Royal Enfield racer collects Brit bikes in big warehouse

Beno Rodi and Royal Enfield in Kaplan America video.

Longtime Royal Enfield racer Beno Rodi speaks in a recent YouTube video about his fondness for Royal Enfields and the vast collection of British motorcycles and parts he has stored in a warehouse in Georgia.

In the Kaplan America video interview with Rodi he shows off the Royal Enfield 350 motorcycle he has campaigned for 60 seasons. (The YouTube video is no longer viewable.)

"This is the one I rode the '61 Alligator and Stone Mountain enduro on... My dad went along with me because I was just 14. Well, to begin with, it was something I had built, so I think the front fender fell off first, and then the exhaust pipe fell off and then the back fender fell off.

"It was pretty much wore out by the time I got through." As battered and rebuilt as it is, he said he planned to take it racing in the brakeless dinosaur class that weekend.

His father Al Rodi ran Al Rodi'sMotorcycles, the dealer for greater Atlanta in the 1940s, according to Royal-Enfield.net

"Over the next 20 years Al Rodi operated various shops around Atlanta devoted to everything from AJS to Zundapp, but focused on the English marques including Royal Enfield and re-badged 'Indian-Enfields,'" Royal-Enfield.net says.

British bikes and parts went into storage as Japanese motorcycles replaced them on showroom floors.

Royal Enfield and other British makes on dealership sign in Rodi warehouse.

"Today, Al Rodi's son Beno has taken all of the former inventory from British bike shops collected over the course of many years where they now reside in a warehouse near Winder, Ga. outside Atlanta," the website says.

"He is involved in a variety of restoration projects as well as historical racers. Beno has himself been involved in motorcycle racing since the 1960s and currently campaigns a selection of Royal Enfield Bullets in flat track, road racing and trials events."

No racing Royal Enfield this; it's a ladies model of the 1920s.

Beno Rodi was one of the founders of the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) and ran a motorcycle dealership that handled BSA, Triumph, Norton, Moto Guzzi, Ducati and BMW. That became a parts and salvage business, while he raced under the banner of what he called "Team Salvage, because I was riding my old junk (and winning races)."

Rodi bears the scars of racing, the video interviewer notes, in a body battered by injuries. He uses a starting rig to avoid having to kick start his motorcycles.

Backing Royal Enfield 350 onto starting rollers.

Even watching him maneuver his Royal Enfield 350 onto the rig looks painful. It's easy to respect someone who goes to such lengths to stay in his game.

The lengthy (and slow paced) video concentrates on the size and variety of Rodi's collection of parts and motorcycles. His interests extend far beyond Royal Enfields to BSAs, Nortons, AJS, Matchless and on.

But it's easy to spot Royal Enfields on the video tour around the warehouse.

Built like gun, hardly used, Royal Enfield muffler will last

Someday, I imagine, on the hooks above the mantle once reserved for a musket, hearths across America will instead display a shiny chrome tube.

"What is that?" little children will ask, in awe.

"Oh, that. That's Grandpa David's original muffler for his Royal Enfield Bullet," parents will explain, with reverence. "No one wanted it, and it was too nice to throw away, so there it is above the fireplace."

Removing the stock "bazooka" muffler and replacing it with something less restrictive and sportier in appearance is probably the single most common modification owners make to Royal Enfields or any other motorcycles in the U.S.

Royal Enfield guru Pete Snidal once went so far as to write me to suggest that replacing the stock muffler and rejetting the motor appropriately to compensate for its loss were the most important things owners could do to increase their satisfaction with Royal Enfields.

As evidence, he pointed out that most older, low-mileage, "hardly used" Royal Enfields offered for sale on this blog can be seen to still have the unsatisfactory, over restrictive factory mufflers. Owners don't like the performance loss they inflict, so they sell the motorcycles.

Modern Royal Enfield mufflers contain expensive catalytic converters. They are designed to work with the sophisticated fuel injection system and are perfectly satisfactory.

But that won't stop owners from pulling them off and replacing them, in the theory that any change is a gain. You can buy after-market exhaust systems at Nfield Gear.

When you do, you'll have to breeze past the warning in the catalog: "The part may alter emission systems to be out of compliance with state and/or federal laws. The part should only be installed on machines intended for closed-course racing."

I recently viewed the outstanding Civil War weapons collection at the Atlanta History Center. I was interested to see the museum's explanation for why so many fine Civil War-era swords are on display in museums.

The reason is that soldiers didn't use them in battle. Civil War rifles had such long range that even the muzzle loaders could be fired repeatedly before anyone armed with a sword got close enough to be a threat.

Swords were just for parades. Union cavalry left them in camp when they went into battle. Southern cavalry never wore them at all.

Someday my Royal Enfield Bullet may be long gone thanks to hard use and rust. But the shiny original muffler will still be around, above the mantle.