Great ad for an only so-so motorcycle

What can you say about a little old motorcycle?

 About the most thorough Craigslist ad for a vintage motorcycle I have ever seen, sadly, is not for a Royal Enfield. Although the motorcycle kind of looks like one. 

Zap Leather and Cycle in Paynesville, Minn., has done a complete restoration of a 1953 Indian Brave motorcycle, rendering it better than it would originally have been. At that time U.S. Indian motorcycles were made in England, but by Brockhouse, not by Royal Enfield. 

Royal Enfield began rebadging some of its models as Indians in 1955, to give Indian dealers something to sell. But that is a different story. 

This particular 1953 Indian Brave is advertised for sale with a sterling example of how to write a Craigslist ad. The seller leaves out nothing you'd ever need to know. Here's what I like about the ad. 

The ad opens with the basic information. Matching numbers (it gives the actual numbers and shows photos). "Clean title in my name," is noted, and the asking price is named. Mileage, of course, is not given, as the speedometer is a replacement.

Ad show photos of the actual engine and frame numbers.

Next comes:

A complete list of engine work performed.

A complete list of gearbox and clutch work performed.

A complete list of charging system and electrical system work performed.

A list of work done on the carburetor.

A complete list of work done on frame and chassis.

A list of work done on wheels and tires. (Tires are claimed to have the same tread pattern as the originals.)

Plus lists of work done to the Final Drive, Front End and Front Suspension, Gas Tank, Instruments, and Lighting.

Then we get a description of the Engine Break-In procedure followed and what gasoline is required.

Then comes a Full Disclosure: the bike has been on display in the shop and has picked up some minor scuffing and a scratch on the rear fender.

"I didn't post a photo (of the scratch) because the detail didn't show up well. Any prospective buyers may request photos and I'll email several close-ups," the seller advises.

Then comes a Synopsis explaining the restoration philosophy (modern upgrades, original appearance), and the source of OEM parts used. It also tells where to see a YouTube video of the motorcycle.

So, a very complete, informative and honest seeming advertisement. But what is really impressive is what follows all the good stuff above.

Not a beauty, not a hero, not a racer, but Indian Brave is still interesting.

First, there is a justification for paying an admittedly high asking price for an originally plain Jane economy motorcycle that never won a war or, probably, even a race.

"Manufactured by Brockhouse in England, who became partners in the USA Indian Motocycle Company in 1949. No Expense Spared, Fully Restored. Engine Upgraded, Much Improved Vintage Classic.

"This bike shifts on the LEFT SIDE and the rear brake lever is on the RIGHT SIDE. The engine is a 248cc flathead (side valve), with three-speed transmission. Complete Frame-off Restoration by Zap Cycle, Paynesville Minnesota using modern upgrades.

"Looks very original, very vintage, but the engine upgrades will greatly lessen the oil leaks that were common with the Indian Brave."

But you haven't seen anything yet, because the ad CONTINUES, with a detailed history of the Indian Motocycle Company during the Brockhouse Brave era, then a detailed account of why OEM parts are still available for this 72-year-old motorcycle, and a mechanical description of the motorcycle.

Unit construction, but motor is a flathead with kickstart on the left side.

Finally, there is an excerpt of period magazine review of the Brave, which is very critical.

"The kickstarter proved awkward to use, being on the left, and the test machine jumped out of second gear whenever the revs were increased. Furthermore, top gear was not easy to select. There was a vibration period from the engine at 54 mph, but the machine would cruise comfortably at 50 mph. The lighting switch caused frequent panics though, by making intermittent contact, whilst the thief-proof steering lock was easily picked with a bent wire! Braking performance was average, until the rivets securing the rear brake torque arm sheared after 600 miles. On a bumpy road, insufficient clearance caused the exhaust system to shed its silencer! As for oil leaks, these occurred from the timing chest and the tappet cover."

And all this was when the thing was brand new! Why include a negative review in an ad?

"I found the road test very interesting," the seller writes. "The bike is a fascinating example of the motorcycles available 70 years ago."

He's right. You take the bad with the good in purchasing a vintage motorcycle, and the bad often makes the best telling.

Altogether, this advertisement deserves an award for mining the fascinating elements behind a seemingly inconsequential motorcycle.

At the time of the ad the motorcycle could be seen at Zap Leather and Cycle/Zap Cycle, 920 W. Main St., Paynesville Minn. Phone is 1-800-294-4208..

The Royal Enfield history you must read

Anne Bradford's book about Royal Enfield in Britain. 
It's available on Kindle.

 It was one of my proudest moments as an amateur historian of Royal Enfield motorcycles. 

In 1933 the press reported that Royal Enfield had delivered a startlingly beautiful, white, V-twin motorcycle to the president of a South American country. 

But which one? 

By carefully considering the biographies of every president of a South American country of that year, I concluded that none of these men seemed the type to have been interested in motorcycling. 

But aha! A president of a Central American nation -- Guatemala -- was famous for his riding, and would lead armed men on motorcycle forays into the countryside, enforcing his dictatorial rule. 

It had to be him! I congratulated myself on my discovery and boasted about it in a blog item.

I should have been more modest.

Author Anne Bradford had beaten me to it.

Her renown book, "Royal Enfield, The Story of the Company and the People Who Made it Great: 1851-1969" is a priceless account of the company's history. (It's also known as "From the Bicycle to the Bullet.")

And there, had I bothered to look, I would have found, on the back cover, IN BOLD FACE TYPE, this:

"On the wall of Major Mountford's office was a map with a flag for every agent and you could see we had an agent in every country of the world. We even had one in Guatemala. In fact we supplied the President with a splendid white twin (motor bike) with a mounting for a machine gun across the handlebars, between the two grips. A couple of weeks after it was delivered somebody tried to assassinate him so he sent for some black enamel paint."

Anne Bradford had the solution to my "mystery."

I noticed this embarrassing find just after picking up the book. A copy was graciously sent me by Bruce Gipson, a fellow Florida resident, and the owner of a wartime Royal Enfield WD/CO motorcycle.

My proud "discovery" presumably has been on the cover of Anne Bradford's book since it first was published in 1996!

Reading the book I found there was much more I had to learn.

I also discovered that it is more than a history book. It is the affecting story of ordinary (and extraordinary) Royal Enfield employees, told in their own words.

Readers learn not only how these people contributed to Royal Enfield, but how the company intersected with their lives, sometimes through generations.

Hardly a contributor fails to complain about how little they were paid when they worked at "The Enfield," as they called it.

Nevertheless it was home to them, and they gave it their all. Not a few risked life and limb, testing motorcycles in awful weather.

The story begins in 1851, with a needle factory, but the first in-person testimony we get is from Vic Bott, who worked at Royal Enfield from 1920-1968. He was nearly 100 years old when he contributed  to the book.

"Consequently I am one of the few people alive today able to describe life as a worker at Royal Enfield in 1920 and the years that followed," he begins. His first task at the factory was to affix linoleum to the floor boards of motorcycles.

Later, having risen to be an engineer and designer, he would create the Royal Enfield Revelation, a miniature adult bicycle with space saving frame and small wheels. The famous story is that he joked he could design the bike in only two weeks. Taken seriously, he then had to do it!

Through war, Depression and decline, employees were loyal. Rita Nati, who stayed until the bitter end, probably exaggerated just a bit when she said this:

"If Royal Enfield came back now to Redditch I would go and work for them without any wages. The firm was great."

Of course the book includes their theories about why Royal Enfield came to an end in Britain.

The market for motorcycles declined as automobiles became affordable. Royal Enfield's plant and products were aged and would cost too much to update. The American market demanded horsepower Enfield designs couldn't provide without losing reliability. The nurturing leadership of R.W. Smith and then his son Frank Walker "Major" Smith came to an end. Vulture capitalists descended, looted the factory, and fouled its future.

But here too are intriguing theories about how the Royal Enfield of those days could have prospered, despite it all.

Those "what-ifs" never happened. And, as a book first published in 1996, it could not foresee Royal Enfield's stunning triumph in India and its surprising 21st century return to Britain and the world.

Which reminds me: Why, all those years ago, did Guatemalan tyrant Jorge Ubico need black enamel paint for his white Royal Enfield?

There apparently had been a plot to assassinate him; at least 12 people were shot by firing squad in 1934 for planning to blow him up in his automobile.

My guess is that the white motorcycle was too showy. Royal Enfield supplied six V-twin motorcycles to Guatemala, three of them in 1933; but only the special one for the president would have been white.

It would have made him a target.

The resplendent white Royal Enfield 1933 V-twin for a tyrant.

How much is your Royal Enfield worth?

 If you want to sell your used Royal Enfield motorcycle, prepare for a surprise.

You probably considered your Royal Enfield a real bargain when you bought it. Back then you probably knew it wasn't the fastest motorcycle on the planet, or even the most reliable.

It was the style -- and that low price -- that you liked.

Well, it still has style going for it, but if you're ready to sell and move on, guess what?

It's going to be a bargain for the person who buys it from you, because the going prices for used Royal Enfields are surprisingly low.

Ask me! I paid $4,100 for my 1999 Royal Enfield Bullet in 2001. I thought that was pretty low, given that I needed a new way to get to work and a car would have been much more.

But today, a quarter century of inflation later, it's possible to buy a late model used Bullet for even less! And it will come with disc brakes, fuel injection, electronic ignition and -- glory be -- even ELECTRIC START.

In fact, if I look hard enough, I bet I could find on eBay or CraigsList a low mileage Royal Enfield 650 twin in good condition, for not much more.

According to an online inflation calculator, my $4,100 spent in 2001 equates to the buying power of $7,400 today.

For that I could easily pay the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price for a brand new 2025 Canyon Red INT 650 twin: only $6,149.

Sure, as always in the U.S., destination and handling fees, tax, title, license and registration are extra, and dealer prices may be higher. But I am still in the ballpark.

So have I been tempted to upgrade?

What? Me? Give up my 1999, with its kick starter, drum brakes, balky four-speed gearbox (with its neutral finder lever) and vibrating rear-view mirrors? Me? Me enjoy a cruise speed of more than 42 mph? Me? Give up oil leaks, for heaven's sake?

Not yet. Ask me again tomorrow.