Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Royal Enfields inspire gentle jokes


Royal Enfield motorcycles and British motorcycles in general always inspire good natured jokes about mechanical reliability and quirks. Robert Fransworth recently alerted the Bullet-Mania Yahoo message group to a particularly odd Royal Enfield for sale on eBay in the United Kingdom.

It was the seller's gentle humor about his motorcycle that caught my eye:

"Royal Enfield diesel, 406cc Greaves engine Taurus model, 1991. Diesel engined Bullets aren't for everyone. It will cruise at very low revs all day at 45 mph. At this speed it's very happy just knocking along; being a diesel it runs very cool. This, combined with the low engine speeds, make for a very comfortable relaxing progress.

"Open the throttle and it will pull up to 60 mph but at this speed the vibration will make your hands go numb, bits fall off and the speedo cracks (it's on its third)... Bike located near Baldock in Hertfordshire."

The motorcycle is in "nice oily rag condition," the seller further advises, and it will run on vegetable oil or regular diesel fuel. You can just about smell it from here!

This motorcycle is not for me, but I love the attitude and honesty of the description. Who would you rather buy from? Someone who claims his Royal Enfield Bullet is fast, smooth and reliable as taxes, or someone who cheerfully welcomes you to the fraternity of riders interested in other qualities?

3 comments:

  1. how much are you asking for the diesel enfield?

    please contact me if you are interested in selling.

    my contact information is following:

    e-mail: sdhami1@sbcglobal.net
    phone: 530-844-1106

    thank you

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sandeep, the motorcycle is for sale on eBay in the United Kingdom. Just click on the "Royal Enfield diesel" link in paragraph three and you will be transported directly to the ebay ad, where you can make your bid. It has three days left to run. All best.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I saw that bike on Ebay Dave, and I tell you what, if I had any money I'd be tempted to buy it. Then, when my freidn 4 doors down called it a "dumper" which he calls Victoria due to the sound of the engine, I'd be able to say guess what, it IS a dumper engine! :)

    Malc.

    ReplyDelete

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