World tour
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A new initiative from Royal Enfield will allow bike rentals in many
countries including India, France, Italy, Scotland, Spain, Turkey, Peru,
Ecuador, ...
CO 2015 Chrome
OR 1957 Super Meteor
TX 2015 GT 535
CO 2022 650 custom
CA 2017 C5
MN 2009 C5
How motorcycles got that way
CA 2014 C5
New models coming from Royal Enfield
OH 1956 Tomahawk
CA 2015 B5
A critical look at the Himalayan 450
Found: 1924 Royal Enfield foot shift
VA 500cc with sidecar
AL 2003
Shotgun 650 on second thought
CO 1960 Apache
IA 1959 Patrol Car
CA 2005
Bullet 350 in U.S. MSRP: $4,499
Distinguished gentlefolk ride
Friday, September 4, 2009
Kick starting your Enfield adds drama to life
Kick starting a Royal Enfield or any motorcycle is a dramatic motion that (hopefully) ends with the motorcycle roaring to life. Few things in life say "Let's Roll!" with more emphasis.
This has been reinforced on television and in the movies, where a kick start typically provides delicious punctuation to any scene including a motorcycle. Americans of my generation watched the television show Then Came Bronson. Motorcyclist Jim Bronson (in the video snippet above) was portrayed as a bit of a drifter, looking for the meaning of life, and repeatedly meeting pretty girls along the way.
Somehow, he never seemed to think any of them were somehow tied up in the meaning of life. When things got gooey, Jim would throw a leg over his Harley-Davidson, give the girl one last lingering look, and swing into action.
I've read that actor Michael Parks actually thumbed an electric starter button as he kicked. I don't know if that is true and I don't see why it would have been necessary. Hollywood has complete control over sound, so it wouldn't have mattered in filming if the motorcycle started, as long as it wasn't immediately supposed to drive off.
A director who did biker movies once commented that one of the most difficult scenes to photograph was the inevitable moment when the gang members charge out of the clubhouse, mount their bikes, kick start and roar off to avenge some wrong or save a buddy.
"The bikes would never start," he said in a documentary on his work.
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I've ridden English and now Indian 500 singles for forty years. Enfields are easy to start. Period. I'm thinking of posting the nearly obligatory "Look! I can start my own motorcycle!" video on YouTube. Barefoot.
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