Royal Enfield motorcycles were designed when 'good' was as good as they got

My 1999 Royal Enfield piston at 40,000 miles; still OK.

Older Royal Enfield motorcycles are perhaps the only consumer products you will ever see advertised as imperfect. Leaks, loud valves and missing horns (fell off) are almost a point of pride with this bunch. Surely, it makes sense to boast about problems when you try to sell the motorcycle?

Well, probably not. But it happens a lot. For instance, the recent ad on CraigsList, in which the owner reveals that the motorcycle "needs work; nothing about these bikes is ever perfect."

He sounds discouraged. But his discouraging words aren't likely to put off many people interested in an iron barrel, kick start, four-speed motorcycle built to a 1955 British design. If that's what you want, Royal Enfield is the only place you can get it, at least in the United States.

Of course, you can visit a Royal Enfield dealership and buy a new model, with electric start, fuel injection, five-speed transmission and valves that adjust themselves. Same great looks; far fewer hassles and a two-year warranty, too.

But maybe living a hassle free-life is just not you.

If you're the kind of person who used to buy big American cars (they don't make 'em like they used to), you remember that things used to fall off, rusting began before you left the dealership, and the styling was out-moded a year later. But the engines and transmissions, the heart of the things, seemed to want to live forever.

Fifteen years ago, my friend, screenwriter and wit Douglas Kalajian, sat inside a new Japanese car at the Miami Auto Show. He touched the ash tray, which rolled out on ball bearings as though it was a safe deposit box at Fort Knox. Then he'd push gently and it would retract, slowly, magnificently, with dignity.

"It's perfect," he said. "It's just perfect."

It truly was marketing genius, because it left no doubt that this perfection must extend to everything else about the car. After all, if the ashtray was perfection, how great must be the engine?

Royal Enfield motorcycles, like most things created in their day, were good. They were honest. They would not last forever without repair (as Japanese products imply they will), but they could be repaired and rebuilt and repaired again. Nothing would fall off that you could not put back on.

They gave you a tool kit, and they expected you to learn how to use it. That, too, was marketing genius. You, the owner, were to be involved.

And that is the appeal of Royal Enfield motorcycles.

Wife want your Royal Enfield sold? Here's how you can keep it and her, too

I've made fun of men who run ads saying their wives are forcing them to sell their Royal Enfield motorcycle. That's just an excuse, I figured.

But it turns out some wives do want the motorcycle gone — and some guys have found a way to keep their bikes anyway.

When a CraigsList ad for a 2005 Royal Enfield Bullet appeared recently, listing rather a high price, it drew an unusual comment: Another guy placed an ad in reply! Here it is:

"Wow! $6,200 for a bike Kelly Blue Book lists for $2,770 retail and $1,870 trade-in. The bike was $4,800 retail, new.

"I had to go through the same thing. I picked up another bike and my wife said I had to sell one. So I showed her that I was trying to sell it, but no one was calling for it. ( I listed it for twice its value.) That's how I got to keep all four bikes. And if some fool wants to pay twice its value, great. If not, I get to keep all my toys.

"We know the bike he's listing sold for $4,800 new. He's just not ready to part with it."

Could it be that some guys could be that selfish, cowardly, conniving and low? What do you say, girls?

Royal Enfield stalwart Gordon May takes to the road aboard a BSA

He won't be riding a Royal Enfield motorcycle this trip, but it's impossible not to watch as Gordon May attempts to ride to Egypt and back on a 1952 BSA Bantam.

In 2008, May's challenging UK-to-India trip on his 1953 Royal Enfield Bullet made him probably the world's most famous Royal Enfield traveler. Now, his website reports, "Peggy the Bantam" is ready to tackle the 6,500-mile round trip from the UK to Egypt.

"Unbelievably, the time has come for me to set off once more for Egypt," May writes (this is his second attempt). Departure is set for Tuesday, April 27.

As a test, "I rode her almost fully laden over the High Peak to Buxton, Derbyshire. She pulled solidly at 30 mph in third gear for half an hour on a long steep climb and she never missed a beat. My levels of optimism for a successful trip this time are very high," May writes.

One of his first stops, oddly, will be Redditch, birthplace of Royal Enfield.

"One highlight of traveling south through England will be meeting up with former BSA development department worker, John Garner, of Redditch. Now in his eighties, John was a test rider of the prototype Bantams in the late 1940s. I'm really looking forward to hearing his tales and showing him Peggy," May writes.

Check out his website at Overland to Egypt He will be keeping a blog en route to Egypt, which you can follow here.

I won't miss it.

Royal Enfield motorcycle cost only £7 but paid off in a lifetime of lessons

Before

John Allen, the UK artist who, as a lad, bought a corroded 1960 Royal Enfield motorcycle for £7, is featured in The Whitehaven News, his local newspaper.

I first wrote about John when I encountered his remarkable before-and-after pictures of the motorcycle, which he fully restored and still owns. It is a Meteor Minor Sports.

He recounted some of his early adventures on the bike for me: it was his sole transport for awhile.

A retired art teacher, John's second career as an artist and muralist is the primary subject of the article in the Whitehaven News. But the article also details his motorcycle racing career and the origin of his interest in motorcycles.

After

“In those days, you couldn’t afford to pay someone to repair your bike, so you learned how to do it yourself. It attached more sentimental value to bikes if you had worked on them and restored them yourself,” John told the Whitehaven News.

You can read the full account here.

John Allen's own website is John Allen, Motorcycle Artist.

John Allen and painting of Alan Oversby winning the 2007 Manx Grand Prix. (Whitehaven News)

If only there was a photo of James Dean with his Royal Enfield motorcycle

Royal Enfield motorcycles remain relatively little known in the United States. Imagine how different things would be if there was a picture of the young James Dean, posing with his Royal Enfield motorcycle?

Dean's powerful persona lives on in his films and, especially, in the iconic still photographs made of him. It hardly seems possible that a man who died so young (and made relatively few motion pictures) had time to impress such powerful visual images on our collective memories. It turns out there was a method to it.

Dean's striking looks and love of motorcycles and cars are amply documented in James Dean: At Speed, Lee Raskin's gorgeously illustrated book about Dean's life and his vehicles.

In an appearance recently on Jay Leno's Garage, Raskin revealed Dean's secret; part of it, at least.

Why is the actor's racing life so well preserved in photographs, right up to his death in the crash of his Porsche Spyder? The reason, Raskin tells Leno, is that Dean made sure there were cameras around. In fact, the color photos of his final drive were made with Dean's own camera, brought along for the occasion.

You can watch Jay Leno's complete interview with Raskin here:



The pictures of Dean racing in Raskin's book blend together nicely in the mind's eye with movie stills from Rebel Without a Cause. The actor burned the crisp, cool image of the young man in the leather jacket onto film. Every indication is that this is how he wanted to be seen.

Dean wasn't always so savvy. James Dean: At Speed details the stirring story of the actor's nearly frozen dash across the United States on his Royal Enfield in the winter of 1953-'54.

Raskin writes that Dean wore an aviator's leather helmet and a hood to cover his face, with just slits for the eyes.

Royal Enfield would be a lot better known if a photograph existed from that epic ride.

James Dean: At Speed is available on Amazon.com, Ebay or directly through the author, Lee Raskin, who will sign and inscribe books on request. Contact the author at lee@leeraskin.com for price and shipping information.

Royal Enfield motorcycles made in India,but you won't need a Hindi phrase book

Royal Enfield motorcycles are built today in India, so it naturally follows that Hindi speaking residents of the United States would be interested in reading about Royal Enfield motorcycles on this blog.

Right? Well, I hope so, anyway. And the U.S. Census Bureau apparently hopes so as well.

An advertisement offering a Hindi Assistance Guide to filling out the U.S. Census forms this year appeared briefly here on my blog. My wife Bonnie was quick enough to make a screen shot of it for proof.

The robots that place Google ads are pretty smart. But not brilliant.

I noted recently that many of the followers of this blog are residents of India. That is wonderful, but it is of no interest to the U.S. Census Bureau. It presumably only cares about Hindi speakers who reside in the United States. I doubt that this applies to many of my readers, although it may apply to some.

But, then, there's this: anyone already reading this blog would have no trouble reading and understanding English, regardless of where they live.

The ad probably got few or no clicks. Still, I am delighted to have had the ad from the Census Bureau appear on my blog.

If nothing else, it is a welcome relief from all the Toyota ads and ads for Google's phone.

Royal Enfield blog: Accept no substitutes

There is a guy on the web (or, more likely, a robot) that recycles my Royal Enfield blog postings. You have to expect that — I've lifted a thing or two from other sites myself. But this is different.

The odd thing is, this site pumps what I write into some kind of Klingon Translation Machine that makes me sound wacky.

I actually suspect that what it does is translate my copy into a foreign language, and then back out to English, producing a slightly different version. For instance, here's what Google picked up on a recent post of mine:

Royal Enfield Motorcycles: We want to buy Royal Enfield accessories
By David Blasco
Royal Enfield motorcycles interest me and writing about them is my hobby. The ads scattered about this blog are chosen for you readers by Google. As I understand it, Google's robots scan what I write. Based on what they see, ...

And here is what Google picked up from the other guy:

Royal Enfield Motorcycles: We want to buy Royal Enfield ...
ROYAL ENFIELD MOTORCYCLES: WE WANT TO BUY ROYAL ENFIELD ACCESSORIES. Posted on 10. Feb, 2010 by in Motorcycles. Royal Enfield motorcycles seductiveness me as well as essay about them is my hobby. The ads sparse about this blog have been...

See the difference? Motorcycle seductiveness me! Sure does. But I wouldn't have thought to have said it quite that way.

Obviously, this highway robbery gives the guy free copy. Putting it through the Daffy Duck Garble Machine might even make it seem different enough to be original. He apparently gives me credit for having written the original.

So what is his motive?

Think before you 'repair' a Royal Enfield

Note the hoses on each side of the carburetor.

Anxious to start riding, I wheeled out my 1999 Royal Enfield Bullet and kicked twice. Nothing.

Never a cause for alarm! Three kicks usually will do it but, just to add a bit of insurance, I reached down to turn on the enricher. Nothing like lots of gas to cause an explosion.

Doing so I noticed that the delicate rubber tube between the air filter box and the carburetor was badly torn. A gaping hole had developed. No doubt it had been ripped by the sharp edges of the hose clamps holding it in place.

No cause for concern! I have a box of hoses I've ordered over the years and even a stout hunk of radiator hose cut to length. One of these bits would soon have me on my way.

Unfortunately, it proved impossible to get any of the new hoses onto the air box outlet. Too tight.

No problem! I wheeled the Bullet into the garage and a few moments with a wrench had the air box off. Now I could really lean on it with all my weight. But the hose still wouldn't go on, no matter how I stretched it and pushed.

Not beaten yet! I called to the wife to start boiling water to soften the hose. We'll have this baby on the road in no time! A bit of a soak in a pot of boiling brew and — no — it still wouldn't go on.

Never say die! I pulled out a round file and began scratching away at the inside of the length of radiator hose. I would open it up a little bit to make it fit, I thought.

Much huffing and puffing later it was apparent that the radiator hose would never go onto the air cleaner outlet no matter how much I filed. Radiator hose is tough stuff and it had a long way to go before it would fit.

Now, I slowed down and started to think, which is what I should have done in the first place.

I finally realized that the hose bits weren't wide enough to go on the air box because they were made to connect the carburetor to the motor. A wider hose (which I didn't have) connects the carburetor to the air box.

Two sizes of hose! Of course. Probably has something to do with narrowing the air passageway to speed up the flow of the gas/air mixture into the engine. What genius these engineers have. But, now what?

The answer gently dawned: the air hose from carburetor to motor is absolutely critical since any air leak here thins out the mixture carefully produced by the carburetor.

But the air on its way into the carburetor from the air cleaner is nothing special. It's just air, and if it gets mixed with a little more air, that is no problem.

I ruefully realized that I probably could use a toilet paper tube for this connection; in fact, I was tempted to do so, just to show the Bullet how much I appreciate being the fool.

No. That would be wrong. It wouldn't be waterproof and there might be enough suction from the Bullet's mighty 500cc motor to collapse the cardboard.

I got out some black plastic tape and repaired the original hose. As I did so, I noticed that it had tape on it from the previous time I'd done this.

And we were off!

Experts list some simple secrets to help sell your Royal Enfield on CraigsList

The real secret to selling your Royal Enfield motorcycle on CraigsList is just to use common sense. You can use advanced techniques, such as occasional re-posting of the ad, as explained by reader Bob Harvey. But it's more important to do the basic things well.

Here are some tips on how to sell on CraigsList:

1. List a fair asking price. Leaving out the price creates doubt that will eliminate many potential buyers. Too high a price will drive everyone away.

2. It's OK to list the price in the body of the ad instead of in the top box provided by CraigsList. While looking for the price the potential buyer will read your ad and look at the pictures. That's what you want.

3. Write an engaging description of your motorcycle. Every seller will list year, model and mileage. Make your ad special. Name the color, even though the pictures show it. If you're proud enough to list it, it becomes, in effect, a selling point. List accessories, of course. But if your motorcycle is completely stock, say so, just as though that too is a selling point. Some buyers will prefer it.

4. Don't be afraid to list flaws. One of the reasons CraigsList works is the feeling that you are dealing with neighbors right here in town. Honesty is expected and appreciated.

5. Expert seller John emphasizes writing a complete ad. Answer every possible question a buyer would ask. Potential buyers should only have to call you to set up an appointment. Your ad should already have convinced them that this is the motorcycle they want to buy.

6. Good, clear, well-lit pictures of the motorcycle (taken after it has been washed) are essential. Take the motorcycle out of the garage for the photos. Nothing shows it off like early morning or late afternoon sunshine coming from behind you as you shoot the picture. No garbage cans or chain link fences in the background. And, whatever you do, don't park your olive drab Military next to your red pickup truck for the picture. Anything red will distract attention from your motorcycle.

7. John offers a service to embed photos into your CraigsList ad, allowing you to make them larger and place them where you want in the ad. This is an advantage, since your long description of the motorcycle may force the pictures well down on the screen if you use the standard CraigsList photo uploader. If you're handy, you can embed your photos yourself with a free account at PhotoBucket. Natasha Board at eHow explains how to do it step-by-step .

8. Include links that help convince a potential buyer to consider your Royal Enfield. Here are a few you might consider:

Royal Enfield USA for parts and accessories:
www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/

Royal Enfield C5:
www.royalenfields.com/2010/03/royal-enfield-c5-vs-g5-c5-is-better.html

Royal Enfield Bullet Sixty-5
www.royalenfields.com/2009/12/royal-enfield-sixty-5-brought-new.html

Why Buy a Royal Enfield?
www.royalenfields.com/2008/09/emotions-rule-in-decision-to-buy-royal.html

Why I Bought My Royal Enfield
www.royalenfields.com/2008/08/royal-enfield-mystical-motorcycling.html

How to Buy a Used Royal Enfield
www.royalenfields.com/2008/08/how-to-buy-used-royal-enfield.html

You can just copy and paste the www addresses above into your ad, and let your readers copy and paste them into their browser. If you want to make your links clickable, directions are on the CraigsList Help menu. Scroll down to "Links to other pages."

Royal Enfield Classic 350 gets a moving, (but sometimes it's not moving) tribute

An outstanding tribute to India's original 350cc Enfield Bullet appears on the blog Visual Gratification. Thanks to reader David Blankenhorn for pointing it out. I won't spoil it all for you, but here is my favorite part:

"This is not the Classic 350 available now, but the original Bullet 350, which used to come in cast iron engine with a right-foot gear change and a left-foot brake...

"This bike came out last from the Chennai factory this February as it did from the Redditch factory 60 years ago. The last real factory produced classic bike, the original British thumper, it finally had to give in to newer technology and norms.

"You can ride the new Royal Enfield Classic 500, you can ride a Harley, you can ride a V-Max, but nothing is comparable to the Bullet 350...

"What is so great about the bike? Absolutely nothing. It is hopelessly out-powered by any moving two-wheeler half its engine size. At anything north of 80 kph it vibrates as if there is no tomorrow. To start off the big engine on a cold morning sends a chill down your spine. It is very, very moody and it will suddenly stop for no reason.

"You will make all efforts of igniting the engine, but it won’t even budge and then after pushing it for 2-3 kilometers to the nearest garage, it will start on half a kick when the mechanic tries. He will then just smirk at you and you know inside his mind he is laughing at you, thinking, ‘God Knows, now a days just about anyone thinks he can ride this legend...’

"Reaching home you see your pants are smeared in oil from the 1,001 leaks available free on the engine.

"Next morning, when you have to rush to office, you see a young man on a puny Yamaha 150cc bike easily passing you. You think, this is the last day I will be riding this old fossil guzzling dinosaur and I will settle for the more practical sub-200cc bikes with better fuel efficiency and with 1/10th the niggles. Really, there is absolutely nothing good going for it...

"And then you think, 'I am not that dumb that I will settle for anything else.'"

Here's some history on Indian Patrol Cars, built in England from Royal Enfield Bullets

Up for sale.

A Royal Enfield based Indian Patrol Car is back on the market.

"Yes, after looking at all of the missing pieces I decided it was too big of a project for me, given that I don't have a machine shop readily accessible," Bill Erickson told me.

The 1959 three-wheeler, built by Pashley in England, powered by a Royal Enfield Bullet motor, and sold in the United States as an Indian, is now in Oswego, Ill. Asking price is $4,500.

The sale prompted Richard McLeish of the UK to offer some information about the history of Indian Patrol Cars. He owns one. His Patrol Car was imported into the United States and made the return trip to the home country.

McLeish's Patrol Car. The spotlights are genuine
period Indian sealed beam accessories.

"I doubt if they were ever expected to get above about 30 mph, just pootle around in town," McLeish writes. "Did you know that these had a three-speed-and-reverse gearbox, with hand change and foot throttle? Makes for interesting driving."

Reverse? But how do you get reverse out of what looks like an ordinary Albion gearbox, I asked.

"The reverse gear is indeed fitted into the basic Bullet four speed gearbox design," he replied. "The gear case was modified, with a bulge on the back wall creating the extra space necessary to incorporate the extra shaft and cog required, and the 'box then effectively had reverse where first used to be; then N-1-2-3.

"I presume that hand change was required to help prevent changing from forward into reverse whilst in motion. This was done by using a gate arrangement bolted to the right-hand side of the tank. The change linkage actually goes via the gear indicator mechanism, nothing is connected to where the foot-change pedal is located on a conventional two-wheeler...."

Does his Patrol Car have a differential? Unclear, McLeish advises.

"The parts book I have shows two different designs of rear axle for Pashleys, and the illustrations for the type on my machine omit the final drive arrangement completely... It certainly drives as if the axle is rigid, I can vouch for that. The steering damper is very necessary!"

McLeish thinks a reference I found on the Internet to a shaft-drive Royal Enfield Pashley is mistaken. There is no mention of shaft drive in the parts book, he writes. (Update: But see Jorge Pullin's My Royal Enfields blog, which has a clipping explaining the shaft-drive system!)

Other elements varied. "The Indian models generally seem to have had the wide forks also used on the Enfield Indian Chief, along with the associated spoked 16-inch front wheel — certainly brochures and advertisements show them thus. Mine, however, has the narrower standard motorcycle forks and 19-inch wheel used on some other Pashleys.... It came from the U.S. like that, and was titled in the U.S. as a 1958, whereas Indian listed them only for 1959. Lucas parts on it are marked 1958, so I can only assume it was a very early version....

"Exactly how many were made is not known, but certainly more than most people seem to think. Fifty-two were reported as going to the Toronto Police; whether these were Pashleys or Indians, I don't know....

"As to survivors... I personally know of 10 extant, though not necessarily complete, and have recorded reports of several more, though I do not know how many of these latter are Indian Patrol Cars, as opposed to Pashley Enfields.

"The Pashley company is still trading, and are renowned in the cycling world. The current management bought the business out from the Pashley family years ago; regrettably, they are unable to help with any information on these old clunkers."

What are the old clunkers worth? McLeish points out that there is a nice, running, 1959 Patrol Car for sale in St. Paul, Minn. Asking price is $20,000. The pictures provided in that ad illustrate the shifting mechanism nicely, and also the unadorned tail of the Indian Patrol Car.

Blindspot Cycles makes electric motorcycles that look like real motorcycles should

Look closely: Blindspot Cycles' Honda Rebel conversion
has the look of batteries "under glass."

True believers hanker for electric vehicles almost regardless of how they look. Take the Nissan Leaf. Please.

In contrast, the individual styling of Blindspot Cycles would make me want one even if it was powered by a rubber band.

Blindspot takes classic looking designs from the past and recycles them with modern electric power. What is so refreshing is that they give you plug in power without looking like you're riding your wife's hair dryer.

So how much is that motorcycle, Mister? And has Blindspot considered converting a Royal Enfield to drink electric juice?

Chris Ravana, CEO of Blindspot Cycles, Fort Collins, Colo., graciously replied to my inquiry:

"Can't wait to find a Royal (Enfield) in my price range. I am a vintage junkie, and hate, hate the plastic spaceships!" he wrote. And, as for price:

"My bikes can come in from a simple conversion only at $7,000; light custom or restore at $10,000, or full custom at ?????.

"The trike I am building now will finish at about $20,000.

"I have seen some Royal (Enfield)s around but have not pulled the trigger on any. I hope to soon though."

But there's more good news. Daughter Anna first alerted me to Blindspot Cycles and asked how much they cost. She will be delighted to know that she doesn't have to shell out for an entire motorcycle this coming Father's Day.

"The clothing line will be going up on the website soon," Ravana, said, "and I hope people enjoy the line. There will be service shirts, T's, hoodies, and hats. The clothes are produced with eco-friendly materials, and are very reasonably priced for the quality of fabrics."

Given the style obvious in Blindspot Cycle's motorcycles, the clothes should be classic. Don't worry, Anna, I will send you a link as soon as they're available.

Love,

Dad

The face of the future? Nissan Leaf

Royal Enfield Motorcycles blog hits landmark: now has 100 Followers

Followers Hank, Nadia and Leonard.

One hundred fans of Royal Enfield Motorcycles now officially "Follow" this blog, according to the little widget on this page. It is a proud moment.

I'd like to thank all my Followers for pushing this blog to this very special landmark. I am very happy that so many of you out there have taken a moment to express approval by hitting the "Follow" button.

What does it mean?

If you're a blogger, Following this blog adds Royal Enfield Motorcycles to your reading list of blogs you Follow. Plus, anyone who looks at your profile sees that you Follow this blog and they might consider taking a look at it.

Beyond that, it means... err... probably not so much.

Among my 100 Followers are me, my wife (twice, under two different handles), both my daughters and my father. Thanks family!

P.A. Aneesh of India is my 100th Follower. No. 99 was Desiree Ketteringham, of Tennessee, the subject of a post about her Royal Enfield Military motorcycle.

Of the other Followers, at least two are from the United Kingdom, one is from Canada, one from Ireland, one from Indonesia and only 24 or so are definitely from the United States.

The truly humbling statistic is that at least 34 of the 100 are, or appear to be (you can't always tell for sure), residents of India.

Since I live in the U.S. and am really only familiar with Royal Enfields and conditions here, it is flattering that people with far more exposure to India's motorcycle think this blog is worth reading.

Fellow blogger Jorge Pullin (of My Royal Enfields) and Chris Bartlett (Her Majesty's Thunder) are Followers.

My friend, screenwriter and wit Douglas Kalajian (the Armenian Kitchen) is a Follower. Malcolm Fisher (Midland Bullet Riders) is a Follower.

Children's book author and illustrator Ralph Masiello (Ralph Masiello's Labyrinth) Follows this blog. He's currently blogging about his Honda CB750 project.

Most Followers are men, and motorcyclists. But there are surprises. Take Nadia.

She's based in New York City and you can hear her sing on her Something From Nothing blog. Ah, you think, she just follows all the blogs she can, to plug her career. No, according to her profile, Royal Enfield Motorcycles is one of the few blogs she Follows.

Most Followers don't provide much profile information about themselves, but Indians, in particular, may brighten their profiles with a personal note. Tikati, for instance explains himself this way: "Rock star? Let's see how I make that happen..."

American Shannon T. Baker (who blogs at Backroads Buddha) gives a thorough profile description:

"Ever seen the T-Shirt that says I have the body of a god... Unfortunately it's Buddha? Well that shirt fits me, so to speak. In fact before she bought me the shirt, my daughter introduced me to one of her friends as 'my Dad, Buddha.' Potbelly, bald head and all I love exploring the back roads on my H-D Sportster Iron and sharing some of those adventures and discoveries with you. Hope you enjoy."

I'd like to echo that: I hope my Followers continue to enjoy Royal Enfield Motorcycles.

Surprise! Electric motorcycles can provide a vintage look and feel

I am a sourpuss. So, when daughter Anna pointed out that California will subsidize the purchase price of electric motorcycles, I groused.

Electric motorcycles, I complained, aren't as green as they seem, since the power has to come from somewhere (a power plant).

But what was really bothering me was the motorcycle Gov. Schwarzenegger was astride: it looked like a plastic toy.

The Zero brand electric motorcycle is the first to qualify for California's $1,500 rebate program. Since this is a motorcycle blog, I guess I am supposed to like it.

But it wasn't easy. Electric motorcycles, I whined, don't provide the vintage experience I'm looking for. Not if they look like that.

Then Anna pointed me toward an item about Blindspot Cycles, on the Inhabitat (Design Will Save the World) blog.

Blindspot Cycles recycles a Suzuki.

Here is the legitimate motorcycle look I wanted: real fenders (shiny ones), a round headlight and upright riding position. There is even a center stand. The flat-tank look reminds me of the earliest motorcycles. The parallelogram panniers recall Art Deco.

I have no idea how practical Blindspot Cycles are as motor vehicles. I almost don't care. (Note: the modified Suzuki GS250 shown here will do 70 mph and has a 50-mile range, Blindspot says.)

Inhabitat writer Andrew Michler describes Blindspot Cycles this way:

"Reuse starts with a trip to a salvage yard looking for the right cycle. All makes and models have potential. They first help a client choose just the right ride.

"These reclaimed motorcycles squeeze the past and future together. Coupled with a DND DC permanent magnet electric motor, a set of Deka brand AGM batteries and some styling you get a home-brew, super efficient ride. If they can find it salvaged rather than new it goes on. If it is high quality and American made then it goes in."

Blindspot Cycles has managed to capture a style that says the motorcycle was imagined by human beings, in the past, not by space aliens in 3030.

Now, these are green machines that I could like.

Blindspot Cycles' recycled Yamaha.

Royal Enfield is ugly, needs paint and leaks, but seller says you're still bound to like it

Telling people your Royal Enfield motorcycle leaks oil might not be the best way to sell it. But here's an ad by Nick, who not only poses his motorcycle over oil-spotted cardboard, he boasts about it:

"Leaks oil, needs a paint job, dirty, ugly and a blast to ride. you will get many people to ask you what it is. It has been a great first bike and I want something bigger."

And that's not all. He continues, adding insult to injury:

"Please read up on these bikes, they are not without faults — they require a lot of maintenance and day to day checks, to ensure that they will run good. Don't bother looking at it if you want something low maintenance.

"The shifting is another story, it is very... different; you have to learn how the bike will let you shift."

You have to admire the honesty, but there's something more here, too. It's a notion that motorcycles can look good even when they look like they earn their keep.

This one is a 2002 Royal Enfield Bullet 500 ES in Dublin, Ohio, with 6,800 miles, four-speed transmission, 500cc single-cylinder engine. Leather spring bobber style seat, flat black paint, Sparto aftermarket tail light, aftermarket turn signals. Nick is asking $1,800.

"I have been driving it to work 30 miles round trip every day; it has been nice," he says. Good for him.