Some simple changes unleash the look of a cafe racer

The black fenders and headlamp of the Suzuki TU250 give it a vintage look.

The keywords "Royal Enfield" in a CraigsList ad drew me to these pictures of a motorcycle Royal Enfield fans might well admire.

With very few simple modifications, the seller of this Suzuki TU250 brought out the British style cafe racer hidden in what otherwise looks like a utilitarian Japanese motorcycle of the 1970s. Repositioned handlebars and a rack in place of the passenger seat were all it took. Suzuki supplied the knee pads on the tank and the upswept silencer.

The Suzuki's old fashioned removable headlamp, out-in-the-open speedometer and wire wheels do the rest. Unlike some other motorcycles, the Suzuki does not hide the fact that it lacks a tachometer by sporting a second can filled only with idiot lights. I love the honesty of that.

Suzuki catalog illustration makes the TU250 look plain.

Suzuki is almost unique, I think, in posting online catalog pictures that make its motorcycles look as dull as kitchen appliances. The company's photo of the 2012 TU250X,  in particular, shows a mud-brown, upright and uptight motorcycle with the handlebars of a Texas steer. Ugh.

The TU250 advertised by Larry Picarello in New York looks vastly better. It appears lithe and racy and the color is much less muddy in his pictures.

It's far sportier in person; the muffler looks like a rocket.

I've written before that I thought people who like Royal Enfields might like the TU250X as well.  Both are single-cylinder motorcycles that share an obvious British heritage in design if not manufacture. The MSRP of the Suzuki is $4,099, which is certainly competitive.

I wrote to compliment Larry on his modifications to the Suzuki and ask if he'd ever considered a Royal Enfield. He replied:

"I've owned other 'thumpers': Ducati 160, Ducati 450 R/T Desmo, Honda Ascot 500, but never a Royal Enfield. They look great! My current rides include a Suzuki DL650 Vstrom, Yamaha Tmax, Honda PCX, and a fleet of Puch mopeds from stock to highly modified."

So. Like I said: same folks.

Royal Enfield motorcycles for sale, not kayaks

What if you clicked on an ad for a Royal Enfield and were invited to go kayaking?

The Royal Enfield motorcycles for sale in the United States listed on this blog are selected from advertisements I find on the Internet. I collect them for your information and — sometimes — for your amusement.

Some sellers make ridiculous claims or set prices so high no one would pay them. Some motorcycles are in such bad condition that no one should consider buying them. Other ads hint at potential paperwork problems. Stay away!

I have no connection to the sellers, and can not vouch for the truth of any of the ads.

Sometimes the problems are of my own making. I clicked on one of the top ads the other day to check if the price had changed and was stunned to be directed to a website about kayaking!

"What is THIS?" I asked my wife Bonnie. She runs her own blog about outdoor activities, little known destinations and tiki bars in Florida. It's called Florida Rambler.

"Oh," she responded, "I must have copied that web address on your computer."

She had, and I had come along and blindly pasted it into a listing for a Royal Enfield for sale.

My apologies to the seller and to the readers. I'll be more careful next time!

Luggage for your Royal Enfield? Why not a suitcase?

Why not attach a real vintage suitcase to your Royal Enfield?

Saddlebags or panniers are the traditional luggage of a Royal Enfield motorcycle. But when I jokingly suggested using an ugly milk crate instead, reader Alan LaRue responded that he had tried a more interesting idea: an actual suitcase.

"I mounted a late '40s or early '50s J.C. Higgens suitcase (Sears and Roebuck imitation of a Samsonite) to my Royal Enfield, and got a little bit of negative feedback. But I think it was better than a milk crate. A few guys on the Royal Enfield board suggested that I should have mounted a wicker basket."

Alan did indeed take a ribbing on the Royal Enfield USA Community Forum.

Holds anything but a helmet.

"Friends don't let friends mount old suitcases to their Enfields!" one member joshed. Another suggested that the hidden bolts holding the suitcase to the rack meant that other motorists would continuously expect the suitcase to fall off.

Maybe so, but I happen to think it's a very cool idea. In fact, in 2009, Community Forum member Uncle Ernie made a similar suggestion:

"For the rack, shop Habitat For Humanity, Goodwill, etc. and look for a small olde suitcase and attach it with fender washers."

"Olde" is the key.

I can't find it now, but years ago I saw a vintage picture of a couple traveling the world on their Triumph. The motorcycle was draped with containers, including twin gas cans lashed to the front sides of the crash bars (crash and burn?). One particular touch was a dainty old suitcase attached to the typical Triumph tank rack of the day. It looked great.

Here are some other notions about motorcycle luggage options.

Royal Enfield sprag clutch starter problems diagnosed

A sprag clutch was used in early electric-start Bullets.

I ride a Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle, but I am no mechanic. So, when readers ask technical questions I often urge them to post their problems on the Royal Enfield Yahoo discussion group or the Royal Enfield USA Community Forum. The Yahoo group was founded in 1998. By now, members have heard it all — and some have the expertise to recommend how to fix it.

A reader named Tom recently asked this:

"David, I have a 2005 Military Bullet. When I try to kick start the decompressor does not work, but cable seems OK. Electric start will not work either. The kickstart is always hard to push and seems engaged with turning over. Any ideas?"

I pointed him toward the Yahoo Group, where he soon got this very complete answer from member Rick F:

"Most likely the sprag clutch in your starter drive has disintegrated and jammed, forcing the crankshaft to turn the starter gears. Been there, done that. Is your engine now very difficult (virtually impossible) to turn over? If so, you may need to replace the sprag. It's a simple mechanism designed to allow rotation in one direction but not the other. Looks sort of like a large diameter ball bearing found in the starter gear train.

"To get at it you must remove the primary drive including clutch, then remove the inner primary case to get access to the compartment that houses it. Nothing terribly complicated but it is a tedious disassembly/reassembly; not a 15 minute job.Hitchcocks Motorcycles has a good exploded diagram in the parts section of their website.

"If you've heard a loud 'clang' when the engine kicked back on starting or stopping, that's it trying to turn your sprag backward. Doesn't take too many of these kickbacks before the sprag is broken."

Tom replied:

"Thanks Rick! Sounds like you have really hit the nail on the head. I have heard the 'clang' on a number of starts, when I switch from kick starting to using the electric start. Sounds like time to order some parts and dive in."

There is more information about the sprag to be found on the Royal Enfield USA Community Forum, where one of the members is president Kevin Mahoney. He told his readers there that, at some point in production, Royal Enfield began equipping AVL (Lean-Burn) Bullets with an updated ignition control box that protects the sprag from kickback. He urged his readers with Lean-Burn powered Bullets to make sure that the Transistor Controlled Ignition (TCI) box on their motorcycles is green in color.

"I want to remind all of you Lean-Burn owners to check the TCI (ignition) box underneath your seat. It should be green, which is the newest model. If yours is black either call us with your VIN number at 800-201-7472 or go to your dealer and get a free replacement. The new one may help save you from a sprag clutch repair somewhere down the road."

These concerns don't apply to the new Unit Constructed Engine models (C5, G5 and B5 as they're called in the U.S.). They use a different design.

Engine guards for Royal Enfields snag some comments

Are crash bars one way to hook trouble?

My explanation of why I decided not to fit crash bars to my Royal Enfield Bullet drew hearty congratulations from one reader: Maj. Bunty Golightly.

"Greetings Blasco, I awfully glad that you have decided not to fit the ruddy things, a chap with your ability could do a lot of ruddy damage to small animals and passers-by, don't yer know. Not to mention snapping himself orf at the knees in a high speed frontal crash."

I was delighted to have the good Major's approval, but not everyone else agreed.

One anonymous reader wrote:

"I have used Enfields with crash bars for years and they are never a problem. Not even in very heavy traffic in India. Most of these are not much wider than the handlebars, if at all. They are of no use in an accident as you fall off the bike anyway, but may save the paint job in a parking lot tip over."

Unadulterated version of photo is available from Royal Enfield
as wallpaper for your computer screen.

Agreed. However, most important, I think, was the real-life experience offered by reader Anant Singh:

"Hello David, I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and follow your blog pretty religiously. I'm from India originally, hence the fascination to all things Royal Enfield. My father was in the Indian Army and I grew up ogling the RE Bullets of the 'Dispatch Riders' and dreaming of riding them. I currently own a '54 G2 Bullet (project), '58 Constellation and a '69 Series II Interceptor.

"I found your article on 'crash bars' interesting. In India they were called 'leg guards' because they would protect your leg in a spill.

"Didn't make much sense to me as one such leg guard was the reason I had a pretty serious leg injury as it got entangled with a light truck front bumper in New Delhi's crazy traffic and set me airborne from the inertia. I agree with you completely and would not recommend it; besides it also takes away from the looks of the motorcycle."

On Facebook, Tom Shanti reported two incidents:

1. "My front wheel skidded... had to put the bull down to the side — the 'crash bar' bent beyond repair (simple tilt, hardly any velocity).

2. "During late hours I had an accident with a pedestrian in low speeds. I hit the back of his leg with my 'crash guard.' The crash guard bent inwards and the top end pierced my leg, blood gushing out. The pedestrian had no visible injury (luckily)."

This customized Royal Enfield is industrial strength

You've never seen a Royal Enfield Bullet quite like this one.

Another custom Royal Enfield Bullet emerges from the Strokers Dallas shop of tie-dyed customizer Rick Fairless. It is bound to be as controversial as Myrna, the "sweet yet sassy" Royal Enfield he created in 2011.

It's called the Aztec. Fairless himself conducts a walk-around explanation of its features and goes for a ride in a YouTube video.

The bike was sponsored by Aztec Bolting, which supplies tools for industrial bolting in applications including wind power generation.

Sport bike controls and an industrial tensioner for the front girders.

Unlike many other custom motorcycles by Rick Fairless, this is no stretched and lowered chopper. It even uses sport bike controls.

A tensioner like those used by the Aztec Bolting company in its products was incorporated into the girder front suspension. CORRECTION: See the second comment below; this is a springer front suspension.

Much of the work went into the tank, which lights up with LED lights. The tail lights were set into the end of frame rails fabricated for the bike after the stock rear section was removed.

Tail lights glow from ends of rear frame rails.

Check out the video:

1936 Royal Enfield Model Z Cycar had full body frame

Rarely seen Royal Enfield is a Model Z "Cycar."

An unusual looking 1936 Royal Enfield motorcycle for sale on eBay is causing some "head scratching" on the Internet. Thanks to the outstanding Sheldon's EMU website, we know exactly what it is.

It is a Royal Enfield Model Z "Cycar," with a 148cc two-stroke motor. According to Graham Scarth, chairman of the Royal Enfield Owners Club, the motor was of Enfield's own design. The Villiers logo shown in the eBay ad may have been added by the owner along with the "Speed Scott" decal on the side, as if to throw off the unwary.

Catalog illustration for the Royal Enfield 1936 Model Z Cycar.

What sets this motorcycle apart is its bodywork. The frame is a single steel pressing enclosing the motor and gearbox. Detachable pressed steel leg shields would have been present originally.

Royal Enfield called the Cycar "An economical, reliable lightweight of unique design, which will take you anywhere and keep you clean." The bodywork kept the oily motor and chain away from the rider while the leg shields and ample fenders protected her from dirt.

The three-speed gearbox is controlled by a slender hand gearshift.

The seller, in Glenmont, N.Y., states that the motorcycle has had one owner since new and that the photos show it as it was kept in his garage until he died.

The motor turns over, the seller states but has not been test started.

Note the hand pump tucked away in bodywork.

New magazine features some favorite Royal Enfields

New magazine.

The summer issue of a new quarterly magazine for Royal Enfield fans is available now, in print or digital versions.

The Royal Enfield is a slick, 64-page publication produced by author and Royal Enfield enthusiast Paul Grace.

Articles include some subjects that will appeal to many Royal Enfield fans, including the V-twin Musket.

Mark Mumford writes the first in a series of articles about his restoration of a 1955 350cc Bullet, bought as a basket case off eBay.

My personal favorite oddball, the Pashley three-wheeler built from a Royal Enfield, is another subject of the summer issue.

The print edition is $12.80. A digital version is only $1.99. There is a free preview that demonstrates the quality of the magazine. I have no connection to the magazine, but I did buy the digital edition of the summer edition, and am enjoying it.

If you would like to advertise, email advertising@greenlane.biz

If you would like to contribute to the magazine as either a writer or contributor, by sending a story and pictures, email editor@greenlane.biz

Royal Enfield t-shirt recalls glory days of the brand

Royal Enfield t-shirt from the glory days of the Interceptor.

It's a plain white t-shirt, emblazoned "Royal Enfield" on the back in a fading rose color. It's thin from washings and stained by use.

The tag says it's a Russell product, 100 per cent combed cotton. It claims to be a Large, 42-44, but it wouldn't fit a large child. That tells you it has shrunk some but it also tells you that it was made before clothing sizes inflated to fit inflated modern people.

Another clue it's old: it's not marked "Made in China." And there is no "clothing care label," required on clothing sold in the United States since 1972.

So it's old, much older than my 1999 Royal Enfield motorcycle. I think it probably dates from the 1960s. You'd have wanted a Royal Enfield t-shirt then, because Royal Enfield was back trading under its own name in the United States, after half a decade of supplying motorcycles to be branded as Indians.

But you probably would have lost interest after 1971, when Royal Enfield stopped making motorcycles in England, leaving you no brand to support. (The made-in-India Royal Enfields weren't officially imported to the U.S. until 1995.)

Advertisement for Royal Enfield Interceptor used similar logo design.

Do you see the similarity between the Royal Enfield logo on the shirt and this vintage advertisement for the Royal Enfield Interceptor? I'd say they're from the same college of design. The Interceptor shown is the Series II of 1969-'71. My guess is that if you bought an Interceptor in 1970 the dealer would have thrown in this t-shirt.

I spotted the t-shirt for sale in a CraigsList ad out of Columbus, Ohio, in July, 2011. The seller didn't seem to know much about the shirt except that it was old. I pointed the ad out to Chris Bartlett of Her Majesty's Thunder, designer and seller of t-shirts with Royal Enfield and vintage motorcycling themes. I thought it might make a reference point for him.

In September a soft manila envelope arrived in my mail. It was from Chris and contained a t-shirt of his design and the t-shirt from the CraigsList ad.

"That old white shirt is the vintage one you pointed me to a while ago. It belongs in a shadow box or something. I figured my favorite Enfield friend would give it a good home," he wrote.

I haven't worked out a shadow box for it, but the shirt is certainly the star of my collection of memorabilia. This public "thank you" note to Chris is almost a year overdue.

Even so, I don't think he'd mind if I shared his doodle of a Royal Enfield from the outside of the manila envelope. It's in my collection, too.

Note I received from Her Majesty's Thunder.

The Rock Store on Mulholland draws motorcyclists

Even on a Saturday morning, the Rock Store is crowded with motorcyclists.

Some of the first Californian motorcyclists to see the new Royal Enfield C5 Bullet were at the Rock Store on Mulholland Highway near Los Angeles.

The Royal Enfield Los Angles dealer  took a Royal Enfield C5 there to show off and reported that it drew attention.

That report drew my attention to the Rock Store,  which sounded pretty special itself. Made of volcanic rock, the building is said to have been a stagecoach stop in the 1910s.

Triumph bobber was the only British motorcycle to be seen when I visited.

Although I grew up in Los Angeles, I'd never been to the Rock Store. A recent visit to my dad, Lefty Blasco, presented the opportunity to address that.

The setting, between Malibu Canyon Road and Kanan Road on Mulholland is stunning. Mulholland is famous for its twists and turns and it was impressive to see riders tackling them just around the bend from the store.

Photographer Victory Jon was at his post there, shooting photos of the brave they can purchase on his website, Highway Photos.

One rider at the Rock Store was leaving nothing to chance, as he had his own camera fixed above his helmet at the end of a two-foot pole. It would have captured his every courageous move as if from a helicopter hovering over his head.

Pulling out a set of tools instantly draws help and advice.

Saturday morning found the parking lot filled edge-to-edge with motorcycles. The bar was open and the patio was filled with men young and old in leathers.

There were few women and no children. The talk was quiet, almost subdued. If there was boasting about who or what motorcycle is fastest, I didn't hear it.

The canyons await while riders check their phones.

This, I thought to myself, must be what it's like to be in the seminary: no girls just silent worship — of the motorcycle, in this case.

Crash bars look good on Royal Enfields, but not mine

Diamond Engine Bar, available at Nfield Gear.

You see a lot of these on Royal Enfield motorcycles. Motorcyclists around here call them "crash bars," but probably not too many think of them as something that would really protect the rider in an accident.

Royal Enfield USA sells them as "engine guards" on its Nfield Gear site. They "protect your engine from damage in the event of a fall over..."

For motorcycles that are too heavy to pick up once they go all the way down, anything to prevent that probably makes sense. I vividly recall standing completely still astride my brother's big Kawasaki and feeling it gently but inexorably slipping sideways from my grip. Mercifully I was standing next to a large boulder that provided  a resting place part of the way down.

Engine guards make sense for motorcycles that must park on city streets, where the odds of being bumped over are substantial.

Still, for most motorcyclists, engine guards are probably just one more shiny thing they can put on the motorcycle. The bars may not add much practical value but they do offer this advantage: they give you a place to attach even more shiny things.

They're not for my Bullet, though. Yes, I've heard the warnings that in an actual crash they can bend, pinning the rider's leg to the motorcycle. I've never seen that happen, but it is not a happy thought.

Here is an experience I did have. Years ago I had a storage room on the back of the house. It fell into disarray and was so crowded I could no longer get in to find anything. Disgusted, I reached in, picked up the female end of a heavy duty extension cord, and began walking into the yard.

The extension cord unwound, roping a lawn chair, the arm of which caught a table, the edge of which collected a shovel, the blade of which pushed a whatnot into a whatchamacallit, the lip of which hooked a thingamajig that brought with it a shelf full of everything else.

I kept walking. By the time I reached the fence, the storage room was mostly empty. Its contents, wound in electrical cords, ropes and garden hose, were spread across the back yard, ready to be reorganized.

That's my fear: that the engine bars will snag a bumper in traffic or a towing ball in a parking lot, and down I will go.

If it could happen it would happen, and I would feel very silly.

Can you ride a motorcycle? You'd better tell the truth

Jim Dance, liar.

"Can anyone ride a motorcycle?" the sergeant asked.

"I can," lied infantryman Jim Dance.

The result? Dance spent the next 14 hours "driving" a wheelbarrow.

The experience left him with a lifelong aversion to padding his resume. He regretted this handicap very much, as he viewed padding your resume as the surest way to get ahead in life.

Dance was a columnist for The Miami Herald newspaper until his death in 1983 at only 59 . I worked for the newspaper at the time, but it was a big enough operation in those days that I never met him.

I almost preferred it that way, so that I could imagine him as he portrayed himself in his column: a complete rascal, who viewed journalism not as a profession but "a dodge."

Unlike most columnists he didn't just poke fun at politicians. He poked fun — and worse — at editors. I assumed that is why, after rising at one point to the exalted rank of associate editor, he went on to write a column carried on the same page as the comics.

Editors never look at the comics unless Doonesbury is getting them in trouble with readers again. So Dance was free to carry on his insurgency under the radar.

I love the comics and so do most newspaper readers. That made Jim Dance our little secret.

The real Jim Dance might not have been an easy man to work with. Reading between the lines of his obituary in The Herald there is the hint that Dance was harder to handle than the smiling, bewhiskered face above his column implied.

Black Beard the pirate probably was no fun in person, either. But who hasn't chuckled at his supposed remark that he had to shoot someone from time to time, just so people would remember who he was?

Dance, too, was a master rogue, at least to hear him tell it.

He delighted at the disapproving glances of fellow passengers when he escorted a beautiful blonde on a cruise. She was young enough to be his daughter! — which, of course, she was.

Every Jim Dance column was a voyage over a waterfall, where the righteous were disarmed with a sly smile and the powers-that-be were torpedoed instead of triumphant.

I still miss his wit and the wisdom behind it.

If he never learned to ride a motorcycle, at least he had the gumption to lie to a sergeant about it.

British cars and motorcycles grace Rodeo Drive 90210

Happy Father's Day: My daughter Erin poses in front of a Berkeley sports car.

"Are these childrens' cars?" my wife Bonnie asked.

I've written about Berkeley sports cars, some of which were powered by Royal Enfield motorcycle engines. But I'd never actually seen one until Bonnie and my daughter Erin took me to the "British Are Coming" car and motorcycle show on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Father's Day.

They are really small. Erin stood in front of the Berkeley at the show to demonstrate. It made the original Minis beside it look reasonably sized. Quite a trick.

We'd gone to see the British motorcycles, of which there were only 19, but I couldn't resist looking at the cars, too. Check out the pictures below from the 2012 Rodeo Drive Concours D'Elegance:

Aston Martin was the featured marque: "Destored" DB2.

Your author photographs a 1928 Brough Superior.

A curious spot for an oil cooler.

The headlight nacelle was your dashboard: 1961 Norton Dominator.

Ready to ride.

1913 Triumph barn find was only one that didn't glisten.

Ariel Square Four motor in a 1953 Norton frame.

That British attitude is evident in every vehicle.

Rodeo Drive, storied shopping street.

1913 Triumph luggage: just big enough for your tools.

1947 Triumph 1800; did it shine like this when it was new?

The winner, a 1926 Scott Flying Squirrel once owned by Steve McQueen.

Photo of Royal Enfield's Indian Chief police motorcycle

Royal Enfield built the Chief for sale in the U.S. as an Indian motorcycle.

Here's a photograph of one very hard-bitten motorcycle officer riding a 1960 Royal Enfield Indian Chief.

Hans van Heesch of the Netherlands shared the picture with me after I wrote about the 1959 Indian Chief  in New York City Police Department markings he owns.

Indian catalog photo.

The same police officer appears in the Indian catalog photo I used recently in an item about Royal Enfield's big Chief and its role as a police motorcycle.

That catalog picture is often seen, but I had never noticed this view of the other side of the motorcycle (and the officer). Hans said in his email that it was an official Indian company photo and that makes sense, since a version ended up in the catalog.

The motorcycle is magnificent, with all the authority thick tires, extra lights and massive fenders confer.

Is that patchy snow on the ground in the picture? And no windshield!

But it is the officer I keep looking at. Something tells me he's not an actor from Central Casting. For one thing, he's packing a lot of hardware (and some weight of his own) as well.

Authority? You wouldn't argue with this guy.

Or that motorcycle.

Would you mount a milk crate on your Royal Enfield?

The Invisible Milk Crate from Aerostich is completely invisible.

Royal Enfield motorcycles might end up sitting on a milk crate while they're being repaired, but at least I've never seen a picture of a milk crate mounted as a luggage container on a Royal Enfield motorcycle.

The ugly black milk crates were a fixture of motorcycling when I was young, especially around any college campus. Text book were heavy enough not to bounce out and milk crates were free.

Milk crates cost nothing because, of course, you had to steal them. They came with the name of the dairy on the side and there are stories on line about guys who knew guys who got tickets for possessing stolen property.

Today, you can legally buy a brand new milk crate from Amazon.com for only $5.50. Doing that, however, would remove the essential ingredient of larceny and thus the fun of having the milk crate on the bike.

No one could can deny that the milk crate was functional — at least in theory. In practice, your foot slammed into the thing every time you wanted to get on or off the motorcycle.

That might not be as much of a problem with the new "Invisible Milk Crate" offered by Aerostitch.  Since it is electronic, it can be adjusted to take up no more room than necessary: from grapefruit size, to even bigger than a standard milk crate, depending on the load you want to carry.

It's far more attractive, too. I mean, given that it's invisible.

It is pricey, however, and one customer review points out that its emissions make you visible to Federation battle cruisers when you're cloaked.

Royal Enfields ride to the top in 'The Highest Pass'

Royal Enfields ride in like "The Magnificent Seven" in "The Highest Pass."

Taking Royal Enfield motorcycles to the top of the world is the challenge riders face in the movie "The Highest Pass." It opens Friday, June 15 at the Regal Meridian 16, 1501 Seventh Ave., Seattle, Wash. The independent movie premiered in Los Angeles April 27.

In the movie a brave yogi faces a prophecy of his death as he leads seven Americans through the Himalayas on the highest motorable road in the world.

Never mind Harry Potter. This movie is bound to help establish Royal Enfield motorcycles as the death defying adventure motorcycles out of India.

Extra sound for the film was recorded in March, 2011 using a Royal Enfield running through the hills around Los Angeles.

The movie opens in Scottsdale, Ariz. on June 29. It will be at the Harkens Shea 14, 7354 E. Shea Blvd.

Other opportunities to see it: at Wanderlust Yoga Festivals in Vermont June 22, Colorado July 6 and California July 28.

Here is the trailer:

Royal Enfield G5 Military looked ready for anything

The Royal Enfield G5 Military looked like it had just rolled off the parade ground.

"Just how rare are these?" a reader named Mike asked about the Royal Enfield G5 Military motorcycle. He was responding to my October, 2010 post about the "rare Royal Enfield G5 Military."

Well, they were hard to find at the time, and in demand, too. Some people seemed to prefer them over the new C5 model with its smaller front wheel and, initially, no kick starter.

If you were going into the woods, the G5 seemed to have what it would take to get you there and bring you back. (Much of this advantage is gone. The C5 now comes with the kick starter and there's even a C5 Special with the bigger front wheel; it even comes in military colors.)

G5 Military (with some options).

To some, the upright G5 in olive drab just looked, well, more "military." When it was introduced, Classic Motorworks (Royal Enfield USA) fit one with some attractive options and took it out  by the river for a series of great photographs, some of which you see here. The motorcycle's appeal is evident.

The G5 is still available from Royal Enfield USA dealers in Deluxe and Classic models. But if you seek military colors, the C5 in Battle Green or Desert Storm (sand) are what you want. Their "vintage military style harkens back to WWII," the online catalog notes.

But back to Mike's question: only a certain number of G5 Military model motorcycles came to the U.S. No more are likely to come. So how rare are they?

The G5's kick starter stood proudly at attention.

I asked Royal Enfield USA and, to my delight, got an answer, from Doneen at Classic Motorworks:

"I counted 95 G5 Military models that came to the U.S."

Sometimes manufacturers offer "limited edition" models of their vehicles and sometimes that's just the way it works out. I've written about how the Royal Enfield Bullet Sixty-5  became one interesting example of this.

In the G5 Military I think we have another curiosity. Does that mean it would be worth paying extra to get one? Yes, absolutely: if you want it.

Royal Enfield Military adopts a commanding pose.

1938 Royal Enfield Bullet took a beating in high style

This Royal Enfield Bullet got a grueling test. 

The 1938 Royal Enfield Bullet 500 motorcycle was a "Machine of Faultless Performance."

This was the somewhat giddy conclusion of an unnamed writer for The Sunday Times of Perth, Western Australia. He got his hands on one in time to write about it for the issue of Dec. 26, 1937.

With the heavy demands of journalistic integrity weighing upon him, the open road before him and somebody else's motorcycle to ride, he headed for the hills to put the Royal Enfield to the test.

And what a machine it was! He wrote:

"The cradle type frame suggested strength and rigidity; all working parts were enclosed, the high polished crankcase made it obvious that the model would be easy to keep clean. It was also noted that there was a complete absence of oil leakage.

"Upswept pipes, tubular silencers and attractive fishtails, plus chromium-plated guards, tank and headlamp combined with pleasing lines gave to the machine an air of distinction."

It was not too distinguished looking to avoid a good thrashing, however.

"Kalamunda hill was climbed in FLYING STYLE."

Then it was on to "an old bush track" for a real beating. After banging to the bottom, the writer pointed his Bullet back at the top.

"Second gear was quickly engaged, and the model literally charged up the hill. The high ground clearance was appreciated on this section for it was unnecessary to worry about rocks trying to crash into the crankcase."

Unnecessary, too, because, after all, it wasn't his motorcycle.

Next came ploughing through 200 yards of heavy sand.

"It was easy, and the task was satisfactorily repeated in the opposite direction."

The article closed with the helpful note that buyers could seek further particulars from Boans, Ltd. Sounds as though there might have been a good deal to be had on their low-mileage demonstrator.

This item was discovered by my friend, screenwriter and wit Douglas Kalajian, at the National Library of Australia web site. As a writer for The Miami Herald, Doug used to "test" new cars. I doubt he gave any of them the treatment this Royal Enfield received.

Google 'Royal Enfield Motorcycles' to find this blog

Royal Enfield Motorcycles is at www.RoyalEnfields.com

Google "Royal Enfield Motorcycles" (the name of this blog) and it will show up fairly high in the results. At the very top of the Google search results will be Royal Enfield USA and the Royal Enfield factory in India. That is as it should be.

But now Google just "Royal Enfield". The factory and Royal Enfield USA remain at the top but good luck finding my poor little blog — it's now on Page 8 of search results. It shows up after the listing for Royal Enfield Fort Worth, a dealer in Texas.

Does it matter? Not if you've already found this blog or you live in Fort Worth. But potential new users are unlikely to come across my blog in Google search results.

Google ranks web sites in ways mostly known only to itself but one public measure is PageRank (one word). This does not correspond to exactly what page on which the site shows up, but it has something to do with how high it is listed.

PageRank, incidentally, is not named for a web "page." It's named for Larry Page, the co-founder of Google, who invented this ranking method. While Google has sought to diminish the attention paid to PageRank in recent years, it remains a tempting way for amateurs like me to keep score.

PageRank is scored 1 to 10, with a higher number being better. Google itself is a 9. The New York Times is a 9. Royal Enfield in India is a 6. Royal Enfield USA is a 4. For a time my blog was a 3, but it has now been downgraded to a 2.

Why? I don't know. Google is thought to have "punished" some kinds of websites whose practices — they're called "content farms" — it dislikes. Perhaps I got caught up in that.

Google apparently also wanted to put the really substantial, official sources of information at the top of its search results. And it seems to have succeeded. On the first page of search results now are Wikipedia, Watsonian-Squire, and the Royal Enfield Owners Club.

Bit players like me are forced down in the results. That is unhappy for me, but I am not alone.

Down here in the basement (on Page 6) is the website of Hitchcocks, perhaps the most important source of the knowledge, reproductions parts and service that fuel restorations of historic Royal Enfield motorcycles around the world.

Hitchcocks website, which includes a full online catalog of parts, a message board, news items, technical notes, photo gallery and more, obtains only a PageRank of 2 — no better than my one-horse blog.

Perhaps Google's math is still not perfect. I hope one day the search engine will reconsider the value of my own contribution to news and information about Royal Enfield motorcycles.

Meanwhile, if you're looking for this blog, Google "Royal Enfield Motorcycles" or bookmark it, or just memorize www.RoyalEnfields.com

Royal Enfield brakes work better when they're rusty

The brakes of a Royal Enfield motorcycle work better when they're rusty. It's true, and the proof is in the April/May 2012 edition of The Gun, publication of the Royal Enfield Owners Club.

REOC member Brian Whittaker discovered that the front brake drum of his nine-year-old Bullet had become honed "to a mirror finish." The shoes could not get a grip on it. He took emery cloth to it but despaired when this proceeded slowly.

Over a cup of tea, he writes,  "I had a brainwave. I remembered my very first motorcycle, a dishevelled 1932 BSA Empire Star that had seen better days, but could stop on a sixpence because it had been left out in the rain a lot, so the brake drums had a nice coating of rust inside.

"My problem with the Bullet had been caused by too much loving care; I should have let it get, and stay wet more often!"

Adopting what he calls "alternative technology," Brian sprayed water into the drum and let it rust.

"Now my front brake works very well indeed, and maybe in future I will be leaving the Bullet out in the rain more often," he wrote.

I know this is true in my own experience.

At one point I prided myself on keeping the rear brake of my 1999 Bullet adjusted close to the drum, for instant action. Commuting home in the rain one day I noticed the Bullet was slowing. Putting it on the center stand I found that I couldn't rotate the rear wheel by hand! I slackened the brake and continued.

Not until it happened a second time did I realize that, contrary to my expectation, my brakes were stronger in the wet and they needed to be adjusted more loosely. Whether the difference was due to rusting or to the water cleansing brakes that may have become glazed with dirt and oils, I don't know.

But I know it happened.

Royal Enfield bicycles, too, were Made Like a Gun

The Royal Enfield bicycle catalog for 1907
was as well made as the bicycles and motorcycles themselves.

Royal Enfield built bicycles for most of the time it built motorcycles. You learn a lot about the way it built things from the 1907 bicycle catalog.

This lavishly produced and written publication — offering bicycles for sale! — would put to shame any modern brochure for a luxury car. The motto, "Made Like a Gun" was already in place, and the iconic cannon appears on the cover.

The booklet is 48 pages long. Three frame designs are offered with up to four sizes of each to suit the size of riders. Bikes for children are a separate category yet.

There is even an entirely separate line of bicycles produced to sell at a lower price, under the Coventry Cross brand name. The catalog is a bit apologetic about this:

"Hitherto we have felt that in face of our inability to keep pace with the Royal Enfield demand, such action was impossible, and we have therefore acted up to our opinion that to do one thing well was infinitely better than doing two things indifferently."

The catalog reassures the readers that Coventry Cross bicycles would be produced in "a special department in our new factory" and thus in no way would lessen the quality of Royal Enfield bicycles.

Royal Enfield's new factory is celebrated in the catalog.

The catalog opens with a proud illustration of the new factory, noting that the building covered more than two acres.

Concern for quality is evident throughout. Many illustrations are accompanied by testimonials:

"Miss Vaughan, Tewkesbury, writes: 'I have been riding my Royal Enfield over three years and I find it most satisfactory; it is now in splendid condition.'"

Royal Enfield offered only two-speed rear hubs but "in all cases where riders are desirous of possessing a medium gear" a Sturmey-Archer three speed was available. Interestingly, the Sturmey-Archer did not add to the price. The suggestion seems to be that perhaps fewer speeds were better.

The Royal Enfield Oil Bath Gear Case was clever but unneeded.

One idea that would not catch on was the Oil Bath Gear Case exclusive to the most expensive models. Allegedly oil tight, it would also have kept the drive chain dirt free on the roads of the time. But time would show that it was a complication a bicycle didn't need.

Reader Al in Philadelphia pointed the catalog out to me. It is on the excellent and informative  www.Oldbike.Eu web site.

Royal Enfield Standard Light Roadster of 1907.