Old Royal Enfields found nearly new in cluttered storage

Ever dream of finding a Royal Enfield in a barn?

Finding an old motorcycle forgotten when nearly new in some barn is the dream of most car and motorcycle collectors. A man in Verona, N.J. explained in a recent ad on eBay how it happened to him.

"An elderly acquaintance of mine once dreamed of owning a Royal Enfield dealership. To this end, he started the process, which required him to purchase five new units from Royal Enfield USA.

"After he did this, he found that the town would not allow him to open this type of business in their quaint little beach-front community, and he wound up putting them into indoor storage and basically forgetting about them as they got buried beneath more and more detritus — he and his wife would be perfect candidates for the TV show 'Hoarders'!

"Anyway, the neighbors recently complained to the municipal zoning officer, who told Sam that he must get the place cleaned up. My family and I came to help. I uncovered a few of these bikes, and I arranged to buy them from him.

"After choosing which two to keep for myself and my son, I am placing the others on eBay."

The pictures with his ads show low mileage 1998 Royal Enfield Bullets in dirty but apparently decent condition. Not exactly like finding a Shelby Cobra or forgotten Brough Superior gathering dust, perhaps, but still a fun day dream for the collector in all of us.

Not a Ferrari, but this Royal Enfield is still quite a find.

Marked 'VAX' this Royal Enfield Interceptor came to U.S. two years before the 750cc Interceptors arrived

A scrambler in road trim, the VAX Interceptor "S" had classy looking tank badges.

Jeff owns a rare VAX Interceptor "S" imported by Cooper Motors of Los Angeles in 1960. Jeff's  motorcycle spent most of its life sitting in a shed, waiting to be rediscovered and appreciated.

Until recently, Jeff's advertising photography studio was located in downtown Los Angeles, not far from the former site of Cooper Motors. You can't help wondering what Cooper Motors would have been like in 1960.

The best off-road motorcycle racers in Southern California would have stopped by Cooper to check out the powerful new Royal Enfield scrambler, the 692cc Interceptor.

This was fully two years before the better remembered 750cc Interceptor would even reach the market. Fewer than 200 of the 700cc Interceptors — each labeled "VAX" on the motor — were made. Today even many fans of the Royal Enfield brand will tell you there were no Royal Enfield Interceptors before 1962; certainly none with 692cc motors. They're mistaken.

The VAX Interceptor was re-introduced to history by author Mark Cain, who restored one and wrote about it in a 2005 magazine article.

"Don't recognize it?" he asked his readers. "Neither did I."

One Interceptor expert told me the VAX was "a sales flop at the time but became a hot little number when Mark Cain publicized their rarity and created some nostalgia."

Today Jeff owns one of those rare motorcycles, an unmolested example with only 3,700 miles on it. He's restoring it with his son Mason, who is 18, in his first year of college and also busy building a cafe racer out of a 1979 Yamaha SR500.

This rare model is not as well documented as the later 750 Interceptors. There are no workshop manuals for the VAX, no parts list either. Jeff is collecting information in advance of the restoration, speaking with other Interceptor owners, and parts vendors, reading up on Interceptor and Enfield history. He knows this motorcycle was made to race, meaning there may be especially stressed bits inside the motor. What can he do to make it stronger?

Jeff's Interceptor  was left untended but not abused.

Click here for a gallery of photos of Jeff's motorcycle. Here's what he knows about it so far:

"Purchased from family of the original owner, one of my neighbors. They were kind enough to give me and my son a chance to bring her back to her former glory and get her back on the road. Original owner was a Los Angeles resident who owned and rode several bikes. He purchased the bike new here in LA in 1960, rode it for a few years, then stored it in a shed for nearly 50 years.

"She’s dirty and greasy but the condition is quite good and she’ll clean up well. I know bikes and at first sight I knew that it was all there but would require quite a bit of work. She's got great compression and if I gassed her up and kicked her over right now, I’m sure she’d  start up and run.

"VAX" stamped on motor tells you it's special.

"But I’m not in any hurry – I’m first going to clean her up inside and out and take steps to ensure that when I do start her up, there is sufficient oil flow to avoid any damage. I also own a '74 Norton Commando Interstate, a '74 Triumph Trident T150V, and an '07 Triumph Bonneville.

"We’re fortunate to have good weather and great mountain roads surrounding Los Angeles and I ride nearly every day of the year. My ancestry is British (my Grandmother came over on the Queen Mary). I lead the Los Angeles chapter of the Brit Iron Rebels, a global club for British motorcycle culture enthusiasts with hundreds of members around the world. We ride and wrench on Brit bikes; most of us own both vintage and modern Brit bikes.

Ever seen one of these? It held your registration.

"The tube on the license plate was used to hold the registration papers. These were common back in the day.  I found the original registration rolled up in the tube.

"A number of Interceptor experts have contacted me to provide information or to request to visit and see the bike. From what I’ve heard thus far, this bike is one of a handful of complete and original VAX Interceptors known to exist today. Other bikes have been pieced together from various machines. This bike has the original frame, engine and transmission as fitted by the factory and is like a time capsule, parked 50 years ago and now ready to live again.

1960 VAX Interceptor "S", the view from the seat.

"So I’m going to do this right. But to be clear, this will not be a concourse restoration. I will maintain the bike as a faithful example but she will never be a trailer queen. I will be riding her as she was meant to be ridden. I believe that we owe that much to our bikes."

You'll get a taste of what his VAX Interceptor S can expect in this short and very entertaining Brit Iron Rebels video:

This Royal Enfield VAX Interceptor is original exampleof the first (and little known) 692cc Interceptors

Animation comparing an advertised VAX Interceptor "S" to Jeff's bike.

"I'm sure that you know the story," the email began. But I didn't know the story and, as I read on, I could hardly believe it.

Jeff wrote from California to tell me about his Royal Enfield Interceptor, purchased as a project for Jeff and his 18-year-old son Mason to restore.

It is a 692cc Interceptor, built in 1960 as a scrambler, with a "VAX" engine number. Right there, Jeff wiped out what little I thought I knew about Royal Enfield's most powerful and perhaps most famous motorcycle, the Interceptor.

Royal Enfield Interceptors, I thought, were 736cc (nominally 750cc) machines, and they weren't introduced until 1962. And what did the "X" in VAX stand for?

Apparently, the "X," as usual in motor circles, stood for "something special." Jeff has a theory he shared recently with the Interceptor Yahoo group.

"Cooper (the western importer for Royal Enfield) here in Los Angeles would have experienced a huge demand for scramblers in the late '50s, due to the widespread and growing popularity of scrambles races here in Southern California during that period. I believe that they correctly anticipated a growing market for scramblers and the need to compete aggressively with Triumph scrambler-type bikes imported into the U.S. via Johnson Motors in Los Angeles.

VAX Interceptor goes flying in 1960 Cycle magazine ad.

"My guess is that Cooper convinced Enfield to produce a special batch of 700cc scramblers from Redditch, and that Enfield then created these scramblers at Cooper's suggestion, as an experiment to test the market, combining elements of the Constellation (engine, primary, gearbox, magneto, frame, seat, rear wheel), Fury (front end and front wheel) and Meteor (toolbox), stripping off any unnecessary bits, and calling them 'Interceptors.'

"The presumed intent was to blow the doors off of the competition by offering up the most powerful scrambler on the market. All of the engines destined for this Cooper-driven experiment were stamped X."

Jeff took the trouble to try to find out how many of these special machines were made, and got this response from the Royal Enfield Owners Club (which holds the factory ledgers:

"A number of published articles have asserted incorrectly that Royal Enfield manufactured 211 VAX Interceptors. Careful analysis of the original Redditch factory dispatch ledgers by REOC Chairman Graham Scarth reveals that the actual quantity of 700cc Interceptors recorded is 158. These machines should all have engines with the VAX prefix. The engine prefix letters (Note: including that special letter "X") are not recorded in the Redditch ledgers, and there are 12 engines from the number sequence not accounted for in these books. As these engines could be either Constellation or Interceptor, the maximum possible quantity of VAX machines produced could be as high as 170."

Jeff's VAX Interceptor awakes from a long sleep.

Jeff's motorcycle was purchased in Los Angeles at Cooper Motors, and has been stored in California since the mid-'60s. It has only 3,700 miles. It is in "unmolested" condition, he says, certainly unusual for a motorcycle that was intended for a rough life of racing. Here is a gallery of pictures of Jeff's 1960 VAX Interceptor.

The 1959, '60 and '61 VAX Interceptors may be less well known today than other Interceptors, perhaps because at the time they apparently were strictly export machines for the U.S. market. Jeff has pulled together information including period advertisements touting the "700cc INTERCEPTOR — 52 HP SCRAMBLER — A super-potent competition model with a snarling acceleration and power."

Sounds terrific. So what happened then? More theories are out there:

1. The 692cc (nominally 700cc) motor was highly tuned and demanded more maintenance than the parent 692cc motor in the gentler Constellation. We all know what that leads to. (The new 736cc twin introduced on the 750 Interceptor in 1962 would be beefed up to handle its extra power.)

2. Even in lightened scrambler form, the 700cc Royal Enfield was too heavy to compete in the sand of Southern California.

3. Demand for big twin scramblers likely wasn't as strong as anticipated. Royal Enfield added an  “S” (for “Sports”) trim kit. It was applied by the distributor in Los Angeles or by retailers, transforming the VAX scramblers into road bikes. Jeff believes that they were intent upon making the bikes more attractive to a broader audience in order to sell off remaining inventory and make way for impending sales of the 750.

He created the cool animation at the top of this page to show the amazing similarity between his his motorcycle and the advertised image of a 1960 VAX Interceptor "S".

It didn't take much to remove the headlight and go racing.

"It is essentially a scrambler with road trim added," he said.

Rare, highly strung and maintenance intensive it may be: today these are all things that make the 700cc VAX Interceptor more interesting. Perhaps most importantly, it was the first Royal Enfield to wear the vaunted name of Interceptor.

Not much is missing from this mighty Interceptor.

Royal Enfield Constellation in the shed is a work of art

A Royal Enfield Constellation is the subject of "In The Shed," by Ian Cater.

Artist Ian Cater paints portraits of motorcycles from the era of the cafe racers: Triumphs, BSA Gold Stars, Tritons, Nortons and even a Brough Superior, shown with their intrepid riders. His inspiration was a visit to the "Ace Cafe Reunion Brighton Burn Up," held every year on the sea front in Brighton.

You can see his stirring artwork at this website,  Motorcycle Art UK.

Oddly, Ian never finished his first painting of a motorcycle, a 1962 Royal Enfield Constellation he found battered and forgotten. He wrote to share the story of "The Painting I Never Finished":

"I'm a kind of illustrator working in advertising and about eight years ago I started painting pictures of '50s/'60s British motorcycles in my spare moments, mainly because I'm quite big on nostalgia and retro stuff and also because seeing these lovely machines preserved and still rumbling around the roads of Britain reminds me of my youth in the late '60s and early '70s

"I wasn't much of a biker myself but both my brothers were and a lot of their friends. As you know, British motorcycle manufacturers were having a hard time back then and as many riders swapped their old BSAs, Nortons and Triumphs for shiny new Hondas and Yamahas, you could pick up an oil-stained '50s machine for peanuts.

"My brother Andy had a liking for BSA A7 and A10 sidecar combinations, which he'd buy from old blokes who were moving over to driving cars after years of gauntlets, oilskins and the wife moaning about the cold.

"He'd get them for as little as £15, strip them down, tune them up, ditch the sidecar body and replace it with a massive, wooden, flying-coffin toolbox for ballast. They were great fun on the road.

Showing a BSA who's boss, back in the day.

"To add some flavor of the period I've attached a photo of my brother Andy carrying out a bit of essential maintenance on an ancient, defenseless BSA A7. Note the plentiful oil top-up supplies — no need to change the oil, it never stuck around long enough.

"My other brother David, however, had decided to invest quite a bit more cash in a vastly superior set-up. To our amazement, he came home from a local dealer riding a 1962 Royal Enfield Constellation connected to a very sporty, bullet-nosed Watsonian sidecar, all in beautiful nick.

"It didn't stay beautiful for long though as, not used to riding this kind of set up and being overly optimistic about the gap between a parked car and an oncoming bus, he wrote off the car, the sidecar and nearly himself.

"The Enfield survived though and got converted to a solo, but soon ended up neglected, destined for years of storage in various lock-ups, an unlucky machine.

"He's still got it today and its grizzled, caged remains became the subject of my first attempt at painting a motorcycle. I never really finished it though; I hadn't got the style right. Eventually I'm going to do the right thing and paint another Enfield.

"I work with acrylic paints, which have similar characteristics to oils when not thinned, although the colors aren't so strong and they don't offer the same degree of opacity. However they dry quickly and are water solvent which is a big advantage.

"Yes, I work from photographs and yes, I shoot my own pictures, the exceptions being the MotoGP stuff; you need professional accreditation to get anywhere near those guys. I often use 'found' images to check details from different angles, just to check that what I'm looking at really is a breather tube and not a mudguard stay.

"Not that I'm mad keen on perfectly rendering every nut and bolt. I like to keep it roughish and energetic. Up close it can look a bit of a mess, but step back a few paces and everything's there." Check out his motorcycle art and other illustrations.

What is it like to commute on a Royal Enfield Bullet?

Royal Enfield Bullet takes on the commute home in this video.

hoohoohobilin's videos on Royal Enfield tips and maintenance are helpful but his recent video, "Commuting on a Royal Enfield Bullet 500 Motorcycle," is the definitive answer to what it's like to ride a Bullet to work in the United States.

To summarize, as he puts it, "if I was on my Buell, I'd be home by now."

Going fast enough to keep up with traffic is the big problem, he explains. You end up hoping traffic on the expressway will have to slow down.

The car-pool lane is open to motorcycles in California, but using it would only mean blocking traffic.

On the other hand, our rider treats us to hair-raising examples of lane splitting. Although not strictly legal in California, lane splitting is usually tolerated by the state's law enforcement. It's a way for  motorcyclists to weave their way to the front of the pack.

 The Bullet is narrow enough for this dangerous duty.

It's harrowing to watch this helmet-cam view.

Lane splitting may work on the freeway, but I'm not going to weave my way to the front of a line of cars waiting at a traffic signal. The last thing I want is a dozen impatient drivers in 300-horsepower SUVs behind me.

In the end, our rider concludes that he probably won't use his Bullet to commute to work again.

But with all the criticism, the sound of the Bullet's motor beating is enormously appealing as he finally reaches a speed appropriate road.

Experience it for yourself:

'The Royal Enfield' magazine is available free online

The Royal Enfield magazine.

Issue 2 of the new The Royal Enfield magazine is available now, online, for free. 

It was available only in print ($12.80) or digital download ($1.99) versions when I wrote about the slick, 46-page summer issue.

Now you can read it for free, in a handy flipbook format (click on the link for Issue 2). If you like it, consider buying the digital download version. This inexpensive contribution will help the magazine become self-sustaining.

I have no connection to the magazine, but enjoyed reading it.

There is an interesting test of the Colortune spark plug that allows carburetor fine tuning without the insane ritual of plug chops. Charles Todd shares the story of a long, challenging ride in Australia — he really takes you there and brings you back, and not a breakdown to report.

And Mark Mumford tells how he dragged home a 1955 collection of parts that might someday make a Royal Enfield Bullet.

Bringing a Royal Enfield in from India? Stuck in Customs

This Royal Enfield got stuck in Customs. It must be exported.

UPDATE: The seller added this information to his ad: I have been told told that if it was made in India that we cannot export to Canada or England. I am having a hard time getting information on it. I may have to cancel  the auction if I can't get better information. The warehouse states: "The only information on the bike is Royal Enfield Bullet 350. Only number on bike 389862. We wouldn’t know why the owner abandoned the freight."

"Can I import a Royal Enfield motorcycle from India to the United States?"

The question comes up a lot.

There are people who have and people who say they can do it for you easily. But I have never tried it, and there is some evidence that it is not so easy.

Royal Enfield, of course, advises against it, for many reasons. One of them is that the company makes its money importing the motorcycles through official channels and selling them through dealers. There will be those who say you can beat the system by doing it yourself. I'm not so sure.

There is a Royal Enfield on eBay  now, still in its crate,  apparently "stuck in customs." The seller has a sad story to tell:

"I recently purchased this Royal Enfield from the U.S. government. It is a prisoner of the U.S. Customs who say that this evil bike will cause all kinds of problems in the USA as it does not meet U.S. Department of Transportation or environmental standards. The year, miles and model are unknown. I am working to get the model, year and mileage from the government. It is not easy to do so...

"How the U.S. government says that this beautiful Royal Enfield is not allowed in is beyond me. It must be exported. It is sitting under guard in a secure area to make sure that it does not escape into the U.S.

"All I know is that I can only sell it as an export and I am hoping a freedom loving Canadian will set it free. It is located in Linden, N.J. in a U.S. Customs secure storage area.

"I am very sorry that I can not take this Royal Enfield back to my house in New Jersey and ride it. It has classic styling and feel.

"Buyer is responsible to get the import papers done. Suggest that you hire an import broker to do all the paperwork.

"This bike should be a good deal for the buyer plus you will have the satisfaction of helping this bike get out of the U.S. Customs jail."

Pictures of auction featuring Royal Enfield Interceptors

This Royal Enfield looked ready to ride. (JC Baker Photo)

Reader JC Baker was kind enough to share with me photos he shot at the Saturday auction of the contents of Auto Dynamics, a former automotive service center in Medfield, Mass. opened by George M. Collins III.

Collins was a collector and restorer of Royal Enfield motorcycles who died Dec. 31, 2011, leaving behind a reported treasure trove of Royal Enfield Interceptors.

Two Royal Enfield twins paired as one. (JC Baker Photo)

Among JC's photographs are shots of the double motor said to be similar to the twin Royal Enfield Interceptor motors that pushed racer Don Sliger to more than 200 mph at Bonneville in 1970. JC confirmed that the Collins motor is made up of Royal Enfield twins numbered YB16287 and YB16130.

Royal Enfield powered trike with twin-cylinder power. (JC Baker Photo)

Collins had other projects in the works, too, including a Pashley tricycle. Normally this would have had a 350cc Royal Enfield Bullet motor, but here we see a twin-cylinder engine being installed (or removed).

This Royal Enfield twin needs some work. (JC Baker Photo)

Other classic Royal Enfield motorcycles were scattered around the building, in a light industrial area of Medfield.

Other side of the Royal Enfield above. (JC Baker Photo)

This Royal Enfield is almost all there. (JC Baker Photo)

Trailers near the side of the building were storage areas, very neatly shelved with pieces and parts, JC said.

"There was a huge amount of stuff there, in the trailers, hanging off the walls, hanging from the ceiling. A lot of it not tagged," JC said.

One photo he shot of a rack near the ceiling seems to show Royal Enfield motorcycle frames.

Shelf at rear of building seems to hold Royal Enfield frames. (JC Baker Photo)

Royal Enfield Badger racer back at track in run for record

The Royal Enfield Badger took on the Flying Mile.

A Royal Enfield cafe racer, then a flat track racer, the Royal Enfield Bullet known as the Badger  is now shooting for land speed records.

Badger 3.0, as builder Leon Stanley calls, it has been reconfigured as a speed trials bike, with the goal of racing it to a class speed record with the East Coast Timing Association.

Stanley writes the amusing story of the Badger's Flying Mile attempt the weekend of July 7-8 in Ohio on the Badger Corse  blog.

But he doesn't reveal how fast Badger went, or whether it set any records. That's because the attempt was captured for an upcoming episode of Cafe Racer TV.  It wouldn't do to give away the ending.

Team Badger originally hoped to race a Royal Enfield motorcycle the way it was done in the old days: after first riding the motorcycle to the track. Because of the commitment to TV, this time Badger got to the track in the back of a pickup truck.

Rider Chris Hook encountered brutal temperatures the first day, well over 100 degrees. Luckily Team Badger had mid-80s on Sunday.

We'll have to wait for the television program to learn how well Badger ran. But you can follow updates on Badger Corse.

Double Interceptor motor among Enfield items in auction

A Royal Enfield motor with four cylinders?

Two Royal Enfield Interceptor motors paired in one frame powered racer Don Sliger to more than 200 mph at Bonneville in 1970.

Now a double engine much like it (perhaps a replica or recreation) as well as other Royal Enfield motorcycles and parts are included in the list of items to be auctioned Saturday, July 14 in Medfield, Mass.

The motorcycles are only a small part of the auction of the contents of Auto Dynamics, a former automotive service center in Medfield, opened by George M. Collins III.

Dual motor looks awesome.

Collins was a collector and restorer of Royal Enfield motorcycles (along with antique pocket watches). He is said to have owned many Royal Enfield Interceptors, only a couple of which are listed in this auction.

Collins died at 64 in Needham, Mass. Dec. 31, 2011. An Air Force veteran, his Boston Globe obituary attributes his death to exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.

There is a preview of items in the auction today, Wednesday, July 11, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 100 N. Meadows Rd., Medfield, Mass. The auction starts there at 11 a.m. Saturday. Auction-day preview begins at 9 a.m.

The auction materials don't reveal whether the double motor was ever completed or ran.

The two motors appear to be linked on the primary side.

Riding out to help the planet on a Royal Enfield diesel

A diesel Royal Enfield takes on a global issue at its own, slow, pace

Two young men are riding a diesel powered Royal Enfield motorcycle through the Northeast United States talking to the people they meet about climate change.

Erik Fyfe and Albert Thrower, friends since sixth grade, post video interviews they conduct on the blog Slow Ride Stories. They kicked off the trip with a sail up the Hudson River on a sloop, motorcycle and all.

Sailing seems environmentally friendly, and the two riders are pleased when they find bio-diesel fuel for their Royal Enfield.

The 9-horsepower diesel, loaded with two people, video equipment and pulling a trailer, required a push to get up some hills.

Diesel pulling a trailer required a push to get uphill.

Climate change is political poison in the United States, with most politicians anxious to avoid addressing it.

Erik and Albert obviously lean toward the view that we'd better not ignore it. They're out to get people talking by asking what they think, even if it means Albert has to get his ponytail cut off so they can chat up the hair stylist.

 "The only way we're going to be able to do something about it is if we figure out how to engage everyone into this conversation. So going and talking to random people on the street is a little bit of an experiment, to test out what's it like to try to talk about this kind of difficult issue that maybe makes some people uncomfortable, because it is so politicized. And, then, to figure out what people know about the issue, and what might be some effective ways to talk about it," Erik says.

They have a sense of humor, the scenery is beautiful and there's that Royal Enfield diesel motorcycle to root for.

Old Indian Trailblazer by Royal Enfield needs lots of love

Indian red is the correct color for a Trailblazer tank.

CORRECTION: My guess was incorrect. It's not an Indian Trailblazer, it's an Indian Apache, the trail model of the same powerful, twin-cylinder Royal Enfield. See bottom of article for my explanation.

It's an Indian Trailblazer, a 693cc-twin made by Royal Enfield in England from 1955 to 1959 to sell as an "Indian" motorcycle in the United States. At least that's my guess.

The motorcycle, in pieces, is for sale on CraigsList in Kempner, Texas, for $1,800.  It's intriguing, despite looking like the Scarecrow in the "Wizard of Oz" after the flying monkeys took him apart.

Dirty dials are still stirring to look at.

The seller doesn't know much about it:

"MOTORCYCLE, ROYAL ENFIELD, INDIAN, YEAR, 1954-59???? not sure of year of this cycle or model. Speedometer does say Made in England, frame number looks like 7622, motor has a blown case, not sure if bike is complete, can't guarantee all parts are there, gas tank has Indian logo. More pics on request."

What is so appealing about wonderful old motorcycles found in this condition?

Is that an oil cooler on the seat next to the carb?

Like the dog that follows you home, being scruffy and needing attention somehow makes it more appealing.

"Please, Mommy, can I keep him?"

"Go ask your father."

Dad would point out that your allowance won't cover rabies shots, much less the full cost of restoring this motorcycle.

But we can dream.

Motor.

EXPLANATION: How did I get this wrong? I can't just blame the confusing Indian model names: The Trailblazer is not the trail version, the Apache is! I call that confusing.

I should have waited for word from two sources I trust, Chris Overton of the Royal Enfield Interceptors Group, and Grahham Scarth, chairman of the Royal Enfield Onwers Club in the UK.

"Frame number says it's an Apache," Graham advised.

Chris based his analysis on the photos:

"Note the plugs and sockets to disconnect the wiring to the detachable headlight. Battery shelf instead of toolbox. That bike is an Apache, 1958 or '59, as the '57 had ears to hold  the headlight, instead of struts. It is rare for the QD sockets to survive, and for the front fender and stays to survive as well."

Big hole in front of crankcase.

UPDATE: From reader Bob Viall: I have been a Royal Enfield enthusiast for over 40 years and I enjoy looking at your blog from time to time. I noticed the pics of the Apache listed on CraigsList and I would say that frame 7622 is a 1959 model. I have 7624 and it is definitely a 1959 Apache since it has been dated by Graham Scarth of the REOC.

Royal Enfields vs. The Curse of the Modern Motorcycle

Even new Royal Enfield motorcycles look old compared to modern motorcycles.

Nicholas Biubuyck, whose job at Bonhams gives him access to wonderful motorcycles of all eras, references  modern Royal Enfield motorcycles in a column for The Vintagent blog entitled "The Curse of the Modern Motorcycle."

He writes:

"Maybe I've become a Vintage/Classic Motorcycle Snob (a title I am content with), but it seems to me riders of new bikes are discouraged from understanding how an engine works, and are offered only utility from their motorcycle.  I struggle to believe that's all they want, given the number of new Royal Enfield Bullets and Triumph Bonnevilles on the road.  Until you ride something that really speaks to you, and takes you on a different kind of journey, how can you experience what's best about motorcycling?"

The author seems to be saying that the groundswell of appreciation for the Bullet and the Bonneville reveals increasing enthusiasm for the more interesting motorcycles of the past. But are they really immune from "The Curse of the Modern Motorcycle"?

Biubuyck's complaint seems to boil down to the feeling that modern motorcycles are less engaging. The great classics of old brought the rider into the game, forcing him to be alert to every twitch and ping of the machine beneath him. Modern motorcycles excel at excellence. This delivers a greater certainty of reaching the destination on time, but subtracts much of the interest from the journey.

This strikes me as quite likely to be true, although I can't testify since the oldest motorcycle I personally recall riding was a cooking Honda and it was — by the 1970s! — already essentially flawless.

My 1999 Royal Enfield Bullet is much more "engaging," treating me occasionally to a stroll back along the road to pick up parts that fell off. I adjusted the valves in a church parking lot the other day, trying as best I could to preserve my "Sunday" clothes. I enjoyed this thoroughly.

As a V/CM Snob, Biubuyck might not look twice at my lowly Bullet. But I probably had about as much fun with the valves as Biubuyck claims to have had reattaching one of the carburetors of a 1971 Norton Commando Roadster.

Do the more recent Royal Enfield Bullets, with their unit constructed engines, provide this level of "fun"?

Well, for starters, modern Royal Enfields have self-adjusting valves, non-adjustable fuel injection and leave-me-alone electronic ignition. For a time (no more) you could even buy a new Royal Enfield C5 in the United States with no kick start lever. The Horror!

Yeah, but... "utility"?

I've never ridden a Bonneville, but I have tried out the new C5. It's a dreamboat compared to my 1999 Bullet but it's not going to bore the rider as a result.

Hell, 99 percent of the time riding any Royal Enfield in my town is spent figuring out how to keep up with traffic on a single-cylinder, push-rod, low rpm, low compression upright motorcycle.

Even if Royal Enfield builds more powerful motorcycles in the future they are likely to share specifications that keep them firmly rooted in the past.

Royal Enfield Military pictured at home on the prairie

It is hard not to be distracted by the background of this photo of a Royal Enfield for sale.

I love looking at advertisements for Royal Enfield motorcycles for sale. Often the pictures reveal the interesting things owners have done to personalize their motorcycles.

Sometimes the photographs reveal more about the sellers than intended. They take us into pristine workshops and messy storage sheds. Cardboard on the floor reveals the oil leak not mentioned in the ad.

Dorothy of Oz would recognize this as definitely being Kansas.

And then there are the pictures here, which apparently take us onto the seller's property in Kansas, where we meet his dog, check out a collection of pick-up trucks (and a rare military ambulance) and a variety of items that were either discarded or deposited by the last tornado.

I mean no criticism. Many men will envy the lifestyle on display here. I do. The lawn won't need mowing if it never gets watered. Nice dog, too.

A still life worthy of Monet.

If these wonderful photographs had been all there was to the advertisement I would have enjoyed them but not shared them with readers. Here is what tipped the balance: the name of the community where the motorcycle resides:

Garden City.

Happy Birthday USA, from Royal Enfield Motorcycles

Uncle Sam delivers the mail on a vintage motorcycle.

Independence Day is the United States federal holiday that celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The date is important because it marks the first and last time the Congress of the United States agreed on anything.

Sorry, just kidding. In fact we know the exact date is important because the Fourth of July is one of the few federal holidays that have not been shuffled off to the nearest Monday so as to make a three-day weekend for federal workers. Can you name the others?

Well, Christmas and New Year's Day are both federal holidays, and are celebrated on the day of the week on which they fall.

Not so the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. We know he was born on Jan. 15, 1929 but his birthday gets celebrated on the third Monday in January, regardless of the date. We have no certain idea on what date Jesus Christ was born, but His holiday is Dec. 25th no matter what day of the week that is.

Religion has not much to do with it. The federal government ignores Easter (luckily it's always a Sunday anyway), a more important day than Christmas on the liturgical calendar.

Inauguration Day is Jan. 20 every four years. The president takes the oath of office on the 20th regardless, but if it falls on a Sunday workers get Monday the 21st off anyway.

Thanksgiving Day is always going to be the Fourth Thursday in November, never mind the date. Most Americans see this as ideal, since it neatly makes a four-day weekend if you call in sick on Friday. Some Americans prefer working on the Friday since their annoying colleagues typically skip work.

Veterans Day is November 11, the day the guns fell silent in the Great War. Veterans won a victory here when the decision to celebrate it on the final Monday in October was overturned after a brief trial.

Ad for Royal Enfield Cycar includes historical photos

Pictured with its original owner, this Royal Enfield is for sale on eBay.

The rare Royal Enfield Model Z Cycar that caused some "head scratching" when it went up for sale recently is back on eBay, illustrated with remarkable photos of the motorcycle with its original owner.

The ad now includes fresh information on this unusual, full bodied Royal Enfield, from Graham Scarth, chairman of the Royal Enfield Owners Club in the UK.

The Cycar is powered by a 148cc two-stroke Royal Enfield motor, with a three-speed hand gearshift. What most distinguishes it, however, is the pressed-steel body, meant to hide all the ghastly, greasy internal parts far from milady's skirts.

Rare Royal Enfield Cycar as it looks today.

Pressed steel leg shields would have protected her from dirt and splash from the roads, but these are missing from this machine.

Only about 1,500 of Cycars were built between 1931 and 1936.

The historical photos of this very motorcycle with its owner are a wonderful addition to the advertisement and worth looking at just for themselves. It is for sale on eBay in Glenmont, N.Y.

Motorcycle suspension: Girder or springer? Definitions

I have an admission to make. I don't know the difference between a motorcycle "girder" front suspension and a "springer." In writing this blog about Royal Enfield motorcycles I've tossed in the word "Girder" when I meant any kind of motorcycle front suspension more vintage in appearance than the telescopic fork legs on my 1999 Bullet.

But now I have been gently called out on this error by none other than Maj. Bunty Golightly. Commenting on my recent description of a customized Royal Enfield, he wrote:

"Blasco you chump, those are springer forks not girders — strewth even my idiot butler Ballsack knows the difference; you're supposed to be a knowledgeable journo — shape up old fellow!"

The good Major probably would have me busted back to an assistant apprenticeship at the Redditch works. But I am too lazy for that. Let us instead turn to Wikipedia's entry on the Motorcycle Fork.

(First it's necessary to learn that "girder" and "springer" forks typically attach to the top front of the frame by a pair of "triple trees," one above the other. These are also called "triple clamps" and I suppose each "triple" has one connection to the frame and one connection to a fork leg on each side of the wheel: 1+1+1=3.)

Wikipedia illustration of a girder front suspension.

"A girder fork is distinguishable from a springer fork by the wheel being fixed firmly to the (usually a long diamond shape) upright. The pivot points are short links mounted to the top and bottom triple clamps. The spring is (usually) mounted to the girder and compressed against the upper triple clamp."

Meanwhile:

Wikipedia illustration of a springer front suspension.

"A springer fork is distinguishable from a girder fork by its two parallel sets of legs. The rear is firmly fixed to the bottom triple clamp (usually brazed or welded). A short leading link holds the wheel and the forward leg which actuates the springs (usually mounted on the triple clamp)."

Got that? Easy way (for me) to see the difference is that the springer has a short "leading link" visible at the connection to the wheel, and this no doubt gives it that handling advantage over the girder design. A girder design does all its cushioning at the top; the springer splits the cushioning movement between top and at the wheel.

I apologize to readers for tossing about terms I didn't understand. As a schoolboy, I enhanced many a final exam essay on the Middle Ages by throwing in the words "Flying Buttress." Just attach a Flying Buttress, my thinking went, and a church becomes a cathedral and struggling mankind is safely conducted to the next phrase I remembered from the textbook: the Cotton Gin.

I admit I have never understood what a Flying Buttress accomplishes. I suspect it is a kind of permanent kickstand to keep a church from falling over.

Never mind what I thought a Cotton Gin was.