Royal Enfield Continental GT: ready for twin power?

What's that empty mount doing on the left side of the new Royal Enfield Continental GT?

There's something funny about the new Royal Enfield Continental GT. I didn't spot it until it was pointed out in a YouTube review by PowerDrift.

The PowerDrift riders evaluate the Continental GT from the point of view of The Enthusiast, The Tourer and The Racer. It's a lengthy review filled with stirring footage of the Continental GT posing, rambling over rocks, and cornering at full lean as if on a race course.

The overall verdict is positive of course, but the riders gather at the close and agree that the Continental GT's shortcoming is its engine — there needs to be more of it. The 535cc single is not enough.

"We are all happy; it's just the engine," one reviewer says.

"But there's another way to look at it," another says. The rest of the bike is up to more power. And there is a suspicious mount on the left-hand side that could be used for a second exhaust.

In other words, Royal Enfield is already accommodating a twin.

Maybe so. Either that or it's for the sari guard.

Check out the PowerDrift video.

Classic Royal Enfields carried tools in classy cases

This 1911 Royal Enfield Model 160 twin got along with only a small tool kit.

I appreciate the enormously practical toolbox on each side of my 1999 Royal Enfield Bullet. With careful packing, these swallow just about everything I really need to carry. Even my rain gear, if I squeeze!

(In actual fact I find it more convenient to carry the rain gear in a back pack, where it can be stuffed wet and without careful repacking when the sun peeks out again.)

But there is no arguing that the tidy leather tool kits attached to the sides of really old Royal Enfields are attractive. Three Royal Enfields up for auction June 7, 2014 at the Historics at Brooklands event captured my eye.

The Royal Enfield gun embellishes the tool box of this 1911 Model 160.

Here are three lovely vintage machines, separated by decades, with a distinctly similar take on how tools are to be carried.

The 1927 Model K has much the same kit, but one on each side.

These old motorcycles undoubtedly needed much fiddling. Nevertheless, the accomplished roadside mechanic apparently was expected to do with no more tools than a woman of today could carry in her purse.

(Now there's a thought!)

The 1932 Model K still offers two leather kit bags.

In each case, the leather box seems to be supported and encased to some degree by a metal structure attached to the motorcycle. It would be only one step more to put a hinged metal door on it, but this was years in coming.

Lovely as these tool boxes are, the streamlined, all-metal toolboxes on the post-war Bullet must have seemed thrillingly modern and convenient when they came along.

Royal Enfield's Continetal GT easily does the ton: in km/h

The Royal Enfield Continental GT's speedometer makes it easy to do 100.

When Mike O'Reirdan of New Jersey picked up his new Royal Enfield Continental GT on March 22, his first reaction was that "it looks absolutely beautiful, and very very evocative of its 1960s namesake."

But then he noticed something:

"There are, however, a few oddities which I thought might need a bit of explanation. The most noticeable is that it is supplied with a kilometers-per-hour speedo with a subsidiary scale in miles per hour. I do have to wonder if that even conforms to U.S. law.

"Of course it does make you feel you are going faster since those kilometers slip by faster than miles!"

Others had noticed too, and Classic Motorworks, the U.S. importer, asked for and got this brisk explanation from M.Govindaraju at Royal Enfield in India:

"Law allows both but not specifically told which should be on top."

That appears to be correct. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 101, Table 1, providing for speedometers, requires that speed be listed in miles per hour. But kilometers per hour may be listed as well and there is no indication which must be dominant.

 "If the speedometer is graduated in miles per hour and in kilometers per hour, the identification must be 'MPH and km/h' in any combination of upper and lowercase letters."

I'm with Mike. It's odd but, on the other hand, it was the one no-cost way to make the Royal Enfield Continental GT seem faster than it really is.

Royal Enfield Continental GT is a 'brilliant' buy

Mike O'Reirdan modified his Royal Enfield Continental GT. No mud flaps!
(Photo by Manoj Bankal)

The new Royal Enfield Continental GT cafe racer is in the United States, and Mike O'Reirdan of New Jersey has had his long enough to learn what he likes about it, and even modify what he didn't. He offered these impressions and photos:

"OK, well now I have had it for a bit, I am beginning to feel that not only did I make a good decision in buying the GT, it was a brilliant one.

"The bike itself as standard comes pretty well equipped: great brakes, Brembos, excellent tires, Pirellis, nice shocks, Paioli, and a superb frame as designed by Harris in the UK.

"There are some downsides but to be honest they are both easily and inexpensively remedied.

Motor cover plate from Hitchcocks celebrates how special the GT is.
(Photo by Manoj Bankal)

"The silencer as stock is dreadful; I describe it as sounding like a farting hamster, but that took 10 minutes' work and one week's wait to fix. I bought a Motad from Hitchcocks in the UK and now it sounds like a real 'big single,' which it is. That was probably the biggest change I made.

A bike for a sunny weekend.

"I have removed the black flap extensions to the mudguards. I removed the air brake that is the rear number plate mount.

"Out of sight I installed a  Power Commander and K&N air filter to match the Motad. The engine starts very easily on the button, but the kick start is curiously set up so that it does not engage early on and as such it is hard to start in the traditional manner.

"It handles well. As I went out to the Meeting of the Nortons recently, I was on some nice twisty roads and although I am still running it in, it was an enjoyable ride. Going around bends it feels rock solid.

"When I arrived, they asked me to park the GT in the middle line with all the nice old bikes. They were not all British, but all were interesting one way or another. Obviously the GT has all the right lines, and next to Commandos, a Gold Star, BSAs and lots of others, it holds its own.

Royal Enfield Continental GT is all business from this view.
(Photo by Manoj Bankal)

"The GT is not a bike I would ride to work — I take it out to the bike club and out on a nice sunny weekend — but it is a very nice bike. At $5,999, people cannot believe what you get for the money and I do think that given decent marketing, it should sell very well.

Hitchcocks heel guards now grace Mike's bike.
(Photo by Manoj Bankal)

"A little more power probably will not go amiss and I am going in search of that. I am told that Hitchcocks have some tuning parts in the offing and there are some quite competent Enfield tuners in the U.S. I am lucky to have Leon Stanley of Cycle Icons just down the road in Trenton."

Royal Enfield's new logo is Liked and Unliked

Royal Enfield's new brand logo swirls in a new direction.

Royal Enfield introduced its new logo and branding May 9 to anguished howls from traditionalists, especially in India. The company's Facebook page was treated to screen after screen of criticism like this:

"Bad bad news. We love you for what you kept, not for so call innovations. Plus the new logo is just ugly!"

"Old British charm has gone."

And one fan noted the irony that the announcement of the new logo on the Royal Enfield website was presented against a backdrop of the old — and preferred — tank badge.

Many seem to prefer the old logo (left).

There were thousands of Facebook "Likes" as well, but it's safe to say that people in general dislike change. Blogger Jorge Pullin investigated and found that the old logo had been in use at least as far back as 1923.

Outside India, a different sort of reaction might be expected — or feared. I suggested that the new logo was a way of saying that Royal Enfield is a "proud product of India."

"Glad my bike has the classic Royal Enfield graphics; this new look is not Western taste in my mind," was one comment on my Facebook page.

But Aaron Toma, also commenting on Facebook, dismissed the notion that the new logo only caters to India.

"The old logo is just as 'Indian' as it is 'British' if you ask me. Sixty years in India and it's an icon."

The company itself wasn't replying to criticism, but others spoke out for the new look.

New Royal Enfield badges.

"What we see when we look at the new Royal Enfield brand is PROGRESS!" responded Royal Enfield of Fort Worth.

"They are keeping up with the times and making a huge push to claim their place in the biker world — especially here in the U.S. This new image they have taken on is showing the others that we're ready to take on this modern world with our vintage ride. Royal Enfield said it best: 'Our logo is now fresher, more vibrant and contemporary, while rigidly holding on to its British-motorcycling roots.'"

And there is the future to think of.

"I am really excited to see the new branding for Royal Enfield," said Ignacio Catral of Catral Doyle Creative Co. The Milwaukee design firm supports Royal Enfield marketing efforts in the U.S.

The new monogram may become the most familiar element.

"I think it does a great job modernizing the logo and brand elements. I think it will make the brand more approachable to a younger audience while still retaining some of the flavor of the original. I specially like the new monogram and the resurgence of the Made Like a Gun crest. I am looking forward to seeing it on the new bikes."

They're still "Made Like A Gun."

Royal Enfield Continental GTs dash Top-to-Tip

The last of six Royal Enfield Continental GTs departs John O'Groats.

The Royal Enfield Top-to-Tip photograph I like best is a frame capture from a video posted on Facebook by The Cabin at John O'Groats (aka Geoff's Burger Van). Here's a link to the video, which really does capture the historic moment as the motorcycles are flagged off.

In 1964 Royal Enfield introduced its 250cc Continental GT cafe racer to the world with a 1,000 mile "reliability test" race from the top of Britain to its bottom tip. Fifty years on, Royal Enfield recreated its 24-hour end-to-end dash this weekend with a half dozen new 535cc Continental GTs.

In 1964 it was a publicity stunt. This time the Top-to-Tip run was for charity. Five teams of six riders who bid for their places began their relay race at 10 p.m. Saturday, May 10 to benefit Riders for Health.

David Dixon finished the 1964 run at Land's End; right, the 2014 route map.

The first leg of the original gallop from John O'Groats at the island's north end to Lands End in the southwest of England was ridden by Royal Enfield test rider Brian Crow. He told author Gordon May that he started with his rear wheel immersed in the North Sea; "there was no start and finish line in those days."

"The Royal Enfield Continental GT proved absolutely reliable throughout," Royal Enfield later boasted in one advertisement. Along the way, racer John Cooper had even made "eight quick laps at Silverstone."

The ad didn't mention that the 1964 Continental GT used wasn't stock.

“The engine was assembled very carefully in the competition shop so that it ran perfectly. They used a titanium con rod so that it would stand up to the thrashing it was about to get,” Crow told May.

After 50 years, better (but more crowded) roads likely eased the way. Appropriately, John Cooper, now 76, even took a new Continental GT on a lap of honor at Silverstone Sunday.

Elapsed time in 1964 was 22 hours 20 minutes. The best 2014 time was 20 hours 57 minutes. According to rider Sam Manicom's account, only two of the six 2014 Continental GTs came in under the 24-hour target, but all six finished the run.

#489686855 / gettyimages.com

CEO of Royal Enfield Siddhartha Lal, center, with Royal Enfield riders Tom Bray, left and Dan Cartwright in Land's End, England after the successful Top to Tip ride.

Royal Enfield ad raises more questions than it answers

A Royal Enfield museum piece?

This blog lists used Royal Enfields for sale in the United States but it doesn't list them all.

I can't bring myself to list Royal Enfields that strike me as possibly incorrectly described by their sellers.

Now, I have no connection to any of the sellers, and can not vouch for any of them. But if you peruse the ads listed here you'll soon come to a realization that motorcycles that look as described and are priced as might be expected suggest that what you read is what you'll get.

On the other hand, a Royal Enfield Bullet that is described as vintage — as "one of the last English produced Enfields," for instance — raises suspicions when it carries a seat typical of Royal Enfields made in India.

My eyes open wider when the ad swears that this motorcycle has had "no restoration of any kind but it looks near new." This is especially true when one of the reasons it looks near new is that the paint appears fresh, shiny, and possibly not a factory color. No restoration of any kind?

Suspicions might increase further when that same "1968" Royal Enfield is described as having only "300 original miles!"

What has it been doing for the last 46 years? The ad helpfully explains: "This bike was in a climate controlled museum since new."

Why would a museum — any museum in the world — have added a then brand new motorcycle to its collection? Sure, it's possible, but is it likely? New speedometers with zero-mile odometer settings are easily fitted, a much more likely possibility.

Perhaps this seller is truthfully relating what he was told when he himself purchased the motorcycle. Perhaps he doesn't himself realize that the story seems unlikely.

Almost always the case with ads of this nature is that the asking price ($6,500 for this one) will be high — sometimes twice the asking price you see in other ads for Royal Enfields of the same engine capacity.

Royal Enfield Bullets are, after all, mass produced motorcycles, still in production. They shouldn't naturally become more valuable just because they are aging.

These extreme claims and high prices place a real burden of proof on these sellers. It is up to them to create ads that convince rather than raise questions.

1959 Royal Enfield Works Replica faces a fresh trial

This 1959 Royal Enfield Works Replica faces a new challenge.

A 1959 Royal Enfield Works Replica trials single will thump and bump across England and Scotland this June for a good cause. Rider Graham Lampkin has raised a major part of his fundraising goal for cancer research. You can help him reach his goal by contributing online through JustGiving.

He recently issued this appeal for support and good wishes:

"Hopefully most of you are aware of our little jaunt to raise funds for Cancer Research UK (hint 1).

"If you’re not sure, or just a reminder, on June 3 I’m setting off on a 1959 Royal Enfield W.R. for the Shetland Classic Vehicle Show in Lerwick (June 7 and 8). The idea is to go via the ferry from Aberdeen, off road where possible, minor roads elsewhere. I’m being joined by Frank Anderton and Les Humphries. They will share back up van driving while the other rides with me, also on a classic bike.

"So while you are enjoying the globally warmed balmy British summer, cruising the highways, munching sticky buns and supping tea, we will be wheezing and clunking north (that’s the riders, not the bikes), doing our impersonation of ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ on tour. Hopefully we will enjoy it and (here comes hint 2) raise lots of money for Cancer Research UK. What ever we raise will help reduce this terrible illness. (Here comes BIG hint) If every biker on or off road, classic of modern, donated the price of a pint (or gallon even) of beer then we could save a lot of suffering. Most of us have watched someone go through cancer.

"There is a dedicated website Lampy Goes to Lerwick with details of how to donate or contact me... This is an opportunity for us all to help. The three of us are paying our own way; all money donated will go to Cancer Research UK...

"A huge thank you to all those who have helped or are going to help."

Royal Enfield Bullet a great bike for the Florida Keys

Going to the Florida Keys? You'll need a Royal Enfield motorcycle.

"It is a great bike for the Keys," wrote the seller of a 2003 Royal Enfield Bullet. He should know. He lives on Big Coppitt Key, just short of Key West in the string of islands known as the Florida Keys.

The Keys stretch south from the tip of the Florid Peninsula, with every attraction from beaches to tiki bars lining the sides of the one road that runs the length of the islands: the storied Overseas Highway.

The views are great and — for much of the way — speeds are Royal Enfield Bullet friendly.

If you're in too big a hurry in the Keys, you're missing out on the experience. It's best to live life there at the speed a damp bathing suit dries while you sip a cool drink. It's perfect for my speed challenged Royal Enfield.

Reading the seller's ad I wondered why I've never taken my own Bullet down to the Keys.

The answer is the "dreaded 18-mile stretch." This is the one-lane-in-each-direction connection between the mainland and the first Key you come to, Key Largo.

It's straight and boring and passing is impossible except at short, designated two-lane passing zones. You put Florida drivers in that situation, at the wheel of their over powered SUVs, and you have Road Rage. Anyone doing just the speed limit (or, like me, unable to do more than that) is mercilessly tailgated.

How can people be in such a damned hurry to get to a place where they plan to RELAX? Are they afraid Key West will run out of rum before they get there? Unlikely.

There is another, longer, and less hurried way around called Card Sound Road. Advantage: Alabama Jack's, a great biker spot, is on Card Sound Road.

That's the way I'll go!

I'll take with me a print out of the free Florida Keys Mile Marker Guide at FloridaRambler.com It tells you what there is to see and do mile by mile the whole way to the end of the road in Key West.

This is going to take some time.