Royal Enfield remembers which way is up

A simple Royal Enfield motorcycle can teach lessons.

 I suppose you could say my old Royal Enfield motorcycle keeps me "grounded."

It might be better to say that my old Royal Enfield motorcycle keeps me "humble."

My mistake would be in ever thinking that I am, in any way, smarter than the men and women who designed and created this physical wonder of metal and petroleum products that, operated as intended, turns noise and heat into mobility.

And, yet, I forget this basic rule: The Royal Enfield motorcycle may be a simple, single-cylinder machine, but it knows which way is up. And it insists on it.

A Royal Enfield most recently brought me down to earth when I encountered an eBay advertisement out of Texas for a 1957 Indian Fire Arrow, a 250cc motorcycle built by Royal and marketed in the U.S. by Indian dealers.

It's an obviously rare and, to me, historically interesting motorcycle. The seller admitted not knowing much about it. He wrote:

"Southwest desert motorcycle. Frame and gas tank were stripped and repainted years ago. Has been in indoor storage for 35 years. Basket case motorcycle I don’t know anything about these. Includes everything pictured and a clear New Mexico title."

Among "everything pictured" was a photograph of the frame number. Here was a chance to get some real information!

The frame number.

I copied the photo of the frame number onto my computer, and rotated it to make it easier to read left-to-right. Then I wrote an email to Graham Scarth, of the Royal Enfield Owners Club, who keeps track of Royal Enfield numbers.

Rotating, zooming in and brightening the photo makes it easier.
And wrong.

"Looks like it might be 36001 to me," I wrote to Graham. He caught my error at once.

"Hi David," he replied.  "The frame number reads from top to bottom and is 10096."

Well, that's what I get. I was too lazy to read the number vertically, so I had rotated the photo, turning the numerals not only sideways, but upside down!

What I had taken for a distorted "3" was a distorted "6." What I had taken for a "6" was a "9."

It is easy to forget that, although everything is now on electronic screens, we still live in a real, physical world, in which there is still such a thing as "right side up."

Luckily, I have Royal Enfields to remind me.