Lucky kid, he found a Royal Enfield Fury in a barn

A 1961 Royal Enfield Fury motor, found in the frame of a Royal Enfield made Indian twin.

Fifty years ago Tim Janowiak heard of an old motorcycle in a barn in Michigan.

He bought it, ran it hard, then put it in the basement. Only decades later did he discover that it was a special Royal Enfield: A 1957 Indian Trailblazer 700cc twin frame, with a 1961 Royal Enfield Fury 500cc single engine.

"I've finally gotten it running after about 20 years in the basement," he wrote me.

And it looks great now, too. But it didn't look this good when Tim found it. Here's how it happened:

"I started riding bikes around the corn fields of Northern Indiana at about the age of eight, starting on a Sears moped. I graduated to larger ones and a group of us built a very nice track to AMA specs, which was used heavily by kids from the South Bend area.

"At the age of about 15 in 1969 I was told of a unique motocross bike on a vineyard in Buchanan, Mich. near Red Bud Trail, one of the premier motocross tracks in the States. I immediately went to look at it and met the owner, Csaba B. Bikfalvy, who took me to an old barn to show me a 500 Royal Enfield... which I had never heard of, but was sold instantly.

"We agreed to a price of $50 or $100 — which I can't remember — and I took it home to terrorize the other kids riding on the track, amazed at its power and speed.

"I rode the bike for many years, never having to do anything mechanical except change the oil and plugs; but it shows signs of hard riding before I purchased it.

"She was finally parked in the basement after our track was turned into a housing development, and sat for about 25 years until last spring I decided it was time to breathe life back into it.

"I brought it upstairs to replace cables and other small parts, which were to be ordered through Hitchcocks, and realized some parts didn't seem quite right."

Tim contacted Graham Scarth, chairman of the Royal Enfield Owners Club UK. The club has a collection of Royal Enfield factory records.

"I got back a very nice but simple letter stating that it is a 1957 Indian Trailblazer 700cc twin frame, with a 1961 500cc Fury single engine."

Royal Enfield enthusiast Chris Overton, a Fury owner himself, was able to provide information about how rare the Fury motor is.

"1959 and '60 were the big years of Fury production," he wrote, "if 156 500cc and 10 350cc versions is big.

"In calendar 1961 there were 11 dispatched. (The model year of September to August hardly seems relevant for this low production machine produced without much variation.) In 1962 there were four dispatched, and 22 in 1963."

Chris wasn't surprised at the mix-and-match frame/engine numbers of Tim's Fury. The factory, dealers and individual owners didn't hesitate to swap interchangeable parts.

"Motives were performance, experimentation, customization, desperation..."

Ian Chadwick's authoritative history of Royal Enfield describes the Fury this way:

"It differed from the Bullet by having a larger inlet port, an Alfin aluminum alloy barrel with cast liner (instead of the Bullet's iron) and a higher compression piston (8.9:1 instead of 7.3:1)... The 500cc boasted a 40 bhp output, up from the UK models' production of 27 bhp."

Chris noted that the prefix letter "A" on the gearbox of Tim's Fury "indicates the coarser, stronger gears suitable for such a powerful engine." He advised a gentle throttle hand, as the top end of a Fury motor could produce more power than the bottom end liked, advice Tim has taken to heart.

"She is still a blast to hit the trails on, though at a much slower pace, and guess we'll keep riding 'til one of us dies," Tim wrote.

"I tried to contact Csaba and Red Bud to see if I could find out anything on its racing history, but was unable to. I am looking for a solo seat, gas petcock and head steady for it if anyone knows of parts close by."

Royal Enfield Big Head Bullet motor powered Indian hillclimber to the top

Back in July, Denis Gagne of Maine told us about his father Jerry's exploits on an Indian hillclimber powered by a Big Head Royal Enfield motor. At the time, Denis didn't have pictures to show us, but recently he sent me a treasure trove of photographs. He sent color shots of the motorcycle as it looks today, and black and white photos of his dad in action. There's even a DVD of the 1994 documentary Indian Summer, a Fiasco Films feature about Indian motorcycles by Timothy Cataldo. It includes takes of Denis' son Bruce talking about the hillclimber and then riding it. Here, again, is the story of this rare Big Head Royal Enfield hillclimber, in Denis' own words: "My father bought this bike, around February, 1959 from an Indian dealer in Springfield, Mass called Albert Thibodeau (Tibby's Indian Sales). "In the show room there were other bikes — Westerners, Woodsman, Apaches — and three motors in their crates. "(The dealer) told my father, Jerry, if he wanted to build a hillclimber, the crate motor would be the better choice over all models, because it was a race tuned engine, special from the factory. "So he bought the crate motor for $200 and, during that winter, he and his cousin Gates Pinsonnault built a hillclimber with that motor. They started hill climbing it in the summer of 1959. "It was No. 1 in the 500cc class for over 12 years! It was faster than others that came along; BSA, Matchless, Triumph, Woodsman, Westerner, etc. All the newer bikes.

Bruce rides the Big Head hillclimber in "Indian Summer"

"Around 1971 my dad quit hill climbing and the bike retired. Around 1988 the bike was brought out by me and restored to running condition. Although it is not competitive with today's machines, I just wanted to keep the bike alive and the memories to go on. This motorcycle was an important part of my father's life and (the source of) a lot of memories in my life. "I didn't want this special machine to be forgotten."

That old motorcycle buried in the garage may be a very rare Royal Enfield Fury

They're super rare. Perhaps fewer than 200 Royal Enfield Fury motorcycles were made in England from 1959-'61. And yet, almost simultaneously, I was contacted by three people who have one or, at least, have motorcycles with the Big Head motor shared by the Fury. I wrote about CF and the lovely red Fury he's selling.

Here's the second story, and it's even more stirring. It's every motorcycle enthusiast's dream to be offered an old and incredibly desirable motorcycle that has been sitting, forgotten, in some shed. This story begins with an email from Jennifer, in Lynden, Wash.

"Hi David, I thought you could help. I just purchased/inherited a 1961 Royal Enfield. They told me it was a 500cc engine. I am having trouble figuring out the model because they haven't come across the papers yet (it was a death in the family and we are still going through everything. He has had the bike since the early '60's...). Do you know the possible model? I will be heading over this weekend to get the bike and could send pics."

Here's her next email, and picture that came with it:

"So I got in there to take a pic. A very poor one. The next few days I will be getting it into my garage and taking it home but I'm so anxious to see if you knew what model this was. Charlie, who owned it, said he was positive it was a '61. He bought it new or a year old. That's what his wife said. And Charlie told me a few years ago that it was an English bike and not Indian because I had questions about it back in the day. The bike is originally from Northern California, so they tell me."

I shared the picture with Jorge Pullin, who writes the My Royal Enfields blog.

"The picture isn't terribly clear, but it looks like a Big Head Bullet to which someone affixed a heat baffle using the banjo bolts of the top head lubrication system," Jorge commented. He graciously sent some pictures of the Fury from Gordon May's book.

Then came another email from Jennifer.

"I went and picked up the bike last night and moved it to my garage. I have attached a few pics. Thanks for your help with this!"

Here are her pictures:

Well, readers, what do the experts among you say? What has Jennifer got here? Is it a Fury?

Royal Enfield Fury: very fast, super rare, but they're out there if you look

I've written with reverence about the Royal Enfield Fury, a very rare model of the single-cylinder Royal Enfield Bullet. Its distinguishing feature, I gather, was that the Fury, built in Britain, had the "Big Head" motor, along with other parts that made it go fast.

It all started in 1960, according to Ian Chadwick's The History of The Royal Enfield Bullet:

"Huge, one-piece alloy cylinder head ('Big Head') casting... The Royal Enfield Fury, produced at this time for the U.S. market, is essentially the same bike as the Bullet (both 350 and 500cc models), capable of reaching the 100 mph mark... It differed from the Bullet by having a larger inlet port, an Alfin aluminum alloy barrel with cast liner (instead of the Bullet's iron) and a higher compression piston (8.9:1 instead of 7.3:1). It also had a flange for mounting an optional rev counter, an 18-inch rear and 19-inch front wheel. Between 1959 and 1963, only 191 machines were made. The 500cc boasted a 40 bhp output, up from the UK models' production of 27 bhp. A 600cc model was also made for a short period. "

With so few made, I never thought I would hear of one and, yet, in the last few weeks I have been contacted by no fewer than THREE readers who have — or appear to me to have — Royal Enfield Furys. I am asking for you readers to help me out here. I am not enough of an expert on these things to tell, for sure.

First, let's look at the pictures here of a Royal Enfield Fury emailed to me from Couturier Francis, who is offering it for sale near Reims, France. Rather than expose his address here, if you want to buy it, just email me and I will forward your address to him. He prefers to communicate in French.

My French is not good, so I have been able to get only a few details about this lovely machine. Here, with the help of Google's language tools, is what CF has told me:

"The price is €8,400 (there are some parts included). Contact me in French if possible (I do not speak English well). The Fury is equipped with Big Head, 50mm exhaust valve, all-aluminum cylinder, special (9-1) high-compression piston, racing cam, GP 38 carburetor, racing magneto, close-ratio racing transmission, K-81 tires. New paint and mechanically restored."