To buy a Royal Enfield C5, he's selling the Honda that put the world on wheels

Greg, in Austin, Texas, wants a Royal Enfield C5 motorcycle so badly that, to raise the money, he is selling an interesting little motorcycle.

It's his 1981 Honda C70 Passport, a 70cc step-through motorcycle that some say was the world's best motorcycle design. And they may be right, if you consider the variety of conditions that apply around the globe.

I have a soft spot in my heart for the little Honda because it was the first motorcycle I rode on, as a passenger. It belonged to a friend at school. He brought it over to show it to me the night he got it, and gave me a brief tour of the Los Angeles suburb where we lived.

My personal transportation at the time was a Schwinn bicycle, so the motorcycle ride prompted an exhilarating rush of thoughts about where you could go and the things you could do with mobility like this.

Moreover, the Honda was so incredibly sophisticated, I thought. It had a speedometer, odometer, high beam warning light, comfortable suspension, turn signals and rear-view mirrors. As far as I was concerned, nothing you needed was missing except a roof and, you know, it never rains in Southern California.

I never saw that Honda again. I suspect his parents decided it wasn't safe, after all, and got him a car. It would be a long time before I could afford to park my Schwinn. But I've never forgotten the excitement I felt that night on the C70. I suspect I share that with a big part of the world's population.

Greg will like the Royal Enfield C5. It's a terrific motorcycle. But, at only $1,000, somebody is getting a great deal on that Honda.

What motorcycle replaces a Royal Enfield?

What motorcycle would you buy if you absolutely could not buy a Royal Enfield?

For Tom Jupille of Walnut Creek, Calif., the answer was a 1991 Honda Nighthawk CB250. He bought it to ride while his Royal Enfield was in the shop for an extended stay. Now that his Royal Enfield Bullet is "back in commission," the Honda is for sale on CraigsList for $1,000.

I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw his ad, because I had done exactly the same thing. I wrote about the 2006 Honda Nighthawk that carried me to work while my Bullet was laid up. Like Tom, I put my Nighthawk up for sale when the Bullet came home.

With its round headlight, drum brakes (no hydraulics to mess with) and no frills, the Nighthawk was a fine substitute. But it was no Royal Enfield. The vertical twin motor may summon up thoughts of British motorcycles of old, but it sings a high pitched, high-revving song. It sounds insubstantial, but it is, of course, faster than a speeding Bullet, at half the displacement. In 10,000 miles I had not a spot of trouble with it.

I wrote Tom to express my surprise that the two of us had done the same thing. His response was even more surprising:

"Actually, it's not a coincidence," he wrote.

"I read your blog (and love it, by the way!) and that had put the bug in my ear about the Nighthawk being a good temporary fill-in for the Bullet, and that was reinforced when I rode one during the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course.

"Your assessment turned out to be spot-on. The Nighthawk is a happy little beast, and is a fun ride in its own right, but it doesn't compare to the sh*t-eating grin I get riding the Bullet (not to mention the conversations with total strangers). I don't ride enough to justify keeping both, so the Honda's gotta go."

Small world, isn't it?

Tom says his 1991 Nighthawk has 6,200 miles, good tires, a new battery and recovered seat. For $1,000 he'll throw in the bags shown.

New Royal Enfield adds performance

2009 Royal Enfield Bullet G5 is faster.

The big news for Royal Enfield motorcycles in 2009 is added performance.

The new unit construction engine (UCE) looks great, saves gas and stands to be far more reliable and need less maintenance than any previous Royal Enfield motor. But who cares? What we want to know is: how fast it will go!

Sure seems like an odd question, considering that for 50 years Royal Enfield has been selling tradition and, in effect, encouraging riders to slow down and enjoy the ride. Actually, there was no need to slow down. The rider of a Royal Enfield Bullet would have to look hard in the United States to find a speed limit he could exceed for any length of time.

Royal Enfield dealers from around the Midwest gathered Feb. 12 and 13 in frigid Faribault, Minn. to see and sample the new Royal Enfield Bullet G5 with the UCE engine. They actually rode it, in 20-degree weather, and found it definitely stronger than Bullets that have come before.

You could really feel it," one said. And it wasn't just the wind-chill factor. Engineers on hand from the factory in India distributed materials that promised a top speed of 82 mph and acceleration of 0-60 in 3.9 seconds! OK, that's 0-60 kilometers per hour; roughly 0-40 mph in 4 seconds. Enough to keep up with the minivans in city traffic.

How much of an improvement is that? The charts tell the story best. Here are graphs comparing the new engine to Royal Enfield's AVL (all alloy) motor now in showrooms and to the classic iron-barrel engine whose design dates back to the 1940s.

When it comes to speed, the Royal Enfield Bullet is really only in a race with itself. You do not buy an Enfield to go fast. In fact, you might say that you would buy a Royal Enfield to travel back in time, not forward.

Soon, however, you will be able to buy one of these time machines that will keep up with traffic. The 2009 models are arriving in the United States now, according to Classic Motorworks, the U.S. importer. They will be at your local dealer soon. Last we heard, Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price for a 2009 G5 Bullet was $5,995.

One bike had to go, so he sold the Honda

I sold my Honda motorcycle. It was newer, shinier, faster and far more dependable than my Royal Enfield Bullet, but there never was any question which bike I would sell.

The new owner got a good deal: many hundreds less than I had paid for a motorcycle that still looked new, had new tires and zero mechanical issues. But we both noted, as he looked it over, that he could buy a brand new version for not that much more. The seller of a used Honda has a serious competitor. For what you get, Honda's new motorcycles are still bargains.

To me, all motorcycles seem under priced. I am biased, I suppose, since I live in Florida, where a motorcycle is year-'round transportation. Honda motorcycles are as dependable as Honda's legendary cars.

And that is part of the reason I chose to sell mine.

My Honda motorcycle demanded no affection from me: it ran, perfectly, and gave every indication that it always will. I changed the oil regularly. But that is all I did. As closely as I watched it, the clutch didn't need adjusting in all 11,000 miles I rode. For the owner of a Royal Enfield, this was amazing and a little bit boring.

Thus, the Honda, by being care free, left me caring less about it. My Bullet, on the other hand, actually responds to my constant fiddling. It may not run at all without it!

But it's not just a matter of how motorcycles are wired; my involvement with one motorcycle and not the other says something about how people are wired.

My friend, screenwriter and wit Douglas Kalajian, says "I never get attached to material things." Yet he buys exciting new cars regularly. If they disappoint him, he sells them.

I'm not like that. The last thing I want to do is learn how to use some new "nav" system or paddle shift. And unless a vehicle has marked its spot in my life with a massive oil slick, or stranded me in some imaginative wilderness in the rain, I don't find it interesting.

I suppose that makes me a demanding customer: I demand imperfection.