Royal Enfield chopper puts the disk brake in back

Royal Enfield chopper has oversize rear disk brake.

Fantastic, a Royal Enfield hard-tail chopper, spotted on the blog Corpses From Hell Motorcycle Gang.

The motorcycle is from Yokohama, Japan, according to them.

Dig the oversize rear disk brake, while the front wheel gets by with what appears to be the stock drum brake. Looney, but lovely, I say.

What I especially like about this Royal Enfield chopper is that it retains the trademark Royal Enfield nacelle, pilot lights and all. No mistaking this beast for something else.

But I can't ignore my least favorite facet of motorcycle photography: A plastic garbage can! At the center of the photo? The can is on wheels, fellows; get it out of there before you snap the picture!

Otherwise, fantastic. The web address on the poster behind the motorcycle is StoopMotorcycles.

It's a Japanese language site, but we see a gallery of pictures shot while creating this Royal Enfield custom. The pictures are well worth a look.

Could Royal Enfield's modern motor put the power in vintage choppers?

A wicked looking chopper with a Royal Enfield motor is featured in The Hindu.

It's the work of Vijay Singh at Rajputana Custom Motorcycles of Jaipur, India. It's called the Lightfoot, and it includes such traditional touches as girder forks, obsolete front brake and a hard-tail rear. But the engine is a completely modern Royal Enfield Unit Constructed Engine!

That's what is so interesting.

Reader Bob Slovey notes that: "The popularity of 'chopper' builders (in the United States) has grown simply because of the popularity and easy availability of 'crate engines.' Most of the ones you see on the street are aftermarket Harley clones. These companies have made a killing in the Harley engine clone market.

"I look around as ask 'Why is Royal Enfield not in the crate engine market?' Royal Enfield now has a modern, reliable engine (C5) that looks great, doesn't leak oil, and starts when it's supposed to. This would be the perfect starting point for a young bike builder just getting started and looking for something affordable and different. Don't you think?

"It would be the perfect component for new builders to play with. After all, why destroy a perfectly good motorcycle just to use the engine in a custom build? If a C5 crate engine were available from Royal Enfield, it would change the industry. Young builders could hone their building skills on a less expensive component and not have to pay $8,000 to $15,000 just for the engine.

"It would also go a long way to promote the RE name in ways they have not even considered. Don't think for a minute Harley doesn't know full-well the benefit they receive from the engine clone industry."

I took Bob's thoughts to Kevin Mahoney of Royal Enfield USA. His response: Maybe someday.

"There probably is a market," Kevin wrote me. "While we can get engines from Royal Enfield it is only onsies and twosies. Therein lies the problem. I am dying to see a great Royal Enfield chopper and a bobber myself."

The Lightfoot is an example of what is possible, although The Hindu criticized the motor for looking "a little too new for an ‘antiquated' motorcycle." Maybe in India, it is too shiny. But that probably is not the case elsewhere.

Restore or customize this Royal Enfield?

Not many people have the cash to buy a Royal Enfield or other vintage motorcycle without some clear idea what they want it for. But here's a man who bought a 1957 motorcycle and doesn't know whether he wants to restore it or continue its conversion to an old-fashioned bobber. "WVrider" is asking for advice on the XLFORUM discussion board.

"So I went to the big swap meet at Carlisle, Penn. yesterday and just knew if I saw something with two wheels that even looked halfway cool I would probably buy it. So this is it: a 1957 Royal Enfield Indian Chief that somebody started making a bobber out of. So I am asking for any opinions on which way to go with this bike. Go back to stock, for which all parts are with the bike, or keep on bobbing? Thought it would make a cool winter project plus I love anything built in the 50's. Thanks in advance for your input."

This motorcycle was briefly offered on eBay, so you may already have seen it on this blog. The eBay ad noted that the original parts were present. Some of the advice WVrider has received so far:

"There is a guy in Mumbai who does the whole chopper thing with them. 200 rear tire and all and they actually look pretty good. Personally, I'd put it back to stock like condition, but that's just my $.02 worth." -Chris Lacey

"I actually like the look of it the way it is." -Rlutsey

"I'm not patient enough to restore something, to me that takes a different kind of skill. I respect both (if done right) equally. Also, probably be more $$ if you go the resto route. If it were me (and going on what I just said above) I would bob/chop and have a great time with it; make it a rider." -Dagger Rider (whose on-line motto is "Ride It Like You Can Fix It!")

"It's junk. Send it to me before it causes you to go broke." -Flathead 45

Do motorcycles carry us to future, or past?

A Royal Enfield Military motorcycle photographed next to a stylized chopper is one of my favorite pictures seen on eBay recently. The Royal Enfield has been relisted, and the seller has included yet another photo, seen here, of the odd couple.

The olive drab Military, intentionally vintage in appearance, and the futuristic fantasy bike could not be more different and still both possess two wheels. As I said before, both are eye catching although the Royal Enfield is deliberately camouflaged and the chopper is scarlet in color.

The motorcycle store has unintentionally produced an artistic statement. What do these two motorcycles say about why we buy motorcycles?

Royal Enfield blog, with motorcycle photos

This blog has many photographs of Royal Enfield motorcycles for sale in the United States. Some sellers provide wonderful, high quality pictures that make you wonder why they would ever sell such a magnificent machine. Others just post a snapshot, often poorly lit. Some don't even bother to roll the motorcycle out of the garage for the photo.

Shooting pictures in the confines of a motorcycle dealership can produce bad results, too, since the clutter of other motorcycles can be distracting. Sometimes the juxtaposition of another style bike with the old-fashioned Royal Enfield is startling.

That is the case with this picture, from a dealership advertising a Royal Enfield Military on eBay. A flashy, red, stylized fantasy chopper is in the background. The olive drab Royal Enfield, the ad emphasizes, even has painted crash bars (and rims and brake wheel centers) that, along with the olive drab panniers, seek to camouflage it.

But which motorcycle would attract more attention on a city street? Here in glitzy South Florida, fantasy bikes like the red chopper are as common as Chinese scooters. They strike me as rather desperate attempts to draw attention to the rider. In contrast (actually, in low-contrast olive drab), a Royal Enfield Military would almost stop traffic.

If not stop traffic, it at the very least, would slow it down, especially if it was in front.