Neat details dress up Royal Enfield custom

I couldn't resist adding a couple more pictures of the Royal Enfield bobber created by Mark Leef and Motorcycle Warehouse in Belvidere, N.J. (See the posting below for full details.)

The floating rear fender is really distinctive.

What I really like is the clean way they dealt with the signals. Here's a close-up photo. Note that the lights are completely off the fender.

Royal Enfield bobber looks ready to roll

You don't have to take your Royal Enfield the way it comes from the factory if you are a customer of Mark Leef's at Motorcycle Warehouse in Belividere, N.J. He shared these pictures of a recent Enfield bobber project with us, an orange and black motorcycle that just looks like it wants to roll!

It even looks great in the picture shot before the paint went on.

The bike has a floating rear fender similar to one that Motorcycle Warehouse created for an earlier project. It gives the machine a definite rigid motorcycle look.

Mark advises: "When we moved the swing arm back six inches it lowered the bike and worked out real well. Just so you know, the bike handles beautifully with the longer wheelbase. A ton of fun to ride."

Motorcycle Warehouse offers customs "mild to wild" in addition to kits to make your Royal Enfield unique.

I asked Mark what this bike would cost to build. His reply:

"Let me give you a little background.

• Swing arm moved back six inches.
• 32mm Mikuni carb.
• Air filter.
• Invert the handlebars.
• Rear fender made from an old BSA front fender, weld in the gussets and struts.
• Mustang gas tank.
• Fabricate fake oil tank to house the electronics.
• Chrome gas cap.
• Old style chopper mirrors.
• Mini DOT bullet lights and control module.
• Hot Rod Flats copper metal flake paint job.
• Leather Ultima seat and fabricate seat mounts.
• Bullet valve caps.
• Chrome caps on all the engine Allen heads to dress up.
• That's most of it!
  

"Price: About $8,000 when all said and done, including the cost of the bike. This project took about two weeks to complete from conception to completed product."

Royal Enfield gets its future into gear

Probably the best place to learn what the future holds for Royal Enfield in the United States is by reading postings on the Classic Motorworks web site. U.S. importer Kevin Mahoney, who posts under the name "Royal Enfield 1," provides almost continual updates in the forums section. Here are recent postings from him about the new unit constructed engine (UCE) and the new Bullet Classic 500 unveiled at Intermot in Cologne (above):

"I can tell you that I was on the phone with the factory this very morning about production of these bikes. I can tell you for an absolute fact that not one bike has been made for the US market, much less 'on the way to us.' I can also tell you that pricing for the U.S. is not set. I know this because I am the one that sets price -- period. You can draw no assumptions from European pricing, it is an apples and oranges deal. What I can say is that the UCE bikes will be more expensive than the current bikes.

"REM prices its bikes based on cost of production. It is the only way a small brand can really do it. We do not have the luxury of selling something for a loss in one part of the world and making money in another country. (Why can you buy a Triumph much cheaper in the U.S. than in the UK?) Whatever price increases we will see are the result of increased costs and improved, more expensive parts and manufacturing processes.

"It looks like we will be selling three lines of bikes this year. We will have 2009 Lean-Burn bikes just as we do now. They will be the most modestly priced bike. Those prices are now on our web site. We will have bikes with the UCE engine that resemble the current bikes except with different side covers a new frame and a front disk brake. This bike will be more expensive. None of these have yet been made for us. Europe has priority because they cannot sell Lean-Burns.

"Later in the season we will have the new Classic, or C-5, which was introduced in Cologne. This bike will be more expensive yet. Worst case they all will be less expensive than the Bonneville. The one thing I can guarantee you is that the new bikes will be less expensive than a Bonnie -- period. When prices are solidified you will know. Those of you who follow this forum frequently know things before anyone else. Stay tuned.

"Lastly no UCE bikes will be sold to anyone until dealers have been trained. That will not occur until the first couple of weeks of February. So don't look for anything with the UCE engine to be available in the near future.

"The UCE is a great bike, especially for those of you who would rather ride than fiddle,. Other than changing oil ( which is a one-shot thing since the primary, transmission and engine all use the same oil) the only other adjustment is to tighten the chain once in a while. Unlike the previous models the chain on the UCE is an O-ring so they do not require as much adjustment as the current models."

Something old, lots new on Enfield Classic

Royal Enfield's new Bullet 500 Classic should reach the United States in 2009, according to Kevin Mahoney of Classic Motorworks. Mahoney provides updates on new products in the forums section of Classic's web site. A few examples from his recent postings provide insights into improvements coming with the unit-constructed engine these bikes will feature:

"The chain drive was moved to the right for a couple of reasons. Since it is a unit motor with a self-contained transmission there was no need to keep it on the left. Another good reason to move it is to put the rear braking mechanism in a direct line with the pedal. This provides better rear braking.

"As has been pointed out the UCE models will all have a nice O-ring chain. This is a welcome addition. Actually chain and clutch adjustment are the only adjustments to do on the new bike. It has a automatically adjusted primary chain, hydraulic valve lifters and EFI which have all eliminated maintenance."

More information comes from Dan Callum, who attended the NEC bike show in Birmingham, England. He posted the pictures shown here and many others. Callum noted the comfy looking single seat shown on the new Classic (which was displayed with a sidecar). To my delight, his pictures show that clamshell chain adjusters continue on the new bike, quite a familiar touch on a Royal Enfield.

Callum filed this report on the Bullet-Mania Yahoo message board:

"I was very impressed with the new machine. They had one chaired up with a colour coordinated sidecar and it looked a treat. I was asking about the kickstart, well the production EFI Electra will have a kickstart, and I was asking about the possibility of adding a k/start to the Classic machine, and there will be no factory conversion available to to do this, although who knows what independent engineers may come up with. I also enquired about the possibility of converting to right hand shift, this has not really been looked into yet. It seems that the Classic has all metric threads everywhere, except for the rear wheel which is the existing unit and will continue with the imperial threads until tooling needs replacing. The seat is very comfy, it has foam AND springs, the best of both worlds, and the clutch is very light.

"I did notice on the Classic that the lovely painted battery cover left two areas of the gaudy plastic battery exposed; if I had one of these I would definitely be painting those parts of the battery black."

Next: When will the new Royal Enfield get to the U.S.?