Royal Enfield motorcycles in India: can you pick out the differences?

This lovely picture of a Royal Enfield C5 motorcycle was sent by Ranjith, a Ph.D student at Tufts University in the U.S. He wrote:

"Hi. I am an avid follower your blog. My friend just bought a brand new C5 Royal Enfield and I thought I will point out an important difference between the 'Indian' Royal Enfield and the exported one: sari guard!"

He's referring to the screen on one side of the motorcycle, intended to protect the flowing clothes of Indian women, who ride side saddle, from the spokes. Note the little "foot stool" at the bottom of the sari guard for both feet.

These used to be available as an accessory from Royal Enfield USA, but I don't see them in their on-line catalog at the moment. I have heard that some jurisdictions in India actually require the sari guard as standard safety equipment. Perhaps that explains why it is fitted to this motorcycle, even though it has no passenger seat.

Even without the sari guard, this would be a very nice looking motorcycle. The gray color is not available in the U.S so far. It is available in India on the Bullet Classic 350.

I asked Ranjith if his friend's C5 had something else we miss here: a kick start lever. The U.S. C5 is electric start, only.

"It indeed does have a kicker," he replied, attaching another excellent photo as proof, and adding "I personally would never buy a Bullet without a kicker and frankly I am quite disappointed that the export models do not have one."

Perhaps the U.S. will eventually get the gray color and a kicker; or, at least, the sari guard!

Riding into the past on a Royal Enfield

Even in the isolated motorcycle market of India, the Royal Enfield Bullet could not have survived 50 years of production as just a nostalgic artifact. It was too expensive to be purely decorative.

The Bullet is, especially in its updated recent models, a useful and accomplished motorcycle.

But I didn't care about that when I bought my 1999 Royal Enfield. What I wanted was the experience of riding a motorcycle little different from the motorcycles I had admired as a kid, in 1955. If riding it had been a terrible experience, I would gladly have accepted that as just the price of authenticity.

I needed a motorcycle to take me to work. I wanted the Royal Enfield to take me back to 1955. Was it a foolish notion?
Humorist David Sedaris tells a tale of his own fascination with the past in a 2007 essay entitled "This Old House," in The New Yorker.

"Like anyone nostalgic for a time he didn't live through, I chose to weed out the little inconveniences: polio, say, or the thought of eating stewed squirrel. The world was simply grander back then, somehow more civilized," Sedaris writes of himself at age 16.

"I longed for a home where history was respected — and, four years later, I finally found one. This was in Chapel Hill, North Carolina."

What Sedaris had found, he writes, was a crumbling boarding house filled with antiques, run by a landlady he calls Rosemary, who looked and dressed as though she was living in the 1940s.

"She'd pull out some new treasure she'd bought at an estate sale and explain what made it so valuable: 'On most of the later Fire King loaf pans, the trademark helmet is etched rather than embossed.'

"The idea was that we were different, not like the rest of America, with its Fuzzbusters and shopping malls and rotating showerheads. 'If it's not new and shiny, they don't want anything to do with it,' Rosemary would complain. 'Give them the Liberty Bell and they'd bitch about the crack. That's how folks are nowadays. I've seen it.'

Rosemary would mend a worn WAC uniform with her sewing kit while she talked. Sedaris was happy until the summer heat came on, and with it word that the old boarding house would be torn down.

"A part of me was sad that the house was being sold, but another, bigger part — the part that loved air conditioning — was ready to move on."

Rather than view Sedaris as a traitor to the cause, I recognize his struggle with the nostalgic life. Romantic as it is, there is a fundamental flaw in living it. He puts it this way:

"What I could never fathom, and still can't, really, is that at one point all those things were new — the wheezing Victrola, the hulking davenport. How were they any different from the eight-track tape player, or my parents' Scandinavian dining room set? Given enough time, I guess, anything can look good. All it has to do is survive."

Some Royal Enfields for sale are bargains

This blog lists Royal Enfield motorcycles for sale in the United States. Naturally, some sellers ask too much money for motorcycles you could buy in better condition for less money from someone else.

But the opposite is often true, and perhaps it's peculiar to Royal Enfield motorcycles. Some sellers just don't want you to buy their Royal Enfield motorcycle if you won't love it as they have, flaws and all.

Here's one ad, from a seller who is asking half what others do, for what looks like a nice Royal Enfield:

"Up for sale is my first bike. It has been an awesome one but now I want something bigger. It runs and drives, shifting is sloppy; it leaks a little oil and needs a paint job. It's a single cylinder 500cc four-speed, it only has 6,500 miles on it and is a BLAST to ride.

"Please don't even bother me if you are looking for something reliable. THIS IS NOT A RELIABLE BIKE.

"It needs constant tinkering; not heavy duty stuff, just basic everyday maintenance and paying attention to potential problems — more than most bikes. but other than that, it has been a good bike to me and I rode it the tail end of last season on into this one and ride it at least three times a week to work and back, 30 miles round-trip.

"Plus, it's a head turner."

In other words, it's a Royal Enfield: you can rely on it if it can rely on you to take care of it. It has quirks, but it looks like nothing else on the road. And the price is, usually, a bargain.

Royal Enfield motorcycle for sale? How tough should your ad be?

Royal Enfield motorcycles are like any other motorcycles when it comes time to sell. You want to attract buyers who are sincerely interested, considerate and ready and willing to pay, in cash.

The best way to do that is to place an attractive, complete and honest ad illustrated with good pictures of the motorcycle. Some sellers also choose to lay down some firm rules.

"All payments must be made in cash," is probably a good rule. But some sellers don't stop there.

Here's what one advertiser added:

"If you want to test ride, please bring a helmet, motorcycle endorsed license (I will hold on to it while you ride) and something of equal or greater value for collateral, for example, the cost of the motorcycle in cash, your car keys etc. If you drop it, you buy it."

Too tough? At least he said "please."

My thought is this: the person who wants to look at the motorcycle has to contact you for your address anyway. Why not lay down the law at that point, on the telephone, when your voice can indicate your sincerity?

"I'm sorry," you could say, "but the house rules only allow test rides by people with motorcycle endorsements and you must wear your helmet. We can trade keys while you ride."

We all know that, either way, potential buyers may show up in a taxi with no license, no helmet and no cash. It doesn't help that so many guys think they have to dress like characters in Grand Theft Auto when they look at motorcycles.

Courtesy, on both sides, can go a long way toward establishing trust.

Royal Enfield bobber is brand new, but inspired by early Indian motorcycles

An amazing bobber with a new Royal Enfield motor and transmission is for sale in San Jose, Calif. It is advertised as a one-off custom inspired by early Indian motorcycles but with "no used parts."

Asking price is $5,500, "trades welcome." I wrote for more details and received this telegram-style reply from Cadtech Design:

"Hello, David

"Inspired by the vintage Indian. Building bikes for many years.

"This bike is a design-build, rigid frame-bar-over-tank design, custom springer forks, gas tank, fender.

"Use of engine type: a Royal Enfield 500cc Electra; cost very good, comes with trans. Something different — a big single.

"Nineteen-inch front wheel, 16 rear, 180 tire.

"This bike can also come with a V-twin Harley-Davidson engine. I wanted to build an old school bobber that was all new and cost effective, range of price $5,500 to $10,000 (with a V-twin), also a soft tail version.

"Here are a few pictures of the build, build No. 22.

"John Fregona M.E"

Thank you, John. Readers, feast your eyes:

Rare Indian Patrol Car is a Royal Enfield up front, but the rest is all Indian, he says

"THIS IS NOT A PASHLEY," asserts the eBay ad for a 1959 Indian Patrol Car. "Documented."

Although they are super rare, a number of these fascinating, Royal Enfield based Indian Patrol Cars have come up for sale recently. I've assumed that they were made by Pashley in Great Britain, and shipped to the U.S. for sale as Indians, like the rest of the Royal Enfield line in 1955 to 1959.

I asked the John, the seller who says his Patrol Car is not a Pashley, for details. He replied:

"I have the factory paper work and manual to show it is a Indian Patrol Car with the factory sale brochure, and the title says Indian. I know who ordered it. I am the second owner. The Pashley has a different tank and has box rails."

Certainly there are differences between the Indian Patrol Cars we've seen advertised for sale in the United States and pictures of Pashleys found on the Internet. The Pashley three-wheelers seem to have come in a range of designs.

The Indian Patrol Cars seem to share one design, and it looks less sophisticated than some Pashleys. Is the rear end shown in John's ad just the same Patrol Car frame and box Indian was using before it began rebadging Royal Enfields?

In any case, three speeds and reverse seems to be the standard transmission. John's ad gives us a nice look at the linkage for the tank shift.

Royal Enfield factory picture: What year?

A picture Royal Enfield motorcycles being assembled in India, supposedly in 1964 or 1965, is for sale on eBay.

It's an interesting picture. It's black and white, and truly looks like a vintage picture. The workers appear to be dressed in white uniforms, and wear sandals. If you check Kevin Mahoney's 2008 factory tour video you'll see that Royal Enfield workers these days dress in shirts of various designs and wear shoes (probably a safety requirement).

The motorcycles in the "1965" picture are being assembled on old-fashioned carts that are not seen in the 2008 video. The motorcycles are kick-start only, as certainly would be the case in 1965. They have the left-side brake pedal, so the five-speed transmission has not been made standard yet, either. Again, 1965 could be the correct year.

But here's something I find strange: the tanks are labelled "Royal Enfield." I thought that the factory in India used only "Enfield" prior to 2000. My own 1999 Bullet is just an "Enfield."

Jorge Pullin's blog, My Royal Enfields, has a full explanation of how the company only went to court in 1995 to secure its right to use the full name "Royal Enfield."

So how can this be a 1965 picture? I asked the seller. He graciously responded:

"Please be aware that this photo was taken in India and Royal Enfield motorcycles were produced there under license. I obtained a large group of negatives that were all taken in 1965 in various Indian motorcycle and automobile plants and that is what I am selling on eBay. I would assume that since these were produced in India, they may appear to be slightly different than the British Royal Enfield models. I have no more knowledge of this than what I have told you. Sincerely, Walter Miller"

Did the factory use the full name Royal Enfield on home-market motorcycles prior to 2000?

Indian twin of 1950 was no Royal Enfield

Explaining to people that Royal Enfield motorcycles are "British" motorcycles, built in India, is tough enough. Explaining that Royal Enfield motorcycles made in Britain were sold as "Indian" motorcycles in the United States from 1955 to 1960 adds another layer of confusion.

Those 1950s Indian-badged Royal Enfields included practically every model the British company made, including the fast vertical twins. These seemed perfect for American conditions and appropriate, too, because, before it ended its own production, Indian had been building vertical twin motorcycles.

One of those "real" Indian twins just sold on eBay, in Ahwahnee, Calif. lovingly restored, for $11,975.

The seller noted that:

"The 1949-1952 Indian Scout/Warrior series is the only parallel twin ever manufactured on American soil. These overhead valve motorcycles were built by Indian in Springfield, Massachusetts, in an effort to compete with the British offerings of the day. Do not confuse these motorcycles with the re-badged Royal Enfield motorcycles that were imported in the late 1950s."

In Classic Bikes, Peter Henshaw explains that, unfortunately, the British-style Indians "weren't as tough as even a BSA or Triumph," and their failure effectively ended Indian as a manufacturer. The eBay seller noted that his 1950 Warrior had been restored at no expense, including upgrades that overcame "the notoriously poor magneto problems Indian verticals suffered."

It is a fascinating, if confusing, period in motorcycle history.

Pictures of one man's 3 Royal Enfield Bullets

Collector Matt Law (see previous item) must not keep his 70 guitars in the garage: it's full of Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycles.

Matt offered these pictures to give a little better look at each of his three Royal Enfields.

I like them all!

Third Royal Enfield Bullet joins collection, but that's nothing compared to his guitars

Not every Royal Enfield motorcycle sells quickly. Some used motorcycles stay listed on this blog so long they seem like old friends. It's always exciting to hear one of the nice looking bikes has found a home.

Matt Law, of Panama City, Fla., was nice enough to write to say he'd bought one of my favorites:

"Hey, David, I just wanted to thank you for a couple of things. No. 1, thanks for the great blog. I check it out every day, for interesting stories, pix, tips, sales, info, etc. Always informative and entertaining. No. 2, thanks for listing the Peacock Blue Enfield Deluxe, from CraigsList in New Orleans.

"I watched the price go down $500 at a time, from $3,500, $3,000, $2,500, $2,000, then $1,800. I called him, he sent me some pix, and I pulled the trigger.

"She needs a little work, but she starts on the first kick, most days."

Intriguingly, Matt added: "I'll send you some pix of my Enfields soon." Plural? He has more than one?

Sure enough, a picture of three Royal Enfield Bullets, including the Peacock Blue number, arrived in my email.

Matt didn't explain why he decided to collect Royal Enfields, so I turned to his MySpace page for enlightenment. Here's part of his self-introduction:

"My name is Matt Law... I LOVE music... playing it on guitar, bass, drums, lapsteel, mandolin, banjo, ukulele or just the stereo... writing songs... performing music with my wife, my band (Retro-matic), my other band (Turtlefoot), my NEW band (STRANGE THINGS), my OTHER other band (Rancho-DeLuxe), my part-time band (Plastic Cactus), Steve Wilkerson and the All-Volunteer Flying Dog Band, ALL of the OTHER Flying Dogs, John Gross & the Sled Creek Troubadors, my friends, or total strangers...

"I run ANYTHING, ANYTHING guitar repair from my home shop, fixing anything with strings (except pianos), as well as some amplifier repairs, and I'm Senior Guitar Tech at Leitz Music in Panama City, where I've been repairing instruments since the early '90s... I collect guitars (acoustic, electric, basses, lapsteels, banjos, mandolins, anything old and/or interesting), and currently have more than 70...

"Lately I've rekindled my love of British motorcycles. After growing up with BSA, Triumph and Norton bikes in the '60s and '70s, and having owned a '73 Harley-Davidson Sprint Single, I've found the motorcycles that I never knew that I always wanted: The Royal Enfield Bullet, the longest running, continually produced motorcycle in the world, in business since 1893, 10 years before Harley-Davidson. My three Bullets were designed in 1939, upgraded in 1955, and virtually untouched by technology."

Matt posted a photo of himself playing, from the Bay County Bullet newspaper (yes, there really is a newspaper named the Bay County Bullet).

Matt also wrote his own caption: "What the well dressed bass player is wearing these days: 1976 Rickenbacker 4001 Fretless bass, trusty Royal Enfield shirt and West German Fallschirmjäger (paratrooper, literally "fall-fight-hunter") beret, with a badge from Her Majesty's (Elizabeth the Second) Royal Corps Of Transport."

Would you trade your Royal Enfieldfor his Nissan 280ZX sports car?

What would you take in trade for your Royal Enfield motorcycle?

The answer, for me, is "probably nothing." Unless you have the magical ability to restore health to one of my loved ones, there is likely nothing you could offer that would pry my Royal Enfield Bullet from my fingers.

Still, people do offer. There is a fellow in Charlotte, Tenn. right now who is offering his "very rare" 1982 Nissan 280ZX, which he values at $3,000. Would you trade your Royal Enfield motorcycle for his sports car?

Any takers? Just click here.

It's not for me. I don't think I'd even trade my 1999 Classic for a brand new Royal Enfield C5 (although I'd like to have one of those in my fleet).

Maybe it's just me. I play the cards I am dealt. I never feel the grass might be greener on the other side of the fence. If I make a choice, I live with it.

Yes, I suppose I am just stubborn. But I suspect the real reason I am like this is that I have been incredibly lucky in life. A wonderful woman chose me and decided to live with her decision, to my enormous benefit. She gave me two wonderful daughters.

They let me buy a Royal Enfield. Life is good. I wouldn't change a thing.

Royal Enfield Interceptor found in a barn still smells pretty sweet to enthusiasts

It's probably every enthusiast's dream to find a forgotten Royal Enfield Interceptor in a barn, bring it home, clean it up and discover a nearly complete and valuable motorcycle shining through the muck.

Usually forgotten, in this day dream, is what else lives in the barn.

On the BritBike forum, Al Eckstadt tells the interesting story of how he found his Interceptor in a barn — and what it smelled like:

"I don't know where to start. The beginning I guess. Several years ago a coworker says to me, 'Al you're into British bikes aren't you?' He just got a Royal Enfield from his father-in-law's barn. Paid $150 for it. After talking to him we determined it was an Interceptor.

"I gave him some photocopied articles on the bike to encourage him to fix it up. After he left the company we were working for I would still see him and say 'How's that Enfield coming?'

"Well, I ran into him two weeks ago and asked him again. This time he asked if I wanted to buy it. Wow! After a discussion with the chief financial officer (Mrs. Eckstadt) I got the OK to seriously look at it AND if it was under $500 I could bring it home.

"I went to see it and I was kind of stunned because it was not the way I pictured it in my mind. The bike was covered in crud and partly disassembled. A basket case, literally with a bunch of small parts in a little wicker basket.

"He wanted $400, I asked if he would take less and he said $300 would be OK. As bad condition as it was, I figured I can't lose at that price even if it was sold for parts. I brought it home that morning. I got a bucket and soap and started scrubbing the mud and pig slop off it. (Oh man it smelled BAD and still isn't too fresh)."

Al sought help from the forum, identifying the year and model of his Interceptor. He got it, too, right away. Chris Overton identified it as a 1967 Series 1A, a "factory customized" TT7 model.

He added:

"You are one lucky guy. A good barn find at a bargain price. Tell me if you would like to double your money!"

Royal Enfield captures concours award

Artist and Florida resident Leigh Murphy owns a pretty Royal Enfield motorcycle and now she owns a very pretty trophy to go with it. Here is the surprising story she told me:

"I just ran across your blog while trying to find a new clutch cable for my 2005 Bullet 500. It seems I get two or three rides out of it before something else breaks.

"When I do ride it, I sure get plenty of attention. The distinctive thumper sound was enough to disturb a movie shoot in downtown Jacksonville awhile back.

"I decided to drop you a line to say that I entered it on a whim in the Riding Into History classic motorcycle concours just outside of St. Augustine. The show's theme was Great Bikes of Great Britain and featured the finest old Broughs, Vincents, and huge numbers of Triumphs.

"I've never owned a bike before and when I bought this, I'd never even ridden one. I still have a steep learning curve to climb.

"Surprisingly, the show admitted my bike and even more surprisingly, it won the Best Modern British(?) bike category against assorted Triumphs, Nortons, and another Enfield. That was so unexpected that I didn't even attend the awards ceremony!

"I must say that it made the many hours of detailing worthwhile (tap water has never touched it). My bike isn't a trailer queen although from its recent spate of breakdowns, it wants to be. I really need to read up on troubleshooting and repair basics before I set out to do what I first intended: pack up my plein-air painting kit and hit the road to paint the great outdoors.

"Here I am with 'Absinthe' and award. I think I was as happy with the bike's good behavior that day as with the show results. In the background is the grand prize winning '38 Brough Superior with sidecar."

Congratulations to Leigh and Abinthe, too. We're proud of you.

He's searching for a 1959 Indian Trailblazer like the one he had when he was young

"Bobby's" search for a 1959 Indian Trailblazer like the one he had at age 16 led me to ask if he had a snapshot of his original motorcycle.

"Sad to say, but NO, I don't have a single snapshot of the bike! At that stage of my life I'm pretty sure it was just something I didn't even give a thought about. Funds were short back then and if we had a camera, I don't remember it."

Bobby is the fellow who advertised on CraigsList in Nashville, Tenn., offering cash for a 1959 Trailblazer. This was a 700cc Royal Enfield twin, badged as an Indian and sold in the United States.

"That bike was probably my second or third in a LONG line of bikes up to today, but yet, it seems to bring back such a flood of memories!" he told me.

"I was about 16 years old and didn't have any money to speak of, so most of my 'fun' came from riding my bike (gas was 18 cents a gallon) with a friend who also rode (K-Model Harley).

"In those days you could ride for countless miles and never see another bike, so having a riding buddy was a good thing! We became friends when he stopped to help me after my Cushman Eagle decided to take a dump on a country road a long way from home.

"The Eagle was my first real powered two-wheeler and it was a pile of junk, but I didn't care. It gave me a measure of independence and I loved it. Swapped a go-kart for the Cushman. I'd bought the go-kart with money I made from selling Coke bottles that I picked up along the road (3 cents each if they were COKE brand, 2 cents for all other brands)."

As for whatever happened to his Trailblazer, that is a mystery, Bobby writes:

"I located the man that bought the bike from me and he simply can't remember what he did with it! He's almost 90 years old now and I completely understand how that can happen. He has assured me he will contact me should his memory of the bike return.

"The search for 'it' has become known among my friends as my 'HOLY GRAIL' folly, nonetheless I will continue to seek."

If you have a 1959 Trailblazer that needs a good home, contact Bobby at the email address in his ad.

Wanted: Your 1959 Indian Trailblazer

Here's an unusual "wanted" ad for a rare Royal Enfield motorcycle:

"Searching for a 1959 Indian Trailblazer motorcycle. Made by Royal Enfield and 'badged' as an Indian. You'll know what I mean if you have one. CASH AWAITS. Serious only."

The ad appeared on CraigsList, in Nashville, Tenn.

I could think of only two reasons the advertiser would be looking for a specific year of a specific model of one of the rarest Royal Enfield models ever made — a model that didn't even bear the name Royal Enfield!

1. This was someone who had one 1959 Trailblazer and needed another for parts to restore it.

Or,

2. Here was someone who'd had a 1959 Trailblazer and was seeking to rekindle those memories.

It turned out to be the second reason. Here's the reply "Bobby" sent me:

"No, I don't mind telling you why I want a '59 model. You see, it was my FIRST large motorcycle and I got it from my brother-in-law. I was 16 years old and although I knew it was a 'badged over' Royal Enfield, it really didn't matter, it was MINE and I felt like 'Brando' when I was riding it.

"For a young boy that was raised in the country and didn't get to see a lot of the world, it was my 'imagination machine.' I am diligently seeking this brand and model and money will not be an object (within reason) if I can find the right bike.

"I have literally had countless Harleys and right now I have three ('05, '09 and a '65 Panhead) and the Indian holds the fondest spot in my heart. Thank you for your question."

How can you beat that? If you've got a 1959 Trailblazer that truly needs a good home, contact Bobby through the email address on his ad.