Flytrap
 

It is the test site where the nazis were experimenting with antigravity propulsion. All the technology that was movable was taken back to the USA at the end stages of the war. the device was described as being bell shaped. Which is exactly what the Roswell initial descriptions claimed. Roswell is close to area51 where the technology was taken. and also where many "flying saucers" have been claimed to have been seen. a bell and flying saucer is near enough the same shape if you do not know how else to describe it.

sorry can;t post a picture here.

Handguards
 

Paul,

Did you finally get any hand guards? I have a 2012 Indian Enfield here in Dubai, great fun :funmeterno: and use it for camping trips. Have made a number of changes but spares are mainly Indian here so not bothered with the engine yet.

Rgds

Bob

Royal Enfield
 

No still haven't found any hand guards yet ! I may have to by a generic set & make them fit !!! I don't really need them for dropping the bike etc. but more to protect my hands from the cold.

Royal Enfield
 

Since the last post I was retuning from a camping trip in Oman and one of the many crazy drivers here, turned left and sideswiped me. No other cars on the road, claimed he did not see me. Result; me - broken ankle, bike - trashed rear end, bent frame, bent shocks, bent swing arm, metal panniers trashed, handle bars bent, mirrors smashed, brake leaver broken, foot peg snapped, switchgear trashed.

As i play the slow motion crash in my head, the biggest problem was that as i was hit square from the side the foot peg dug into the road and flipped the bike (they are fixed). This caused most of the damage. car and i had both just gone over speed hump so not moving much above 35kph.

So all fixed now, but first change was to make new folding foot pegs. Also have changed shocks to ones 1" higher. Bought Adventure spec soft luggage metal was trash, not using them again. As i always wear full body armour (camping in the mountains here equals no phone reception) back was saved as i did a half somersault and landed flat on my back. Also wearing adventure boots so fracture was not so bad. Lots of lessons learnt for future long rides (like this weeked :thumbup1:) repairs her ran to approx £500 so much cheeper that UK.

Enfield
 

WOW thats was a nasty development....glad all good now. I don't like
soft panniers, my wife has them, crap to pack, crap security, just don't like them, I am still going to ride my Enfield to south america so one ? why raise the bike 1 inch ? Will be changing my foot pegs after reading your post as well.

Cheers
Paul

I tried living with an standard carb model, iron barrel indian enfield 500 last year, after having used a Enfield 700 super meteor as a daily hack for a few years (long time ago but an excellent bike - better than a bonny i also owned). With the 500 I modified it to try and improve it a bit - made it more of a street scrambler upgraded, bars, shocks, seat, upgraded brake to disc, rewired it and fitted electronic ignition, it was still just a huge compromise. The gear shift being on the right was not a problem but then again i have owned right shift Laverdas, triumphs and so on before and you soon adapt to riding with gears on the opposite side however the lack of power / speed was a problem in faster moving traffic or more so on long hills when loaded for a bit of camping, the brakes were woeful more so in the wet even though it was fun to ride it made every journey feel three times as long and god was it uncomfortable, it did not soak up the road or the bumps on gravel it was very harsh and so was tiring to ride. I am 6ft and the bike felt too small, my back ached, my knees were too high so for me the ergonomics were simply wrong. I know people have done massive trips on these bikes in my humble opinion they need a medal for such an achievement, a pushbike would be a better choice. The Enfields was sort of reliable enough but needed fettling a bit now and then, and I constantly wondered given the general standard of build quality when the big end would go or the some other catastrophic failure at some point. The 350s are far more reliable with little in power loss.I would say the general build quality, fit and standard of materials and engineering was simply awful. (moreso in like for like comparison to the original British built Enfields. Jake.

I had one for two years and it never missed a beat. The chap who bought it tried for A-road performance and broke the crank.

IMHO either just ride the lovely bike the Bullet is or buy something else. The mechano obsessive loons over on REOC will bang on about mods but that's their thing, fiddling not riding.

I'd have another tomorrow, but the V7 is undeniably easier to live with and avoids planning trips round the sort of performance you get from a Japanese 125. If this would add to a trip the Bullet may be the right tool. Try and make it into a Gold star and it will break.

Andy

Andy - give me a Guzzi any day over the Enfield ( i kind of love Guzzis so can't help myself with that particular problem - I am thinking of building a home cooked version of the v65 tt bike next as a project). I digress - with the Enfield the old chap i got it off had owned and been riding it over ten years from new and it had clocked up a huge 1470 miles and was still going well !!! - the mods I made were to improve the brakes and try to get it fit me for comfort, lose a bit of weight etc - but not the engine to any degree (i changed the air filter, electroni ignition and silencer), i did not try to squeeze that already squeezed lump. As you say as a bike to tootle about on back roads it was good fun and had loads of character - even as a small distance commuter i could see it being pretty good, but as a medium to longer haul travel bike just a huge compromise there are lots of better machines - even guzzis - that is unless the Enfield is your burning passion then it would do the job - but not for me thanks. Tchus Jake.bier

Greg Staves
 

Dear PaulD

I was at school with Greg Staves in the 60s. Sadly I lost contact with Greg and only found out about his life after school a few years ago - and after he had passed away. I too would like to learn more about this. Did you come across any links about his epic ride?

Many thanks

In praise of the new Enfield's, as much as i have criticised the old iron barrel indian enfield i owned, I have to say a lad at my local bike club bought a new efi enfield just at the end of september.
He is a rather large chap, as is his missus - he traded in a BMW 1200 RT.
So since buying it in Late September he added a top box and panniers, and both him and his missus have clocked up over 3000 trouble free miles, he is not what i would call mechanically inclined so jumps on and rides it, all weather and anywhere.
Talking to him last week he was saying how much both he and his missus love the bike, find it easy to ride and very very comfortable. They do look a bit like a cartoon both squeezed on the bike - but hey ho ! it's really working for them.
I hope it continues to work for them and stays reliable. It's nice to hear a positive slant on these bikes.

Tchus and merry christmas to all. Jake.