[REpozer]

I walked away from riding for almost 20 years to feed a family. I had found memories of my  1981 Honda XL 250s that I purchased new for $1350 (no joke). I was 15 years old at that time.

Fast forward to 2008, I was able to purchase my RE out of the crate, I live 800 miles from our dealer, over land and sea . The crate was a practical shipping solution. The dealer could tell talking to me over the phone that I would be okay opening a factory crate( that's what I wanted)
Parts availability and price remind me of old Honda prices when they were affordable.(Not so with Honda anymore)
I am not a speed demon either,so RE fits that too. I'm afraid of crashing so I don't fall anymore.

Royal Enfield has been a good experience. I don't think I will every like the C5. I may purchase a B5 someday. But my AVL Classic is fine for now and is holding up.

I am becoming concerned with parts availability for AVL engines.  Time will tell.

[GreenMachine]

I brought it because I just love the way the demo  sparkled and said "Buy Me"..I was shopping for a bike anyway ..I had the cash and figured tax and tags out the door for 5k ...At the time, the dealer was 7 miles from my house on a country road...The stars were position just  right to write a check and order one..Been good ever since..

[Jack Leis]

    My love for thumpers started at a very early age. My Father had a 1947? BSA 350 single he bought in 1952. He used to pick me up and sit me on the tank and give me rides around the block when my Mom wasn't looking. man how i used to love that !  I bought a BSA Victor after Vietnam and man did I get the bug again. I beat the crap out of that thing racing desert with it and stepped up to a BSA B50. That bike was a little better. Raced 2 Honda singles in 2 different classes and within a few years gave up Desert Racing. I still had the love and passion for 4 stroke singles. I could never get it out of my blood . Then came the Yamaha SR500 I bought in 1979. God that bike was a blast. I hadn't ridden a motorcycle since 1982  when last September I found the Royal Enfield website while looking for something else. Found a dealer in my hometown and bought their demo bike . A beautiful G5. Now that I'm retired and have a great riding partner ( bare )  the passion is still going strong . I eat , drink and sleep Royal Enfield. I absolutely love that bike. It gives me something to look forward to and above all, keeps me off drugs and out of gangs ! LOL

[2bikebill]

My intention to get back into motorbiking had been on the back burner for a long time - decades!  I'd nearly bought an Enfield in 1980 - after only ten years away, and when you could get a new 350 for around £1000 - but I was just embarking on a full time university course as a "mature" student, and just couldn't find the money.
When the moment finally came round again, I still had a strong preference for the style of bikes I grew up with, but after so long I just didn't have the nerve or knowledge to buy something old. I also didn't want anything too scary, so a beautiful old style 500 single - available brand new! - became the irresistable option.
Some of you will know about my 2 year love/hate relationship with my delinquent Royal Enfield G5 DL......
Even though it now has to share my affection and riding time with a 650 twin, I still think it's an absolutely beautiful looking machine, and I still love riding it. In spite of all I have said during that bike's delinquency, I doubt I will ever part with it. It changed my life, and was the only brand new vehicle I've ever had!
Now I am getting old and my bones ache more and more - I think, realistically, the long tours I hoped for on the W650 are unlikely now - and when it comes to it, as it must, I probably already know I'll be more contented, and a sight safer, on the leafy byways of Devonshire astride my steady old thumper than thrashing dangerously along the highway on the other hooligan....

[The Garbone]

I have an addictive personality and it seemed like a bad idea at the time so here I am.....

[Lwt Big Cheese]

I'd had bikes over the years and used to commute on them. The last one was 40 miles each way, raiin or shine. Then one day I found I was faced with an icey hill and decided that I'd had enough of taking my life in my hands twice a day.

Fast forward a few years and I got the urge for a bike again. I'm thinking that Japanese bikesare like white bread. They're OK, but if you want a real treat get a proper loaf!

All the British bikes have suffered from the recession. Speculators have put the prices sky high. Besides I want to ride not polish an investment!

A RE appeard on eblag locally. Then I find that the guy is a specialist in them and brings them in from India when he returns from holiday. Long story short I bought a cheap one from him.

I then read everything I could find on them. And rapidly came to the conclusion that the road testers in the mags are barely out of their teens and next week will be reporting on trains, cars or whatever. They weren't enthusiasts at all!! Thier comments weren't valid!

Of course they're are cantancerous if all youve ever had is white bread! Er I mean easily started and forgiving motorcycles with too much power.

I watch the point and squirt bikes zipping up the road and then over braking for the bend and don't feel the need to compete there. I'd rather try to get the very best out of the old school machine. If you can ride an Enfield to the best of ITS abilities you won't be doing too bad at all.

Then you have the cheapness and knowledge and the spares availability, longevity etc.

Oh the knowledge. There are guys out there who have been tuning and racing these things for years and are friendly enough to pass that information on. Ones that can make an RE out perform a Gold Star - and on a budget too!

I love the way that mine looks sh1t. But the engine, gearbox and clutch were all rebuilt and it's now 12 volt. It's just the tin wear and cosmetics that make it look that way. And parked up it gets more attention than the custom harleys or the hot jap bikes - not that I'm doing it for that, you understand.

Bottom line? I don't know of anything that gives better smiles per pound (dollar!).

[palace15]

Lwt Big Cheese, good points you made there, unfortunately British bikes have been subject to investment purposes, I believe this was something to do with some UK law and bikes being able to be used for 'retirement' funds, I suppose a bit like paintings. When we had one of our many recessions it was noticed that classic cars lost far greater value than classic bikes, and realising that bikes take up far less room, bikes became the thing to 'collect'
It begs the question, how many classic bike owners know anything of what they own?
A couple of years ago a Vincent V twin from the Brian Verrall collection fetched around £206.000, the other week at the Stafford show the same bike sold for £225.500 incl buyers premium, how many Vincent owners now think their bike is worth around the same?
There are more so called BSA Rocket Goldstars around now than the factory ever produced, I know someone who has just paid over £8000 for one of the copies.
For outrageous prices, google Bonhams the auctioneers.
Heres a link!!
http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/19766/59907/

[Pauly]

here"s my motorcycling story

about 2 1/2 years ago I was doing s routine tune up on my 98 jeep wrangler. i bought this jeep nearly 12 years ago, we've lived in 5 states together and i can"t see life without her.  as i was taking the distributor cap off to put a new one on, the bolt sheared in the distributor housing, no efforts to remove the sheared bolt were succesful so i found myself with a new $189 dollar distributor for what should have been a routine 1/2 hour job.  This led me to a descsion, I love tinkering with engines, but it was time to leave the daily driver repairs to a professional.

but then what to tinker on, the Dog? she"d tolerate it it, but it would disturb her naps.

not more than 2 weeks later a buddy was leaving town and needed to get rid of his bike and pick up some extra money, so for the some of $300 I becam the owner of an '84 honda V45 magna in almost running condition. the rub, I had never ridden a motorcycle before and really had no interest in them, but i got it running a little more reliably and took a MSF course.

That was it, as they say, it was over, i was hooked.

well, this bike has a hydraulic clutch and for the life of me i couldn"t get more than about 20 pulls out of it before i had to pull over and bleed the air out of it. winter came and other, more indoor projects took over, that december i worked the maintainence shut down at the plant.  this is where the story starts to relate to the enfield by the way.  We had purchased a new explosion proof shop vac, a really quality piece of equiptment. and me being the geek i am, decided to research the company that made it online.  turns out the company is the old Nimbus bike company, they now make industrial shop vacs.

I am obsessed with British culture thanks to a combination of P.G. Wodehouse and Douglas Adams.  This led me to wonder which English bike companies were still in bussiness. so the fateful google search was entered, being familar with firearms i clicked first on the Royal Enfield link, and was instantly taken by the G5. love at first sight, no, not strong enough, i fall in love at first sight at least 3 times a day, more during the summer when the skirts get short and necklines plunge.

a little research only furthered the obsession, here was a machine without a hydraulic clutch and four @#$$%ING carburators to tune and synch. and to me the best part seemed to be that they rattled themselves to pieces every now and then and you got to put the back together

it took a year and a half to secure financing and this march 10th i borrowed a pickup a nd drove the 210 miles to Ralston Wyoming to bring her home. The rest is history, in the making.

Sorry to be long winded, but you asked

Pauly 

[rbelyk]

I was actually looking for a vintage vespa when I saw an ad for the new enfield c5
I fell in love and had to have one, luckily there was a dealer here in town
went out and sat on it and bought it, I hadn't had a bike in 25yrs...
I just love the vintage look but modern reliability (ok ok)   
I don't mind it being a 500cc, I ride with a bunch of guys on norton's, I can keep up most of the time
cheers

[Weltlich]

Well, since I just bought a 2011 C5 Military, I might as well weigh in.

For me, it really boils down to to economy and aesthetics.  I'm 32, and started riding about 13 years ago.  Like a lot of young men, I was drawn to sport bikes initially, and went through a couple of Suzuki's GSXR's (a 600, then a 750).  I never went "full-squid," but hey, I liked going fast.  Rode those for about eight years, then due to military obligations, I sold off the 750, and I've been bike-less ever since.

So, I ended up moving to Boston to go to school and for the past 4 years, I've been using the MBTA (public trans) to get around.  It's had it's ups and downs, and lately, it's been mostly downs.  The "T" decided to raise fees and cut services, so I said to my fiance, "I think it's time for me to get a bike again."   She was for the idea, but wants to get a sidecar, so that's the next big item on the list.

Anyhow, I'd been looking at the Triumphs, starting with their Street Triples, because I was still in the "go fast" mindset.  That led me to looking at their "classic" line, which led me to look at Brit bikes as a whole, leading eventually to Royal Enfield.  I really dug the look of the C5 series, and especially the Military, and it ultimately led me to re-think my whole stance on speed.  You can't go fast in Boston - the streets suck and the traffic is horrible in that stop-go-stop way.  And then I remembered how much sport bike seats sucked.  And then I saw the gas mileage that the C5 got, and I saw what Triumph wanted for a new Street Triple.

So I picked up a new Enfield two weeks ago, and I've had an awesome case of reverse-buyers-remorse ever since.

[FiRE Comms]

Back in 06 I was looking at the triumph line kicking around the same ideas as everyone else...  Somehow i ran across the enfield site, and caught the bug.  At that time the AVL was either out or getting ready to come out, and there were rumors of the UCE bikes.  I waited, then saw the C5 but no deluxe!  Something that really brought me to the enfield was the chrome tank of the deluxe, so I waited.  And the chrome came about!  Talk about happy days.  I called my dealer from Afghanistan and put the deposit down the day the C5 Deluxe was made official.  I'm still stuck over here, but on my trips home I've completed the 2nd oil change and look forward to many years of perpetuating my adolescence! 

[Jack Leis]

   I hear you guy's ! Realistically, buying an Enfield just makes all the sence in the world. Fire Comms, I hope you are able to come home and STAY home soon.

[Ducati Scotty]

Fire Comms, I hope you are able to come home and STAY home soon.

+1.

[Ozinwa]

I have been riding since 1969, hodakas, tohatsu,Puch most all of the common ones Honda, Kawi etc, and quite a few of the letter ones DKW, KTM,BSA. Greatest love was for a TR 650 that was probably a time period in my life more than anything else.
I sat down and figured out what I really wanted in a bike. I like simple maintenance / tinkering in the form of single ignition and carburetor, spoke wheels, low seat height, disc brakes narrow feel and one that celebrates it's mechanical being. Also this time I was going to be selfish and make it a single seat.
 The Enfield fit my perfect bike list, anyways who could say no to such a beautiful bike.
For dirt riding I have a Tiger cub and family rides it is a Stella with a sidecar, when I want plain pleasure to ride I take the Enfield and as always when you ride a Brit bike (most don't know where it is from) you can be accepted by the rocket and Harley riders alike.

OZinWA

[Chiefharlock]

y'know, same reason as everyone else: Zombies


LoL!!!