[High On Octane]

Yes... I started a bit later (mid 60s) and can still picture the Norton ads in magazines and "The Norton Girls" in those ads were So Nice, a sexy bike & a sexy woman will catch a guys eye . That Harley 500 looks a lot like A 83 Honda VT500 Ascot with some VT500 Shadow thrown in.

I just gave my 17 year old step-son my 2015 Snap-On mini bikini calendar.         

[crock]

A 400 cc bike is necessary for the Japanese market because of their licensing requirements. I belive you could make a 400cc bike from the current 500 cc with no changes other than the piston, the crank, and the fuel injection computer's programming.

 A 600 cc bike seems like a problem...unless they make it a twin with a counterbalancer. I would buy an "authentic replica" British twin if it came with a counterbalancer in it. IMHO the Brits would still be in business if they had addressed the vibration issues of their big twins. Technically, the existence of the modern Triumph Bonneville proves this is true. A really lightweight, say 425 lb, 650 cc twin would fill a niche in the market for a practical do it all street bike on American and European roads. Kawasaki pulled the plug on their W650 before most people even knew the bike was available. Harley is going after the same market right now with their small twins. We will see how well they do.

A big problem for Royal Enfield is that the developed world has roads capable of 70-80 mph cruising speeds and a 500 cc single can't handle those velocities for long. A middle weight bike should be able to handle 80 mph all day long to be successful in international markets.

[Ducati Scotty]

The Versys and V-Strom both fill that 650 do-it-all niche and sell very well.  Like you, I wish there was a more standard style bike like that available in the US.  The Honda CB is great but bigger than I want. The Bonneville and V7 Stone come close.

Scott

[suitcasejefferson]

I totally agree RE needs more dealers in the U.S. (my closest dealer is 120 miles away) but I also believe there will never be a big market for "real" Royal Enfields in the U.S. The Japanese have the non Harley/BMW market wrapped up with their high tech but boring bikes. Sadly not many in the U.S. are interested in real motorcycles anymore. The Yamaha SR400 is predicted to fail here, because it does not have an electric starter. IMO, if you can't kickstart, and maintain, your bike, you probably shouldn't be riding one. Modern bikes are getting scary close to modern cars, er, I mean transportation appliances. More computer parts than mechanical parts. As I've said before, it takes a special kind of rider to appreciate (and deal with) a RE. Many so called modern riders seem to want a bike that rides itself. They just get on, kick back (or is that lean forward) and enjoy the ride.

I would love to have an exact replica of a mid '60s Bonneville, without a counterbalancer, but built out of modern materials using modern manufacturing techniques. A few out of site parts could be redesigned to make it more reliable, but nothing that changed the look, feel, or sound of it. It could use modern cables, Mikuni carbs, and Japanese electrics. Both the engine and frame could be descreetly beefed up to handle the vibration, instead of trying to get rid of it. Just imagine a new vintage bike with all the looks, feel, and sound of the real thing, but with modern reliability. What a dream. Unfortunately a dream is all it is likely to ever be. Meanwhile I'm going for another ride on my RE tomorrow, after changing the oil today.

[Catbird]

Maybe it's just me, but I think that if RE could come up with something like the Ducati Scrambler, it would do very well in the marketplace.

[High On Octane]

SCJ - I totally agree with you.  And what you said about a modernized Bonneville is exactly what I'm going to be building for my twin.  Nothing super crazy but steel rods, forged pistons, better bearings and regrind the cams.  I already have electronic ignition installed, converted to 12v and all the Lucas crap removed. 

[krimp]

The Versys and V-Strom both fill that 650 do-it-all niche and sell very well.  Like you, I wish there was a more standard style bike like that available in the US.  The Honda CB is great but bigger than I want. The Bonneville and V7 Stone come close.

Scott

I find it interesting that you mentioned a Versys. I'm looking at a Versys 650LT for my second bike. From everything I have read, it looks like it would fill my need for a touring bike and still not be much larger than my RE. I have plans to take a trip to my local dealer this weekend.

[ace.cafe]

I totally agree RE needs more dealers in the U.S. (my closest dealer is 120 miles away) but I also believe there will never be a big market for "real" Royal Enfields in the U.S. The Japanese have the non Harley/BMW market wrapped up with their high tech but boring bikes. Sadly not many in the U.S. are interested in real motorcycles anymore. The Yamaha SR400 is predicted to fail here, because it does not have an electric starter. IMO, if you can't kickstart, and maintain, your bike, you probably shouldn't be riding one. Modern bikes are getting scary close to modern cars, er, I mean transportation appliances. More computer parts than mechanical parts. As I've said before, it takes a special kind of rider to appreciate (and deal with) a RE. Many so called modern riders seem to want a bike that rides itself. They just get on, kick back (or is that lean forward) and enjoy the ride.

I would love to have an exact replica of a mid '60s Bonneville, without a counterbalancer, but built out of modern materials using modern manufacturing techniques. A few out of site parts could be redesigned to make it more reliable, but nothing that changed the look, feel, or sound of it. It could use modern cables, Mikuni carbs, and Japanese electrics. Both the engine and frame could be descreetly beefed up to handle the vibration, instead of trying to get rid of it. Just imagine a new vintage bike with all the looks, feel, and sound of the real thing, but with modern reliability. What a dream. Unfortunately a dream is all it is likely to ever be. Meanwhile I'm going for another ride on my RE tomorrow, after changing the oil today.

A Royal Enfield Buillet with an Ace Fireball engine is as fast as the Triumph or BSA 650/750 twins of the 1960s. It will do everything they could do, and get much better fuel economy doing it. And they last 50k miles. And yes, I'm talking about the old "Iron Barrel" Bullet model.

This is where "the dream" lives, but few people seem to recognize it. It IS the 1950s vintage bike with the modern powerful and reliable engine with Mikuni carb and electronic ignition, and all the charm of the real vintage machine, and high performance. You'll have to take care of the electrical stuff on your own.

And if you'd rather have it with a custom Featherbed frame and custom bodywork, using the Enfield forks and swingarm and wheels, we have that available too. We have a custom featherbed frame builder that is working with us. ChuckD's bike will be completed shortly, and he has the Super Fireball GP engine going in the custom Featherbed frame, and Manx style bodywork. Pics will be posted when that is finished.

Sometimes I wonder why people don't look at what we are doing with the Bullet.

[pmanaz1973]

Sometimes I wonder why people don't look at what we are doing with the Bullet.

No disrespect intended, but there is a lot of "ACE" motorcycle related company names out there.  Even when you Google "ACE Royal Enfield", all you get is a yahoo group site.  Do you have a Website or storefront?  I have a number of Bullet riding friends who do not use this forum (silly, I know) that have looked for performance parts and I've pointed them your way, but they couldn't find your company easily on-line.  Again, no disrespect intended at all, just want to relay what I've heard from my friends.

[ace.cafe]

No disrespect intended, but there is a lot of "ACE" motorcycle related company names out there.  Even when you Google "ACE Royal Enfield", all you get is a yahoo group site.  Do you have a Website or storefront?  I have a number of Bullet riding friends who do not use this forum (silly, I know) that have looked for performance parts and I've pointed them your way, but they couldn't find your company easily on-line.  Again, no disrespect intended at all, just want to relay what I've heard from my friends.

Yes, what we have is the Yahoo Group forum site.
We are a custom business, and so everything must be ordered from me as a custom part or custom build. We don't have anything "on the shelf". We cannot do a "web store" or a "shopping cart". So, there is no benefit in having any other website. There is full discussion on all the topics on our Yahoo Group, and we provide full technical support there, and by email and/or even by phone if required. We help each person achieve their goals individually, and custom make the products that they need to achieve it.

We currently have near 40 builds out there on the road, and some with 5 years of riding on them. Some with around 50k miles. A Bullet like that is not going to be made with "off the shelf" parts ordered from a website. It needs a lot of consultation and tech support which I provide with all our customer builds. This is what sets us apart from all the others. This is what makes a successful build happen.

Just steer them to our Yahoo Group, or have them email me directly. I can take it from there.
Thanks!
 

[Ducati Scotty]

I find it interesting that you mentioned a Versys. I'm looking at a Versys 650LT for my second bike. From everything I have read, it looks like it would fill my need for a touring bike and still not be much larger than my RE. I have plans to take a trip to my local dealer this weekend.

From what I hear the Versys feels lighter and smaller than the V-Strom.  The engine can be a bit vibey.

[krimp]

From what I hear the Versys feels lighter and smaller than the V-Strom.  The engine can be a bit vibey.

I ride an Enfield, vibey isn't an issue.

[Warwick]

I am excited about the prospect of a 600cc single with 20% more torque from the standard UCE. I love singles and big bore plodders am glad RE still makes them. Everyone always is complaining about the lack of power of the UCE and I am perplexed that more aren't excited about the potential increase in torque even though revs may suffer.
As for the Iron Barrel ACE is doing great things and I can vouch for the increase in HP gained from the 535 mods. I have a standard bullet and a 535 that is half way as good as ACE's model and the increase in power is significant. However, it is nowhere near as smooth as my standard bullet but its a high compression single which makes it fun even though mudguard stays blinker mountings etc ultimately shake themselves to death. My 535 has the alloy big bore kit, aluminium barrel, alpha bearing big end, roller main bearings, HP oil pump, oversize exhaust valve, mildly ported head and alloy rockers. It was my only form of transport for over a year and has done about 15k. However, I would like at some time to take to the next level with an ACE or big head, better cams, uprated clutch and a larger carb. Unfortunately I made the mistake of not putting a better connecting rod in and will need to split the cases again to do that. I am the only one of my mates to have an RE and I know that it is almost impossible to convince others that they can potentially have Manx like performance. ACE, I feel your pain

[armando_chavez]

I do think ACE should have a website for marketing purposes.  or an active facebook at least. I love how ACE and those guys are all about constantly helping the customer with any questions they have, even people who havent made purchases get the best of help. there has to be a lot more enfield CI owners out there who dont even realize they can have serious power. even AVL owners, I know in the coming months ill have my avl head sent out for the treatment possibly even with the good rockers and ace cams if i figure out a way to get the clutch to hold down the power.  probably due to lack of marketing.  Im a college student, ive had many different type of business marketing courses, so i do think there would be a benefit to the ACE name through a website. ACE i do have some ideas for a website i just thought of, if your interested in some help give me a PM.

[ace.cafe]

I do think ACE should have a website for marketing purposes.  or an active facebook at least. I love how ACE and those guys are all about constantly helping the customer with any questions they have, even people who havent made purchases get the best of help. there has to be a lot more enfield CI owners out there who dont even realize they can have serious power. even AVL owners, I know in the coming months ill have my avl head sent out for the treatment possibly even with the good rockers and ace cams if i figure out a way to get the clutch to hold down the power.  probably due to lack of marketing.  Im a college student, ive had many different type of business marketing courses, so i do think there would be a benefit to the ACE name through a website. ACE i do have some ideas for a website i just thought of, if your interested in some help give me a PM.

Thanks.

There are clutch upgrade options which we can advise for you.  This is something which we deal with all the time.