Well, here it s June and I have not managed to get on the Enfield at all yet and Noraly has got me jonesing like mad. I've followed her from the beginning and just watched 80, 81, 82 and 83 this AM and now it's 10 o'clock.
The way I am now I have to pick my day and it's been either the weather or not "feeling right" (physically or emotionally) or having something else to do on any particular day. It's a whole painful process just getting ready to go and if I have any one "other" thing to do it does away with that day for a ride. Just an hour of necessary yardwork blows me out for that day and it would be dangerous for me to even take the bike past the end of the driveway. And so far the weather here has also sucked in some way most days!
It pisses me off that the pain has finally won after 81 years of fighting it every day. I would last about a half hour doing what this amazing girl is doing. Like Doug I may have to just wrap it up soon.
Anyway. If Royal Enfield's PR people have not already contacted this girl they are idiots. They should be helping her and capitalizing her in some way or even hiring her. She is an amazing salesman for this bike.
Hell Tooseevee, if you're still getting a leg over at 81 (insert sound of twittering Brits here), then you're more man than most. You got twenty years on me, and I'm not as spry as I once was. Add to that the level of difficulty of having to fire up a tweaked AVL with no decomp or electric leg on a cool Rhode Island morn, and my hat's off to you, man. Were I in your situation, before hanging up my spurs, I might be looking for means to maybe ameliorate the impact of those "olds". Just spitballing here, but have you got a nice jacuzzi or hot tub? Before I set out for "yonder" on my own Iron Belly, I sort of warm and limber it up around the block nice and easy. Why not treat your own body's lymphatic "lube system" and joints to the same warm up before a jaunt? Besides, a jacuzzi and a good book are among the sublime joys of life, if a taxi full of drunken Swedish stewardesses isn't handy. Treat yourself!
With your Enfield, that first cold start must be the biggest hurdle. So, if you'd really prefer to stick with your lovely AVL instead of some latter-day bike or even scooter with an electric start, how about getting one of those electric roller start doodads like I've seen in Jay Leno's Garage and other YouTube videos? There's no shortage of DIY versions shown out there, including one using what looks like a Harbor Freight angle grinder as its motive force, but
here is a rather nice looking one from England shown actually starting a nice old Bullet. I reckon with a bit of rummaging through the Interwebs, a nice enough turnkey one might present itself for $500 or so, where you could just back the beast on, hit the footpedal, fire up, and off you'd go.
Remember: We're Riders of the Archaic. So go ahead and be archaic. You'll show those whippersnappers!