[indian48]

You are right about the Germans and the Japanese - and I get your robot point as well. What I would like to see us Indians do is to get back the notions that we once had, of craftsmanship, even on things hand worked. That comes from taking pride in the work you do, and satisfaction in a job well done, however small it may be. Not something that a robot would have?!
The casting quality is a problem because of dirty foundries - and the typical purchase manager function of going and buying the cheapest by weight casting, as long as it meets the dimensional spec.
Things are changing though on that front everywhere as better foundries are built. Again, it is not an engineering problem, but one of attitudes, like everywhere else as you say. If people did their jobs as if they were their hobbies, we would get fine products, regardless of the technology used to make them. Handworked, the product would be interesting too, as the RE is.
Ironically, the unfinished aspect of the RE is what gives every owner the chance to make his bike uniquely his own. Starting with the running in - how well you do it, decides the quality of the bike you finally get. Gets you a lot more involved in it - but there are many who cannot be bothered to do that, who do not buy them for just that reason.
I wonder if many of us who are in to REs, and who are also in to high end audio, prefer listening to music on turntables and LPs, instead of the cookie cutter mass market CD players and now, ipods??!!

[Kevin Mahoney]

The materials in the Enfields are all modern. They aren't space program grade, but they are certainly adequate for the job at hand. The good part of the Infield "Unspoiled by Technology" or being proudly on the trailing edge of technology is also the negative. Things are much better engineered these days for longevity. How else can you explain the long life of cars today. In the 1960's a government study indicated that the average auto hit the junkyard around 90,000 miles. That was up from 50,000 - 60,000 in the 1940's ( We all have stories of Uncle Joes truck or car that went a million miles without an oil change so don't start). On the other hand nothing is made to be fixed anymore. Assemblies get changed but that is about it.

[Monty]

I was reading all the responses and read something that kinda disturbed me...Are the Royal Enfields being phased out?  That is very disheartening to hear if it is true.  I hope it is not true.  I would love to hear any comments on this. 

Thanks for your time

[jdrouin]

I wonder if many of us who are in to REs, and who are also in to high end audio, prefer listening to music on turntables and LPs, instead of the cookie cutter mass market CD players and now, ipods??!!

Oh brother, that's quite a can of worms to open! The obvious preference -- for me, and I would imagine many members of this forum  -- is turntables and LPs (especially through a nice monoblock tube amp). I think the common thread between them and RE motorcycles is a certain direct and "honest" quality that somehow doesn't come through in contemporary products. Plus they sound better!

I'd love to see a Venn diagram expressing the relationship of the sets "those of us who are into REs" and "those of us who are also into high end audio" and "those of us who prefer listening to music on turnatables and LPs." Would make a great banner image for a blog on said topics.

[cyrusb]

I was reading all the responses and read something that kinda disturbed me...Are the Royal Enfields being phased out?  That is very disheartening to hear if it is true.  I hope it is not true.  I would love to hear any comments on this. 

Thanks for your time
Yes that appears to be true, What worse is the new bike to replace it.Everything you dont want,in an ugly package.There is a thread here somewhere that shows the engine(unit construction) and the bike(1971 honda'ish). It clearly shows that RE has the usa market all wrong, imho.

[Kevin Mahoney]

If you dig through this site and search some of the messages ( I have forgotten exactly where it was), you will see a lot more information about this and the UCE. It is unlikely the bike you are referring to will ever see the light of day at least in the US. It is basically an Electra with the UCE engine stuffed into it. If so we would not expect it to be a great seller for obvious reasons. It is nothing special in our opinion. I think they showed the bike at the Paris bike show and perhaps around India (even though it is an export model for now) as a publicity stunt and to create buzz  about the new engine. Also the more modern look plays much better in India and the UK than it does in the US. What will happen is that the UCE engine will appear in a new bike, one more modern and one very retro, perhaps more retro than the current Classics.

[indian48]

I missed your reply on tube amps, got around to see it just today. I have been down that road and have come away from it, because it had started to get out of control - my new Bullet is cheaper than the last tube amp I went and bought - I have sold it since and now with a simpler system that just produces good music from an ipod that has 30 hours of my favorite music on it. I had gotten to a stage where I was spending more time with the equipment than in listening to music. I have determined to not go down that path with the Bullet passion, and stay on the good enough path!
But the glow of the tubes is magical,,,I will say! I think that in our minds we transfer that glow into what we hear from the music, some of the time at any rate.