Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum
General Discussion => Campfire Talk => Topic started by: Spitting Bull on October 01, 2009, 12:43:10 pm
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For Google Earth users.
If you go to
52º 18' 37.54"N 1º 56' 50.10"W
You'll see part of the old Royal Enfield factory in Redditch, which still has the name "Royal Enfield" on the roof. The roof is tiled, and the letters were made by using lighter-coloured tiles. The difference in colour is not so obvious as it once was, but the words can still be made out.
Tom
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;) let's plea for the Brit's to re-open it, Some good old Quality would be a treat.
I have closely looked over the new Triumphs, and I like them, sans the plastic.
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;) let's plea for the Brit's to re-open it, Some good old Quality would be a treat.
I have closely looked over the new Triumphs, and I like them, sans the plastic.
There is ONE redeeming feature on any Royal Enfield - NO TUPPERWARE! I think the boys in India realise that plastic isn't forever - but sturdy tin-work IS, and that's why they are good enough to make our beloved RE's from metal ....... ;D You just GOTTA love that!
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Well, I do not hold anything against the magnificent effort John Bloor has made in bringing the great British marque, TRIUMPH, back from the tombs of time. He and his products deserve an absolute but not quite unconditional WOWZAA!!! The Hinckley Bonneville is one fine motorcycle -- even with a sprinkling of plastic. I know because I had a 2001 model, which I sold in 2003. I missed the bike, so I bought a 2005 model, which I sold in 2008 to thin the herd.
My principal complaint, which is shared by two great British motorcycle mechanics I know, is the claimed dry weight of 451 lbs. (I am fairly convinced that its dry weight exceeds the claim by TRIUMPH.) I always felt the new Bonneville could easily have been built with a more realistic claimed dry weight of 400 lbs. These two mechanics I know and absolutely trust, who refer to the engine of the new Bonneville as "that lump of an engine", feel that the factory could have easily dropped 100 lbs. off the bike's dry weight from the start!!!
In closing, my brothers and sisters, I wish to make the three following points:
1. The Hinckley Bonneville is a copy of a once great motorcycle model.
2. The Bullet is quite close to (and is in fact) the real McCoy!
3. Those of you who own (or would like to own) a Hinckley Bonneville could not go wrong in any way because (and previously stated): "The Hinckley Bonneville is one fine motorcycle -- even with a sprinkling of plastic."
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I did look at a Triumph Scrambler, before the RE purchase.
Two things kept me from the Triumph, ( which I dearly liked)
1) price, yes that is in the eye of the beholder.
2) weight, she could stand to loose a few pounds. She felt heavy in the show room. I sometimes ride a trail or dirt/gravel road.
My RE is not a dirt bike but with its nimbleness, it feels at home on an easy trail.
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You gotta remember that in India - what would be considered a goat path here is probably a major highway! That is why our beloved Enfields are SO good on roads that aren't really roads - they were MADE for that! The RE is just a "common sense" bike all the way around - light, nimble, good handling, easy on the wallet - and they are just great to look at - it's a combination that's hard to beat! ;D