Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum

Royal Enfield Motorcycles => Vintage Royal Enfield => Topic started by: Anderground on May 04, 2013, 10:04:01 pm

Title: help to identify bike
Post by: Anderground on May 04, 2013, 10:04:01 pm
Hello, friends.

I am Brazilian and my English is bad, sorry.

I'm trying to identify a bike, but I need help.
The motor and the greater part of the frame appear to be a Model G 350cc Royal Enfield, but in the rear of the chassis that is awkward suspension. G model came out with this suspension? There seems to be a bike Indian warrior model?

Best regards

Ander
Title: Re: help to identify bike
Post by: Arizoni on May 04, 2013, 11:13:07 pm
In a book that shows photos of the Royal Enfields dating back into the 1930's I don't see any models that used the plunger rear suspension that is on your bikes frame.

While BSA, Triumph and several others were using the plunger suspension, Royal Enfield went from a ridged hard tail frame directly to the shock mounted swing arm style in 1948-1949.

Your engine does look like a G 350 from the 1940's with its forward oil tank.
Title: Re: help to identify bike
Post by: Anderground on May 05, 2013, 04:19:48 am
Thanks for the comment.

I don't know much about these royal bikes and your comment has been of great help. I'll search the BSU and Triumph chassis to see if I can find something similar. Then post here in the forum.

Also, I got more pictures of these bikes. Appears next to one a 500cc Royal and a Indian Brave. I think that's it.

Is very difficult to get parts for these bikes here in Brazil. One solution would be to turn them into bobbers.

thanks
Title: Re: help to identify bike
Post by: Anderground on May 05, 2013, 06:12:33 pm
I researched a lot, I looked on the internet and in my books, and found none bike with this particular model of rear suspension. The fork is a Royal G, but the rear have no idea.
Title: Re: help to identify bike
Post by: barenekd on May 06, 2013, 09:44:22 pm
The frame with the forks looks like a 1950 Indian Warrior. That was a short lived 500 twin. Brockhouse basically owned Indian and tried to use this bike to keep Indian alive against the British invasion. It didn't work.
There is no connection between Brockhouse Indians and Royal Enfield. In '54 after all the real American Indians were kaput, Indian made a deal to import Royal Enfields and sell them as Indians. Basically, all Enfield did was put Indians badges on the RE's along with some minor cosmetic changes. the bikes were 99% Royal Enfield. This went on until 1858 when Enfield stopped delivering to Indian. There were still some bikes unsold and available into at least 1962. The bikes that were sold after 1958 were titled for the year they were sold.
Bare
Title: Re: help to identify bike
Post by: Arizoni on May 07, 2013, 12:37:57 am
Now that you mention it, the front forks, the offset fuel tank filler and the frame have a lot in common with the photos of the Brockhouse  Indians shown in the book, "The Iron Redskin", (pp 297, 301, 302).
Title: Re: help to identify bike
Post by: carlo on May 08, 2013, 12:51:39 am
The rigid frame and sidevalve engine are from a Brockhouse-built Indian Brave dating from just before Indian began rebadging Royal Enfields. (the Indian Sales Corp. was already the US importer for Royal Enfield, as well as Vincent and a couple of other British companies)
The plunger frame looks like it's from one of the Indian-built  vertical twins. Since it's got an Enfield front fork grafted on, it's likely that the Enfield engine was also fitted to that frame. The original Indian vertical twin  motors were very badly designed, and more than likely, the Enfield engine was fitted because the original engine wasn't usable. Those bikes often get a lot of credit for pushing Indian over the brink.
Here's a photo of a restored Indian vertical twin, note the plunger frame.
Title: Re: help to identify bike
Post by: Anderground on May 10, 2013, 04:51:36 am
Hello, friends. Thank you for the information. I never get that here in Brazil. You helped me a lot.

It is very difficult to find parts for these bikes here in Brazil. It's easy to find them there? Or not it is worthwhile to restore them? I thought about making a bobber.
Title: Re: help to identify bike
Post by: Arizoni on May 10, 2013, 05:11:54 am
Parts for the 350 and 500cc Royal Enfield singles engine and frame parts are available from our host here in the USA, from England and from India.

Parts for the Brockhouse Indian's, (Brockhouse owned Indian Motorcycles at the time) which were made by Indian Motorcycle here in the USA are very rare.

It was powered by a 426cc vertical twin cylinder air cooled OHV engine which was hampered by their magneto.  Also, if they were ridden at high speeds the valves and main bearings would be destroyed.
  The USA Indian motorcycle was only made for a few years before the American company basically went out of business and was taken over by English investment firms.
Title: Re: help to identify bike
Post by: Anderground on May 10, 2013, 04:13:44 pm
Got it, so is the fork and engine are royal enfield, and the chassis is an Indian warrior.

Seems, then, that there is well worth restoring. Much work. Lots of money.

In the photos, next to that bike, have another Royal, 500cc, think I'll take this then, despite being in poor condition.
Title: Re: help to identify bike
Post by: barenekd on May 10, 2013, 06:54:44 pm
The fork on the Warrior frame is the stock Warrior fork.
Bare