Royal Enfield G5 Military looked ready for anything

The Royal Enfield G5 Military looked like it had just rolled off the parade ground.

"Just how rare are these?" a reader named Mike asked about the Royal Enfield G5 Military motorcycle. He was responding to my October, 2010 post about the "rare Royal Enfield G5 Military."

Well, they were hard to find at the time, and in demand, too. Some people seemed to prefer them over the new C5 model with its smaller front wheel and, initially, no kick starter.

If you were going into the woods, the G5 seemed to have what it would take to get you there and bring you back. (Much of this advantage is gone. The C5 now comes with the kick starter and there's even a C5 Special with the bigger front wheel; it even comes in military colors.)

G5 Military (with some options).

To some, the upright G5 in olive drab just looked, well, more "military." When it was introduced, Classic Motorworks (Royal Enfield USA) fit one with some attractive options and took it out  by the river for a series of great photographs, some of which you see here. The motorcycle's appeal is evident.

The G5 is still available from Royal Enfield USA dealers in Deluxe and Classic models. But if you seek military colors, the C5 in Battle Green or Desert Storm (sand) are what you want. Their "vintage military style harkens back to WWII," the online catalog notes.

But back to Mike's question: only a certain number of G5 Military model motorcycles came to the U.S. No more are likely to come. So how rare are they?

The G5's kick starter stood proudly at attention.

I asked Royal Enfield USA and, to my delight, got an answer, from Doneen at Classic Motorworks:

"I counted 95 G5 Military models that came to the U.S."

Sometimes manufacturers offer "limited edition" models of their vehicles and sometimes that's just the way it works out. I've written about how the Royal Enfield Bullet Sixty-5  became one interesting example of this.

In the G5 Military I think we have another curiosity. Does that mean it would be worth paying extra to get one? Yes, absolutely: if you want it.

Royal Enfield Military adopts a commanding pose.

Royal Enfield G5 Military looked ready for anything

The Royal Enfield G5 Military looked like it had just rolled off the parade ground.

"Just how rare are these?" a reader named Mike asked about the Royal Enfield G5 Military motorcycle. He was responding to my October, 2010 post about the "rare Royal Enfield G5 Military."

Well, they were hard to find at the time, and in demand, too. Some people seemed to prefer them over the new C5 model with its smaller front wheel and, initially, no kick starter.

If you were going into the woods, the G5 seemed to have what it would take to get you there and bring you back. (Much of this advantage is gone. The C5 now comes with the kick starter and there's even a C5 Special with the bigger front wheel; it even comes in military colors.)

G5 Military (with some options).

To some, the upright G5 in olive drab just looked, well, more "military." When it was introduced, Classic Motorworks (Royal Enfield USA) fit one with some attractive options and took it out  by the river for a series of great photographs, some of which you see here. The motorcycle's appeal is evident.

The G5 is still available from Royal Enfield USA dealers in Deluxe and Classic models. But if you seek military colors, the C5 in Battle Green or Desert Storm (sand) are what you want. Their "vintage military style harkens back to WWII," the online catalog notes.

But back to Mike's question: only a certain number of G5 Military model motorcycles came to the U.S. No more are likely to come. So how rare are they?

The G5's kick starter stood proudly at attention.

I asked Royal Enfield USA and, to my delight, got an answer, from Doneen at Classic Motorworks:

"I counted 95 G5 Military models that came to the U.S."

Sometimes manufacturers offer "limited edition" models of their vehicles and sometimes that's just the way it works out. I've written about how the Royal Enfield Bullet Sixty-5  became one interesting example of this.

In the G5 Military I think we have another curiosity. Does that mean it would be worth paying extra to get one? Yes, absolutely: if you want it.

Royal Enfield Military adopts a commanding pose.

Royal Enfield pin-up gains classic status

The racy pin-up girl in the ad for the Royal Enfield GT 500 motorcycle is now a "classic."

Apparently.

The Royal Enfield Parts & Accessories catalog produced by Classic Motorworks slyly refers to the poster babe I call the Enfield Girl as a sort of historical artifact.

According to the 2009 catalog, the 17-inch by 23-inch full-color image is available as a "Genuine poster of a 'Royal Enfield' advertisement from the early part of the century (21st Century)." In other words, the buxom beauty astride a Royal Enfield cafe racer dates all the way back to, maybe, 2004.

Item Z90511 thus can go up on your garage wall (for $7.95 plus shipping) with no danger of offending anyone. After all, she's time tested art, much like the Venus de Milo, but with arms and even some over stretched clothing. But don't call the Louvre to order, call Classic Motorworks at 1-800-201-7472.

Classic Motorworks catalog description of the Enfield Girl ad as being from the early part of the present century go back at least to 2007. As readers of this blog know, it's perfectly true she's a timeless beauty. The Enfield Girl was drawn from a classic pin-up by one of the master artists of the genre. She was set to canvas (so to speak) long before 2004 and you can read the full story here.

Happy Valentines from the Enfield Girl

Happy Valentines from the Enfield Girl

The painting Final Touch by Gil Elvgren and below, the model.

The Enfield Girl was a real person. She was probably very young, perhaps 15, when she started modeling for renown pin-up artist Gil Elvgren (1914-1980). Over the years she got a haircut and a new skirt. But there is no doubt that the pin-up girl astride the Royal Enfield motorcycle in the Classic Motorworks advertisement was originally the girl in the Elvgren painting Final Touch.

She was just "clip art" when artist Ignacio Catral of Catral Doyle Creative in Milwaukee came across her. As he tells the story:

"At the time, we were in charge of developing a campaign for an amazing new kit that you could bolt on to the existing Bullet and create this fantastic café racer. We had a chance to spend some time with the bike during the photo shoot and we came up with the idea of this pin-up calendar shot with the bike in it. We had the bike shot already but no budget for another shoot and the pin-up talent. In our research we found the image of this girl straddling an artist’s horse, and knew she was the one. After finding the correct shot with the correct posture we had to treat the shot of the bike to match the existing technique of the pin-up illustration."

This likely was not the first advertising job the Enfield Girl did. In The Art & Life of Gil Elvgren, Charles G. Martignette tells how most Elvgren pin-ups (there were about 500 of them) were for calendars produced by the Brown & Bigelow firm. The images might also show up on related products: advertising fliers, blotters, notepads, playing cards, even letter openers.

Elvgren produced fully finished paintings. He was at the head of his profession and well paid for the day, but his works weren't always treated with much respect. The cheap, double-entendre titles were provided by copy writers. Other artists were sometimes employed to "over-paint" the images, changing the models' clothes, for instance. The image could then be reused, without paying the original artist again.

Elvgren photographed his models. Pictures exist of the same basic pose with variations in dress. In the case of the Enfield Girl, the billowing skirt comes and goes in the photos. Our Enfield Girl wears a skirt closer to that seen in one of the photos. The Enfield Girl has been "flopped" and now extends her left arm to the right. Her hair is shorter and has lost the flower Elvgren added to his painting. The extended arm, eyes focused forward instead of at the viewer, and tip-toe high heels are constants.

Elvgren enjoyed painting nudes, but most commissions were for girls who are adequately if not completely clad. There is always a hint of mischief in their eyes. The girl is clearly in on the joke; she knows what she is doing.

Their youth is a bit disturbing. Elvgren said the finished pin-up would have the face of a 15-year-old and the body of a 20-year-old. He preferred models who were just starting out in their careers and so lacked poise. Elvgren chose the models for their faces. He could always add bigger busts and tighter waists and hair styles were kept simple so as to remain fashionable for as long as possible.

The model in Final Touch, which dates from perhaps 1954, is making her own painting, a pose that suggests that Elvgren might have momentarily run out of ideas and resorted to using his own studio. He felt that every imaginable idea had been used. He sought and shared ideas with other pin-up artists he knew and relied on his wife and family to come up with ideas.

Elvgren owned race cars and attended races. There are a few cars included as props in his pin-up paintings, but I didn't see any motorcycles. In that respect, the Enfield Girl fills an important gap.

Royal Enfield Continental GT, the perfect cafe racer?

English designer Charlie Trelogan wrote "How to Build a Cafe Racer" on the BikeExif.com blog. He established basic guidelines for the ideal cafe racer and illustrated how these lines worked to turn a Honda motorcycle into a cafe racer.

I thought it would be fun to superimpose the lines he drew onto the new Royal Enfield Continental GT, to see how well it does in comparison.

You'll have to read the original article to learn the justifications Trelogan provided for the lines he drew. But just looking at them surely provides some idea.

How does the Royal Enfield do, all told? Very well, but not perfectly.

The Foundation.

The Foundation, a straight line (bumps and bends are distracting) above two equal size wheels.

The Cut Off Points.

The Cut Off Points run through the wheel center lines. No bodywork should extend past them.

The Height Limit.

The Height Limit. Low and lean. Nothing should extend above the top of the tank.

The Bone Line.

The Bone Line. Widest part of the bike. Best if it runs through the center of the headlamp.

Visual Weight.

Visual Weight. The mass of the bike is here, ideally topped by the tank. Peak of the tank should fall right on the center line of the cylinder.

The Swoop.

The Swoop ties the seat and the tank together.

Main Angles.

Main Angles. Straight, not spaghetti.

Secondary Angles.

Secondary Angles. Your eye likes things to line up.

Fork Distance.

Fork Distance. Tuck in that wheel. Makes it look mean.

Evaluated this way, the Continental GT looks a bit too long. To achieve the rough, tough look of the ideal cafe racer it should be more tucked in and less open around the motor. Note the Visual Weight illustration: cladding behind the motor (where the tool boxes would be on a Bullet) creates mass where openness is wanted.

Ironically, while working for Tata in India Trelogan built his own design based on the Royal Enfield Bullet 350!

The designer crafts his own Royal Enfield.

Looking at it tells us where he might have taken the Continental GT.

Royal Enfield Continental GT, from a woman's view

Press photographers gather glamour shots of the Continental GT at Brooklands.

Alexandra Straub stood out as the only woman I saw among the many foreign writers riding the new Royal Enfield Continental GT at its launch in England. Her testosterone-free report on the Continental GT is on Canada MotoGuide.

It's a complete report and it's funny. I liked it because Straub is the only writer there, besides me, who admits to struggles riding on the "wrong" side of the road — and she is a far more experienced motorcyclist.

"Even through the unnerving urban haul, the bike posed no additional stress on my being," she writes. "It's easy to live with, even if your life expectancy appears short."

I got to like her ready sense of humor during hours on the press bus, when she would entertain her Canadian colleagues with a trivia quiz from her smart phone. Journalists from around the world would jump in with answers North Americans wouldn't know.

Riding the Continental GT on the unfamiliar route from Brooklands to Brighton I followed the wisp of blond hair from beneath her helmet. Very possibly our little group was lost, I figured, but she was bound to be amusing regardless of where we ended up.

Royal Enfield Continental GT part of Retro World look

Royal Enfield's Continental GT with Planet Sputnik's David Parr (center).

Royal Enfield's retro-sassy new Continental GT cafe racer was launched in England with the help of an outfit named Planet Sputnik. Jorge Pullin noted the firm's contribution in a recent item on his blog My Royal Enfields.

With a storehouse of vintage vehicles, props, locations and fetching models dolled up in period duds, Planet Sputnik delivers the look of the 1950s and '60s for a long list of commercial and film clients.

They did a fantastic job for Royal Enfield. I was in England to witness it first hand, but you see it for yourself in the short movie "Ace Cafe to Madras Cafe."

According to Planet Sputnik:

"Not only did we advise the company during the earliest stages of the motorcycle’s concept and design several years before it became reality, but we were also consulted to ensure that the launch struck the right balance of classic Brit heritage and modern-day cool.

"Finally, Planet Sputnik‘s guy David Parr was specially selected by Royal Enfield to appear alongside several other riders in promotional footage and stills for the stunning new 500cc machine. Most exciting was this edgy new short movie "Ace Cafe to Madras Cafe," which involved a demanding filming schedule in London, Turkey and India.

"Planet Sputnik is your one-stop retro hire agency for photographic, editorial, film and television work. Authentic locations, vehicles, props and wardrobe — and period-perfect people, too — whatever your stills, filming or event hire requirements, we’ll supply a professional and creative service sparkling with vintage glamour and style."

Check out Planet Sputnik's gallery of fashion and film. The recreations are great and they use a lot of original items. But there's an overly commercial feel to it. I asked my wife and grown daughters to look at Planet Sputnik.

Daughter Erin's reaction: "Aaaaand now I want to shop."

Planet Sputnik's motto is "Welcome to our Retro World." They bring the mid-20th Century into the 21st Century, all polished and prettified.

I was there and I remember. It stank. We had pimples. The girls were not nearly so suggestively pliant as the models Planet Sputnik serves up. On the other hand, the men — even hooligans — were generally better shaved.

The Retro World of Planet Sputnik is the idealized past seen as it would have looked in a glossy fashion magazine of the time. Maybe better.

What Planet Sputnik accomplishes is not "evocative" but actually creative. It's not so much a betrayal of what the past was really like as it is a sort of imposition of current (commercial) concerns on the past. It's mostly"right" but it's still somehow "off."

And that's probably a good thing. If the recreations were too period perfect they would be objectionable as a falsification of the past.

The ironic thing to me is this: Royal Enfield's brand new, old fashioned, long-stroke, Brit-style, single-cylinder Continental GT is more authentically an artifact of the 1960s than the faux Rockers they have posed with it.

Royal Enfield Continental GT is a proud throwback

On hallowed ground: Royal Enfield Continental GT at Brooklands.

By introducing its Continental GT cafe racer in the United Kingdom, Royal Enfield virtually committed the cliche of "carrying coals to Newcastle."

India's Economic Times faces the issue in an article entitled "Why Royal Enfield's Siddhartha Lal is betting on British market."

"It was an audacious launch," The Economic Times writes, of Eicher Motors CEO Siddhartha Lal's introduction of Royal Enfield's Continental GT at the famed Brooklands race track.

The made-in-India Continental GT is a "nostalgic throwback" to the British-made Continental GT of 1965, The Economic Times writes. For England, the motorcycle is also a reminder that Royal Enfield is "a great brand that it virtually ceded to India..."

Lal innocently suggested to the world's press, gathered for the Sept. 11, 2013 launch, that the new Continental GT is mostly a pleasant and stylish answer to traffic congestion in countries like the UK. And it might be. But the Economic Times sees a bit more:

"Still, there is an unmistakable pride and chutzpah in plying a British brand that was saved by India back to the Britons. But in a century where Indian entities have salvaged Tetley and Jaguar Land Rover, that should hardly come as a surprise.

"In fact, Lal is looking even further afield to America for Continental GT, and the irony of doing that — going up to 500 cc, even as Harley-Davidson is puttering down to 500cc for the Indian market — is not lost on bike aficionados."

But it's all to the good for consumers and, in the end, The Economic Times can not resist this very clever kicker:

"Evidently, there is vroom for everyone."

What does made-in-India Harley mean for Royal Enfield?

What does made-in-India Harley mean for Royal Enfield?

The new Harley-Davidson Street will get people talking.

"Harley's Indian Gamble" is the headline of the Ride Apart blog's first look at marketing materials for the 2014 Harley-Davidson Street 750 and 500.

"The most important new Harley-Davidson in living memory isn’t made in Milwaukee, but instead at H-D’s new factory in Guragon, India," writes author Wes Siler.

Siler wonders if Harley can succeed in India but has no doubts about why the company is giving it a go. He writes:

"Currently Harley dominates the U.S. market, making around 185,000 of the 452,000 motorcycles that were sold in the U.S. in 2012. Far fewer than the 273,000 bikes it sold here in 2006. Compare that total market volume to India, which totals in excess of 10 million motorcycle sales year and you can see why Harley is eager to explore new markets.

"Currently, Harley sells around 2,000 motorcycles in India annually."

He doesn't mention Royal Enfield, which sells far more motorcycles in India, or other Indian manufacturers that sell far more motorcycles in India than Royal Enfield. What will the new baby Harleys mean to Royal Enfield?

After all, these are the most affordable Harleys in a long time and they're modern designs, with liquid cooled V-twin engines.

My guess: it's all good. Harleys are about showing off, not what cools their motors. Inevitably, some people love this attitude, some people despise it. In other words, all Harley-Davidson motorcycles are so polarizing that their effect on a marketplace will be to get people talking and buyers shopping.

Plenty in India (and perhaps some in the United States) will consider Harley and choose Royal Enfield instead.

The reasons I'm confident of this will be obvious to anyone viewing this Harley-Davidson "Reveal" video for the Street. Just count the number of references to "attitude"

Royal Enfield Continental GT is a 'brilliant' buy

Mike O'Reirdan modified his Royal Enfield Continental GT. No mud flaps!
(Photo by Manoj Bankal)

The new Royal Enfield Continental GT cafe racer is in the United States, and Mike O'Reirdan of New Jersey has had his long enough to learn what he likes about it, and even modify what he didn't. He offered these impressions and photos:

"OK, well now I have had it for a bit, I am beginning to feel that not only did I make a good decision in buying the GT, it was a brilliant one.

"The bike itself as standard comes pretty well equipped: great brakes, Brembos, excellent tires, Pirellis, nice shocks, Paioli, and a superb frame as designed by Harris in the UK.

"There are some downsides but to be honest they are both easily and inexpensively remedied.

Motor cover plate from Hitchcocks celebrates how special the GT is.
(Photo by Manoj Bankal)

"The silencer as stock is dreadful; I describe it as sounding like a farting hamster, but that took 10 minutes' work and one week's wait to fix. I bought a Motad from Hitchcocks in the UK and now it sounds like a real 'big single,' which it is. That was probably the biggest change I made.

A bike for a sunny weekend.

"I have removed the black flap extensions to the mudguards. I removed the air brake that is the rear number plate mount.

"Out of sight I installed a  Power Commander and K&N air filter to match the Motad. The engine starts very easily on the button, but the kick start is curiously set up so that it does not engage early on and as such it is hard to start in the traditional manner.

"It handles well. As I went out to the Meeting of the Nortons recently, I was on some nice twisty roads and although I am still running it in, it was an enjoyable ride. Going around bends it feels rock solid.

"When I arrived, they asked me to park the GT in the middle line with all the nice old bikes. They were not all British, but all were interesting one way or another. Obviously the GT has all the right lines, and next to Commandos, a Gold Star, BSAs and lots of others, it holds its own.

Royal Enfield Continental GT is all business from this view.
(Photo by Manoj Bankal)

"The GT is not a bike I would ride to work — I take it out to the bike club and out on a nice sunny weekend — but it is a very nice bike. At $5,999, people cannot believe what you get for the money and I do think that given decent marketing, it should sell very well.

Hitchcocks heel guards now grace Mike's bike.
(Photo by Manoj Bankal)

"A little more power probably will not go amiss and I am going in search of that. I am told that Hitchcocks have some tuning parts in the offing and there are some quite competent Enfield tuners in the U.S. I am lucky to have Leon Stanley of Cycle Icons just down the road in Trenton."

Royal Enfield Continental GT needs a flyscreen; maybe

Yes, something is missing from the new Royal Enfield Continental GT.

The stunning similarity in design inspiration of the new Royal Enfield Continental GT and the original, 1965 Continental GT is instantly apparent.

Seeing the Royal Enfield cafe racers, new and old, displayed together during the press launch in the UK, my reaction was that only one thing was missing from the new one.

The flyscreen.

It had been that flyscreen, along with clip-ons, rear sets and cranked exhaust pipe, that had made the original the idol of teenagers in 1965 — when I, too was a teenager.

Now Dart Flyscreens Ltd. of London has gone to the trouble to create a flyscreen for the new Continental GT.

The Dart flyscreen on the new Continental GT.

"The original 1960s Continental came with a flyscreen as standard," Dart's website reasons. "What better partner for your modern Continental GT than a Dart flyscreen? In the same way that the modern bike uses up to date technology whilst retaining its period charm, the Dart’s top quality injection-moulded polycarbonate screen and laser-cut fittings serve to enhance an already handsome bike."

The website quotes a price of $124.95, including delivery, in standard or dark tint.

Just right? Or maybe a bit too small?

How easy is it to fit? According to the FAQ "you'll need a couple of spanners or Allen keys, 20 minutes and that's it. The screen uses the standard headlamp brackets and if it's carefully fitted, you won't even need to readjust the headlamp."

Maybe for you. It might take me longer. But is it worth it? Again, from the FAQ:

The rider's view.

"When you're riding a naked bike, your body provides a big target for wind blast. Flyscreens work by taking most of the wind from this area, giving your body an easier time. You still get wind around the helmet area (but that's why you bought the bike, yes?), but you don't get the fatigue in the same way."

OK. Sounds good. But, oddly, although I think it's a clever idea, I'm not personally crazy about the way the flyscreen looks on the new bike in Dart's photos.

Best looking angle is head-on.

With its hunched, shoulders forward stance, the new Continental GT seems to overpower the little plastic plate.

A seemingly larger, more curvaceous Italian flyscreen is listed for the Continental GT by NfieldGear at $139.95. Some might prefer it.

NfieldGear flyscreen differs in shape.

But you know what I would really like? Here's a photo of an original 1960s Continental GT fitted with the then optional Speedflow fairing, with transparent nose.

The original Continental GT with Avon Speedflow fairing.

Gimmie one of those and I will feel like a teenager again.

Aftermarket exhaust for Royal Enfield Continental GT

New  muffler looks great and sounds great on the Royal Enfield Continental GT.

Clever "Before" and "After" videos show what an aftermarket exhaust can do for the look and sound of Royal Enfield's new Continental GT.

Carpy's Cafe Racers in Anaheim, Calif. posted the two videos to show off its new stainless steel exhaust system for the Continental GT.

Of course the small print specifies that this system is "not for use on public roads." Ahem. So, remember, that, OK? I know. It's so easy to forget!

Especially when you click on these two videos. The difference is dramatic.
Carpy is a Southern California customizer who loves cafe racers but, for the sake of price and parts availability, works with modern "metric" motorcycles rather than costly vintage British bikes. Not that he doesn't love the old Brits:

"But my bread and butter has been the good old CB750 Honda," he writes. "I know to some purist it’s not their cup of tea, and I totally understand this, but what I do with the stock bike is give it a slight British styling that Honda should of brought out back in the day.

"We enjoy designing many parts and now I am getting into the Brit stuff once more and the Royal Enfield is a fun and affordable bike to have these days."

Royal Enfield Continental GT takes on the competiton

MotorcycleUSA.com compared the Royal Enfield Continental GT to Japanese competitors.

Hold your fire; the Royal Enfield Continental GT "lost" the comparison test with the Yamaha SR400 and Suzuki TU250X conducted by Adam Waheed on MotorcycleUSA.com

It's a thorough test, complete with individual videos of the three motorcycles and charts showing torque and horsepower curves. The Continental GT was rated high on looks, character and handling and nicked for fit-and-finish issues, an imperfect transmission and an occasional stall. It also carried the highest price of the three.

Thorough as it is, the article won't change anyone's mind. You won't be surprised to learn that Yamaha and Suzuki offered Japanese quality, better fuel economy and lower prices. In fact, the two Japanese motorcycles were so consistent they tied for first place.

"Affordable urban transportation" is the phrase used for the Suzuki. Be still, my heart.

For me — and likely for you if you are reading my blog — the Royal Enfield emerged the clear winner.

Do just one thing: start the video  that covers the Royal Enfield Continental GT. Watch and listen just until the Continental GT runs.

Hear THAT? The sound tells you everything you need to know. Go on to watch the videos for the Yamaha and Suzuki if you want. They sound exactly as you know they will, because if you've lived in the United States you've listened to thousands of Japanese motorcycles going by.

They sound OK. Their motors are running, always a good thing.

The Royal Enfield Continental GT sounds tremendous.

Royal Enfield Super Five was too special for 1962

Roy Poynting's Super Five. Terry Joslin Photo.

The Royal Enfield Super Five is the subject of a super story by author and motorcycle journalist Roy Poynting in The Classic Motor Cycle.

Like so many really special and innovative designs in motor vehicle history, the Super Five was too special, too innovative and too expensive to be a success.

"Not for the first time, Royal Enfield lived up to its ‘Built like a gun’ motto, and shot itself in the foot over the styling, cost, and the mechanical details," Poynting recounts. He tells how he restored his 1962 Super Five, gaining an appreciation for what Royal Enfield had in mind, rather than for what it accomplished.

The Super Five was the first British production motorcycle with a five-speed gearbox but that was not the only departure from normal practice:

• The five-speed transmission and 250cc motor were all one unit, in the advanced format pioneered by the Royal Enfield Crusader.
• Complex leading-link forks improved handling.
• The front fender was fixed to the forks instead of the wheel, to reduce unsprung weight.
• Deep valences on the front fender — so deep they could display the registration number on their flanks — kept road grime off the rider.
• An extra large nacelle without pilot lights enclosed the entire top of the forks.
• The tank was large and shiny.
• The rear of the motorcycle was semi-enclosed for improved weather protection.

The overall effect was ungainly rather than lithe, as a sporting 250cc single should have been. Worse, Enfield painted the original Super Fives gray. Poynting suggests that the color and styling would have sunk the Super Five, even if its price had been competitive. Instead, the price was 30 percent more than the competition.

On top of this, the five-speed gearbox was considered fragile and, on Poynting's machine, was changed to the conventional four gears by a previous owner, a common modification.

One lucky thing, for Poynting, at least: in the midst of restoration he found that his Super Five originally had been a non-standard Peacock Blue. The pleasant color almost — but not quite — saves his Super Five from  being the barnyard ugly duckling.

Royal Enfield would improve the Super Five into the better looking and better loved Continental.

Poynting's story fills in the story of a very fascinating missing link in Royal Enfield history. Recommended reading.

250cc Royal Enfield Continental more rare than he knew

This handsome Royal Enfield has some uncommon features.

A sharp looking 250cc 1964 Royal Enfield for sale on eBay in Hatley, Wis. turns out to be more rare than the seller suspected.

You might have wondered about it, if you had seen the pictures with the ad, showing a peculiar muffler and a blanking plate where the tachometer might have been.

Tidy instrument panel has a blanking plate instead of tachometer.

Graham Scarth, chairman of the Royal Enfield Owners Club, UK, gave this identifying information, based on the engine number provided by the seller:

"That machine is not a Crusader, but a Continental in what was known as 'standard' trim at that time, finished in color known as Blaze.

"The factory offered the bikes as either deluxe (chrome plated tank and mudguards) or standard with painted items. In the case of the Continental deluxe, a rev counter was fitted alongside the speedometer. The standard (cheaper!) version had no rev counter drive and the blanking plate in the fork crown instead of the instrument.

In the UK and Europe a Continental would have had a bigger, boxier tank.

"Your machine also has the small petrol tank with 'loose' chrome panels usually found on U.S. market machines instead of the larger plated tank of UK market models. It also has 'Western' handlebars instead of the more usual low Ace bars for other markets.

"...Most of our members will have never seen a standard Continental, let alone an export version of it... Although not recorded in the factory ledgers, I am certain that it would have left Redditch in late 1964."

Muffler looks a bit anemic. There's a reason.

The motorcycle is a rare little beauty but there is just one thing that bothered me: what an ugly muffler! Then came this note from Mark Mumford, a keen observer and restorer of Royal Enfields in the UK:

"..It looks very original indeed. I notice it is also fitted with the original Villiers silencer (muffler).

"An ex-factory employee told me that Enfield had bought loads of these silencers, intended for use with Villiers' own two-stroke engine (and therefore detachable for cleaning, note the removable cap), presumably thinking that the Villiers-engined (Royal Enfield) Turbo Twin would be a big success.

"Finding themselves with piles of stock they used them on the whole 250 range, apparently with the result that the bikes simply wouldn't rev properly because the two-stroke required much more back pressure that the free breathing four-stroke Crusader!"

In his book "Royal Enfield, The Postwar Models," author Roy Bacon notes Royal Enfield's experiment with the two-stroke Villiers motor slotted into the company's own Crusader frame. The Villiers motor was a twin, with a muffler running down each side of the motorcycle, so Royal Enfield might have anticipated needing a lot of the Villiers mufflers.

In U.S. trim, Continental has a clean, open look.

Bacon specifically criticizes Royal Enfield for dropping the tachometer on the standard Continental for 1964, "a curious move for the machine sold as much on appearance as performance, and one that Enfield were to reverse inside a year."

Perhaps so, but the result is a fascinating example of Royal Enfield's "creativity."

Royal Enfield Thunderbird: Its looks can cook

Royal Enfield's new Thunderbird 500 rides with style.

Royal Enfield introduced its new Thunderbird 500 motorcycle in India yesterday. It's an immense development there.

In India the Royal Enfield Thunderbird — a highly styled, laid back cruiser based on the Bullet — is a cult vehicle on a par with the Ford Mustang in America.

This new Thunderbird has a ready audience in India, anxious to buy it. In the rest of the world the reaction might be that it doesn't look like enough like a vintage British motorcycle. True.

It's available in three shades of black — none of them British Racing Green.

Here's a short video by Royal Enfield Media that tells you everything you need to know.



The format, pairing Thunderbird designer Siva with an attractive woman interviewer, says much in and of itself. This motorcycle is a fashion statement. "Sarah" looks great on it but, then, she looks pretty good off it, too.

Your results may vary.

One only-in-India note: here is a highly-styled motorcycle for which its designer proudly claims exceptional range.

You may as well demand to know if Sarah can cook. Her culinary skills are of no importance to this video.

Similarly, the Thunderbird's 20-liter fuel tank (more than five gallons), with its offset filler cap, likely contributes more to the attention the motorcycle gets in the city than the distances it will swallow across the subcontinent.