Have a pal who has just returned from 2 weeks touring Bhutan on a modern Enfield 500, says he fell in love with the thing there. A bit plodding for english fast roads, but for lanes and hills? I'm seriously considering one...cheap and chips and just a larf, in the best of biking way.Royal Enfield ‘CO’ 350 made in 1941 as a despatch bike for the Army. Later sold back to Enfield by the WD, and sold on again as Ex-WD to the public in 1946 in black civilian paint. I bought it as a derelict, and built it up to it original 1946 scheme. Girder forks and hard tail but very good saddle led to a distinct style, and the then unusual four speed Albion gear box with a crawler gear so the rider could dismount as he pushed his powered bike out of the mud gave a remarkable ability in that you could do figure of eights within the confines of two serving quarters on a tennis court. Chug-chug-chug at half walking speed in perfect control!
I sold it in 2002 when it became apparent that the engine needed a complete rebuild! By then everything else was by then really tidy.
George
Yes, the new cafe racer style CB1000R appeals but its twice the price I want to pay. I'll be getting one of those in about 5 years time for sure. I've never ridden a fireblade but it looks like a proper track bike to me. I've never done a track day, do you do these? I had a go on a a friends GSX750 and that surprised me with it's awesome speed and upper rev range. It's faster than my CB1300 and definitely feels like it. I found that when I got off my neck and wrists needed re-positioning for a few minutes, but while I was on it, I was in race mode and totally absorbed in emulating Barry Sheen.
How much will the blade be, I'm sure you could ride it all summer and move it on with virtually no loss?
That's an awful lot of motorcycle, little wear and an awful lot of performance for not very much money!
Certainly looks comfortable. A proper tourer. But which Suzuki model is it?After 15 years without two wheels I decided to give it another go while my joints are still supple enough to get my leg over! Nothing fancy, just something comfortable with a little grunt for around the doors and the odd day out. It’s heavy but quite stable and I was feeling pretty confident on it after a few miles.
So far it’s fitting the bill perfectly, I made sure I didn’t test ride a sports bike before trying this one so to me it appears to handle great.
I thought it’d try it for a year and see how it pans out!
https://flic.kr/p/26gYE1N
My question also...GSX what?Certainly looks comfortable. A proper tourer. But which Suzuki model is it?
I ran a Scrambler for 2 years...The cheaper Triumphs are poorly suspended, esp at the back, where they are terrible. I fitted Ohlins jobbies and transformed it (+ got shot of the knobblies) and then it was OK. Much more grunt than an Enfield ofc, but that's just the point. It's not fast, it's a laugh...no pose just a laugh. Perfik.I'd ride the Triumph Street Twin before committing..I suspect the extra 3 grand will be very obvious on a back-to-back comparison.
Indeed. But I never said the low-end Triumph was good!I ran a Scrambler for 2 years...The cheaper Triumphs are poorly suspended, esp at the back, where they are terrible. I fitted Ohlins jobbies and transformed it (+ got shot of the knobblies) and then it was OK. Much more grunt than an Enfield ofc, but that's just the point. It's not fast, it's a laugh...no pose just a laugh. Perfik.
The subtle arts of backing 'er in, squaring off the corner and laying darkies (Gary McCoy style) on the exit - never really made it into Roadcraft I'm guessing..
Oh, I don't know...