Royal Enfield Classic 350/500 brand new(ish)

[JMN2]

Any opinions? Views?

I'm a late starter. 51 now but when I was 15-17 I rode a 49cc in town and motocross environment ie a moped. My brother who had a big Harley 10+ years ago says pls don't do it, don't kill yourself.

I'm all licensed and raring to go. I like the classic vibe.

[bungeejumper]

I've often thought about getting one, just for the retro glory of the thing, but the missus keeps reminding me that I'm a grandfather now and that maybe my reaction times aren't what they were?

There are thousands of them out there, so don't pay too much. Some of them have done 5,000 miles in 20 years and are still proudly listed as having had an engine rebuild. (Duhhhh, why?) But you absolutely, definitely want the ones with disc brakes. Not something you can necessarily take for granted.

Back in the day, the done thing was to hitch-hike to Kathmandu, then pick up a brand new Enfield in India and drive it back to England. Yep, all the way through Afghanistan. Those were the days when that was possible.

Tell you one thing, if I were getting back on a bike now I'd go back and re-train, right from scratch. I've got a licence to drive anything, but that doesn't mean I'm safe on one. Or that I'm up to date with modern practice and conditions.

BJ

[scottnsilky]

Yes, go for it JMN2, I'm 70 and still think of buying another, although classic prices are just astronomic nowadays. I bid on a RE Continental 535 on eBay a few months back, new from a dealer, I thought it must be a bargain at £3000, I was outbid immediately by an automated bid. Oh well.

Incidentally, I read very recently the age for applying for a first motorcycle licence is rising, so a lot of mature men (and women?) are feeling the urge.

Take the plunge!

Good luck,

dp

[bungeejumper]

Yes, go for it JMN2, I'm 70 and still think of buying another, although classic prices are just astronomic nowadays.

Aren't they just? That Norton Dominator that I wouldn't even spend £100 on in 1972. The rather tatty Triumph Speed Twin that I more or less gave away for £40 after I got fed up with trying (and failing) to replace the sintered bronze swinging arm bearings. ("Heat motorcycle to 400 degrees, plunge bearing into ice, bring swiftly together and bash like buggery with a mallet until the bearing is flush or you die of frustration".) Both worth upwards of £5K now. Still with terrible cable brakes and less than 40 bhp. And skinny crossply tyres, naturally.

Worst of all, the 250cc BSA C15 that would have got me laughed out of the playground if I'd bought it during my schooldays (as I intended). £3,000 now for an "in need of restoration" example. And considered clunkily cool, for some reason.

BJ

[redsturgeon]

Worst of all, the 250cc BSA C15 that would have got me laughed out of the playground if I'd bought it during my schooldays (as I intended). £3,000 now for an "in need of restoration" example. And considered clunkily cool, for some reason.

BJ

Ah the BSA C15, I bought two of them in boxes and built one from the best bits. I spent a whole winter building it up from scratch, engine and all, there was not one nut and bolt that I didn't take apart and put back together. I spend hundred of hours of blood sweat and tears on that bike, gas flowed the
head, enlarged the inlet port to for a larger Amal carb, upped the compression ratio to 10:1, stuck a "Goldie" exhaust on it...

And it was still crap!

It did teach me a lot about how engines work though.

John

[PrincessB]

I got back into biking via a 300cc scooter a couple years ago and it's great fun pootling along, sense of freedom, bugs in your teeth etc.

I'll second Snorvey on scooters being a good way back in to bikes as well as rather useful for everyday use.

From a practical standpoint, a larger engined scooter (Mine is a 250cc Yamaha X-Max, 300cc models seem to be the sweet spot though there are a few 400cc units along with some much larger touring type scoots) ticks boxes in terms of storage, rider protection from the elements, fuel economy and performance. The handling is not as natural as a proper bike and can take some getting used to though the larger the wheels the more bike like a scooter becomes.

From a performance perspective, the Classic 350 seems to develop about 19hp with the 500cc model raising that to 27 to put this into context my X-Max is good for about 20hp which apparently gives a 0-60 time of just over 13 seconds.

Basically, the 350 will be as a quick off the line as the average small car while the 500 will accelerate as fast as a warm hatchback perhaps cracking 10 seconds to sixty.

With that in mind, either engine seems a good choice for a new rider as you'll be able to use full throttle without fear of flipping the bike over along with acceleration similar to that of most cars.

You don't mention how many miles you plan to do each year, so I would suggest that the 350 will keep up fine on A roads while the 500 will be a better choice if you wish to sustain motorway speeds.

I would pay some attention to the tyres, some checking indicated you'll need an inner tube for use with spoked rims. While I've been unable to establish what the tyres on a new Royal Enfield are, I would personally be happier with a branded tyre from one of the market leaders and if you need to change the tyres, you may wish to investigate the heavy duty inner tubes as well.

Regards,

B.

[Redmires]

Get a Triumph Tiger T100

A good example won't come cheap.

What about the 'new' Bonneville. There's plenty of good, used air cooled examples around now that the water cooled versions are out. The Enfield may feel a bit agricultural in comparison and the Bonny will hold it's value more.

[Pastcaring]

Any opinions? Views?

I'm a late starter. 51 now but when I was 15-17 I rode a 49cc in town and motocross environment ie a moped. My brother who had a big Harley 10+ years ago says pls don't do it, don't kill yourself.

I'm all licensed and raring to go. I like the classic vibe.

Can you not get a proper brand new one in the UK.

The factory in India bought all the tools,dies,jigs etc when Enfield went bust.

There's a Triumph ,Enfield dealer that I go past on my daily bike ride.Still have that wonderful Enfield sound.Looks and sounds the same .

Ride out past him ,then past the classic car dealer looking at the old US cars.

Come back home and ride past the Indian dealer.They have some good looking bikes.

The car dealer is xoticar Perth WA.If I had the room, they have/ had a few early 1960 s Ford Thunderbirds in.The wife just gives me a dirty look,no room,we' ll plod on with the Merc and Jag .She agreed I could have a 73 Corvette stingray,but it's a struggle to get in and out of them so I had to miss out on it.

The Enfields here seem to be a nice beige/oatmeal colour,they look and sound great.Wonderful to see them

Go on,only young once.

[DrFfybes]

I've often thought about getting one, just for the retro glory of the thing, but the missus keeps reminding me that I'm a grandfather now and that maybe my reaction times aren't what they were?
BJ

So she'd rather you killed a bunch of innocent bystanders?

If someone isn't safe on a bike then there's no way they should be trusted with a car.

Paul

[bungeejumper]

I've often thought about getting one, just for the retro glory of the thing, but the missus keeps reminding me that I'm a grandfather now and that maybe my reaction times aren't what they were?
BJ

So she'd rather you killed a bunch of innocent bystanders?

If someone isn't safe on a bike then there's no way they should be trusted with a car.

Aw, come on, DrF, that's not fair and you know it. It's also pretty clear that 90% of car drivers (or lorry drivers, or bus drivers) wouldn't be safe on a bike, but the world has to rub along somehow with that fact. And don't you think that crack about how she'd rather I killed a bunch of bystanders was just a little bit unnecessary?

I bless my 15 years on a bike for having sharpened up my road awareness. But it seems no more than realistic to accept that age does tend to slow down the rapid-response reactions that keep a biker alive.

BJ

[quelquod]

Well I'm past 70, rode big Brit bikes until my late 30's, but I'd think long and hard about riding one now. Aside from the limitations of a 70-year-old body and the forgotten (but still imagined) skills of 40 years ago, the roads aren't the same as they were back them.

Different if you'd stayed current maybe, and the urge to browse EBay and dream is still there, but even at your youthful age I'd advise against it. Seen the accident statistics?

Sorry!

[bungeejumper]

Different if you'd stayed current maybe, and the urge to browse EBay and dream is still there, but even at your youthful age I'd advise against it. Seen the accident statistics?

Sadly, indeed. I gather that UK gubmint figures show that a biker's chances of getting wiped out are 38 times those of a car's occupants, mile for mile. Of course, that might have been mainly because of cage drivers not noticing bikers and running into them - except that American figures inconveniently show that over-50s bikers are two and a half times as likely to need hospital admissions as the twentysomethings. Despite driving more slowly and more conservatively.

That in turn might be simply because the over-50s tend to ride huge Harley hogs that will probably take your leg off if they should fall onto you. (They tell me that top-heavy Harleys and wet roundabouts really don't mix. ) Whereas the young'uns are more likely to bounce clear with only superficial injuries. But it doesn't add up to a very persuasive case for biking into old age.

Both my Triumphs came with shiny chrome "crash bars" that would take the weight of the bike off your legs if you should ever slide to a sideways halt on the tarmac. (Helped to prevent tank damage as well.) I was glad of mine on at least two youthful occasions. Can you still get them?

BJ

[Slarti]

American figures inconveniently show that over-50s bikers are two and a half times as likely to need hospital admissions as the twentysomethings. Despite driving more slowly and more conservatively.

Born again bikers, or as they are known to transplant surgeons, organ donors!



You set them up, I'll knock them in

Slarti

[PrincessB]

Sadly, indeed. I gather that UK gubmint figures show that a biker's chances of getting wiped out are 38 times those of a car's occupants, mile for mile.

With a figure that high, I will guess that this is the rates of fatalities per mile travelled with cars weighed against bikes. This stands to reason, even the cheapest car now offers substantial protection while a biker would likely have to rely on anti-lock brakes and safety gear like armoured jackets.

So, cars are way safer for the occupant while bikes are a little bit safer if you buy decent gear. Cars are safer all the time you drive, while the slightly enhanced safety on a bike relies on the rider actually wearing decent gear. I wince when I see people out on (scooters mostly) wearing a singlet, shorts, no gloves, an open face helmet (with a fag on) and flip flops - I can't say the last few days have been much fun in a kevlar jacket and getting my perforated summer gloves on and off has been a bit of a challenge.

I'm not saying any of this gear would make any difference if I'm hit by a car from the side, but I'll be in better shape if I hit a patch of oil and fall of at moderate speed.

Additionally, you have different types of bikers with different risk profiles. Obviously the matey boys on their tuned 125cc scoots are more interested in pulling wheelies than they are in the traffic that surrounds them. The riders who make their way into central London each morning seem to be insane and the risks they take while filtering through the traffic are frightening to watch.

You also have the 'older biker' who used ride big 1000 and 1200cc machines who does not realise just how fast they are. I know someone who had pretty much every big performance bike through the 80s who wanted another bike. His choice was a 600cc Fazer (FZ8R I think) which in his experience was the limit of performance he felt comfortable with.

Finally there is the bike performance threshold (depending on licence type) which I would argue could do with some revision. Outside of any heavily built up area, a 50cc bike with a top speed of 30MPH is downright dangerous given that most cars have gotten faster and faster over time.
125cc learner legal bikes are limited to 15 horsepower which is just about enough for A roads unless you're trying to get the bike up a hill in the sort of area where every other car is a Bently or Merc driven by folk who don't care about fuel economy.

From personal experience the shift from 15hp (my old learner bike) to the 20hp 250cc scooter I now trundle about on is more dramatic than you would expect from another 25% more power.

It would be interesting to see a more detailed breakdown of the accident statistics by bike type to see if I'm reading this correctly. My view is that for someone used to driving comfortably quick(ish) cars with their 0-60 time a bit below 10 seconds will be right at home with a bike producing in the region of 30hp. The performance profile will be in your comfort zone, theres enough power for A roads and the fuel economy should also be in the sweet spot of not to far short of 100mpg.

Regards,

B.