Royal Enfield Twin

In high school, during one of the gas-crunches of the mid-70s, a friend's brother had a Bridgestone 100 twin. Everybody laughed at him for riding an electric razor on wheels, until they found out he was getting ~ 100 mpg, spending (then) about $1 a week for gas. You wouldn't catch me trying to ride something like that on the highway, but for a running-around-in-the-village-commuter-to-work, he did just fine... :laugh: :offtopic: ...sorry...
 
Meddy said:
Rasputin, from a fellow Yorkshireman long time resident in Aus I thought this pic might interest you taken a couple of years ago at the National Motor Museum in Birdwood, South Australia.
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Yes. Love the photo. A rose between thorns, no I like all three. The Yamaha in the picture is an unusual colour.
 
MaxPete said:
On the matter of modern parallel twins... apparently Kawasaki has brought back their bevel cam drive W650 as an 800cc model and it is coming to Canada this year. :) Having said that, I do like the looks of the RE 650 twin too.

Here is an excellent review of the W800 (quite funny too).


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Watching that review....I haven't laughed that hard in awhile! Thanks!
 

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GLJ said:
If you have a few minuets this is an interesting read. A gentleman from Germany restoring a 1959 Indian Chief. Pretty amazing the extremes he is going to. Not just making parts but also making tools and even a machine to braid the loom for the wiring harness.
https://forum.classicmotorworks.com/index.php/topic,21851.0.html
https://forum.classicmotorworks.com/index.php/topic,24902.0/all.html
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Well. I am impressed. Nothing seems to phase the guy. Attention to detail is astounding, and on such a rare bike. I have two bikes to look forward to now, Mailman’s and his.
Hats off. Chapeau.
 
Rasputin said:
Well. I am impressed. Nothing seems to phase the guy. Attention to detail is astounding, and on such a rare bike. I have two bikes to look forward to now, Mailman’s and his.
Hats off. Chapeau.
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I think he could teach classes in OCD.:eek:
 
Hey folks: my new issue of Motorcycle Classics just arrived and there is a “first ride” article on the new RE 650 twins. Except for the fuel injection and the counter balance shaft, these puppies could be XS650s.

I don’t want to abuse the copyright but I am attaching the specifications chart from the article. Note the weight - 444 lbs. and the power - 47 HP on the Royal Enfield - very comparable to our 40-50 year old 650s. The key differences I can spot would be the 18” wheels front & rear on the RE (versus our 19” front and 18” rear on Standards and 16” rears on Specials) and the six-speed twirler versus our 5 speed boxes. They also carry a bit less fuel and have only an electric start (no kick available). It appears that cast wheels are not available but both front and rear stoppers are hydraulic discs and ABS is standard equipment.

I can’t comment on how the rake and trail dimensions compare to our bikes - perhaps someone else could. One thing’s for sure, the new REs seem to be able to cruise at higher speeds than most XS650s may be comfortable with.

The article is well worth the cost of the magazine IMO. I just wonder how long before some inventive person does a head to head test of an XS650 and one of these nice new Royal Enfield 650 twins.

Me likely!!

Pete

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MaxPete said:
Hey folks: my new issue of Motorcycle Classics just arrived and there is a “first ride” article on the new RE 650 twins.
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Darned it all anyway ! Around town today it became apparent that the magazine venders did not put out this month's issue of "Motorcycle Classics" being December !
Glad to hear about this ! Search is back on.
I've been waiting for another descent XS650 article to read. Been quite awhile now eh ? ;)
 
I still got some more liquid-filled motor isolation dampeners for $135 complete set so your xs is smoooth.
 
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