Mo'cycles
- Thread starter Andylaser
- Start date
Saint-Just
Administrator
Very nice but it was a long couple 
bushwacker
VIP Member
Lots of them in India. but not as new
Templogin
VIP Member
Not bad looking bikes. I would be interested to know how reliable they are and how they age.
Andylaser
Administrator
The 650s are very reliable engine wise. Some minor electrical gremlins from cheap relays and an abundance of grease for waterproofing them. Remedy is a new set of relays for £20 and cleaning off the old grease. Frame and suspension is courtesy of Lester Harris from Harris Performance fame. Royal Enfield bought them a few years back. They also headhunted the senior engineer from Triumph who was working on the air cooled twins. He took his mates with him and they designed the 650 engine from the ground up.
Enfield are being serious in what they are doing and trying to achieve. There are occaisonal signs of cost cutting compared to the Japanese alternatives and they are half the cost of an equivalent Triumph. They are also very low tech. No rider modes, traction control or TFT displays. Tappits are screw and lock nut. Designed to be cheap, simple and reliable. After market parts are pennies compared to what BMW fans get charged.
Enfield are being serious in what they are doing and trying to achieve. There are occaisonal signs of cost cutting compared to the Japanese alternatives and they are half the cost of an equivalent Triumph. They are also very low tech. No rider modes, traction control or TFT displays. Tappits are screw and lock nut. Designed to be cheap, simple and reliable. After market parts are pennies compared to what BMW fans get charged.
There isn’t an awful lot to go wrong with them, like Andy says some of the electricals will need looking at but even a re-wire isn’t a huge deal. They’ve had a large following for half a century so there is loads out there for them.
There also seems to be a reasonable amount for sale over here and not for silly money. The ones priced sensibly sell quickly and the chancers have been for sale for months.
I am fond of parallel twins, I’d ideally like something air cooled, simple and with lots of aftermarket options so it’s an obvious candidate.
The one I saw was probably too nice, really, and a Special would be a better starting point for what I want to do.
Templogin
VIP Member
I was wondering about one with a sidecar, but the budget is too limited now. Simple bikes and cars strike me as a really good idea. There's too much tech on them nowadays.
I’m also quite keen to have a kick start (which is objectively dumb). I enjoy the tinkering and just kicking around on a bike. Would also be ok with a KZ440 or something like that.
There’s a great YouTube channel for a museum in the US - ‘Wheels through time’. It was started by a Harley dealer and is now run by his son. They get some right old junk up and running, and everything in the museum is running. Quite entertaining.
There’s a great YouTube channel for a museum in the US - ‘Wheels through time’. It was started by a Harley dealer and is now run by his son. They get some right old junk up and running, and everything in the museum is running. Quite entertaining.