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| 02. THE BIKES |
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Peter Worger
I first considered purchasing a Royal Enfield in 1990 when I was living in The Netherlands, then once again in the year 2000. Finally in 2008 I got serious and drove out to see Mike to have a look over the Royal Enfield's. I've always been fascinated by British bikes and on visiting I felt as if I was in a time warp. I was greeted by a stable of old fashioned brand new bikes just waiting to be ridden.
Taking one for a ride was an experience because I hadn't ridden for 20 years, I wasn't especially steady although I made it around the Albany circuit and went on to purchase a new 500 Bullet.
Trevor and Mike have been really helpful, this seems to be just the way they are. Nothing is too much trouble for these guys and I always feel welcome asking for advise and they seem to have a lot of time for me.
This is one cool bike and it has the ability to draw a small crowd wherever I go. When I first purchased I thought that I would be riding on the weekends only, but now I commute every day from the North Shore of Auckland into the city and the bike is great.
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Barry Hill
I purchased my Royal Enfield Euro Classic in August 07, from Royal Enfield NZ in Albany, something which i have never regretted. I have enjoyed motorcycling for 55 plus years, starting with an L E Velocette (the ultimate gutless wonder) , progressing through many and various machines to a 4 Cylinder 750 K2 Honda. Too much grunt there for an old fart with poor throttle hand control.
The Royal Enfield is a neat looking machine, so evocative of days long past. Hopefully I may be given a few more years to enjoy the use of it.
What a pleasure it is dealing with Trevor and Michael (once they stop arguing). Their laid back approach is not so easy to find these days. I must also add that Norelle makes a great muffin! 10/10 Royal Enfield New Zealand.
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Sue Bidrose
Brand new 500cc Electra. In this photo, the bike and I have done just 400
km, and I can't stop grinning. She starts and runs without a hitch, and
turns a few heads as well.
I've been a motorbike fan since my teens, starting with a Honda CB200 and
then had a great spell with a Triumph Tiger 90 - a fabulous wee twin. I
have had a couple more Hondas, a Yamaha and a Ducati since, but really I
still hankered for another bike with that 'British' feel. And I saw these
on Trademe two or three months ago - no looking back since. There's
something about the brit designs - you sort of meld with the bike. I
can't recommend it enough - especially to women riders. Nice height, perfect
weight, gentle clutch...
I'm looking forward to ending the 'running in' period and going on holiday with her. And I really really like the idea of a sidecar, but I think my partner and labrador will both refuse to play passenger!
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Grant Corlett
1999 Enfield re-powered with a 406cc 9Hp Lombardini Diesel. I've always been a diesel fan & had motorbikes since I was 12 starting with a Honda SL100 moving up to the XL185, then 250 & 500 later.
I have a passion for older vehicles also, so with the Enfield, am able to combine interests. It's a project in progress with ongoing improvements, next being the replacement of the oversized battery with something tidier. I'm expecting mileage of between 150-200mpg. I live in Warkworth & welcome fellow enthusiasts who feel like a ride to Warkworth. I wish to do a tour around the South Island on her in the mean time I use her nearly daily. Diesels rule!
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Owen Haskell
I've always been a fan of the old english single banger motorbike, got my first Matchless 500 in the 5th Form at school and had much more fun riding it around than studying school cert!
The Royal Enfield Bullet for me is the ultimate single banger, with so
many improvements over the other marques such as cush drive, oil tight primary case, neutral finder, enclosed push rods, oil compartment in the crankcase to name a few. I love the sound and the feel of the Bullet which is why I have 7 at last count including 2 diesels and a trials 350.
I fell in love with India and Bullets after tour of Rajasthan with Steve Krystyniak in 2000. I have been back every year since riding my Indian Bullet usually with a few friends exploring the more remote back roads of India.
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Karl Warren
Hi my name is Karl Warren and I had purchased a Royal Enfield in red with intentions of fitting a sidecar, so I ran the bike in like this until the sidecar arrived.
I changed the side covers and tank to Black and fitted the sports pipe and muffler, removed all indicators and tail light and refitted old school looking lights to get an even older stylish look to suite, refitted the side fender lamp and found a frosted truck reversing light to fit in front of chair.
Never had a sidecar before but am I enjoying it now, really scary to start with, had to watch corners and the head shaking handle bars but I don’t think I’ll ever go back to removing the car like I was going too.
I’m now going to replace the drive sprocket down to a 16T to maintain a healthy road speed for head winds and hills, fit a slightly larger jet and I think I’ll be near perfect.
The car being so light is hardly noticeable until you hit top gear but will sit at a 100kms nice on the open road. I have ballast weight in the car if I ride empty but enjoy the wife’s company better.
Happy motoring,
Karl Warren.
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David Thornber
I first started riding in 1965 on an Ariel Arrow and had things like BSA and Jawa until 1973.
After a break imposed by marriage, kids, etc, and emigrating to NZ I started riding again in 2000.
I’ve had MZ, Yamaha V-Max and Honda Transalp bikes in NZ but I’m happier on the Enfield.
It is lighter and handles very well, it also takes me back to the kinds of bikes I grew up with.
The Bullet has been reliable and does not need too much work to keep it running well, plus it’s an eye-catcher in these days of aluminium and plastic.
I live in the Auckland suburb of Torbay at the very north end of the city so I am close to miles of country roads in adjoining Rodney County. The Bullet is a good bike for Sunday morning rides in the country. The Enfield owners like to have the occasional run out so I enjoy going along to that.
My bike is a 500 “Euro Classic” with a replacement silencer (the shorter one) and I have changed the seat from the stepped original to the 60’s style.
Frank & Janet HolthamI own a 1991 Indian Bullet. It was an old wreck when we bought in 2,000. It took a year to do up in the back shed ,since then we have done over 30,000 mls all over G B and Europe.
The main problem was the crank being out of true, and breaking the crank pin.But now its balanced its as smooth as silk and we would go any where on it.
Countries we have visited on our Bullet and sidecar mainly camping.
2001- Renovation ,UK Royal Enfield Owners Club rallies
2002-3 UK rallies + Netherlands rally
2004-UK rallies+John o Groats to Lands end run ,Belgium,Luxembourg+ German & Netherlands RE rallies
2005-Belgium,Luxembourg and the French,German & Netherlands RE rallies .
2006 French ,German (Black Forest) rallies +Lands End to John o Groats
run, eight day's camping 2,300 mls . You have to get to and from each end and so you end up doing it twice! Lands end is the most South Weston tip of England and John o Groats is the North Easton tip of Scotland .
Regards Frank
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Dion McAsey
I have been into motorbikes from a young age. I raced moto-cross from age thirteen to my early twenties, and then had a couple of road bikes which I thought were fun. I gave bikes up for quite a few years then found the urge to have one again. I looked around for something that was unique, reliable, well priced, had an interesting history, would age well but still be 'cool'.
I heard a bit about The Royal Enfield and bought a 1997 model and then I came across a 1968 which was very cool but needed quite a bit of work. Needless to say that one ended up sitting in the garage for 2 years other than a few token rides up and down the drive way.
Then I discovered a couple of guys from Albany where bringing new ones in. I rode out to meet these guys and see their bikes. Trevor and Frank were great. They not only had a passion for what they did but they had been to the factory and knew all the ins and outs about the bike. I decided there and then I wanted one. I went home and sold my other two Enfield’s and brought my new baby.
There is nothing like riding a new bike that hasn’t changed too much from the 1950’s. I ride mine a few days a week to work and in the weekend when I have time. I find it is my tool to relax the mind. They are not a super fast bike but they are simple in their design and their mechanics, which suits me to a ‘T’.
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Graeme Jones & Martina Baas
We first became interested in Enfield Bullets through our plans to tour India late 2006 on a Bullet. we had the idea of buying a bike in India,
touring the country then bringing the bike home, but found out that it would be too much hassle for us.
So we looked up the NZ Enfield website and came across Frank & Trevor + the EuroClassic. We brought the 500cc kick start and love the bike.
Between us we dont have a lot of experience with motorcycles, but really enjoy owning a 'classic' & unique bike.
We are often asked 'how long did it take you to restore the bike'. and how old is it ?
Although maintenance is a little higher than on most modern bikes, it is fairly straight forward and not a big deal even for folk with our limited motorcycle knowledge. Also we have found that parts & accessories for 'Bullets' are very reasonably priced and easy to obtain.
We use the bike a lot on weekends around Canterbury and plan to tour many parts of the New Zealand in the years to come.
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Ray and Nicky Harte
I first rode an Enfield 350cc whilst touring India in 1995. In 2004, Nicky and I decided to explore a small part of India on a locally supplied Enfield 500cc. So together with a group of friends, we rode into the desert and had a great time motorcycling around Rajasthan.
This rekindled my own enthusiasm for the Enfield and turned Nicky into an instant fan of this particular motorcycle. It also convinced us that we now needed to own our very own bike.
Having investigated a number of alternatives, we discovered Trevor in Albany, just 10 minutes from where we live. Once he knew we were getting married in December, he came up with the great idea of getting friends to contribute to our motorcycle (hence the photo).
We look forward to many adventures on our Enfield, and relish the fact that at least in this country, you don’t get camels, trucks, rickshaws and carts on the wrong side of the road, without lights at night.
Thank you Trevor for all your help!
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