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By Duke of Wybourne.
#96646
sofiaspin wrote:
Thu May 06, 2021 9:57 pm
I'm not really sure what your point is if any. Most on here enjoy their Enfield's and this is the first time I have seen anyone mutter about investment. Ride them. I'm on my 7th and couldn't care less about values.
What's my point ? Pining for the past. I started running Enfield Bullets when Wilf Green was the importer. Possibly because it was my business, I found them very easy to understand, work on, and make reliable. I'm afraid I can't boast of having 7 but over 4 decades I've had 4. Once set up properly they got nothing but regular albeit intensive, maintenance. 2 out of the 4 saw over 100K miles. When I first got one, apparently they were the "worst motorcycle in the world", derided and laughed at, and sworn at by people who bought them who shouldn't have. That's how I got my first one, from someone who could live with a bike that he couldn't start, and kept on stopping when it shouldn't. Then there were the "magnetic mudflap" jokes and don't you ride with a friend behind you to pick up the bits ? At one point in my life I was covering over 2000 miles a month on a Bullet, trouble free. The last Bullet I bought, and by far the best was in 2010. A 2008 registered 350, bought from a man who hated it since he bought it, because it "wouldn't start". It was the best out of the lot, and I made a huge mistake selling it. The jokes stopped, and the admiration started, then instead of being criticised, the question would be "how much is that worth then ?" Throughout the 4 decades or so, the basic workmanlike motorcycle hasn't really changed . People's perception of it has. An earlier post made comment about a Velocette. Enfield Bullets rightfully have their place in history, but they never were, and were never intended to be a "Velocette". So if the humble Bullet has now become the "affordable" choice of the hobby biker/bean counter, then fair enough, the times have changed, perhaps not for the better.
By sofiaspin
#96648
Scarcity is driving up values as bikes get scrapped and Euro emissions mean Iron Enfields are increasingly dated. I dont boast about having had 7, on the contrary, I have enjoyed trying most variants of the post 2002 Bullet, from iron to early Efi, from GT535 to Electra X. I cant claim 100,000 miles but I have taken them to and from the Isle of Man on numerous occasions from Glasgow, then all sorts of trips North and in between. They may have once been a utilitarian bike, but most bikes now are leisure items. The Velo Mac was utilitarian so not all Velos are rarefied investments. Times have moved on but then again, I have never been one to consider my bikes as investments.
By rustygman
#96652
2 out of the 4 saw over 100K miles
As someone who had to throw in the towel with an Enfield Bullet at a quarter of that mileage I can only imagine the level of commitment needed to get a bullet around the clock.
By Andy C
#96653
Seems that the label "classic", "shed find", "bobber" etc etc is a justification to ask a stupid price for a bike.

I dont regret selling my 612, it was the second time I owned it and I just lost interest in it so it had to go, the Him though is definately a keeper, whats not to like about them?

I do regret selling my old MZ though - I have had several of these and despite their shortcomming I love em, but try and by one for a sensible price now, been considering an old Yam DT but again prices are silly.

I like to keep an eye on the asking prices for Kawasaki H2 Triples as well - I have had mine for quite a while now, I do wonder whether they ever achieve 10K+ and have been tempted more than once to sell it and buy a smaller one, but I know I would regret that.

Probably wont live long enough for my Triumph Speedmaster to become a classic though.........It might be time to buy an E Powered bike as an "investment" if age is on your side, how many bikes have you owned that are now probably "worth" a fortune, my old T160 springs to mind amongst others.

Just a few ramblings.
User avatar
By Spudgun
#96658
I'd like to put a different slant on this. Why do iron barrels command such oddball prices? To my mind. It's because they're spanner friendly. Would I buy a brand new Euro-4 Enfield? Nope. Give me a bike that has a carburetor and contact breakers. Something that I can fix at the side of the road with a couple of spanners and a lump hammer. OK, I'm over egging the pudding here, but there is a common theme.

Some people don't like change. They want something that they readily understand. As far as they're concerned. Things like fuel injection. ABS brakes and catalytic converters are for cars. That's because they never lift the bonnet (Even I've given up). Motorcycles on the other hand......

I suspect that there's a given mindset here. Now. I have a 1999 Lightning. It's my daily hack. It has a carburetor. Contact breakers. No ABS and no catalytic converter. It just works. It wouldn't surprise me that a potential Enfield owner looks at a servicing bill for his car and decides that he (or she for that matter) doesn't want the same sort of expenditure for servicing a motorbike. So they look for a bike that doesn't have all of this tech nonsense on it.

Having said that. Potential buyers might have an extensive toolset and they don't want dustly spanners.
By Duke of Wybourne.
#96660
Spudgun wrote:
Sat May 08, 2021 6:46 am
I'd like to put a different slant on this. Why do iron barrels command such oddball prices? To my mind. It's because they're spanner friendly. Would I buy a brand new Euro-4 Enfield? Nope. Give me a bike that has a carburetor and contact breakers. Something that I can fix at the side of the road with a couple of spanners and a lump hammer. OK, I'm over egging the pudding here, but there is a common theme.

Some people don't like change. They want something that they readily understand. As far as they're concerned. Things like fuel injection. ABS brakes and catalytic converters are for cars. That's because they never lift the bonnet (Even I've given up). Motorcycles on the other hand......

I suspect that there's a given mindset here. Now. I have a 1999 Lightning. It's my daily hack. It has a carburetor. Contact breakers. No ABS and no catalytic converter. It just works. It wouldn't surprise me that a potential Enfield owner looks at a servicing bill for his car and decides that he (or she for that matter) doesn't want the same sort of expenditure for servicing a motorbike. So they look for a bike that doesn't have all of this tech nonsense on it.

Having said that. Potential buyers might have an extensive toolset and they don't want dustly spanners.
I would agree with this, also because of the prices some other stuff is making, Enfields may now become the choice for those looking for a cheap (er) "classic".
User avatar
By Adrian
#96683
I'm with Spudgun on this one, having lost interest in new Royal Enfields after 2008. The old model, (even the Electra-X, for me) was the attraction. With all the genuine classics being so over-priced it was only a matter of time before the Chennai-built Bullets ended up being seen as the last gasp of "proper" bikes.

A.
User avatar
By windmill john
#96685
I also agree with spudgun, but also including Duke of Wimborne’s comment, affordable Classic.
That’s why I first got my 350 Bullet.

I’ve enjoyed the forum and to that end, got a S/H Classic 500. This may change, but that’s a whole different ball game.

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