An Introduction
Posted: Mon Dec 24, 2018 2:45 pm
Hello everybody, , I thought I’d make a brief introduction.
I’m Dave, long-time old-car guy but new motorcycle owner. I flirted briefly with riding back about 15 years ago with a Honda CL350. My dad was a rider (including several ‘50s Indian-badged Royal Enfield twins) and so is my brother. Now I’m back to it.
Back around Thanksgiving, I purchased a 2008 Royal Enfield Bullet 500 Chrome ES (what a mouthful), from a fellow named Steve Emerson near Dayton, Ohio. I mention him only because he’s very active in the RE Facebook groups (he may be on here too?) and the name might be familiar to some. Steve is a big RE enthusiast and has embraced the EFI models in a big way, so my ’08 was redundant for him.
I’m into vintage (pre-1960s) machinery, so it was the perfect fit for me, being the freshest machine available built to a 1954ish design. Even though I live in southwest Vermont, it was worth the trip to Ohio because not only was I certain Steve had given his motorcycle the proper care, he had also fitted it with several improvements such as a front disc brake, electronic ignition, and an Amal Concentric carburetor.
Gunpowder, as I’ve dubbed my bike, has been sitting idle since c. 2015. I’m mostly just trying to get her started at this point. She has good compression and kicks over, but won’t fire. I’m also repairing a broken taillamp and left-hand turn signals that click but don’t blink.
Long term, the plan is to pay homage to the ‘30s Bullets and Model G/J’s while retaining the swing arm and telescopic front forks. I want to fit a high pipe, knobby tires, covered shocks, and a freestanding headlamp. I even toyed with adding “coachlined and infilled†details to the chrome wheels, but as of last night am leaning more toward retrofitting black powdercoated wheel rims for the sake of simplicity. To that end—has anyone put the 18-inch rear wheel off a UCE Bullet on an Iron Barrel? I assume my front wheel already is one, since Steve fitted the disc brake and gave me the old twin leading shoe wheel among the boxes of spare parts he included in the sale.
I’m sorry, I’d post photos but it appears that I need to have some kind of external photo host to do so. Ever since Photobucket turned extortionist, I haven’t had one. I will see you around the forum!
I’m Dave, long-time old-car guy but new motorcycle owner. I flirted briefly with riding back about 15 years ago with a Honda CL350. My dad was a rider (including several ‘50s Indian-badged Royal Enfield twins) and so is my brother. Now I’m back to it.
Back around Thanksgiving, I purchased a 2008 Royal Enfield Bullet 500 Chrome ES (what a mouthful), from a fellow named Steve Emerson near Dayton, Ohio. I mention him only because he’s very active in the RE Facebook groups (he may be on here too?) and the name might be familiar to some. Steve is a big RE enthusiast and has embraced the EFI models in a big way, so my ’08 was redundant for him.
I’m into vintage (pre-1960s) machinery, so it was the perfect fit for me, being the freshest machine available built to a 1954ish design. Even though I live in southwest Vermont, it was worth the trip to Ohio because not only was I certain Steve had given his motorcycle the proper care, he had also fitted it with several improvements such as a front disc brake, electronic ignition, and an Amal Concentric carburetor.
Gunpowder, as I’ve dubbed my bike, has been sitting idle since c. 2015. I’m mostly just trying to get her started at this point. She has good compression and kicks over, but won’t fire. I’m also repairing a broken taillamp and left-hand turn signals that click but don’t blink.
Long term, the plan is to pay homage to the ‘30s Bullets and Model G/J’s while retaining the swing arm and telescopic front forks. I want to fit a high pipe, knobby tires, covered shocks, and a freestanding headlamp. I even toyed with adding “coachlined and infilled†details to the chrome wheels, but as of last night am leaning more toward retrofitting black powdercoated wheel rims for the sake of simplicity. To that end—has anyone put the 18-inch rear wheel off a UCE Bullet on an Iron Barrel? I assume my front wheel already is one, since Steve fitted the disc brake and gave me the old twin leading shoe wheel among the boxes of spare parts he included in the sale.
I’m sorry, I’d post photos but it appears that I need to have some kind of external photo host to do so. Ever since Photobucket turned extortionist, I haven’t had one. I will see you around the forum!
