The racing controversy

Perhaps quite apropos, given the introduction of the Conti, is to revisit some of the aspects of the previous incarnation of the bike. In particular there was a serious effort made to get Enfield back to racing on a machine loosely based on the Continental, called the GT5 and involving racing legend Geoff Duke. The move was surrounded by controversy, as the letters reprinted below show. Basically, it was decided to go with a Villiers Starmaker engine and later with an engine designed by renowned two stroke specialist Hermann Meier and also the gifted Polish engineer Leo Kuzmicki, whom Duke knew from his days at Norton. The Enfield proved to be the quickest British-built 250cc machine, but suffered from reliability problems. Meier even proposed the design of an in-line, liquid-cooled, twin-cylinder two stroke engine, with disc valves, for which he produced a general layout and specification. Like the current Conti, the machine sported a specially designed frame made by specialists, the design was of Reg Thomas and the build by Reynolds Tube Co Ltd. The fairing was produced by Mitchenall. But the racing adventure had proved costly.  Enfield,  was owned since 1962 by E. & H. P. Smith Ltd, a manufacturer of machine tools, static electrical equipment, electronics and equipment for medicine. That is, a large conglomerate which view the motorcycle concern purely in terms of revenue. And revenue was getting hit hard by the influx of Italian and Japanese machines. The racing project was canceled and in 1967 the main factory sold, and it became clear to everyone involved that the end of the company was near.

Sources: "Geoff Duke: The Stylish Champion" and "The story of Royal Enfield motorcycles", books by Peter Hartley. The article is from "Motor Cycling" March 21, 1964

The Conti launched in India

Got quite a bit of coverage, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, for example. Price: 200,000 Rupees, about US$3200.

Where in Brandon?

Reader Jan points to this picture of a Royal Enfield dealer in High Street in Brandon, Suffolk, for sale in ebay. It looks from the early part of the 20th Century.

He also helped me identify where it was. Today, it appears that the dealership was replaced with a more modern building. My guess is that it was where "BETFRED, the bonus king" currently is. For reference, look at the second chimney in the left, the one with five stovepipes coming out of it. Also, the building on the right with the phone booth in front of it, is still the Post Office, it is just that the bottom front has been renovated (the top is still as it was). The two buildings to the left of the post office on the right hand side also appear from the period.

Where in Southern Australia?

The Royal Enfield dealer in Southern Australia was George Bolton. His dealership still goes strong, being run by his son, also named George Bolton.

Enf...

The ad for the 1913 Olympia Show used too large a font in the title!

Walter Freeman

After serving with the Army Cyclist Corps in France, Walter Freeman took up cross-country running on his return home and won international honors in his first full season. In 1920 he finished fourth in the National and third in the International Cross-Country, but at the Olympics he finished well down the field, although the British team took the silver medal (the medals were awarded based on the times of the top three runners, Walter was the fourth in the British team and therefore did not contribute to the medal). In 1921 he won both the National and International but never quite recaptured this form in later seasons. On the track his best performance was to take third place in the AAA 10 miles in 1922. He worked for Royal Enfield. Passed away in 1987 at 94 years of age.

Good enough for a racecar!

Tom Killeen was a British car designer pioneer of the monocoque type of construction. Apparently in one of his prototypes he considered using a Royal Enfield meteor engine.

Dreamliner performance

There is a discussion of the Dreamliner performance in this post.

I shall return!

Those were the words of General Douglas Mac Arthur when he left the Philippines in 1942. They should have said the same thing in 1970 when Royal Enfield stopped being sold there. As we hear here the brand has been reintroduced in that country.

And, courtesy of the Facebook page of Royal Enfield Singapore Owners group, we now learn Royal Enfield is back in Malaysia as well,

Here are some pictures of yesteryear in those regions, first is Mr. Law Sing Fook, dealer in Ipoh, capital of Perak in Malaysia, riding a Royal Enfield model R. E. with specially built sidecar. He claimed that position was possible at 28 mph,

And here is an "enthusiastic party of Royal Enfield motor cyclists assembled outside the premises of Mr. Ho Yoon Thin, prior to a tour through jungle country" according to REVS.

Don't drink and drive...

This is a remarkable article in the cavalier attitude it takes towards drinking and driving. Even if they go to remote areas this sounds very dangerous...

Armistice day

I guess this picture will become our Armistice Day regular post. It was taken on Armistice Day in 1918 and the bike is a Royal Enfield.

60.6% growth!

Sales on Q3 in India soar!

A bike to be seen with

I like the title of the piece about the Conti in a Scottish newspaper. Unfortunately it wants a subscription to show the full article.

Enfield gearboxes

The two speed gearbox that was introduced in the 1911 Royal Enfield became very popular with other manufacturers.

Robertson's

In 1914 you could buy a Royal Enfield at Robertson's of 157 Great Portland Street.

Now it is a wine store

MCN on the Conti

MCN delivers what appears to be a balanced, positive review.