Captain Tom Moore has become a celebrity in the UK raising money for charity in the run up to his 100 year birthday in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis.
His first motorcycle was a Royal Enfield.
Cycle World is the main motorcycle magazine in the US. I have read it for many years and it was rare that Royal Enfield got any mention.
However, in issue #3 of 2020 there are two articles.
In one, legendary writer Peter Egan, writes about a Himalayan he got. I could not find the article online so here are some quotes: "I'd always liked the looks and character of the Indian-built Royal Enfields, but had heard they often required a bit of fettling to correct their hand-built idiosyncrasies. Ligman assured me that was no longer the case. `We haven't seen any problems at all in the new Himalayans or the 650 Twins', he said". "When I pulled into the dealership, I shut off the bike and sat there awhile, looking it over. I took off my helmet and asked myself, Why doesn't anybody build a bike like this? I let that idiotic statement ring in the air for a moment and then I said `Oh, wait, somebody does.' What I meant, of course, was, Why doesn't some proven, long established brand in the American marketplace build a bike like this? Well, somebody in India had done it -figured out exactly what I wanted, when I wasn't even sure myself, and built it. You have to reward people who read your mind, so I decided to go out on a limb and trade in the old DR on my own Himalayan."
In the other, they describe a custom built 1957 Royal Enfield made Indian by Milwaukee builder J. Shia of Madhouse Motors. You can see pictures in their featured builds. If you look carefully, you will notice a foot sizing device like you find in shoe shops working as footrest.
"An historic AFT Production Twins Main Event saw Johnny Lewis (No. 10 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield Twins FT) claim Royal Enfield’s first-ever AFT victory and season-long dominator James Rispoli (No. 43 Latus Motors Racing Harley-Davidson XG750R) crowned the class’ champion." According to RW.
