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Roy Gavin wrote: Dont have a camera, but there are a few threads / photographs on Ex army bikes on the Oz regional forum if you dont know what a fresh cow pat looks like---.

What time of year cow pat are we talkin' Roy?

Ain't seen a army bike or a cow pat for that matter fer a while, but I'm thinking like a late spring/early summer pat?

Roy Gavin wrote:
I have a Yamaha XT 600E, a RTW favorite, and apart from lowish weight , good fuel consumption and reputed reliability it doesnt have much going for it. I prefer Nicoles Royal Enfield Bullet, power is about the same, motor is smoother and it handles and brakes better.

.

Roy,
can you tell me more about he Nicoles Enfield ?

Seems that there is still a market for cheap, simple , reliable singles.

Especially to folks who cut their teeth on one better than 45 years ago.

The nearest thing to the old air cooled XT still sold in Oz is the KLR, and they are the top selling Adventure Tourer, outselling all the BMW soft roaders put together.

They are almost half the price of the current Yamaha XT 660 Tenere, and outsell them better than twenty to one.
Not bad for a rather unremarkable bike.

They seem to hold their value well too, low mileage, well farkled bikes two or three years old are selling for new prices.

The Aprilla made Funduro was the best selling bike ever sold by BMW, but it sold at a price that didnt make BMW much money.
Their attempts to make a bit more by taking over production, reducing the quality and increasing the price were a disaster which has tarnished the whole brand.
I suspect the current Chinese engined singles will be quietly dropped in favor of Husqvarna badged bikes - the BMW G 450 X has already reappeared as the Husqvarna SMR 511,complete with supermoto wheels , and a few thousand bucks cheaper than the G 450 X ever was.

Hmmm ...I thought the DR 650 was outselling the KLR now . A better and lighter bike with a plank for a seat .

Last time I saw the figures it was the KLR - but that was a few months back, and the figures are old by the time we see them.

So things may have changed - this is a price sensitive market and it doesnt take much to swing things

IMHO the large tank and more road oriented seat on the KLR swing a few buyers its way, pity that Suzuki dont do something similar, even as an option.

Nicoles Enfield is a 3 year old Electra, with the electric start removed.
It has an Amal Concentric carb from Hitchcocks, and a Reband Gold Star type muffler, which free the motor up a bit, an a single "tractor type"sprung seat and a the full old style windscreen to make it a bit more comfortable.
Tires are Dunlop TT100s and fork oil 10 wt full synth.
Apart from the electric start it has been 100% reliable over 30,000 km, and is a first time starter, even with a 8 stone girl kicking it.

Ultimate answer: the best MC to travel around the world
will NOT be a BMW – So be it ...
Live with it, any purely rational decision will easily exclude the marque.

Roy Gavin wrote:Last time I saw the figures it was the KLR - but that was a few months back, and the figures are old by the time we see them.

So things may have changed - this is a price sensitive market and it doesnt take much to swing things

IMHO the large tank and more road oriented seat on the KLR swing a few buyers its way, pity that Suzuki dont do something similar, even as an option.

Nicoles Enfield is a 3 year old Electra, with the electric start removed.
It has an Amal Concentric carb from Hitchcocks, and a Reband Gold Star type muffler, which free the motor up a bit, an a single "tractor type"sprung seat and a the full old style windscreen to make it a bit more comfortable.
Tires are Dunlop TT100s and fork oil 10 wt full synth.
Apart from the electric start it has been 100% reliable over 30,000 km, and is a first time starter, even with a 8 stone girl kicking it.

These 2 links would add up to a pretty decent but expensive Enfield .

http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2010/ ... mance-kit/
http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2010/ ... rom-italy/

Sibbo wrote:

Roy Gavin wrote:Last time I saw the figures it was the KLR - but that was a few months back, and the figures are old by the time we see them.

So things may have changed - this is a price sensitive market and it doesnt take much to swing things

IMHO the large tank and more road oriented seat on the KLR swing a few buyers its way, pity that Suzuki dont do something similar, even as an option.

Nicoles Enfield is a 3 year old Electra, with the electric start removed.
It has an Amal Concentric carb from Hitchcocks, and a Reband Gold Star type muffler, which free the motor up a bit, an a single "tractor type"sprung seat and a the full old style windscreen to make it a bit more comfortable.
Tires are Dunlop TT100s and fork oil 10 wt full synth.
Apart from the electric start it has been 100% reliable over 30,000 km, and is a first time starter, even with a 8 stone girl kicking it.

These 2 links would add up to a pretty decent but expensive Enfield .

Then you could start on a decent set of forks, and the brakes....For the price of the kit you could buy a nice use Shitsuki 500 air cooled twin and leave this thing for dead. Of course you wouldn't look as cool or retro, but you would be riding a much better motorcycle.

Gotta be a bit suspicious about the opinions of a man who describes the pistons and rings as part of the "bottom-end."

Zombie Master wrote:

Sibbo wrote:
These 2 links would add up to a pretty decent but expensive Enfield .

Then you could start on a decent set of forks, and the brakes....For the price of the kit you could buy a nice use Shitsuki 500 air cooled twin and leave this thing for dead. Of course you wouldn't look as cool or retro, but you would be riding a much better motorcycle.

Enfield handle surprisingly well for a light bike, forks ? ,,,, the correct amount and weight of oil helps a lot. Brakes ? They have a twin leading shoe which works pretty well when set up right or buy the Hitchcocks single disc for about $650.

The trouble with Enfields is they look good and sound good and with kits like that ..VERY GOOD .Suzukis are good , excellent in fact, but they will always be Suzukis .Strange eh ?