Day: June 14, 2020

Guilt trips…

I haven’t been riding the new Enfield all that much since I bought it, which was exactly one week before the virus hit our shores.   You know, Covid 19, the lockdown, autonomous zone crises, and all that.  And as a consequence, I’ve come under heavy criticism from two good buddies for my failure to accumulate miles on the Taj Mahal (as I sometimes refer to my orange Interceptor).

“I can’t believe you’re not riding that new Enfield all the time,” said Joe Gresh.  Guilt.  The guy reminds me of my Mom.  You should try riding across China with him.

And then after I published that bit about getting out on the RX3, good buddy Rob had to weigh in:  “Take the Enfield on the same road,” he said.  “It will be a completely different ride.”  Guilt again.  If you don’t believe me, read the comments on the RX3 blog a few entries down.  Rob, a guy who rode with us on the Western America Adventure Ride.  He was waiting for us on a lawn chair by the side of the road early in the morning when we first met, already suited up, just before we crossed into Idaho.  Rob’s RX3 was parked right alongside, both man and motorcycle ready to roll as soon as we approached so we wouldn’t have to wait. He seemed like such a nice guy back then.

Well, it worked, guys.  Your guilt tripping got me out on the Enfield two days later, and it was awesome.  I didn’t do the Glendora Ridge Road ride, but I was up in the San Gabriels.  The very eastern end of that range, actually, riding deep into those glorious So Cal mountains through the little town of Lytle Creek.  I went right past the West End Gun Club without stopping to send lead downrange, and that doesn’t happen too often.  Not stopping in, that is.

So this is another one of those blogs where I’ll let the photos do the talking.  Here we go, folks.

The first time I ever put gas in the new Enfield, and it returned 58 mpg and change. That’s consistent with what I saw on the first tankful on the Enfield I rode in Baja. By the end of that trip (nearly 1500 miles later), the bike was consistently getting between 70 and 72 mpg. Not too shabby for a 650 twin.
This is a good-looking motorcycle. My good buddy Art over at Douglas Motorcycles gave me a hell of a deal on it.
Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I take a good photo. I look better in a full face helmet, people tell me.
Not today, but I had to stop for the photo op.  Top gun. That’s what I want to be.
You could interpret that sign to mean it’s okay to shoot at my street legal vehicle. Time to move along.
Ah, the great San Gabriels, just west of the little town of Lytle Creek. The road dead ends a few miles further.
A man, a motorcycle, America, and a mirror. Gets me every time.
Time to open her up a bit. But not too much. I’m still breaking in the Royal Enfield.
Editors hate these “motorcycle by the side of the road” shots. I kind of like them, especially when the road is in the San Gabriels.
And finally, re-entering the burbs. Lawrence of Suburbia, as Gresh sometimes calls me.  Look at those donuts.  There’s probably 20,000 miles of tire wear there;  the guy who did it probably owns stock in a tire company.  I used to have tire company shares when I worked for GenCorp, the corporation that owns General Tire, but that’s a story for another blog.

Wanna know a secret?  The ride above occurred several days ago.  I went for another ride this past Friday with good buddy Duane.  Duane was on his Indian, a motorcycle made in America.  I was on my Enfield, formerly a British motorcycle but now made in India.  As you can see above, the Enfield is a glorious orange and that’s the fastest color…just ask my good buddy Orlando (about the orange thing, that is).  Duane and I had a hell of a ride, and along the way we bumped into good buddies Steve and Rosemary by Silverwood.  But that, too, is a story for another blog.  Stay tuned!

Want to read about the Royal Enfield ride in Baja?   Just click here!  Want to know more about the CSC RX3 I mentioned above?  The skinny is just a click away.  Are you interested in a killer deal on a Triumph or a Royal Enfield?  Check out Douglas Motorcycles in San Bernardino!

Want to read a story about another beautiful motorcycle?  Motorcycle Classics recently published my piece about good buddy Steve’s stunning and brilliantly bright red ’82 Yamaha Seca.   You can read it here.