By Joe Berk
…to go for a motorcycle ride. On the other hand, I’m always finding reasons not to go to the gym. But I think I found a solution. Lately, I’ve been riding the Enfield to the gym. I’m more interested in getting on the motorcycle than I am in going to the gym, but if I ride the Enfield to the gym…well, you get the idea.
There are usually two or three other guys who ride to the gym. Two have Harleys, another guy has a new Guzzi, and there’s even a Yamaha V-Max parked there on occasion. I’ve spoken with a few of those guys, and like me, they’re not spring chickens. I think they’re younger than me, but I suspect we’re all qualified for the Silver Sneakers subsidy. We’re old and we’re all trying to stay young. Such is the way of the world. The motorcycles help.
We’re lucky here in California; we can ride pretty much year round. I’m at about 1700 feet above sea level, right at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, and even in the winter months it’s usually in the high 60s or low 70s during the day. That’s perfect riding weather. It can get cold at night, but who rides at night?
Well, I guess I do, sometimes. Always by myself, and if it’s a night ride, it’s always short. There’s something about a late night ride that’s simultaneously invigorating and relaxing. The last few nights, it’s been warm enough. Everything seems more focused on a motorcycle at night. I hear the engine more clearly, and I see what the Enfield’s headlight wants me to see. I love the Enfield’s instrumentation, especially at night. It’s a simple two cup cluster…a tach and a speedometer. Just like my Triumphs were in the 1960s and 1970s. I really don’t need anything more. I rode a new motorcycle for one of the manufacturers a couple of weeks ago and the instrument cluster was way too complex. It had a brilliant TFT display and computer game graphics, but overall it was distracting and actually took away from the riding experience. Just a tach and speedo is all I need or want. Even the tach is kind of silly (I never use a tach to shift). But it looks, you know, balanced with the matching speedometer.
When I lived in Fort Worth about 50 years ago, I rode a Harley Electra Glide. All that motorcycle had for instrumentation was a speedometer and I never felt an info deficit. Late night solo rides were my favorite rides. Fort Worth summers were brutal (well over 100 degrees during the day and very humid). At night it would drop into the high 90s (still with tons of humidity), but it felt way cooler. Sometimes I’d stop for a cup of coffee at a 24-hour donut shop on Camp Bowie Boulevard. Sometimes I’d just ride, heading west toward Weatherford and the great beyond (once you pass Weatherford, there’s pretty much nothing until you reach Midland/Odessa). One time I realized it was time to go home when I saw the sun coming up.
Back to the Enfield: It’s a much better motorcycle than the Electra Glide ever was and it’s a hoot to ride. Circling back to my opening line, riding to the gym makes for a good excuse to get on the bike. Not that anyone ever needed an excuse to go for a motorcycle ride. But it defeats the excuses I make for myself when I don’t feel like going to the gym.
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Why is the royal enfield better than a 50 year old Electra glide ? I thought RE was supposed to be reminiscent of 50 years ago motoring.
Long live shovelheads!
My shovelhead (a ’79) was the worst motor vehicle I ever owned.
Mine was great . Rode it from Ct to sturgis and back and beat the living heck out of it daily for several years of party biking.
I still have another 79 I need to put back on the road .
I did have problems with the no lead valve guides when it was new. But man , what a sweet sounding bike.
If I only had one bike , it would be a shovelhead .
I’m glad it worked out well for you. Mine, not so much. One of these days I’ll do a blog on everything that went south on it.
so its not so much that the RE is anything special, but the Eglide gave you trouble.
maybe it would be more fair to compare a 79 FL to a 79 Enfield.
or perhaps compare present enfields with a
shovelhead updated with modern components. any weakness harleys of that era had have long been addressed by the aftermarket.
ok, maybe that is a bit of a stretch. but one just cant beat the soulful sounds of iron barreled motors. they make music. i have plenty of alloy stuff. they never create the connection. no matter how efficient .
No resolutions for me. I don’t work well under pressure.
that in of itself is a resolution
Why is a RE 650 better than a ’79 Shovelhead?
It’s lighter
It’s faster
It’s smoother
It gets better fuel mileage
It looks better
It’s cheaper (still!)
It handles better
It has won a AFT race
To continue the list:
It doesn’t leak oil.
It doesn’t leak gas.
It doesn’t have saddlebag lids that fall off.
It doesn’t vibrate.
It can go over 100 mph.
It doesn’t have a rear brake caliper that cuts itself in half.
The brakes don’t squeak going down the road.
It doesn’t need a valve job every 3,000 miles.
It has a locking gas cap.
It only has one gas cap.
It has a tach.
It doesn’t kick back against the starter.
The dealer has a triple-digit IQ.
Holy moly Joe, take it EASY! Anyways I just wanted to say my excuse for not riding is snow, ice and mainly tons of salt on the roads. It’s a thing around here. Sad.
you are full of baloney because Eglides didn’t come with kickers
electraglide named for electric start. get it?
and even if one was installed as an accessory
my 79 super glide i could start with my hand.
the valve issue was the government going to no lead gas. i admit there was some sorting to do.
the tack on your enfield is jewelry. i think u yourself said u dont shift by it.
and wow! my hd bags held a case of canned beer and a bag of ice, each.
i am sure that the bungie cord you have on your fender really is a great replacement. or is it holding the fender on?
i got nothing against your bike. its great for going to the gym. albeit slowly. its boring.
and wait until you get stuck taking half the bike apart to adjust the valves. or paying a dealer 600$
even the shovelhead had hydraulic lifters.
anyway, happy new year.
Happy New Year to you, too, Hack. Always appreciate your commments.
No argument about being full of baloney. It’s what keeps the blog going.
The Harley kicked back against the starter. The electric starter.
i doubt its faster.
it looks better? LMFAO
i bought my king of the highway in 1979 for a few hundred less the the msrp of your RE.
inhave no clue what a AFT is.
Wow, so much negativity in this blog. BTW wasn’t Lawrence of Arabia killed on Royal Enfield? I love the look, old style.
Happy New Year to all!
T.E. Lawrence (also known as Lawrence of Arabia) was killed on a Brough Superior, an English motorcycle. Here’s a photo I took of one at the November 2005 Hansen Dam Rally here in California:
Happy new year to you, too, Mike.
Hmmm… I ride my used Sporty with sidecar to pool where I swim, does that count…
It does. Happy new year, Terry. And thanks for commenting.
“我总是找理由不去健身房。但我想我找到了解决办法。最近，我骑着自行车去健身房。比起去健身房，我对骑摩托车更感兴趣，”非常喜欢你这段话！
下面这两段段话是广州左云说给你的，他向你问好：“自从有智能手机，我都没用过电脑这个美国队长还是带给我们一段美好回忆，有留言顺问个好”、“我们都有各自的生活，但对骑摩托车的爱好还是一直坚持”……
左云和我一样都姓“左”，就像您和二舅都叫“Joe”一样，他很好，他一直致力于摩托事业，一直忘了告诉你，他曾获得过中国汽摩协会颁发的方格旗奖……
今晚，我好像失眠了。
“I’m always looking for reasons not to go to the gym. But I think I’ve found a solution. Lately, I’ve been riding my bike to the gym. I’m more interested in riding a motorcycle than going to the gym.” Love your quote so much!
The following two passages are from Guangzhou Zuoyun. He greets you: “I haven’t used a computer since I have a smartphone. This Captain America still brings us a good memory. If you have a message, please let me know.”, “We all have our own lives, but the hobby of riding motorcycles has always stuck”…
Zuo Yun and I have the same surname “Zuo”, just like you and your second uncle are called “Joe”, he is very good, he has been committed to the motorcycle business, and I forgot to tell you that he was awarded the China Automobile and Motorcycle Association The Checkered Flag Award for…
Tonight, I seem to have insomnia.
随着年龄的增长，情况会变得更糟，中士。
It gets worse as you get older, Sergeant Major.
必须向您学习，“我们老了，我们都在努力保持年轻。”
摩托车真的是个好东西，它可以将压力愉快的变为动力……
Must learn from you, “We are old, we are all trying to stay young.”
Motorbikes are really good things, they can turn stressful pleasures into motivation…