Úvod »Motocykly»Royal Enfield » Royal Enfield 250s Limited Edition Extra 1956-1967
Vazba: | Brožovaná | ||
Počet stran: | 128 | ||
Rozměry v mm: | 210 x 280 | ||
Počet obrázků: | 250 | ||
Rok vydání: | 2004 |
A few years ago, while attending a meeting of a local Classic Motorcycle Club, an invitation to join them was offered. My comment was that I only had a trio of 250cc Royal Enfields, which could not be regarded as classics, being neither old, rare nor exotic. What's that got to do with it? asked the official, Do you enjoy riding them? Yes, of course! was my reply. Well then, as far as we are concerned, motorcycles are to be ridden and provide enjoyment for the rider. Any machine that does that is in the Classic tradition, be it a Pioneer, Vintage or the latest out of the showroom. Enjoyment's what it's all about. So I joined. My introduction to the Crusader was back in 1956 when a friend, Stan Brown, took delivery of the first one in the North East of England. Surf Green it was, ordered from the catalogue, unseen. Being under age to ride legally on the road, it's pillion seat was to be used by me for many a mile. What a pleasant machine. When he sold it after a couple of years to get an Airflow Crusader Sports, it was bought by a guy who lived in Newcastle and worked in the London area. Every Sunday evening it was off down the A1, the old A1 that is; virtually no dual carriageway, through Darlington, Catterick, Ferrybridge, Doncaster, etc. and return the following Friday. Week in, week out, it seemed to go on for years. Then came the great day, 19th of March 1960, at 5.45pm I wheeled 334KVK out of the showroom, a brand spanking new Crusader Sports. It looked splendid and was to provide many happy hours of motor-cycling; why, even going to work was a pleasure. Spectating and marshalling at road races and scrambles, in fact any form of motorcycle and motor sport events, as well as holidays, it took them all in its stride. After the demise of the factory, the lack of spares appeared to be a potential problem, so a couple of basket cases were bought for cannibalisation purposes. Then came the fateful day that I joined the Royal Enfield Owners Club. It now became clear that my earlier fears about spares were unfounded, in fact the spares situation today is better than when the factory was in production. Now I had enough bits to build up another couple of machines, both ex-police ones. One was to become a black Airflow Clipper for touring and the other a machine with more off-road capability than I have! This left the polychromatic burgundy Crusader Sports to its primary role of day play fun machine. As far as touring is concerned I have ridden in every county of mainland England, Wales, including Anglesey, Scotland, with visits to the Isles of Skye, Arran and Mull, the six counties of Ulster as well as 10 visits to the Isle of Man. The GB sign has been worn in Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Germany and Eire. All done on a 250cc Enfield, usually loaded down for camping. While doing some research for the R.E.O.C., I had cause to visit a friend I hadn't seen for many years. He had moved to a nearby new town and of course I got well and truly lost. On stopping to ask directions, it took the best part of quarter of an hour to get away from my informant. He recognised the Enfield from his youth and started reminiscing. A handful of throttle left him grinning. My friend was over the moon to have an Enfield outside his house again. On the way home a bloke at the roadside nearly twisted his head off as he pointed us out to his wife. As usual, the run had generated a high grin factor, even after thirty years. One machine making four people happy - it's got to be a CLASSIC! As Roy Creasey has pointed out on more than one occasion in his writings, ...you meet a nice class of people on a Royal Enfield, I know that I have. No matter how you use your Enfield, enjoy it but always remember to ride safe. This book features 39 articles on this popular classic British bike including new model intros, tuning, buying secondhand, classic reports, engine analysis & technical data.
Models covered: Crusader, Sport, Super 5, Airflow, Turbo Twin, 246cc Grand Prix Single & Continental. 128 pages. 250 b/w illus.