Father Peter's Fridays

Luckily for me, I work at an enlightened and progressive institution where employees get Friday afternoons off during the summer.  We call these occasions Father Peter's Fridays because he is the one that initiated the policy of time off on Summer Fridays.  That means ride time! This afternoon I put into the effect the ride I had planned for a couple of days ago when the rain put a stop to it.  The ride took me to West Chester via Goshen/Strasburg and the West Chester Pike....

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Blue Moon Cycle in Georgia

My friend Phillip sent me a link to Blue Moon Cycle in Georgia because we are both interested in vintage bikes. Blue Moon Cycle sells and services new BMW, EBR, MV Augusta, Ural, and Royal Enfields.  They are a modern dealership but they also specialize in vintage motorcycles.  At the dealership they maintain a museum display of almost 100 vintage motorcycles and those bikes are not...

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Early Evening Ride

As predicted, because I did not go back to work on the bike it did not rain this afternoon.  It was overcast and cold but not precipitation.  I got home by 6:45 from the range and as soon as that I went out for a ride.  Didn't have a plan to go far, just to do a couple of neighborhood loops before it got dark or it might begin to rain.  I headed out Church to Waterloo and then to Newtown Street Rd to the St David's roundabout.  From there I followed St David's...

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The Parcae Strike Again

It was my intention to ride out to Brookhaven directly after work this afternoon.  The Parcae, however, had other ideas.  Despite a previous forecast of clear weather the day broke overcast as grey.  I risked riding in to work for the morning commute but the clouds did not break up by noon.  Rode back home for lunch and left the bike there because I knew that if I continued with my plan, the Tria Fata would cause the skies to break open on my head once I was far...

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Riding in the Rain

I have been sick since the 15th of June and it seems that I will never get better.  The last ride I had before today was a week ago, on Wednesday, 21 June, when I took the bike for my work commute and to get my hair cut in the afternoon.  That day was overcast and it started to rain while I was getting my hair cut so I had to ride home in the rain. Today I finally felt well enough to ride again so I had planned in taking a trip up Goshen/Strasburg/West Chester Pike all the...

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Resources - Her Majesty's Thunder

Her Majesty's Thunder found at http://hermajestysthunder.blogspot.com/ From Her Majesty's Thunder This blog is about British bikes of the Golden Era.  It doesn't focus completely on Royal Enfields but the author owns and rides one so there are some good bits here.  The thing that really sets this blog apart is the photography; it is amazing.  The blog also has a stunning visual...

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Navajo Code Talkers - Uncle Sam's Motorcycle Club

Again, not motorcycle related but involving Uncle Sam's Motorcycle Club and Memorial_Day which is today. Yesterday morning I had the good fortune of meeting Brother Marines Alfred Newman, 3rd Marine Division; Bill Toledo, 3rd Mar. Div.; and Robert Walley, Marine Raider, 6th Mar. Div.; Navajo Code Talkers, and Marine Heros.  These gentlemen left their homes in New Mexico to defend our...

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Resources - My Royal Enfields Blog

My Royal Enfields found at http://myroyalenfields.blogspot.com/ This is a really fabulous blog that covers many topics of interest for the Royal Enfield fan.  Jorge Pullin authors the blog and he covers a range from current developments to history of the RE.  One of my favorite features is the "Somewhere in ..." series in which the finds old published references or photos and then gives an updated view of the item he features.  Here is the latest in that series.  I...

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Drew Brees "Retires" to Ride Can Am Spyder

Saw this on TV the other night.  A very funny commercial featuring Drew Brees, quarterback of the New Orleans Saints, and the reaction of his agent when  Brees finds the "ultimate loophole" in his contract so he can ride a Can Am Spyder.

For me it's funny in many levels.  I've been wanting a Spyder since the first came out and while I'm not from New Orleans I did live in South Louisiana for a number of years and have come to love that city.  The commercial features someone (I'm sure it wasn't Brees) riding a white Spyder through New Orleans and parts of South Louisiana.  The priceless part is the reaction of the agent, he really gets hit hard.

Hope you enjoyed it.  Please, let me know what you think, I know this is not about REs but I thought you all might appreciate it if you haven't seen it.

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Bonnie and Clyde Anniversary

Not motorcycle related. Today, May 23, marks the anniversary of the ambush in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, that resulted in the death of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in 1934. After a two year crime spree, from 1932 to 1934, Bonnie and Clyde met their deaths at the hands of four Texas officers (Frank Hamer, B.M. "Manny" Gault, Bob Alcorn, and Ted Hinton) and two Louisiana officers (Henderson...

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Uncle Sam's Motorcycle Club

USMC Eagle, Globe, and Anchor Got this awesome reflective Eagle, Globe, and Anchor helmet sticker from nick_angelo on eBay.  Originally intended to put it on the back of my helmet but, because my helmet is not evenly smooth and has a silver/white reflective pattern on black overall, the sticker did not fit very well with my helmet scheme. I thought the EGA would not standout despite its...

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Resources - Royal Enfield Motorcycle Blog

Royal Enfield Motorcycles, found at: http://www.royalenfields.com/ A great blog with a lot of info on RE motorcycles.  The best thing about this blog is that it lists RE motorcycles being offered for sale on eBay and craigslist in the US.  The list is pretty comprehensive and while it probably doesn't show every RE available out there it really does a very thorough accounting.  It is really maintained in a separate blog but you can get...

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Monday Morning Ride

Still not feeling a 100% but definitely feeling a lot better than yesterday.  At around 10:00 I went out for a mid-morning ride.  Basically just headed out West Chester Pike towards West Chester.  It was sunny and clear, traffic was light, and them temps were in the low 60s.  Stopped at the Wawa station on the Pike to fill-up.  Didn't need it as I had only gone 141 miles since the last fill-up but, since I was there, I took advantage of it.  The tank took...

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Perpetual Motion - Royal Enfield History

A great 30 minute documentary from the BBC on the post-war history of Royal Enfield. ...

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Wave

Still not feeling well but I did take a little time this afternoon to do a very short ride and check on my new bar end mirrors.  My plan was to go to Ellis Preserve and do some loops on the grounds.  I had readjusted my right mirror yesterday and that was fine but the left mirror was still a little low.  After a couple of loops I decided to head out on the road on go back home.  Instead on returning by the shortest route I went on West Chester Pike to Providence Rd....

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Napoleon Bar End Mirrors

The next modification to the Bullet was the installation of a set of Napoleon bar end mirrors from Dime City Cycles.  You can get these in black but I went with chrome to keep with the look of the bike.  These cost me $34.95 a piece. When I got these on Thursday, I need that installation was not going to be an easy thing.  I looked in youtube to find instructions and that best that...

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Headlight Visor and Helmet Lock

Another no ride day, this time not because of weather but because I'm under the weather.  Got some parts in from NField Gear last Thursday and I began my mods to the Bullet. Headlight Visor The first mod was the addition of the headlight visor.  This part cost me $19.95 and it was super easy to install.  There is a small phillips had screw at six o'clock on the headlight cowl...

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Rain, Rain Go Away

It's coming down in buckets.  No riding today, that makes two days in a row that I could not get out.  Yesterday for other reasons, today because of weather.  I have heard the old saw many times before: "if you don't ride in the rain, you don't ride."  I don't ride in the rain.  I've been caught in it and ridden through but I never go out in it intentionally.  Riding...

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St David's Road

Took lunch time today to do a run on St. David's Road.  Loved the twists and turns.  Unfortunately, as it will always happens, there were road crews all over repairing the damage from this winter.  Glad to see that is being done but, of course, you can see how they could have waited to do that after I had taken my run.  Oh well, that just means that I will have to try again.  It was nice to be able to do a mini run in the middle of the day.  The problem, however,...

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Another Pillion Ride

After just commuting on Monday and today we took a short pillion ride through the neighborhood.  We rode down Darby-Paoli Rd, Church Rd, Waterloo, Devon, Dorset, back to Church and St. David's to Newtown Street Rd (I know, right?  Can it get any more redundant?) to Waterloo by the old mills on Darby Creek and back to Church for the way home.  This ride is twisty and hilly, especially...

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Fuel Capacity

The specs say that the fuel capacity for the Bullet 500 is 14.5 liters or 3.2 US gallons.  According to what've seen on the web, only 11 liters (2.9 US gallons) of that is usable fuel.  The other 3.5 liters are need to keep the fuel injection system submerged or some other such thing.  So if you calculate approximately 70 miles to the gallon you should have a range of 203 miles on a tank.  Let's call it 200 to be safe. The idea is that if you see the fuel indicator...

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New Royal Enfield Logo

I just found this on "My Royal Enfields" blog.  Royal Enfield is changing its logo. (Photo credit - TeamBHP.com) I'll confess to being a traditionalist, there's nothing wrong with the new logo, I just like the old logo better.  A lot of buzz about it on the web but it's a fait accompli so we'll just have to live with i...

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Bad or Just Annoying

Not sure that I would put this in the Bad category but it can be annoying.  The lights on the instruments that show neutral and turn signal (what the manual calls trafficator lights) indicators are really dim.  During daytime operation they are virtually invisible.  It's not a big deal, but if you are a little clueless (like me) you end up riding around with your blinkers on all the time.  My solution is to hit the kill switch every time I think about it.  It's...

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Pillion Ride

Today I took my wife for a ride on the Bullet.  We did a short run up Goshen/Strasburg to the West Chester Pike and on the way back we detoured down Sugartown Rd. to Darby Rd. turned around and came back Sugartown to Providence Rd. and from there to Goshen.  A nice country ride with some twists.  The bike behaved tremendously well.  Considering that I never brought it up past quarter throttle it ran smooth and steady.  I did have a couple of false neutrals but...

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The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good is self evident, the Bullet is a hoot to ride and I just can't wait to get the break-in period done so I can really see what it can do. The Bad and the Ugly are not so bad and ugly but here's what I've found so far: Mirrors - Totally useless.  They shake, rattle, and roll so much that I feel like Big Joe Turner.  The shake, rattle, and roll, however, is not the problem.  The problem is that no matter how I adjust them all I can see is my elbows.  To look...

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Saturday Morning Ride

This is the second "long" ride on the Bullet.  I used it the last couple of days to go to work but that is only a distance of four miles and change each way. This morning I left the house a little after 9:30 and headed to the spot where Goshen Rd. begins at Darby-Paoli Rd.  That is where Goshen crosses Darby Creek over a short stone bridge.  I followed Goshen all the way from its beginnings to its end (as Strasburg Rd.) at West Chester Pike (Route 3).  This is a nice...

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Photos on Flickr

I've added the first set of photos of the Bullet to my Motorcycle Porn album on Flickr.  I took these with my Nikon D7000 using a Nikon 28mm Series E lens on aperture priority.  The Series E are manual lenses that will not work with auto-focus and will not register the aperture in the camera body.  You have to manually move the ring just like in the good old days.  More retro...

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First Ride - First Impressions

Yesterday (Thursday, 08 May 2014) I bought my first Enfield.  It's a black 2012 Bullet B5 and I have been looking at it in the showroom floor for a little under a year now.  It had been languishing in the showroom of Kiss Honda probably since 2012, with only 35 miles on the odometer, but I did not see until last year.  Kiss Honda is a family owned dealership that has been...

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