Single seat classic bikes

agnes · 31 Mar 2016 at 23:27

Any suggestions?

I rode a Royal Enfield in India years ago, a 500cc Bullet.

I loved it and just checked up on pricing over here (yea, the bug for a bike is back) and it's reasonable. But I'll be honest, it's performance is lacking for British roads in my opinion.

But I LOVE to looks of it.

Is there anything to match it out there? I know the Triumph's bonny is similar, but it's a 2 seater.

Tefal · 31 Mar 2016 at 23:40

Bobber a bonny?

Freeman · 1 Apr 2016 at 08:29

There were a few spy shots of a rumoured Bobber of some description by Triumph a few months ago. Maybe something for next year? (dat hunch!)

tom_e · 1 Apr 2016 at 08:43

That looks ridiculously uncomfortable unless you're already Quasimodo!

Craig321 · 1 Apr 2016 at 09:31

Any reason why you want single seat in particular? The Bonneville is an awesome bike. You can use the big seat to strap stuff to, or just convert it to single seat if you want.

wazza300 · 1 Apr 2016 at 11:42

A Manx norton

Sagalout · 1 Apr 2016 at 12:36

Moto Guzzi V7 - good value too

Dogbreath · 1 Apr 2016 at 20:07

Craig321 said:
Any reason why you want single seat in particular?

I'm taking a wild stab in the dark here, but it might be this:

agnes said:
But I LOVE to looks of it.

The Royal Enfield 500 can be tuned to produce more useful amounts of power, so that could be an option

Sagalout said:
Moto Guzzi V7 - good value too

It's a nice looking bike but more of a Cafe Racer, not really the same style as the Enfield.

agnes · 2 Apr 2016 at 17:35

I think I'll stick to the enfield and look into the upgrade kit. Although, at over half the value of the bike, it's a bit much for a little extra power.

IC3 · 2 Apr 2016 at 20:27

Make your own from a different bike, that way it'll not only be how you want it. But it'll also be unique!

Dogbreath · 2 Apr 2016 at 21:59

agnes said:
I think I'll stick to the enfield and look into the upgrade kit. Although, at over half the value of the bike, it's a bit much for a little extra power.

That's for the all in one big bore upgrade kit with all the bells and whistles, you can get useful improvements without spending that much.

Even better build yourself a special using a thumper from a Jap bike or a KTM, it's something I've thought about before. A Royal Enfield with a 690 Duke engine would be fun (actually terrifying), but even something like a Suzuki DR650 engine would give you something that can easily cruise at modern traffic speeds.

agnes · 3 Apr 2016 at 10:16

Dogbreath said:
That's for the all in one big bore upgrade kit with all the bells and whistles, you can get useful improvements without spending that much.

Even better build yourself a special using a thumper from a Jap bike or a KTM, it's something I've thought about before. A Royal Enfield with a 690 Duke engine would be fun (actually terrifying), but even something like a Suzuki DR650 engine would give you something that can easily cruise at modern traffic speeds.

That is not a bad idea and could be a fun little project. Hmmmm...

jigger · 4 Apr 2016 at 11:17

Dogbreath said:
That's for the all in one big bore upgrade kit with all the bells and whistles, you can get useful improvements without spending that much.

Even better build yourself a special using a thumper from a Jap bike or a KTM, it's something I've thought about before. A Royal Enfield with a 690 Duke engine would be fun (actually terrifying), but even something like a Suzuki DR650 engine would give you something that can easily cruise at modern traffic speeds.

It would be great fun at the lights

I'm not sure how much of the Enfield would be left once you have got the bike up to scratch.

Dogbreath · 12 May 2016 at 08:36

Saw this on eBay and thought of Agnes

Yaayuh! · 12 May 2016 at 09:14

Buying a Royal Enfield: Sign of becoming an old man

Must admit though, i do see the appeal.