Vespa is going!! Update: now gone/new bike pics!

[Data]

Yes, it's true! After over 7 years of faultless performance & riding my excellent & much loved GTS300 is going on to a new owner, someone I know who will get good use out of it. I almost can't believe this is happening. I will without doubt grieve for her for months.

I've deliberated for months as to whether to keep it & get a new bike to run along side it or just to sell it. But I don't have the space for two bikes these days. In the past I've had two or three bikes at once but I had the space back then. Anyway, her new owner will pick her up in about a week & a half.

So what am I getting to replace her?? Well, I'm jumping ship from scooters to bikes...yeah I know, less practical in some ways without luggage. But that's easy to fix. So I'm actually getting a new Royal Enfield Meteor 350. And I'm very excited about it.

I took my local dealers demo bike out for a proper ride a few days ago. Frankly, it blew me away! Smooth as hell, torquey through the rev range, & a lovely lovely exhaust note. Plenty of pulling power everywhere & a super smooth gear change & clutch. The bike had beautiful handling & roadholding even when pushed quite hard into corners over bumpy roads. Fantastic brakes etc etc. If you haven't seen an Enfield lately you may not know just how good the quality of their bikes is. They are quality throughout. Not the fastest bike to 60mph that's for sure, but they are not about that sort of performance. It's about steady all day cruising. That does me!

Take a look here:


Comments appreciated especially from Horobags...

[Filonian]

Good choice !
I watched Mark Pulling's reviews on all the RE 350s, he is also so impressed with the smoothness of the engine and the torque available throughout the rev range.
Royal Enfield have come on leaps and bounds over the last couple of years in both quality and styling. They certainly prompted Triumph to wake up as they were likely to miss out on sales to what is becoming a growing sector of "lower" capacity motorcycles.
There are probably more RE dealers than Triumph, certainly where I live and I don't think servicing costs will be as much as you're not paying for all the fancy showrooms.
I took my Honda to the local RE dealer for it's MOT and they were just unpacking a dozen various Royal Enfields and they were all already sold, not bad for what is a small dealership.
Be interested in hearing how you get on with it.

[Dave Weller]

I'm sure you know that MotoGB are holding great stocks of new Enfields and selling them off as RE are going to sell them themselves.
I have a Hunter and a friend has a Classic, so we love riding them around Kent, also took them to Wales to see what their like in the rain.
We love the J series engine, I can't weit to get my hands in the engine, but not until the service light comes on. I brought 5 oil filters for £11 from India and they turned up in 5 days. If you limit spending to <£130 you don'T pay taxes on stuff from EBay.
As I like the Ceat tyres it came with, I ordered a new one from the West Midlands supplier (they are a Pirelli.copy.)
Enjoy it Ian. (I may have to buy a classic next, my friend has tubeless tyres on his one and it never needs cleaning because of good mudguards).

[Andym]

Good Choice.

I know a few happy owners and did a Highland tour in company with one two years ago. Did it's job, including keeping up with bigger machines.

Enjoy

Andy

[Data]

Thank chaps! Comments appreciated.

Yes, I think running costs are going to be very reasonable. And some interesting news for anyone that doesn't know concerning warranty & servicing.

It's been troubling me that some dealers & some YouTubers are insisting the bike has to go to a dealer for it's 3,000 mile inspection service. That inspection service is nothing more than what any good rider would carryout periodically anyway & is just inspecting the bike in a bit more detail than a normal pre-ride check. Having to pay a dealer to do this & being charged, in some cases, quite a bit of money seemed absurd just to keep your warranty.

So I contacted Royal Enfield customer support about this in writing. I got an immediate response, in writing, telling me that the 3,000 mile inspection service can be done by a dealer OR OWNERS! If owners do this it will NOT invalidate your warranty. They said that if work is discovered to be needed then that must be carried out by any VAT registered dealer. And of course, they hope you would use an RE dealer. So that little nugget is now clarified. I must point out that this applies to the 3,000 mile inspection service only. The bike must go to a dealer for it's first & subsequent 6,000 miler services to retain warranty. I'll attempt to post the written reply at some point but don't have time today as I'm picking up the Enfield & clearing some space in the garage for it. Happy days ahead I believe...

[mottza]

Hope the collection goes smoothly Ian.

[Data]

Thanks Chris. I'll race you to 20mph later!!

[Capt. R Swipe]

That's nice to hear data. Reassuring to note that the bike runs smoothly with enough power.
Like you, I made the jump to motorbike last year. I did this for a few reasons. I still have a Forza 350 in the garage for local jaunts.
Anyway, it's nice to jump back on here and read about yours and others' news. I hope your eyesight is holding up too.
Well let's hope that you love the transition! I say that because it took all of last year for me ride confidently on the bike after 15 years on scooters only.

[Data]

Thanks Captain. Yes I know what you mean regarding switching back to bikes. It's been nearly 14yrs since I owned an actual motorcycle. However, after some mild trepidation I've found it real easy to make the jump. The Enfield is so easy to ride with a fantastic gearbox & clutch, it was just an automatic natural swap with no drama. It's like I've never been off bikes.

Ideally I wanted to keep the GTS as I love that bike & the way it goes. Just couldn't find the space to do that though. Your situation sounds a bit like mine but at least you've still got your Forza. Nice! What bike did you get? Yes, the eyes are still great thanks. Hope you are well too.

[smeghead]

Hi Data, I feel the RE is a great choice. The bikes look well built and ‘proper’. Take a look at Stuart Fillingham on YouTube, he’s got a few, also runs a Triumph. He talks utter sense. I look forward to seeing some photos!