I had my first hands on experience of an Indian Enfield last night, I went down to Crowmarsh Classics in Didcot. Suffice to say, like the rest of you I now think I'm barking mad! The bike in question was in good nick, a 1993 Bullet 500 with a very period looking fairing and panniers. Mike Coombes, the owner of the shop, gave me a quick tour of the bike.

500cc single, right foot gear change, twin leading shoe front brakes (uprated from standard), kick start only, gear box goes 1 up, 3 down. Left foot rear brake. Nifty neutral finder lever on RHS of gearbox - snick it and find neutral from anywhere in the box - dead useful when you are completely lost between gears! Flip up sidestand a la Ducati. Everything else more or less where you would expect.

He ran me through the starting procedure - 3 kicks through with the decompression lever in, use the ammeter to find just past TDC - it drops when the points are closed, and comes up to zero when they just open again - then a clean kick through, with the choke on and no throttle. It was a bit reluctant at first, then fired up and idled like a dumper truck on speed.

Apparently the previous owner was Robert Maxwell's old butler! I could just see an old geezer on it in black tail suit and bowler hat!

I gingerly snicked it up into first - the first time I have ever ridden a right foot change bike - and eased out the clutch. It had a nice light clutch action and a slow progressive bite. I wobbled off into the sunset, right foot half off the peg due to the postition of the kickstart but otherwise fairly upright, comfortable and well planted. I think the speedo may have been a little optimistic, but my tail man (none other than "Wobbly" (poptastic.com) himself!) tells me it was about right in that we settled at about a 50mph cruising speed.

After about 5 minutes I relaxed and immediately forgot that for gear changes, down is up and up is down, which meant I kept trying to pull round narrow bends in 4th instead of 2nd. Luckily it just shuddered and got on with it most of the time, with me slipping the clutch a bit if I was really taking the piss.

Once moving it was quie fun, and by the time the run came to an end I had the gears sussed, chanting "Up is Down, Down is Up" the whole time! The only other problem was the brakes. Mike had warned me that the self-servo effect of the front meant it was a bit fierce, but it was about as fierce as a mellow thing on Valium. The rear was another matter; with my insensitive left foot every time I tried to stroke the rear brake the bike lurched to a virtual halt. Steering was a bit random too; I accidentally picked the bendiest, narrowest route back into Didcot I could find, and there were a few bends where I thought I might drop it! Made it through somehow though.

I found I could start it OK, which was lucky when I stalled it turning round in a farm gateway. I hope this is a knack I keep!

The only other incident of note was when riding into a village which looked quite old fashioned, Wobbly blasted past on his Honda 400/4, and I saw the whole incident from a different viewpoint. I was suddenly back in the mid-Sixties, pootling along on my trusty Brit Iron and being buzzed for the first time by one of these funny Japanese inventions. The 400/4 seemed incredibly powerful, quick and nimble(!) compared to the Enfield, and I saw the whole demise of the British bike industry laid out before me.

I got the bike back to Crowmarsh, we listened to Mike's fascinating motor trade anecdotes while droolling over a Triton in his show rooms, then I got back on the Tengai and thumped my way home. On what seemed like the quickest, most agile, most comfortable bike in the world!

I now think that the India trip will be rather more difficult than I previously thought, but I reckon I might just survive! I'm hoping to get the Enfield back here after the event, so I might be able to show you what I mean....

Any Ixies who haven't pledged, I am totally certifiable and deserve your full financial support, and if you have sponsored me and not sent the cheque through yet or paid direct into my account, please don't forget ! The sick and dying of India need you!

Cheers,

Ian E.