Cool NY Times Article on Royal Enfield C5 Classics

Just ran across this great article from last year which gives some great history on the Royal Enfield brand, as well as some great details about the last engine design:

The heart of the C5 is its air-cooled 499 cc power plant, an all-new design that continues the single-cylinder layout of its predecessors. It retains the trademark cadence of a thumper — the common nickname given to large-displacement 1-cylinder bikes — but now the engine and transmission, formerly separate components, have been integrated to create the Unit Construction Engine. The UCE, as Royal Enfield calls it, is fuel-injected and designed to be efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly. It will be used on all Royal Enfield export models.

New Dainese Gear: Part 2

We have just received more of our annual Dainese order, and there are some gorgeous new pieces of kit on our shelves.
Seen above is the Bonneville D-Dry jacket. It is a waterproof textile jacket with a removable thermal liner, and a unique look that would be right at home on any modern bike with a heavy vintage influence. Whether you ride a Triumph "Modern Classic", a Guzzi V7, or even an Italian scooter, this is a unique jacket that will protect you from the road and the weather, while still maintaining impeccable style.

The Air-2 jacket is Very similar in styling to the Bonneville, but as the name suggests, has large panels of ballistic mesh. This is hands down, the nicest looking mesh riding jacket we have seen.

The Full Metal Pro glove is the update to Dainese's Full Metal glove. This glove features top of the line materials such as titanium, carbon fiber, and Kevlar and integrates input by Dainese factory riders like Valentino Rossi. It is quite simply the finest road-race glove in the world.

Of course not everybody needs a world class racing glove every time they hop on their bike. For more mundane riding, we now have the M19 glove from Dainese. This understated glove offers the quality of manufacture and protection you expect from Dainese, in a format perfect for commuting to the office.

We also have renewed our stock of strap-on back protectors, and due to popular demand, have stock a supply of Wave 1 protectors for slipping in the back-protector pocket of many Dainese jackets.

Come on in and see for yourself, just how nice these pieces are.

New Dainese Gear In Stock

Just in time for warmer weather, the Dainese Air Pelle, micro-perfed leather jacket, and Tulua riding shoe are now on the shelves.

Come in and check them out in person.

Royal Enfield Returns to Branchville Motors

If the 60's and 70's styling of Triumph's modern classics are not retro enough to satisfy your Brit-bike nostalgia, our new Royal Enfields should fit the bill.
While the body and frame harken back to Enfield's glory days in the 50's, the engine is an entirely new design, incorporating fuel injection and other modern updates, while retaining the looks of a classic British single.
The C5 Bullet Classic (seen above) is certainly not the beast for highway adventures at extra-legal speeds. If that's the kind of riding you are interested in, this is not the bike for you. But for leisurely putts through backroad twisties, you just might be surprised how much fun you can squeeze out of the 27.5hp,  499cc engine.

For a more in depth  review of the 2010 Enfields, with the new unit design engine, check out this post from AutoBlog:

The Enfield feels very mechanical, and planting one one in your garage is likely to lead to more of a relationship with the motorcycle than actual ownership. In the two weeks we spent with the G5, we seemingly learned what the bike likes and we were more than happy to oblige by altering our riding style appropriately.

Paradoxically, slowing things down a couple of notches actually made the bike seem faster and more robust. The old saying that it's more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow may never be more apt than with the 2010-and-newer Enfield. When ridden at 7/10s, everything falls into line – the deft handling could be described as flickable, the acceleration is relaxed, but completely acceptable, and the braking performance is admirable. Listening to the beat of the single lung directly below becomes soothing and the vibration you feel through the footpegs becomes little more than a reminder that you are riding a motorcycle. A real motorcycle. It has a reason for being. And you actually have a desire to ride the Enfield within its limits, not because it can't push its boundaries, but rather because it is simply better not to.

Spring 2010 Open House Wrap-Up

As you can see, this year we caught a break, and had some gorgeous weather for our annual open house.

Live music was provided by the band Lakeside.