English bike lovers...help!

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I swapped for this in 1971, and two weeks later..went off to war.

I finally got it out to California this week and am trying identify what exactly it is.. I think its a Royal Enfield Meteor...but...???

The title I got, 37 yrs ago says its a 1961 Indian.....

Anyone got any ideas? Ive already posted the link and a request to the Royal Enfield groups..no answers as of yet.

Anyone?

Gunner

Reply to
Gunner
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Gunner. I don't know what it is but it sure looks british to me. I grew up riding Triumph Bonnevilles. Indians were technically before my time and I know nothing about 'em. But weren't they sorta the granddaddy of the Harley? I cannot see this machine being on the same family tree with anything 'murcan. Vernon

Reply to
Vernon

I had several Triumphs, I see "Triumph family" parts like that clevis on the rear brake. Not sure if it is an Enfield, probably is, but I will bet you got to have Whitworth wrenches to work on it. Michael

Reply to
Michael

Gunner. Could it be an old Norton of some kind? The only british names I'm familiar with are BSA, Norton, Royal Enfield & Triumph. God they stirred the heart and soul. V

Reply to
Vernon

Gunner, the Indian was an American bike. Enfield was a British company. The bike in the pictures is almost certanly English. Aren't there any lables anywhere? If it has a Lucas coil it's definetly English. And should be rewired. 8-) Looks like it ought to clean up pretty nice. Of course all English bikes leak oil. All except my Triumph which I switched over to American allen head cap screws and silicone calk. Never leaked a drop after that. Good luck and have fun with it.

73 Gary

Reply to
Gary Pewitt

The chrome tank looks like the one on a 1963 BSA I had 20 years ago. Steve

Reply to
Up North

That's a Royal Enfield. It probably is one of the "Indians" that Floyd Clymer marketed when he acquired the name. They were really 700 cc Royal Enfields. Look under the paint -- I think all of the Royal Enfield/Clymer Indians were painted red.

I think that's just about the time Clymer was calling them "Indians." They were still English made then.

Here's a Royal Enfield Interceptor from a year or two later. Note the transmission cover and the fins at the top of the cylinder head.

-- Ed Huntress

Reply to
Ed Huntress

Gunner wrote in news:da0xt15jimi7 $. snipped-for-privacy@40tude.net:

Might be a Royal Enfield constellation. Different tank, handlebar, and seat, but otherwise looks similar.

Reply to
D Murphy

These guys might be of help. They deal in a lot of vintage British bikes.

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Best, Steve

Reply to
GarlicDude

Gunner. If that's what it is and you get it going you're in for a thrill. Twist that throttle and it'll run like a scalded dog chasing a bitch in heat. It's really too much bike for an old guy like you. Sell it to me. har har. V

Reply to
Vernon

Floyd Clymer owned the Indian name, and sold Royal Enfields as "Indians" around 1960.

My dad was an Indian fan and sputtered about that one frequently.

-- Ed Huntress

Reply to
Ed Huntress

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Reply to
GarlicDude

When I wanted to buy one of those (650?), the bank gave me a 200 cc Honda. My favorite was a Suzuki GS-750 (maybe one of Suzuki's early motorcycles), it was awesome. My worst was probably a Honda CX-500 (or something like that, bought used).

Reply to
John Doe

"Ed Huntress" wrote in news:48fff24a$0$5667$ snipped-for-privacy@cv.net:

Might be one of these -

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Reply to
D Murphy

I had a CX-500 after I wore out my second Triumph. It never did thrill me at all. But it never let me down. Until it let me down. I drove it coast to coast a couple of times. One day it blew a head gasket. I never fixed it. After Triumphs the thrill was gone. And I could never get it back. I even bought a huge Honda V-4 monster. It would do 143mph. But nothing thrilled me like the british bikes. Finally I hung up my spurs while I still had a brain sitting in my skull.

V
Reply to
Vernon

Yeah, that's probably it.

-- Ed Huntress

Reply to
Ed Huntress

Yup, my name's jim and I rode a CX-500.

A year and half commuting in SF bay traffic. Never let me down, never dropped, only scared me sh!tless once or twice. About the only vehicle I've ever owned that had zero dangerous or annoying quirks.

Reply to
Jim Stewart

go to

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sign up on the Forum
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then post a few pics on 'Identify these bikes'

the experts will then let you know what it is

worked for me.....

Reply to
(!)

I don't know if it was Clymer in charge, or if he was just part of the company. I read about it years ago and I forget the details. His name was the memorable part of it to me.

My dad pointed out to me, when I was first getting interested in motorcycles, that they weren't "real" Indians, when I showed him an ad for them in a magazine. He had one of those inline 4-cyl. *real* Indians right after WWII, which he bought used at auction from the NJ State Police.

I'd rather have a Royal Enfield, anyway. With a cool name like that, I'd paint it in big gold script on a black tank. d8-)

-- Ed Huntress

Reply to
Ed Huntress

========== This may still be in production in India. Take a look at

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Unka' George [George McDuffee]

------------------------------------------- He that will not apply new remedies, must expect new evils: for Time is the greatest innovator: and if Time, of course, alter things to the worse, and wisdom and counsel shall not alter them to the better, what shall be the end?

Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English philosopher, essayist, statesman. Essays, "Of Innovations" (1597-1625).

Reply to
F. George McDuffee

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