How to Buy a Used Enfield

Which Motorcycle to Buy in India

If your not planning to take a passenger I would highly recommend a Honda. Honda have spread their wings in India so to speak and dealers are popping up every where. The few riders I have met touring on these bikes totally swore by them.

Being a Honda, they are wonderfully reliable, cheap to run, have faster acceleration than Enfields and probably a top speed to match, even though its only a 150cc versus an Enfield of 350cc. Thus they are lighter and easier to ride and have all the modern gadgets like fuel gauge, electric start, trip meter and disk brakes which most Enfields sadly lack.

What the Enfield is good for (and the reason I bought one) is because it is ideal for carrying a passenger and luggage. The Enfield has a heavy frame which can easily support luggage racks. Enfields are good on bad/dirt roads (and there are alot of them in India) and have good torque, thus enabling you to go chug up hills with 2 people and luggage, albeit slowly (40km/hr tops).

Enfields might look rugged but are notoriously unreliable. A few examples.

I replaced an air hose for the air filter box. The hose literally just sits there. 2 weeks later I needed to replace it again. I bought a new horn bracket, and again, 1000km later it broke.

After a long ride all the engine covers on my Enfield will leak oil, such as from the clutch plate, gearbox logo plate, tappet adjuster cover etc. Take it to a mechanic and he says "no problem, its normal for an Enfield". As an Israeli guy put it, "If your Enfield is not leaking oil, it means there is no oil in it!"

At the time of writing (Dec 2008), there really isnt much of an alternative for a decent touring bike in India for rider and passenger, with the all local companies focusing on small city bikes. Most Indians wont own an Enfield in the city, being too heavy and expensive to run. Usually its the Indians in the Himalayan regions who buy Enfields, but the larger bikes such as Bajaj 220cc and Karisma 250cc are becoming more popular.

To Summarise
Jim, an American friend of mine who has lived many years in India and has toured extensively on an Enfield, sums it up accurately with - "You dont buy an Enfield for the mechanics, you ride one for the romantic adventure of riding [a classic] in India". Ashwini, a local cafe owner in Mcleod Ganj, who loves riding in the mountains on his Enfield Electra 2005 Model, but is disappointed in Enfields reliability, says they are "...great bikes if you have the patience."

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