Hey thanks Barry,
Its a bit tough to compare. Â The enfield was a rebuilt '86 350 bullet and a good part of our riding was over 10,000 ft. Â We were two-up with these 2 large luggage racks that we strapped both our 65L backpacks to. Â Then I rigged up a makeshift tank bag to carry most of our spares. Â The bike handled well for dirt roads, but intensely paying attention to where you were going at all times while two-up was draining. Â On the ride from Losar to Granphoo it couldn't even be classified as a road. Â It was just a snow hell canyon resembling a river so low you could ride in it. Â That was by far the hairiest part of the trip. Â
The funny thing was up high I had to take the air filter clean off and just suck straight into the carb. Â Took a chance clogging the jets with something but there wasn't really a choice. Â And when climbing big hills up in the mountains on the 350, both of us had to stand up on the footpegs and press our bodies forward leaning up over the handlebars just to put a little more weight up front. Â You would slowly chug up the mountainside until you reached the top, then enjoy the ride back down!
I have to say though, those enfields are troopers. Â On our ride from Agra to Delhi right out of the gate our oil pump failed (not to my knowledge at the time). Â Around 35-40 km/hr the engine wouldn't rev up anymore, then slow down, thump really loud and eventually die. Â I figured we were overheating but because of a bad oil leak coming from the overhead valve cover somewhere. Â The cooling fins were drenched in oil and I figured the engine couldn't cool itself down...so we used our toothbrushes on the side of the road and tried to scrub off the oil. Â Then I had to drive another 9 hours (no joke!) going no more than 15 km/hr all the way back to Delhi, stopping every 45 min or so to let the engine cool down. Â The thing was seizing like crazy, but just kept on going. Â Getting to Delhi we got a new oil pump, had some valve work done and were off again....continue the adventure!!
Now that I know a little more about bikes (just a little)...I can really appreciate the BMW airhead mentality. Â Just knowing I could service a good portion of the potential bike failures on the road makes me want to get out there and ride even more. Â Feels good to have a bit more of a support group this time though
I hear the back roads in England are great for riding...would love to get there someday. Â Where would you suggest? Â
