Once again an Enfield

I’ve been a big fan of Royal Enfield for a long time now, and even bought a Himalayan back in 2018 (https://wordpress.com/post/eastgoeseast.wordpress.com/284) when I got interested in doing some of the TET. As much as I enjoyed the bike, at the time I found the 24 horsepower a little anemic, and when someone offered to trade me his old Moto Guzzi Nuovo Falcone (a bike I had always wanted) for the Himi, it was just too hard to say no. And the Guzzi was a cool bike (https://wordpress.com/post/eastgoeseast.wordpress.com/550), no doubt, but I really missed the Indian bike, and actually regretted selling it. I ended up selling the Falcone within 6 months and buying a used Suzuki XF650, which was kind of like a Himalaya with twice the horsepower. I was able to set the Suzuki up just like I wanted to have it, and for the past three years it’s been the perfect travel bike. And yet, I’ve been hankering for another Enfield since parting with mine, and this past December saw that a local Enfield dealer (we are lucky enough to have two in the Berlin area) was selling a brand new Meteor 350 at a reduced price, so I took the plunge.

The Meteor on sale was the Fireball Yellow one in the photo above, which is the color I like best on this bike. I’ve read dozens of articles and watched countless videos about this bike since it came out in 2021, and even though I’m not generally a huge fan of cruisers, this little bike, with its 20.2 horsepower, latched on to me and wouldn’t let go. I originally thought I’d wait and get one of the new 350 Classics, but somehow, even though it’s also a gorgeous bike, it seemed to be a bit overdone. Maybe it just has too much chrome. I don’t know exactly, but then again they are similar bikes that use the same engine, so maybe it was the fact that the Meteor costs a good deal less and is a great mixture of old and new styles that appealed to me so much. I also like the fact that the new bike has ABS brakes, fuel injection and is extremely frugal when it comes to fuel consumption. Prices of gas being what they are, and with emissions standards getting more and more strict, it seems like a good direction to go in. With it’s 15-liter tank, the bike should be able to get close to 500 kms (300 miles) before running out of fuel. We will see. And although the bike is anything but quick, it’s a joy to ride and will supposedly cruise at 100 kms (60 mph) all day long, which suits me just fine. And although I’ve never been into cruisers, as I mentioned, I certainly have a cruiser mentality when it comes to riding. Slow and steady is just fine.

I bought the bike at Ideal Seitenwagen, (https://www.ideal-seitenwagen.eu/) in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district. They’ve been around since 1987 and also have a small workshop and motorcycle museum. The place is a real feast for the eyes and dealing with the three people who work there has also been a very pleasant experience. They really stand behind what they sell, and ride a lot themselves. The workshop is in an old horse stall in a big, quiet courtyard near the Spree river, which was the border between East and West Berlin in this area of the city until 1990.

They not only sell Enfields (and sidecars, hence the name), but also repair and customize bikes as well.

Old vehicles, engines and signs everywhere you look.

And a lot of brand new Enfields as well, hidden among the wonderful old bikes on display.

An old Imme 100 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imme_R100), an extremely innovative bike when produced in 1950, is now as rare as hen’s teeth, and I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen one on the street. It was said to have been 40 years ahead of its time.

Lots of nice old granite pavers and ivy-covered facades serve as a perfect setting for the new Enfields. Feels like you’re in a small village far away from the madding crowd, but outside the front gate the noisy, crowded streets of Berlin quickly remind you that you’re in one of the city’s most crowded districts.