After upload, I had to re edit a big chunk out of it as I started to get a few abusive comments (All senders now blocked and comments deleted) That's why some of the comments won't make sense and will seem out of context with the video. Sorry guys!
G’day VB, sure is a beauty, I remember reading articles in the early late 60s early 70s about these, it takes me back to that era when they were the modern big banger ..cheers mate 🇦🇺
That fascinating story of the Royal Enfield 800 is another British example of what might have been, reminiscent of some aviation industry stories such as the Saunders Roe 177 and TSR2.
Very interesting video, I hope you have a good battery!the Boyer system on myT150 needs at least12v to spark,which is fine when you use it regularly (which I normally do),looking forward to hearing the750 running! They really loved Dennis Poore at Meriden, he personally came to deliver the joyous news in September1973 of the winding down and scheduled closure of the factory in February1974,but apparently misjudged their mood,which led to the occupying of the factory and the workers cooperative. Real shame about the RE Westwood factory, I didn't know they had anything to do with Mr Poore. Hope you get to ride the MK2 soon!
Big REs never seemed to be around when i moved up from a learner in the 80s which is a shame so it was Triumph T140s and a 1958 T110 for me , never even saw one at the old Bracknell bike auction at their weekly or classic sales , the first one i saw was a chopped one in bike magazine , i finally learnt about them from Classic Bike magazine but still never saw one for sale until years later
@@Volcanicbrown1878 think they are the best looking bike off the lot , and the engine is a work of art in appearance , probally never see one for sale because the owners knew they wouldnt better it ,
Fascinating bit of history, thanks! Like I said I'm really pleased you're back mate because pretty much all the other channels are doing pieces on the 350 Classic reborn and I'm bloody bored with that. Great to see the old models getting the attention they deserve, bloody brilliant 🙂
I knew that Royal Enfield focused on sales in the USA in the late 1960’s but I never understood why, other than the British Government was desperate for foreign exchange and encouraged exports. And it always seemed a bit of a mystery why they shut up shop when they did. Anyway thanks for the history lesson and I’m looking forward to seeing you ride this beauty !
@stewy62 The Enfield twins were never huge sellers over here, Meteors, Super Meteors and Constellations. RE tapped into the American market with larger capacity twins, Which is what the Americans wanted. Even Norton didn't have a big capacity twin out at the time.
It's amazing how each of the British motorcycles manufacturers had their own unique Interpretation of the parallel twin. Each was different in their own ways.And all were beautiful to look at.
I to have fitted many of the Wassells supplied Vape ignitions to both twins & singles, quality wise they are everything the Boyer Bransden kit should have been ! I you ever try fitting one to an iron barrel bullet you need to machine out the inside of the distributor housing a little to fit the pickup assembly in, I know your not the biggest fan of them but I run them on both my bullets.
Looking forward to hearing it run VB. 👍 I fitted the Boyer Ignition on my Bullet along with their Powerbox along with a Lucas High Output Alternator. The only regret is that if the battery is weak it WON'T go. You can't bump it either because the CDI requires 12v to energise it. I just pop the battery charger on & it will go usually with 2 kicks. The beauty of Points is that it doesn't matter if the battery is Fqd so i get why you like Points.
@ianwoollard9008 One of my 350 Bullets came with a Boyer, the mapping for the timing was all wrong for the A/R, took it off and fitted points. It may not have been for a Bullet, perhaps just a generic single. Who knows? !
@@Volcanicbrown1878 Oh i still had to tweak it. I followed the instructions to the letter but i was getting kick back etc etc but not now. It doesn't miss a beat. The beauty of this BOYER is you start from TDC unlike when trying to time it with points which is 5/8 before TDC or 3/8 for a 500cc (From memory)
I've got a 2019 650 interceptor and Nora (that's her name )is a great bike but your 750 .....absolutely beautiful 😍.As a custom bike lover I think your bike would look well smart with a single seat and a short mudguard 😁.but she's yours .....and I'm jealous 😫 😊. Take care on the road 👍. Peace out ✌️
@@Volcanicbrown1878 ,I didn't mean to cut the frame or mudguard ,just modify an buy a short mudguard and single seat 🤔. Your right ,she is to precious 😍
@@Volcanicbrown1878 ,brilliant!!!...do a video of the 650 .....maybe it will give me an idea for a future modification 🤔. Anyway the 750 is breath taking 👍. See you in the next video . Peace out ✌️
Been looking forward to seeing more about this beauty, always liked the look of the later model Enfield twins. Regrettably the only Enfield twin I've ever ridden was my pals cafe racer Meteor Minor, half a century ago.
Grand video of a grand bike ! I think you'll be ok with the electrickery ignition . Just make sure you fit it during the right phase of the moon and utter rhe proper incantations for forgiveness from the " Prince of Darkness " . When I timed my Connie , I couldn't find a degree measurement from TDC only a fraction of an inch value from TDC . Which was annoying as I already had the heads fitted . I never thought much of Willie Wassell stuff , but if it's made in the Czech republic , it should be ok. They have a good reputation for engineering and make some very fine rifles there . Certainly better than anything from the land of Chop Suey and rice . The Commando saved Norton for a while but in my opinion it's an overated bike . They need constant fettling and are very uncomfortable to ride . It would have been better for Mr Poore to have developed the Interceptor ( with a better gearbox and disc brake ) , the Americans would have loved them . Anyways , it's nice to see a proper Interceptor again , sunshine looks good in the chrome tank and the cat approves too .🐈
Can't say as I agree about the RE 800 being anywhere near a competitor to the mass produced Commando. RE(EPE) just weren't able to produce enough bikes to make it all worthwhile. Upper Westwood produced only 800 odd Mk1As from 67-68 & a shed load (126) were still unsold in October 68, months after the Mk2 began production. 68-70 only 1200 odd Mk2s were built. Such small manufacturing capacity was probably more of a factor.
@carolynmarshall3598 You have to remember, that when Norton got the prototype Commando to the motorcycle show, it was still very much in development, as there wasn't enough time to get all the testing done, as they only had 6 weeks to design a new bike and get it to the show. Royal Enfield on the other hand had two running prototype 800 Inters which had been fully tested by the works test riders who had covered several tens of thousands of miles with them. They were just awaiting for the go-ahead from Dennis Poore to go into full production! This, plus the fact that they also had a full dealership network established in the States, which Norton did not have at the time. Gave them the jump on Norton's new model because it was nowhere near ready to go into full production and was only a 750! Make no mistake, the Interceptor 800 would have seriously hurt Norton's sales, as they had very few sales in the USA anyway! Enfield were fully geared up to sell Stateside, hampered only by the lack of production capacity, space and skilled labour. Enfield precision were still turning a healthy profit till the end. Looking at the above, you can see why Poore could not let them press ahead with the 800. He would not let anything jeopardize the very model that would save Norton from bankruptcy! The 126 unsold Mk1A's were not going to sell easily into the States once the Mk2 was released into the market. That's obvious! The 1200 Mk2's produced 68/70 was the absolute maximum that could physically be produced by Enfield Precision with the premises and staff limitations they had. Also, another reason why Poore made no attempt to sell Enfield Precision off as a going concern. PS, Alan Hitchcock has one of the prototype 800's!
@@Volcanicbrown1878 Tis' a huge subject, with so many avenues, it cannot be fully covered here. But a few more points: If EPE had 126 of the 800+ bikes produced still unsold by late 1968, with the new Mk2 models already US bound, it's hardly a sales competition threat to any marque. Production capacity was puny compared to Norton/NVT. I think EPE was desperate to try to keep their Inter engine manufacture going & massive expansion/investment would have been required to compete. EPE marketing & sales brochures were amateurish & clearly operating on a shoestring budget. Considerable investment went into the development of the Mk2 bottom end, which used Mk1a heads, barrels, primary cases & clutch ; and that archaic gearbox. The Mk2 was cursed with the timing case seal blowing out & wrecking many a customer's motor (left leg out of bed). Only halfway through production (from #IB 1500) was a retro-fit mod introduced to save at least the rocker & cam gear from dying too. Not a good start. Fitting an AMC/Commando gearbox might have been a better employment of funds. That Albion box was the main issue for riders. I get the feeling that EPE were allowed to proceed with their limited production of bikes, as it conveniently consumed the stockpile of Inter cycle parts remaining from Redditch (not to mention Albion & a few others). Poore cannot have seen the Inter as sales competition with such limited numbers being produced, otherwise he may not have allowed them to proceed with production at all in 1967. Cannot agree that Norton had no US sales network nor made few sales. Hope to see the Mk2 running soon. TTFN.
The 800 was at test track same time as Trident 750 trading lap times with the Triumph Trident considered the fastest British bike.At the track that day were RE owners Norton Villiers & upon witnessing this panicked & decided to sell Enfield Precision cause couldn't have their subsidiary company out performing their new Marquee brand Norton Commando so closed the Enfield Precision Mine Site where they made InterceptorA look so Floyd Clymer owner of Indian died at 74yrs old in 1970 & with HIM the dreams of Indian which arguably could of soldiered on with the 800.Also the RE bikes had the most torque of British Bikes which made them popular & a favourite in the US. RE had been selling bikes in the US for years & later as rebadged Indians like Tomahawk 500 Trailblazer,Apache,Big Chief & others.After the RE Mine Site was shut the remaining engines went to Indian & Rickman & Indian made a handful of Indian Interceptor 750 & the Rickman Interceptor came with Lockheed Disc brakes & were lighter. A handful of Indian Interceptor were built & were 7kg lighter & had Marzocchi forks,Borani Rims,Del Oro Carbs & designed by Milano Tarantino & Italjet & tested to 120mph.
How are you going to get the new electronic ignition to advance to the correct advance for your Mk2 Intercepter when the unit will be made for generic British twins.
@davidellis5964 The trouble with the big bore kits is, by the time you have bought the kit, the power commander, the clutch and numerous bits and bobs needed, added to the cost of the bike. you could buy a Triumph 900, where everything is done for you!
![เบิ้ล ปทุมราช - อ้ายกินดอง น้องลาบงัว ft. สแน็ก อัจฉรีย์ [Teaser]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n863TMuA1Ck/mqdefault.jpg)
After upload, I had to re edit a big chunk out of it as I started to get a few abusive comments (All senders now blocked and comments deleted) That's why some of the comments won't make sense and will seem out of context with the video. Sorry guys!
G’day VB, sure is a beauty, I remember reading articles in the early late 60s early 70s about these, it takes me back to that era when they were the modern big banger ..cheers mate 🇦🇺
@philcox8771 Hi Phil, Looks a lot better when it's all back together and polished up!!
@@Volcanicbrown1878 ohhh yes.. cheers
Clever bit of design on the Interceptor, the seat mudguard and light all comes of in one piece
@davidtyrrell1573 slacken two nuts, disconnect two wires and it's off!
That fascinating story of the Royal Enfield 800 is another British example of what might have been, reminiscent of some aviation industry stories such as the Saunders Roe 177 and TSR2.
A great story about the unfinished 800. I have a greater appreciation of the original Interceptor since owning one of the modern Interceptors.
History and art lesson rolled into one 👍 - cracking looking machine.
Very interesting video, I hope you have a good battery!the Boyer system on myT150 needs at least12v to spark,which is fine when you use it regularly (which I normally do),looking forward to hearing the750 running!
They really loved Dennis Poore at Meriden, he personally came to deliver the joyous news in September1973 of the winding down and scheduled closure of the factory in February1974,but apparently misjudged their mood,which led to the occupying of the factory and the workers cooperative. Real shame about the RE Westwood factory, I didn't know they had anything to do with Mr Poore.
Hope you get to ride the MK2 soon!
Very Interesting video. What a great bike that mark 2 is.
@dezmondwhitney1208 Thanks!
Great yarn VB. Very interesting and much appreciated!
Big REs never seemed to be around when i moved up from a learner in the 80s which is a shame so it was Triumph T140s and a 1958 T110 for me , never even saw one at the old Bracknell bike auction at their weekly or classic sales , the first one i saw was a chopped one in bike magazine , i finally learnt about them from Classic Bike magazine but still never saw one for sale until years later
@jobucklandbuckland8031 They never sold in the numbers that the big 3 did (Triumph, BSA and Norton) but they had their following!
@@Volcanicbrown1878 think they are the best looking bike off the lot , and the engine is a work of art in appearance , probally never see one for sale because the owners knew they wouldnt better it ,
Fascinating bit of history, thanks! Like I said I'm really pleased you're back mate because pretty much all the other channels are doing pieces on the 350 Classic reborn and I'm bloody bored with that. Great to see the old models getting the attention they deserve, bloody brilliant 🙂
I keep doing bits on the 350 classic reborn......and I'm bored of it!
I knew that Royal Enfield focused on sales in the USA in the late 1960’s but I never understood why, other than the British Government was desperate for foreign exchange and encouraged exports. And it always seemed a bit of a mystery why they shut up shop when they did. Anyway thanks for the history lesson and I’m looking forward to seeing you ride this beauty !
@stewy62 The Enfield twins were never huge sellers over here, Meteors, Super Meteors and Constellations. RE tapped into the American market with larger capacity twins, Which is what the Americans wanted. Even Norton didn't have a big capacity twin out at the time.
Cracking looking bike would like to take that for a spin enjoy and thanks for the history lessons very interesting
Any time Billy!
It's amazing how each of the British motorcycles manufacturers had their own unique Interpretation of the parallel twin. Each was different in their own ways.And all were beautiful to look at.
Very true Frank!
Brilliant history lesson 👏 of a Great Motorcycle Company that should have remained in England 🇬🇧 along with BSA and Triumph.
Good looking bike, and an interesting chat, thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it
I to have fitted many of the Wassells supplied Vape ignitions to both twins & singles, quality wise they are everything the Boyer Bransden kit should have been ! I you ever try fitting one to an iron barrel bullet you need to machine out the inside of the distributor housing a little to fit the pickup assembly in, I know your not the biggest fan of them but I run them on both my bullets.
@gvinrad I personally think that the vape kits are the best of the bunch.
Looking forward to hearing it run VB. 👍
I fitted the Boyer Ignition on my Bullet along with their Powerbox along with a Lucas High Output Alternator.
The only regret is that if the battery is weak it WON'T go. You can't bump it either because the CDI requires 12v to energise it. I just pop the battery charger on & it will go usually with 2 kicks. The beauty of Points is that it doesn't matter if the battery is Fqd so i get why you like Points.
@ianwoollard9008 One of my 350 Bullets came with a Boyer, the mapping for the timing was all wrong for the A/R, took it off and fitted points. It may not have been for a Bullet, perhaps just a generic single. Who knows? !
@@Volcanicbrown1878 Oh i still had to tweak it. I followed the instructions to the letter but i was getting kick back etc etc but not now. It doesn't miss a beat.
The beauty of this BOYER is you start from TDC unlike when trying to time it with points which is 5/8 before TDC or 3/8 for a 500cc (From memory)
I've got a 2019 650 interceptor and Nora (that's her name )is a great bike but your 750 .....absolutely beautiful 😍.As a custom bike lover I think your bike would look well smart with a single seat and a short mudguard 😁.but she's yours .....and I'm jealous 😫 😊.
Take care on the road 👍.
Peace out ✌️
@andrewbull3537 They are a bit too rare to go down the custom route! We are only custodians of these old machines, if you get my drift!
@@Volcanicbrown1878 ,I didn't mean to cut the frame or mudguard ,just modify an buy a short mudguard and single seat 🤔.
Your right ,she is to precious 😍
@@andrewbull3537 I have done far worse to my modern 650 Interceptor now!!
@@Volcanicbrown1878 ,brilliant!!!...do a video of the 650 .....maybe it will give me an idea for a future modification 🤔.
Anyway the 750 is breath taking 👍.
See you in the next video .
Peace out ✌️
15:36 Thank you to the cat for helpfully demonstrating what 125 mph might look like.
Puss says "Any time"!
Been looking forward to seeing more about this beauty, always liked the look of the later model Enfield twins. Regrettably the only Enfield twin I've ever ridden was my pals cafe racer Meteor Minor, half a century ago.
@roum22 I have a Meteor Minor in an Indian Bullet frame!
Love the history story Volcanic. Looking forword to seeing it riding thru the lanes and villages.
You and me both!
Grand video of a grand bike !
I think you'll be ok with the electrickery ignition . Just make sure you fit it during the right phase of the moon and utter rhe proper incantations for forgiveness from the " Prince of Darkness " .
When I timed my Connie , I couldn't find a degree measurement from TDC only a fraction of an inch value from TDC . Which was annoying as I already had the heads fitted .
I never thought much of Willie Wassell stuff , but if it's made in the Czech republic , it should be ok. They have a good reputation for engineering and make some very fine rifles there .
Certainly better than anything from the land of Chop Suey and rice .
The Commando saved Norton for a while but in my opinion it's an overated bike . They need constant fettling and are very uncomfortable to ride . It would have been better for Mr Poore to have developed the Interceptor ( with a better gearbox and disc brake ) , the Americans would have loved them .
Anyways , it's nice to see a proper Interceptor again , sunshine looks good in the chrome tank and the cat approves too .🐈
@dungspreader The cat is just vain, Likes looking at herself in the Chrome!
Wow informative ❤
Glad you think so!
Lovely bit of brit bike history, Vape are great bits of kit too, Are you doing the Ipswich Transport Run tomorrow? I'll be on the A50 Mr Blue Sky.
@grahamparker7540 Thanks! I will be down at the sea front when they all get there!
Burton bike bits have them in stock,A/R unit... series 2 interceptor....
@user-wl1sr5ng4t Many thanks for that! I will get one ordered!
Can't say as I agree about the RE 800 being anywhere near a competitor to the mass produced Commando. RE(EPE) just weren't able to produce enough bikes to make it all worthwhile. Upper Westwood produced only 800 odd Mk1As from 67-68 & a shed load (126) were still unsold in October 68, months after the Mk2 began production. 68-70 only 1200 odd Mk2s were built. Such small manufacturing capacity was probably more of a factor.
@carolynmarshall3598 You have to remember, that when Norton got the prototype Commando to the motorcycle show, it was still very much in development, as there wasn't enough time to get all the testing done, as they only had 6 weeks to design a new bike and get it to the show. Royal Enfield on the other hand had two running prototype 800 Inters which had been fully tested by the works test riders who had covered several tens of thousands of miles with them. They were just awaiting for the go-ahead from Dennis Poore to go into full production! This, plus the fact that they also had a full dealership network established in the States, which Norton did not have at the time. Gave them the jump on Norton's new model because it was nowhere near ready to go into full production and was only a 750!
Make no mistake, the Interceptor 800 would have seriously hurt Norton's sales, as they had very few sales in the USA anyway! Enfield were fully geared up to sell Stateside, hampered only by the lack of production capacity, space and skilled labour. Enfield precision were still turning a healthy profit till the end.
Looking at the above, you can see why Poore could not let them press ahead with the 800. He would not let anything jeopardize the very model that would save Norton from bankruptcy!
The 126 unsold Mk1A's were not going to sell easily into the States once the Mk2 was released into the market. That's obvious! The 1200 Mk2's produced 68/70 was the absolute maximum that could physically be produced by Enfield Precision with the premises and staff limitations they had. Also, another reason why Poore made no attempt to sell Enfield Precision off as a going concern.
PS, Alan Hitchcock has one of the prototype 800's!
@@Volcanicbrown1878 Tis' a huge subject, with so many avenues, it cannot be fully covered here. But a few more points: If EPE had 126 of the 800+ bikes produced still unsold by late 1968, with the new Mk2 models already US bound, it's hardly a sales competition threat to any marque. Production capacity was puny compared to Norton/NVT. I think EPE was desperate to try to keep their Inter engine manufacture going & massive expansion/investment would have been required to compete. EPE marketing & sales brochures were amateurish & clearly operating on a shoestring budget. Considerable investment went into the development of the Mk2 bottom end, which used Mk1a heads, barrels, primary cases & clutch ; and that archaic gearbox. The Mk2 was cursed with the timing case seal blowing out & wrecking many a customer's motor (left leg out of bed). Only halfway through production (from #IB 1500) was a retro-fit mod introduced to save at least the rocker & cam gear from dying too. Not a good start. Fitting an AMC/Commando gearbox might have been a better employment of funds. That Albion box was the main issue for riders. I get the feeling that EPE were allowed to proceed with their limited production of bikes, as it conveniently consumed the stockpile of Inter cycle parts remaining from Redditch (not to mention Albion & a few others). Poore cannot have seen the Inter as sales competition with such limited numbers being produced, otherwise he may not have allowed them to proceed with production at all in 1967. Cannot agree that Norton had no US sales network nor made few sales. Hope to see the Mk2 running soon. TTFN.
The 800 was at test track same time as Trident 750 trading lap times with the Triumph Trident considered the fastest British bike.At the track that day were RE owners Norton Villiers & upon witnessing this panicked & decided to sell Enfield Precision cause couldn't have their subsidiary company out performing their new Marquee brand Norton Commando so closed the Enfield Precision Mine Site where they made InterceptorA look so Floyd Clymer owner of Indian died at 74yrs old in 1970 & with HIM the dreams of Indian which arguably could of soldiered on with the 800.Also the RE bikes had the most torque of British Bikes which made them popular & a favourite in the US.
RE had been selling bikes in the US for years & later as rebadged Indians like Tomahawk 500 Trailblazer,Apache,Big Chief & others.After the RE Mine Site was shut the remaining engines went to Indian & Rickman & Indian made a handful of Indian Interceptor 750 & the Rickman Interceptor came with Lockheed Disc brakes & were lighter.
A handful of Indian Interceptor were built & were 7kg lighter & had Marzocchi forks,Borani Rims,Del Oro Carbs & designed by Milano Tarantino & Italjet & tested to 120mph.
@ruahinesrider that's about the size of it!
I would give a Rickman Inter some shed space mind!
‘Until I can find the right A&R for it, it’s pointless’ - I see what you did there, pointless! 😂😂
Don’t forget he bit the ‘bullet’ to go electronic,lol.
@martinstubbs6382
@martinowl
Pun not intended!!
How are you going to get the new electronic ignition to advance to the correct advance for your Mk2 Intercepter when the unit will be made for generic British twins.
It was a special order with 15 degree advance programed in. (Boyer's would have non of it!)
Nice Bike Mr Brown, I bet that goes well. Have you heard of the big-bore kits available for the 650 ?
@davidellis5964 The trouble with the big bore kits is, by the time you have bought the kit, the power commander, the clutch and numerous bits and bobs needed, added to the cost of the bike. you could buy a Triumph 900, where everything is done for you!
@@Volcanicbrown1878 Like always, Although the high lift Kent cam for the classic 350 looks a good buy.
@@Volcanicbrown1878That's one of the reasons I'm looking at a Triumph 900 & better quality.
@ruahinesrider I might venture into the Triumph dealer this week (Purely for research purposes of course!)
@davidellis5964 Lots of folk are buying them and speak highly of the gains to be had.
looks just like mine I have a 69 series 2 in oz very rare here too
@andrewfaulks Good on ya mate!