I did consider the Armstrong MT500 and the Can-Am Bombardier (or as folks now seem to choose to pronounce it - bomb bar dee ay) but they are thin on the ground and a really scruffy number is over £2000!
Armstrong 500 or HD 350 yes, but don't go anywhere near the Bombardier, the Armstrong runs better with the Dellorto carb, MOD auction sites have them they are not so thin on the ground https://www.forcemotorcycles.com/blogs/bikes
Well that or a 2006 Triumph Scrambler. There's one listed for sale, though it might not actually be still available, with less than 10,000 miles, loads of accessories including original exhausts (TOR's are fitted) for £4,700 I have to admit that the Triumph attracts as it would be virtually the same engine as my 790cc and I already have a Haynes that covers the model plus, I would hope, that build quality would be better than the Enfield.
Well someone has put a deposit down on the Triumph Scrambler (it was P&L Motorcycles) so that one's off the menu. Looked like a really good bike, especially as it was about the cheapest Triumph Scrambler advertised for sale online.
Service? What's that? I thought you just topped up the oil every now and then and occasionally changed the oil filter Why is a 12k service more expensive? Valve check?
Bucket and shim tappets...x8 valve engine. To be fair on the Bonneville you can probably get away with not doing this check religiously ..lots if folks never bother and the engines are pretty robust on the whole.
That sounds about right from a main dealer. If you're handy with a spanner it's an idea to pop off the cam cover and check the tolerances yourself when it's time...then maybe only pay for those that actually need reshimming. At first 12 k service it's not unusual for them all to still be well within specs.
Thanks, off to TriumphTech at Wolverhampton Airport this morning. A much more palatable quote from them.
Valve check after 20 T km and next at 40T km...all valves are clear...no adjusting and my former Thriumph dealer checked this for small price.
This 'Scrambler' hunt is really starting to piss me off! I don't really want to spend four and a half grand on a new Enfield Trials just to fall off it on a dirt track and scrape it up but there really isn't much else. I was looking at those 'Mash' jobbies but they are an unknown quantity and I object to paying two and a half grand plus for a thirty year old Honda, Yamaha etc. dirt bike. For just doing a bit of light forestry tracks and the like anyone have any idea how a 790 Bonnie with knobblies or some sort of hybrid tyre and nothing else done to it would perform. Would it be just about the same as using a Triumph scrambler or does the slight extra height the scrambler has make all the diffenrece? I can get one of those for three and a half grand or thereabouts with fifteen thou on the clocks and it looks well taken care of plus, if I bend it, then I have a pile of spares for my Union Jack bonnie.
To be honest I'd prefer not to use a twin cylinder four stroke bike which doesnt have much low rev torque to chug along off road. I'm also looking at earlier Enfield 500's ... they're capable of doing the job with a few cheap mods. I'm still thinking but that's where I am at the moment...£2500 would get a decent Enfield ...£200 more would kit it out for trail riding etc
You ought to be able to pick up a Himalyan (400cc Enfield model) for around £2500. They are quite capable green-laners by all accounts. I'm a little reluctant myself to invest in a modified chinese motorcycle (Herald etc..), but I feel the 790 Bonnie would be a wee bit OTT for such antics.
You ought to be able to pick up a Himalyan (400cc Enfield model) for around £2500. They are quite capable green-laners by all accounts. I'm a little reluctant myself to invest in a modified chinese motorcycle (Herald etc..), but I feel the 790 Bonnie would be a wee bit OTT for such antics.