After worlds war II , A British bike manufacturers, Royal Enfield built some extremely interesting parallel twins. But before the war their top of the range machine was a V-twin.........
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Royal Enfield’s sidevalve V-twin had been a stalwart of the company’s range for many years when it received a substantial overhaul for the home market in 1937. The earlier edition Model K was impressive enough at 976cc but the capacity of the revised KX was bumped up to 1140cc, making it one of the largest production motorcycles on the market.
Today we tend to think of high-capacity machines as supersports motorcycles but, as Bob Currie once commented, the KX was ‘a slogger… intended principally for commercial sidecar haulage’. However, the Enfield V-twin was almost £100 less expensive than the Brough 1150; an attractive proposition perhaps for an impoverished gentleman just recovering from the economic crunch of the early 1930s.
Enfield V-twin was almost £100 less expensive than the Brough 1150; an attractive proposition perhaps for an impoverished gentleman just recovering from the economic crunch of the early 1930s.
The 1140 version of the Enfield sidevalve had previously been used overseas where, as Cyril Ayton explained it was; ‘harnessed to enormous sidecars and receiving the minimum of attention, it performed prodigies of uncomplaining service.
The enlarged engine, 88.5mm by 99.25mm, benefitted from a bottom-end redesign to incorporate dry sump lubrication, with separate conrods supported by their own pairs of roller bearings inside the massive aluminium crankcase, and no fewer than four oscillating-plunger oil pumps. To keep all that oil under control the valve gear was enclosed, and the cylinders topped with detachable iron heads.
Unlike all the other Enfields in the range (and there were 17 of them by the late 1930s), the standard-fitment Lucas six-volt magdyno which provided the lighting was driven by chain. The clutch could be operated by hand or foot; the four-speed Albion gearbox was hand operated with a set of standard ratios that were intended to suit sidecar use; solo gearing could be supplied upon special order. The primary drive chain lived in an oil bath, separate from the multi-plate dry clutch which lived in its own compartment. A single Amal carb responded to a twist-grip throttle.This chunky motor was housed in a full duplex cradle frame which used QD interchangeable wheels fitted with 4.00 by 19-inch Dunlop tyres. The forks incorporated pressed steel blades with a central compression spring and adjustable shock absorbers and steering damper.Brakes were six inch sls drums. The standard finish was black enamel with gold pinstriping as seen here, but posh purchasers could opt for a chrome-plated fuel tank instead. An electric horn was included in the standard spec but a Smith’s illuminatedspeedo with trip function cost £2.10s extra.
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