At the moment I am a lucky boy and have a varied concoction to ride. Royal Enfield have loaned me one of their new 650 Interceptors, which you can read about what it’s like to live with on page 52.
I’ve been enjoying the blend of ‘hop on and go’ of a new bike, with the ‘that’s a nice old machine; I used to have one’ interaction with folks I come across. It's good to see the old name growing. I popped in to see another British manufacturing survivor recently, CCM. The factory, while small, was buzzing, with bikes everywhere, new models being assessed and a really positive feel to what is the oldest British bike manufacturer still in the UK.
For a small player in the modern bike world, they really are punching high: it must be a constant battle being a small business in this large, corporate-led world. But the Spitfire and its derivatives are old-school, with light weight, a great single-cylinder engine and – get this – throttle cables!
