1964 Royal Enfield Crusader - 4-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article

Description

1964 Royal Enfield Crusader - 4-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article
Original, vintage magazine article
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
ROYAL ENFIELD CRUSADER
Royal enfield is deeply rooted in the English tradi-
dition of proceeding with caution and only after
long deliberation. Accordingly, it is no more than to be
expected that all new Enfield motorcycles would undergo
a long period of testing before being released to the gen-
eral public. Enfield’s recently introduced 250 Crusader,
for example, but put on the street in preproduction proto-
type form in 1953 — and did not achieve production
status until 1957. That provided four years of testing and
development for a motorcycle that was quite strong and
straight-forward in any case, and the finished product has
been singularly reliable in the hands of Enfield’s custom-
ers, which is the ultimate test of all motorcycles.
Today, the original 250cc Crusader has been elabo-
rated upon to provide several models, all similar but with
differences in equipment to suit individual riders. Only
one of these is being imported into this country and it
combines, as you might expect, the features that will ap-
peal most to the American motorcycle buyer. The “Ameri-
can” model is called, quite simply, the “Crusader,” and it
is virtually identical to the Crusader Sports sold in
England.
We must confess that at first acquaintance none of
our staff was particularly impressed with the Enfield
Crusader. It is rather bulky, and heavy, for a 250-class
machine, and it was obvious from the start that scorch-
ing performance was not to be one of this machine’s attri-
butes. And, we were more than a little disappointed to
learn that the model being sent to us for test did not have
the five-speed transmission that is available for the En-
Royal enfield is deeply rooted in the English tradi-
dition of proceeding with caution and only after
long deliberation. Accordingly, it is no more than to be
expected that all new Enfield motorcycles would undergo
a long period of testing before being released to the gen-
eral public. Enfield’s recently introduced 250 Crusader,
for example, but put on the street in preproduction proto-
type form in 1953 — and did not achieve production
status until 1957. That provided four years of testing and
development for a motorcycle that was quite strong and
straight-forward in any case, and the finished product has
been singularly reliable in the hands of Enfield’s custom-
ers, which is the ultimate test of all motorcycles.
Today, the original 250cc Crusader has been elabo-
rated upon to provide several models, all similar but with
differences in equipment to suit individual riders. Only
one of these is being imported into this country and it
combines, as you might expect, the features that will ap-
peal most to the American motorcycle buyer. The “Ameri-
can” model is called, quite simply, the “Crusader,” and it
is virtually identical to the Crusader Sports sold in
England.
We must confess that at first acquaintance none of
our staff was particularly impressed with the Enfield
Crusader. It is rather bulky, and heavy, for a 250-class
machine, and it was obvious from the start that scorch-
ing performance was not to be one of this machine’s attri-
butes. And, we were more than a little disappointed to
learn that the model being sent to us for test did not have
the five-speed transmission that is available for the En-
field. However, 300 miles later we had completely revised
our original estimate. The Royal Enfield Crusader proved
itself to be an extremely good motorcycle, one of the best
all-purpose transportation bikes that has ever come our
way.
One of the most impressive items in the Crusader is its
engine, a single-cylinder 4-stroke engine without an over-
head camshaft to its name. There is nothing in this en-
gine’s basic specifications to excite anyone. It is a com-
pletely straightforward design and develops a good, but not
exceptional, 17 bhp at 7250 rpm. Maximum torque, 14.6
Ib-ft, is reached at about 6500 rpm. Of course, as is so
often the case, the stated maximums do not tell the whole
story. The Crusader’s torque is relatively high (for a 15
cubic inch engine), but the power output, while fairly
respectable, is nothing to shout about. But, even though
the peak of the power curve is not exceptionally high, the
curve is quite flat, and the engine feels very strong over a
wide speed range. The Enfield Crusader is one of the few
250cc-engined bikes that can be ridden briskly through
traffic without the rider having to resort to a lot of row-
ing with the transmission. The wide spread of power also
render’s the 5-speed transmission completely unnecessary
for anything but road racing — which is the kind of action
the Crusader is not likely to see.
In some respects, it would be nice to have the 5-speed
transmission. Performance would be improved, slightly,
and it is fun, for a while, to have so many gears to play
with. Unfortunately, the Enfield Crusader is at its best
when being used for utility touring, and for that kind of
work fewer and not more gears are desirable. We under-
stand that the 250 Enfields that will be coming on the
next boat will have the “Continental” engine, which has a
slightly larger carburetor and intake port, and that may
narrow the power range enough for the 5-speed transmis-
sion to be more useful.
Although originally produced with a cast-iron cylinder...
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