Royal Enfield Meteor Minor

Some of you may remember the story of a Royal Enfield Meteor Minor which appeared many years ago on the RC site, written by one ‘Gerry Attric’. As a young boy I always remember seeing my father’s motorbike in the garage under a cover, gathering dust. Some days, if the weather was nice and he was having a clear out of the garage, I would sneak in and lift the sheet to have a sneaky look. Little did I know of the project that he had undertaken to put that bike back into one piece. All I’d heard were the stories from both my elder sisters about how they had to go round all the autojumbles, bored out of their minds… 

After a few years of the bike gathering dust, I remember coming home from school and hearing banging and clattering in the garage. Dad was taking the occasional tea break, red-faced and in no mood to talk. After a few weeks of this, I was in my bedroom when I suddenly heard an almighty roar. I’d never heard anything of the sort: my toys cars were rolling off the shelves! I ran outside and there it was, all dusted off and ALIVE!

With the bike now up and running, it was dad’s idea to display it at the Enfield pageant of motoring. My biggest memory of this was when all the family came to see us. I hopped on the back of the Meteor Minor and we rode off into the arena with the other bikes and parked up in the middle…  and then had to push the Minor back out of the arena as she refused to start again! There were a few choice words said, and she stayed on the stand on display for the rest of the weekend.

The Minor was then pushed into the garage, and that’s where she would stay for a few years.

After my father had retired it was once again time for the Enfield to come back out. This time it had developed a misfire and flat spot. I sonic cleaned the carburettor but the bike still had the same issue. The electrics were then under investigation, and the plan was to have her running again for my newly-born daughter to see the Minor up and running. Unfortunately, due to a short illness my father, ‘Gerry Attric’, passed away. The Enfield was once again be left in bits in the garage.

When I stepped into the garage for the first time after he had passed, and saw the bike, it made me and my sisters and mother determined to get his pride and joy back up and running for all the grandchildren to see. After some research into specialists who could help, I came across the Motorcycle Restoration Company. These guys weren’t that far away so I made a quick call to them to explain the situation and the bike’s state of repair. We decided to ask them to give the Minor the TLC that it deserved. I cannot recommend these guys enough; she has come back in full working order and even with an MoT.

Hearing the Enfield start for the first time brought tears to the whole family. I brought back the memory of me running down the stairs all those years ago, wondering what that noise was. Finally, she is in one piece and sounds great. She sits in pride of place in the garage now. So when I visit, I go to the garage, start her up, take a trip down the road and place her nicely under cover again. One day she might even make it to the Enfield Pageant again and be able to ride OUT of the arena!

So finally the restoration of ‘Gerry Attric’s’ Meteor Minor is complete. And great memories are kept forever. My dad was a great fan of RealClassic, so the family and I wanted to share the completion of his build with you all.

Words and photos: Gerry Attric Jnr