Indian Motos Blog » Royal Enfield

Royal Enfield to thump even louder – New variants on the anvil

Shrawan Raja — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 06:00:43 +0000

In line with expanding production, Royal Enfield has announced the setup of its new plant; once again in Chennai. In response to the huge demand in domestic as well as international markets, the new plant will nearly double the production to 1,50,000 units annually. The 50 acre plant which is slated for the 2013 will demand an investment of Rs 350 crore, spread over the next five years. The facility will be equipped to produce the entire range of the company and will be backed by the proximity of vendors and supply chain in the area. In light of the growing ecological concerns, the factory will be installed with an effective auto-eco system at Oragadam.

Although the company has consistently posted an upward curve on the sales graph, the demand supply deficit has never been closed in the past few months. With this expansion plan, CEO, Venki Padmanabhan has put his money where his mouth is. Last month, he had addressed the customer problems of late deliveries and quality issues and promised a hike in production. His ambitious plans include upping the production to 2, 50,000 units per annum through greenfield and brownfield projects over the span of three to five years. The move comes in synch with the launch of a chromed up version of the flagship model Classic 500 for the international market. We at indianmotosblog just hope that it would be available for India as well.

Royal Enfield mulls over plans of higher capacity engines

Shrawan Raja — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 03:31:08 +0000

At the Auto Expo in January, we saw the café racer version of the RE and we also told you about 750 cc and 1000 cc rumors back then. And now we have a fresh update on that. A series of events like the growing popularity of HD, the entry of Triumph, and the insatiable demand-supply deficit garnished by an ever increasing demand for the 500 cc Classic in domestic as well as international market has led Royal Enfield to think about exploring newer avenues. The company is looking for development of a 750 cc and liter class Enfield for its portfolio by 2013. However, we are still not sure of the engine configuration. Will it be a V-twin or a parallel twin? No one really knows. It's still all speculation at this stage. There is a possibility of a technical collaboration for the motorcycles. And this won’t be the first time RE has entered one. The previous collaboration on the Carberry Enfield and Royal Enfield Meteor back in the day did sum up for decent sales. The collaboration this time will be more engine oriented. We just hope they don’t enter the race too pricey and late!

Evolution Choppers builds unique three-wheeler

Shrawan Raja — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 09:22:18 +0000

Goa’s custom bike builder, Evolution Choppers known for their custom choppers and motorcycles have built an unique three-wheeler. The customer of this motorcycle met with a tragic accident which took his left leg away. Refusing to give up his passion for riding, he requested Evolution Choppers to build him a special bike so that he could get back on to the saddle. The Trike uses a 350cc Royal Enfield engine with custom made trademark evolution choppers chassis/swing arm, choppers handle bars, handlebar grips, TC bikes tank and fenders and forward controls, Goa On Wheels reports.

The Trike is equipped with dual disc brakes. The brake and gear pedals are located on the right side of the bike. We wish this die-hard soldier many million miles of happy motoring.

Evolution Choppers Three-Wheeled Chopper Image Gallery

Source - GoaOnWheels.com

Classic Chrome and Bullet 500 are NOT coming to India

Shrawan Raja — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 11:57:19 +0000

We have had many cases when a foreign manufacturer does not want to bring good cars/bike to India for whatever reason. But this is a first time an Indian (and sort of British) manufacturer doesn’t want to bring good bikes to India. Yes, we are talking about the Royal Enfield. RE has just whipped up 2 fantastic bikes – Classic Chrome and Bullet 500 and these 2 models are destined for U.S. NOT India where the fans are waiting for more than 6 months to get hold of their dream bike. How unfair is that!

The Classic Chrome shares its bloodline with the C5, with chrome fenders and the Bullet 500 is like a more powerful version of the Bullet 350. If you have been waiting for your RE for a long time, we want to hear your thoughts below

Royal Enfield Classic Chrome and 500 Image Gallery

Source: autoblog.com

Royal Enfield working on 750cc, 1000cc motorcycles

Shrawan Raja — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 10:15:42 +0000

Touted as the Indian Harley Davidson, the Royal Enfield has been ruling the Indian roads for the past 50 odd years on a thumping note quite literally! And this Republic day, we bring to you a news which makes every Indian proud. Our RE is all set to take on the Harley Davidson with its own range of high displacement bikes. At the Auto Expo 2010, we saw the Café racer exhibit at the RE stall. If that was a small step towards bigger and faster REs, there are rumors that the once British company is in the conceptualization stage of a twin-cylinder 750cc and 1000cc bikes.

A multi-fuel motorcycle with a capability of running on diesel, petrol and kerosene is also in the radar of RE which is now owned by Eicher Motors.

Royal Enfield has been criticized in the past for showing dilatory R&D progress. But of recent, there have been tremendous leaps of technological developments in the Chennai based company. The twin-spark engines, the Fuel injection, the Unit Construction Engine are some of the examples of this exemplary development phenomenon. But something which has been common to all these technologies is the volume of the engine which has been the same sane 500cc.

And now, the time has come for RE to add more volume to the 350cc and 500cc engines. Though the V-twins are the most-sought after in the West, RE could go with the parallel-twin configuration. Parallel twins are not new to the Indian roads with the legendary RD350 and the Yezdi 350 having sported a similar engine configuration 25 years back.

It will be interesting to note how the liter bike (1000cc) model fares in a liter-bike shoot-out. Also if launched, RE will be the first Indian motorcycle manufacturer to sell >1000cc bikes. While the big numbers do count, the versatility of a multi-fuel vehicle (MFV) can never be counted out. A quintessential tourer should be good to run through some of the unexplored paths for ages together. And this is where the ability of a MFV to run in different fuels counts a lot.

Also with the petrol prices soaring high, people are tempted to use cheaper alternatives like kerosene and diesel. By having an engine which can run on any of the above, the customers are given a great deal of flexibility. We haven't seen much of multi-fuel motorcycles in India and hence, this is an extraordinary opportunity for RE to cash in. We are sure that the MFV, if launched, will accelerate the RE sales to an enormous extent and the manufacturer might cross the 1 lakh units a fiscal mark quite comfortably!

Royal Enfield Cafe Racer Image Gallery

Royal Enfield planning a Bullet plant in Andhra Pradesh?

Shrawan Raja — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 11:55:53 +0000

Royal Enfield is known for their delays and inability to cope with the high customer demand. But they are strongly looking at making this a thing of the past. RE is looking at putting up a new manufacturing plant in Andra Pradesh. The company has expressed interests to the state government for their necessities and the government though in favor of the proposal, has not narrowed down to a signed agreement, DNA is reporting. The company currently manufacturing the 350 and 500 series in their Tirivotriyur plant in Chennai want to hike up their production substantially. With many new models and higher displacement engines in the pipeline, a new facility is the need of the hour. The total investment that the company is planning to make is about Rs. 250 crore, split into two phases. Phase one will be a 2 year plan where in RE will create the facility for manufacturing 1.5 lakh motorcycles with a markup of Rs 150 crore and phase two will see the expansion happening to 2.5 lakh units over the preiod of the third year.

Since the presence of a prestigious brand such as RE will also improve the value of the real estate, RE has asked the government to consider the proposal as a mega project. The deal if materializes will give RE special benefits such as subsidized power, reimbursements etc. The government has also asked RE to consider setting up their vendors in nearby locations so as to promote an eco-friendly environment and provide ancillary and component manufacturers a good prospect for future investment. This is also strongly pointing towards RE’s exports going stronger and even domestic demand becoming high. The possibilities of the new plant marking the beginning of a brand new product range are also strong. Since there are internal talks about the production of the 700cc and 1000cc V twins by 2013, a new facility would not sound like a bad idea. The proposed location is at Sri city in Chitoor district Andhra Pradesh. Source - DNAIndia.com

Royal Enfield features in Harry Potter movie

Shrawan Raja — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 07:15:35 +0000

As it turns out even wizards can’t get enough of Royal Enfield. In the new Harry Potter movie ‘The Deathly Hallows Part 1’, the wonder wizard has upgraded from a broomstick to a pale blue Royal Enfield motorbike and he is ridding the streets of London at full throttle! The original plan was to focus on the sidecar but on seeing a Royal Enfield in action the film makers ordered not one, not two, not three but 7 custom made Royal Enfield (and here we have to wait for one for more than 6-7 months). The vehicles were supplied by Blockley-based company, Watsonian Squire, the Royal Enfield UK Distributor. The owner of the dealership admitted that he has never read the Harry Potter books or even seen any of the movies, but his son, Troy, aged 12, is a complete Harry potter nut.

If you want to catch up with the now immortal ride, a version of the ‘Harry Potter’ motorbike and sidecar will be displayed at the upcoming Motorcycle Live exhibition at the NEC from November 27 to December 5, 2010.

Royal Enfield Fury revealed for overseas markets

Shrawan Raja — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 06:37:16 +0000

Royal Enfield recently released the pics of their upcoming export model termed "Fury". Though in the past RE has had 2 products named the same, this one is an all new machine. Inside the chest of the sporty beast beats a 500cc electra EFI engine fitted with twin short length exhausts. The bike is projected as an old school scrambler. Weight reduction and a real "mind your own business!" look; all give a purpose built for handling rather than actual aesthetics type of feel. It aims to cater to the young crowd at Europe. Officials at Royal Enfield say that they will release more details by November 27th.

Royal Enfield Fury Image Gallery

The Enfield Fury's Frame is derived from a Thunderbird with reworked front and rear suspension.

Royal Enfield to double its production by 2012; plans Machismo revival

Shrawan Raja — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:30:10 +0000

By Kaustubh Shinde Four years ago if you had questioned us which bike should I go for, we would have given you 2 options: Pulsar or Karizma. Then, after 5 years of R&D, Royal Enfield decided to flex its muscles and launched Bullet Classic 500 & 350. Since then the biker boys have just gone berserk! We at IAB love the recent trend among college goers and young executives to not go for a mainstream bike and rather go for a ‘Bullet’. So you can imagine our joy when Royal Enfield, part of the Eicher Motors, announced that they will be doubling their production capacity within 2 years. Dr Venki Padmanabhan, COO, Royal Enfield, said

We thought that new Enfield models would have a very small demand, with the Classic we expected to do 200 units a month, surprisingly the demand is close to a 1,000. We're building both capacity and R&D capability. In the next 2-3 years we'll be doubling capacity

As of today, Royal Enfield produces 5 models in India of which the Thunderbird 350 has a waiting period of 3 months, whereas the waiting list for Classic 350 and 500 can stretch right up to 9 months! And there is more good news…. The cult bike ‘Machismo’ would soon be re-launched with new design and engine. The company has also planned to introduce higher capacity 750 cc-1000cc bikes, including a high-end Café Racer. Source - Wheels Unplugged

Beer + Bullet = Hobgoblin Bullet

Sachet Parkash — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:55:51 +0000

Royal Enfield Motorcycles has joined hands with Britain based Wychwood brewery's Hobgoblin to create this one of a kind 'Hobgoblin Bullet'. The bike has the Hobgoblin beer brand logo as the centre piece of this one-off machine. The Hobgoblin Bullet is based on the Royal Enfield Classic 500 EFI model and features fuel injection and electric start. The bike has a blue paint job and the livery of the Hobgoblin. The bike has been built has a one-off project between Royal Enfield Motorcylces and Wychwood Brewery's Hobgoblin and will be the only one of its kind in the whole world. The bike will be showcased at the Great British Beer Festival and the NEC Bike show. Ian Ward, Wychwood Brand Manager -

The Hobgoblin Bullet is a great 'one off' with a unique blue paint job and legendary graphics of the Hobgoblin, there was no way we could put a price on it. So we've chosen to give it away to one lucky beer and bikes fan

The bike after being showcased at the above mentioned events, will then be given away in a prize draw to one lucky beer and bike fan. If you want to win yourself this one of a kind Hobgoblin Bullet, than all you have to do is to log onto the Wychwood website (www.wychwood.co.uk) and file in your entry. The prize draw is open till 30th November 2010. Source - Super Bike