The history of Royal Enfield motorcycles is a complicated one and began with a father-and-son duo, both named George Townsend, who first started making sewing needles in 1851. By 1886, they were making bicycles under the name Townsend and Ecossais. In 1891, the company collapsed and an Albert Eadie took over the company, naming it Eadie Manufacturing Company Limited in 1892.
This bicycle business was then taken over by Birmingham Small Arms Company as in BSA, and later BSA was absorbed by Raleigh. But Eadie branched out, and soon became a firearm manufacturer for the Royal Small Arms Factory, dubbing the new company, Royal Enfield. In 1896, Eadie added a new subsidiary to make bicycles, motorcycles, and motorcars and called it The New Enfield Cycle Company Limited.
Eadie ended up selling to BSA as well, and later parts of the company were sold to various new owners, with a 33% share of the Enfield cycle company going to Norton Villiers. In 1955, Enfield Cycle Company partnered with Madras Motors to make Royal Enfield motorcycles in India. By 1971, the UK plant had wrapped up, and today, the only place where Royal Enfield motorcycles are made, is India, and this is where the motorcycles are imported from as well.
So what’s our favorite feature of the Royal Enfield? Let’s find out…
The Royal Enfield Is A Prized Possession In India
Ask any motorcycle fan in India, and the Royal Enfield is likely to be in one of the top five favorites of all. And this is a market that gets the Harley-Davidson, the Indian, the Triumph, the Honda and the KTM, the Ducati and the Aprilia as well as the BMW, Benelli, and the Nortons as well. So basically, replete with bike brands.
So why the Enfield? Perhaps because it is Indian. Despite a trademark violation filed by David Holder, who apparently owns “Royal Enfield”, the judgment was ruled in favor of the Indian owners, so Royal Enfield is as Indian as it can get, even though it came via British blood and brains.
And since this motorcycle is not made anywhere else in the world but India, the ones you see hitting the streets in Europe and even the US all come imported from this Asian country.
The legend of the Royal Enfield and the longest-running of its motorcycles till now, the Bullet, is like the tank-like Willys Jeeps in the US. Although, things have now started getting modern…
That Very Retro Look
The Royal Enfield is a rare beast in the US and Europe. So rare, in fact, that people tend to stop, stare and question the rider about it and are rather surprised to know that they are not WWII-time relics. The RE makes brand new motorcycles with ABS and fuel injection (for the twin-650 cc INT650 model) and come from India, with the company now under the aegis of Eicher Group, the guys who make agricultural vehicles and equipment as well.
Ride a Royal Enfield in the US, and they are likely to see it is a strange beast most have not met before, pleasantly surprised that all variants can be had for less than $6,000, new.
Ride this in the UK and you are likely to be approached by geriatric old men who gleefully cackle about their good old days when they had their Royal Enfields…
For a motorcycle that’s cheap and rather too easy to fix, the Royal Enfield remains quite the attention grabber. This brings us to what we love most about it…
It’s Cheap, Easy-To-Repair and Thumpy!
There are six Royal Enfield motorcycles you can buy in the US today, the 350cc Meteor, the 411cc Himalayan, the 650cc Interceptor or Continental GT and of course, the Bullet and the Classic, now only available in 350cc.
If you love a good ol’ British motorcycle but cannot or do not want to put down for a Triumph, cool as it may be, the Royal Enfield is your best bet, with the Continental GT and INT650 starting at less than $6,000 and the Himalayan 411cc starting at less than $5,000. The Meteor is likely to be priced even lower.
All this for motorcycles that are comfortable to ride, have good fuel economy, and can be easily repaired for little to no cost because even the parts are dirt cheap.
There’s also that characteristic thump of the motorcycle, a whomp-whomp kind of sound that works perfectly well as a warning sound on noisy Indian roads and makes heads turn on American highways, considering it’s a reverberation rather than an ear-splitting whine.
The Royal Enfield is an elusive beast in the US, but nothing in its rarity makes it a bad motorcycle. It’s a gentle cruiser with a loud heartbeat and could be a good buy for someone who uses a motorcycle infrequently or is new to the world of two-wheelers, It also makes for a great second bike for an avid motorcyclist.
The USP of this motorcycle is simple. It’s rare, it's loud and it's cheap – all this makes it visible. It looks way more pricey than it is, with an undeniable retro thump that can make you the cynosure of all ears, if not eyes.
Sources: Forbes, CycleWorld