Royal Enfield - An Emerging Indian Motorcycle Manufacturer

It all started way back in 1901 in England when the Enfield Manufacturing ltd. made their first motorcycle it was quite literally a cycle with a motor (engine) attached to it. After the company was dissolved in 1971 in the year 1995 Enfield of India bought the rights to use the brand name "Royal Enfield" and the company transcended from UK to India. Also now the brand "Royal Enfield" became a wholly owned subsidiary of Eicher Motors ltd.

Royal Enfield is now the oldest motorcycle brand in the world and the "Bullet" is now the oldest motorycle still to be in production. The brand has seen a recent upswing in sales since the introduction of their new power plant. They introduced their unit construction engine in the year 2007 and totally shifted to UCE by year 2009.

The company now has sales of over 26,000+ units in a month. It is now doubt that Royal Enfield is on an expansion spree with them opening a ton of new dealerships. The company is also targeting at exports to account for considerable part in its sales. It is quite evident with the company's launch of Continental GT that it was targeted at exports rather than sales in India. Recently the company has hired 'Rod Copes' former sales & service head of Harley Davidson to pilot the expansion of RE in North America. The company also has its presence in UK which is where it all started.

The RE bikes truly hold a ornamental value to them and their owners are certainly a spirited lot. However it is in no doubt that it lacks on the technological field. To address this the company has recently recruited Pierre Terblanche who is an ex-ducati desinger and has contributed to Ducati's launches till 2007.

To add to more specualtion the company has recently announced the development of its third plant in Chennai near the new Orgadam plant which was recently inaugurated. With the advent of the new plant the production is expected to increase further by 70-75%. The monumental Thiruvatriyur plant is destined to become a museum for all the Enfield enthusiasts.

We expect a whole new series of engines and bikes ranging from 350-700cc and the advent of a twin cylinder plant in future RE's. There might be whole new platforms in line.One thing we can be certain is that Royal Enfield is going to be in the forefront of automotive development in India and a brand ambassador for the same to the World!

What does biking mean?

Pic- Himalayan Odyssey by Royal Enfield.

Everyday we see,read and hear about biking, the question arises what does it signify? The people's understanding may be varied but biking signifies freedom as far as i am concerned. Our lifestyle is monotonous and plagued with boredom and the way to release all the pressure is to hit the road and what better way to do it than in a 2 wheeler. The joy of riding a motorcycle cannot be found even in riding the most expensive cars it provides a meaning to life and defines your personality. While others indulge in momentary pleasures of alcohol and drugs bikers indulge in riding which simply puts everything behind them and there is nothing as welcoming as the sight of open road and sunset on the horizon.

You need not have an expensive ride to enjoy the joy of riding you can ride in almost any ride what is important is you understand the limitations of  yourself and bike. In context of India, biking has tremendous potential as we are one of the largest market for two wheeler's and yet biking has not caught up in India as much as it has in other countries. I believe we are in a brink of a biking break through. Most of the two wheeler brands do not encourage amateur riders but some brands like RE are seriously taking it upon them to ensure their customers explore to maximum extent. KTM has also joined in by sponsoring "orange day" in various cities to provide a platform for various ktm owners to mingle.

There is a lot of social stigma associated with biking and the type of riders but none of it is true because i have personally met many bikers most of whom are professionals with a white collar job during the weekdays and in the weekends avid riders who dont care as much about the destination as they do about the route which they take. There are a few decent biking clubs in cities but there are majorly closed circles of like minded people. It doesnt matter whether you are 18 or 80 all that matters is that you have a passion to ride. The people's mindset has to change greatly to form groups and ride with people you barely know and only have riding passion as a common. One can start by forming small groups among friends and with small rides of 100-150 kms and then increase the number of people and kms. Also one can explore the beauty of the country through biking and i feel that biking as a culture is fastly becoming a part of our life with more and more people joining in.