Ugly bike. I could design, build and sell a far cooler bike at a fraction of the price.
Ex Harley execs seek to build line of royal Enfield cycles in Milwaukee.
FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.
Seems an unliklely duo for the Harley stuff if that is what they are intending to compete with. The budda-budda "look at me" crowd is not interested.
Should just come out as a modern day American Triumph, not yet another noisy cruiser. Was interested in a RE way back when, luckily my interest was not matched by mechanical skill or financial.
Nuff said.
So it is marketed as a girls bike. Wonder if the market is big enough.
RE is now an Indian company that bought the intellectual property of British RE and now manufactures all their bikes in India.
The only British thing about the RE is the name.
The Royal Enfield, during WW2, was the workhouse of the British military, as the Harley was the workhorse of the U.S. military.
Yes, they are large single cylinder bikes, and are not too bad riding, either.
No, they are not ‘vespas’. These are four-stroke engines, and being single cylinder set-ups, bring more gas mileage than another similar cc-sized twin engined bike.
Maintenance is a little easier, as well.
Harleys have become over-inflated in value, and over-elevated as a ‘status’ vehicle, as Indians once were, and Victories are, as well.
The RE has enough to ‘get itself out of trouble’, for those that remember that category of qualification.
I wish them luck.
Great, I love the Bullet
Enfield India (since 1949)
Main article: Royal Enfield (India)
Royal Enfield motorcycles had been sold in India since 1949. In 1965, the Indian government looked for a suitable motorcycle for its police and army, for use patrolling the country’s border. The Bullet was chosen as the most suitable bike for the job. The Indian government ordered 800 350-cc model Bullets, an enormous order for the time.[18] In 1955, the Redditch company joined Madras Motors in India in forming “Enfield India” to assemble, under licence, the 350 cc Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle in Madras (now called Chennai). Under Indian law, Madras Motors owned the majority (over 50%) of shares in the company. In 1957 tooling equipment was sold to Enfield India so that they could manufacture components.
Royal Enfield India manufactures and sells in India, and also exports to Europe as well as America, South Africa and Australia. Recently Royal Enfield has undergone a major retooling particularly in the engine department going from carburated cast-iron engines to twin spark unit construction engines on all its models, with EFI available on their flagship 500 cc model. This retooling has sparked such an interest in these bikes that they have started double shifts at the plants.
In August 2015, Royal Enfield Motors announced it is establishing its North American headquarters and a dealership in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with the intention to offer three bikes, the Bullet 500, Classic 500 and Continental GT 535 Cafe Racer as they feel this engine size represents an underserved market. The dealership will be Royal Enfield’s first company-owned store in the U.S., according to Rod Copes, president of Royal Enfield North America. The company wants to establish about 100 dealerships in American cities starting with Milwaukee.
“I live here, so I am biased. But in my mind, Milwaukee is kind of the center of motorcycling in the United States,” said Copes, a former Harley-Davidson executive. “We view this as kind of our first flagship dealership,” he added.[19]
I had one. The quality of the steel and the final assembly quality control was beyond bad. They’ll have to invest some money in quality control before their motorcycle can become mainstream.
ROTFLMAO! What are they smoking?
It ain’t a Harley!
With less than 1,000 motorcycles sold in the U.S. last year…
fewer
With fewer than 1,000 motorcycles sold in the U.S. last year…
</grammar nazi>
Looks like the old Triumph...
I like the retro look but I am old...lol
The problem I see with their going after the niche market is the on-set of rider fatigue. These smaller bikes might be good for the occasional 50-100 mile jaunt or down to the local tavern for a beer but for the warrior that wants to ride 300-500 miles a day these riders will be constantly wanting to stop. Even riding a softtail over 150 mile can be take its toll. The stock seat on my Springer (FXFSTI) was horrible and my legs and tail bone would be numb after 50 miles. The guys on the big cruiser had their feet up, stereo blasting and cruise control set and I would be digging my bike out of my butt and throttle hand would be swolled up. I bought a big 16 inch saddle and I could ride all day after that especially if I was loaded down with gear.
I like the green one.
>> “We’re building and repositioning the brand,” Copes said.
Sadly, that’s the accepted vernacular.
I’d rather hear, “We’re rebuilding and positioning the bike”