Royal Enfield

[GaleForceEight]

Just popping this in here, as Royal Enfield have been up to some quite interesting things of late.

They are using Harris to design the frames for their new bikes and have poached some of the engineers from Triumph. The design centre is also in England, though production is Indian.

Their Continental GT and Interceptor models with the 650 parallel twin has been a raging success.

The 411cc single pot Himalayan although down on power compared to the competition in the low-mid capacity adventure bike class has bags of torque which although it becomes a second class citizen on the highways is a very usable do-everything-well-other-than-go-fast offering.

They have released the Meteor 350cc single cruisery style bike and it is due to hit the UK in a few months time.

There is talk of them shoehorning the 650 twin into a cruiser style bike in late 2021.

All their bikes are a LOT of bike for the money, although at that price point don't expect the BMW fit and finish. I was looking at the Himalayan with a view to being a weekend local runaround, but I am now holding off on having a play on the Meteor first, as I might decide to leave a bike at the house in Malta for running too and fro from the beach etc.

 

[Don the Don]

I do like the new 650 Interceptor and Continental, I think we will see a lot more from Enfield

 

[chas]

Mate of mine who had a mongrel Dommie for years (bought when he was 18, sold it maybe 5 year ago) dabbled with a Harley and now has a brace of Enfields, a 500 and a Himalayan. Both very useable real world bikes.

I wouldn't touch one with any of yours, but I can see the appeal.

 

[MartytheMartian]

I just find the Enfield twin lump to be squat and ugly. I am very glad I never went through with my idea last year of buying an Enfield Trials and opted instead to buy a second 2001 Bonnie.

 

[chas]

I just find the Enfield twin lump to be squat and ugly. I am very glad I never went through with my idea last year of buying an Enfield Trials and opted instead to buy a second 2001 Bonnie.

I'm sure they'll sell well to a certain sector. The whole thing is a bit too much a contrived exercise in retro nostalgia for me.
And too bloody slow.

 

[MartytheMartian]

I can't deny that, when I went mad and bought my Bonnie's I was considering buying an original early Bonnie but came to the conclusion that the Hinckley built Bonnie's have all the looks, sound and charm, with modern engineering but a minimum of electrickery and additional failure points in the system. Best of both worlds. That's not to say that I wouldn't love an old Triumph as an additional machine in the stable to tinker with and spend time on if anyone is looking to give one away

 

[MartytheMartian]

I might add that I believe that John Bloor's Triumph got it spot on with their carburettor'ed 790cc Bonnie in my book. Not so sure if the Efi models have quite the same spirit based on my single one of them although, to be fair it is entirely stock where my 790's have the louder pipes and bigger jets. I definitely don't feel the love for the liquid cooled models or the Harley Clones.

 

[GaleForceEight]

Piccy of the 350cc Meteor.

Priced at around the 3500 mark brand new, it looks like it might fit the bill for when my daughter gets her A2. I would have to do the running in, of course......

The BHP figures are really not great, but as something to potter around lanes on salad days in the summer it looks quite useable.
Service intervals are 500Km and every 5000Km
The oil cooling is built into the cylinder head so no separate cooler radiator matrix.
20BHP 27NM Torque. The engine apparently runs smoothly for a single due to the counterbalanced shaft.

One addition on the stock bike which seems useful is a pseudo GPS. You pair the machine with your phone and it uses google maps to give you on screen directions to the bike dash.

 

[Public Enemy]

Piccy of the 350cc Meteor.

Priced at around the 3500 mark brand new, it looks like it might fit the bill for when my daughter gets her A2. I would have to do the running in, of course......

The BHP figures are really not great, but as something to potter around lanes on salad days in the summer it looks quite useable.
Service intervals are 500Km and every 5000Km
The oil cooling is built into the cylinder head so no separate cooler radiator matrix.
20BHP 27NM Torque. The engine apparently runs smoothly for a single due to the counterbalanced shaft.

View attachment 1805

It does have a potential rival though, if it ever comes to the UK.


The Honda CB 350 Highness. Awful name, but could be a nice bike. Selling in India for approx £2000. Even at double that in the UK it wouldn't look a bad first big(ger) bike.

 

[Sarky B’stard]

It’s an Indian made model. I doubt very much it would fit into the UK line up. There is a whole expanding market in the sub continent of which Triumph’s small bike tie up aims to capture a share.

 

[chas]

Heretical as it may be, although I dearly love Brit bikes and have frequently rubbed shoulders with them my passion is for late 70's early 80's jap tackle cos that's what I rode and aspired to as a young'un. I bought my GSx11 (pic in the katana thread) when I was 25 for 1500 quid. That money would have found me a seriously wanked out, spannered by previous owners with half a clue T140 at the time.
I'm happy with my life choices

 

[chas]

Piccy of the 350cc Meteor.

Priced at around the 3500 mark brand new, it looks like it might fit the bill for when my daughter gets her A2. I would have to do the running in, of course......

The BHP figures are really not great, but as something to potter around lanes on salad days in the summer it looks quite useable.
Service intervals are 500Km and every 5000Km
The oil cooling is built into the cylinder head so no separate cooler radiator matrix.
20BHP 27NM Torque. The engine apparently runs smoothly for a single due to the counterbalanced shaft.

One addition on the stock bike which seems useful is a pseudo GPS. You pair the machine with your phone and it uses google maps to give you on screen directions to the bike dash.

View attachment 1805

That engine looks similar to the old honda dream 250/400. Wonder if they've aquired the tooling

 

[GaleForceEight]

That engine looks similar to the old honda dream 250/400. Wonder if they've aquired the tooling

It's an all new engine they have developed and built. It is air/oil cooled with the oil cooling being run through the head so no separate radiator.

 

[Don the Don]

New Royal Enfield Meteor 350 reaches Europe | Bennetts Bike

The Meteor 350 mixes old-school charm that the brand characterises with a nuance of modern-day engineering and tech, all in an affordable package.

www.bennetts.co.uk

Love them or hate them they will sell, the 650's are the best selling bike in the UK, my take on all this is that it's nice to have alternatives and a choice who knows Enfield's success may make others improve their quality.

 

[DD67]

When I was looking for another bike Aug/Sept last year. Myself & a mate ended up at an Enfield dealer not far from me. I was there looking at used Jap bikes but the 650 Enfields did look excellent value for money.

 

[GaleForceEight]

There is something about the putt putt putt of a single four stroke that fills the hole in my soul, much as the whine of the triumph triple does for some others. I guess having learned to ride on a 1969 BSA starfire (250cc single) it hits the nostalgia button for me.

 

[MartytheMartian]

I really like a big single myself but I don't think I trust Royal Enfields. Just too much negative press and far too many very low mileage examples for sale on fleabay which make me suspect that people don't ride them much before they feel the need to get rid.

 

[GaleForceEight]

I really like a big single myself but I don't think I trust Royal Enfields. Just too much negative press and far too many very low mileage examples for sale on fleabay which make me suspect that people don't ride them much before they feel the need to get rid.

My feeling is that because of the relatively cheap manufacturing (they are built to a relatively low price point) they need running in properly compared to the more expensive bikes that have been factory run in on a bench, have nitrided bores so that they don't need to be work hardened etc. etc. so that if they are ragged from new they will be like a bag of nails thereafter.

Many of the reviews are by journalists riding 'press bikes' which have not had any running in time, the engines are still tight, and they have been treated badly in the short life they have had.

Royal Enfield Classic 500 Chrome. 1200 mile review, Run in complete! Did i make the right choice? - YouTube

 

[Sarky B’stard]

They have clearly modernised quite a bit but maybe quality control is still not ‘up there’ and some engineering remains slightly crude?

 

[GaleForceEight]

They have clearly modernised quite a bit but maybe quality control is still not ‘up there’ and some engineering remains slightly crude?

Nice video giving an overview of the new manufacturing facility. The most interesting part of that (for me) is that the steel parts are being phosphated. For British roads in the winter that is a HUGE plus.