Royal Enfield Himalayan

GO AHEAD AND LAUGH... I've always been attracted to quirky odd ball women, err I mean bikes.  Not to say exclusively but for example, I can't ride anywhere without someone coming over at a gas station to admire my Thunderbird or my ancient XT 600.  I often imagined what would have happened had I picked up my BMW 600 in Germany in 1973/4 as planned. Who knows... I may have stayed in HU or some other European locale.

I've been a fan of the India Enfield for some time, and there's not many bikes in my expansive riding career much odder than that.  It would be like jumping through a time barrier!  They have had a poor history in Canada, the dealer network scant and often operated by "here today gone tomorrow" operations.  I wonder if there is even any CDN network in business today.

Mr. Handsome, kinda like moi!

Given that India rivals China for motorcycle usage and the market over there in Asia is almost as incomprehensible to us 'sport enthusiasts' as opposed to riding motorized cycles is a lifeline to most.  It's no wonder that they even bother with us over here.

Nevertheless I am very interested in the newest Enfield offerings.  With annual sales from the factory closing in on 1 million (that's 1,000,000) units a year and that's primarily in India, gives you an idea how Micky Mouse we are here.

The modern bikes like the two new 650 cc parallel twins with genuine 60's looks but with disc brakes and off set firing pistons coupled to a 6 speed gearbox and the other, the 411 cc Himalayan single "Adventure touring bike" my quirky genes are vibrating.

The 411 (I'll call it that in deference to my old Victor 441 BSA) has been on the Indian market for several years now, working out the kinks while refining the quirks.  Compared to that BSA I owned for many years it is a "modern" interpretation.  Right down to the single upright cylinder the noticeable engine finning, and of course the unforgettable style.  If you try and compare it to any new ADV offering (insert any model of: BMW/KTM/HONDA/YAMAHA) it comes off as barely wiggling the 'excitement' needle.  IN seismic terms, it would hardly quiver your Indian tea in the cup.

However having said that... we are talking about India the sub-continent here, most heavily populated democratic country in the world.  In a place where profit still applies to independent business'  and where a twin cylinder pseudo mid sixties air cooled twin is a huge leap forward !

Before wiping the slate and with it the 411 off your thought pattern, just remember... if you think the transformer look alike modern ADV is THE hot ticket... you may as well stop reading right now.  Go ahead... I'll give you a minute.

(insert musical interlude here)

The Himalayan is of course named for the mountain range that just so happens to be the highest on the planet... jets fly in the oxygen depleted atmosphere, and it's in RE's back yard. Is RE reaching for the sky... you bet.

If you lived there and enjoyed two wheels, man... all you gotta do is look up.  Like the Friendly Giant repeated each episode... wayyyy up as I'm sure RE is doing as I punch this keyboard.

A simple a/c 5 speed, rugged, yet low enough to paddle if need be, makes a whole lot of $$ Rupee's sense.  Okay, it's not earth shaking in Germany or the USA and certainly not CANADA of all places but in a million unit market, RE has just quietly poised itself to become the largest international motorcycle selling company in the world, just happening to be built in India. Many if the Majors are building bikes in Asia as we speak.

Quirky, yes.  But in a good way.

Bamm.  Just like that.   

Japanese sales world wide required hundreds of models to achieve that status, while RE have done it with decades era big singles (shaken not stirred) and an amazing idea of the Himalayan, that granted is newer technology but come on now... it's still a British model from the past.
Could we be looking at the makings of a land slide in these fledgling new models?

I've been trying to get info from anyone on the new models but alas without a reliable dealer network, your poking a big bear hibernating in a cave is just not gonna do it.

Coming to my rescue however, in the wealthy USA (c'mon, get with the world, and let us 'filter traffic' already) we are seeing an embryo  growing, a very big embryo in fact.  If RE get their shit together and can develop a sustainable US dealer network, and North American for that matter, and can maintain a viable and visible dealer network (key here) we are going to see a huge excited buying frenzy.  What happens if that bear wakes up?  Just look at all the customizing out there on old bikes now a days! The fact that the median age for the Indian buying public is under 30, there could be a landslide of should I say it... Himalayan proportions here.

With no word of a Cdn network, where a years accounting of all the motorcycles sold in Canada doesn't amount to squat to China or India, you can't even sit on an Enfield let alone ride one.

Fortunately I have a home in Phx Arizona, and not too far away (15 minutes by Adventure scooter or XT) I was able to secure a ride on a 411. The nice people at both GOAZ retail stores, the Peoria building only being 15 minutes from me (honestly, the service is so good down there)  arranged for me to have a brief ride on a Himalayan off the showroom floor.  From Tommy, (sales mgr) to Jennifer* and Matt who, at 6' height, in an hour became my little Arizonan brother.

I helped myself to a coffee and sticky bun while I sipped and munched I wondered what this new model means to RE, and to us peons at the other end of the scale, the buying public.

From what I could glean from the two GOAZ stores, consumer feedback was very positive.

Himalayan's, if not flying off the showroom floor are moving out at a steady gait. Let's face it, the US market compared to us here in the Great White North could represent the cherry atop the cake as far as RE is concerned.  Domestic sales of the new 650 twins, the 411 and the buzz of a bigger but not too big ADV's, potentially including a V twin is stirring up mucho interest hombre.

I've been following the travels of a tiny Dutch (Itchy Boots) girl from her starting point in Delhi, traversing the globe with much enthusiasm with her own Himalayan on U Tube. If this isn't a testament to the bike's capability as a go anywhere, do everything motorcycle for the rest of us (shorter/older/smarter) with the promise of simplicity, without technical mode this mode that... in my humble experience riding over 50 years, they are proving you don't need 120 horsepower to move the cart and the soul and especially you just have to "get on your bike and ride" "forget the pickle... just wanna ride on my moto sickle" as Arlo so aptly put it.  Don't imagine for a nanosecond that I am not grinning from ear to ear when approached by someone want to see me "retro" but modern Triumph Thunderbird.

Kind of like your grand dads Royal Enfield, but better, a whole lot better!

I'll have more over the weekend, not because I have less work to do, but because the weather is looking like mid to high teens, and if the rain holds off (the red Isle is already Green) I'd like to get out and ride.

* Nice seeing women involved riding and in the biz