Consider this "part two" of my introduction to the Royal Enfield and it's Adventure bike.
This bike harks back to another age of motorcycling. It's simple, easy to work on if you desire and may be the sleeper bike(s) of the year. Personally I like being acquainted with things mechanical (but not electrics) touching the engine case, running my hand down the smoothness of the fuel tank, adjusting this and that, sometimes even more, like tire changes or replacing steering head bearings on the 30 year old XT 600 Big Blue. (*see twist at the end) Sure, other markets have had a couple of years to digest what it/they are like and there is plenty of U Tube vids if that's your bag.
 |
| Temperature already rising. |
I once had a girlfriend/student in the CSC training program that asked me what motorcycle I would recommend to use/talk about, if the snobbish 'know it all's reared their ugly heads and the cocktail party she was attending was getting boring.
Without hesitation I said "India Enfield "
After a brief but not boring explanation she thanked me for the tip. We ended up a couple for 5 years and rode many places together, much of it off road.
Thinking back I must personally be responsible for getting hundreds of women riding, far before it became common place... but I digress.
 |
| I like it! C'mon RE... get us these bikes in Canada with a good dealer network.. |
IE took a simple, utilitarian motorcycle, that had virtually used up it's life span as the world moved on and became an icon in India.
This latest introduction of the Indian adventure bike is a continuation of that scheme. IE turned that humble low powered, mechanically simple design and sold millions of them in Asia.
Fast forward and we have a new generation of rider emerging. Where'as the median age for riders in North America is into the 50's it's roughly half that "over there." India Enfields have become 'cult bikes' kind of like HD has here.
Quietly positioning themselves to become the worlds largest manufacturer of motorcycles (let's discount the gazillions of moped and scooters that are built and sold via China, let's stick to good old two wheeled get out and ride, motorcycles.
After a name change back to the original Royal Enfield and introducing bikes for a broader market, RE has somehow put itself on the map, and in a very big but quiet way. Word is they sold 850,000+ Motorcycles last year, and most of that went to the domestic market. Considering this stupendous number was achieved selling some very simple basic bikes.
No fancy pansy cruise control. No fancy pansy riding modes, no yard/meter tall seating. In fact the only buttons you'll find start the engine and blow the horn.
 |
| Looks rugged, like a Winchester 30/30 or maybe a Lee Enfield more like it. |
Who is buying all these bikes? Not the international market, but ... are you ready... young Indian well to do's, wanting to enjoy the pleasures from motorcycling. Ordinary people, and they have done this remarkable thing with 50 year old technology, and are well on their quiet way to become an Empire, albeit of a different sort than the first one. Often when experiencing an internet problem or otherwise using an international call service... I find that many of the voice on the other end of the line are located in India. Many times I ask if they are familiar with RE and it's motorcycles. Now mind you this is at random, and perhaps you would be surprised to find than many of these young people not only are familiar with the make, but either own a 350/500 Enfield Bullet or someone in their circle does.
The USA cost for the former is $4500 (the Indian market almost half that figure) and the latter under 6G, and the CDN cost... well nobody knows. Why? Because our market is sports or pleasure oriented and tiny. RE has had a very spotty dealer network here over the years and shoddy importers that hadn't done the brand any good.
 |
| How many of these would one of... |
While touring the Yamaha facilities back in 1982, I asked our guide how many motorcycles a day could be produced there. His answer 6,500 in a day. Astonished even by my machinists technical back ground the knock out punch came moments later... "this building. Next building 10,000."
That meant that Yamaha's single factory could make more motorcycles in a day than the entire industry sold here in Canada in a year.
 |
| these buy you? |
Imagine what RE can do if they want to...
The RE factory is modern and it's well known that many well known makes have bikes built in India.
Anyway as the temperature rose into the low 80's eventually heading above 90 F, I was looking over the 411 and liking what I saw. Some appeals, the low seat height. I went through the entire moto-cross scene beginning with 4" of suspension to over a foot... so for me low is better.
The overall finish, did not look cheaply built, and the rugged appearance, what you would expect from a country that shares the highest mountains in the planet!
GOAZ Peoria, lives next to a major freeway route and gave me the opportunity to check it in daytime traffic, as well as the jaunt on the 101 and I even found a car park for people walking their pups and or pushing strollers. There was only 2 vehicles at the time, giving me a change to do some slow speed stand up riding to braking on the pea gravel surface. I also found some huge concrete parking areas where I could among other things, try some braking and accelerating tests and bounce my way over curbs and manholes.
I found the bike to be friendly, with adequate but not overwhelming brakes, the grip decent and enough power to deal with the sluggish morning traffic.
The 411 has no quirks per'se just does the job. I have a back ground in MX as well as trail riding on tall bikes and know that getting your feet on the ground is much more important for most riders than doing the triples at the local track.
It could certainly use another gear in the box and found out quickly why various testers complain of very long 0-60 times. The current 5 speed box has gears spaced too widely apart, it would be like trying to holler greetings from Cape Breton to a friend living in Lisbon on the other side of the Atlantic! Kinda of like a stump puller and 4 overdrives!
My original thought reading the early stuff, was to add a tooth to the counter shaft sprocket. Riding it, I realized it didn't need taller gears but shorter! By shortening the tall gear ratio, the minimal 24 odd horsepower would likely be more usable. Accelerating onto the freeway, was oh so slow. In my own experiences such as trail riding in the Rockies or maybe exploring some rocky dried stream bed in the Bradshaw mountains low speed is 90% the norm.
The gentle power pulses are actually very pleasant and it's easy to slip into international cruise mode, where you just putter along at low speeds and enjoy the people/ride/the day/the scenery/the weather!
Vibration isn't a bother, As for the limited suspension, trust me... being closer to the ground is much more important than needing an oxygen mask that some of the ADV bikes with their lofty seat heights they are built on. The RE will get you there and do it royally and with dignity!
Apart from the too tall gearing, there is one other quirk I found that was at first unsettling unless you've a background in sport bikes, that is... the headlight is attached to the frame that makes up the network of crash proofing.
Huh?!
What did he just say? Well simply, you turn the handlebars like in a parking lot or camping spot and the headlight beam stays pointing forward. Can be awkward given my experiences of camping in the past.
Would I buy one, you bet in a minute, if the price remains low as compared to its competitors and they don't try and create a Super Cross type monster.
In fact I kind of think of the Himalayan as the KLR of ADV bikes. After all, IE and then RE built a empire with a simple, inexpensive and fool proof bike that the KLR has been for 2 decades!
To wrap this up, consider the RE picking up where the KLR left off... inexpensive, rugged and quirky but without the doo-hicky. Now wrap yourself around that!
No comments:
Post a Comment