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PostPosted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 1:19 pm 
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Location: Darien, CT
Each November I travel to Chennai India for year-end meetings for my company. A couple years ago I took a side trip to the Northern part of Chennai (formerly Madras) to visit the Royal Enfield motorcycle plant. As you may know, Royal Enfield was originally a British manufacturer of motorcycles. The bikes were licensed for production in India and were used for many years (and still are today) for the Indian Military as well as sale to the civilian population. Eventually Royal Enfield in Britain went bust and the plant in India bought the rights to continue to produce the motorcycle. For over 50 years, the motorcycles have been produced in India using the same machinery and tooling that was purchased from the parent company in the fifties, with only minor enhancements to brakes and other systems. That is why a "Bullet" from 1955 looks almost identical to a Bullet from 2009.

Today, the Chennai India plant is the only facility in the world that makes Royal Enfield motorcycles. They typically do not give tours but I was able to get a high ranking official at our subsidiary in India to arrange one. Outside the plant they have different ques of complete motorcycles headed for the U.S., Europe and the domestic Indian market. The segregation is necessary because of the different safety and other requirements of each destination country.

Each trip to India I have tried to ride a motorcycle asking unsuspecting people on the street to allow me to do so. Surprisingly, some of them actually agree and despite the congestion and driving on the ":wrong" side of the road, I haven't met with any calamities so far!

Please click on the link below to view pictures. Ross

http://s94.photobucket.com/albums/l97/2 ... =slideshow


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IMG_0078.jpg
IMG_0078.jpg [ 165.15 KiB | Viewed 5350 times ]

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1978 280Z Black Pearl Edition 38k Original Miles


Last edited by Ross.Williams on Sat Oct 26, 2013 9:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 2:59 pm 
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Thanks Ross ~ I really enjoyed that! When I was 14 my uncle gave me a 1952 Royal Enfield 500cc single, which I parked beside the first cycle he had given me the year before, a 1950 James with a 125cc Villiers engine. The Enfield was stripped for Enduro racing but was no longer competitive and when my uncle switched to Bultacos, the Enfield was in the way.

It was FAR too much bike for me ~ outweighed me by hundreds of pounds and had so much ground clearance, I had to stand on a box to mount it. I didn't weigh enough to kick it started so I usually had my other skinny buddies push me fast enough to bump-start it. The sidestand was missing and my legs were hardly long enough to reach the deck, which meant that when I stopped going fwd the bike and I went over sideways. It was stripped of all accessories anyway so falling over had little effect on it ~ it was tough as a tank and, except for the fussy British electrical system, there was little about it which could be damaged.

Once the bike got going, I could leave it idling in 1st gear with no throttle and it would putter along quite stably. The huge rear sprocket let it climb over curbs or small logs with ease. Big knobby tires, nearly a foot of ground clearance under the skid pan, and lots of torque from the lazy, undersquare engine. I could 'peg' the bike for as long as my legs would allow, and just aim it into the woods at will.

No idea what model it was, except that it had sockets for sidecar attachments. I can still almost hear the deep, lazy THUG THUG THUG of that long-stroke single. In the nearly 3 years I owned it, I never got it past 2nd gear.

These bikes were immortalized in one of the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming. I would love to have another one today!


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File comment: Not my actual bike, but a similar model. Mine had knobby tires, higher ground clearance & a skid plate. I weighed about 100lbs, the Enfield weighed at least twice that.
1952 ROYAL ENFIELD 500cc.jpg
1952 ROYAL ENFIELD 500cc.jpg [ 364.89 KiB | Viewed 5314 times ]


Last edited by Frank T on Sun Oct 27, 2013 11:07 am, edited 2 times in total.
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 26, 2013 6:05 am 
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Being a country full of scenic beauty and cultural diversity, there are lots of tourist attractions in India. These tourist attractions in India are scattered on all parts of the country and are visited by thousands of tourists. There is always a distinct charm and delight of spending vacations in Mathura. Not only are the Mathura tourist attractions famous all over India, the city is also well known for the fairs and festivals that are held on the auspicious occasions in and around these tourist attractions.


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PostPosted: Sat Oct 26, 2013 7:01 am 
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Location: rhode island
Very cool 8) I like India myself, hopefully someday I'll experience it, but this was close. Some good pics. I like these bikes, now are these any relation to the Indian, or Indian Moped at that. I like vintage mopeds, Indian being one of them. Mostly top tanks. Did you smuggle any back. :shock: :P


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PostPosted: Sat Oct 26, 2013 9:05 am 
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Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:53 pm
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Location: CT
Royal Enfield and Indian motorcycles have no common ground except the era during which they were introduced.

Royal Enfield was a British bike, formed back in the 1890s. After WWII they also opened a plant in India to serve the Indian Army. When the British Royal Enfield company closed in the 1960s, the licensed part of the company in India continued on, and today still make copies of the original British bike.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Enfield

The Indian Motorcycle Company was formed in 1901 in Springfield Massachusetts by the Hendee manufacturing company (relatives of my high school Physics teacher Harold Hendee, who had retired as an engineer at that plant, then taught school in the '60s). The Indian motorcycle was America's first motorbike. Harley didn't come along until 1903. My grandfather was a motorcycle cop in the 1920s and once cut a cow in half with his Indian. (Unintentional, I assure you).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_motorcycle

Both companies (Harley and Indian) copied the basic form of the then-current radial air-cooled aircraft engines (turned sideways) to form their V-Twin engines; the Harley even copied the crankshaft (with both pistons turning a single throw) creating the signature THUMP-THUMP Harley sound.

http://youtu.be/sV3gzKMJO-A

Indian used a 180* crankshaft which made it sound like a "standard" bike (Triumph, Enfield, BSA, Norton, AJS, Matchless, etc).

Both bikes are in production today, altho the Indian company went out of business for several decades and are only recently revived. For a period of about 3 years, Indian motorcycles used the famous Enfield engines, but they weren't available everywhere. Maybe that's where you get the Indian/Enfield connection.

Ross rides an Enfield when we aren't bothering him.

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Last edited by Frank T on Sun Oct 27, 2013 4:04 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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PostPosted: Sun Oct 27, 2013 6:32 am 
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I knew Frank had the whole story, thanks for the info. I had to read back just make sure I saw "cut cow in half" :shock: :lol:


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PostPosted: Sun Oct 27, 2013 8:49 am 
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:lol:
The 1928 Indians neither accelerated nor stopped like today's bikes ~ either idea required planning and action before the fact.

Coming down a long rural hill, my GFthr saw a herd of cattle being walked across the road at the bottom of the hill 1/2 mile ahead, and slowed way down. As the farmer moved the herd off the opposite side of the road, my GFthr used the hill to speed back up to full throttle. As he reached the bottom of the hill one lone straggler stepped slowly out in front of him and STOPPED. The encounter was fatal for both the cow and the Indian. My GFthr spent a long time in the horsepistol but survived.


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File comment: Can you imagine hitting a cow broadside at 50mph on one of these?
1928 Indian police cycle.jpg
1928 Indian police cycle.jpg [ 516.42 KiB | Viewed 5319 times ]

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PostPosted: Sun Oct 27, 2013 10:46 am 
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And here's the bike which put Royal Enfield on the American map ~ the beautiful 1954 700cc Super Meteor.
At that time it was the only 700cc Brit twin on the market. All other bikes were 650cc or smaller engine size. This bike was capable of a solid 100mph any time you had the nerve. The long-stroke high-torque engine let the 400lb bike climb long hills in top gear, unheard of with lesser bikes. Royal Enfield was also a pioneer in proving the front wheel of their bikes could be outfitted with a new idea which they called 'anti-lock-brakes', altho they never offered them for public sale.

But U.S. sales of this road master were so good, English competitor Norton Motorcycles soon began offering larger engines and eventually dominated the 1960s market with their 750cc Atlas (and later 800cc Commando) bikes and Featherbed frames. But the lighter-weight, vibrationless Enfield was always the more elegant and roadworthy ride.

BSA, AJS, Matchless and Triumph all tried to compete directly against this wonderful Royal Enfield. Ariel and Vincent offered 1,000cc (61 cu/in) engines in an attempt to beat the Enfields. At times they exceeded RE's performance for a year at a time.

Not to be outdone, Enfield simply introduced their secret weapon in the early 1960s, the mighty (but expensive) 750cc Royal Enfield Interceptor, which out performed nearly everything on the road until British Enfield went out of business in the late 1960s.

Because India continues to produce licensed copies of the bike, Royal Enfield today exists as the longest-lasting motorcycle company in the world, having continually sold bikes during parts of three centuries.


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File comment: Except for the Lucas electrical system, the RE Super Meteor might have been the very best Brit bike of the 1950s and early '60s
1954 RE Meteor 700cc.jpg
1954 RE Meteor 700cc.jpg [ 26.67 KiB | Viewed 5307 times ]

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