Made like a gun, goes like a bullet

Srivatsan Mohan

3 stories

Made like a gun, goes like a bullet

Royal Enfield is not just a bike but an experience that is felt only by those who ride it.

1970 Royal Enfield 700cc Constellation @ 2006 NEC Motorcycle and Scooter Show

In 1892, Eadie Manufacturing Company Limited was started by Albert Eadie and Robert Walker Smith in England. In the initial phases, this company used to manufacture the different parts of guns for the Royal Small Arms Factory.

In 1896, a new subsidiary company of the Eadie Manufacturing Limited was formed, by the name The New Enfield Cycle Company Limited. This company used to produce bicycles and its components. In 1901 The New Enfield Cycle Company produced its first motorcycle by fixing a motor produced by Minerva Company on its bicycle, essentially a bicycle with an engine bolted to the front downtube

Royal Enfield, created its brand name simply by combining the rather impressive-sounding “Royal” since it supplied firearms parts to the British government’s Royal small arms factory and the name of the town in which the factory was located: Enfield, England.

In 1926 a major fire broke out at the factory. The plants were saved by the decisive action being taken by the company’s in-house fire brigade and production continued. The birth of Bullet happened when Royal Enfield supplied one of its models to the British Army and RAF in 1931 - 32. Royal Enfield tasted its first huge success when it received a huge order from the British war department, which decided to use its motorcycles in the First World War. This popularized the Royal Enfield motorcycles. During WWII, the company supplied the British paratroopers with a motorcycle built to be dropped out of aeroplanes, endearingly called the “Flying Flea.”, 8000 of them were made and supplied. In 1948, the Bullet became the first British motorcycle to feature a frame with a rear swingarm, bestowing it with excellent off-road handling.

Eventually, Royal Enfield entered the Indian market in 1949. These motorcycles gained immense popularity in India when the new Indian government decided to use these motorcycles for its army and police personnel, as it needed a fleet of motorcycles with which to patrol its borders. Soon in 1952 Madras motors were ordered for 800-350 cc motorcycles of the Royal Enfield and were given to the Indian army. Soon the bikes were busily scooting along India’s often rough roads.

With the Bullet’s popularity, it was decided that assembling the bikes in India made economic sense, and so in 1955 Royal Enfield and Madras Motors formed Enfield India, with Madras motors owning the majority of shares. The new company built Bullets under a licensing agreement, first simply assembling them as kits and then, starting in 1957, actually manufacturing components with tooling equipment purchased from Royal Enfield. By 1962, India’s Bullets were completely manufactured domestically.

In the mid-1960s, as the British manufacturers tried desperately to survive the tsunami wave of Japanese motorcycles entering the market, a British bike called the Royal Enfield Interceptor was making waves of its own. Powered by a 736cc parallel twin, it was reportedly capable of running the quarter-mile in less than 13 seconds. Unfortunately, its heyday was short-lived, as Royal Enfield declared bankruptcy in 1967 and closed its doors for good in 1970. When the British firm closed its doors, Enfield India simply kept building and selling Bullet bikes.

Over the years, the Bullet and the Royal Enfield brand became synonymous with India. For their part, the Indian people nurtured and grew their now home-grown motorcycle brand.

In the 1970s the Japanese companies were heading straight for India. Local Indian manufacturers either succumbed to the wave or hitched a ride with one of the Japanese companies, often getting swallowed up. Enfield India was struggling to stay afloat. In 1994, a lifesaver was tossed out and the massive Eicher Motor Group, which operates mostly in the automotive sector, acquired Enfield India. The founder, Mr Vikram Lal, himself was a motorcyclist and had owned a Bullet. His passion for riding was passed down to his son Mr Siddartha Lal, who eventually took the task of salvaging and rebuilding the Royal Enfield brand.

At that time, Eicher Motors was into 15 businesses, some of which include manufacturing automotive spare parts and components, trucks, buses, tractors, consultancy, garments, etc. Siddhartha Lal took a very bold decision to sell out 13 businesses out of the 15 businesses. So, Eicher Motors fully concentrated on its two remaining businesses, which include truck and bike businesses as Siddhartha Lal firmly believed that instead of doing several businesses with low profits, it is much better to focus only on a couple of businesses and become a market leader in them. This decision was very emotionally challenging for him, as the tractor business was initiated by his grandfather.

Siddhartha Lal was very confident that he could make Royal Enfield a very successful and profitable brand so, he requested a chance to save Royal Enfield with Eicher Motors, as Eicher Motors was planning to shut down the Royal Enfield brand. Luckily, all the board members agreed with the decision of Siddhartha Lal to save Royal Enfield. In 2005, Siddhartha Lal was appointed as the managing director of Eicher Motors.

Siddartha Lal laid out his vision for the future of Royal Enfield. His aim was to return the brand to its former global glory, making it relevant to riders worldwide while maintaining its “larger than life charm.” Significant investment in both time and money was required as this wouldn’t be a “flip it” scenario.

He decided to better the bikes by improving their performance without compromising on their vintage looks. Royal Enfield hired many passionate employees into the companies’ management team.

Siddhartha would ride the Royal Enfield bikes for thousands of kilometres to understand the issues pertaining to the bikes and made numerous technical changes accordingly, like shifting the gear plate to the left side from the right side and the engine was improved significantly. In addition to maintaining quality, the company strived to improve the customer experience by updating the company’s brand outlets.

RE, as it is passionately referred to by the tribe, began producing its first new bike in decades, the 500cc air-cooled single-cylinder Classic, which joined a new Bullet using the same engine. Then came the café racer Continental GT with a slightly bored-out version of the engine, bumping its displacement to 535cc.

Under Siddartha’s leadership, Royal Enfield started prospering, In 2007, it was producing about 50,000 bikes per year and the sales started growing year on year. Determined not to repeat the missteps of the past, Royal Enfield realised that keeping up with demand for its new models is paramount, so went ahead and invested in a new plant capable of producing more bikes per month in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. With 3 plants in Chennai, they were poised to manufacture 825,000 bikes by the end of 2018

After almost 50 years, Royal Enfield was once again operating in the U.K. This state-of-the-art facility opened in May 2017 and employs about 130 engineers and product development staff, including British, Europeans and Indians. It houses the engine and chassis design, modelling and testing facilities including both engine and chassis dynamometers, and accessories development with full 3D scanning and printing capabilities. It was here in the year 2018 the eagerly anticipated new engine “The Twin” was born.

Under Siddartha Lal and his U.K./Indian management’s leadership, Royal Enfield is poised to take its first big step back into the global market and continues to inspire riders with machines that provide “Pure motorcycling fun”.

Over the years, the Bullet and the Royal Enfield brand became synonymous with India. For their part, the Indian people nurtured and grew their now home-grown motorcycle brand.

He decided to better the bikes by improving their performance without compromising on their vintage looks. Royal Enfield hired many passionate employees into the companies’ management team.