08-17-2017, 10:14 PM | #1 |
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Houston area
Posts: 1,902
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Top selling big bike worldwide is.....
Royal Enfield. It surprised me too. Royal Enfield is not a leader in performance, reliability or any of the big categories.
-It must be a good value. -The big bike category is broadly defined as over 250cc. More at the link. -Perhaps the Chinese should be studying Indian motorcycle companies more than the Japanese companies. http://newatlas.com/indian-motorcycl...h-bajaj/50859/
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08-18-2017, 09:02 AM | #2 |
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 547
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I read this years ago and it has colored my opinion of Royal Enfields ever since:
http://advrider.com/index.php?thread...ece-of.649091/ These guys are local and have done some crazy adventures. They learned a lesson from this India adventure and purchased new China bikes when they toured Mongolia. That would be a very cool trip to do. |
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08-18-2017, 07:16 PM | #3 |
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 347
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I guess I was nieve in thinking the reason Japan finally started making small adventure bikes was because "we" were asking for them. I believe because India is the driving force for the motorcycle industry Japan is making a bike to suite the conditions of India. Why people of India with terrible roads, limited income/mechanical knowledge buy Enfields is beyond me!
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08-18-2017, 08:18 PM | #4 | |
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 547
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Quote:
Don't get me wrong; I love all kinds of bikes, but the prices people pay for some are crazy high. |
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08-20-2017, 12:23 AM | #5 |
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 347
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Perhaps but heritage, retro styled bikes should be for those with disposable income who can afford repairs and design impracticallity.
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09-15-2017, 05:38 AM | #6 |
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Omaha, NE
Posts: 8,110
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It could also be the fact that Royal Enfield bikes have been made in India for decades almost entirely unchanged, or that they are considered an Indian company, a subsidiary of Eicher motors, and all of their production/assembly is done in India. Or that Royal Enfield is the oldest motorcycle brand in the world.
Just a thought lol.
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09-16-2017, 09:01 AM | #7 |
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Houston area
Posts: 1,902
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Royal Enfield is now offering 0 down and $99 per month on bikes in the US. That should sell a lot of new thumpers.
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09-16-2017, 12:25 PM | #8 |
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Yuma, Arizona
Posts: 9,056
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Royal Enfield in India is probably like what ____________________ (name your Chinese brand in China) is like from a Chinese local point of view--cheap repairs; EVERYWHERE, cheap repairs. I have not read in depth ride reports lately on Horizonsunlimited or ADVrider, as well as Chinese ride reports on here or Mychinamoto, but when I used to eagerly read the multitude of reports of people purchasing cheap Chinese bikes, I do recall the one common factor as far as Chinese bikes go is the multitude of repair places, and the low cost of said repairs. The few reports on Indian riding adventures on Horizons or ADVrider regarding Royal Enfield I have breezed through mentioned the low repair costs throughout the region, as well. So, my guess as far as attraction goes, would be repair costs.
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09-17-2017, 11:33 AM | #9 |
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Houston area
Posts: 1,902
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So how reliable is a Royal Enfield? Is the quality closer to Taiwan or mainland China?
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09-17-2017, 02:41 PM | #10 |
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Yuma, Arizona
Posts: 9,056
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Based on the jokes and banter I read about, and owning a Taiwanese 151cc scooter, sounds more like China than Taiwan. Only, because of the heritage, my guess is RE's bikes' shortcomings in quality are probably referred to as 'character' vs. flaws, LOL
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"They say that life's a carousel, spinning fast you got to ride it well..." TGB Delivery Scooter 150 TMEC 200 Enduro--carcass is sadly rotting in the backyard |
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11-08-2017, 08:05 PM | #11 |
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Houston area
Posts: 1,902
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11-11-2017, 03:32 PM | #12 |
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Rocky Mtns. Alberta
Posts: 39
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They've been around so long, virtually unchanged that they can be fixed by any half-assed Indian mechanic.
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11-11-2017, 04:26 PM | #13 |
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: ChCh , NZ
Posts: 2,266
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what they need to do is build a old school scrambler
now they have the bike... ..
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