Royal Enfield Classic 350 / 500 - Now on Sale

[TheARUN]

I just thought this thread would be incomplete without the pictures of the bike


The good thing about the bike is that ROYAL ENFIELD has given us something to copy or get inspired from. Can easily get a standard to look like this one. Ideal liesure bike, something you would drive down to the gym in, and then that sunday lunch out

[Sankar]

Hey Arun, thanks for uploading the pictures here! It was a pain to go to their website to see the pics.. especially with all that flash works on every page.

[Aston.Martin]

Definitely the most beautiful ‘Bullet’ of our times, Royal Enfield has launched the ‘Bullet Classic’ 500 EFI at the Cologne Internation bike show. ‘Bullet’, the longest running model in continuous production since 1932, keeps its authentic vintage styling and the brilliant one color appearance from the yesteryears and combines it with newer technology from today. The new ‘Bullet Classic’ 500 EFI conforms to the G2 bullets of the early 1950’s retaining the quintessential classic British style of post worldwar II times with the same front and rear mudguard, the headlight casing, the fuel tank, the oval tool box, the exhaust fins, speedomter dials, single-seat spring saddle, tail light assembly and the headlamp cap.

The UCE (Unitary Construction Engine) 500cc engine is inspired by the ‘Clipper 250′ engine from Royal Enfield from the older times and retains the pushrod construction but comes with electronic fuel injection and develops a healthy 27.2 bhp @ 5250 rpm and a massive 41.2 nm of torque @ 4000 rpm. According to Royal Enfield, these figures are good enough to give the bike a cruising speed of 70 mph. The claimed fuel efficiency is 3.5 L/100 kms which equates to around 29 kmpl, which is very decent for a bike with 500cc single cylinder engine.
The bike also comes with electric start as standard and a 280 mm Disc brake at the front. The bike is available in 3 colors - Red, Black and Green. Royal Enfield will launch the Bullet Classic in Germany next month followed by a pan European launch in 2009. There is no word from Royal Enfield on the Indian launch.

Hey look at the red and black ones, Red looks classy

[avi.k]

[quote=Steeroid;1009480]Err - who would ride more than 400 kms on a bike without a break?quote]

Originally Posted by kuttapan

Yes 200-250 kms would be the limit for most riders, especially on a Bullet. Unless one is aiming for the iron-butt or something.

Its not about breaks or Iron butts. I personally rest the bike after every 100 kms "Definitely good for the bike".
Its all about the fuel quality. After all who would like milkshake mixed blood pumping into their hearts.

Originally Posted by Sankar

Yes 200 to 250 km is tops without a break! It's better to take a short break every two/three hours or so depending upon the traffic and road conditions.

A bigger fuel tank has nothing to do with taking breaks. But imo a bigger fuel tank is actually nice when one does cross country trips where he can fuel up at a seemingly good fuel station at a decent town or city and stretch that tank till he finds another decent fuel station in a well to do town or city. This way he doesn't have to depend on highway pumps which may sell adulterated fuel or may not have the required grade of fuel. (In case of modified bikes )

But then to offer a bigger tank as OE is not always good. Empty space in the fuel tank will promote corrosion and not many top up their tanks when they visit the fuel staion. As a factory accessory it makes sense for tourers.

Perfectly said Sankar
But i would prefer corrosion to my tank than to my engine

[TheARUN]

Things that I did not like

1. The curved up at the tip silencer. Would've like the last few inches to be straight
2. The rubber thing stuck onto the tank
3. The headlamp cover
4. The horn cover below the headlight
5. The oval fuel filter cover

Absolutely loved the other stuff. Feel sad for hte MACHISMO guys, they must be feeling cheated

[jkdas]

If the 250 costs 1.15OTR then 2lac minimum.

Hope they bring it at least by end of next year .

[pulsarmaniac]

doesn look like they will be launching this one in india anywhere in the near future. or else they would have hinted its launch here.the price should not be an issue with bulleteers but the problem is the launch.RE is known to treat the indian market like a stepchild

[Aston.Martin]

Below is the response I got from Enfield motors


Hi,

When will the Bullet Classic be available in India?

Waiting for your reply eager to buy one

Regards


Dear Sir,

Thank you for your visit to the Royal Enfield website and your interest in the Bullet Classic.

We wish to inform you that the Bullet Classic has currently been made specifically for sale in the European markets. This model is not scheduled for release in India for the time being. We will inform you through the media at the appropriate time regarding the release of this model for the Indian market. Thank you.

Regards,

Andrew Anantharaj
Senior Manager - International Business.

Phone : +91 44 42230209

Royal Enfield (Unit of Eicher Motors Limited)
Thiruvottiyur High Road, Thiruvottiyur,
Chennai 600 020. India.

[COLOR=#0000ff]www.royalenfield.com[/COLOR]

[vinzrox]

Now Thats a Masterpiece! Awesome!!

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by vinzrox

Now Thats a Masterpiece! Awesome!!

I shot emails to the contacts mentioned on the website but there has been no response till date, not even an acknowledgement that they are looking into it. This, despite having asked them if they will deliver in India if I place the order abroad.

I dont think they're interested in selling this here, which is very typical of 'Royal' Enfield - they prefer to show Royal Disdain for the local market.

Bunch of snooty burra sahibs. No wonder they havent been able to build or sell any other model in the country for over 50 years.

[sriramv.iyer]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

I shot emails to the contacts mentioned on the website but there has been no response till date, not even an acknowledgement that they are looking into it. This, despite having asked them if they will deliver in India if I place the order abroad.

I dont think they're interested in selling this here, which is very typical of 'Royal' Enfield - they prefer to show Royal Disdain for the local market.

General apathy towards Indian customers - very ubiquitous in our country!

The sad part is even these people have a huge waiting list! I am urgently hunting for a bike, and when I checked out the RE, they said *any* bike (including the 500 Machismo) had a 1 month waiting time (in Bangalore)

Yamaha, without offering any test ride on FZ16/R15 has a 45 day waiting period for FZ16

TVS has a 30 day waiting period for the FI (for which they did not have any test ride vehicle) - Atleast I was offered a test ride in the carb model.

If you get any update on the RE classic please let us know!

Last time when I checked out for a bike, Bajaj gave me a test drive of the same. (It didn't appear a big deal then, as it appears now!)

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

I shot emails to the contacts mentioned on the website but there has been no response till date, not even an acknowledgement that they are looking into it. This, despite having asked them if they will deliver in India if I place the order abroad.

I dont think they're interested in selling this here, which is very typical of 'Royal' Enfield - they prefer to show Royal Disdain for the local market.

Bunch of snooty burra sahibs. No wonder they havent been able to build or sell any other model in the country for over 50 years.

If they have to sell it here they need the certification from ARAI. So unless they get it certified from ARAI and ARAI clears the RTO registration of this vehicle you won't be able to legally register it.

If you place the order abroad, you have to buy it there and, sigh.... get it back to India

This is why i don't like th attitude of the friggin RE company. Indian consumers always come second.

Why blame other international makers when they don't deliver international products here in India? Our own little reminiscent of colonialism of a company doesn't do justice to Indians.

[hollywoodhogan]

while i think that its sad that such genuine classics are not available for the indian market, i think that we are over reacting and throwing too much abuse at RE. we need to look at the whole thing from a company point of view sometimes. to make this model available there are expenses involved and its basic business sense that the returns justify the investment. perhaps its still too early in this models life to enable it pay for the investment. of course there will lots of buyers like some of us if this was available in india but we form a small percentage only.

and if its is made available at a higher price due to low sales numbers, then RE will still be abused for pricing its products too high!

no manufacturer is doing the business for charity or for the public or for the market. its doing it for itself and its share holders. i am not justifying the non-availability of this classic in india but just that we need to look a bit deeper before plastering any manufacturer be it RE, bajaj, yamaha etc. for not making any specific model available to the indian market.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by hollywoodhogan

perhaps its still too early in this models life to enable it pay for the investment.

I can understand that statement about a Kawasaki or a Ducati who do not have production or distribution facilities in India.

NOT about a company that makes the bike here in India and has a distribution network in place, not to mention a fan-base that is far larger than the odd firang in other countries.

What exactly does RE have to invest in to make this motorcycle available in India after manufacturing it in Chennai?

[Aston.Martin]

Below is the reply I got from Royal Enfield

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your visit to the Royal Enfield website and your interest in the Bullet Classic.

We wish to inform you that the Bullet Classic has currently been made specifically for sale in the European markets. This model is not scheduled for release in India for the time being. We will inform you through the media at the appropriate time regarding the release of this model for the Indian market. Thank you.

Regards,

Andrew Anantharaj
Senior Manager - International Business.

Phone : +91 44 42230209

Royal Enfield (Unit of Eicher Motors Limited)
Thiruvottiyur High Road, Thiruvottiyur,
Chennai 600 020. India.

www.royalenfield.com


Hi,

When will the Bullet Classic be available in India?

Waiting for your reply eager to buy one

Regards