[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Source -

Back in July 2018, Royal Enfield announced 1000 unique units of its flagship Classic 500 motorcycles - called the Pegasus 500. 250 units were announced for the Indian market, and demanded a hefty premium of almost 65k over the regular versions - mostly due to the unique limited edition status. The Classic 500 Pegasus is inspired by the legendary RE/WD 125 motorcycle, more commonly known as the Flying Flea, which was manufactured at Royal Enfield's underground facility in Westwood, UK, during World War II. Online sales of this 2.4L ex-showroom priced motorcycle saw all the units being sold in just 178 seconds!

The Pegasus 500 -

One month later, most owners haven't even taken delivery of their units, when they received a shock with the launch of the Classic Signals 350. Not only does the 350 get added ABS over the special edition 500, it also copies the styling, and retails at a far cheaper 1.61L. Like the WWII origins of the Pegasus, the Signals 350 claims to have been inspired by the Enfields used in service.

Classic Signals 350 ABS -

As reported by Rushlane, owners have been writing in expressing their disappointment on this

Dear Sid/ Rudra,
I am from Kochi, who is a harden fan of RE and proud owner of 2 limited edition RE bikes – Despatch and Pegasus. I would like to bring some of the concerns regarding Royal Enfield exclusive special edition release happened on last month. RE clearly stated that Pegasus is a tribute of world war II and will only issue 1000 across the world and 250 allocated for India, and the sale will be only online. Since I am a RE customer and fan for a long time, I was excited and keen to possess this rare special edition. I painstakingly waited for the online booking to start with lot of excitement, when it started site got crashed big time because of far too many enthusiastic RE fans were trying to book the model at the same time. So RE was forced to postpone the online booking for another date.

Again I had to patiently had to wait for the next date and also put lot of efforts and time to book the model within 3 minutes. The kind of efforts and time to procure the Pegasus was enormous but at the end I as happy because I am going to be the proud of owner of Pegasus soon. On top of it paid the premium price of 2.65 Lakhs in Kochi and was waiting for the delivery this week with all the excitement. All of a sudden I heard about the new launch from RE called –350 Signal model with ABS, when I got into the details I was shocked to figure out that Signal 350 have all the unique characteristics of Pegasus 500, even added more features into it. I understand that 350 Signal is not a special edition, RE indirectly opening Pegasus kind of model to everyone. I am so disappointed with RE’s unethical way of capturing the Pegasus market and also ditching the proud customers who already procured the Pegasus after a lot of pain and luck.

Since I am part of RE community, I am connected with quite a few people who had tried their luck to buy Pegasus during the online lot. For last 2 days the unlucky lots were contacted by RE Officials promoting the Signal 350 model stating Signal being the look alike of Pegasus.

I being the owner of another special edition of “Despatch”, and now I feel cheated being a loyal RE customer. I am also touch with many Pegasus owners and everyone feel the same.

Please let me know the reason for ripping off Pegasus so early and making us fool in front of everyone to pay that kind of premium for a ‘not a unique model’. I was contact by one of your Customer Service Executive detailing the uniqueness of Pegasus visa-vis Signal 350, but it was not convincing enough for me because when a common man looks at both models, they will not find any difference.

I would request look into this personally and address this concern immediately without any delay. Since the response from RE was not convincing enough, I am also bringing this to the notice of RE fans through social media, other traditional media channels; and keeping the consumer commission informed about the cheating.

Very disappointed loyal RE customer.

Read more here - https://www.rushlane.com/royal-enfie...-12279645.html

[vishy76]

This is but obvious.

RE's paint scheme game could only last so long. I would be mighty pissed with Enfield if:

- I paid a hefty premium over the Classic 500 for a bike with nothing more than what i think are accessories bolted onto it, a special paint job and a fancy name

- Waited for an excruciatingly long period of time. Not to forget the website through which the bikes were being sold crashed multiple times and took more than a week to get upto speed

- Finally, RE launching the vanilla Classic with ABS, as if to rub salt on the wounds and a similar paint scheme as well

I think what they should do immediately is to recall all the units sold (only 250 in India anyways) and fit them with ABS.

It's been less than a month since the Pegasus rolled off the blocks and it's disappointing to see what they have done.

[typlo]

RE isn't exactly known as an ethical company. Ridiculous prices for decades old tech is the way I see it (no matter how hard anyone sells me the plastic vs. metal argument and other mumbo jumbo).

Their engineering skills are poor, machines unreliable, post sales is a disaster. Marketing is what they're good at. Will wait for the dust to eventually settle.

UPDATE: Pegasus owners have collectively (unconfirmed?) decided to donate their bikes to the respective Municipality Corportations for garbage collection if Signals 350 is launched. SOURCE

I'm pretty surprised at the arrogant reply of the company. It takes only a little to rise and even less to fall. Potential owners should file a class action lawsuit against the company (if such a provision exists in India), they are surely being taken on a ride by RE.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by typlo

I'm pretty surprised at the arrogant reply of the company.

I think RE is only looking at short term business sense with this move. It makes good business sense to have introduced the Signals 350, after they saw the massive reception they got for the Pegasus 500 - despite the premium and the limited production numbers and the flawed booking process.

However - what they are overlooking is the damage to the brand. No one will queue up for an RE special edition again, if this is the case - knowing that RE only will introduce a copycat cheaper version within a couple of months themselves.

Not cool, when they are planning to go premium against Triumph and Harley in the future. Hope RE addresses these customer complaints soon - thats how brands are built.

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by typlo

RE isn't exactly known as an ethical company. Ridiculous prices for decades old tech is the way I see it (no matter how hard anyone sells me the plastic vs. metal argument and other mumbo jumbo).

Their engineering skills are poor, machines unreliable, post sales is a disaster. Marketing is what they're good at. Will wait for the dust to eventually settle.

UPDATE: Pegasus owners have collectively (unconfirmed?) decided to donate their bikes to the respective Municipality Corportations for garbage collection if Signals 350 is launched. SOURCE

I'm pretty surprised at the arrogant reply of the company. It takes only a little to rise and even less to fall. Potential owners should file a class action lawsuit against the company (if such a provision exists in India), they are surely being taken on a ride by RE.

The solution I see is RE reimbursing the premium amount they charged the customer and retrofitting the ABS free of cost, other then that RE will continue to dig themselves in deeper hole.

[Roy.S]

I always wonder who the gullible souls who pay a premium for these paint jobs are. What is the rationale behind forking out big bucks for something that adds absolutely no value to the bike? It's not like it's an asset that will appreciate with time either.
The bikes are not absolute garbage but they have serious flaws which the manufacturer has no intention of rectifying. Over the last year I have ridden a few RE classics and got the impression that the company does not have a policy of upgrading their products.
The Pegasus-Signals episode points to a serious lack of ethics. I've never seen a manufacturer take the policy of "Caveat emptor" so seriously.
There are many things that RE should do for the Pegasus owners but rest assured that they never will.

[SandyX]

Pegasus 500 is 500cc while Signals 350 is 350cc with ABS. They are two different models mechanically at different price points. Are buyers expecting RE to sell them both at same price? If both were 350cc, then yea I'd get the commotion. A bigger engine w/o ABS vs a smaller engine w/ ABS doesn't necessarily have to be retailed at same rate, especially since Pegasus badge be limited to just 1000 units worldwide while the differently stenciled Signals 350 is an open model. What am i missing here?

Also, is RE forcing anyone to buy its limited editions? RE or any firm is free to demand whatever they want for their products, limited or otherwise. We all know these all are fancy paint jobs and commands premium just for the limited status. It's up to the buyers to give them business.

And for those asking for uniqueness, Pegasus line sports the Pegasus badge of the Brit para regiment that used the namesake motorcycles with serial numbers & touches relevant to them. Signals 350 sports an emblem & finishes related to the Indian Military! There's subtle differences and symbolism in these variants, however superficial that be. If one finds no meaning in that, then a motorcycle be the least of their problems.

[IshWish]

I don't understand what cry and hue is all about. Company launched a product (so called limited edition with some paint job and extra accessories) and people lined up to buy it. They offered nothing more and nothing less.

As a marketing presepctive, I think it's a brilliant move from RE on launching one more limited edition motorcycle in 350 Avatar. They know people will again line up for this once in a lifetime opportunity and would be more than willing to spend some extra cash. RE know their customer (& their pyche) very well. And once you understand your customer, you make lots of MONEY.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by SandyX

What am i missing here?

Quite a bit IMO. They dont expect Signals 350 ABS to be priced equal to Pegasus 500.

Issue is that Classic 500 is priced at 1.7L ex-showroom. People bought this mechanically identical Pegasus 500 at a 70k ex-showroom price, only for the uniqueness it promised. That's a 40% premium, which equates to an onroad price difference of nearly a lakh in most states.

The nearly identical Signals 350 just robbed them off that money, at a much lower price point.

Originally Posted by IshWish

As a marketing presepctive, I think it's a brilliant move from RE on launching one more limited edition motorcycle in 350 Avatar.

Signals 350 is a regular variant, not a limited edition.

Those people paid up 40% more for a limited edition, because its a 'limited' edition. None would have paid up had they known that limited edition in RE speak = 250 units in print + 1000s of copies Xerox.

[Geo_Ipe]

The Pegasus 500 was a huge publicity gimmick by RE, which I expected to fail miserably! How wrong I have been proven! Looks like RE got the idea of a 'flash sale' onlinewhich has been implemented by Xiaomi & co to perfection, and put it to good use.

Flash sale model + paint job (which would have cost the company peanuts) at a premium of 70k! So in 178 seconds, RE gathered a 'premium' amount of 175 lakh INR - not taking into account the profits they're gonna make on each of those motorcycles!

I actually sympathize with both parties here! The customers for not having done their homework properly and having fallen for the gimmick by RE, and RE for having lost a 250 strong fan base who were willing to gift them 175 lakh INR for no reasonable logic!

A lose-lose tragedy!

[neil.jericho]

Well, its threads like these that really brighten up the weekend! So where do I start? Lets look at the facts
- Royal Enfield unveils the Classic 500 Pegasus Limited Edition in May 2018. Only 1000 units to be made of which 250 are for India and 190 for Britain.
- The bike is inspired by the World War II motorcycles used by the British paratroopers.
- The design elements have historical importance. Quoting from the Bloomberg Quint article referenced on the TBHP forum - Each of the 1000 new Classic 500 Pegasus motorcycles wears a maroon and blue Pegasus emblem – the official Parachute Regiment insignia ...(continued in the next point).
- .....on the fuel tank along with an individual stencilled serial number. The Pegasus motorcycles' markings are based on a genuine World War II Flying Flea used by the 250th (Airborne) Light Company, now in Royal Enfield's official collection at the company's U.K. Technology Centre.
- No ABS advertised for this motorcycle.
- Two colours announced at the launch - Olive Drab Green and Service Brown. For obvious reasons, only the Service Brown can be sold in India.
- Royal Enfield prices this bike at a premium and makes it available for sale online but there are technical difficulties. All 250 units get sold out in less than 3 minutes.


Ok, so Ill pause for a second here to recap. Royal Enfield launches a 500cc motorcycle of which only 250 uniquely identifiable limited units will be available in India. Hundreds (well definitely more than 250) of potential owners logged in to the Royal Enfield website to willingly (under absolutely no compulsion I must add) buy a limited edition motorcycle that offered nothing more than a paint job over an existing model with no mention of ABS, at a price that they were comfortable with. Just let that sink in.


Now lets jump to the launch of the Signals 350. Looking at the web traffic and customer feedback, Royal Enfield realizes that the market for a special edition motorcycle is much higher than its initial estimates. Now it obviously cannot go back to the table and order another run of the 500s because there would be outrage from the 1000 owners. So they do the smart thing (yes, I agree with RE and its a good decision on their part) and designs a similar series called the Signals for the 350cc engine.


But unlike the Pegasus with only 1000 units worldwide, Royal Enfield isnt limiting themselves here but is instead going with a full production run with individually identifiable numbers on the tank. Lets go back to the facts.
- The Signals 350cc bikes is a tribute to the Indian armed forces.
- The Pegasus emblem has been replaced by another one, I am not an expert on India military insignia. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable can help identify the significance of the logo. The Royal Enfield made like a gun decal is also inverted in its paint scheme.
- ABS is advertised for the motorcycle.
- Two colours announced at the launch - Airborne Blue and Stormrider Sand. Both available in India.
- Royal Enfield prices this bike at a lower premium than the Pegasus.


Ok, so Ill pause for a second here to recap. We are looking at military tributes in the form of motorcycles to two different countries. On motorcycles with different engine capacities. One advertised without ABS against one that is. One is a limited edition worldwide and the other is a regular production motorcycle.


Coming to the specifics mentioned in the Rushlane article (no doubt they are enjoying the flurry of traffic to their site),
1. The Pegasus 500 owners feel cheated that RE launched a tribute to the armed forces of another country in a lower capacity motorcycle that is available to everyone and isnt from a limited run.
My response - Well, they obviously dont understand the concept of a limited edition motorcycle. Or the difference of 150 cc and corresponding BHP and torque.
2. The Pegasus 500 owners paid a premium price for the motorcycle.
My response - Fair point. They obviously dont understand the concept of a limited edition motorcycle. And they forget they willingly went and bought it. Nobody forced them to.
3. The Pegasus 500 has no ABS.
My response - RE never advertised the motorcycle to have ABS. And everyone knew RE was moving to ABS. Just look at the recent activity on different threads on TBHP.
4. Many Pegasus 500 owners (specifically people who have booked the bike) havent received delivery of the motorcycle yet. And they are disappointed by the launch of the 350 and are not excited to take delivery of the Pegasus 500.
My response - You lucky chaps. Cancel your booking of the Pegasus 500 and book the Signals 350 instead.
6. Pegasus 500 owners want RE to call back the motorcycles and add ABS to it.
My response - See above, RE never advertised the motorcycle to have ABS. If it was so important, you shouldnt have bought a non ABS bike.
7. Pegasus 500 owners want RE to pay back the premium charged over a stock Classic 500.
My response - Well, they obviously dont understand the concept of a limited edition motorcycle.


Now coming to the best part of this whole situation, some of the owners of the Pegasus 500 are considering (threatening?) donating their motorcycles to the local municipalities and be a part of the movement to clean our wonderful nation. Naughty minds will be quick to suggest that the parts falling off the 250 motorcycles might prove to be counter productive to the cleanliness movement but lets ignore them for now. I have an even better suggestion for the 250 owners of the Pegasus 500. Since you are so upset by the behaviour of RE and want to prove a point to them and dont care about owning your Pegasus 500, please dont just donate your motorcycle to the local municipalities where it might get caught behind bureaucratic red tape. Im sure the authorities will will be wondering what to do with a donation that is going to be so widely publicized. Instead why dont all of you sell your motorcycles and collect the funds and donate them to the relief work for rebuilding the Kerala and Kodagu, both of which have been severely impacted by floods recently. If you choose to donate through the Kerala Chief Minister's relief fund, the account details are below.
Account number: 67319948232
Bank: State Bank of India
Branch: City branch, Thiruvananthapuram
IFS Code: SBIN0070028
PAN: AAAGD0584M
Name of Donee: CMDRF


Here is my genuine heartfelt advice to the 250 Pegasus 500 owners in India. Please understand, what you have is what something that nobody else in India has. The motorcycle has got a good engine and looks smashing. Enjoy the motorcycle. Ride it to the different ends of the country. Dont part with it. You have paid a handsome premium for a limited edition motorcycle. Watch how each of your 250 motorcycles appreciate in value over the next decade or two. You will be glad that you paid a small premium compared to what you will get for it when you eventually decide to sell it. Happy riding.

[petroguzzler]

RE could've used the tried and tested premium German car strategy (Mercedes, BMW etc) by launching the Pegasus as the "Launch Edition" at a premium and then changing the paint scheme very slightly for the following Signals version. This could have been a win-win scenario.

[Steeroid]

A bunch of people who were willing bakras and actually fought to be in queue for the privilege, got ripped off.

What’s the big deal? Why do they pretend to be maharajas slighted by Rolls Royce and threaten to donate the bikes to garbage collection?

The bikes were garbage anyway - it might just become official now.

[swami69]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Here is my genuine heartfelt advice to the 250 Pegasus 500 owners in India. Happy riding.

The whole post was very well put. Exactly, when people buy a Limited Edition - the reason for it is.. they want their possession to be unique, appreciated by people, others should look at it - these are basic human expectations. So, a common man will still ask you, oh nice bullet ? how much you paid ? these bags look nice, full black engine & enhaust ah ? looks good - Here, these people won't know the difference between a Signal, a Pegasus or a black painted Desert Storm with some sticker job. But, an RE enthusiast will speak to you knowing what a Pegasus edition is and what a Signal edition is. At that point you will get that inner feeling / peace as per your expectation. So, Pegasus is Unique and RE has made only 250 of it but made Signal open, and hence enjoy the bike.

Swami

[sandeepmdas]

The whole saga is a revisit for those who had booked Reliance mobile handsets from their Dhirubhai Ambani Pioneer Offer in 2003. Many people -including yours truly - paid from 18K to 22K for an exclusive mobile handset, DAPO plan and freebies.

Four months later, the same handset was available to anyone for Rs 499.
Sure, there were no freebies and plans and call rates were different.

BTW, could someone please explain the motivation for stenciling a rolling serial number on the tank of a serial production motor cycle?

Originally Posted by Steeroid

A bunch of people who were willing bakras...

It's posts like this that brightens up any day.