[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Balaji31582

I slightly differ with your opinion, doc. As you pointed out somewhere at the top, RE is not just a classic retro bike, it's built on the fandom of the boys who kept holding the torch for "cult" segment. Otherwise why should a single cradle twinspark system which vibrates beyond 70-80 kmph kept churning numbers with all versions namely the bullet 350, electra 350, TBTS 350, classic 350.

I was thinking Yezdi could have been launched as a niche segment to start with the 652cc and get the fandom that can hold the torch.

Build your kingdom on that strong foundation and get the 334s coming on top of that. Maybe they could have got the taste of the market with the 652 and start the 334 with the scrambler to maintain that niche.

Then add the adventure and strengthen it with the feedback they get based on the 652 and 334 scrambler.

Finally do the fatboy roadster as a limited edition as the roadster is pretty common for the classic retros.

Also other version can be, If the 652 would become a blockbuster with the launch to start with, Yezdi can create a magic by focussing only above 652+ models (a 750, followed with 883 and then a 1 ton ) and the 334s can be reserved just for jawas.

I certainly agree that the marketing experts of classic legends would have done their study, but I feel they lost an opportunity for launching yezdi as a niche segment with 652cc and get the pulse to take it forward in same route.

All great points. But simply from a technical standpoint, any single over 600 cc is a really big thumper. Loads of issues come in that territory. Now with the Duke 690 dead/killed, the KLR 650 is probably the only big pot remaining. Even if not, I'm sure you can count the number of singles that big. Not only do you need to refine the engine and prevent it from shaking itself to pieces,. You have to make a chassis and drivetrain to take it and isolate it as far as possible from the rider. Maybe Yezdi did not want to bite off so much all at once, and possibly fail. The 350 is a proven platform. Yezdi is an Indian cult no less than RE. And the bikes look better than everything RE dishes out in the same genre. The Scrambler is a real beauty. I can't remember the last time I actually wanted to ride a new launch like this.

Cheers, Doc

[Balaji31582]

Originally Posted by ebonho

All great points. But simply from a technical standpoint, any single over 600 cc is a really big thumper. Loads of issues come in that territory. Now with the Duke 690 dead/killed, the KLR 650 is probably the only big pot remaining. Even if not, I'm sure you can count the number of singles that big. Not only do you need to refine the engine and prevent it from shaking itself to pieces,. You have to make a chassis and drivetrain to take it and isolate it as far as possible from the rider. Maybe Yezdi did not want to bite off so much all at once, and possibly fail. The 350 is a proven platform. Yezdi is an Indian cult no less than RE. And the bikes look better than everything RE dishes out in the same genre. The Scrambler is a real beauty. I can't remember the last time I actually wanted to ride a new launch like this.

Cheers, Doc

Beyond the 650s it can always been the twin cylinder. Agreed the single pot may become overkill.
I somehow feel in today's competition any 300s and 350s can be outrun by another competitor given that how you position your product. That's why I kind of assume that 350 cannot be anymore niche.

As you mentioned scrambler is Definitely looking fantastic and it's nothing like any other competitor version but I will wait for the market's response and CL's ownership reviews.I am someone who wanted to own a KTM this year but the scrambler has certainly made me to think as an option.

[twinblades]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Modern retro classics sell on look and brand recall and history and heritage. They rarely sell as bikes alone.

Is there a single Royal Enfield that is the best at anything?

Is there a single Triumph that is the best at anything (the Daytona for a couple of years actually was)?

Yet they sell. A lot of bikes.

REs are overweight. Underpowered. Poorly built. Poorly handling. Poorly engineered. Unreliable. Overpriced. With three of their most common chassis platforms breaking regularly. In fact I think they have only three chassis platforms and all of them are regularly on YouTube breaking.

Yet they sell thousands of these bikes.

Such a large population base of brave riders with a sense of history is perfect ripe pickings for Yezdi to share RE's onerous load as up till now India's only desi daal chawal homegrown legacy brand.

Cheers, Doc

I have never liked RE because of the problems they have, primary concern being reliability. My opinion of RE started to change after I test rode the Interception 650. I liked the looks of the bike, wasn't expecting anything special because of my experience with the previous Continental GT. The Interceptor is great, except for that lack of tubeless tires and weird foot-peg position. It been on my list of bike to recommend. Recently i test rode the new Classic 350. Its throttle is no longer a "suggestion box" as it used to be in the older models.
Regarding chassis breaking horror stories, yeah that's something i hope they will fix. I haven't dived into that topic too much, does this occur for even in normal tarmac riding?

[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by Balaji31582

I was thinking Yezdi could have been launched as a niche segment to start with the 652cc and get the fandom that can hold the torch.

Exactly my thoughts when I mentioned about the rumoured 650cc mill seen on BSA finding its way into Yezdi Roadking.

A trend I have seen over the years is any big capacity motorcycle (300cc+ in Indian parlance) will inadvertently end up being compared with RE. This was the case with KTM Duke 390, Mahindra Mojo (erstwhile), etc. them being from street fighter category notwithstanding. I have deliberately not mentioned Honda CB350 and Jawa 42, Jawa Classic, etc. as these can be directly compared to RE as they are targeted towards retro classic market. As mentioned earlier CL lost the plot with Jawa models against RE (even though CL equipped Jawa with a liquid cooled engine punching out 30 BHP they didn't manage to dent RE's sales in any way), so they decided to offer their current three different models with Yezdi branding based on the 334cc perak engine. I am not sure what figures Honda CB350 is doing against RE's.

CL may have realised that brand Yezdi Roadking could bring them the fortunes that Jawa failed to do, hence might have opted for the 650cc Big Single to differentiate themselves from RE, given the fact that RE no longer produces their Big Single 500cc.

It's good that CL is atleast offering retro classic options unlike Yamaha and Suzuki who are happy selling their 150-250cc bikes although they too have their own legendary retro classics to choose from. This is considering they are doing business in India since the last 35+ years. Recently, Honda did it with their CB350 (although not sure about the figures it's doing against RE) but people now have more options to choose from. I didn't mention Kawasaki and Triumph retro classics as they are in a completely different price bracket and have different engine specs(800cc+).