Indian Icon - A Cult called Royal Enfield

The author tells the story of a British motorcycle brand from the 1950s that went on to attain cult status in India.

In his book - 'Indian Icon - A cult called Royal Enfield', journalist and author Amrit Raj takes a look at a motorcycle brand that was born in England in the 1950s and that would later attain cult status in India.

The brand went through its worst times in the 1980s, only to be revived a decade later by Vikram Lal of Eicher. The reigns were later handed down to his son Siddhartha who has since lead the brand into the 21st century.

Here's a short review of the book by BHPian ninjatalli:

Indian Icon - A Cult called Royal Enfield: 2.5 / 5

Author: Amrit Raj

Honestly, extremely disappointed with the author and his depth of investigation/analysis into the company, especially the last two decades.

Starts out on a strong front detailing out the history of Royal Enfield and the dealings/actions of the folks at the helm, including Vikram Lal and Siddhartha Lal (initial years). The book goes into depth into the workings till early 2000s - there is a clear view on what worked and what went wrong with proper analysis/details to support it.

It's the last decade and half where the author loses all logic - the book goes from factual points to almost folk-lorish kind of views, clearly hero-worshiping the younger Lal. The Himalayan gets a few chapters worth of reading but the Twins and the expansion of the organization into higher levels of motorcycling are dealt only across a few pages in the end.

Give it a miss. I sincerely hoped there would be a good sound biography of the company given the depth of content available in the world.